Winter Aromas
Posted on December 3, 2019 by dragonspitapothecary
I am not a winter lover. Cold weather, blustery winds, dark afternoons and of course having to bundle up wherever you go. Thankfully, where I live in South Carolina winters are not as brutal as they were when I lived in Michigan and Kentucky but there is enough to remind me it’s not my favorite season.
For me, I don’t like feeling cold and I really don’t like feeling constrained under layers of clothes and blankets. For one it’s really hard to move in them and it just feels bulky. It also adds a lot to the laundry pile. Secondly, I feel constrained and forced to be still. As I sit now writing this post I realize that sometimes forcing ourselves to sit isn’t always a bad thing. Winter at least forces us to intentionally sit more than we normally would and for people like me we may even find a way to like it some. Maybe. Winter calls for us to slow down and rest but for some reason I feel like a rebelling toddler fighting bedtime most of winter.
Missing Light
I personally miss long drawn out sunsets that go on and on. It is sunny when I wake up and sunny when I’m winding down. The sun is feeding my soul and recharging me. Yet in the winter it is gone so early in the evening. It is truly like a light switch that is switched and everything is dark. The street lights pop on and there is shadows making it feeler colder and later than it is.
This is one of the reasons we are so drawn to citrus fruits in the winter time. The shape and color of these fruits remind us of the sun. They are sweet, warm and light just like the sun itself. Using lots of citrus essential oils in my diffuser in the office, bedroom and kitchen helps me during these dark days. I can smell sweet lemons, limes, oranges, kumquats and grapefruit all drifting through the air like it is indeed warm weather.
Even if you are a winter lover, ensuring you feed your soul light through fruit aromatically, topically and internally is key to help offset depression. We are incredibly vulnerable in winter for sad thoughts, anxiety and things that can compound into depression symptoms. Using citrus essential oils daily can help support you through this season and provide that much needed boost of internal sun we all need.