Gathering Together: Tarot and Tea for Pisces Season

Welcome to Pisces Season and my latest post on tarot practices and herbal allies for the twelve seasons of the zodiac (you can learn more the seasons of the zodiac over here).

The season of Aquarius with its intense idiosyncratic energy and emphasis on intellect and innovation has moved on like a sudden storm leading us to Pisces season. Within the dreamy waters of Pisces season we take a break from the (over)emphasized energy of the individual and back into the flow of the collective. "What an interesting idea!" Pisces says to Aquarius. "But how do you feel about it?" Arriving at Pisces season is a culmination of our journey through all eleven previous signs of the zodiac, symbolizing lifetimes of wisdom gained through experience. Here at the end of the zodiac, where we are furthest from earth and closest to the stars, where the emphasis is not on the intellect or physical form, but on the feeling body and consciousness itself. And yet, Pisces is also the beginning of the zodiac, representing the ocean depths, and acting as the energy which resides deepest within earth. Pisces reminds us that we can't think our way through the mystery, it's gotta be felt.

Pisces is a mutable water sign meaning that it embodies the energy of connecting, dissolving boundaries, and deep empathy (Gemini, Virgo, and Sagittarius are also mutable signs). Mutable signs arrive at the end of a terrestrial season helping us to prepare for the changes of the next season. Pisces helps to draw the energy of Aquarius season down from the head and its focus on the next best thing, back into the heart and the beauty of the now. For in the world of Pisces, the now is infinite, boundaries are meant to be dissolved, and all can find connection to all. In many ways, Pisces season brings us the most radical and most comfortable energy - radical in that the deeply empathic fish has never met a boundary that couldn't be moved and comfortable because the whole point of moving it is for us to find our ways back home to where we feel most held and whole. 

Pisces season helps us to find our sense of connection with the world, often through the tool of empathy, but it comes in all sorts of unexpected and magickal ways. The energy of Pisces helps us to expand even as we're gathering ourselves back together. What we learn through the energy of Pisces is that connection is important and there are plenty of boundaries that need dissolving, but healthy boundaries which protect and strengthen our empathy are needed. Too much Pisces energy can lead to such a strong belief of the self as other that gullibility leads us into dangerous situations or we struggle to hold on to our individuality amid the sea of collective consciousness. With good boundaries and plenty of time to rest, Pisces helps us connect with our intuitive wisdom, our capacity to transcend limitations, and our ability to love deeply.

Gathering Together
Pisces Season Tarot Spread

So much of the energy of Pisces season is about understanding, cultivating, and protecting our empathic selves. We are deeply empathic species often living within cultures (whether broad overcultures or individual family cultures) that reject empathy as weakness. One of the adaptations to surviving in empathy-denying cultures and relationships is to hide away the most precious parts of ourselves. Sometimes those parts of ourselves get lost.

Pisces asks us, "What are you calling back home to yourself?"

As the most effective dissolver of boundaries, Pisces energy can move through all things and spaces, helping us to locate what it is we're searching for. The following spread helps us to name what was lost and guides us to find it again so that we may feel more whole and holy within ourselves and in our relationships.

Card 1. That Which Was Lost

This card helps us understand the part of us that was lost along the way of growing up and growing into ourselves.

Card 2. That Which We Were Hiding From

Sometimes it's helpful to name and know that which we were hiding ourselves away from, to lessen its ability to make us hide further. 

Card 3 & 4. That Which Calls Us Home

These cards help us to reclaim our lost selves through simple practices, shifts in perspectives, affirmations of or own intuition about the matter, or whatever else you need to hear to help you call yourself home.

Card 5. A Message for Pisces Season

A general message, signs to pay attention to, and perhaps next steps to take as we move into Pisces season. This card can highlight energy which you might bring more into your life during Pisces season so that you are better able to connect with the energetic flow of the next month.

Bonus Card: That Which Guards the Feet

If you feel connected with the philosophy of astroherbology you can pull an additional card to help you understand the current energies of your feet, including physical experiences and energetic ones, what tension or wisdom you might be keeping there. I encourage you to take a somatic approach with this card - when you pull it and see the energy, follow the feelings and sensations that it evokes from your body to understand its meaning. 

image via @majavujic87

A Tea for Pisces Season

How do we nourish the energy of Pisces? Traditionally, Pisces guards the feet, all bodily fluids, and the endocrine system (click here for a full list of traditional correspondences for Pisces). The sweet boost of empathy that Pisces season can bring can result in a lot of healing and a lot of feelings, so it's important to work with plant allies that support the emotional body. Milky Oat (Avena sativa) is one of my favorite herbs for empaths because it does such a wonderful job nourishing the nervous system and helping us feel our feels without getting (too) overwhelmed. Sage (Salvia officinalis) has an affinity for the fluids of the body, helping to regulate ebb and flow, and guiding our Pisces energy towards the cultivation of wisdom instead of dazed distraction. Finally, Rose (Rosa spp.) honors the complexity of consciousness that Pisces energy has us swimming through, reminding us that life is layered, including the mysterious bits.

