Cinnamon Cinnamomum zeylanicum

As a spice Cinnamon has long been used to preserve meat. Ancient Egyptians used Cinnamon in their embalming process. Cinnamon is definitely one of the scents that we associate with the upcoming Holiday Season. It's aroma often takes one back to our roots and the traditions we follow or we have followed at this time.

You can find a mini profile of Cinnamon on my website. On a subtle level Cinnamon works to free one - purifying everything in its path. It supports the transformation of enslavement into abundance and freedom. It strengthens in general. It can also increase psychic abilities as well as help one to recover memories. Cinnamon invites prosperity into one's life. It can be used to increase money and awareness. Cinnamon can help to transform sorrow into happiness.

Cinnamon Bark oil should not be used at all on the skin. Cinnamon leaf oil is relatively non-toxic, however great care should still be taken with regards to exposing the skin or mucous membranes to this oil.

My blend for the day: Sweet Orange 5 drops, Cinnamon 3 drops, Clove 2 drops.

Potpourri and Essential Oils

For those areas in your home where you want to add a gentle aroma potpourri is an excellent solution.

Potpourri is made by mixing together dried, naturally fragrant plant material. The choice of ingredients depends on what is available, what is pleasing to your eye and the type of aroma you are looking for.

1. Mix your plant material together well then add an essential oil or an essential oil blend to increase the depth and complexity of your aroma.
   
2. Store this in a closed container, a glass jar or bottle is excellent for this, however a sealed plastic bag would work too.
   
3. Allow the aromas to meld nicely together. It will generally take about 5 - 10 days for the aromas to 'marry' nicely.
   

I would suggest that if you are making a blend you make up 5mls of this first, how many drops you will need will depend on how much plant material you have, how fragrant it is and how strong you want your aroma to be. This is something to have fun with so play around with it and make something you enjoy. The great thing about having the blend made up is that if your potpourri starts to lose its aroma you can always freshen it up with your essential oil blend. I would suggest that whatever you are not using at the time you keep in a sealed container. Potpourri is not only great to use around your own home, it also makes wonderful gifts for all sorts of occasions.

If you are a gardener you could collect your fragrant plant material all year round. Dried herbs, like rosemary, marjoram, thyme and basil all make wonderful additions to potpourri. Lavender on its own has been used for centuries in sachets to scent clothing and linens. Spices from the kitchen like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg are also all wonderful additions to potpourri. Flowers like roses, jasmine, chamomile and many others are a wonderful addition. Pine cones collected in the Fall can be added. Slices of dried citrus fruit or dried citrus peel. Wood shavings are another great ingredient. Many craft stores sell dried flowers and aromatics. There isn't a wrong or right recipe. Whatever you enjoy is right for you.

• Potpourri can be placed in any sort of a bowl or container. It can be as ornate or as simple as you like. It can be part of the decoration or it can be placed discreetly in the background. Just use whatever you have available.
  
• Potpourri can also be put into mesh bags. You can make your own from tulle, however I have noticed many Dollar Stores have gift bags made of netting with draw strings. These could work very well too.
  
• If you are giving it as a gift you can fill a cellophane bag with the mixture and pretty it up with ribbons and bows.

There is still time to make up your own special potpourri for the Holiday Season so here are a couple of ideas.

Pine Cones, Cinnamon Sticks and Orange: This looks nice if the pine cones are in a variety of sizes. Add the cinnamon sticks and orange slices and mix well. You can enhance this with an essential oil blend of orange, pine and cinnamon.

Orange, Apple, Bay Leaves, Cloves: Mix orange and apple slices with bay leaves, cloves and cinnamon sticks. You could also add pine cones and/or dried flowers. Here your essential oil blend can be made up of orange, cloves, bay and cinnamon or in fact anything else that you might like to add to it.

Any dried plant material will work in your potpourri and if you add essential oils the plant material doesn't have to be very strong. This is an easy fun project so get creative and make it your own.

Aromatic Christmas Cards

Although the American Thanksgiving is still around the corner, here in Canada all the stores are filling up with Christmas goodies and people are starting to think about Christmas.

A fun way to use essential oils around this time is to scent your Christmas Cards and send out aromatically festive greetings. This is really simple to do but for the aroma to penetrate the cards you need to do this a little ahead of time. The principle of scenting cards is the same no matter what kind of card it is. On the website I do have an article on Aromatic Wedding Invitations.

First create your blend. You will need about 6 drops on each tissue, cotton ball or piece of blotting paper (whatever you have handy). The number of cotton balls etc you need will depend on how many cards you have. On average I think 4 - 6 cotton balls should work OK. Place the cards and aromatic cotton balls/tissues/blotting paper into a closed container and leave for a minimum of 24 hours. The longer you can leave them the better the aroma will permeate the cards.

I have four Festive Blends on my web site but this is a fun project to play around with and come up with a blend you love and that captures the season for you.

Some of my favorite blends for this time of year are:
Gift of the Magi: 2 drops Myrrh; 2 drops Frankincense; 4 drops Bitter Orange
Spirit of Christmas: 6 drops Orange; 8 drops Mandarin; 15 drops Tangerine; 3 drops Geranium; 2 drops Cinnamon.
Winter Wonderland: 3 drops Juniper; 6 drops Black Spruce; 3 drops Cypress; 7 drops Fir; 6 drops Pine; 1 drop Peppermint; 1 drop Benzoin; 1 drop Vanilla.

Clary Sage - Salvia sclarea

There are two schools of thought as to where Clary Sage got its name. Some say that it derives its name from the Latin clarus meaning 'clear', while others say sclarea comes from the Greek work skeria meaning ‘hardness’. Regardless of where the name was derived from, during the Middle Ages it was referred to asclear eyes and it was famous for its ability to help with eye problems such as tired or strained eyes. Other names given to Clary Sage over the years include Christ's eye and Ramona. Because of its similarity in taste to muscatel wine, in Germany it was referred to as muscatel sage. Clary Sage has been added to cheap wines to give it the flavor of a more expensive muscatel wine. Clary Sage has also been used as a substitute for hops when brewing beer. So there is a traditional association between Clary Sage and alcoholic beverages. It has often been found that when combining the use of Clary Sage with alcohol, the Clary Sage tends to increase both drunkenness and the unpleasantness of the ensuing hangover.
You can find a mini profile of Clary Sage on my website. Clary Sage helps clear the clutter from the mind and calm constant mind chatter. It is both calming and uplifting and can help develop intuition. It can bring inspiration. It can assist one to remember one’s dreams and to see clearly.
Generally considered non-toxic, non-irritating and non-sensitizing. Do not use during pregnancy. Do not use while drinking or driving.

My diffuser blend for the day: Clary Sage 1 drop; Lavender 4 drops; lemon 3 drops