Welcome back to monthly Flowerscopes. What lies ahead for your sign this August? Scroll on for messages from the flowers. Hot tip: Read the flower for your rising sign, or both your sun and rising. These ‘scopes were created using the Flower Essence Society flower deck (which includes every Flower Essence in my more-is-more, ever-expanding practitioner’s kit) in tandem with Tarot cards.
What’s that little link at the top of this e-mail, you ask? You can now listen to the monthly Flowerscopes in podcast form! Subscribe if you like, and you’ll receive new episodes directly to your podcast app when they drop on the first of every month. The pod version has all the individual Flowerscopes, an extended communal reading, and some updates from my world. Podcast! It’s new, it’s emergent and unpolished. Other types of episodes have been percolating in my brain, and will eventually come to life. A podcast name is also percolating but hasn’t landed yet. It’s day one vibes. Get in on the ground floor! Some of the written content below is different than the content in the pod, so choose your own adventure.
Collective Reading for August:
The flower cards I pulled for August are Scarlett Fritillary, Bleeding Heart, and Manzanita.
It’s the season of having a lion's heart (Hi, Leo). The season of loving ourselves unabashedly so we can do the same for others. Not fawning, not appeasing, not playing out the scripts or roles we know - or think - our loved ones want us to play out. The wall art in the farmhouse-style kitchen of these flowers would read, “Celebrate this mess!” How can you celebrate your people by being there for them? Not just cheering them on at the finish line. But being with them through all the transitions and ups and downs. And, turn all of this around on yourself. How can you celebrate yourself by being there for you?
A phrase that came through is, “Put away your Power Tools.” And I don’t mean your buzzsaw or drill, you handy devil. I mean the skills and dare-I-say coping mechanisms that the journey of your life has asked you to cultivate and rely on. As RHOBH’s Sutton Stracke would say, name ‘em. Whether it’s empathy, tenacity, self-reliance, or being a chameleon. Whatever the superpower you never asked for is, see if you can give it a well-deserved break. There are other colors in your palette that want to be used to paint a more colorful, more nuanced, more textured picture. Different muscles will get stronger through repeated use. What would life be like if I didn’t rely on my power tools for a month? Ahem. It’d be a lot different, and I will try my darnedest to experiment!
Bleeding Heart is a flower that helps us untangle the way relationships have been in the past so that we can move forward in the truth of seeing how things are now. How we want to be loved now. Who shows up for us now. It’s a spacious kind of shedding that doesn’t always come naturally. If the heart is a lonely hunter according to Carson McCullers, Bleeding Heart says it’s also a cute little clinger. But we don’t have to be so grabby. The love can grow and evolve, and we can even open up some (*cry*) space for more to come.
A theme: Cracking the heart wide open while maintaining grounding. The Manzanita flower is all about being grounded, nourishing the body, and staying in our bodily containers instead of fleeing. It’s summer, a period when a lot of us get agitated, driven by a feeling of wanting to run or escape, or just be somewhere else. How can I indulge this desire for flight without fleeing myself? Staying within your experience and tending well to your body so it can respond accurately and effectively. Instead of trying to make sense of everything, Manzanita asks us to see if our senses can stay open. Sensing instead of making sense. Not all information needs to be parsed or understood. These are high-intensity times full of genocide, political upheaval, violence, and hate speech. We have to be able to stay present and aware to make an impact, make discerning choices, and offer our energy effectively.
Individual Flowerscopes for August
Aries 🌻 Golden Ear Drops
If any sticky situations or feelings arise this month, try asking yourself this question. How is your past alive in your present right now? Sometimes you have to look back to move forward. Try to confront and reclaim a pattern by thinking about how a current situation is informed by the past. If it feels like you keep dealing with the same old sh*t in a certain area of your life, see if you can dig deep into the past - and it will help you shift the present. There may be some aha moments or some “wow I didn’t remember that and now this makes sense”. The ripple effects will help lead to more insight and understanding - and make sure you get the support you need and give yourself a healthy dose of self-compassion. Fresh starts are around the corner! Quick tips: the color yellow, dancing to release, somatic movement, automatic writing.
Taurus 💐 Cosmos
You may find yourself surprising yourself in your conversations, in that big presentation, or with the writing project you’ve been totally stuck on. Focus, organization, and clear and deep speech that communicates your ideas and feelings are all on tap for this month. Avoid the small talk, gossip, and distractions - your gifts are best saved for the important stuff. Focus on the truth, and you’ll find that your words come easily and land well. If you have too many projects on your to-do, focus on just one this month, and see how far you get by slowly working a little bit each day on one thing. Quick tips: The color purple, killer presentations, writing projects, to-do lists.
Gemini 🌶️ Cayenne
There may have been a continuing feeling of stagnation recently, a la the Hanged One in the Tarot. Well, dear Gemini, the time for change is now! There may be a moment this month that feels like a catalyst for a big change or life pursuit - Ace of Wands energy that blazes into your life. Or it may have happened recently. You may feel like a sacred fire has been lit in your heart (or under your ass). Let yourself release, and move into this next phase, even if it’s scary. Just make sure you make time to come down and avoid burnout! Quick tips: The colors red and white, grounding exercises, breaks for rest, meditation before sleep.
