Aromatherapy for Autumn

Part of welcoming in a new season is welcoming in its scents. They help turn a mood toward the coming Halloween and Thanksgiving holidays. Aromas of autumn also evoke powerful memories of cool nights bundled up, trick-or-treating as a child, or of family Thanksgiving spent around a table full of delicious food. Blanketing a home in the scents of autumn also helps to create a scent environment that matches a fall décor and reflects celebration of the changing season.

One way to bring the aromas of fall into the home is by simmering spices on very low temperature on the stove. An alternative is warming spices in a crock pot without a lid. There are a few spice combinations that offer especially pleasant autumn scents. These will leave everyone who enters the home feeling as though autumn has truly arrived. Such combinations include: vanilla extract and apple, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger, pumpkin spice and vanilla extract, and apple, orange, and cinnamon. Simply place the spices in water inside a heavy-bottomed small sauce pan and simmer on low. The aroma will fill the home and evoke warm autumn memories.

Another way to naturally scent a home for autumn is to make some apple cider. Apple cider differs from apple juice because the entire apple is cooked down into a drink, rather than juicing the apple. If preparing apple cider feels like a chore, simply purchase some from the store and add a few more spices such as cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and a tiny dash of vanilla. This can be heated slowly on the stove for a warm fall treat, with the added bonus of filling the home with fall fragrance.

Similarly, baking is a perfect way to invite the aromas of autumn into a home. The added benefit is after baking is done, an electric oven can be left open to let heat into a home on chilly days. Muffins are an excellent food that can be baked a couple times a week with a fairly long shelf life. Apple cinnamon and pumpkin muffins are especially aromatic and fill a home with the smell of fall. Additionally, baked apples, apple pie, pumpkin bread, and even banana bread permeate a home and take the chill from the autumn air.

Out of the kitchen, candles are the next best way to carry the fall theme throughout your home. All natural soy candles produce almost no soot or smoke, and are infused with natural oils. Again, scents such as pumpkin, vanilla, and apple spice are popular aromas for fall. For some people, even the scent of burning leaves in crisp, cool autumn air evokes memories of autumn past. With a cracked window and a vanilla candle, it can produce an earthy, organic scent of harvest in the air.

Some scientists claim that our strongest memories are tied to scent. Whether that is the case, or whether the aromas of autumn are just a signal to our spirits that fall is in the air, bringing in scents of the season is always a welcomed indulgence.