Holy Wednesday.

In Christianity, Holy Wednesday (also called Spy Wednesday, and in the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches, Holy and Great Wednesday) is the Wednesday of the Holy Week, the week before Easter. It is followed by Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday).

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Tuesday in Greek Orthodox Easter Week:Hymn of Kassiani

From OrthodoxWiki

The Hymn of Kassiani, also known as the Hymn of the Fallen Woman, is a work classified as a Penitential Hymn that is based on Mary Magdalene . This hymn is chanted only once a year and considered a musical high-point of the Holy Week, at the Matins of Holy Wednesday, in the Fourth Plagal Tone.
History

One story, related by Saint Theodora in The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church holds that Abbess Kassiani spent the afternoon in the garden composing this hymn. As she finished writing that verse which says, I shall kiss Thine immaculate feet, and wipe them again with the tresses of my head. she was informed that Emperor Theophilos had arrived at the convent. She did not wish to see him, and in her haste to conceal herself, left behind the scroll and pen. Theophilos, having entered the garden, found her half-completed poem, and added the phrase, those feet at whose sound Eve hid herself for fear when she heard Thee walking in Paradise in the Afternoon. After he departed, Kassiani came out from hiding. When she took up her composition, she beheld the phrase written in his handwriting. She retained it and went on to complete the poem.
Hymn of Kassiani text

Sensing Thy divinity, O Lord, a woman of many sins
takes it upon herself to become a myrrh-bearer,
And in deep mourning brings before Thee fragrant oil
in anticipation of Thy burial; crying:

"Woe to me!" For night is to me, oestrus of lechery,
a dark and moonless eros of sin.

Receive the wellsprings of my tears,
O Thou who gatherest the waters of the oceans into clouds.

Bend to me, to the sorrows of my heart,
O Thou who bendedst down the heavens in Thy ineffable self-emptying.

I will kiss Thine immaculate feet
and dry them with the locks of my hair;

Those very feet whose sound Eve heard at dusk in Paradise
and hid herself in fear.

Who shall reckon the multitude of my sins,
or the abysses of Thy judgment, O Saviour of my soul?

Do not ignore Thy handmaiden,
O Thou whose mercy is endless.

History Earth in 5 min

Earth Hour 2010

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Use of Cistus Rock Rose.

Cistus Incanus Rock Rose.

Ancient Use of Rock Rose
Rock rose produces the aromatic gum, commonly known as labdanum, which was used extensively by ancient civilizations; labdanum gum was used to treat diarrhea, dysentery, catarrh and menstruation difficulties. Perhaps one of the most popular uses of labdanum was in the making of ancient perfumes, said to resemble the fragrance of ambergris, and sometimes used as a substitute for ambergris. Elizabethan pomanders contained the ingredient labdanum.

The Fragrance of Rock Rose

Rock rose was used by ancient Egyptians and Romans in many perfumes and for its medicinal properties and is still used today in many perfumes; it produces a fragrance which resembles ambergris and mixes well with patchouli, cypress, opopanax and oils which have an oriental base.
Aromatic Uses of Rock Rose

Rock rose produces both a resinoid, which is obtained by solvent extraction of the crude gum, and a steam distilled essential oil of the gum or the leaves and twigs of the rock rose plant. It is used in aromatherapy to treat bronchitis, colds, wrinkles, depression and grief. It is highly prized as a perfume component and rock rose is used in many perfumes, lotions, cosmetics, soaps and detergents.

Read more at Suite101: The Ancient Uses of Rock Rose: A Historical Plant Profile of Labdanum

lab·da·num (lbd-nm) also lad·a·num (ldn-m)

Akkadian Empire

A resin of certain Old World plants of the genus Cistus, yielding a fragrant essential oil used in flavorings and perfumes.

[Middle English, from Medieval Latin lapdanum, labdanum, alteration of Latin ldanum, from Greek ldanon, ldanon, from ldon, *ldon, rockrose, of Semitic origin; akin to Akkadian ladinnu, ladunu, an aromatic.]

labdanum [ˈlæbdənəm], ladanum
n
(Chemistry / Elements & Compounds) a dark resinous juice obtained from various rockroses of the genus Cistus, used in perfumery and in the manufacture of fumigants and medicinal plasters
[Latin, from Greek ladanon, from lēdon rockrose, from Semitic]


http://www.thefreedictionary.com/labdanum

Wellcomes Sring part I

Comfort Scents — Group Blog Post.

Visit the following blogs for other ideas for comforting scents:

All I Am A Redhead,

A Rose Beyond the Thames

BitterGrace Notes

I Smell Therefore I Am

Katie Puckrick Smells

Notes from the Ledge

Olfactarama

Perfume in Progress

Perfumeshrine

Roxana's Illuminated Journal

Savvy Thinker

Scent Hive

SmellyBlog

The Non Blonde

ROSE OF SHARON/CISTUS CRETICUS.

Also called Rock Rose or labdanum. This is a fragrance of prophecy, visions and all quests for truth. Rose of Sharon cannot provide answers, nor can it speak, but it stimulates the eternal knowledge that is intrinsic to all human beings. Rose of Sharon brings awareness that the universal spirit can be glimpsed and absorbed into our very being, although the complete merging with God must remain just out of reach while we fulfill our role here on earth.

