Vitality: A Tarot Spread for Your Sun Sign

The Moon and our Moon sign is something I've explored a lot as lunar-focused rhythms of astrology and healing are ones that I find interesting and useful. The Moon, though, is just one part of the story of astrology and in western astrology the Moon forms an important triad with our Sun sign and our Ascendent (also known as our Rising Sign). 

There are whole books dedicated to exploring the meaning of the Moon, the Sun, and the Ascendent, drawing upon thousands of years of tradition, but the metaphor I've found most useful in understanding these aspects of our birth chart (and ourselves) is to start by imagining a river.  

image via @mateusjatenee

The water of the river represents our Sun sign. How much or how little water there is, the speed and velocity of the water, what the water is able to carry by the strength of its flow, all represent our inherent energy. Within medical astrology the Sun helps us to understand our baseline energy and the way that our vitality most easily manifests. Our Sun sign also helps us to understand where we are prone to burnout, exhaustion, and overdoing it. Our energy is shaped by much older sources of water from high up in the mountains (i.e. our ancestry and genetics), but there is much more that goes into the energy of who we are and our willpower beyond inherited biology. Some people's energy is more like a slow and ambling river, wandering through the countryside. Other people's energy is wild and rushing, moving quickly through the landscape. There is no "good" or "bad" energy and, while there is a pace that our energy can feel most comfortable in, our energy is changed and shaped by our life experiences.

The banks of the river, the rocks in the water's path, the fish and river life, and everything that affects the flow of water is our Moon sign. Our Moon represents the ways that our energy is shaped not only by our internal workings (i.e. our mental physiology, our nervous system, our emotional experiences), but external factors, especially those experienced in our early years (i.e. the type of family culture we were raised in). Our energy is shaped by and shapes our environment. There are riverbanks that feel familiar and suddenly a boulder drops into a quiet part of our river path, disrupting our flow. The boulder shapes the flow of the river (i.e. a new conscious awareness), but the water also shapes the boulder over time, too. There might be two people who have energy that is quick and rushing, but one person's river is relatively smooth and calm on the surface, leading out to the sea, while another person's river is full of rocks and jagged turns, ultimately dropping over a cliff to create an incredible waterfall. All of our rivers are shaped by the circumstances we were born into, culture, society, and our lived experiences. In this way, the Moon represents how our inherent energy (Sun) is shaped into consciousness, helping us to form our own sense of what feels supportive, comfortable, and true to ourselves as well as what feels unsettling and unsafe. 

Finally, our Ascendent is the spirit of the river itself, representing how we want to be perceived and how we are perceived. A group of people will visit a river and each one may have a different perceptive experiences. Some may take delight in the wild, frothy noise of a rushing river, while others might look out and see a dangerous, unstable energy that must be approached with caution. The spirit of the river might want to be seen as a wild and untamed thing, keeping people at a distance, because this is how they have learned to protect themselves and it has kept them safe from undue interference. Or the spirit of the river might try to create soft riverbanks that feel inviting and gentle, working hard to reshape their rocky edges, wanting to be known as a welcoming place. The spirit of the river is hindered and aided by its inherent flow (i.e. it's Sun sign energy) and instinctual expressive shape (i.e. it's Moon sign energy), but throughout life will shift and change as they engage with the world and the world engages with them. 

In other words, our Sun sign represents our energy and vitality, our Moon sign represents expression of our energy, including our personal stories and memories, and our Ascendent represents the engagement of our energy. The Sun, Moon, and Ascendant are shaped by their placement in our chart and their relationships (i.e. aspects) to other planets and celestial objects, but getting a sense for these three parts of your birth chart is a really good way to start to understand your personal astrology.

So with our mini astrology lesson done, let's look at your Sun sign with a tarot spread that can help you to understand your inherent energy, support systems you might consider, and pitfalls to avoid.

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Vitality: A Sun Sign Tarot Spread

Begin by pulling out the Sun card from your tarot deck and set it out at the top of your reading space. If you like you can place candles around it and build a solar altar full of items representing Sun energy and your own Sun sign. You might include solar plant allies like Calendula (Calendula officinalis), California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica), Sunflower (Helianthus spp.), Chamomile (Matricaria recutita), and St. Joan's Wort (Hypericum perforatum).  Focus on creating a space that feels welcoming to your energy.

