8 Tips for Buying High Quality Essential Oils

As a botanical perfumer who is committed to creating the most luxurious, alchemical, and potent natural perfumes possible, I’ve spent years learning how to discern high quality, real essential oils from the fraudulent ones.

4 Ways Essential Oils and Natural Products are Adulterated

Far too often, essential oil suppliers will adulterate their oils by:

1. Cutting more expensive oils with less expensive ones

2. Adding synthetic aroma molecules to supposedly pure essential oils

3. Replacing the named oil with a totally different oil than what’s listed in the description

4. Selling purely synthetic, fake versions and true botanicals

8 Tips for Sourcing Authentic and Pure Essential Oils & Natural Products

Luckily, it’s actually pretty easy to avoid buying fake oils once you know what you’re doing! Here are the top 8 things I look for when sourcing quality oils:

1. The Price

Every essential oil is extracted from a different amount of raw plant material, and the more material it takes to make a drop of oil, the more expensive the oil will be. 

Tips:

• Every oil should have a different price—in other words, neroli and pine should not cost the same amount.

• Oil prices should generally fall within a certain price range. Compare prices at several different companies—if anything is way less than average, it’s likely fake. 

• Knowing  general pricing for aromatic groups can be helpful, too. A few guidelines here:

• Citruses and fragrant trees tend to be on the lower end of prices

• Flowers tend to be on the higher end of prices

• Rarer plants (often those that are only grown in certain areas) tend to be on the higher side

• Common fragrant plants (such as mint, cinnamon, clove, and lavender) tend to be more affordable as well

2. Botanical Names

Always look for the botanical name of the plant in question—the one written in latin. It should match the plant name on the bottle. This probably seems obvious, but I’ve seen plenty of mismatched common and botanical names on websites. 

Tips:

• Make sure the latin name matches the common plant name on the listing or bottle.

• Make sure the latin name is the variety you’re looking for—lavandula angustifolia is quite different from lavandula latifolia cineolifera or lavandula x intermedia grosso.

• If an oil doesn’t have a latin name, don’t buy it.

3. Extraction Method & Part Distilled

Most reputable suppliers will include the part of the plant the oil is extracted from, as well as how it was extracted in their product description. If this is missing, take it as a warning. After all, juniper berry essential oils is quite different from a juniper oil extracted from leaves and twigs!

Tips:

• Look for “Extraction Method”—Most oils are steam distilled, but not all. Citruses are often cold pressed, absolutes are solvent extracted, and CO2s are done with a regular or supercritical CO2 extraction. 

• Look for the “Plant Part”—Does the oil come from wood, fruit, flower, etc?

4. Country of Origin

Different countries produce different varieties and qualities of essential oils, so seeing the country of origin can give you a clue as to the quality of the oil.

Tips:

• Make sure there is a single country of origin listed. Blends from multiple countries tend to be of lesser quality (though not always).

• No listed country signals likely synthetic origins. 

5. Cultivation

Cultivation refers to how a plant was grown—is it wildcrafted, organic, or conventional? Seeing this listed is a good sign in general. 

Tips: 

• Make sure the cultivation method is likely to be accurate. For example, have you ever seen basil in the wild? Nope, wildcrafted basil isn’t likely. 

• Some plants are rarely, if ever, organically cultivated, whether because it’s unnecessary (as with many trees) or financially difficult (as with many precious flowers).

• Organic cultivation tends to be more expensive than conventional, so you can double check your pricing here, as well.

Like what you're reading? Join our community!

Subscribe

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at anytime.

6. Company Transparency

Good oils come from good businesses. Do you know who owns the company? Where they’re located? They’re return policies? 

Tips:

• Find the company’s about page. Look for specifics—like who founded the company, why they started, and their philosophy about the oils. Avoid generalized pages that might never say more than “We specialize in high quality essential oils.” 

• Look for clear shipping and return policies, as well as contact information. 

• Do they offer 3rd party testing reports? Look for “GC/MS batch-tested” and the ability to request these reports. 

7. Non-Existent Oils

Some plants, fragrant though they may seem to us, simply don’t produce enough essential oils to be extracted. Other plants don’t actually have strong scents, but companies use their names to describe synthetic aromas (think “cucumber-melon” for example). Make sure the oils you’re searching for actually exist! 

Tips:

• Many “food” smells cannot be botanically extracted, so they are almost always synthetic—cucumber, melon, apple, cherry, apricot, plum, and raspberry, to name a few.

• Many flowers are almost impossible to extract aroma from. The following are almost always synthetic—gardenia, lilac, wisteria, any lily, honeysuckle, freesia, hyacinth, and “white florals”.

• Plant names are often given to synthetic scents when the plant in question doesn’t actually have much of a fragrance—bamboo, papyrus, or willow for example.

8. Company Ethics

The way a company operates can say a lot about whether or not you want to support them, even beyond the quality of their oils. 

Here are a few things to consider:

• Does the company sell both “natural” and synthetic oils? I’ve found that companies who are truly committed to naturals have better quality oils. Plus, if they sell both, there is likely adulteration behind the scenes. 

• Does the company sell animal products? Many perfume suppliers still sell things like civet oil, which is obtained from a small wildcat through an extremely cruel and painful process. I try not to support any companies that perpetuate animal cruelty. 

• Does the company sell endangered oils? Many plants are at risk because of the demand for their precious oils. I try to find companies offering sustainable alternatives to the most threatened species. For example, while Indian sandalwood is endangered, Australian sandalwood can be a more sustainable alternative. 

• Does the company support safe use of essential oils? An ethical company will name warnings clearly—not for use with children or while pregnant, or with certain medications, for example. Watch out for companies that tell you to take essential oils internally (you can with some, but it’s a delicate dose), or that encourage you to use a ton of the oil at a time (the oils are precious, and a little goes a long way!).

There you go! 8 helpful tips for buying high quality essential oils. Happy shopping!

You might also like:

• A DIY Essential Oil Travel Kit

• Ritual Beauty: A Sacred Skincare Routine

• The Alchemy of Making Spiritual Perfumes

• 8 Essential Oils to Kickstart Your Next Creative Project + 3 Aroma-Rituals

• Essential Oils for Respiratory Health

• How to Boost Your Immune System with Essential Oils

The Complete Guide to Magical & Ritual Anointing Oils

Did your ancestors practice the sacred art of anointing?

Does your soul remember lifetimes as an oil-bearing priestess?

Do you experience a full-body resonance when you simply hear the word, anointing? 

If so, you just might carry the signature of one who is destined to work with these sacred oils in this lifetime. 

Read on to discover what anointing oils are, how they’re made, and why you should use anointing oils in your own spiritual and magical practices.

What are anointing oils?

Anointing oils are sacred infusions of plant materials and oils created to channel divine transmission into physical reality. 

Traditionally, anointing oils were made by macerating whole plant material into pressed oils—the spikenard in olive oil of the Bible and myrrh infused in safflower of ancient Egypt are just a few well-known examples.

Today, fragrant essential oils join the ingredient list, inviting rare and precious botanicals from throughout the world into our sacred oil repertoire. 

Anointing oils open our connection to both spiritual wisdom and divine healing. Perhaps this is because oils infused with botanicals are not only fragrant—they are medicinal. 

Every plant carries both physical and energetic gifts, and a true alchemist knows how to harmonize these layered intricacies, creating sacred oils that provoke divine bliss, carry unique vibrational signatures, and contain chemical properties that promote healing on all levels. —Juniper Stokes

A note of caution: Many anointing oils sold today contain synthetic fragrances. This is partly because these ingredients are much cheaper than true plant oils, and partly because there are many suppliers who sell fraudulent oils to well-intentioned makers. These oils do not carry the vibrational gifts and resonance of true, botanical anointing oils. Check out my free guide to avoiding fakes here.

The History of Anointing with Oil

From the beginning of time, in every culture and on every continent, humans have used fragrance to connect with the divine—and the use of sacred anointing oils has been one of the most important expressions of our aromatic practices.

By turning to the past, we discover the ancestral connections with plants held in our bodies and souls. And by living in the present, we can discover profound ways to create and make use of sacred oils today.

Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptians held that the world was created from the fragrance of the blue lotus, and scent was an integral part of all Egyptian life.

Precious oils were used to anoint and activate statues of the gods. Other blends—including the famous Kyphi—were used as both personal perfumes and as medicine. 

Download your FREE guide to Egyptian Deity Rituals

Send it my way!

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at anytime.

Egyptologist Dora Goldsmith (a PhD candidate and one of my personal teachers in this area), notes how inscriptions on temple walls point to the ritual and intention that went into creating anointing oils and unguents. While some perfumes and oils were made for daily use, others had very strict ritual instructions: These precious oils and perfumes could only be made by priests and priestesses—surrogates for royalty—and precise ingredients, steps, timelines, and even incantations were required during their creation.

(After studying with Dora for over a year—and reading over a dozen books on the fragrances and rituals of ancient Egypt—I have much more to share on this topic. Be sure to subscribe to stay in the loop!)

Vaso alchemico, unknown artist

It’s also likely that our modern practices of anointing royalty (yes, in England a new monarch is anointed in a private ceremony, with a secret blend of oils, to this day) began in ancient Egypt as well. In her groundbreaking work, Egypt’s Anointing Mysteries, Egyptologist Dr. Alison Roberts explores rituals in which the queen would take on goddess-like powers and attributes in order to empower the king through anointing practices.*

*As an aside, in Celtic traditions, kings would receive their power from a sovereignty goddess—without her blessing, he could not be sovereign of the land. A theme to be explored in further articles… ;) 

The fragrant traditions of Egypt spread throughout Europe and the Middle East, where they were influenced by expanding trade routes and changing cultures. From Greek Olympians empowering themselves with olive oil and Hippocrates’s instructions to anoint the sick with oil, to the Arabic healing traditions of Avicenna and Hebrew consecrations of priests and kings, to the Biblical anointing practices still used in churches today and much more, Western antiquity was bathed in fragrant oils. 

Myrrophores

Myrrophores, or “myrrh-bearers” were sacred priestesses who would channel the celestial power of the divine through sacred oils for soul-level healing—a tradition that likely originated in ancient Egypt and spread throughout the Greco-Roman empire, as well. 

Perhaps one of the most well-known acts of anointing in the West is when Mary Magdalene anointed Jesus’s feet with the oil of nard (spikenard). Here, as much as patriarchal retellings have tried to erase Mary Magdalene’s healing gifts, they have not been able to fully obscure the power of her anointing practice or her connection to the myrrhophores. 

Some mystical scholars even suggest that her transmission of prayer and protection, carried forth through sacred oil, empowered the resurrection that followed.

Featured Workshop

The Path of the Myrrhophore

A Magdalene Feast Day Ritual & Teaching

Learn More

How do anointing oils work?

Anointing oils work by transmitting divine empowerments into our physical reality.

This happens through the ingredients used, the approach to creating the oil, the art of transmission, and the rituals involved when using the oil.  

Plants have been our allies, teachers, healers, and guides since the dawn of humanity, and every plant used in an anointing oil carries a unique set of empowerment codes that synergistically act to empower the oil. 

When these plants are alchemized in sacred ceremony, they harmonize with the intentions of the alchemist to create a powerful unguent. 

When we place these oils on our body, or anywhere in our fields, we receive the oil’s alchemical codes and ignite our own transformation. 

Shamanic Transmission in Anointing Practices: The Key to Potency

The most powerful oils contain a transmission that they pass onto the anointed. 

When I create either an anointing oil or a botanical perfume, I always include a transmission ceremony for the finished product. My process is rooted in shamanic practice, though certainly not limited to those who identify with shamanism. 

After setting sacred space and preparing my mind, body, and spirit for the work, I enter into a mediumship state. If I’m channeling a particular deity, I invite them to merge with me. If I’m working with an intention, I call forth that energy to be present. Then, I pour the energetic signature of the being or intention involved directly into the final bottle. 

