Blessed Petrichor

Science Photo Library

There is a pleasant smell that happens in the desert when it rains. It is called petrichor. After long periods of hot dry weather the unique earthy smell emanates when rain finally arrives. Petrichor derives from 2 Greek words meaning rock and blood of the gods. It is caused by the water along with compounds like ozone, geosmin and plant oils in the soil.

The longer I live in the desert the smell of the rain becomes more pleasant. At first encounter I was alarmed as my senses struggled to make sense of it. Was it putrid…..something dead or decaying? These aerosols carry scent as well as soil bacteria and viruses. Perhaps it is more symbolically the washing away of gritty, stagnant air that has been pulling the spirit and vitality out of all living organisms. Efforts to breathe, increasingly difficult, become sole focus for weeks and months at a time.

Petrichor is primal in experience and life-giving. I know instinctively of its restorative power…..as the land and air release the burden of staleness in a vital cleansing. I welcome and even crave it, for I am refreshed and drawn into deep inhalation. It is the smell of anima…..life force.