The Tarot Nose: The Star

Above her the Pleaides rise, those dancing Seven Sisters who symbolize our heart’s home. Behind her is the celestial stream between Heaven and Earth, known as the Milky Way, where pilgrims travel from one realm to the next. Beside her the Kingfisher reminds us of the halcyon days of peace and plenty. With our inner ear, we hear a voice proclaim: “I am the Soul of Nature, which gives Life to the Universe. From me all things proceed, and to me all things shall return.” More than anything, the Star Goddess represents grace, a divine connection that is unearned and freely granted.

Excerpted from Joanna Powell Colbert’s Gaian Tarot page on the Star. You can read more here.

So I’m blessed to  know the parfumer from Esscentual Alchemy. She and I are members of the Gaian Circle. I’ve reviewed all of her Gaian Tarot perfumes so far. This is another of those reviews. I was so excited to see that envelope in my mailbox today!

Amanda packages her testers in small bottles that I’ve always called imps. Come to find out that’s just a nick given to them by another parfumer I also shop with. So I’m renaming her testers Grace Notes. You know…those short, quick notes in a musical score? Yes, that’s right. A grace note is a musical ornament, that is, a short note played just before a main one.  So Amanda, if you don’t have a clever name for your samples yet, I propose Grace Notes.

When I took the top off of this Grace Note, I smelled sweet and crisp-clean like pears and honey. Maybe a bit of something peppery or spicy like a hint of cloves. It made me instantly happy to sniff this.

On my skin it’s very light and breezy. Not what I normally choose to wear but I really liked it. Still have a peppery/spicy tone to it…I guess this is what makes it sharp in the tonal quality. I keep sniffing myself trying to remember where I smelled this before, then it hit me.

This will sound odd, but it smells a bit like my coven’s incense. The coven I trained in had a specific incense that we used. It was part of our training to learn this recipe. So I smell some familiar scents here.

I know what it smells like! Damiana liquer! How very odd. That’s another pagan memory but that’s from a pagan festival up in the mountains. Haven’t been there in years, but this puts me right back around a last bonfire where those of us who just weren’t ready to leave shared songs and beverages and laughter. What a lovely memory.

There’s a softness to this scent that is perfect for the Star. I know this card to be inspirational and joyful. For me, the message of this card is always about hope and reaching for hope. This scent works quite well with Joanna’s interpretation of the star for me.

One reason I don’t wear a lot of what I deem lighter scents is that they don’t stick on me very long. This one is fading drastically from the first sweet note but the lingering aromas are pleasant and very soft. I would definitely say that she’s nailed the Star with this light and lively fragrance.

Esscentual Alchemy’s interpretation of the Star makes me want to dance around naked in the starlight. Nicely done, Amanda. More please!

Do check out her other Gaian scents. It might be a lovely treat for someone on your holiday gift list. YES, I went there. 🙂 I have to remind myself that it is almost here.