This way, not only does each bottle of perfume or oil contain the vibrational signatures of every botanical involved, it contains a direct healing transmission from spirit. This transmission is then activated with every use. Even if all you have time for is quick application on your wrist, the blessings will flow.

How to Use Anointing Oils

Throughout history, anointing was used for both healing and spiritual purposes—and as mentioned before, the two were often one and the same. 

Traditional aromatic rituals include:

• Awakening and honoring the gods: The anointing of deities’ statues to awaken and empower the gods was a common practice in Egypt and likely used in ancient Greece, as well.

• Blessings: Blessing visitors and guests with sacred oils was a common Hebrew practice in antiquity, and to this day babies might be anointed with sacred oils for blessing and protection at birth.

• Anointing the sick: Throughout the world, anointing the sick was a common practice. In Greece and the Arabic world, oils were infused with medicinal plants. In Christianity, priests would anoint the sick in what is known as an unction. 

• Consecration: Kings and priests were anointed by sacred oils, usually by priests standing in for God to symbolize the divine rights of the anointed. 

• Exorcism: The Oil of Catechumens, aka the Oil of Exorcism, is used by some churches to expel evil during baptisms—but the Christian church isn’t the only group to use oils for exorcism. In Taoist anointing traditions, oils are placed on key acupuncture points to expel ghosts and possessions.

Modern Anointing Practices

Today, magical practices and new spiritual practices have reinvigorated the use of anointing oils—and who can use them. 

I believe that it is our birthright to access the magical, spiritual, and healing gifts of sacred anointing oils. A few of my favorite ways to use oils include…

• Spiritual & Energy Healing—We can use the subtle vibrations of oils to shift our own energetic health.

• Taoist Anointing Practices—Apprenticing with a rare master in the Jade Purity tradition has opened my eyes to the magic that happens when we apply oils to specific meridians.

• Empowering Objects—Rubbing an oil on a sacred object imbues it with spiritual power. (Crystals love anointing oils!)

• Rituals and ceremonies—Anointing oils can enhance rituals and ceremonies of all types, including blessings, transitions, seasonal celebrations, and other intentions.  

• Connecting with the Divine—Whether you want to align with the energy of a specific deity, connect with the angels, or simply open yourself to spiritual wisdom, anointing oils can support you.

• Chakras—Blessing each energy can bring about balance and health.

• Spellwork and Manifestation—Whatever your intentions, be they prosperity, health, protection, or love, magical anointing oils can help.

A Personal Anointing Ritual

While anointing oils can be used in infinitely complex rituals, they can also be used for simple daily empowerment.

Here’s a short practice for anytime you want to connect with an intention or deity:

• Upon receiving your oil (spiritual perfumes will also work here), hold it to your heart and visualize your intention. See your intention flowing from you into the bottle and from the bottle into you. This will activate your personal connection with the oil.

• Next, inhale the oil’s fragrance deeply and several times. You can inhale directly from the bottle, or you can apply a bit to your wrist first. This activates your neural response to the oil, so you’ll more easily remember your intention every time you smell it in the future. 

• Then, apply the oil to your body on a daily basis for 30 days. Depending on your intention, you may rub a few drops into your heart or third eye. Or, you might simply wear a bit on your wrists as a perfume you can smell repeatedly until the natural fragrance fades. Either way, focus on your intention while you apply the oil.

Common Questions: How to Distinguish Anointing Oils from other Aromatic Practices

What’s the difference between an anointing oil and other botanical oils? 

The main difference lies in the intention with which the oil was created. Anointing oils must be created through ritual. This involves setting sacred space, blessing your materials, and infusing the resulting oil with a transmission of your intention. Some oils are made following specific instructions and recipes, while others are created by allowing the divine to work through you intuitively.

Are anointing oils the same as aromatherapy?

Anointing oils can fall within the realm of aromatherapy, but they don’t always do so.

There are two main approaches to modern aromatherapy: clinical aromatherapy, and subtle aromatherapy.* 

Subtle aromatherapy blends are based on the energetic and spiritual qualities of oils, and anointing oils certainly fall in this category. 

Clinical aromatherapy relies on the psycho-emotional and physical effects of oils. While anointing oils may certainly have psycho-emotional and physical effects, their primary purpose is spiritual in nature. So, your typical aromatherapy blends for stress relief or headaches probably aren’t anointing oils. 

*As a note, I feel that the best aromatherapy products integrate both subtle and clinical dimensions into their formulas.

What’s the difference between anointing oils and perfumes?

Broadly speaking, the word perfume can refer to anything used for aromatic purposes—incense, aromatic waters, oils, and unguents of all types all fall under this fragrant umbrella. 

Today, the word perfume most often refers to scents worn for pleasure, while the term anointing oil refers to sacred oils used for ritual and spiritual purposes.

However, I think it’s worth noting that throughout most of human history, fragrance, medicine, and spiritual practice were one and the same. 

In ancient Greece, the single word arómata was used to describe incense, perfume, spices, and aromatic medicine, showing us how little differentiation was given to aroma for pleasure, spirit, and health. Interestingly, the unguentarii, those who sold perfumes, were held in the same esteem as doctors.  

Are anointing oils the same as ritual oils? 

The way I create and use them, yes. 

Some folks will likely disagree here—especially if you’re focused on Christian anointing traditions or have specific guidelines around your magical practice. For me, anointing is sacred and it is magical, so I use the terms interchangeably.

Angel Magic & Anointing

Enhance angelic connections for protection and healing with sacred aromatics.

Learn More

If you’re ready to receive powerful light codes for healing and spiritual connection, be sure to explore my alchemical collection of pure, botanical anointing oils. 

Save this article on Pinterest with the image below!

You might also like:

• Severed from Scent: Losing Our Sense of Smell Began Long Before the Pandemic…

• Flower Essences 101: How to Partner with Plants for Whole-Self Healing

• 8 Tips for Buying High Quality Essential Oils

• Here’s What You Need to Know about Buying Natural Perfumes and Essential Oils

• How I Make Natural Perfumes: Art, Aroma, and Alchemy in a Bottle

• The Venusian Mysteries: Awakening the Sacred Feminine

• The Mystical and Magical Emergence of Angel Oils

Here’s What You Need to Know about Buying Natural Perfumes and Essential Oils (aka how to avoid the frauds!)

Those of us who love natural aromas and essential oils do so because we know they are gifts from nature. 

Every single plant on our earth carries both chemical and energetic signatures. When our own physical and energetic bodies receive the gifts of these plants, true healing and transformation can take place on every level of our being.

The same cannot be said for synthetic fragrances. 

Not only do lab-created fragrances lack the vital life force and energetic resonance of true plant materials, they’re often harmful to our health and planet.

Unfortunately, the world of aromatics is fraught with artificial and adulterated oils that are sold as “pure” and “natural”. 

Why? Because of the cost. True natural plant material is simply more expensive than synthetic ingredients across the board. 

While I hope that someday we stop prioritizing greed over life, as a collective, we’re just not there yet. 

So how can you protect yourself? How can you make sure that the oils and products you’re purchasing are truly natural?

I’ll be honest. I’ve learned to be very discerning with my ingredients the hard way…

Yes, despite my years of training and research I’ve been fooled—I’ve probably lost thousands of dollars to fraudulent suppliers and ignorant resellers over the years. 

But I’ve learned some key lessons along the way. The following are my top tips for navigating the wild world of natural fragrances.

1. If the price of an essential oil is too good to be true…it probably is. 

This is probably the number one easiest and most important thing to look for. True plant material will always be more expensive than its synthetic counterparts. 

Pro tip: There tend to be average price ranges for most essential oils. If in doubt, compare several companies’ pricing. Let’s look at a few examples…

How much does lavender essential oil cost?

Lavender essential oil tends to be one of the most affordable and available essential oils. 

Based on a few of my trusted companies, one ounce of lavender EO tends to cost between $17 and $50—country of origin, variety, and organic certification affect the price. 

The lavender EO from a popular oil supplier known to be fraudulent costs $30 for nine ounces!!! No, no, no.

How much does rose essential oil cost?

Along with lavender, rose essential oil is extremely popular—but it tends to be quite expensive. While true rose essential oil is available (and totally divine), the absolute* of rose is what most people purchase. 

From my trusted companies, one ounce of rose absolute from Bulgaria (generally the most affordable rose) costs between $150 and $300 ($200 is the most common pricing). 

Guess how much 1.69oz of Bulgarian rose absolute it from the popular fraudulent company? $36. Again, no, no, no.

(*Absolutes are extracted differently than true essential oils, though within the field of aromatherapy, the term “essential oil” is used as an umbrella to refer to all types of extractions.)

True plant extractions are expensive. And they’re worth it. Do your research and don’t become a sucker for a good price. 

2. The same pricing rules go for “natural” perfumes, oils, sprays, candles, and fragrances of all kinds, as well.

Why is it that some natural perfumers sell a 30ml perfume for $20, and some for $300? Why is it that you can find natural perfume oils on Etsy for as low as $6 and as high as the sky?

Of course, many factors play into how a maker prices their products—experience, artistry, complexity, quality and variety of ingredients, time spent, market recognition, and much more. 

But at a certain point, there is no way someone can be charging so little for a fragrance without using synthetics.  

And here’s the tricky part…these makers usually aren’t intentionally being fraudulent. Instead, they’ve likely been fooled themselves and have sourced impossibly cheap ingredients. Or, they’re using a somewhat “expanded” definition of natural fragrance (more on that below).

If you want to protect yourself from synthetic aromas, trust your intuition and apply everything you learn in this article when making any purchase.

3. If a company sells both synthetics (aka “fragrance” oils) and essential oils, be very wary. 

I’ve yet to find a company that sells both synthetic fragrances and good quality essential oils. And sadly, I’ve tried quite a few over the years. Maybe one exists, but in general, I take this as a major warning sign. (Not to mention, I personally don’t want to support the artificial fragrance industry.)

4. Watch out for fragrant flowers.

Rare and precious flowers delight our senses and form the heart of most natural perfumes. And, they’re very expensive. And, actually extracting essential oils (including absolutes and CO2s) is nearly impossible for many precious scents. 

True rose, jasmine, ylang ylang, boronia, orange blossom, geranium, osthmanthus, tuberose, jonquil, lotus, chrysanthemum, and frangipani are a few florals that are perfectly possible to obtain naturally (though some will cost you well over $1000/oz). 

Listed as ingredients, the following flowers are almost* always synthetic: lily of the valley, gardenia, lilac, daphne, any lily, honeysuckle, freesia, and hyacinth, to name a few. Anything described as “white florals” tends to point to synthetics, as well. 

*The exceptions being labor-intensive enfleurage and tinctures—but you’ll pretty much never find these in commercially produced fragrances.

Any lily fragrance is most likely synthetic.

No natural honeysuckle essential oil exists.

5. Learn to identify the common synthetic descriptors.

While creative combinations of natural oils can produce a wide range of aromas, there are a few descriptors that are most often found with synthetics.

Two main categories to watch out for are one, anything described as “oceanic” or “aquatic”, and two, most fruity and food aromas. 

This tip is definitely more of a general guideline than a rule. A talented alchemist can create marine notes, fun fruits, and sugary sweetness using naturals. I certainly do, and I even use these descriptors. 

Overall though, these fragrance families are commonly synthetic. With oceanic and aquatic fragrances, this is because these descriptors were used to describe the aldehyde-based fragrances that became popular in the 1990s.

As for the foods, the frequency of synthetics is partly because there simply aren’t natural oils that smell like fresh peaches or plums, and partly because even food flavorings found in essential oils are often synthetic for cost reasons. Cinnamon and vanilla are a few of the most commonly adulterated essential oils (scientists are even piloting a vanilla flavoring made from plastic). 

