Mysterious smells occurring seemingly out of nowhere may leave us perplexed, wondering about the source, and searching for it, to indulge our curiosity.
However, sometimes there is no visible source of the smell.
If that is the case, we may be talking about spiritual smells –those occurring all of a sudden, in the strangest or unexpected circumstances, and catching our senses.
The sense of smell is one of the essential ones of our senses.
Evolutionary the oldest of senses, the sense of smell is vital for the survival of most animal species on Earth.
For animals, the sense of smell plays a crucial survival role; it helps animals find their food, chase prey, and escape predators.
The sense of smell also plays an important role in predatory animals’ communication.
Essentially, the sense of smell is the primary sense of most predators. When it comes to primates and humans, things go a bit differently.
In humankind, the sense of smell is important, but it is secondary to our dominant senses of vision, hearing, and touch.
Our specific evolutionary process leads us to where we are now when it comes to our ability of smelling.
What is interesting to note is that the sense of smell is actually brilliant in newborns, but it fades away fairly quickly.
By the end of the first year of life, babies lose their fascinatingly high sense of smell.
As we grow older and older, our nerves specialized for the sense of smell lose smelling fibers, and our ability to clearly distinguish different smells becomes less and less sharp.
However, it does not mean we lose it all, of course.
The sense of smell is nevertheless one of our essential five senses. We experience the world through it, in company with our other senses.
Smelling is important to our kind; we associate it with our experiences, our emotions, our memories, and much more.
Smells also have a spiritual dimension.
Today we are going to talk about a special category of smells, the spiritual smells, those that are sent to us through spiritual channels, smells that are worldly, but, in a way, out of this world.
Clairalience – The Ability of ‘Clear-Smelling’
Some people are given the ability of clairalience, also known as ‘clear-smelling’.
It is a special spiritual ability to identify and sense scents that appear to come out of nowhere. Not everyone can do that.
The gift of ‘clear-smelling’ counts among psychic abilities.
To make things simple, it is an ability to communicate with some higher powers, energies beyond our comprehension, through different scents.
It is a medium of communication with a realm beyond our reality.
Mysterious smells could be signs of the presence of some higher power. Some would associate them with guardian angels.
Angels watch over us and send us messages of guidance and love through various mediums and channels. Spiritual smells may be one of those.
Other times, spiritual smells could come from our ancestors or deceased beloved ones.
Those who have left this world still take care of us and want to communicate with us.
Intentions of otherworldly spirits do not necessarily have to be nice, though.
Souls that are somehow trapped in between worlds also could express themselves by using spiritual smells.
There are various reasons for actually experiencing ‘clear-smelling’, for sensing scents that are virtually not there.
The Scent of Memories
Memories are likely to be associated with the occurrence of mysterious, spiritual smells.
When we think of someone intensively, especially when it was someone who left this world and we miss them greatly, we could possibly sense the smell associated with that person.
One of the most common examples is smelling the fragrance someone used to wear, the scent of their clothes, hair, their home, or something else. Our memories journey to wonderful realms.
We might sense the smell associated with someone we have never known, although it is a very rare occasion.
It could be a memory of past life, which is in itself puzzling, fascinating, and mysterious.
When we, for example, smell the perfume of a person dear to us, but who is absent, we may first look around to find out if someone in our surroundings has the same perfume; it would be our logical response.
However, if there is definitely no one who wears it, it is our ‘clear-smelling’ taking us to the spiritual side of our existence.
Of course, not all smells are necessarily associated with memories.
The Scent from Another World
Mysterious smells are sometimes sent to us by spirits, by souls of the deceased, and by our guardian angels.
There could be various reasons for such a message to be sent. Those on the other side may want to communicate with us, for one reason or another.
If someone was gone from our life or we broke up our relationship with them and there are things that we have never resolved, something complicated and unfixed lingering in the air, it could be the reason you sense mysterious smells.
The universe wants us to resolve things that burden us (and others, as well).
If you often experience mysterious smells you cannot associate with any source, think about this.
Maybe there is something to get through, to forgive, to accept.
Other times, spiritual smells could be messages from our guardian angels, the beautiful, benevolent heavenly spirits watching over our lives.
If we start losing faith, they could send us a scent that would remind us of the divine presence in our lives.
Angelic spiritual smells could be confirmation and encouragement, guidance, and, at times, a warning.
In this case, the role of mysterious smells is the same as that of, say, angel numbers or anything of the sort.
Spiritual smells could vary greatly, depending on the cause.
There could be pleasant, enjoyable, and calming ones, but also distressing, disturbing, and even scary smells.
The smell of sulfur or smoke could feel threatening in any given situation, for instance.
In the following paragraphs, we will talk about the most common spiritual smells and their potential meaning.
From the lovely floral scent to the threatening smell of sulfur, the world of spiritual smells leads us on a deeply introspective journey.
Most Common Spiritual Smells
There are various smells you could experience as spiritual. The key is that there is no visible and known source of the particular smells.
Just as with everything else in the world, each smell has a deep symbolical meaning.
Spiritual smells do not have to be extravagant, rare, or especially unique; in fact, every single smell there is could be spiritual, for you.
Some people may experience the occurrence of a coffee scent when there is no coffee around. What would be so special about that?
The smell of coffee is not special in itself. At least, it is something we all consider fairly common.
However, the absence of its source may make things a bit mysterious and make us associate it with meanings that would make perfect sense to us.
The variety of smells people experience as spiritual includes biblical fragrances, smells of pretty mundane things, such as coffee or some kind of food, but also the smell of blood, sulfur, smoke, or something else.