Card 1: Radiant

This card describes your inherent energy. It can be helpful to observe the elemental signature of the card. Fire and Air cards, for example, tend to represent energy that is quick to manifest, though might not be the most sustainable or prone to last, while Water and Earth cards can represent energy that is slower to move and manifest but with greater longevity and endurance. For those of you familiar with the astrological correspondences of the tarot, you can draw on this knowledge, too.

Card 2: Protected

The characters and landscape of this card can help to describe the sort of people, places, and situations that your energy feels most supported and able to flow easily through. Pulling the 10 of Cups, for example, may represent the way that you feel most recharged and able to act from a place of steady energy when you are surrounded by good friends and family. In other words, an energy that feels protected and nourished by the company of others. Tell a story of how you want to be protected.

Card 3: Hindered

This card highlights the situations, people, and experiences that hinder, harm, and/or drain your energy. In many ways, this is an "obstacles" type card, just on a grander scale. Sometimes this card represents a very present situation that is obstructing your energy, other times it can refer back to an event that has had a lasting experience on how you change the shape of your energy to meet an expectation (making others feel more comfortable, trying to protect yourself the best way you know how, and so on). Often this card represents an ongoing type of experience, person or situation to be mindful of. Realizing, for example, that while many of your friends love a big weekend out, your energy needs more downtime at the end of the week to be able to recharge if you pull the Four of Swords.

Card 4: Hidden

This card gives us a peek into an aspect about our energy that you may only be coming to understand or is still well hidden from you. Reasons for why a part of our energy may be hidden from you can be many including being taught to hide your energy away, experiencing a significant life event that brought this aspect of your energy to the forefront of your consciousness, and just the natural change that happens through your own growing and changing. At first this card might be difficult to interpret and that's ok - it is a card that is meant to give you a glimpse, not a whole explanation, and it might be the first time you're getting a look at this particular aspect of your energy. Other times it can affirm what you've been exploring about yourself and what you've learned so far. It might be a card that you meditate on for the next lunar cycle if you're feeling particularly intrigued by its meaning.

Card 5: Unencumbered Joy

The traditional Sun card imagery from the Smith Waite tarot shows a joyful child, unencumbered in their energy and safe in their self-expression. It is how we all deserved to be loved and cared for as children. This card represents the ways that you feel unencumbered in your joy, freely able to express your energy. 

Of course, it is not unusual for a challenging card to show up here and it can represent a few things. First, there might be an image or symbol on a card that is traditionally interpreted as challenging but that brings an immediate sense of joy to you - it's more than ok to focus only on that part of the card. Second, there might be an overwhelming feeling that makes it hard for you to connect with your joy - shame, doubt, fear, and so on - and this card can be a place to recognize the current story you hold about your ability to access joy. 

A simple act of magick you can perform when pulling a challenging card in this position, either during or after your reading, is to take a challenging card in this position and to cover it with another card, of your choosing, from your tarot deck that represents joy to you. Visualize the challenging card being buried deep in the earth as a seed of experience that has risen to the surface and transformed into something new, as represented by the card of joy you chose. Our roots shape us, but they are not our fruit - choices and possibilities, kind-hearted interventions, are always present to us in our growth.

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While there are so many techniques of discernment and knowledge-gathering within astrology, just becoming familiar with your Luminaries and Ascendant will open up a significant gateway to the part of existence that makes up who you are. If you want to learn more about the signs in astroherbology, including the healing qualities of your Sun sign, come this way. If you’re looking for a reading for your Moon sign, find it here, and here is the post for your Ascendant.

For those of you intrigued by the connections between plant allies, the tarot, and healing practices, you might enjoy The Tarot Apothecary.

The great strength of astrology in healing work is providing us language to tell our story from a more empowered and inspired place which is what I hope this Sun-sign inspired tarot spread helps you do. Remember, the myths are still being written, as they always have been, by people like you and me, so keep telling the stories that need to be told.

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

Herbs and Essences for Empaths and Highly Sensitive People

Edit: Inspired by this post and the request of readers, I wrote a whole course for plant allies and highly sensitive people - check it out!

I learned what an empath was when I was about 12 years old and it was a turning point in my young development.

Having a name for what felt like an overwhelming experience of the emotional vibrations of others that felt like something bigger than just hormonal changes led me to learning techniques to protecting my sensitive side. Even though I wasn’t ingesting much herbal medicine at that point I would wear herbs and stones as charms and found that gentle magick to work well for me. I also learned how to ground and center as well as basic shielding and warding which are not only essential skills for empaths and highly sensitive folks but for anyone pursuing magickal studies. These skills made my teen years way more tolerable and shaped me into the herbalist and witch that I am today.

