護體 Protective Aura

記得大二在學習社會心理學時有教到「香水是為了鞏固自己和他人的邊界」的概念，所以每次聞到他人的香水味時，都像是被他人製造的結界打到。

I remember learning in my sophomore year’s social psychology class about the idea that “perfume serves to reinforce the boundaries between oneself and others.” Ever since then, whenever I catch a whiff of someone’s perfume, it feels as though I’ve been struck by a barrier they’ve created—a kind of invisible force field.

香水的氣味範圍，就是結界的範圍。

The reach of a fragrance defines the reach of that barrier.

比起木質調的香氣，我更喜歡花香調，目前手上有的香水是Jo Malone的牡丹與胭紅麂絨香水(Peony & Blush Suede)，但我幾乎不在身上噴香水，因為知道香氛對貓身體不好。

I prefer floral scents over woody notes. The perfume I currently own is Jo Malone’s Peony & Blush Suede, but I rarely wear perfume myself, since I know fragrance can be harmful to cats.

現在是把香水拿來公司，噴在驅邪的鹽巴上，當作除穢氣的工具，也是想用香味療癒被厭惡之人弄得煩悶的心。

Nowadays, I keep the perfume at my office instead, using it to scent purifying salt—my own small ritual for dispelling negative energy. It’s also a way to soothe the frustration left behind by unpleasant people.

讀了一點阿尼克．勒蓋萊(Annick Le Guerer)的《氣味》(Les pouvoirs de l’odeur)，難得是我沒辦法讀完的書，雖然圖文並茂，但因為內容引用太多文獻和人物，對我來說很難閱讀，於是放棄了。

I once tried reading Annick Le Guérer’s Les pouvoirs de l’odeur (The Power of Smell). It’s rare for me to not finish a book—not because it lacked illustrations or interest, but because it cited so many historical figures and sources that I found it difficult to follow. So I gave up halfway.

但書中提到人類長久以來就跟氣味糾纏不清，有實際上可嗅得的氣味和不經意識卻能嗅得的氣味；有認為香氣可以帶來實際療效的時期，也有認為臭氣才能帶來療效的時期——這些都挺有趣的。

Still, I found some of its ideas fascinating: humanity’s long, tangled relationship with scent—both the odors we consciously perceive and those we sense unconsciously; the periods in history when fragrance was believed to heal, and other times when foul smells were thought to have curative power.

甚至還有提到某一時期流行認為從木乃伊上刮下油脂製成的香料有療效，造成木乃伊「缺貨」，還有不肖商人用粗製濫造的方式自己「製作」木乃伊？黑死病盛行時不知道清潔環境可以有效抑制鼠患，反而認為病是水帶來的而不清潔身體，只認為香氣可以治療疾病。

There was even a passage describing a time when people believed that ointments scraped from mummies had medicinal properties, which led to an actual shortage of mummies—prompting shady merchants to manufacture fake ones! During the Black Death, people didn’t realize that cleaning their environment could control rat infestations; instead, they thought disease was carried by water and avoided washing their bodies, believing instead that fragrance could ward off illness.

這些行為現代人或許讀來都感到奇妙，不過現代還是有香氛療法存在，只是應該不是作為主要的醫治手段。

Such behavior seems bizarre to modern readers, but aromatherapy still exists today—though of course no longer as a primary medical treatment.

對我來說氣味最大的功能在於提醒智人也是動物，我們不用學習就會自然親近好的氣味、遠離不好的氣味；接近令我們安心的氣味、遠離讓人感到不安的氣味。

For me, the greatest function of scent is to remind us that Homo sapiens are still animals. We instinctively gravitate toward pleasant smells and recoil from unpleasant ones; we seek scents that make us feel safe and avoid those that disturb us.

我用來祛除穢氣的香氣，也是基於想讓自己被安心的氣味籠罩的目的。

The fragrance I use to dispel “impurities” is ultimately just that—an attempt to surround myself with a scent that brings me peace.