Blessed Equinox, Reader!
Persephone has begun her chthonic descent.
Virgo is releasing the reigns of control to the fair and harmonious Libra.
And here in the northern hemisphere, like our ancestors before us, we begin to prepare for colder, darker days.
It seems wild that we're entering the darker half of the year already. I'm not ready for summer to end…I still have so many things to make with plants!!! lol
But alas, the wheel of the year continues to turn.
During Virgo season, we prepared. Meticulous and systematic, we organized our harvest. We noted what hasn't come to fruition, in our gardens and our hearts.
Now, Libra arrives in her fullness, scales and sword in hand.
The Libran goddess uses her scales to assess the community, noting who has benefited and who is in lack. She helps us allocate our riches so that everyone's needs are met — fairly and justly. I mean, she's not doling out gold to couch potatoes…sorry!
And Libra is ruled by Venus — goddess of love, beauty, and values.
Here's the often forgotten key to the Venusian archetype: Venus isn't just about beauty on the surface. She directs us to what our souls find most authentically beautiful, and therefore leads us into contact with what we truly value in life.
Rose is the flower most associated with Venus, and our guide for this season.
Rose is complex in both symbolism and chemistry — one of the most chemically complex essential oils known, containing over 300 compounds. Yet rose medicine is remarkably consistent: the energetic, mental, and physical effects all assist us with the very thing rose symbolizes most ― the heart.
A Simple Rose Practice for the Equinox
Choose rose in any form — an oil, a hydrosol, a bloom still hanging on in the garden, a flower essence, a cup of rose tea...all works.
Bring the rose to your heart. Anoint the center of your chest, or mist it, or simply hold the bloom there and breathe.
Take three slow breaths. Feel the spiritual presence of rose commune with your heart first. Then bring in the senses — how does this version of rose feel, smell, taste, or appear?
Then ask one question to your deepest heart: What do I actually love?
Not what you should love, or what you've been told is worth loving. What does your heart authentically love, value, and find beautiful just for being part of existence?
If you can, try this practice for the twelve days between the equinox and the new moon, and notice what repeats, clarifies, or shifts.
Goddesses of the Season: Aphrodite, Ma'at, and Persephone
I've been working with the archetypal energies of the goddess for decades now, and three in particular come to mind as support for tending our hearts this season.
Over on Substack I've written about all three — including why Aphrodite is far more of a power house than the patriarchally-tainted versions we've inherited, what Ma'at's scales truly ask of us (hint: we are the scales), and where I part ways with both the traditional Persephone myth and the feminist empowerment re-tellings.
Plus a note on entropy, creation, and whale vomit. As one does. ;)
→ Read the full equinox post...and see a picture of me with the biggest squash ever, hehe.
Then, if you feel called — three doorways through the Aromatic thresholds of autumn
🍁 Rewilding the Temple with Libra + Rose — Saturday, October 10
A heart-healing anointing practice with rose and guided meditation to visit the temple of our hearts and connect with our authentic values. Live, and recorded if you can't make it.
Included with paid Substack subscriptions, or grab a one-time pass. Optional companion oils here.
🍁 Sacred Aromatics Foundations — we begin October 14
Six weeks of live workshops.
You'll explore the origins of perfume and sacred smoke, understand the alchemy of distillation, learn to pair sacred oils with the energy body, create aromatic rituals for healing, protection, blessings, and thresholds — and walk away with an anointing practice that works.
An optional companion kit with five sacred allies is available — order soon, as these start shipping in early October.
→ Learn more
🍁 The Autumn Discovery Set
Six perfumes for the dark half of the year: gods of the harvest, goddesses of descent and the hunt, and two birds for making magic. Only 10 of 12 sets remaining.
→ Shop the set
🍁 Persephone's Descent
The goddess of spring, and the queen of the fall. I've created a magical little bundle that includes Persephone's botanical perfume + a 90 minute workshop to commune with the goddess...my gift to help you enter the dark this season.
→ Shop the bundle
Many blessings,
P.S. I'm beginning my journey with Ma'at's scales to a lighter heart today. Join me?