​
Download Your FREE Guide to Flower Essences

Send it my way!

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at anytime.

6. Beware of “clean fragrance” and natural isolates

“Clean” Perfume Houses

With growing awareness of the harmful effects of synthetic fragrances, many perfume houses market their perfumes as “clean”. These companies have a lovely list of EWG-approved ingredients, as well as a promise to be free from cruelty, phthalates, and all sorts of other known carcinogens. 

This might be exactly what you’re looking for—in which case, shop away! 

Just be aware that clean does not mean natural. These companies use what are called “safe synthetics” in their perfumes. So, if you’re looking for truly natural perfume and all the benefits it offers, be sure to look beyond greenwashing. 

Natural Perfume Brands

Many perfumers call themselves “natural perfumers” because they know this is what people are looking for. These perfumers will use mostly natural perfume ingredients, but they rely on synthetics to make their perfumes. If you’re avoiding synthetics for any reason—especially health ones—this defeats the purpose. When in doubt, reach out to the perfumer and ask nicely, but very directly.

Isolates?

If you read the natural perfume ingredient lists of the most popular perfume brands today, you’ll often find words like cedrat, benzaldehyde, and alpha-isomethyl ionone. 

Wait—you might as yourself-–how can something natural sound like it comes from a laboratory?

Because it does. Isolates are molecular extractions from plant origin, and the Natural Perfumers Guild includes them in its list of acceptable natural ingredients. 

Since these chemical components come from plants, you might feel totally fine with using them. They certainly expand the perfumer’s palette! 

Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing how these isolates were extracted (i.e. what process or chemicals were used), or what plant material they originated from. GMO origin is extremely common here, as well.

I personally do not use isolates, as I blend energetically as well as fragrantly. This means that bringing the whole, energetic presence of a plant into my blends is just as important as how it smells. Isolates contain none of the life force and spiritual blueprints for healing that whole plant materials do.

7. Parfum, perfume, and fragrance: A tip for purchasing natural products.

As with many of the words in this list, these terms are used for both synthetic and natural fragrances, meaning that there are no hard and fast rules here. However, if you see any of these terms on a natural product—think shampoos, body lotions, candles, etc—there is a 99.9% chance that synthetics are involved. 

(FYI, I’ve found “Clean at Sephora” to be one of the worst offenders here. Bath and Bodyworks aromatherapy products might have some essential oils, but they most definitely have synthetics, as well.)

8. Be careful when sourcing from various countries. 

First, there are plenty of unscrupulous companies in the US, where I live, as well as throughout the world. And, my worst experiences personally have been from when I tried to buy oils directly from suppliers in India and Egypt. 

While I don’t like calling out specific countries or companies publicly, I’ve seen enough harm that I feel the need to specifically address these two places in particular. 

First, India is home to many of the world’s most precious raw aromatics. Beautiful oils and true natural perfumes come out of India and I’m eternally grateful for all the amazing pure oils I have sourced from this country. 

India is also home to a disproportionate number of online oil suppliers that sell blatantly synthetic oils as pure and natural. Too often, I see people think that costs are lower because they’re buying directly from the supplier. 

This isn’t true. First, the prices are far too low even for a direct supply (yet just high enough to make you sorry if you buy too much…speaking from experience). Second, any experienced nose will be able to tell how fraudulent these oils are from a mile away. 

Next, Egypt. I’ve seen many magical makers of anointing oil claiming to source their oils directly from Egypt. Maybe they have a good connection there…but I have my doubts. 

I remember visiting perfumeries and oil houses during my own travels to Egypt. Time and again, I sat down to smell all these wonderful pure, natural oils. And time and again, my nose was disappointed. 

Sure, if you like synthetic aromas (and many people do—our noses are trained to at this point), you’ll like what you smell. But these oils are not natural. While some, especially the florals, do smell close to the natural versions, any trained nose will pick up on far too many synthetic aromas in the mix. 

So please, just be careful if you’re either sourcing directly from these countries or purchasing sacred oils from someone who claims to have gotten their oils from these locations.

9. Trust your nose.

Finally, trust your nose. 

This is easier said than done for most folks. Modern life is filled with so many synthetic aromas and fragrances that most people have lost touch with what “natural” really smells like. But you can learn. The more you smell natural fragrances, the more you’ll be able to identify their synthetic counterparts. 

Making the Shift to Natural Perfumes

If you’re worried that letting go of synthetics will leave you smelling like a patchouli-drenched hippie—think again. (Although, I do love a patchouli-drenched hippy myself.)

Elevated natural perfumes and anointing oils are far more than the aromatherapy blends you might be imagining. Give true natural fragrance a try and see what you think ;)

---

You might also like:

• Severed from Scent

• Flower Essences 101: How to Partner with Plants for Whole-Self Healing

• 8 Tips for Buying High Quality Essential Oils

• A Complete Guide to Magical & Ritual Anointing Oils

• The Magic and Medicine of the Rose

• A Guide to Perfume Types

• Ritual Beauty: A Sacred Skincare Routine

Did you find this article helpful? Share these graphics on Pinterest!

3 Creative Ways to Celebrate Summer Solstice

Summer Solstice is celebrated in many wonderful ways throughout the world, including dancing around bonfires, seasonal feasts, visiting sacred wells and waters, and leaving offerings for the fae. 

I’ll be dipping my toes into all of the above this solstice, as well as a few new activities I encourage you to try…

1. Watch the sunrise and sunset with a grateful heart

Watching the sunrise and sunset has many benefits for our minds, bodies, and souls—what better time to intentionally set aside time for both than the Summer Solstice? On this day, allow the time, energy, and intention you give to witnessing the sun’s cycles connect you with its divine solar energy.

2. Collect the morning dew for magic and healing. 

This idea came to me from Betsy Bergstrom, and I love it so much I wanted to share with all of you :)

If you’re in an area where lots of dew accumulates, you might be lucky enough to be able to fill a small jar with the dew of the solstice. Shake off leaves and tip full flowers into your vessel. This will be magically potent water that you can use for rituals, healings, and spells throughout the year.

If this means of collection is challenging, you can also soak a cloth in the dew of the grasses. Your cloth will become a healing cloth for the next solar cycle. You might lay it upon injuries or use it in rituals. 

3. Take a prophecy walk.

One of the assignments I give to my Rewilding the Spirit students is to take a quiet, intuitive walk with the intention of receiving omens from nature. This walk can be in the woods or simply your neighborhood—often, closer to home is even more impactful because of your ongoing relationship with the spirits of your land. 

As you walk, try not to talk or listen to podcasts or music. Set the intention to receive guidance about something that’s been on your mind, and then open your awareness to signs from the universe. 

Betsy also mentioned that Solstice gives us a beautiful opportunity to set the intention of receiving prophecies for the year to come on this walk.

Remember, the universe communicates in symbolic language. Think of the messages from your walk as a dream to unravel over time. 

How will you celebrate Summer Solstice this year?

You might also like:

• The Magic and Medicine of the Rose

• How to have a blessing ceremony for your summer travels

• What Happens When You Watch A Sunrise?

• 8 Benefits of Partnering with the Spirits of Nature

• Coregulating with the Natural World

A Shamanic Guide to Illness & Health

Explore the five main causes of illness from a shamanic perspective―and how to heal them.

In this free workshop, you'll discover:
​

• The 5 types of spiritual illness we all encounter
• How to know if you're experiencing spiritual illness
• The surprising ways addressing spiritual illness can impact your life
• A practice to strengthen your energy field right now

TAKE A POWERFUL STEP TOWARD THE LIFE YOU'RE HERE TO LIVE.

Enter your email to access this 65-minute workshop today!

Send me the workshop!

5 Steps for Communicating with The Spirits of Nature

The spirits of nature are always around us.

You’ve probably sensed their presence on occasion. A tingling in your spine. A breeze that you just knew had a message for you. A stone with a face so clear it could not be ignored. 

It is absolutely possible to drop into deeper communication with these nature spirits. All it takes is a heartfelt intention, patience, and practice. 

Do you want to start communicating with the spirits of nature? Here are five steps to get started. 

1. Slow Down

Feel into the pacing of your life. For most of us, a sense of tension or frazzled energy arises. Why? We’re moving at a rapid pace that is foreign to our natural way of being. 

When you’re tied to your to-do lists and glued to multiple screens, it’s next to impossible to be present. But the present moment is exactly where you’ll find the spirits of nature. 

While most of us love the idea of a slower paced life, actually getting there is another story. It’s actually an act of revolution. 

You can begin by carving at least a bit of time each day to pause and focus on the present moment. Go for a meandering walk. Meditate for 10 minutes. Anything that helps you just be is welcome. 

Then start bringing slowness into more of your life as it is. When you’re preparing food, for example, really be present. Remind yourself that the rush is often self-imposed. Put on music you love, delight in the colors and flavors and creativity and nourishment unfolding on your cutting board. 

As a slower pace of life becomes more natural for you, your energy will shift into greater attunement with the pace of nature. This alone opens the door to communication with nature spirits. 

2. Harmonize with Nature’s Rhythms

Similar to slowing down but just a bit more intentional, harmonizing the rhythms of your life with the rhythms of nature is another powerful way to cultivate the ability to communicate with the spirits of nature. 

Here are a few simple ways to explore living in alignment with the cycles of nature:

• Watch the sunrise and/or sunset each day. This has powerful impacts on your physical body and spiritual well-being. 

• Practice moon gazing. Spend a few minutes gazing at the moon each night. Over time, you’re body will start syncing with lunar cycles. Notice the unique ways this affects you physically and energetically. 

• Eat seasonally. Do you know what’s in season when where you live? Or better yet, do you grow a bit of your own food? Eating seasonally doesn’t need to be extreme—I certainly still eat salads in the winter! It can become an intentional way to connect with the seasons though. What does your body crave right now? 

As you track your energy levels, moods, and physical body throughout these cycles, you’ll begin to learn more about what your authentic self craves. Then, as you make adjustments based on this information, you’ll find that the voices of nature’s spirits become even louder in your awareness. 

3. Tune into Your Body

Our bodies are of the earth, and they are powerful vessels for receiving the earth’s messages. 

Remember, the spirits of nature don’t necessarily speak English as a first language ;) 

One of the most common ways for the spirits of nature to communicate with us is through our bodies. This usually comes in the form of feelings and sensations.

Trust what you feel—even if you don’t know what it means right away. This confirmation of spirits’ presence is the first step.

Then, over time, you’ll start unpacking the messages you receive in ways that are unique for you. 

Some will see images, others will hear words, and still others might just have a knowing. Regardless of how your communication comes through, know that it will happen. 

You can use your breath to begin attuning your body to receive nature’s wisdom. Follow your breath into the present moment. Then bring your awareness to your body. Notice the sensations without judgment. Then expand your awareness beyond your body to the nature spirits around you. What shifts? What sensations can you start associating with their presence? 

Another way to prepare your body for communicating with nature spirits is to drop a grounding cord deep into the earth. This attunes you our mother’s energy and keeps you grounded as you open your intuitive sight. 

4. Start Where You Are 

All of us cohabitate with numerous land spirits. This includes the ones we can see—the trees and stones and birds—and the ones that exist just parallel to our 3D reality—the fairies and devas and ancestral spirits. 

These beings are well aware of your presence.

Forming relationships with the beings you already live with is a beautiful way to show respect to the more-than-human world. You’re life already impacts these spirits of the land, and when you become more conscious of this, these spirits will often respond quite clearly.

It’s important to remember that this is true even of those who live in apartments or in areas that seem more separated from the spirits of nature. These beings live everywhere, and they don’t view property lines in the same ways that we do. 

One beautiful way to begin cultivating a relationship with the spirits of your place is through a sit spot practice. 

Simply find a place that you visit regularly—once a week at minimum. 

Then, spend some time there regularly. Notice the plants, stones, and animals that frequent that place. Observe how it changes throughout the seasons. 

