Koa House

From this month’s playlist posted recently, we know that the theme is the idea of running through the forest and while activated having a profound realization of clarity. The chosen scents this month all tell that story.

🌲 Pure Fiji’s White Gingerlily may seem an odd pick for a forest-y month because of its effervescent floral nature, but there’s something about it that reminds me of sweet scented dew on branches. It’s light and tropical but also aquatic. Surprisingly it blends well with more grounding, earthy scents.

🌲 Kīpu’upu’u is the name of my blend and is inspired by a group of warriors who were runners and spear wielders and known for traveling through haunted forests to their destination. It smells like fresh trees and crisp cool trees. You’ll get notes of eucalyptus and tea tree but also cedar and hinoki wood.

🌲 Hinoki Wood is a Japanese Cypress. It’s refreshing and grounding but almost peppery at first and then grows into a lemony citrus dry down. It’s a heavy hitter for calm and relaxation.

All great scents to incorporate into your session and they even blend well together too if you can’t decide!

Which are you going with?

‘AWA — OFFERING/SACRIFICE

Little behind in getting it out there but ‘Awa combined with the Harvest Moon is a fascinating card pull. ‘Awa is a sacred medicinal herb used in Hawai’i and across Polynesia as well. It’s also known as kava kava. Ceremonially it’s used to bring reverence and truth to the occasion. When we graduated from our lomilomi program, we did an ‘Awa ceremony with our kumu and other haumana. It is a calming herb that can be bitter and earthy.

This card is about offering and sacrifice and asks us to look at the relationship between how we give and how do we receive. A sacrifice is sometimes made in order to affect an outcome. It’s thought that if I give up something I am attached to, perhaps I will receive what I am looking for. An offering is different. An offering is more like a gift — given with no expectation of reciprocity. An offering accepts the sacredness of the situation.

Combined with the Harvest Moon, this card may be drawing attention to areas of your life where you have received the harvest of your culmination of hard work. Where have you grown over the past year and is there a way to acknowledge what has emerged in your life? Instead of looking at life as deficient and in need of sacrifices in order to thrive, are there areas where you might make an offering in service of what you have gleaned?