• 4 parts Milky Oat (Avena sativa)

• 1 part Sage (Salvia officinalis)

• ½ part Rose (Rosa spp.)

These proportions are only suggested guidelines, so feel free to play around with them to your liking. As you make your tea, slow down, breathe deep, and infuse the blend with your intentions for the season (or whenever you’re drinking this tea to connect with the energy of Pisces). If you’re looking for more breathwork practices to help you connect with the energy of the season, come this way.

image via @guillepozzi

Seasonal Reflections

What does the land feel like, look like, smell like this season?

What is coming to the surface from within me?

What is receding within me?

What am I feeling grateful for?

What am I grieving for or feeling challenged by?

What am I feeling inspired and where is it calling me to this season?

What am I calling to me?

What am I called to give?

♓️

Want to learn more about the magick and astroherbalism of Pisces? I’ve written a full profile on the sign for you to enjoy. You can also check out the rest of my seasons of astrology series. If you want to dive deeper into the world of tarot, plant allies, and astrology, come this way.

One of my favorite Pisces herbs is Angelica (Angelica archangelica) because not only does it empower Pisces' inherent psychic gifts, but it helps folks who struggle to connect with their intuition to open up a pathway to do so.

May your Pisces season be dreamy and sweet, calling in visions of peace and the path towards collective liberation.

This post was made possible through patron support.
❤ Thanks, friends. ❤

Expanding the Dream: Tarot and Tea for Aquarius Season

Welcome to Aquarius Season and my latest post on tarot practices and herbal allies for the twelve seasons of the zodiac (you can learn more about the whole series over here).

The structures put in place and/or reinforced by the energy of Capricorn season is tested through the innovative drive of Aquarius season. How well can our foundations hold-up in unexpected situations, Aquarius asks us, and if they don't pass the test what should they be replaced with? Aquarian energy is the fuel of transformative movements, social change, and intellectual clarity of complex problems and their solutions. Aquarian energy looks at the work of Capricorn and says, "I like what you've done here. But have you thought about this?" and then launches into an unproven but captivating new theory. The Water Bearer is constantly pouring out new ideas, testing theories, and thinking between the layers of the box.

Aquarius is a fixed air sign meaning that it holds the energy of radical self-expression, creativity, and an intensity of purpose (Taurus, Leo, and Scorpio are also fixed signs as well). The far-visioning energy of Capricorn season passes the baton to Aquarius season where we figure out how we get to the future that Capricorn has laid the foundation for. The gifts of Aquarius season are many, not least of which is the energy of curiosity and enthusiasm that the season can stir up. Aquarius season helps us to connect with our analytical mind, the powers of our collective intellect, and the ability to create connections where they have not been made or seen before. Aquarian energy helps us have the daring to dream bigger than we ever have before.

Here's the secret about Aquarian energy (and often those with a lot of Aquarius energy in their birth chart) - it can become quite inflexible, even conservative, beneath the veneer of innovative radicalism. This can happen if too much Aquarian energy leads to an inability to deviate from the "truth" that they have worked so hard to innovate on and/or discover. In some ways, such inflexibility makes sense within the context of innovating, which can be a process of extreme vulnerability and leaving yourself open to criticism from a majority of folks who at best just don't get what you're doing or at worst find innovation (and therefore, Aquarian energy) dangerous. A necessary emotional detachment occurs, an overdeveloped self-belief settles in, and what was once innovative becomes defensive and unyielding. Here, we are led to the other danger of too much Aquarian energy - it can draw out our feelings of being misunderstood to a point of (self) isolation. As we engage with the energy of the water-bearer it can be all too easy to believe that in our clever innovation we're not just pouring the water, but we are its source. But with a healthy wariness of hubris, Aquarius season can bring the much needed energy shift to make necessary and radical change in our lives and cultures. 

