An Aromatic Atlas
Six resins, woods, and essences revered across millennia — their origins, character, and the worlds they carry within them.
— 01 / 06
Southeast Asia · Middle East · South Asia
Oudh — also written oud or agarwood — is the infected heartwood of Aquilaria trees, produced when the tree mounts a defense against the mould Phialophora parasitica. The dark resinous wood that results is among the most expensive natural materials on Earth, sometimes worth more than gold by weight. Its scent is labyrinthine: barnyard leather, dark honey, incense smoke, and humid forest floor folded into something simultaneously ancient and intimate.
Infected heartwood of Aquilaria & Gyrinops trees
India, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Borneo, Arabian Peninsula
Woody · Animalic · Resinous · Smoky
Incense, perfumery, traditional medicine, sacred rites
Notable Varieties
— 02 / 06
India · Australia · Indonesia · Pacific Islands
Sandalwood is the heartwood of Santalum — slow-growing, semi-parasitic trees that attach their roots to neighboring plants for nutrients. The oil distilled from the heartwood is creamy, milky, enveloping: soft wood, warm skin, a whisper of vanilla and beeswax. Unlike most scents, sandalwood does not confront — it meditates. It is among the oldest known perfumery materials, used continuously for over 4,000 years across Hindu, Buddhist, and Ayurvedic traditions.
Heartwood & roots of Santalum album, S. spicatum, S. paniculatum
Mysore (India), Western Australia, New Caledonia, Vanuatu
Creamy Woody · Milky · Balsamic · Soft
Hindu & Buddhist ritual, Ayurveda, perfumery, incense
Notable Varieties
— 03 / 06
Ecuador · Peru · Venezuela · Mexico
"Holy wood" in Spanish. Bursera graveolens only releases its full aromatic potential after the tree has died naturally and lain on the forest floor for three to five years. Shamans of Andean and Amazonian traditions have burned it for millennia to clear negative energy, invite spirits, and purify spaces. Its smoke is bright and citrusy — pine resin crossed with lemon, mint, and a base of warm balsam. Simultaneously uplifting and grounding, it is instantly recognizable.
Naturally dead heartwood of Bursera graveolens; oil & resin
Ecuador's coastal dry forests, Peruvian Amazon, Yucatán (Mexico)
Citrusy · Resinous · Fresh · Slightly Sweet
Shamanic cleansing, meditation, aromatherapy, artisan perfumery
Forms & Regional Differences
— 04 / 06
Mexico · Guatemala · Central America
Copal is a broad name for tree resins used ritually throughout Mesoamerica, from the Nahuatl copalli ("incense"). Regal Copal refers to higher-grade or aged copals — often white or black — burned by the Aztecs and Maya as offerings to the gods. The scent is clean and cathedral-like: sharp lemony citrus top notes, a piney middle, and a dry, slightly sweet base that lingers like incense in old stone. It is the backbone of Día de los Muertos altars and Catholic-syncretic church ceremony alike.
Resin of Bursera species (white/black/gold copal), Protium copal
Oaxaca & Chiapas (Mexico), Guatemala highlands, Belize
Resinous · Citrusy-Pine · Bright · Sacred-Dry
Aztec & Maya ceremony, Día de los Muertos, syncretic churches
Copal Types
— 05 / 06
Mediterranean · Iberia · Brazil · West Africa
Arruda is the Portuguese name for Ruta graveolens — Common Rue — a bitter herb used since ancient Rome, where it was called the "herb of grace." Across Brazilian Candomblé, Portuguese folk magic, and Mediterranean traditions it is the foremost plant of spiritual protection, believed to repel the evil eye, negative spirits, and illness. Its scent is sharp, green, camphoraceous, and medicinal — deeply herbal with an almost fungal bitterness. Unlike the others here, arruda confronts rather than seduces.
Leaves, stems & roots of Ruta graveolens (Common Rue)
Brazil (Bahia), Portugal, North Africa, Southern Europe
Herbal · Bitter-Green · Camphoraceous · Medicinal
Spiritual cleansing (limpeza), evil-eye protection, Candomblé ritual, folk medicine
Forms & Traditions
— 06 / 06
Himalaya · China · Siberia · Laboratory
True musk was once harvested from the gland of the endangered Moschus moschiferus — a deeply animalic and carnal material that acts as a fixative, binding other fragrances and extending their life on skin. It smells of warm skin, animal warmth, damp earth, and biology. Today virtually all musk in perfumery is synthetic — white musks (clean, laundry-like), polycyclic musks, and macrocyclic musks each capture a facet of the original. Encounter a natural musk pod and it is overwhelming, transformative at a biological level.
Natural: musk pod gland of Moschus deer. Modern: synthetic nitro, polycyclic & macrocyclic molecules
Himalayan Nepal & Tibet (natural); synthesized globally
Animalic · Warm · Skin-like · Fixative
Virtually all modern perfumery as base & fixative; incense, traditional medicine
Musk Types
A comparative overview of all six sacred scents
| Scent | Botanical Source | Character | Tradition | Intensity | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oudh | Infected Aquilaria heartwood | Dark, animalic, leather, honey, smoke | Arabian, South & SE Asian | ||
| Sandalwood | Santalum heartwood & oil | Creamy, milky, soft wood, skin-warm | Hindu, Buddhist, Ayurvedic | ||
| Palo Santo | Naturally dead Bursera wood | Citrus-pine, bright, sweet smoke | Andean, Amazonian shamanic | ||
| Regal Copal | Tree resin (Bursera / Protium) | Bright, lemony, piney, cathedral-dry | Aztec, Maya, Catholic (syncretic) | ||
| Arruda | Ruta graveolens (herb) | Sharp, bitter-green, camphor, medicinal | Brazilian, Portuguese, Mediterranean folk | ||
| Musk | Deer pod gland / synthetic | Animalic, skin-warm, earthy, fixative | Universal — used in all traditions |
How these scents harmonize when combined
The darkest wood meets the creamiest. Oudh's barnyard animalic is softened and elevated by sandalwood's milky warmth — a foundation used in countless Middle Eastern and Indian attars for centuries.
Two Mesoamerican resins, cousins in spirit. Together they build a full shamanic cathedral smoke — palo santo's citrus brightness lifts copal's piney depth into something transcendent.
The backbone of modern Western perfumery. Sandalwood adds creaminess and diffusion; musk anchors and extends everything to skin — a pairing found in thousands of fine fragrances.
Protection rituals in the Afro-Brazilian tradition combine the sharp bitterness of rue with the sacred smoke of copal, creating a powerful cleansing atmosphere believed to purify space of all negativity.
Two animalic titans. This sits at the heart of many Arabian oud perfumes — the complexity of infected wood amplified and fixed by musk's skin-binding quality. Deep, primordial, unforgettable.
Light and gentle: the fresh resinous sweetness of palo santo blended with sandalwood's creamy softness creates an accessible, meditative blend — one of the most approachable combinations here.