To Juan at the Winter Solstice

[QOTCPcf]

To Juan at the Winter Solstice

There is one story and one story only
That will prove worth your telling,
Whether are learned bard or gifted child;
To it all lines or lesser gauds belong
That startle with their shining
Such common stories as they stray into.

Is it of trees you tell, their months and virtues,
Or strange beasts that beset you,
Of birds that croak at you the Triple will?
Or of the Zodiac and how slow it turns
Below the Boreal Crown,
Prison of all true kings that ever reigned?

Water to water, ark again to ark,
From woman back to woman:
So each new victim treads unfalteringly
The never altered circuit of his fate,
Bringing twelve peers as witness
Both to his starry rise and starry fall.

Or is it of the Virgins silver beauty,
All fish below the thighs?
She in her left hand bears a leafy quince;
When, with her right she crooks a finger smiling,
How may the King hold back?
Royally then he barters life for love.

Or of the undying snake from chaos hatched,
Whose coils contain the ocean,
Into whose chops with naked sword he springs,
Then in black water, tangled by the reeds,
Battles three days and nights,
To be spewed up beside her scalloped shore?

Much snow is falling, winds roar hollowly,
The owl hoots from the elder,
Fear in your heart cries to the loving-cup:
Sorrow to sorrow as the sparks fly upward.
The log groans and confesses
There is one story and one story only.

Dwell on her graciousness, dwell on her smiling,
Do not forget what flowers
The great boar trampled down in ivy time.
Her brow was creamy as the crested wave,
Her sea-blue eyes were wild
But nothing promised that is not performed.
- Robert Graves

A prayer to the White Goddess:
Pale rose, sweet clover, and bergamot for the Maiden.
Hazelnut, honey, and myrtle and for the Mother.
Black cypress, myrrh, and white sandalwood for the Crone.

Wow, first review on the thread, and my first review evar. Better not muss it up...

Bottle- Sweet and flowery with a bit of greenery. And then oh, hello roses.
Wet on skin- Roses and the honey coming out a bit more strong, followed by the hazlenut.
Dry on skin- Sweet and flowery again, with hazlenut and some myrrh starting to come out. Gives it an incensey tinge.

Me likey :-)

[gloame]

I like this one pretty well, even though rose scents are hit or miss for me. I think it's the cypress--it reduces the powdery smell enough that this smells like 'winter' and not like 'baby'.

 

It's sweet, woodsy, rosy to me.

 

3.5/5

[Soniadevi]

I can only describe this scent as MAGNIFICENT. In her profuse creativity, Beth concocts innumerable wonders, and sometimes, due to their sheer volume, there is always that chance that some will slip under the radar, relatively unnoticed. This may be one of them, though I would not presume to be capable of recognising a genius scent any more than the next BPAL addict. However, there is something about the absolute artistry involved here that takes my breath away, and humbles me back to that wide eyed place where I used to be a BPAL novice, a time before I became somewhat jaded.

I do not have the words to describe how beautiful this is. All I know is that when I apply it to my wrist, magic happens. An explosion of poetry, just like the poem it recreates on an olfactory level, every note unfolding seamlessly into the next. Maybe it's my skin chemistry that allows this to happen, but in my HUMBLE opinion, this is one of Beth's Masterpieces. I will not bore you with a recap of the notes: this scent to me is much more than the sum of its parts.

[patina]

This is more citrusy than I thought it would be, almost a herbal lemon scent. It's like a warm, herbal honey drink with lemon balm. I also detect lots of soft rose wafting around, some soft white clover blossoms, nuts and maybe some cypress below everything.

 

The honey/lemon is the most prominent part. Paired with the greenery it's a bit like a warm sunny day in the middle of winter. This is very comforting, especially for winter but I don't think I need a bottle.

[zankoku_zen]

Hazelnut, honey, rose and sandalwood. This smells soft, woodsy, rosy and sweet.

 

It's more comforting that foodie, the rose is not overwhelming, and it reminds me of a warm motherly hug.

 

Not the type of blend I'm typically drawn to, and oddly enough it makes me think of it along the lines of the Conjure Bag.

[Aviatrix]

When first applied, I get a big hit of bergamot that settles quickly. There is some rose in there, too.

 

After it dries, it becomes a very pretty and comforting blend of rose,, a bit of honey, some woodsy notes and the myrrh grounding the blend in the background. I wish I had gotten more of the hazelnut and myrtle, though.

 

It doesn't have a huge throw, but it fits the delicate nature of the scent well to be a little more subdued.

 

I like the concept of the scent and how it was realized; it's like going on a journey from Maiden (top notes), through Mother (middle notes) to Crone (base notes).

 

I don't think I need a bottle of this, but I am very happy for my decant and will use it whenever I feel like some sweet woodsy comfort!

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: The Mother's notes of hazelnut, myrtle, and honey are very present.

 

Wet: Much as on cold sniff, but w/ traces of rose and bergamot. rising to the top.

 

The dry-down: Most of the notes have blended together, deep in the mix. Honeyed rose sprinkled with the sandalwood growing in a hard woods forest seems to be the ending of this somewhat morphing scent. I like it, but the decant is plenty.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - A sweet rich rose with a touch of honey and a hint of bergamot

 

Wet on me - Such a light pretty green scent with an unctuous honey behind it

 

Dry on me - A light green floral honey

 

Overall - I feel it could have done with a little more depth

[milo]

This blend is very white, busy and STRONG. The sandalwood and rose, amping, and there are so many notes, it smells rather jumbled to me. It actually smells more like a TAL blend than a bpal, more specifically Leo Stellium, I think. This one is just too strong for me, only a tiny drop, and I'm wincing a bit. Not for me.

[Little Bird]

You can kinda smell everything at once in a chaotic jumble, over a base of baby powdery sandalwood. Fresh rose, lemony bergamot, and strange, honeyed greenery over baby powder.

[whisperstilled]

Wet: Strong rose, maybe sandalwood? Definitely bergamot and something herbal, possibly the myrtle. There is absolutely a lot going on here, as other reviewers have stated. Loving the bargamot/rose combination, which I wouldn't have expected.

 

Drying: This really is a jumble. The rose is still strong. I really don't get any hazlenut, but the other notes manage to balance out the always-overpowering rose.

 

Dry: Uh oh. Beautiful bergamot has started to turn to powder, and I'm getting that unfortunate baby powder thing some rose scents do on my skin. Boo! This one had a really interesting beginning. On the plus side, the sweeter notes finally peek out on the drydown.