Expertly Blend Essential Oils for the Winter Solstice

We are entering winter time now!! December 21st marks the first day of winter or the Winter Solstice.  This is the shortest day & longest night of the year.  While we're entering the coldest time of the year, the days will actually start getting lighter.  I know that the winter months can become a bit depressing with the lack of light, the cold, and the over all less-spending-time-outside...but the good thing is the darkest days are behind us!

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In this post about blending essential oils for fall, I talked a bit about Mabon.  Today I want to talk to you about Yule.  Yule falls at the Winter Solstice.  We get two solstices a year - one in the summer (Litha) and one in winter.  At this time, rather than the light & dark being in balance, one falls longer than the other.  In the case of the Winter Solstice the length of day light hours is far fewer than the length of the night.  This sabbat of the Wheel of the year is a solar festival - celebrating the return of the sun.  It's kind of hard to think about the fact that we're getting more sunlight in the middle of winter and that at the Summer Solstice we're dropping into fewer sunlit hours.  Kinda messes me up personally with the cold of winter.  Now, December 22nd is not going to immediately see an enormous uptick in daylight hours....but we will begin to slowly creep up as the days go by.

Reason for the Season

Winter Solstice and the celebration of Yule are pagan traditions that have since evolved into more well known festivals of light during this season....Christmas being the most dominant.  We are celebrating the return of the light and the hope for warmer, longer days.  Bringing in an evergreen tree, decorating with lights, etc have roots in solar celebrations.  Saturnalia, celebrated by early Romans around the 17th-23 of December, is said to also be a solar festival.

I like to associate each solstice or equinox with a phase of the moon.  While my correspondences don't coincide with more common associations....I still like to mention it.  I associate the Winter Solstice with the last quarter moon.  A time to move into reflection, releasing, and preparation.  As we move into sort of a hibernation mode it is time to sit with what is the rest of the year and plan for the new, to release what is no longer needed, to reflect on how far we've come and decide where we need to go.  I sort of follow the astrological year with the new year starting at the end of March when the new moon is in Aries (the first sign of the zodiac) so I see the Spring Equinox as the New Moon season of the year....but we'll get to that in another blog post!

Essential oils for the Season

So even though the days are creeping lighter, we're still faced with a lot of darkness.  There are a few types of oils that we want to work with - I think of them in three categories:

Holly - grounding, Jolly - uplifting, and Christmas - doTERRA holiday blends

These three categories will help you create multiple blends inspired by the season.  Taking one oil from each category will mean an amazing blend, perfect for the season.  Here's a breakdown of each category:

Holly - grounding

Choose tree, root, and fir oils.  Since these oils are derived from trees or roots they are close to the earth, stable, & unmoving.  Arbovitae, Birch, Cassia, Cedarwood, Cinnamon, Douglas Fir, Myrrh, Sandalwood, & Cedarwood are great examples of these oils.  

Jolly - uplifting

This category is comprised of mints & citrus oils.  Minty oils do a great job of invigorating.  They can give us open airways and a burst of motivation.  I often use peppermint as a quick energy boost and pick me up.  Mint oils include Eucalyptus, Melaleuca (Tea Tree), Peppermint, Spearmint, & Wintergreen.  Citrus oils are also uplifting and since they come from sunny fruits, they give us the hope & joy that is needed for the season.  Citrus oils give brightness to the oil blends of this season.  Oils to use are Bergamot, Grapfruit, Citrus Bliss, and Wild Orange.  Another uplifting and citrus-y oil is Frankincense.  While not derived from a citrus fruit but rather from tree resin, Frankincense has an uplifting and inspiring effect.

Christmas - doTERRA Holiday Blends

There are two Holiday Blends thrown in from doTERRA this year - Holiday Peace and Holiday Joy.  Both are fine blends on their own and if you don't have either you can sub in something like On Guard for Holiday Joy and Balance for Holiday Peace.  Each scent is a great blend of oils for this season - spicy oils like cinnamon & cassia, with grounding oils like douglas fir and birch, as well as a bit of citrus like grapefruit and wild orange.  

