“Let’s talk about sex, baby” ~ Salt n Peppa
Aligning with the rhythm of nature is the most powerful thing you can do. When you take the time to notice what Nature is doing, and then do the same thing, you have hitched on to a very powerful wagon indeed.
The 7 Archetypes I work with correspond beautifully with the shifts of the seasons. Harnessing the momentum of Nature via archetypes is like having the decoder ring that reveals the great mystery of YOU.
What should you be doing, and when? Look outside your door, and then look within yourself.
We begin the calendar year in stillness, with The Wisdom Keeper. Then we walk with The Priestess, who wisely chooses our focus, or “seeds”, for the coming year. She helps us commit and set intention.
At the Spring Equinox we walk with The Girl Child. She shows us how to use joy as an engine. She points out the plants pushing out of the ground, the buds growing and bursting open into flowers, and reminds us that life can be driven by joy, play and celebration.
At the beginning of May we shift into the season of flowers, fertility and creation. The first day of May is “May Day”, also called “Beltane”. It heralds the season of sex.
The season of SEX? Yeah, look around. See all those flowers? That’s plant sex.
The following is excerpt is from an article I wrote for the Aromatherapy Journal, published in 2013:
[In Springtime] there is an air of fertility, attraction, and production. Plants seem to be showing off, strutting their stuff. They revel in this weather, taking advantage of these perfect conditions to proliferate, and hell, celebrate. Diane Ackerman explains in A Natural History of the Senses, “As to why floral smells should excite us, well, flowers have a robust and energetic sex life. A flower’s fragrance declares to all the world that it is fertile, available, and desirable, its sex organs oozing with nectar.”
When a plant flowers, it is an indication of general health and favorable conditions. It is an invitation to pollinators; a declaration of sexual activity. I think it must just feel good to flower. The plants know they’re healthy, and lookin’ good. Some plants will flower in the dark of the night, attracting nocturnal pollinators like moths. Others emit an odor of rotten meat, since flies are their main pollinator. There are plants who sport flowers for months on end, and then some, like the night-blooming cereus, that bloom for only a few hours.
There’s only one archetype who could possibly represent the FLOWER: The Tantrika.
The Tantrika is fertility. She is juicy creativity and love incarnate. She is the flower awaiting proboscis. She is the archetype that says “I’m ready. Let’s do this”.
I purposely use lots of flower-based aromatics, like jasmine, to blend The Tantrika anointing oil. This anointing oil smells like love, and the energy of flowers is prominent.
So, how does this Tantrika/fertility business sit with you? First, remember that this is a metaphor. You do not have to be literally fertile to walk with The Tantrika. I’m sitting here with no uterus and feeling perfectly fertile (say what?! Read the blog).
What I’m asking is: how do you feel about creating something new? Do you feel well-expressed? Are you exuding life force and love? Is your organism able to expend energy on flowering? Can your organism grow another organism (again, a metaphor for any creative project).
This is what The Tantrika wants to know.
When you and the Tantrika are walking together, this is how she’ll steer the conversation.
Walking with The Tantrika means being willing to entertain the idea of flowering. It means that somewhere within your being, maybe right up front or maybe on the dark side of the moon, you are ready for the Medicine of The Tantrika.
The Medicine of The Tantrika is:
fertility, creativity, attraction, proliferation, collaboration, co-creation, juiciness, beauty, celebration, embodying the feminine principle of Nature, embodying the Goddess, and Love .
I wish you a joyous season of Flowering. May you and The Tantrika walk together in harmony.
Feel free to use any content in the Posh Priestess Packet in one of your publications or ceremonies, just include this complete blurb with it:
Katie Vie aligns people with their purpose using scent and symbolism. She creates the river island apothecary Archetype Anointing Collection as tools for personal alignment. Her eZine, The Posh Priestess Packet, is published 8 times a year in conjunction with seasonal shifts. Visit riverislandapothecary.com and sign up to receive your FREE copy.