But what is an empath? Or highly sensitive person? While the two terms are not interchangeable they are similar enough in my opinion that my herbal and essence-based recommendations can be applied to both. An empath is a person who has the ability to perceive and experience the feelings of other people and sometimes places. We are all empathic, but some folks empathic ability is heightened to a point that it can become overwhelming or distracting in their life. Because of their skill set many empaths go into the healing and therapeutic arts.

Highly sensitive people (HSPs) experience a heightened sense of their surroundings and may even have a more sensitive nervous system. They are often keyed in to the subtleties of others and their surroundings (including sound, light, texture, and smell) than non-HSPs. Again, everyone is prone to be more sensitive to at least one sense - HSPs are generally more sensitive in all of their senses which, like empaths, can lead to becoming easily overwhelmed. Due to their sensitivity, however, lots of HSPs thrive in the arts and activities that require great amounts of subtlety.

In short, empaths experience a heightened sensitivity to their emotional environment, whereas HSPs experience a generalized heightened sensitivity. Of course, some folks are both Empaths and HSPs while other folks are one or the other.

When it comes to herbs and essences my recommendation for Empaths and Highly Sensitive People is as follows: 

Make friends with a nervine.

Connect with an adaptogen.

Create your custom rescue remedy.

These three remedies combined with a grounding, centering, and shielding practice can be beautifully effective in protecting your energetic senses and supporting your physical form. A bit of thorn magick helps, too. I’ll also talk about additional ways of supporting your Empathic or HSP self that I have found useful for myself and my community over the years. I’ve listed some of my favorite herbal allies for Empaths and HSPs below but as always, I I recommend doing your research or working with an herbalist to find the ones best suited for your constitution.

Make Friends with a Nervine

Nervines are herbs that are nourishing and restorative to the nervous system. There are two main types of nervines: relaxing and stimulating. We’ll be focusing on the relaxing nervines for our needs as Empaths and HSPs are often overstimulated when they’re feeling out of balance. Nervines help the body to return to a state of rest and relaxation and many of them are great tonic herbs meaning that they can be taken daily for a long time. I’ve listed a number of my favorite herbs for Empaths and HSPs below, highlighting three that I’m particularly fond of.

Milky Oat (Avena sativa) : I was just talking about Milky Oat in my most recent newsletter. It’s known as a tophorestorative to the nervous system meaning that it brings the nervous system back into balance. Milky Oat is a great nutritive herb that can be taken on a daily basis. I love it for Empaths and HSPs because it feels gentle in the body but has a powerful and long-lasting effect. Read my full plant profile on Milky Oat.

Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) : Skullcap is great for symptoms of anxiety, especially when there are hurried and worried thoughts, that can accompany heightened sensitivity. I’ve written about Skullcap a number of times including as an ingredient one of my favorite self-care teas that I highly recommend for Empaths and HSPs. Read my full Skullcap plant profile.

Rose (Rosa damascena) : Beautiful, amazing, unfolding Rose! Rose has gentle nervine qualities with the extra magick of thorn medicine. Rose is an ancient herbal ancestor and they’ve been a guide of healing wisdom through the ages - who better to turn to when life feels too big and overwhelming than to one who has seen it all and thrived? 

Additional nervine options:

• Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica)

• Blue Vervain (Verbena officinalis)

• Chamomile (Matricaria recutita)

• Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)

• Lavender (Lavandula spp.)

• Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)

• St. Joan’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

Connect with an Adaptogen

Adaptogens are herbs that help us to adapt to stress. They are not meant to be a replacement to good stress management and therapeutic support, but they are excellent at supporting are ability to shift perspective and reconnect to a place of centeredness within ourselves. Many adaptogens can be stimulating because part of learning how to adapt to stress is having all of our organ systems working well and adaptogenic herbs can help to wake up sluggish systems. Too much stimulation from an herb, however, can be detrimental to Empaths and HSPs, but not always. Again, get to know yourself and your constitution when choosing herbs. I’ve listed adaptogens that are less stimulating in their energy as compared to some adaptogens, but still bring in that much needed ability to restore the body to balance after a period of stress.

Eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosus) : I really like Eleuthero because of it’s gentle nature (you might be sensing a theme here with the emphasis on gentleness as an important form of remedy for Empaths and HSPs). It can be used with young and old for an extended period of time without overstimulation. Eleuthero strengthens our energy and inner vitality which in turn supports the resiliency of Empaths and HSPs. If you’ve found other adaptogens to be too stimulating, you might find yourself enjoying Eleuthero.

Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) : Empaths and HSPs could learn a lot from the vibratory interconnectedness of the mushroom kingdom. Like other adaptogens, Reishi supports vitality and longevity with especial attention paid to the immune system. Reishi can help Empaths and HSPs transition from feeling overwhelmed by their heightened perceptions to being grounded in their gifts of interconnectedness.

Additional adaptogen options:

• Sacred Basil (Ocimum sanctum)

• Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)

• Schisandra (Schisandra chinensis)

• Rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea)

Create your Custom Rescue Remedy

Here’s where the essence part of my recommendations come in. Many of you are probably familiar with Dr. Edward Bach’s Rescue Remedy. It’s a staple in many a holistic apothecary and for good reason - it’s effective, non-invasive, and can be used for everyone. If you don’t have time to put together your own personal rescue remedy based on my recommendations below, just go ahead and get your own bottle of Dr. Bach’s Rescue Remedy - it’ll serve you well.

The idea of a custom rescue remedy is to create an essence blend that meets your unique needs and the type of stress response you find yourself going through again and again. I’ve given recommendations for essences from the Bach and Flower Essence Society companies because they are easy to find in wellness stores and online. I’ve also recommended a handful of gem essences which you can either make yourself or find online. You can choose a 2 - 4 essences from the list below (or any that you come across in your studies) and combine a few drops of each into a one-ounce dosage bottle that you can then take 1 - 3 drops from as needed or three times daily as a tonic. Trust your intuition - your extra sensitivity is meant to help and guide you - and create a blend that will help you integrate useful information and leave out the rest.

Yarrow Environmental Essence : This is actually a blend of essences that I highly recommend for HSPs. In fact, if you were to take one essence long term, this is the one that I recommend. Yarrow Environmental Essence helps HSPs to deal with their increased sensitivity while also protecting against the impact of overstimulating and polluted environments. It’s an essence blend that I take regularly but one that I make sure to have with me any time that I travel as it’s an excellent adventuring companion.

Black Tourmaline Gemstone + Essence : A wonderfully protective and grounding essence for those Empaths and HSPs struggling to feel safe and centered in the world. I recommend keeping a piece of the stone near your work or study space as well as wearing it on your person in addition to using it as a gem essence.

Red Chestnut Flower Essence : Red Chestnut is especially useful for Empaths who get caught up in the emotions of others, trying to take on other’s problems, and become the ultimate harmonizer of all situations everywhere. The essence helps remind Empaths that these are not their feelings and they are not responsible for them. The essence teaches appropriate boundary-making.

Additional flower and gem essence options:

• Rose (Rosa damascena) Flower Essence

• Beech (Fagus Sylvatica) Flower Essence

• Aspen (Populus tremuloides) Flower Essence

• Dill (Anethum graveolens) Flower Essence

• Campion (Silene californica) Flower Essence

• Smoky Quartz Gem Essence

• Rose Quartz Gem Essence

• Kyanite Gem Essence

• Garnet Gem Essence

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Looking for plant allies for social gatherings? Come this way.

It's my hope for you that after reading this post you feel like you have a few new tools to use on your journey as an Empath and/or Highly Sensitive Person through this world. We need your gentleness and attention to subtlety to help keep us paying attention to the heartlines of the world.

P.S. Interested in learning more about your unique gifts and sensitivities as a healer? I've created a space to help you discover just that.

The Longest Day : Herbs of Midsummer

The day grows long and when the Sun enters the sign of Cancer the Crab, the festival of Midsummer or the Summer Solstice has arrived. The Summer Solstice is a dance of fire and water where we bathe in dew for beauty and burn bonfires for protection. The following herbs are some of my Midsummer favorites for both their magickal and medicinal qualities. 

Hypericum perforatum flowers via wikipedia

St. Joan's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) ☉

An herb of the Sun, St. Joan's Wort is a wonderful herb to incorporate into your Midsummer festivities. Traditionally, the flowers of St. Joan's Wort (also known as St. John's Wort) are collected on Midsummer day to be made into remedies. It is said to be best to harvest the flowers while naked. The Summer Solstice is a prime day for love magick and charms including the use of St. Joan's Wort in charms and spells. Since the herb is very protective, use it in charms to protect against heartbreak and to develop a courageous heart.

A brave nerve restorative, St. Joan’s Wort steadies the spirit and calms a nerve-wracked system, making it very useful for conditions such as neuralgia, anxiety, and tension. St. Joan's Wort combines well with other nervines such as Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) and Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) for nerve pain and relief of tension. 