Practice slowing down, opening your senses, and tuning into your body. 

Notice where your thoughts travel while you’re here, or insights that might arise throughout your life because of your sit spot time. 

This is nature communicating with you. 

It’s not uncommon to receive a gift after several visits to your sit spot. If you’re so lucky, be sure to give thanks and treat this gift with the reverence it deserves. 

5. Reciprocity 

Perhaps the most important thing anyone who wants to communicate with the spirits of nature can do is practicing reciprocity. 

The earth gives us so much. And it restores divine order when we give back. 

What does reciprocity look like? There are many ways to nourish a reciprocal relationship with the earth. Here are just a few ideas, and I encourage you to practice all of them!

• Love and gratitude. Offering your heartfelt love and gratitude for the simple presence of nature’s spirits and the earth herself is invaluable. The earth feels this gift from your heart. Intention, focus, and authentic love are all that’s needed. If you’re really dropping in here, you’re eyes will probably start to water from the power of your gift and receptivity of the earth. 

• Picking up trash. We’ve probably all come across the random bit of trash on a hike or walk in nature—some places with more than others. The spirits of nature are truly harmed by this litter, yet they rely on us to remove it for them. Bring a bag with you wherever you walk or hike and pick up garbage as you go. This act alone just might accelerate your ability to communicate with nature spirits faster than anything else. 

• Offerings. Giving physical offerings to the earth and her inhabitants, especially when you’re gathering her gifts, is greatly appreciated by the spirits of nature. Just be sure that the gifts are appropriate and won’t disrupt the natural ecosystem (when I visit the delicate desert ecosystems in Canyonlands I only offer love). Small crystals, a strand of hair, cornmeal, dried plants, or fairy foods are all common offerings. 

• Lifestyle. Is your lifestyle ecofriendly and sustainable? Are the products you use natural? The deeply ingrained structures of modern life make it next to impossible for us to live as sustainably as we wish we could. But even if personal lifestyle changes seem like drops in a bucket for the challenges our earth faces, what you do matters. The spirits of nature are watching, and they are far more willing to communicate with those who show them love and respect through daily actions and choices. 

• Earth Tending. As your nature spirit communication deepens and your spiritual skills grow, you may feel called to the art of earth tending. This involves spiritual and energetic practices that actively support our earth. Energetic and crystal grids, soul retrieval for the land, clearing dense energies, and transfiguration ceremonies are just a few of the potentials in this realm. 

A Shamanic Guide to Illness & Health

Explore the five main causes of illness from a shamanic perspective―and how to heal them.

In this free workshop, you'll discover:
​

• The 5 types of spiritual illness we all encounter
• How to know if you're experiencing spiritual illness
• The surprising ways addressing spiritual illness can impact your life
• A practice to strengthen your energy field right now

TAKE A POWERFUL STEP TOWARD THE LIFE YOU'RE HERE TO LIVE.

Enter your email to access this 65-minute workshop today!

Send me the workshop!

It’s more important than ever for all of us to learn to communicate with the spirits of nature and the earth herself. 

Not only do these beings need us to show up and act on their behalf, they can guide us safely through the turbulence ahead in exchange. 

And the more you tend to the wild spirits around you, the more in touch with your own wild spirit you become. 

The world needs our wildness awake and alive.

You might also like:

• Who is your Spirit Animal? A 4-Step Guide for Understanding Our Animal Allies

• Earth Friends & Reciprocity (You Belong Here)

• Daily Ritual to Unplug & Get Grounded

• Coregulating with the Natural World

• How to Work with the Spirits of the Land: 3 Powerful Practices

• 8 Benefits of Partnering with the Spirits of Nature

8 Benefits of Partnering with the Spirits of Nature

What are the benefits of working with the spirits of nature?

All of us co-exist with a wide variety of nature spirits—some we can see, like trees and stones, and some are best met through our other senses, such as fairies and elves. 

When we enter into conscious relationship with the seen and unseen beings all around us, miracles begin to unfold in our lives. 

Why? Because our connection with these beings influences every part of our lives, whether we’re aware of it or not. 

Many of the nature spirits around us are very aware of our presence, our behavior, and our intentions. 

When we ignore them, which honestly they’re used to at this point, at best they ignore us as well. But depending on the type of spirit and our behavior, we could find ourselves experiencing lots of unhelpful blocks or trickster energy. 

Still others are basically asleep to our human world. We’ve ignored each other for so long that it’s as if we’re both living our own parallel yet separate dreams. 

This separation is an illusion though. We co-exist and do influence each other. When we “wake up” these beings through the loving intention to create a reciprocal relationship, an immense amount of spiritual support becomes available to us. 

Anyone who continues to deepen their relationship with the natural world will experience gifts across the spectrum of life. Here are a few…

1. Spending time in nature is good for our health. 

There are entire books written on the physical and psychological benefits of spending time in nature—The Biophilia Effect by Clemens G. Avrayis one of my favorites.

From the way our coevolution with plants makes them potent sources of medicine, to the healing terpenes found in summer forests, to the countless studies that show seeing greenery and growth alleviates depression, and so much more—spending time in nature is critically important for our health. 

2. The nature spirits can offer us unseen support for all of life. 

The better relationship we have with those we live with, the happier our lives will be—this is equally true for people and spirits. 

Just as nature spirits can create obstacles or have trickster energy, they can also remove obstacles and create seeming miracles in our lives. 

Cultivating a strong relationship with the spirits of nature where you live can help you be at the right place at the right time—even if it seems unrelated to being in nature. Meeting important people, finding the new opportunities, and experiencing greater abundance are all natural outcomes of right relationship with nature spirits. 

3. You and your property will experience extra protection. 

One particular area of support nature spirits can share with us is that of protection—for yourself, your loved ones, and your property. 

When I lived in Denver, porch pirates were rampant in my neighborhood, and other theft wasn’t uncommon. Every single day, I would partner with the spirits of nature to surround my property and home with spiritual protection—and we never once had anything stolen.

I want to be clear that there are no guarantees here—sometimes shit just happens. But I absolutely know that we were supported by the spirits of our place in this way. (I mean, I ordered a lot of boxes…especially during the pandemic. this really does seem miraculous to me!)

4. Deepening your relationship with nature leads to magical and practical gifts.

The more you engage with the natural world, the more the natural world will engage with you. At a basic level, this can be seen in the joy of a successful garden, finding “treasures” on your walks and hikes, discovering secret spots in nature, amazing animal sightings, and intuitive hits on which plants to turn to for healing remedies. 

I spent about a decade deepening my relationship with the nature spirits of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, and sooo many gifts emerged over our time together—including lots of fun animal encounters, which I pretty much live for. 

But the one animal I always wanted to see but never had was a big bear. Over the years, I saw moose, fox, elk, mountain goats, tons of birds, and many more…but in all my time I’d never gotten to see a bear. 

On my final trip to my favorite spot in the mountains before moving out of state, I finally saw a huge brown bear. It sauntered right by me, no more than 20 feet from where I sat. It took years of love and dedication, but I know this sighting was a true gift from the nature spirits there. 

5. Partnering with the spirits of nature is key to our survival. 

At this point, when we look at the massive changes and imbalances on our planet, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. We must start listening to the needs of nature if we’re to have any future at all. 

Partnering with the spirits of nature is how our ancestors survived, and it’s time for us to do the same. 

When we learn to really listen, we tap into a hidden resource for navigating a rapidly changin world We intuitively know how to prepare for extreme weather events, how to plan for seasons and crops, when to move, where to find the medicinal and edible plants, and so much more. 

Please understand that this doesn’t mean we’re immune to the collective effects of natural disasters and climate change. No one, no matter how beloved you are to the earth, can escape the effects of our collective actions, not to mention there’s a lot of mystery and karma involved here.

It does mean though, that you will absolutely be better prepared and supported for navigating the times ahead.

6. You’ll be able to work magic with the elements.

I’ll admit it: One of my pet peeves in spiritual communities is the tendency to cry out for “rain dances” in times of drought and fire, or to perform collective ceremonies to stop flooding, to ask the wind to blow another direction and soften its gusts. 

Yes, working with the elements is important and possible. What drives me crazy, however, is the idea that we can ignore the elements, abuse the earth, and then simply decide to “do ceremony” for the weather when it suits our needs. Nope!

Being able to perform weather magic and work with the elements is a privilege that comes from taking the time to establish a long, secure, reciprocal relationship with these powerful energies. 

But when you really take the time to come into deep relationship with the elements, everything becomes possible. 

The elements are the building blocks of our world and carry immense power beyond our comprehension. Working with the elements is the key to making magic with real-world, miraculous results, both in your personal life and in service of our collective. 

7. Partnering with the spirits of nature helps you rewild your life. 

We evolved in intimate connection with the land, the seasons, and the more-than-human world. Returning to these natural connections restores our essential nature—the truth of who we are before society and culture tame our wild spirits. 

Your true self is uniquely gifted to fulfill your role on our planet. When you tune into your true nature, you’ll find that you already know what to do and when to do it. You’ll find joy and wholeness are already within. 

Rewilding takes us out of chronos time and into kairos time, a circular wild world where anything and everything is possible. 

The wild spirits of nature remember how to be wild. They can help you remember, too.

8. You’ll experience greater fulfillment as you expand your circle of compassion.

Partnering with the spirits of nature opens you to an entire new world of meaningful relationships, and you’ll soon discover that you’re never really alone. 

Nurturing these relationships opens us to more meaningful dimensions of life and brings deep fulfillment on a soul level.

Want to learn how to start working in partnership with the spirits of nature? Here are 5 Simple Steps.

A Shamanic Guide to Illness & Health

Explore the five main causes of illness from a shamanic perspective―and how to heal them.

In this free workshop, you'll discover:
​

• The 5 types of spiritual illness we all encounter
• How to know if you're experiencing spiritual illness
• The surprising ways addressing spiritual illness can impact your life
• A practice to strengthen your energy field right now

TAKE A POWERFUL STEP TOWARD THE LIFE YOU'RE HERE TO LIVE.

Enter your email to access this 65-minute workshop today!

Send me the workshop!

You might also like:

• How to Use Flower Essences: A Complete Guide

• Coregulating with the Natural World

• Gnome Plant & Meeting the Queen of the Underworld

• Ecological Trauma: A Guide to Understanding Eco-Trauma

• Lessons from Squirrels

How to Be Spiritually Sovereign: Making Magic with the Virgin Goddesses

When it comes to the gods and goddesses of Greek mythology, everyone is sleeping with everyone. Almost. 

Three goddesses remain untouched by the wanted—or often unwanted—passions of men. As Jean Shinoda Bolen shares in her iconic book, Goddesses in Everywoman, these are the virgin goddesses…

Meet Artemis, Athena, and Hestia. 

Of all the Greek goddesses, these were the only ones who never married, were never overpowered, and were never humiliated by male deities or men. 

Interestingly, as Bolen notes, only these three—among gods, goddesses, and humans alike—were the only beings never susceptible to Aphrodite’s seductive power. 

Why? How could these virgin goddesses maintain their independence? Because they are each whole in and of themselves. These aren’t just the virgin goddesses—these are sovereign goddesses. 

Virginity carries many connotations in our modern vernacular—though we will still apply it to some goods such as virgin oil, it’s most often associated with sex. 

When it comes to archetypal perspectives on virginity, the definition expands. The virgin archetype is one of purity—such as the spiritual clarity and pure heart of Mother Mary. And the virgin archetype is one of originality—meaning, “in original form”.

Your original form. Before you were touched, influenced, and hurt by all that we experience in our lives. 

The virgin archetype within us is our true self—that part of us that is whole, divine, and always spiritually free and fulfilled. 

As we move through life, most of us lose touch with our true selves to varying degrees. 