Cancer 🪷 California Valerian
Acceptance, acceptance, acceptance. It’s a time for appraisal and appreciation - take a moment to slow down and notice the changes and growth you’ve made since last year. California Valerian is all about the breath and the respiratory system. It’s a great time to focus on breathwork - whether it’s simply paying attention to your breath in times of anxiety, using breath as an anchor in meditation, or taking three deep breaths when you feel your heart race in anger or fear. Make sure to care for yourself through any anxiety, insomnia, or stressful mental loops. Underneath life’s ups and downs, there’s an inner peace and confidence, a belief that the future is bright in there - nourish it and believe it! Peace may feel hard-won, so revel in the feeling of arrival.
Leo 💛 Goldenrod
What social norms, what scripts in your relationships can you amend or toss out entirely? Finding that balance between the self and other, the self when alone and the social self, social time, and solo time. You may want to turn the levers more than you expect when it comes to the time you spend in each of these realms. What actually fills you up and makes you feel solid in yourself? Hold this all with a certain lightness - say yes or no to the party depending on your feeling that day. It’s a month of feeling strong and secure and ready to let your freaky flag fly - enjoy it, it is your season after all.
Virgo 🍃 Green Cross Gentian
Have faith that you can rise to the occasion this month. Whichever challenge feels insurmountable, whether personally or globally. Get out into nature, and spend a day contemplating the wisdom of the plants and the earth. You’re lit up this month, wanting to find ways to drive change in the face of insurmountable issues. Put yourself out there this month, and you’ll find opportunities to do your part. There’s deep grief for the state of the world, and you’re set up this month to give your time, energy, and resources. How will you contribute? It’ll be the thing that fills your cup this month and helps you feel energized to continue to play the long game. Quick tips: Volunteer, mutual aid, the color green, nature walks, bet on yourself.
Libra 🌼 California Poppy
Pursue grounded activities versus escapism. What brings you down to earth and what are the ways you dip out? It may feel less exciting to spend the day gardening and reading rather than riding roller coasters, but it may feed the soul in surprising ways this month. It’s also a good time to take an inventory of your spiritual practices and prioritize the ones that bring you in touch with yourself, versus the ones that feel shiny, exciting, and distracting. Finding a daily ritual, a nourishing spiritual practice that feels good - doesn’t just have all the bells and whistles - could be very helpful. Also, don’t forget to shine your light and find ways to radiate the sun-like energy from within that you have on tap these days! Quick tips would be the color orange, putting your feet into the dirt in the morning, catching some rays.
Scorpio Tall Mountain Larkspur
Trust the spiritual guidance you receive this month, it may come from a trusted spiritual guide or drop into your brain out of nowhere. Nurture your connection to higher dimensions, your spirit team, ancestors - whatever works for you - and you will reap the benefits. How are you being called into leadership in the coming months? It may not look like a cookie-cutter leader, and that’s where the power lies. Look at you cultivating inner confidence, self-belief, and integrity, Scorp. Quick tips: Posture, sun salutations, take the lead, and unexpected advice.
Capricorn Black Cohosh
Nurture and acknowledge your intensity, this month, my hardcore Cap friend. You may want to spend time on some cleansing rituals this month, whether it’s burning herbs, taking salt baths, or writing and burning the shit you wanna release. Think about what makes you feel lighter and unburdened and carve out some time - it could be a cardio workout. Something with a sense of intensity and catharsis will be just the ticket. Go hard, just make sure to leave it all out on the mat, and then go home and chill.
Saggitarius 🌿 Echinachea
Four simple words, my Sag. Stand up for yourself! Whether it’s a friend squabble, family drama, or contract negotiation. The answer is to stand up for yourself - this doesn’t mean to impose your desires or railroad over others, but to take your own side, and hold to it firmly. Commit to acting from integrity, choose to advocate for yourself this month, and then let go and see how it goes. The alchemy of feeling your own self-loyalty will be a gift that ripples through your life but will also help you navigate the situation. Vitality, inner strength, and revitalization are all on the horizon.
Aquarius 🌳 Joshua Tree
You may feel drawn to look back into the higher branches of your family tree these days. Whether it’s doing a genealogy study, talking to (or talking about) the elders in your family, or cooking a favorite dish from your lineage. Joshua Tree is all about generational patterns, generational karma, the cultural conditioning of the family, and the culture at large. Where in your life have you let some of these things go? And where in your life do you want to invite these things in? Quick tips: ancestral research, family photos, ancestor work, making peace, trips to the desert if possible, let it go, moon gazing.
Pisces 🌸 Cherry
Your inner child is ready to play! What hobbies, what little treats can you give to them this month? And how do you play as an adult - an imaginative, free play that's not connected to work or any expected output or outcome? I don’t mean taking a pottery class and stressing yourself out trying to make a perfect aesthetic mug that you’ll want to post on the ‘gram. I mean throwing clay around, getting your hands dirty, and not even thinking through what you’re making. Consider having a playdate with your inner child, even if it’s just getting a cute coloring book or playing a fun game you haven’t tried before. They’ll be happy you visited and might have some sage advice. Quick tips: The color pink, little treats, no expectations, favorite old movies.
Last thing!
I made this guided meditation for clients, but now I've put it on my website, with the idea that anyone can listen to this guided journey while they take a flower essence (or work with any plant or herb allies). When we first start working with flower essences or when we take a new one we haven't tried before, it can be helpful and fun to carve out some time to meditate and to feel what that essence feels like and wants to share.
NEW Guided Flower Essence Meditation
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