New Oils in Stock!

  Melange has restocked our oils and has also got some exciting new scents in! Come by to give them a sniff and help us make up some new and interesting oil blends that incorporate them. Here are the new scents and some of their properties so you can use them to your best advantage:

Bamboo
  Tap into the Chinese bamboo forests with this light scent. Reminiscent of sake, rainwater and a slight hint of flowers, bamboo has a beautiful smell which isn't overpowering.
  Bamboo is a powerful protection and hex-breaking herb. Place it on your threshold to protect your home or on yourself to protect against evil spirits. Bamboo can also be used for luck and to contact positive spirits. Place some Bamboo in an oil burner and diffuse it in your home to bring all this positive energy to you!

Cedarwood Amber
  The crisp smell of cedar is blended with the sweet smell of amber to make a truly wonderful combination. Both scents mix to mellow and enhance each other leaving you with an uplifting fragrance.
  Cedar is most commonly used for protection and purification whereas amber is used for healing and love. Combined they make a wonderful mix of positive energy: grounding, healing and cleansing all at once. In my own personal experience I have found this oil, when placed on the stomach, to be very effective for calming and purifying an overactive solar plexus chakra. Cedarwood Amber is also great for bringing a calm positive energy to the home or yourself, especially when placed somewhere where it's scent can be enjoyed.

Ginseng
  The Chinese wonder root can now be enjoyed as a scent. This complex woody aroma with a hint of spice has been used in Chinese medicine for millennia particularly as a tea. The oil is subtle and tasty smelling and makes you wish you were drinking it. (Don't though! Perfume oils taste terrible, speaking from personal experience.)
  According to Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs ginseng is good for just about everything. It ensures sexual potency and brings beauty, wards off evil spirits, hexes and curses and protects one's health. Ginseng can also substitute for Mandrake root, which is unsurprising when taking a look at the oddly humanoid form ginseng grows in. Ginseng is particularly used these days for its energizing properties and is often used as an additive to energy drinks. Maybe you could make your own energy blend with some ginseng, ginger and cinnamon?

Heather

  Heather is a beautiful floral scent that reminds one of a nice bubble bath. Similar to lilac and rose but milder, heather is a great smell for any flower lover.
  Heather grows all over the Scottish moors and mountains and has long been dried and used as talismans. It is particularly used to ward against sexual abuse and violent crimes which gives all those Scottish songs featuring lovers amongst the heather an interesting twist; Perhaps that was the songwriters assurance that his or her love interest would be well looked after? Heather can also be burned to bring rain, though with my personal experience of Scotland, perhaps this is more of a warning then an instruction.

Honey
  This sweet flowery scent smells more like nectar than honey. One can imagine this scent being what a bee experiences going from flower to flower and gathering all the different nectars in a field of wildflowers.
  Honey is good for many things. The Ancient Egyptians used honey to heal wounds and ward of demonic presences very similar to our modern conception of germs. Honey is also a favorite food of the Fae and can be used to attract them or as an offering to them. As well, honey can be used to attract sweetness into one's life as in the Jewish custom of dipping apples into honey at Rosh Hashannah (the new year) to assure one of a sweet new year. As well, honey might be a great way to align oneself to the energies and medicine of Bear.

Juniper
  Juniper smells of a mix between pine and a hint of berry and in fact pine and juniper are often used interchangeably. It has a sharp cleansing smell with a soft woody undertone.
  Juniper is an ancient herb used for protection. Juniper hung at the door prevents evil forces and people from entering and specifically against theft. It is also burned inside the house for exorcisms and can be worn (in this case as a perfume) to protect against attacks by wild animals and accidents and to break curses and hexes. Try drawing a pentagram on your doors and windows with the oil to protect your home and one on your heart chakra to protect yourself.

Moonflower
  Moonflower has an interesting and potent smell reminiscent of orange blossoms. This sweet, floral and slightly citrus flower smells fantastic and haunts you for the rest of the day.
  As the name suggests, moonflowers only bloom at night. As such they most certainly have lunar aspects to their energies. They are also round like a full moon and when opened a little pentagram can be seen within their petals. I cannot seem to find any information on the magical properties of this flower (if you know of any, let me know!) but I suggest using it for rituals pertaining to the Triple Goddess, particularly the Mother or any other Lunar deity and for tapping into one's subconscious particularly while dreaming. Let's experiment and see what else this oil does!

Oakmoss Sandalwood
  This extremely earthy combination of scents smells like rich loam. The mellow smell of the sandalwood helps to compliment the musky, earthy smell of oakmoss.
  Oakmoss is often used as a substitute for patchouli and they have a similar smell and almost identical properties. Oakmoss is used for male energies, lust and money: all things associated with the element of Earth. Sandalwood however is a very spiritual and spiritually cleansing incense. Sandalwood is often used to clear a space of negativity, to raise spiritual energies and to promote spiritual awareness. Together oakmoss and sandalwood have a somewhat balancing "as above so below" aspect to them. Use oakmoss sandalwood in meditation or during a grounding ritual to achieve a balance of ones spiritual and material natures.