Osmé: A Cultural History of Fragrance is an online journal focused on the historical, social, and cultural movements that shape scent culture and influence the fragrance industry.
If you know the name Pazuzu, it probably conjures spinning heads and pea soup. Thanks to The Exorcist, he’s pop culture shorthand for pure evil. Which is deeply unfair. In ancient Mesopotamia, Pazuzu was not the villain—he was the monster you summoned when something worse was at the door. A king of wind demons, feared yet invited, he embodied the dangerous power of air, breath, and scent, fighting chaos
This autumn, Sunday Scent School returns with a new three-month course devoted to one of my favourite intersections: scent & systems of belief. The Scent of Gods & Monsters: Olfaction & Belief runs from October through December and brings together six classes exploring the extraordinary roles fragrance has played in the human experience of the divine. It is a course about scent, yes, but it is also about much more. We will look at how aromatics function in society as ritual t
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