We experience trauma and soul loss. We’re enculturated into the rules and norms of societal and family systems that don’t always meet the needs of our wild spirits. And we’re subtly—and not so subtly—manipulated by forces and groups that thrive when we give our power away. 

This is normal. And it’s within the awesome gifts of the virgin goddesses to help. 

The virgin goddesses can model sovereignty, freedom, and wholeness for us.

And to be clear—this doesn’t mean we aren’t in relationship! Rather, it means that we are complete within ourselves, which allows us to enter into relationship with greater clarity, healthier boundaries, and more secure attachment styles. 

Each of the Greek virgin goddesses offers us a slightly different perspective on spiritual and personal sovereignty…

And, as a note—I especially love that these goddesses show us that the following qualities are all inherently feminine. These aren’t goddesses embodying masculine qualities within feminine form. These are feminine goddesses reflecting the divine feminine back to us—leadership, wisdom, contemplation, independence, focus, and achieving goals are innately feminine traits.

Gustav Klimt's Pallas Athena

Athena

Athena (Minerva), the goddess of wisdom and crafts, helps us connect our heads and our hearts in a way that illuminates Truth with a capital T. Just a few of her gifts we can explore:

• Athena helps us see beyond the surface and uncover the deeper mysteries and knowledge available to us. 

• Able to hold both strategic, practical insights alongside creative energy that is self-generated and refined, Athena is an invaluable ally for bringing impeccable creations to life.

• As a regal goddess who thrives in culture, Athena models true leadership, leadership we can apply to our own lives as well as draw from in service of others. 

The Goddess of the Hearth - Hestia by Roy the Art

Hestia

Hestia (Vesta), the goddess of the hearth, is said to be felt within the heart of every home, turning our everyday world into a sacred space. A few of the gifts we can explore:

• Hestia’s attention to the sacredness of our homes tunes us into the sensual nature of daily living, making simple household “chores” acts of pleasure and devotion.

• The sacredness of our homes is extended to our bodies as well. Hestia reminds us that we are whole and sacred, and helps us treat our body temples with reverence and gratitude.

• Hestia’s inward focus aligns with great mysticism. In meditating with this goddess, we touch into our oneness with the divine, receive deep spiritual insights, and cultivate the stillness from all movement arises.

Athena by Thomas Dodd

Artemis

Artemis (Diana), the goddess of the moon and the hunt, brings us the gifts of rewilding. A few of her gifts to explore:

• More at home in nature’s wilds than any society, Artemis is especially skilled at helping us deprogram from cultural conditioning and remember our own wild natures. 

• A fierce defender of women, Artemis is one of the few goddesses who show no jealousy toward other women, helping us both embrace the power of sisterhood and embody independence.

• As a skilled archer and goddess of the hunt, Artemis helps us pursue what really matters without fear of competition, judgment, or failure. She knows she can accomplish whatever she sets out to achieve, and helps us do the same. 

This is truly the tip of the iceberg when it comes to these goddesses, and I’ll be sharing more in-depth explorations of their magic and medicine in future articles. 

For now though, here’s a practice to give you a taste of what working with these powerful women can offer…

Decide on which goddess you would like to connect with from the above list, and then follow the instructions below.

Like what you're reading? Join our community!

Subscribe

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at anytime.

Goddess Meditation for Sovereignty

1. Get into a comfortable position. Bring your awareness to the present moment. Feel your body, sense the space you’re held in, and drop anything that’s not needed at this time. Use your breath to call in awareness and let go of distraction.

2. Visualize yourself in a beautiful, protective orb of light. Affirm that only love and compassionate beings are invited and able to be with you in this practice. 

3. Use your intention to call forth the goddess you wish to connect with, making sure to specify that you wish to meet with her most compassionate form. You might like to speak her name aloud. Repeat her name as a mantra until you feel her presence. 

4. As for an attunement to this goddess. She will take the lead so simply receive. You may get images, have a knowing of what’s happening, or simply feel vibrational shifts. Some people will even get a hint of an aroma as confirmation of the goddess’s presence. 

5. When the attunement feels complete, ask the goddess, “How can I embody greater sovereignty in my daily life?”

6. Allow the answers to arise in your consciousness. Remember, spirit speaks in symbols and feelings. If you don’t feel clear on the answer right away, it’s likely that more meaning will unfold in the coming days. Stay open to synchronicities and insights related to your question. 

7. Give thanks. Offer gratitude for the goddess and blessings and wisdom she’s shared with you. 

8. Close the meditation. Affirm that the process is complete, all beings may return to where they came from, and you are free to rest. 

If you’d like to explore the gifts of the goddesses further, it’s not too late to join the Goddess Activation Series.

Each month, we meet with a different goddess to explore her gifts and receive an attunement to her energy. These are accessible 90 minute workshops and each is recorded in case you can’t make it live. 

You might also like:

• The Heliacal Rise of Sirius, the Five Sacred Epagomenal Days, and the Egyptian New Year

• Healing with the Goddess Ma'at

• The Protection of the Goddess: Evaluation of Past Life Vows

• The Venusian Mysteries: Awakening the Sacred Feminine

The Protection of the Goddess: Evaluation of Past Life Vows

(image: Diana Hunting, Guillaume Seignac)

Have you ever felt inexplicably drawn to a particular deity?

Many women today have past life connections with goddesses that greatly influence our current lives.

If, in a past life, you were part of the cult of a goddess, worshipped in her temple, or prayed and made offerings to her frequently, it's likely that your bond extends beyond one lifetime. She is most likely still here, with you, supporting and loving you in this lifetime.

There are a few goddesses that I've had lifelong connections with, and over time, it's been fascinating to uncover more dimensions of our history together.  Freya and Isis are two of my most steadfast allies, as is Diana....

Artemis to the Greeks and Diana to the Romans, this goddess reigns supreme over the hunt, wild animals, the wilderness, fertility, and the moon. An eternal virgin (which really means complete and sovereign in this context), Artemis-Diana has remained a powerful ally for many modern women today, acting as one of the primary goddess of witches and Wicca practitioners.

While I've felt connected with many goddesses over the years, I came to explore the fullness of my relationship with Diana relatively recently. (Interestingly, though I'm usually drawn to the Greek pantheon, it was always clear that my vows had been made to Diana rather than Artemis - perhaps a clue to when and where our lives together took place.)

Through a series of profound spiritual experiences, I discovered that I had been a priestess of Diana in many lives. Realizing my deep relationship with this goddess has been incredible empowering - and it has explained a lot. My natural ability to communicate with wild animals, comfort spending days alone in the wilderness, fierce protective instinct for women's sovereignty...

Under the Protection of Goddess Diana

Diana came to me full force during a shamanic initiation with a teacher who unfortunately was under the influence of her own shadow. (I didn't realize it immediately, but she was targeting me psychically and caused me real damage for many years.)

During one of our sessions together, she told me that it was time to break my past life vows with Diana. That whatever vows I made in the past were holding me back from my path in this lifetimes.

At the time, I really trusted this teacher. But my whole body screamed NO to the idea. I checked in with Diana and my other guides for perspective. They showed me that my vows to this goddesses were of love and freedom, they provided me with her protection and power but in no way held me back from anything my soul was called to do.

If I had allowed this teacher to break my vows, I would have been released from the protection of Diana. And it turned out, I really needed her protection around this teacher.

The Need to Reevaluate Past Life Vows

I do believe it's important to examine the vows we make in past lives, as not all of them are supportive. For example, had my vow included certain caveats, like remaining a virgin or rejecting wealth, I would likely suffer the consequences in this life - perhaps through relationship or financial challenges. It's always good to examine the agreements and vows we've made.

But whether to break your vows is always your decision — never let a teacher tell you what's best for you. By developing your own relationships with spirit guides in your life, and by learning to activate and trust your intuition, you will know what's best for you. This is one important element of cultivating your personal sovereignty.

Activate Your Own Connections with the Goddesses

Which goddesses do you feel a pull to? What clues to past life connections can you see? Do you sense any vows that it is now time to break? To rekindkle?

Leave a comment if so. I'd love to hear from you.

Want to deepen your connection with Diana? The Diana-Artemis Goddess Activation workshop is filled with practices and rituals and recipes and meditations and more.

Like what you're reading? Join our community!

Subscribe

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at anytime.

You might also like:

• Healing with the Goddess Ma'at

• Humans are losing their ****, and how body and Earth can help

• Coregulating with the Natural World

• It’s Not Depression. It’s Exhaustion. ☥ Why Creative Women Are Burning Out and the Soul-Level Need for Deep Rest

• How to Be Spiritually Sovereign: Making Magic with the Virgin Goddesses

Which Should I Choose? Sprays, Oils, and Solid Perfumes

In natural perfumery, you'll find three main types of perfumes: sprays, oils, and solids. All are wonderful, but each will give you a slightly different experience.

Perfume Sprays

Unless otherwise mentioned, most perfume sprays come in EDP (eau de parfum) strength, which is about 15-20% aromatics. This is true of Alchemessence perfumes, which contain a base of 100% pure organic alcohol.

Perfume sprays allow you to enjoy an all-over aroma--you can spray your hair, your clothes, a scarf, an undergarment...sprays are incredibly versatile.

Sprays also tend to be a bit lighter and slightly more fleeting in scent than oil and solid perfumes.

Perhaps the main advantage of perfume sprays is that they have a long-lasting shelf life. The pure alcohol preserves these perfumes almost indefinitely.

Perfume Oils

Perfume oils are typically made at a slightly higher concentration that sprays, and their cost usually reflects this. It's not uncommon for an oil to be a pure perfume extrait, which can contain from 25% aromatics all the way up to 40%!

These sensual, strong oils meld deeply into your own body chemistry, creating a fragrance that truly is a bit different on everyone.

The only real drawback to oils is that they'll have a shorter shelf life than sprays. Oils naturally degrade overtime, so these are best used within a year or two of purchase.

Perfume Solids

Perfume solids typically contain oils and waxes. Beeswax is traditional, though there are vegan alternatives available.

These perfumes are quite similar to perfume oils: they're usually perfume extraits, they seep into your skin and alchemize with your body chemistry, and they're best used within a two to four years of purchase, depending on how you store them.

As solids, these perfumes are portable and easy to use on the go.

Which kind of perfumes are your favorites? Let me know in the comments!

​
Download Your FREE Guide to Flower Essences

Send it my way!

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at anytime.

How I Make Natural Perfumes: Art, Aroma, and Alchemy in a Bottle

Each Alchemessence™ perfume is art, aroma, and alchemy in a bottle. They contain magical essences, transmission of spirit, and masterfully composed symphonies of fragrance. 

My formal training (and lifelong practice) in perfumery, aromatherapy, energy medicine, and shamanism provides a foundation for perfumes that not only delight the senses but act as catalysts for healing and awakening. 

These perfumes are primarily dedicated to deities, animals, and plant spirits. Before I begin, I journey to the spirit of the being I’m working with for guidance—sometimes this will come in the form of specific ingredients, and other times it will be more general aroma notes. I’m highly clairolfactory (psychic through smell), so I will also smell the perfume in my journey before it exists in ordinary reality. 

My collection of over 400 different botanical essences includes essential oils, absolutes, CO2s, floral waxes, resins, and handcrafted tinctures and infused oils. Unlike many natural perfumers, I do not use any isolates or animal ingredients (with the few exceptions of burnt seashell essence, honey absolute, and beeswax) in my perfumes. 

