The Power of Perfume & Our Moon Cycle

This content was first posted to my Facebook group, The Holistic Branch Cauldron, which is open for anyone to join! There is great discussion over there, so please do drop by ❤
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:: MOON & MENSES ::

*USING SCENT*

I’m sure you guys have realised by now that I do love me some yummy smells!
Whether essential oils or perfume or food or people, scent has a powerful effect on our psychological and physiological state.
It is therefore an easy and very pleasant way for us to effect positive influence on our health and moods.

This post isn’t so much about using essential oils, this is a bit of a look at how much FUN it is to honour our menstrual cycle and even the moon cycle, by playing with *perfume scent* ❤ (this is where I geek out with excitement, and you are totally welcome to get on that train with me 😉).

Along with tracking the moon, there are so many ways to honour our cycle in our day to day lives; each phase, not just our bleed. You can have dedicated jewellery, clothes, flowers in the home, specific body oils, bath salts, etc relating to what you feel helps you embody the energy or archetypes of each phase.
This process of dedication or ritual, also helps you to deepen into the connection and rhythm of your body, mind and spirit as you traverse your unique menstrual or moon cycle, becoming forever more aware of all its intricate feedback.

Here are some general scent associations, however, as usual I encourage you guys to find what scents work best for you and what you *feel* most drawn to, at whichever times.
The associations are; moon phase / menstrual phase /archetypes (fem and gen neutral) / scents/ feeling to evoke:

~Waxing Moon~ Pre-ovulation ~ Maiden/Youth ~ All citrus tones, & some lighter note flowers (Jasmine, Lavender, Lily of the Valley)~ Freedom/ Innocence/ Lightness/ New Beginnings ~ 

~Full Moon~ Ovulation ~ Mother/ Lover ~ All flowers, Vanilla, Musk ~ Relaxation in Action/ Openness/ Nurturing/ Seduction~ 

~Waning Moon~ Pre-menses ~ Wild Woman / Hunter ~ Resins (sandalwood, frankincense), deeper note flowers & plants (patchouli, vetiver, ginger, vanilla) Musk ~ Letting Go/ Authenticity /Boldness/ Grounding~ 

~Dark Moon/New Moon~ Menses ~ Crone / Sage ~ Spices, Resins, Deep note flowers ~ Introspection/ Grounding/ Sanctuary/ Release~

As you can see, the scents overlap, they build on each other as do our hormones and each cycle phase.

To help clarify how to use scent in this way, I’ll use my own practice as an example;
Below is a picture of the perfume oils I use in my cycle. I like to use natural perfume oils as they are cruelty and chemical free.
For Strange Women are my current favourite perfume shop, their scents are divine! I’m repeatedly appling them all day.. so addictive!
www.forstrangewomen.com if you guys want to check them out. The perfumes are meant to be unisex and I find them to be very complex and just gorgeous. Before you ask, no, I’m not an affiliate haha.. sadly.

*London Fog is my pre-ovulation phase scent; its bergamot (citrus), tea and vanilla.. Its like bathing in the scent of an Earl Grey tea, which is my fave brew btw 😉 but is very light and fun. (Now discontinued, Sweetgrass is its replacement).
*Decadence & Debauchery and Cocoa & Coffee are what I swap between (depending on my mood) during my Ovulation and Pre-menstrual phase. Both fit into the kind of scent I would associate with those phases: wild, seductive, confident.
Cocoa & Coffee smells like exacltly that, sweet and smoky tiramisu, and its a struggle not to drink the bottle down or kill for chocolate cake once you’ve applied it..
Decadence smells like musk and flowers, it has a bit of a cologne (but warmer) type of smell to it. Its still quite light but more warm to me than London Fog.
*Bollywood is the one I use most at my menses, but I have been drawn to it during pre-menses too. Its spicy and deep, which makes it so grounding, but it has a rose and blood orange shot to it, which keeps it from being too intense. It definitely makes me feel like I’m embodying my inner Crone, but in a earthly, wise mother kind of way, not an old 50’s era grandma scent kind of way… lol.

**So over to you guys!
I would love to know what you think of this, and if you have any rituals in place that honour your cycle in this manner?

What are your favourite scents, perfumes, etc?

P.s, before I got on the Natural Perfume bandwagon, I was (still am really) a Chanel girl.. Coco and Mademioselle were staples in my fridge (yes, Im such a perfume geek, I keep them in the fridge XD).
I also loved Stella Mcartney’s first perfume, I think it was just called ‘Stella’, it was all roses and amber.. yum!

Love and hugs,
Sami Lou