A love letter to our story —
To tell the story of 8.26 is to speak of love — the kind that roots itself so deeply in your being, it reshapes the soil of who you are.
Woven throughout this ritual is Cairo's presence — her heartbeat, her light, her love, her spirit, her memory. I share it with deep gratitude, knowing it’s more than our story — it’s an invitation to yours.
8.26 was born from grief, yes — but more so from love. A love I was blessed to share for sixteen sacred years with my dog, Cairo. She came into my life when I was eighteen, during a time when safety, security, and unconditional love were foreign languages to me. Cairo was my first fluent conversation in all of them. She was — and always will be — my sanctuary. My compass.
My safe place.
Some might say, “But she was just a dog,” and to that I gently say — connection is connection. And for some of us, it is the animals, the wild and wordless ones, that show us how to come home to ourselves.
Since her passing, I’ve moved through the wild terrain of grief — a place that is anything but linear. Grief rises like the tide: swelling, crashing, receding, revealing. It is pain and beauty, heartbreak and gratitude, sorrow braided with remembrance. In its spiral, I discovered a truth: grief is not separate from life, but an echo of the love that shapes it.
So I created 8.26 as both a place to heal and a path to help — a quiet offering in a world that so often pulls us away from ourselves. A ritual for those of us who are spinning, searching, longing for a safe place to land. A soft place. A grounded place.
8.26 is that place. It’s a return — to calm, to stillness, to presence.
I created the scent blends with a clinical aromatherapist, carefully crafting them to support you. Whether you're feeling tender, restless, or simply in need of stillness, these scents are designed to meet you where you are and bring balance. There are three ritual options, each offering a unique pairing of scent and tea. Whichever ritual you chose, you will find the candle and anointing oil share the same aromatic profile, allowing the ritual to flow seamlessly. Each tea has been chosen to echo the essence of the scent shared between the candle and oil, creating a layered sensory experience that feels both grounding and cohesive.
Some of the items — including the ceramic candle vessel, ceramic tray, and the hand-blown glass stemmed oil vessel — were created by local artists, each piece carrying its own quiet soul and story.
8.26 is a conscious place. Each part honors the land and the life that supports us. Inside, you’ll find tools chosen with care for both you and the earth. While not entirely plastic-free, all materials are either recyclable or compostable, and always selected with intention. I'm constantly exploring ways to become even more sustainable as this journey continues.
This is a ritual to reach for when life feels too much, too loud, too fast. A collection of tools I’ve gathered on my own journey — to regulate, to ground, to heal, to listen. To remember who we are beneath the noise.
I hope this practice invites you into your own sacred quiet. That it helps you remember what it is to feel whole, peaceful, connected — not by escaping the moment, but by entering it fully.
This is my way of telling Cairo’s story every single day. Of honoring the being who saved me, simply by loving me. If this ritual offers even a fraction of that love to someone else, then I’ve done what I came here to do.
For Cairo, always. And for all who are searching for their own soft place to land.
