The Prophet: 2025 Lunacy Fundraiser
In 2022 we created a pair of fundraiser oils adapting a chapter from Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet into scent. Considering the challenges that await in 2025, we’ve decided to continue this work with a monthly series of fragrances that will gradually complete the entire book.
Proceeds from these scents will be donated to a series of trustworthy charitable organizations, selected month by month; everything above the cost of production will be donated. Each month’s release will be available in our shop for approximately three months (the typical lifespan of our limited edition Lunacy products except for the title scent THE PROPHET, which will remain for the entire year.
First published in 1923, The Prophet (Gutenberg Press link) has been translated into more than 100 languages, continuing to inspire new readers with its lyrical observations of human nature and open-ended spiritual instruction.
The book imagines a series of pronouncements offered by the sage Almustafa (“the chosen and the beloved, who was a dawn unto his own day”) to inhabitants of the fictional city Orphalese as a gesture of gratitude for their hospitality during his twelve-year stay. One by one, various citizens step forward and ask for Almustafa’s thoughts on a long list of topics such as love, death, commerce, justice, and religion.
The Prophet responds with wisdom that could be considered non-denominational, though clearly influenced by the Lebanese author’s familiarity with Sufi and Maronite beliefs as well as the work of Transcendentalist poets. After satisfying the Orphalesians’ many queries, at last he boards a ship setting sail for his homeland.
Since Gibran set these events outside of any known time or geographical location, Almustafa’s wisdom can be received today, or in the future, and ring just as true.
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On Love Perfume Oil
Add to cartWhen love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.
For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.
Tender branches, clinging roots: plum cognac, vetiver caramel, red labdanum, tobacco root, Turkish rose, and nutmeg.
The sales from January’s scents from the Prophet series benefits UDTJ. “Our mission is to fight for equality and justice based on race, gender identity, sexual orientation, and across all intersectional identities. We seek to end systemic inequalities in Upper Darby, Delaware County, and beyond through community events, service, and programs. UDTJ stands for our 4 core principles: understanding, devotion, take action, and justice.”
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On Marriage Perfume Oil
Add to cartYou were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.
Red currant-laced vanilla bourbon and orris butter.
The sales from January’s scents from the Prophet series benefits UDTJ. “Our mission is to fight for equality and justice based on race, gender identity, sexual orientation, and across all intersectional identities. We seek to end systemic inequalities in Upper Darby, Delaware County, and beyond through community events, service, and programs. UDTJ stands for our 4 core principles: understanding, devotion, take action, and justice.”
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The Prophet Perfume Oil
Add to cartHow shall I go in peace and without sorrow? Nay, not without a wound in the spirit shall I leave this city. Long were the days of pain I have spent within its walls, and long were the nights of aloneness; and who can depart from his pain and his aloneness without regret?
Too many fragments of the spirit have I scattered in these streets, and too many are the children of my longing that walk naked among these hills, and I cannot withdraw from them without a burden and an ache.
It is not a garment I cast off this day, but a skin that I tear with my own hands.
Nor is it a thought I leave behind me, but a heart made sweet with hunger and with thirst.
A heart made sweet with hunger and thirst: honeyed red musk, red fig, sugared tuberose, and piercing neroli.
The sales from January’s scents from the Prophet series benefits UDTJ. “Our mission is to fight for equality and justice based on race, gender identity, sexual orientation, and across all intersectional identities. We seek to end systemic inequalities in Upper Darby, Delaware County, and beyond through community events, service, and programs. UDTJ stands for our 4 core principles: understanding, devotion, take action, and justice.”