Here are four blends perfect for the holiday season:

Comfort & Joy

Blending traditional scents of the season, this pairing gives you a supportive aroma.  Holiday Joy is composed of many of the protective oils in the On Guard blend, but also also adds Douglas & Siberian Fir.  The emotional properties of On Guard - strengthening boundaries & encouraging independence - blend well with the properties of Douglas and Siberian firs - generational wisdom & connection to the present.  Frankincense uplifts the spirits while Myrrh grounds the soul.  Diffuse equal parts of each oil or combine in a roller bottle with fractionated coconut oil to carry this protective yet connecting blend with you.

Peace on Earth

Bergamot is my personal favorite essential oil.  It is the oil of self-assurance and it is just sunshine in a bottle.  It is similar to Lemon, but it is deeper yet brighter.  If you don't have Bergamot you need to get two bottles!! Holiday Joy is a blend of tree & root oils with a bit of Frankincense.  This oil reminds us to seek our truth and stand strong & peaceful.  Adding in Bergamot, the oil of Self-Acceptance, allows us to rest self assured in our truth.  It is an oil of hope & brightness in this dark season!  Equal parts of each oil will create the perfect blend.  Too much citrus and it will be overpowering.  Equal parts create the perfect balance.

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O, Christmas Tree

Composed of all wood and tree oils, this blend is a true Christmas blend.  Just as if you're standing in a calm forest Vetiver brings us into the now, it centers us back to our bodies.  Douglas Fir enlightens us to generational wisdom & learning from the past - reminiscent of traditions during this holiday time.  Cedarwood is the oil that connects the here & now to the past...it is the oil of community and brings us together this holiday season.  Cedarwood supports us in knowing we are not alone.  Sometimes in these cold winter months we may find it hard to connect - especially if we are away from family - but this blend helps us remember that there are traditions to carry on and new traditions to create as we move through this season of light.  Equal parts of this blend work together as well.  Each oil balances nicely with the next.

Winter Wonderland

Douglas Fir & Peppermint blend together to create a fresh scent.  Peppermint is an extremely joyful oil.  It is uplifting and invigorating!  Pairing it with Douglas Fir creates an openness and willingness to learn from the past.  Equal parts of each oil works perfect for this blend.  Each is a strong scent but they balance each other nicely.

This season is a season of connecting with each other but also connecting to ourselves, connecting to our spiritual paths and connecting to the movement of the seasons.  I think the best part about celebrating the Wheel of the Year and the changing of the seasons is that we can learn how the seasons affect us emotionally and spiritually.  And then from that we can grow!

So, bright blessing for Yule everyone!  Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Solstice....however you're celebrating this season of light.  If you want to learn more about essential oils click here.  I'd love to chat with you about essential oils and your spiritual journey, so hit me up if you have any questions!

xoxo, Moe

All info in this blog post is from my own personal experiences with essential oils.  Emotional associations are from my favorite resource book Emotions & Essential Oils.  The doTERRA website also has more information on essential oils.

Ready to get started? Click here to learn more about doTERRA Essential Oils!

Winter Skin Care for Oily, yet Dry Skin

I've run into this problem where my skin is crazy.  During the winter my skin freaks out.  It is both oily & dry at the same time.  How is that possible??  Whatever bizarre parallel universe I've landed in, I've found a way to cope with it.  Here are my five favorites this winter:

Witch Hazel toner

This is great, natural alternative for a toner all year round but I love it for the winter because it doesn't strip my skin of moisture.  It evens out the PH of my skin and as a plus refined pores.  I do think this is a great toner for evening skin texture and clearing out your pores.

Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream from the Body Shop

I got a sample set of this line from the Body Shop from TJ Maxx for $10!  It was something I was dying to try but always passed over.  Now I know I'm going to pick more up!  This day cream is a nice gel formula that adds a little bit of moisture but also gives a matte finish.  The biggest thing I've encountered in this oily yet dry skin of mine is that if I don't hydrate it, it's just going to hate me more!

Nourish Organic Moisturizing Cream Face Cleanser

This is a sample I received in an ipsy bag and have really fallen in love.  The cream formula of the cleanser doesn't give me a squeaky-clean, tight feeling to my skin but rather cleanses while moisturizing.  It doesn't feel greasy at the end of it all and it really does cleanse off all the things I need it to cleanse!  I also have an eye creme from this brand and, so far, I'm sold on it.