I select ingredients for each perfume based on several factors, including… 

The Journey—what the deity specifically requested:

• Aphrodite wanted her perfume’s ingredients to come only from the place of her birth—and the birth of perfume—Cyprus

• Magpie insisted on juniper berry and jasmine (which I have since learned is a powerful and common combo in Toaist aromatherapy)

• Horse requested fresh hay or course, which I complemented with fields of lavender

Geography—essences to honor the primary location of a deity:

• Kuan Yin has notes of green tea and ginger

• Pele is honored with rare frangipani absolute

• White Buffalo Calf Woman contains true white sagebrush

Symbolism—symbolic plants and essences associated with each deity:

• Diana, also known as Artemis, contains the artemisia that is her namesake

• Freya contains true fossilized amber, her favorite stone

• Oshun is blessed with honey absolute for the honeypot she wears 

Energetic Qualities—the way an essence’s energetic properties support the gifts of the deity:

• Persephone contains cypress, which helps with transitioning between life and death, just as she so gracefully moves between Hades and Earth

• Many moon goddesses contain a touch of clary sage, which enhances women’s natural cycles

Aroma—what truly makes each blend a perfume in the purest sense:

• I carefully balance base, middle, and top notes, adding accents and fixatives so each perfume reveals surprises as it unfolds and lasts 

• I match the perfume family requested by each deity as well, be it floral, spicy, chypre, or woody, among others

All of these factors come together to create rare, alchemical botanical perfumes.

Explore the Perfumes

Like what you're reading? Join our community!

Subscribe

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at anytime.

Mythoanimism: An Emerging Spirituality

Every day, more people are awakening to our interconnectedness, the symbolic language of the universe and the divine, the spiritual gifts within each of us, and the importance of cultivating a strong relationship with the natural world. 

Modern mystics no longer enjoy the trappings of organized religion. And they no longer can separate their spiritual practices from the earth that sustains us.

Spiritual Movements of the 20th Century

While there have always been spiritual explorers, the twentieth century catalyzed widespread radical leaps in consciousness. Largely thanks to the consciousness work of Jung and discovery of psychedelics in the first half of the century, the decades that followed saw a mass exodus from the organized religions of the West toward Eastern spiritual practices. Teachings from the worlds of yoga and meditation expanded the spiritual awareness of countless seekers.

Parallel to the influx of Eastern wisdom in the West was the rising of earth-based practices. Pagan rites and celebrations, women’s circles with witchy leanings, the Gaia hypothesis, and ecofeminist understandings of our interconnectedness, prolifically written about by Starhawk, greatly impacted mass consciousness. 

It’s no wonder that Western shamanism also arose during the seventies and eighties, as shamanism involves trance states (such as those attained with psychedelics or meditation practices) and deep relationship with the earth (as was also cultivated by other earth-based spiritualities).

Looking back at spirituality in the West, it’s safe to say that between the 1940s and 2010s, massive shifts in spiritual awareness impacted our collective consciousness in profoundly beneficial ways.

2000-2022: A Time of Reckoning

Unfortunately, humanity had not yet transcended the need for intermediaries with the divine. While hippies may have turned their backs on priests, many still welcomed gurus with open arms. 

In the past decades, gurus have fallen. And they’ve fallen across the board—yogis, meditation teachers, spiritual guides and healers of various sorts have all had their shadows exposed. I think of the sexual assult charges of John of God and K. Pattabhi Jois. The rise and fall of Doreen Virtue. Bizarre cults like NXIVM. 

Even more recently, a growing reckoning of power dynamics and cultural appropriation has bubbled to the surface of our collective conversations, leaving many modern mystics faced with difficult questions around what elements of their spiritual practices are still welcome, and which might be inadvertently causing harm. 

Current Trends in Spirituality

Today, with both religions and alternative spiritual communities dissolving, as we live in times of collective reckoning around power dynamics and the crises facing our mother earth, a few important spiritual trends are emerging:

1. People are seeking spiritual equality and sovereignty. They want to experience spirit directly for themselves and to know that they can trust their own intuition. 

2. People care about our earth. The climate crisis is forefront in their minds, and forming meaningful connections with nature has taken on a sort of spiritual urgency. 

3. People are rebelling against old power dynamics—especially patriarchal and colonial ones. Calls to end oppression and center previously marginalized voices have become intertwined with spiritual practice.

4. People are called to connect with their ancestry and ancestors. We’re here because of the ancestors that have survived challenging times before, and there’s a growing recognition of the wisdom we might find through ancestral work. 

5. People are creating a psychedelic revival. The shutdown of psychedelic research in the seventies was clearly meant to cut us off from cultivating their own direct spiritual connections—and therefore our ability to think for ourselves. Now, we’re reclaiming our right to research and use psychedelics for healing and connection.

6. People are re-engaging with Jungian thought. More and more people are finding meaning in the transpersonal realms of archetypes, omens, symbols, mythologies, and dreams—acknowledging that the universe is always communicating with us if we’ll listen.

7. People are embracing animism. With the climate crisis more pronounced than ever, more and more people are recognizing the need to shift out of human-centric worldviews and into an appreciation of the inspirited nature of all things.

These trends are universal and important, yet until now, we have not had language that clearly encompasses all of these components.

Witch, priestess, animist, earth-medicine practitioner, akashic record reader, starseed, energy healer, and lightworker are bandied about—and all are lovely words. Still others, feeling the limitations inherent in any of this language use the term “spiritual”—which is still too broad to convey much meaning. 

In truth, there is a deep layer of vast yet cohesive spiritual wisdom and truth that connects all the spiritual qualities listed above…

This is where mythoanimism comes in. 

Mythoanimism—A Spiritual Path for These Times

Animism nods to the inspirited nature of the universe—and not only to the spirits of nature we know and love. True animist practice acknowledges that even concepts and objects can have their own vital energy.

Mythos reminds us of the poetic, non-linear, symbolic, and archetypal reality of the universe. This invites trance states, direct revelation, and ancestral wisdom into our spiritual paths. Mythos also allows space for the non-embodied dimension of spirit—deities and beings of other realms are acknowledged and brought into relationship in this non-human-centric practice.

Together, these words give us mythoanimism. Mythoanimism is contained enough to have identifying characteristics, yet broad enough that each person can walk the mythoanimist path in their own unique way. 

As a universal and emerging spirituality, mythoanimism is welcoming to people of all backgrounds, and when practiced with care and intention, frees us from the trappings of outdated power dynamics, fears around cultural appropriation, and the often overly individualist qualities of the spiritualities that have come before. 

As we embark on this new—yet in truth ancient—path before us, let’s look more closely at the qualities held within mythoanimism. 

1. Spiritual sovereignty is our birthright.

Those on the mythoanimist path are waking up to an important truth: spirit is within. And while teachers on the path are valuable guides, we must never give over our own power and knowing. 

With so many realizing their own divinity, we are experiencing a zeitgeist moment in the realm of spiritual sovereignty—the idea that we can have our own direct connection to spirit, uninhibited and uninfluenced by outside forces.

This concept has rippling effects on our lived experience: When we understand that we are divine and that we have the power of spirit within us, we realize that we must take on a new level of responsibility for our lives. We must care for our health, our communities, each other, and our great earth. 

We must love life itself as much as the great spirit that created us does. 

Spiritual sovereignty, which sounds quite individualistic, actually brings us into greater relationship with all that is. 

2. Animism is the truth of our natural world.

We must view the earth as alive. And we must understand that all beings—from birds to trees to mountains and stones—have consciousness and are inspirited. 

Our ecological crisis requires a cosmological solution.

This is a vast departure from the human-centric worldviews of the past. And, while many people are waking up to the spirits inhabiting our natural world—those found in animals and plants—mythoanimism takes this even further: All is inspirited. 

We recognize the spirit of concepts—such as hope or money—as well as the spirit of objects. If you’ve ever talked to your car in a moment of desperation, you’ve tasted the relationships that are possible here. This may prove to be an essential shift for a world in which AI plays an active role.

When we truly integrate an animistic worldview into our consciousness, everything changes. We form new relationships with the land we live on, the food we eat, and the things we consume. We also become empowered to work with the energies in our lives—around wealth, habits, dreams—in new transformative ways. 

3. We are a web of equality and oneness. And we are individuals, here and now.

Spiritual sovereignty tells us that spirit is within us, and animism tells us that spirit enlivens all things. This framework gives way to the universal understanding that we are all one at the most fundamental spiritual level. 

Where there is oneness, there is no dualism and no hierarchy. With this understanding, no longer can we unconsciously treat that which is outside ourselves as lesser than or disposable. No longer can tribalism, us vs. them, and outdated power dynamics guide our consciousness. 

Returning to regenerative living and creating circular economies become spiritual imperatives. 

And at the same time we acknowledge our oneness, we also recognize that we are having individual incarnations. We are souls, with our own energy, karma, and life experiences. Holding multiple levels of seemingly conflicting awareness is a key part of the mythoanimist path.

4. The universe communicates with symbolic language and archetypes.

As mentioned earlier, Jungian psychology is undergoing something of a revival right now. Jung understood that we are all connected on subconscious levels. Interestingly, when Stanislov Groff did his LSD studies, he also found that not only did various layers of consciousness exist, but another layer not previously understood (in the West at least) revealed itself: the transpersonal.

Groff found that while in a trance state, people could experience universal symbols and archetypes—even connecting with beings and deities from cultures with which they had no previous connection or knowledge. There truly is a universal, symbolic language that we can tap into.

The universe is far more vast and interconnected than we could ever imagine—yet we’re not left in the dark. Our dreams contain important insights and revelations beyond our personal processing. Omens, often in the form of nature’s messengers, are waiting for our attention. Mythology from cultures around the world contains universal archetypes and clues for understanding our human experiences, here and now. 

5. The true nature of reality is far more layered than our consensus reality. 

Mythoanism pulls us out of our limited understanding of consensus 3D reality into an undefined and more expansive understanding of the true nature of reality. While you’ll find some new age teachers referring to this as “5D”, I personally find even that term too limiting. 

Many layers of reality exist beyond what we can validate with our five senses. Energetic blueprints and systems underlie our physical bodies. Various disembodied beings—from deities and angels to the recently deceased and fae—exist alongside us, just on the other side of our veils of perception.

This understanding opens us to possibilities that might otherwise seem like magical thinking or miracles. We know that healing happens on energetic and spiritual levels in addition to physical, emotional, and mental ones—and we can engage in a wide variety of practices and techniques to work in partnership with the other realms and their inhabitants. 

As we recognize that the “rules” we’ve been taught might not be set in stone, we can welcome energy, healing, and creation into our lives through radical new pathways. 

We can also learn to communicate with the various beings who reside in slightly different dimensions from us, opening us to new empowering relationships with real impacts on our 3D existence. 

This is also where altering our consciousness, or entering trans states, becomes important, as doing so can help us navigate the other dimensions of reality. While this can happen with psychedelics, there are many pathways available—breathwork, meditation, yoga nidra, music, and more.

A Shamanic Guide to Illness & Health

Explore the five main causes of illness from a shamanic perspective―and how to heal them.

In this free workshop, you'll discover:
​

• The 5 types of spiritual illness we all encounter
• How to know if you're experiencing spiritual illness
• The surprising ways addressing spiritual illness can impact your life
• A practice to strengthen your energy field right now

TAKE A POWERFUL STEP TOWARD THE LIFE YOU'RE HERE TO LIVE.

Enter your email to access this 65-minute workshop today!

Send me the workshop!

6. Our ancestors are allies—and so are our descendents. (And our ancestry is more complicated than many people realize.) 

Throughout the world and throughout history, ancestors—the well and good ones, at least—have been our primary allies. This is because of the deep care and trust built into these relationships. 

As we navigate the many dimensions of reality, not all beings we encounter are trustworthy or benevolent. Our ancestors, however, always have our backs, and we can check in with them when meeting someone—or something—new. 

Our ancestors have unique abilities to help us in challenging times. They knew how to survive, and they can help us do the same. Remembering ancestral skills, rituals, and ways to care for our bodies, homes, and families nourishes us on many levels.

As we engage with ancestral practices, it’s important to remember that our ancestry is much more vast than our current known DNA lines. Yes, our blood lineage is often a primary influence on our current life—but it’s not the whole story. Spirit is far too expansive to play by any set of rules we humans might like to make up… 

Which also brings us to our descendants. In kairos time, we are not tied to what we view as the past—it’s likely all our lives are happening simultaneously, and we can connect with our descendents just as we connect with our ancestors. 

