"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you."
Quote - FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT - Architect
A LITTLE BIT OF LOCAL HISTORY
The inspiration for FEN WITCH FORMULAS came from the mysterious and watery world of the Fens, where our Perfumer, Apryl Webb has lived for the past twenty years. Rich with its legends and folk law of the much maligned Fen witch, who would, in exchange for a coin, produce a potion just for you. A love potion perhaps. Legend would have us believe that they could transform themselves into hare's, but then legend would also have us believe in unicorns.
Of course, the truth is , as always, a little more practical and a little less romantic. The Fen witches were the wise women and herbalists of their day, sometimes referred to as cunning folk. Who were called upon to heal the sick and act as midwives.
The Fens have been referred to as the "Holy Land of the English" because of the churches and cathedrals of Ely, Ramsey, Crowland, Thorney and Peterborough. Other significant settlements in the Fens include Cambridge, Boston, Spalding, Wisbech and King's Lynn.
Before the Fens had been drained. Fenland towns and villages were spread far apart and access across the marshy waterways was very difficult. There were very few doctors and the cunning folk were widely visited for aid in healing various ailments for both humans and their livestock, particularly from poorer members of the community who could not afford the fees charged by apothecaries and physicians.
Britain in the Late Medieval and Early Modern periods was a place where the services of the wise woman or herbalist was widely used amongst much of the populace.
Sadly, during the witch trials in the early modern period, also known as the Great Witch Craze, which lasted for 3 centuries from the 15th to 17th century, many thousands of innocent women, young girls and sometimes men, were persecuted and it is estimated that around 45,000 people were executed in Europe for their practices and beliefs, and sometimes just because they were different, elderly or disabled. Today the practice of alternative forms of medicine such as herbal supplements, acupuncture, reiki or aromatherapy is widely accepted, even by the medical profession.
In reality, it probably had more to do with ethnic cleansing than anyone practicing any kind of sorcery. The Cathars, Jews and Templers had been persecuted for centuries and witchcraft was just one of the excuses used. Also, it had become a convenient way for anyone with a grudge to dispose of their rivals.
The witchcraft act, was passed in the parliament of Great Britain in 1735 which made it a crime for a person to claim that any human being had magical powers or was guilty of practising witchcraft. The maximum penalty set out by the Act was a year's imprisonment.
It would be nice to think that after many centuries of mistakes that we, as a civilised society had become generally more accepting and tolerant of the practices and beliefs of others, but have we?.................. So in acknowledgement of the many millions of people over the centuries who have been persecuted for being different, we decided to call the company FEN WITCH FORMULAS.
and VIVE LA DIFFERENCE !!
Here at FEN WITCH FORMULAS we can't pretend to use magic or sorcery in the literal sense but we can boast to using a few magic tricks and wizardry in the perfumery scents, with fragrance oils, absolutes, resins and woods that have been gathered from across the globe. If our fragrances lift your spirits and make you feel fantastic, special and unique, then that is magic enough for us.
F E N W I T C H F O R M U L A S
"Waters are distilled out of Herbs, Flowers, Fruits, and Roots"
Quote - NICHOLAS CULPEPER - Herbalist
"Love is like a beautiful flower which I may not touch, but whose fragrance makes the garden a place of delight just the same"
Quote - HELEN KELLER - Deaf/blind author & Activist
"All over the world, people are working independently to create something individual and beautiful in its own right. But when you blend them together in harmony, you have PERFUME "
Quote - Apryl Webb - Perfumer
A r t i s a n . N i c h e . B e s p o k e
H A U T E P A R F U M E R I E