Expanding the Dream
Aquarius Season Tarot Spread

While the energy of Aquarius can sound very exciting (Innovation! Change! New ideas!) actually cultivating Aquarian energy in our lives can feel a bit daunting - especially if you've experienced burnout lately or are in a creative slump. Fortunately, Aquarius energy can help to stir up the initial energy needed for innovative thinking by helping to dispel stagnant energy. The key to understanding Aquarian energy is to think of it like a surge of electricity - we want to put the appropriate wiring in place to help direct it in helpful ways and not burn down the house. When respected and made space for, Aquarian energy can help light off (if briefly and erratically) some of the most inscrutable problems with sparks of inspired solutions.

Aquarius asks us, "What's beyond the edges of your dream?"

One of the gifts of Aquarius is to see our own limitations and then dream beyond them. The following tarot spread helps you to understand yourself as a dreamer better while bringing in the fresh perspective needed to expand upon whatever dream you're dreaming these days. In the spirit of Aquarius, try casting or choosing your cards in a new or different way (i.e. fanning them out and choosing them instead of riffle shuffling or throwing them on the floor and yelling at them until a card or two jumps out) to bring fresh energy into your spread.

Card 1. The Dreamer

This card is about you and who you are as the carrier of your dreams.

Card 2. The Dream

This card helps you to understand the current dream you have better, perhaps seeing it from a new perspective.

Card 3. The Dreamer Awakes

This card helps you understand a way of thinking or being that'll help make your dream more real.

Card 4. That Which is Dreaming You

A bit of an experiment, this card speaks to the energies/ancestors/land spirits/cosmic forces that are dreaming of you and see you as essential to their dream being realized.

Card 5. A Message for Aquarius Season

A general message, signs to pay attention to, and perhaps next steps to take as we move into Aquarius season. This card can highlight energy which you might bring more into your life during Aquarius season so that you are better able to connect with the energetic flow of the next month.

Bonus Card: That Which Guards the Electrical Currents of the Body

If you feel connected with the philosophy of astroherbology you can pull an additional card to help you understand the current energies of your body's electrical currents, including physical experiences and energetic ones, what tension or wisdom you might be keeping there. I encourage you to take a somatic approach with this card - when you pull it and see the energy, follow the feelings and sensations that it evokes from your body to understand its meaning. 

image via @anniespratt

A Tea for Aquarius Season

How do we nourish the energy of Aquarius? Traditionally, Aquarius guards the lower legs and ankles, the electrical impulses of the body, as well as the circulatory system especially as related to elimination (click here for a full list of traditional correspondences for Aquarius). Aquarius energy is often stimulating to our intellectual body, stirring up ideas and dreams within us, but as a fixed air sign the energy can be prone to excess tension. So we need herbs to support our brain function while making sure our nervous system doesn't get overworked from all of the stirred up Aquarian energy. Peppermint (Mentha piperita) is one of my favorite Aquarian herbs, embodying the amphoteric ways that Aquarian energy moves, relaxing or stimulating us as is needed. Milky Oat (Avena sativa) and Rose (Rosa spp.) nourish the nervous system and reduces stress allowing energy (and ideas) to flow freely while Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) helps keep us connected to the beneficial energy of the collective and the legacy of innovation we can draw upon.

• 4 parts Peppermint (Mentha piperita)

• 4 parts Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)

• 2 parta Milky Oat (Avena sativa)

• 1/4 part Rose (Rosa spp.)

I also recommend adding in a few drops of Vervain (Verbena spp.) Flower Essence to help guard against some of the more challenging aspects of Aquarian energy. 

These proportions are only suggested guidelines, so feel free to play around with them to your liking. As you make your tea, slow down, breathe deep, and infuse the blend with your intentions for the season (or whenever you’re drinking this tea to connect with the energy of Aquarius). If you’re looking for more breathwork practices to help you connect with the energy of the season, come this way.

image via @its_tgain

Seasonal Reflections

What does the land feel like, look like, smell like this season?

What is coming to the surface from within me?

What is receding within me?

What am I feeling grateful for?

What am I grieving for or feeling challenged by?

What am I feeling inspired and where is it calling me to this season?

What am I calling to me?

What am I called to give?

♒️

Want to learn more about the magick and astroherbalism of Aquarius? I’ve written a full profile on the sign for you to enjoy. You can also check out the rest of my seasons of astrology series. If you want to dive deeper into the world of tarot, plant allies, and astrology, come this way.

California Poppy (Eschscholzia california) is another plant ally of Aquarius that I really love, especially when things feel too overstimulating. Elecampane (Inula helenium) is another great Aquarius plant ally and can help us return to our bodies after a time of questioning and seeking.

May your Aquarius season bring you insight, connection, and a sense of wonder about what was, is, and might be.

This post was made possible through patron support.
❤ Thanks, friends. ❤