Rites of Spring, Midsommar, Harvest Moon, and Hoarfrost

This collection observes the seasons and special plants associated with ancient folk traditions for the Spring Equinox (March), Summer Solstice (June), Autumn Equinox (September) and Winter Solstice (December).

Rite of Spring

Pina Bauch’s interpretation of Igor Stravinsky’s composition Rite of Spring opens with dancers crawling out of the darkness, through dirt. Their white dresses and bodies become filthy as they rise and intertwine ecstatically. The intensity mimics the force that pushes life through the frozen ground. This soap interpretation of the Rite of Spring is a nod to ritualistic transformation – dancing herself to death and the cathartic rebirth of springtime, featuring skin healing herbs grown in my garden. This soap is great for: soothing rough, chapped winter hands with olive oil infused with healing gentle flowers of calendula and chamomile with comfrey leaves.

Midsommar

A nod to a great contemporary horror movie and Scandinavian solstice folk traditions, Midsommar includes all the blooming flowers in my garden that I gathered noon on the summer solstice - the strongest moment of sunshine on the longest day of the year. The sun infusing the flower petals with its radiant energy. They were dried for this soap blend and blended with honey that was locally harvested from rooftop hives tended by Alvéole urban beekeeping company in my neighborhood. I blended helichrysum and marigold oil to evoke the deep, heady smells of the warmest season. Smells like: helichrysum, marigolds, and honey. This soap is good for: Breathe in the scent of summer to provide comfort during the long, dark winter to beat the seasonal blues. Also inspiring for planning your garden and for observing summer celebrations.

Harvest Moon

Colored with a blaze of turmeric to represent the low and firey autumn moon, cradled in a landscape of nourishing and purifying clays with crushed walnut shells providing a gentle exfoliant throughout. The bars are fragranced with a blend of ceremonial herbs from ancient druid autumn holidays that includes bay, benzoin, bergamot, frankincense, myrrh, nutmeg, oakmoss, rosewood, and sage. This soap is great for: Connecting with the lessons of autumn and harvest season, expressing gratitude for a good harvest and insight on experiences, and for letting go of what no longer serves you- like dropping leaves, let it cycle back into the earth to break down and enrich the soil for new growth.

Hoarfrost

During a clear, still winter night- water vapors settle on plants and fences; accentuating their outlines in beautiful blue-grey crystals called Hoarfrost. This soap is named for the crispness that expands your lungs and brightens your eyes in winter, evoked through infusing olive oil with the invigorating essences of dried eucalyptus leaves and dried peppermint grown in my garden. This soap is great for: detoxifying with European green clay and exfoliating with loofa gourd fibers from my garden combined with minty menthol for a fresh, exhilarating feeling - like being the first to trek through new crunchy snow.