Lavandula officinalis by author

Lavender (Lavandula officinalis) ☿

The cooling blue flowers of Lavender are a welcome relief to the Summer Solstice's heat. The flowers are a traditional Midsummer strewing herb, bringing peace and serenity to the home when cast into the bonfire. An herb of Mercury, Lavender brings peace and compassion, calming without creating drowsiness but instead cultivating focus. A prime cooling remedy, Lavender works well to soothe the nervous system when experiencing agitation, nervousness, and insomnia and especially when overheated conditions such as anger and irritability are present. Lavender is a great herb for colic-y and cranky kids (and adults, too!). Add some tea to their bath water or better yet, give them Lavender hydrosol sprays to play with during their evening bath (I’ve done this combined with flower essences to excellent sleepy-time results).

Artemisia douglasiana aka Dream Plant by author

Mugwort (Artemisia spp.) ☾

While Midsummer is certainly a celebration of the brightest day of the year and the warmth it brings, it has a lunar leaning, too. The holy day is marked by the Sun entering the sign of Cancer whose Guardian Planet is the Moon. So it is that Mugwort, known as the oldest of herbs in indigenous Northern European traditions and a Moon herb, finds its way into the Midsummer magick. The Summer Solstice is a time of divination and Mugwort opens the psychic pathways. Drink a brew of your local Mugwort tea to awaken your vision. When night is shortest and hours usually hidden are revealed to us, Mugwort's magick works in revealing veiled mysteries. Cast Mugwort into Midsummer fires for energetic cleansing and healing. Mugwort has an affinity to womyn beyond the confines of gender. Mugwort is womyn as culture and has a special affinity for queer women and gender rebels of all sorts.

The herb has long been used as moxabustion in which the dried leaf is burned either close by or directly on acupuncture points to move energy and relieve pain. Place a few leaves beneath your pillow for prophetic dreams and burn in your bedroom to transform it into a dream incubation space. 

My friendly, neighbohood Verbascum thapsus by author

Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) ♄

The mighty Mullein is also known as Hag's Tapers as the thick stalks were dipped in fat or wax and burned as a primitive candle for late night witcheries. The bright yellow flowers glow with the power of the sun and the soft leaves are an excellent remedy for many a skin and musculoskeletal complaint (hence its Saturnian guardianship). Burn Mullein in your Midsummer bonfire for protection and gather the ashes to use in protection and healing charms throughout the year. 

Like many other Midsummer herbs, Mullein has a relationship to Midwinter as a primary remedy for clearing phlegm from the system. As a remedy, Mullein opens and clears the lungs. It combines well with Elder (Sambucus nigra) and Peppermint (Mentha piperita) for a lung-opening, immunomodulating blend. Topically, the mucilaginous Mullein is excellent for dry skin conditions but also as a healing compress or salve for boils, bruises, inflammation, hemorrhoids, eczema, sciatica, and joint pain. Mullein and garlic ear oil is a trusted remedy for ear infections helping to relieve pain and infection.

Sambucus nigra by author

Elder (Sambucus nigra) ♀♇

If you are brave (or foolish) enough to sit under an Elder Tree on an important night of the year (namely, Midsummer and Samhain), you just might see the Good Folk march by in all of their finery. The spirit of the Elder is a gatekeeper between the realms of life and death - she is fiercely protective and very no-nonsense. Astrologically, Elder is a plant of Venus and Pluto for its beautifying and harmonizing qualities, its sweet scent and taste, and it dark underworld berries.  Midsummer is a time of celebrating not only spiritual but physical beauty. Find an flowering Elder tree on Midsummer morning and wash your face with the dew on the flowers to beautify your features within and without.

While the Flower is associated most with Midsummer - it's heady scent saturating the air is a sign that summer has arrived - the Berries are a Midwinter medicine. Read about Elder's medicinal qualities in my Tree of Medicine post. 

Wherever your Midsummer festivities finds you, I wish you an abundance of magick and wonder that our longest day can so often bring. 

Be sure to research about your local Midsummer blooms and learn about other traditional herbs of the Summer Solstice including Vervain (Verbena officinalis), Calendula (Calendula officinalis), Sunflower (Helianthus annuus), and Yarrow (Achillea millefolium). From an astroherbology perspective, Sun herbs are particularly potent at this time of year.

If you're looking for some divinatory inspiration, check out my Bonfire Offerings : Summer Solstice Tarot Spread. For my southern hemisphere darlings, check out my post on Winter Solstice Herbs. Enjoy!