Biblical Fragrances and Their Spiritual Meaning
The Bible is full of mentions of essential oils, such as frankincense, myrrh, and sandalwood. These have distinctive meanings in sacred texts.
Myrrh is one of the gifts of the Magi of the east brought to little Jesus. It was praised as a healing potion, for its medicinal uses.
It has been in use since ancient times, up to our day. If you smell myrrh out of nowhere, it is a good sign.
Scents that are mentioned in the Bible, those of aromatic plants especially, are good ones.
Some of them were considered sacred. Aromatic plants have played important role in the lives of ancient people and they are still very popular.
Aromatic plants and substances mentioned in the Bible include cedarwood, galbanum, styrax, hyssop, myrtle, sandalwood, myrrh, and more.
These are pleasant, calming and healing smells. If you sense any of them, you need some kind of spiritual purification.
These are meant to calm you down, if you are upset, to raise your spirits, if you feel down, to show you that there is a higher power watching over you, and to help you keep your faith.
These smells seem to last through eternity.
They tell of something pure, clear, serene. If you experience them as a spiritual smell, you should feel blessed, for you are.
Floral Scents and Their Spiritual Meaning
In general, people find the scent of flowers lovely. Although there could be flowers with scents we do not find particularly enjoyable, floral scents are considered something positive, overall.
Flowers are a metaphor for something lovely, light, and beautiful.
The same is with floral scents. Usually, the scent of flowers brings in positive feelings, although it could make us feel melancholic or sad if associated with some particular events.
Interestingly, spiritual floral scents are often associated with the past, with our memories.
If that was the case, it means you should let yourself live through those experiences and emotions.
Even if they make you a bit sad.
Guardian angels could send us the scent of flowers, to soothe us, to remind us of divine nurture, guidance, and love.
Angels communicate with us through pleasant smells, such as floral ones.
The smell of roses has a very strong spiritual potential. Roses are some of the most symbolic flowers if we could say so.
They represent love, passion, devotion, and intense emotions.
Roses have a wonderful smell and if it keeps occurring as a spiritual one, it is a very good omen.
The spiritual smell of roses tells us that we are loved or that we are in need of love.
If it happens to you to sense the scent of roses out of nowhere, think about your romantic feelings and about love in general, about its place in your life.
The Scent of Places and Their Spiritual Meaning
The scent of particular places is one of the common spiritual smells.
For example, out of nowhere, you smell the fragrances that remind you of the past, such as the smell of your old house, your school, kindergarten, your grandma’s kitchen, or something else.
Such smells are associated with our memories of days bygone.
Sometimes we cannot actually recall those days, but when the smell occurs, we know what it smells of!
There could be various reasons we sense such smells.
Spiritually and emotionally, we are deeply connected with these particular places and events that took place there.
We may miss them or we have never resolved something that is associated with them.
The smell of places take us on a spiritual journey when it occurs through ‘clear-smelling’.
Sometimes we may smell places we have never been to. It could mean you will eventually reach those places and fulfill your dreams if that is a place you long to see.
The Smell of Coffee and Spiritual Smell Meaning
The smell of coffee is a very common one in general and also one of the most commonly experienced spiritual smells.
Coffee is associated with so many things in our lives: socializing, self-time, and home, to name a few.
People dream about coffee and about the smell of coffee, as well!
If you smell coffee without any coffee around you, it is considered a good sign. Coffee is mostly associated with positive things.
The smell of coffee is associated with coziness and a happy environment, but also with alertness, attention, and being awake.
If you experience it as a spiritual smell, think about where you are in your life right now.
Do you need to be more alert or cozier? The smell of coffee may lead you to the answer to this question.
The Smell of Vinegar and Spiritual Smell Meaning
Smelling vinegar could be quite an unexpected experience.
However, vinegar has a powerful spiritual and symbolic meaning.
In ancient times, it was used in the ritual of anointing kings, as a sacred matter.
It was believed vinegar has mystical protective powers to save the king from negative and evil energies.
Indeed, vinegar has some healing properties.
Symbolically, it is associated with rebirth and renewal, as it is made through the process of fermentation, through transformation.
Vinegar, as a spiritual smell or seen in a dream, could be a sign of your need for transformation.
In addition, it could indicate certain difficult times and your steps towards working through them.
It won’t be easy, but you will be able to do it. All transformation processes are transitions from one state to another, which is not always the most pleasant experience.
The Smell of Sulfur and Spiritual Smell Meaning
Sulfur is one of those smells we find quite repulsive. In addition, it is associated with hell and demons, which makes it quite an intriguing, if not dangerous spiritual smells.
However, there are different interpretations of smelling sulfur out of nowhere.
There are some situations in which smelling sulfur could be a good omen, while generally, it is something else entirely.
When you smell something, experiencing it as a spiritual smell, its meaning would greatly depend on how you feel about it, and what kind of emotions it leaves.
In some people, the smell of sulfur indices positive feelings, and a sense of meaning and hope, but in most of us, it feels threatening and unpleasant.
The latter is the most common. Smelling sulfur is most likely associated with some negative emotions and fear.
Sulfur, the scent of hell, if you wish, is associated with death.
However, sulfur is also associated with divine power, but in terms of the wrath of the heavens.
In any case, if you smell sulfur through clairalience, think about your current situation.
Think if there is some threat to you or your loved ones and see to settle things down, if possible.
Take a bit more attention and be more alert. Also, make good deeds.
If you have wronged someone or done something you are not proud of, see to find a way to make things right, as much as possible.