Not a true rose (Rosa damascena) the beautiful blooms of this plant have a soft honey-like scent and are thought to be the flowers of a shrub that grows wild on the Plains of Sharon just west of Jerusalem. "I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valley." (Song of Solomon 2:1)

Sean John I Am King.

Sean John I Am King of the Night Cologne for Men 3.4 oz Eau De Toilette Spray

Sean John I Am King of the Night Cologne for Men 3.4 oz Eau De Toilette Spray












Top notes are tangerine, orange and cranberry;

middle notes are cassis and sea water;

base notes are amalfi lemon, french labdanum, cedar, vetiver, oakmoss and sandalwood.

Labdanum "Amber Note" and "Incense" Note Absolutes

Labdanum absolute presents many interesting aromatic possibilities to the skilled extractor. It is a very complex material and by skilfull extrations techniques different parts of its aromatic spectrum can be extracted individually. To my knowledge, two different absolutes are offered by specialist extractors in France-the Amber Note and Incense note Absolutes

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Labdanum

Labdanum, a type of rock rose, is a base note and excellent fixative that's as old as the Pyramids — in fact, the pharoahs' false beards were made from hair soaked in this sweet, woody amber resin. Labdanum is present in many modern scents, and has become a frequent substitute for the animal-unfriendly base note ambergris. If you're looking for something that sticks to your skin, lasts all day, and has a complex sweetness, a labdanum-based fragrance might be a good option.

A taste of the Sahara.

A cloud of dust from the Sahara Desert made the atmosphere in labdanum area (Northern Crete) murky on Saturday. The dust, which is normal for this time of year, was blown in by southerly winds.

New fragrances Men : Costume National HOMME by Costume National.

Top notes
Bergamot, Grapefruit, Cardamom
Heart note
Cinnamon, Thyme, Clove
Base note
Patchouli, Sandalwood, Labdanum

Costume National

http://www.costumenational.com/

Cistus Incanus

Burberry Summer for Women 2010, Burberry Summer for Men 2010

New summer editions by the house of Burberry bring us pleasant and elegant compositions created as new versions of original perfumes, painted with pastel nuances. They can be expected on the market in April 2010. Edition for women Burberry Summer for Women is a limited fragrance which includes floral-fruity green notes. Its composition opens with black currant, mint, mandarin and white peach. A heart encompasses freesia, white rose, honeysuckle and lily, while a base.....

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By: Sandra Raičević-Petrović

History of Tea in Japan

Tea was first introduced to Japan during the seventh and eighth centuries A.D. by Buddhist monks who returned from study in China. Tea was widely used within Buddhist monasteries as an aid to meditation and as a medicinal herb. During Emperor Saga's reign (810-23 A.D.), the popular form of tea was dancha, a pressed cake, which was the tea of the T'ang Dynasty in China.

The Japanese Buddhist priest Minan Eisai first brought matcha, powdered green tea, to Japan upon his return from China in 1191. His enthusiastic promotion of the ritualistic preparation of tea could be considered the genesis of Cha-no-yu -- popularly called the Japanese tea ceremony. Eisai authored an influential two volume treatise on tea which led to the idea of tea's potential as an independent medium of spiritual enlightenment. It was, however, another two centuries before an official Japanese tea ceremony would be formalized.


As Cha-no-yu evolved as an independent art form, tea achieved the stature of a "Way" - "do" in Japanese -- which can be understood as an art form with an accompanying code of ideals which are intended to guide one's daily life. Therefore, "Cha-do," or the "Way of Tea," is a philosophy of life in which Cha-no-yu is the associated art form. This concept is closely associated with Zen Buddhism and its correlated mysticism.


The belief of Cha-no-yu is that an interchange between host and guest, in the proper ambiance, can be a transcendental experience and will instill a spirit of tranquility and harmony among the participants regardless of their social, political, or religious affiliation.

Today, there are practitioners of Cha-no-yu in nearly every country. While some of these practitioners profess an affiliation with one of the traditional "Schools of Tea" in Japan, others simply enjoy it as an exotic diversion -- a curious foray into Eastern culture.

Cistus : Heaven-Scent from the Desert

Cistus likes to sneak up on you. For months after my arrival in California, I wondered about that intriguingly dry, woody perfume that seemed to be strongest in the less pampered areas of the neighborhood. I came to love the smell before I ever saw the plant in bloom; I had assumed it was some scraggly little weed, or even dry-rotting wood. The combination of the bright flowers and the exotic aroma were simply irresistible. When I acquired my own specimen, I was in for another sweet surprise: the buds squatted innocently at the ends of the stems for several days without showing any sign of color or growth, then suddenly flung wide five half-dollar-sized petals with theatrical flair, curling them in slightly as evening approached.
A very nice thing about cistus' scent is that you can enjoy it all year whether the plant is in bloom or not. The leaves exude the oleoresin responsible for the fragrance. This hybrid's parents have been used since ancient times in perfumery, ladanum being the modern substitute for the sperm whale's ambergris.

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