When you think of a descendant a powerful exercise is to see if you can imagine how many different bloodlines from throughout an ever more connected world converge into that one magical being. 

As a note—you do not need to know your bloodline or have your own offspring to work with ancestral and descendent energies. There’s no way for our human minds to trace all the blood connections we form throughout time, and there are universal ancestors and descendents who are also here to offer us guidance and support. 

7. We are children of the earth and the cosmos. 

At the heart of mythoanimist practice lies a foundational relationship of reciprocity with the Earth. We have an unshakable knowing that we are born of the earth (and the stars) and we are also caretakers of the Earth and all her inhabitants. 

A deep love and reverence of the earth is perhaps the most central quality for all mythoanimist practice. This love might manifest indifferent ways for different folks—some may engage directly with the earth through with rewilding practices, herbal medicine, permaculture, and other such practices. Others may simply feel the presence of earth wherever they are, honoring her through ceremony and ritual, the arts, or advocacy. 

Regardless of the particular way one engages with the earth, cultivating an ever-deepening relationship with her is of primary importance for all who walk this path—this is one of the key factors that sets mythoanimism apart from other spiritual paths. 

While our deep relationship with the earth keeps us grounded, mythoanimism also invites us to expand our awareness into the cosmos. The stars, starbeings, and great mysteries of the skies are just as much a part of our consciousness as our lives here on earth. Just as we cross beyond the boundaries of human-centered cosmology, we invite ourselves to step into unknown territory beyond the world we know.

Being of Service in the Aquarian Age

By now you probably realize that mythoanimism offers us a beautiful individual path to connect with the earth, the cosmos, and spirit. Yet what’s also important to remember is that this path brings us into service, in whatever way aligns with our souls.

Perhaps this is why mythoanimism and all the trends that lead up to this path are emerging now, more strongly than ever. We are just entering the Age of Aquarius—a time of radical shifts in consciousness, more humanitarian and collectively focused service, and innovation that supports healing and equality. 

“Mythoanimism offers us a beautiful individual path to connect with the earth, the cosmos, and spirit.”

— Juniper Stokes

Cultivating an internal spirituality rooted in mythoanimist principles gives us a profound foundation for showing up in the world. We heal ourselves, illuminate our unique gifts, and find clarity in our personal soul-led paths. 

Does this resonate? Are you part of the growing number of mythoanimists who will change our world? Drop me a comment and let me know. 

(And consider joining Rewilding the Spirit—a transformative course rooted in mythoanimist principles.) 

An important request: Would you like to use the term mythoanimism in your own work or practice? I would love to see this term become widely used.

Since is this the first published work (other than my website content) to use and introduce this term to our collective, I would be deeply grateful if you would please reference me as originating this term.

I asked, prayed, meditated, brainstormed, journeyed, and opened myself to spirit again and again before this word arose in my consciousness. Thank you!!!

Mythoanimism—A Spiritual Path for These Times

Animism nods to the inspirited nature of the universe—and not only to the spirits of nature we know and love. True animist practice acknowledges that even concepts and objects can have their own vital energy.

Mythos reminds us of the poetic, non-linear, symbolic, and archetypal reality of the universe. This invites trance states, direct revelation, and ancestral wisdom into our spiritual paths. Mythos also allows space for the non-embodied dimension of spirit—deities and beings of other realms are acknowledged and brought into relationship in this non-human-centric practice.

---

You might also like:

• Lion’s Gate Portal 8/8: Ancient Origins, Portal Openers, and the Key to Manifestation

• Coregulating with the Natural World

• 5 Steps for Communicating with The Spirits of Nature

• A Complete Guide to Magical & Ritual Anointing Oils

A Guide to Natural Perfume Fragrance Families

Chypre…Fougère…Aromatic…the olfactory families of fragrance may sound somewhat exotic at first, but dive in and they become welcome allies on the path to perfume creation and selection.

Fragrance families are scent classifications used in perfumery, and each family has its signature ingredients and overall aroma. In this article, we’ll cover the main classifications of fragrances—though to be fair, there are several different versions of fragrance categories out there and no one seems to agree on a definitive version.

A Brief History of Fragrance Families

At the turn of the 20th century, when most perfumes were still made with pure botanical ingredients (though synthetics had been introduced with Guerlain’s Jicky), there were seven main families: single floral, floral bouquet, oriental, woody, chypre, fougère, and leather. 

In general, these pure botanical perfumes contained resins, woods, flowers, spice, and citrus notes—we’ll go into more detail below.

Modern chemistry and access to new aromatics led to what we might think of as more green, fresh and aquatic notes in perfumes, primarily created through synthetic aldehydes. In the mid 1900s, new fragrance families emerged on the scene as a result:

• Bright floral—combined the single and bouquet floral families

• Citrus—citrus doesn’t last long on its own, so synthetics made this family have staying power

• Green—like a bright, fresh chypre

• Gourmand—edible notes of vanilla, cinnamon, and fruits

• Ozone/Aquatic—this actually didn’t come around until the 90s…think clean and unisex

In 1983, popular perfume consultant Micheal Edwards decided to simplify the traditional and growing perfume families into a perfume wheel. The wheel has four main families and their sub-families around its circumference—woody, floral, oriental, and fresh. 

In recent years, there’s been a movement to rename the traditional “oriental” family to “amber” or “ambrée”—as it’s become clear the former term is outdated and can be offensive. The updated Micheal Edwards perfume wheel reflects this:

Given the varied and changing history of fragrance families, it comes as no surprise that modern perfumery resources all use slightly different terms and organizations.

In general, several families appear regularly: fresh, floral, floriental, ambrée, fougère, woody, chypre, fruity, aromatic, citrus, green, aquatic, leather, and gourmand. 

The Perfume Society has a fun interactive site that features eight of these families, each clickable to continue exploring subfamilies.

An important note on synthetic vs. natural fragrances:

Unless specified otherwise, most modern perfumes contain synthetic ingredients. Even “natural” perfumes commonly contain isolates, which are somewhat controversial in the world of natural perfumery.

For those switching to pure botanical perfumes, a few popular families will be off the table—perfumes considered aquatic/ozone, fresh, or green are almost always dominated by synthetic aldehydes, so these family classifications just aren’t useful in natural perfumery.

Botanical/Natural Perfume Classifications

Given the history of fragrance and the ingredients available, I use nine main families in my own perfume classifications. No guarantees these won’t continue to evolve, but for now, they wonderfully describe the main classifications of natural perfumes available:

Chypre Perfumes

One of my personal favorites, chypre (pronounced shee-pra) is named for Cyprus, the island of Aphrodite’s birth and home to the world’s oldest large-scale perfumery. The name in perfumery comes from François Coty’s 1917 perfume Chypre, which had notes of bergamot and citrus on top, a full floral middle with jasmine and rose, and an earthy base of oakmoss, patchouli, incense, musk, and styrax. 

Chypre perfumes are characterized by a mossy accord of bergamot, oakmoss, patchouli, and labdanum. Some may be more floral, with strong notes of jasmine or ylang ylang, while others might be more citrusy, woody, or herbaceous. Both traditionally masculine and feminine fragrances have fallen in the chypre category.

Fougère Perfumes

A fougère is what is known as a fantasy scent, originating with Fougère Royale from Houbigant in 1882. Named for the French word for fern, these perfumes tend to have green and aromatic notes. 

Lavender, geranium, vetiver, bergamot, oakmoss, and coumarin are commonly found in these perfumes, and while they were created for women, today masculine perfumes are dominated by the fougère family.

Floral Perfumes

The name speaks for itself with these perfumes—fragrant jasmine, carnation, rose, orange blossom, ylang ylang, magnolia, and more take the center in a floral perfume. While many beloved flowers simply aren’t available as naturals except through the laborious process of enfleurage (lily of the valley, helitrop, and lilac for example), many precious flowers are found naturally—they just cost a pretty penny ($1000 USD per ounce is not uncommon!). Lotus, narcissus, boronia, osmanthus, jonquille, cassie, broom, kewda, frangipani, champaca, and tuberose fall into this realm.

Within the many floral sub-families, two are worth mentioning here: soliflore, or single note perfumes that focus on celebrating and enhancing a single flower, and floral bouquets, which present well-balanced floral arrangements that make it difficult to single out any one flower among the many, 

Today, floral fragrances are most popular among women, though in cultures throughout the world this isn’t necessarily the case—you’ll find kewda and rose among other florals throughout men’s fragrances in India and the Middle East!

Ambrée Perfumes

Also called amber—the post-oriental name is still settling in—these fragrances are characterized by rich, resins, vanilla, musk, and occasional spice. In perfumery, “amber” doesn’t refer to the stone but to ambergris, the precious and strangely fragrant bile of whales. 

Today, ambrée perfumes tend to be rich, long-lasting, and have an exotic flavor about them. At least half of the botanical perfumes I’ve designed have been ambrée, as they smell divine and last forever, even as all-natural creations. 

Sandalwood, coumarin, orris, vanilla, labdanum, and resins give ambrée perfume its signature notes, and the floral amber sub-family is one of the most rapidly growing fragrance families today. I’m not surprised, as the synergy of exotic florals, precious woods, and rich ambery notes truly nourishes the soul.

Aromatic Perfumes

The aromatic family is characterized by herbaceous notes—rosemary, basil, and tarragon are popular here. Though mainly found in men’s fragrances, I find aromatics work beautifully to create green and fresh notes in natural perfumes. Fresh florals like lavender and geranium, along with citruses, often overlay aromatic perfumes. Traditional colognes would found in this family.

Citrus Perfumes

While citrus notes are found in nearly all perfumes, pure citrus fragrances are light and bright. In mainstream citrus perfumes the tenacity will come from synthetics, but citrus scents in botanical and natural perfumes are perfectly possible. Some citrus perfumes will be lighter and a bit more fleeting, while sub-families like floral citrus, spicy citrus, and woody citrus will delight the wearer as citrus top notes give way to various lasting undertones.

A wide variety of citruses can be found in the citrus family. Bergamot and bitter orange are probably the most common, but yuzu, lime, mandarine, sweet orange, lemon, grapefruit, citron, and cedrat can all be found. I have blood orange, tangerine, mandarine, and kumquat in my collection, and use other lemony plants for citrus notes, such as lemongrass, lemon myrtle, and lemon verbena.

As a note, you may find the citrus family also referred to as the “hesperides” family. Legend has it that the Hesperis were three Greek nymphs who watched over “golden apples”—citrus fruits–giving immortality to any who tasted them.

Woody Perfumes

As with florals, the woody family name speaks for itself. Precious woods such as oud and sandalwood, dry notes like cedar and juniper, and woody herbs like patchouli and vetiver can be found in just about all woody perfumes. Some are warm and spicy with sweet resins, while others can be more aromatic, citrusy, and crisp. 

My personal favorite woody perfume is Daikoku—with notes of buddhawood, sandalwood, and Japanese cedar and cypress, it smells like Japanese mountain temples laced with fragrant incense.

Leather Perfumes

Leather became a fragrance family thanks to the many aromas tanners would use to disguise the off-putting scents created during their processes (think ammonia, yuck). The smoke, resins, and woods used to mask the leather tanning process ended up mixing with the leather itself, creating a much-desired fragrance that spread to the world of perfumery. 

Over time, this family has evolved to include many traditionally masculine notes—tobacco, cognac, smoke, woods, tar, and resins are common, with the leather notes being either forefront or nearly undetectable. In natural perfumery, which uses animal products, the leather notes might not be cruelty free. In botanical perfumery, however, there are many great alternatives—styrax, birch tar, and choya nakh are a few options.

