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My Monster Powers really are powers, in the sense that they are at least partly in my control. They are my Gila Lizard Powers (GLP-1) but they are not solely the effect of the medicine. I kind of knew that before, but I really know it now. 

It was clear that I could maintain my weight loss on my own last fall when I went without the medicine for a month due to the insurance company, and I did not regain the weight I had lost the month before. I was able to keep it steady because by then I had abandoned my old habit of spending an enormous amount of time planning, shopping for, growing, and cooking food, and started devoting that attention to perfume instead. I was able to keep doing that even without the medicine.

When I first started my perfume and health journey with my Gila Lizard Powers (GLP-1) I was amazed at how many pagan indie perfume houses there were. Later I became amazed at how pagan-friendly the Fragrantica forum was, and at how many pagan mythology inspired fragrances there were from mainstream niche houses. It's been about a half a year and I have dug into the database enough to find out that Lancome was openly working Magie Noire in 1978.

On March 28 the front page of Fragrantica carried an article in which a perfume reviewer expressed a desire to give a blood sacrifice to Artemis. Link here: https://www.fragrantica.com/news/Hellenist-A-French-House-Greek-Myths-22332.html

January is my birthday month, and it was also my mom's. For decades, we celebrated our birthdays together, and bought ourselves a bouquet of carnations to keep on the table and smell. We both loved the spicy floral smell of carnations. And then one day carnations didn't have a scent anymore. Suddenly the bouquet of carnations was a form without substance, like fire that produces no heat. It was as if we had fallen into a parallel universe where things had the appearance of reality but were not actually real.

Florist carnations are still like that, but I have gotten back the scent I love, because somebody put it in a bottle. In selecting perfumes for January, of course I picked carnations. L'Heure Bleu, which is also a favorite of my brother's. Brightest Bloom by Bath & Body Works, which I mostly use in the form of lotions and soaps. I also have a white glitter product, so it will do double duty this winter by also representing glittering snow. I also had bottle of real carnation extract which I put in my own lotions, soaps, hand sanitizer, etc. 

The dark and cold of the Winter Solstice is traditionally cheered up with fire and food. "Good cheer" is used to mean the company of friends and family, holiday foods, and especially holiday drinks. Mulled, spiced apple cider is also called wassail, which is also the name of a custom of a group of people singing to the apple trees, similar to caroling but singing to trees instead of going around to different houses singing to people.

I still want good cheer at this time of year, but, I started out the month trusting and hoping that I will have my new Gila Lizard Powers (GLP-1) back in time for the holidays-- I had been off my monster medicine since before Thanksgiving due to a "pre-authorization" issue, but hoped to be back on it by Yule-- so I was planning to have my cheer with perfume and other sensory pleasures. I will still have some food and drink too, but it is going to be a small part of my celebration rather than the main focus. 

My Monster Powers journey continues. I started weaving a small tapestry in honor of the Gila Monster.

I've been participating in the forum on the website my brother introduced me to. I'm not only learning a lot but also coming to consider new ways of thinking about perfumes. Of course I'm already familiar with the idea of honoring certain powers and gods at certain times.

Start preparing this special mixture by pouring a gallon of unfiltered sweet apple cider into a big pot. Go for organic cider or juice from the farmer’s market for best taste and energetic effects, but it is even better if you can make cider from apples you have gathered or harvested. Take a bottle of your favorite low-cost red wine and heat it in a large pot gently on a low flame. Add sugar, cinnamon, and cloves to your taste, but include at least a teaspoon of cloves and a tablespoon each of sugar and cinnamon. Pour the cider into the warmed wine, and add thirteen whole cloves and six cinnamon sticks. Simmer, stirring every six minutes. Notice how your entire home fills with the spicy sweetness of merriment. After thirty minutes, it will be ready to serve.

You can make simple syrup, a base for any liqueur, in five short minutes by boiling a cup of sugar in a half cup of water. The method above can be used to create distinctive after-dinner drinks and digestives from angelica, anise, bergamot, hyssop, all mints, fennel and, perhaps the most special of all, violets. To your health!