The final addition was Helichrysum essential oil. Spikenard essential oil has a distinctly earthy smell, and I always feel both more grounded and expansive in its presence. I then added spikenard, the source of the costly 'nard' oil that Mary anointed Jesus with. Mary Magdalene is of course associated with roses, and olive oil is a staple of the Mediterranean and Middle East.

The result was a distinctly Mediterranean/Middle Eastern smelling oil, complex and mysterious. Cecile Brunner roses are fragrant, pink climbing roses that grow in a glorious profusion, and I was inspired to infuse them in olive oil. I read the book straight through in 2 days flat, and felt my cells rearranging themselves into something more expansive, more inclusive-more home.Īs someone who had grown up Catholic, and who was no longer Catholic but still appreciated the fierce love of the actual Jesus while I was also deeply claiming my identity as a witch, this book laid out what might have been: Jesus holding and weaving together what is often referred to as the sacred masculine and feminine, with great tenderness and wisdom.Īt the time there was a huge Cecile Brunner rose bush growing at the retreat center. I had bought a copy of Clysta Kinstler's 'The Moon Under Her Feet' (at the local hippy goddess shop, of course) which is a retelling/re-imagining of the life of Mary Magdalene as a temple priestess, with Jesus as her beloved. In my 20s I was living and working at the Wildwood Retreat Center in Sonoma County, CA.

The hollow places by t kingfisher