Middle Pillar

[oakmoss]

A ceremonial blend used to help you find your center, recover and maintain internal balance, and to align yourself and your consciousness with the divine.

I used this blend for the first time today after receiving communication from someone who was quite angry with me, for things that I had tried my best to resolve to her satisfaction. The communication threw me off balance, to say the least, and from this place of shakiness and self-doubt, I happened to open my perfume cabinet and see Middle Pillar. Anointing my wrists and my heart chakra, I felt my energies calm and align again, grounding in a way that felt very much like the image of the High Priestess in the RWS tarot deck. The issues with the angry woman fell back into perspective, and with each inhale of the oil's fragrance, I felt more myself, more in tune with what is real and what is illusion. My sense of my own integrity and worth truly did feel realigned, almost instantly.

The scent is a light powdery floral, with a soft rose note at the top. As it warmed on my skin, it smelled like rose incense -- rosy, but with a spicy dryness underneath. This is definitely something you could wear in "real life" as well as in ceremonial settings. It will be one I reach for often!

[DiamondHeart]

This was like olfactory valium for my emotions. I took a whiff after a long day at work and it immediatly helped me just balance myself again.

 

I wore it before a stressful therapy session with my mom, between my breasts (what I supposed would be my heart/throat chakra?) and it seemed to help. It was very strong to me, but didn't bother my mom, who is very sensitive to perfume.

 

It's very unassuming, but still has a presence to it.

 

~Diamond~

 

ADDED July 25:

 

It would appear that Middle Pillar has cinnamon in it.

 

Since I have big, red splotches on my wrists, right between my breasts, the pulse points on my neck, and the middle of my forehead. I kinda look like I have bindhi- the red dot that Hindu women have.

 

Fortunately I end all my rituals with a shower, and I had already finished most of it by the time I noticied that I was itching and burning and red, so it wasn't too bad.

 

Just warning everyone!

 

~Diamond~

[Little Bird]

Middle Pillar doesn't have a great fragrance (at least to my nose). It has a strong shot of eucalyptus/menthol on me at first, and something like a powdery/dry cedar note. In the drydown, it smells a bit like sweet woods layered over powdery florals. Sweet, powdery, and very dry. I do get a hint of the mentioned cinnamon in the drydown as well. It's not an awful or off-putting smell at all, it just isn't something that I'd wear as a personal fragrance. It makes a beautiful room scent in an oil burner though, as it's very calming and warm.

 

I enjoyed using Middle Pillar as a room fragrance to calm me down, make me feel at ease, and ground me as I was taking some time out for prayer. And it worked very well for that purpose

[oedipa]

Since I use TALs only for ritual purposes, I won't review the scent of Middle Pillar except to say it was very cleansing - I think someone mentioned eucalyptus, and I got that.

 

As far as ritual use goes - Holy Zen, Batman!

 

I used Middle Pillar after a shower, shortly before heading to bed, in a very simple manner. I drew a line from crown down the center of my body, asked for help in centering myself, and laid down in bed. Lemme tell you, folks; this stuff WORKS. I found it amazingly easy to slip into a medative state and focus on my own personal middle pillar - visualizations were easier, and I was soon so relaxed I fell fast asleep. I woke up refreshed and spent the day in a very calm state.

 

Bottom line, grab a bottle if you can. It's an amazing oil and worth every penny.

[summer]

I have been anointing my third eye, palms, and the soles of my feet with Middle Pillar before my morning yoga practice. I have been going through an incredibly rattling time recently (which only can be described as a Saturn Return experience), and when I use Middle Pillar I feel, if only during my yoga session, strong and balanced. I am finding it very fast-acting and effective, and I look forward to its cumulative effects as I continue to use it.

[OpheliasVengeance]

I have been using this before mediation, anointing my crown, third eye, heart, and root chakras in addition to my feet. I found that it worked quite effectively in helping to keep my daydreaming brain focused while in a meditative state. I second oedipa's statement that visualizations were much easier and more vivid. Lately, I have been using White Light to help keep the daily crap off so I can be more focused and less burdened, but I think I might trying using this in conjunction with it.

[Medici]

This is spectacular. I'm using Middle Pillar for the first time as I type this. Having anointed my chakras, I was planning on settling in for a bit of therapeutic writing after a long, dreary day spent working, mourning and dealing with a flare up of spectacular (note my sarcasm) seasonal depression. Within three seconds, my spine is straight, my head is clear, and I'm primed for psychic work. I'm going to write for a bit, now that I think I might be able to accomplish something worthwhile and actually rewarding, and then I'm going to take an hour to meditate to see how Middle Pillar holds up.

 

It smells incredible too. In the bottle, I detect woods, herbs, and a breath of floral, but on me, it's a lovely, sweet chamomile.

[Ishtar]

I was looking forward to trying Middle Pillar, after using another oil with similar properties that did not work too well.

 

I applied it to my feet and my chakras right before my evening yoga practice. The first thing that struck me was how very clearing and centering this oil was. I always take a few minutes to sit down and focus on my breathing before doing yoga, which of course is calming in itself, but this time I was able to go inward almost immediately, each breath taking me further into my meditative state. Each posture flowed smoothly into the next. It was very fulfilling and I think that for the first time, I was able to genuinely experience yoga as a spiritual discipline.

 

A little later in the evening, I heard something very upsetting on the radio (about the seal hunt in Eastern Canada ). That normally would have been enough to ruin my sleep had I not caught a whiff of Middle Pillar, which allowed me to ground and center enough to fall asleep pretty quickly. It certainly did not sweep the issue under a rug, but it helped me channel all those negative feelings of sadness and disgust so that I woke up this morning determined to find ways to get involved and do something about it.

 

A very effective blend and, as a bonus, a lovely fragrance- at least to my nose. A gentle cinnamon blend, with a warm floral undertone.

[Nadirah]

My mind needed some clearing out of the clutter that had been affecting my ability to concentrate. I looked at the TAL website and Middle Pillar stood out as the one that I have to get. (I wanted many others but middle pillar had to be mine) I use it in my locket and to dress candles as I'm meditating. The results are almost immediate. I went from confused and muddled into knowing what my path was and and how to handle the thing to come that maybe I am not supposed to know about just yet. I even opened up an old book (the magicians Workbook) one that I had never read or really looked at, I just bought it when I worked at a used book store because I knew it would come in handy. There was the Middle Pillar ritual in there. So I can say some interesting things are happening since I've been using this oil. It is pretty amazing!

 

As for scent, it is a light floral with just a little bit of spice. I put 3 drops in my bath and it scented the whole bathroom very nicely. Also people have noted how good I smell with my locket on.

 

It really is something to try! Pick it up!

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Aiyee! Smells like juicy fruit if it was medicinal. This may be too intense for me. Wet: The Eucalyptus/menthol note really comes out, overwhelming the insence/floral/juicy fruit smell and gently burning the skin. There is something weirdly appealing about the herbal edge, but it’s hard for me to respond properly because of the eucalyptus which threatened to throw me into overload. Dry: It is still peculiar, but less astringent. It smells rather like some pleasing meditation incense I used to own. Alas, the wet phase is too much for me.