Not just any Sandalwood: Old Mountain Sandalwood from Lotus on Water

We have been talking intensely on sandalwood beads recently. Not only because there are new arrivals, it is also due to the fascinating and rich details when we go country by country. Let's go into Old Mountain sandalwood first. 

Thousand Hands Thousand Eyes Goddess of Mercy (千手千眼观世音菩萨) is a manifestation of Guanyin in her endeavour to fulfill all the wishes of mankind, whether it is to prosper in wealth or to get rid of sickness. This sandalwood Thousand Hands and Thousand Eyes Goddess of Mercy is carved from premium Old Mountain sandalwood. Currently housed in our VIP Exquisite Jadeite Gallery at Lotus on Water Street.

I am sure you will know by now that Old Mountain sandalwood (India region) is the best of the lot. In terms of power. The sandalwood Thousand Hands Guanyin is carved from Old Mountain sandalwood (the first image of Buddha was carved from sandalwood too, contemporaneous with the time of Buddha - we will talk about the connection of these powerful and blessed wood with faiths again). 

For those of you who have actually took a whiff of the Old Mountain sandalwood in my gallery, you would first realize that it is fragrant. This is actually NOT a norm for Old Mountain sandalwood. Old Mountain sandalwood leeches on very pungent weeds and other plants for survival, and before they can be harvested, they must be allowed to grow as such for at least 80 years. Still, they are extremely smelly.

It has to be put aside for another 20 years for fermentation to bring out the beautiful sweetness in the sandalwood scent. During this process, the energies accumulated over its growth of more than 80 years are converted, locked-in and ready to contribute. Then, we carve them. Into pendants, into statues, into beads. 

For most of the sandalwood if you happen to bump into any outside, no one has 80 years to spare to wait for the tree to grow, and definitely not 20 years to see the log lay there as it accumulates power. They are usually perfumed. Or, they are simply normal wood and perfumed with chemically-produced sandalwood scent.

And yes you can wear them - as accessories, and if you are adamant against any luck-enhancing, wealth-prospering and health-benefiting effects. That said, <backspace, backspace>, I take back my words, I don't recommend you to wear them. Sometimes, due to how they are perfumed or artificially manufactured or altered, it can be extremely hazardous to the health of the wearer. So just don't.

The wonderful thing about the 20 years of fermentation in Lotus on Water is that we place the raw sandalwood at auspicious corners of our warehouse - and yes, even our warehouse is well fengshui-ed. And while they are converting the energies they have absorbed in the past 80 years, the years of fermentation is made efficient as another chance to further boost the energies of Lotus on Water sandalwood. 

If you have sandalwood from us, you would realize that the scent varies. Sometimes, it is strong. Sometimes, it is weak. We call this breathing. And when it is strong, or you happen to see yours secrete oil like mine, good luck is here.