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing lotion

A moisturizer is something I've struggled to find for a long time.  I get so nervous to put any old moisturizer on my face for fear of it being too thick, too greasy, or likely to clog my pores.  This moisturizer does the job with out making my skin oily....If you have oily skin hopefully you'll know what I mean - its like the product doesn't get absorbed and then you get oily, and it's just a mess.  I also steer clear of luminous moisturizers for this reason.  However, this Aveeno lotion moisturizes the right amount and the ingredients don't clog my pore or irritate my skin.  I lay it on thick at night to pack on the moisture but use only a small pearl size amount in the morning.

Urban Decay De-slick Make Up Setting Spray

This is another year round thing for me too.  It doesn't hurt to lock in your make up all day long with a few sprays of this.  This one is my Holy Grail but you could use the NYX Matte Finish Setting Spray from the drug store as well.  This adds just a final touch to the make up I have for the day to ensure I don't get too glowy during the day.  It can also act as a make up refresher during the day and I keep a travel bottle in my purse.

Realizing that my skin goes crazy this time of year I'm glad I was able to try some new things to keep my skin hydrated, yet matte!  Who knows what my skin will do when I head back to Virginia next week.

How do you treat your skin in the winter?  Any other products you love?

xoxo, Moe

Trend Tuesday // 3 Ways to Tie a Scarf

It's getting chilly here - I mean we had snow this past week!  So it's officially scarf weather.  I love wearing scarves & since my office is cold during the day I can wear scarves all the day long.  Currently I've been wearing a lot of infinity scarves because you loop them & go - so simple!  But I've been neglecting my other scarves so I thought I'd play around with them to see how I can create simple looks as easy as wrap & go like my infinity scarves.  So here's how to style both light weight & thicker scarves for the winter:

This first one is how I wear my thicker scarves all the time.  This works great for those pashmina style scarves & also works with light weight scarves.  First you'll need to wrap the scarf around your neck with one side significantly longer.  Bring the longer part around your neck, leaving a bit of a loop.  Then bring the long part to the front & under the shorter part.  Next reach through the loop (to the left side of the shorter part) and pull the longer part through the loop.  This style is super simple once you practice & I literally loop this around running out the door.

This one is a little more complicated to set up but once you have the braid in, you don't have to do it again to the scarf (unless you take it out!).  This style works better with lighter weight scarves since you'll be weaving the scarf through itself.  First start off with the scarf around your neck with one side longer than the other.  Grab the longer part & create a loop at about armpit level.  If you're familiar with crochet, you're sort of using your hand to create a small chain stitch.  But anyway, once you have that loop, reach through it & grab another section of scarf pulling it through the loop. Now reach through the loop you just created & grab another section of scarf.  Keep doing this about two more times to create this little braid.  Pull the rest of the scarf, you should only have a little bit, through the last loop.  Now the scarf should be about equal lengths on each side.  Grab the end of the scarf with out the braid & pull it through the last loop.

This is the simplest of them all - Start by wrapping the scarf around you neck like the first picture, leaving one side a bit longer.  Bring the longer side under the shorter side & push it through the top loop.  Fluff & go!

Scarf weather is here & I can't wait to get more wear out of some of my favorite scarves!

xoxo, Moe

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I'm Sharing Cabin Fever

It's been around 20 degrees or lower outside this whole week & yesterday I woke up to snow on the ground.  I'm pretty sure I've seen more snow this year than in my entire lifetime.  I nearly froze to death bringing the trashcan around!  It's supposed to be below freezing the rest of the week & the little snow icons are showing up all over the forecast app on my phone.

I checked out the ModCloth Cabin Fever Sale (perfectly named for what I'm feeling! It's just too cold to go outside!) to see if any fun winter items like tights & jackets were included.  Guess what: they totally are!  The sale is 70% off too, what a score!

Look how awesome these Wildflower Mix Tights are!

And what about these Once & Floral tights? Love 'em!

This Tapes-tres Chic Blazer makes me melt.

Check out the way it was styled on the product page, 

I'd totally rock this with gray tights!

This Literary Strip Blazer makes me happy too!

Am I the only one that need color all through the year? When others go to blacks, browns, & grays I'm trying to transition my summer dresses into fall & winter looks!  It's a challenge to find happy colors durring winter time & I've noticed its even harder to find happy colors up north because you never want to go outside! I kid, I kid.  I'm going to continue to snuggle up under my heated blanket & peruse this 70% off sale.   I might get lost in the shoe section as well!

Keep warm friends!

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