Today’s post is by guest author Nina Pitan, the Naturemaid. Learn more about her at the bottom of this post.
We’re knee deep in autumn. The days keep getting shorter, the sensual vitality of summer has faded, and the leaves—if they haven’t already fluttered to the ground—are bewitching us with their glorious technicolor.
Autumn is a season of urgency and preparedness. It’s so easy to get caught up in the hustle of the season and let our intellect carry us away like frenzied, nut-crazy squirrels, hyper-focused on our “harvest” and material abundance. We overwhelm ourselves with over-doing, over-compensating and over-scheduling.
Luckily for us, autumn is also a season of balance. The autumnal equinox, which happened just a few short weeks ago, marks one of only two moments in the year when the day and the night are exactly the same length.
The balance to the outer hustle of the fall season is harmonizing with nature’s grounding energy, which helps tune us back into our own inner compass.
Mother Nature knows best, and when you learn where to look, you’ll find each season’s cycle supplies us with a habitat that not only sustains us, but heals and transforms us to put the “kind” back in mankind and hear the call to heal and preserve our leafy, feathered, finned and furred brothers and sisters, as well. There is nothing that flourishes purely for its own benefit; a grounding union with nature centers us in gratitude and reminds us that our gifts are given and meant to be offered in sacred sacrifice.
Take the trees, for example. There’s an enchanting mother maple tapping outside my window as if to tell me she’s rooting for me. Her breath is my breath, and mine is hers, and therefore our destinies are intertwined. For all of history, trees have provided fruit for our nourishment, tools for our advancement and protective materials for our shelter. Trees embody sacred symbolism, as well. Although most well represented by the Tree of Life, in autumn trees demonstrate that life is also about mastering the grace of death, regeneration and revival.
Like the trees who extend their roots and reach and allow the winds of change to blast away the branches that are the weakest and no longer fruitful, we are inspired to find our courage and strength to allow the chaos and change around us to help break away from what’s no longer serving us, making room for new growth and—the ultimate example of transcending death—new seeds to be planted and nurtured.
This wisdom from the trees has not only taught us to revere them but also, for generations, have given us the instinctive pull to capture their essence to bring out our true essence.
Three of my favorite grounding plant essences during the autumn season are cinnamon, cloves and cedarwood.
All three are obtained from trees and contain powerful components that serve to:
- Aid digestion
- Relieve pain
- Boost circulation
- Reduce inflammation
They are also antioxidant, antiparasitic, antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial for our physical bodies and our sacred dwellings.
These gifts of the trees have been cherished throughout history for their effects on our mind and spirit, as well, in digesting emotions, warming our hearts, relieving ourselves from the pain of agonizing memories, balancing and enhancing masculine/feminine energies with aphrodisiac-like qualities and serving as an annihilator of the parasites, viruses, and bacteria that spread and weaken our spirit in the form of unhealthy coping mechanisms, self judgments, self doubt and shame.
In short, they deliver exactly what we need to help put to rest what isn’t conducive to our rebirth.
Use the recipes that follow to help you integrate these three scents into your autumn housekeeping and self-care rituals. Follow your pleasure in smells, sights and tastes of the season. Reignite your connection with the nature that nurtures us and provides the antidote for what ails us.
6 All-Natural DIY Autumn Recipes
Natural Antibacterial Foaming Dish & Hand Soap with Clove Oil
Refill foaming soap dispenser with:
- 1/6 natural dish soap
- 4/6 water
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- 5 drops Clove Oil
Natural Cough Aid and Overnight Acne Mask
- 1 tbsp pure honey
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Mix. Ingest for cough aid. Apply directly to affected area and leave on 1 hour or overnight.
Natural Pain Relief Bath
- 1 c Epsom salt
- ½ c baking soda
- 6 drops Cinnamon Oil
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
Stir the cinnamon oil and coconut oil together before adding to the bath.
Natural Clove Home Disinfectant, Facial Toner & Hair Cleansing Growth Spray
- 1 c vinegar
- 2 c water
- 10 drops Clove Oil
Mix together in a spray bottle and apply as desired.
Natural Bug & Pest Deterrent
- 5 drops Cedarwood Oil
Apply to cotton balls and leave in windowsills, closets, corners, storage bins and areas where water and gas lines enter a room.
Natural Digestion Tea
- 1 c hot water
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp ground cloves
Click to view/save any of these recipes as images:
Nina Pitan owns and operates Naturemaid, providing natural cleaning and home cleansing services in Winona, MN. Her and her husband utilize Nature’s safe and effective supply of cleansers and work towards helping heal our habitat and its inhabitants, one naturally cleaned home at a time. Nina is also dedicated to teaching the ancient wisdom of wielding herbal infusions and earth elements that enable homeostasis and also offer the holistic remedies for a cleaner body, mind and spirit.
Note from Michelle: this post contains affiliate links to Rocky Mountain Oils. Click here to learn why I love their essential oils so much.
