“In rifleing the closet of the ladie, they found a pipe of oyntement, wherewith she greased a staffe, upon which she ambled and galloped through thick and thin, when and in what manner she listed”
– Proceedings Against Dame Alice Kyteler, Prosecuted for Sorcery, 1324
Hexensalbe, also known as witches’ flying ointment, was a hallucinogenic salve used in witchcraft in the middle ages. It was a mixture of extremely poisonous ingredients.
The drug produced an ecstatic trance with powerful sensations of flying, images of otherworldly creatures and a primal sexual hunger. These hallucinations are at the core of the mythology of witches, where they fly to the sabbath at Blåkulla or Brocken to do it with the devil and other witches in unholy rites.
So, the image of witches flying can be traced back to the use of hexensalbe, but why on a broomstick? The ointment was so poisonous that eating it would be directly fatal, instead it was applied to other soft membranes of the body, armpits and more commonly the genitals. Because of the erotic effects of the high, the salve would often be rubbed directly onto a phallic object like the end of a staff or a broomstick. And so, the witch did not ride the broomstick like we picture her today. She actually -really- rode it.
Given which aspects of the story of hexensalbe has survived into the modern image of witches, and what has been suppressed, it would seem that the one thing more terrifying than witches or devils, is female sexuality.
NOTES
Top: Wormwood, Salty Liquorice
Middle: Tuberose, Angelica, Rosemary, Belladonna
Base: Black Hemlock, Patchouli, Lichen
PERFUMER
Anna Barkne
HOW IT WEARS
Hexensalbe opens with a vivid, photorealistic salty liquorice accord which melts effortlessly into camphorous wormwood. As it wears, a bouquet of herbs and florals apparates in the heart of the fragrance. Creamy, heady tuberose is tied to the green intensity of angelica, belladonna and rosemary, as if bound together with magic string, hanging upside down in a witch’s apothecary. The dry down leads you on a path through an enchanted forest, paved with lichen and black hemlock. This fragrance will last 6-8 hours on the skin.
LORE LOVES
One thing we’ve learnt in the fragrance business is that liquorice is one of the more divisive notes that can be found in perfume – people either love it or they hate it. What could be more perfect for a witchy scent such as Hexensalbe? We love the use of poisonous plants in this scent too – they have the ability both to hurt and heal, like much of nature. It is neither evil nor good, it is its own autonomous force that only a few beings, such as witches, can communicate with.
ABOUT THE BRAND
Founded by a group of 5 multidisciplinary creatives in Stockholm, Sweden, Stora Skuggan (or “Big Shadow” in Swedish) is a fragrance house that enthrals and enchants with its esoteric scent creations.
Approaching fragrance as a form of abstract art, Stora Skuggan’s line invites a range of interpretations. Their fragrances function as wearable works of art; blending concept, aesthetic, form and function together to tell distinct olfactory stories.
Handcrafted in-house in the Stora Skuggan studios and labs, each scent revolves around its own mythology, taking inspiration from stories, images and sounds both real and imagined.
FREE RETURNS
Love your fragrance or return it for free. Learn more about The Lore Promise here.
