Ancestral Scent Workshop: An Ancient Way of Knowing
Ancestral Scent Workshop ~ An Ancient Way of Knowing
~ Presented by Carole Addison-Goyne
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Long before plants were categorized, analyzed, or written about, humans knew them through their aromatic presence. Scent was one of our earliest ways of recognizing ally plants, ritual plants, and sources of comfort or protection. This class explores scent as an ancestral way of knowing: an embodied, sensory relationship with plants that predates written herbalism and continues to influence us today.
Through aromatic exploration and discussion, participants will consider essential oils and absolutes not as modern innovations, but as concentrated expressions of ancient plant–human relationships. Drawing from anthropology, herbal tradition, and lived practice, this class invites a deeper reconnection with aroma as a bridge between ancestry, memory, and contemporary plant work. Each participant will create a personal anointing oil inspired by ancestral plant relationships, offering a tangible and ritual-based expression of scent as an ancient and embodied way of knowing.
Workshop Details
- October 10, 2026
- 10 am - 1 pm (PST) in San Rafael, CA
- $125
- Takeaway: 30 ml Anointing Oil that you create in the workshop
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About the Presenter:
Carole Addison-Goyne, MBA has been working in the fields of aromatherapy, botanical perfumery, and natural products for more than three decades. She met Kurt Schnaubelt early in the emergence of aromatherapy in the United States and apprenticed with him for many years, eventually becoming his protégée. The chemistry training and mentorship she received during those formative years profoundly shaped her understanding of how essential oils function therapeutically, emotionally, and artistically within perfume.
Throughout her career, Carole has woven together influences from botanical perfumery and aromatic traditions in both the United States and France, including certification in Mandy Aftel’s Slow Scent® method, while continuing to develop her own approach to Functional Perfume through decades of work with essential oils, absolutes, distillation, and aromatic education.
Her work in the field distilling essential oils with her husband further deepened her appreciation for the lifecycle of plants before they make their way into the bottle, as well as the many ways aromatic materials have been used throughout history, from medicine and daily well-being to beauty, atmosphere, and ceremony. Fascinated by the intricate olfactory system that connects our physical, emotional, and mental faculties, Carole has specialized in working with essential oils and absolutes as Functional Perfumes, conduits to whole-person well-being. Through her teaching, Carole is devoted to helping others cultivate a deeper relationship with the botanical world and to continuing the ripple effect of knowledge, beauty, and care through aromatic education.