this summer i made a smoke blend inspired by the fixed star alphecca & i really wanna nerd out about it :)

alphecca is my heliacal setting star + i’m ruled by a 5th house venus (please read Meag Keane’s amazing essay on the dionysian 5th house 👀) that seems to lead me to the mythology of dionysus, ariadne, and alphecca (and venus, and the moon) again and again.

this blend contains rose petals (pink & red), lemon balm, lavender, mullein, passionflower, and a hybrid strain called “rosewater cookies”

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here are some of my references to give you a sense of alphecca’s vibe as an archetype:

“with a lot of the elements that help us understand Alphecca: just like Ariadne, Alphecca is a star of benevolence - she's easy to love.Alphecca represents the beautiful maiden, associated withDyonisian lush and wild nature. Ist century astrologer Manilius says that those born under Alphecca cultivate a love of perfumes and flowers: "The child of the Crown will cultivate a garden budding with bright flowers and slopes I...].His heart is set upon elegance, fashion, and the art ofadornment, upon gracious living and the pleasure of the hour." In other words, Alphecca gives a love of beauty, adornment and flowers. Picture a beautiful Ariadne, enjoying her life with her husband - the god of festivity, theatrics and fun! A great example of Alphecca's love of perfume is in the chart of one of the most famous perfumers of all time, Jacques Guerlain.” —Helo Astro

“For me, Alphecca is as quiet as sleep and as loud as the carnival she brings with her. She reaches for you like ivy. Spindle-spinner, grape-treader, trance-inducer, maenad-stirrer, The Mistress of the Labyrinth requires her share of honey. She is rose-colored glasses you have no reason to take off. She is a dance floor, a parade, a hall of mirrors, a misty garden, a hedge maze. In her world, I am seduced, I am giddy and in love, I am mesmerized and nothing is quite as it seems, and I never want to leave. She is forgetting what is ugly and unkind, and remembering only what is feels good, smells good, tastes good, what is easeful, pleasurable, delighting*.*

…Alphecca is lubricant on the camera lens, softening the focus. She is a drumbeat in my ears that I realize is my own blood. She is in my ankles that want to remember this body used to dance. She is pale purple-pink flowers and gloaming blue and shimmering stars. She is a gleaming feast and the eagerness and joy in everyone around its table. It is her.” —Maeg Keane

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this blend was a birthday gift to myself to support myself in connecting with the benevolence of Life :) i’m a summer baby so i mostly smoked it before walking barefoot in the grass for a few hours and just enjoying the sensuality of a lush summer day. smoking this has been my favorite smoke experience to date and now i only wanna smoke an intentional blend like this! i loved the soothing, relaxing, aphrodisiatic quality of rose, passionflower, lavender, and lemon balm. the mullein was a great support to cut out any harshness on the inhale.

i’m curious about making blends inspired by other astrological archetypes as well… 🤔 maybe one for the mercurials out there who need to regulate their overactive minds lol (aka me)