Gourmand Perfumes

Relatively new on the perfume scene are the gourmands—those perfumes with a somewhat edible flavor profile, typically warm and spicy. The vast majority of gourmand perfumes contain synthetic ingredients and dessert-like scents—caramel, cotton candy, toffee, and bubblegum to name a few. 

However the world of botanical perfumery has plenty to offer here if you’re willing to splurge on the pure, natural versions—chocolate, coffee, cognac, almond, vanilla, and even spices and amber notes can create lovely gourmand perfumes. 

Within all the perfume families above, subfamilies are used to further delineate each perfume’s aroma. Here are a few of the terms you’ll see attached to each family:    

• Spicy—coriander, cinnamon, clove, pepper and more 

• Fruity—may contain citrus, berry, or other sweet notes

• Soft—typically contains a powdery, musky element

• Musky—similar to soft but heavier on the musk

• Green—fresh herbs, bright florals

• Fresh—similar to green, may also have more citrus

• Aquatic—typically synthetic aldehydes, in natural perfumery can signify more animalic, seaweed-based notes

What do you think? Which aromas are your favorites? Let me know in the comments!

​
Download Your FREE Guide to Flower Essences

Send it my way!

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at anytime.

---

You might also like:

• Severed from Scent: Losing Our Sense of Smell Began Long Before the Pandemic…

• Flower Essences 101: How to Partner with Plants for Whole-Self Healing

• 8 Tips for Buying High Quality Essential Oils

• Here’s What You Need to Know about Buying Natural Perfumes and Essential Oils

• How I Make Natural Perfumes: Art, Aroma, and Alchemy in a Bottle

What Happens When You Watch A Sunrise?

I recently taught A Shamanic Guide to Illness & Health. I absolutely loved meeting everyone who came! What a treat it is to gather in community with others who are also open to the more than human world, even if via Zoom :)

During the class, I shared my personal breakdown of the five main causes of spiritual illness, and in my view, one of these causes is disconnection from the natural world. We can restore this connection in part by more consciously syncing our lifestyles with the rhythms of nature. 

One of my favorite ways to tune into nature’s rhythms is to watch the sunrise or sunset each day—or ideally both! The benefits of this practice are many…

• Researchers have found that the wavelengths at sunrise and sunset have the biggest impact on the brain centers that regulate our circadian rhythms, as well as our mood and alertness.

• The colors of sunlight at rise and set are especially helpful for activating the pineal gland—a portal to divine wisdom.

• Being intentional about watching the rise and set of the sun brings about mindful awareness, helping you find peace and presence as you begin and end your days

• On deep, subconscious levels, witnessing the sun’s cycles restores faith that all will be okay. Though we enter darkness, light comes again. Though the light feeds us in many ways, we crave the rest of dark. And so it continues.

• Pausing in our busy lives to enjoy nature’s natural beauty is the ultimate form of sacred self care, a rebellion against the hustle culture that binds us, and a celebration of the feminine energy seeking restoration in our cosmic consciousness. 

This time of year, when days are shorter, it’s a bit easier to witness both the rise and set of the sun. Though I prefer this as a daily practice, even if you can only squeeze in a couple times a week you’ll receive benefits. 

What can you do to create your own ritual around the great solar blessings of our sun?

---

You might also like:

• 6 Ways to Celebrate the Autumn Equinox

• The Heliacal Rise of Sirius, the Five Sacred Epagomenal Days, and the Egyptian New Year

• 8 Benefits of Partnering with the Spirits of Nature

• 5 Steps for Communicating with The Spirits of Nature

• 3 Creative Ways to Celebrate Summer Solstice

A Shamanic Guide to Illness & Health

Explore the five main causes of illness from a shamanic perspective―and how to heal them.

In this free workshop, you'll discover:
​

• The 5 types of spiritual illness we all encounter
• How to know if you're experiencing spiritual illness
• The surprising ways addressing spiritual illness can impact your life
• A practice to strengthen your energy field right now

TAKE A POWERFUL STEP TOWARD THE LIFE YOU'RE HERE TO LIVE.

Enter your email to access this 65-minute workshop today!

Send me the workshop!

The Venusian Mysteries: Awakening the Sacred Feminine

I awoke before dawn, set the kettle for tea, and gazed out my windows into the still dark sky, just a soft glow on the horizon suggested the light was returning. 

As I peered between the giant evergreen bows that reach across my yard, I was greeted by the most beautiful sight—Venus. Rising in her morning star phase, Venus lit up like a beacon in the lapiz sky, calling my soul to recognize her presence.

my morning view of Venus

Venus is a planet but also a celestial deity, and her gifts for humanity lie in helping us come into cosmic balance with the sacred feminine qualities of beauty, love, relationships, sensuality, and pleasure. 

Venus is a planet of beauty—symbolically and literally. Her presence shines brightest from our vantage upon the earth, and her trajectory creates a magnificent, symmetrical pattern.

The only planet named for a female deity, Venus is a loving and bright ally in restoring the sacred feminine to cosmic balance.

---

Ready to claim your mantel a scent priestess & myrrhophore?

Join the Nectar & Alchemy mystery school devoted to the feminine, aromatic arts.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE<<<

---

Restoring the Feminine to Cosmic Balance with Beauty and Astrology

Anyone who’s gazed at Venus in her bright morning star phase can understand why the ancients associated this planet with beauty. I wonder if they also knew her trajectory through our skies is the most symmetrical of all the planets: Over an 8-year period, Venus makes 13 orbits around the sun and has 5 conjunctions with the earth. Visually, this creates a beautiful mandala based on the golden ratio—a pentagram of petals—which you can see in the image below. 

The 13 orbits that bring Venus back to her place of origin in our skies tie this planet to the feminine—13 has long been associated with women because of how we cycle and bleed with the 13 moons of the year. 

Even the symbol for the planet Venus is the same as that which commonly represents the feminine—a circle sitting upon a cross: ♀ If we see the circle as the infinite cycle and wholeness, and the cross as representing the four elements and four directions—that which makes our material reality—we can see this symbol as also calling forth the intersection of spirit and earth. 

In this symbol, we can see how Venus helps us bring spirit into manifest form—just as women bring spirit into form through the birthing process.

In astrology, Venus rules both Taurus and its home, the 2nd house, along with Libra and its home, the 7th house. Together, these elements celebrate the many qualities of Venus — the earthy, sensuality of Taurus, the values and emotions and sexiness of the 2nd house, the high culture and beauty of Libra, and the love and partnership of the 7th house.

Here, not only are the sacred qualities of the feminine celebrated, but they once again symbolize the harmonization of earth and spirit. Anytime we’re able to ground into the beauty of nature and the present moment, we experience Venusian blessings.

​
Download Your FREE Guide to Flower Essences

Send it my way!

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at anytime.

The Venusian Deities

Though Venus is represented through a few male deities in different cultures (see below!), the vast majority of Venusian deities are female, especially within the cultures that have most influenced my own Western heritage.  

The Greek goddess Aphrodite is perhaps the most well-known Venusian deity for many of us, as she even carried the name Venus to the Romans. Yet if we trace the evolution of Aphrodite through time, we find that she may well have been born from earlier goddesses—Isis, or Auset, in Egypt, and Inanna, also known as Ishtar and Astarte, in Sumeria. All three goddesses carry the mantle of being Venusian goddesses of the ancient world.

Psst: You can get a free booklet filled with rituals to connect with Isis and other Egyptian deities here.

Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, unknown artist, Burney Relief

“Freyja and the Necklace” by James Doyle Penrose (1890)

In the Norse worlds, we see both Freya and Frigg associated with Venus. Both goddesses embody qualities of love, romance, fertility, and sacred sexuality, though Freya is more independent in her expression and Frigg, as the wife of Odin, is more matrimonial (many sources also conflate the goddesses into one). Interestingly, Friday is named for Frigg, and guess which planet rules Friday? Venus. 

art by José-Patricio Aguirre

Now, let’s get a bit heretical…Do you know what the Roman word for Venus was? Lucifera. Yup. The very same word co-opted by Christans to describe the devil. Lucifera was used almost as suffix to many goddesses and sacred women’s names—Diana Lucifera most famously, but also Mary Magdalene, who was sometimes referred to as Mary Lucifera. 

Sex & Resurrection

Saint Mary Magdalene by Bernardino Luini

From what we know of Mary Magdalene, it’s likely she was not only a consort of Jesus but also a priestess in her own right. At the time, the art of sacred sexuality was practiced in the temples for communion and healing. And sex, in this sacred sense, is as Venusian as it gets—the sensuality, the romance, and harmony between masculine and feminine, and the fertile outcomes once again bringing spirit into material form. 

And while we’re looking at sacred sexuality in this Venusian context, it’s interesting to note the parallels between Isis bringing Osiris back to life and immediately consummating with him (which led to not only the birth of Horus but brought fertility to the land), and Mary Magdalene being the first to witness the resurrection of Jesus. I wonder if the way in which she anointed him before death, loved him beyond life, and cried tears of power into the earth, contributed to the magic that brought him back to life like Osiris. 

As a note on the theme of resurrection, we also see another Venusian goddess Aphrodite bring Adonis back to life through her pleas after he was killed by a wild boar.

It seems the Venusian power so naturally held by women—the power to commune with spirit, enjoy sensual pursuits, and bring life into being through the force of love—was a bit too threatening for the Church…

These tales of resurrection are also reflected in Venus’s orbit, as the planet cycles towards and away from the sun, symbolizing a natural cycle of birth and death.

The tale of the Venusian goddesses Inanna offers us a good reflection of how women can embody this cycle within themselves. Unlike the goddesses who resurrect their lovers to bring fertility to themselves and the land, Inanna is the one resurrected in her tale, modeling the feminine drive to face our shadows and integrate into wholeness. (Interestingly, she is hung on a cross before becomming resurrected…sound familiar?)

modern interpretation of Quetzalcoatl by BenArtsStudio on DeviantArt

The Venusian Masculine

Back to the male Venusian dieties…by far the most well-known masculine Venusian deity in modern days is Quetzalcoatl, a meso-American god. Quetzalcoatl was known as a feathered-serpent deity who brought fertile growth to the land. Again, we see the liminal meeting of spirit and earth in bird and snake, as well as sacred sexuality and fertility. In many ways, Quetzalcoatl offers us a model for how those in men’s bodies can embody the much-needed gifts of Venusian blessings, reminding us that we all have sacred masculine and feminine qualities within.

It’s time to allow Venus to upgrade our hearts.

As a planet that reminds us of the power of love, Venus could not be more important for us to connect with right now. 

I am, like I’m sure many of you are, an empath. 

Being an empath is not only a gift but is also the natural state of all humans, the state we are born into before culture and trauma cuts our hearts away from our innate ways of knowing. 

But being a really strong empath during times of mass hysteria, conflict, and trauma can be rough, even with the knowledge and skills to navigate these times. 

I find the vitriol, judgment, and especially righteousness I see online and in social media pressure cookers to be acutely painful. Just about all news—from left to right and mainstream to alt—has become a web of incendiary propaganda. When I turn into certain locations, I can energetically sense oppressive webs of fear hijacking people’s sovereignty. 

In all of these examples, I think what I find most heartbreaking is that people are being pulled off their path of spiritual evolution and heart-centered living. They are losing touch with what will actually help humanity survive the changes upon us: love and connection, with each other and the earth. 

Venus is a powerful ally in coming back into our hearts and allowing the wisdom of love to lead the way. 

Right now, Venus is in her heliacal rise toward the sun, allowing her divine beauty to be strengthened with solar blessings. Now it’s time to let the light of Venus and the Sun illuminate and strengthen the love within all of us. 

A PRACTICE

If possible, locate Venus in the sky — depending on her movements, dawn or dusk will be the best time.

Anoint your heart center with a sacred oil, preferably one containing rose — one of Venus’s favorite flowers. (The perfumes below are perfect for this practice.)

See the fragrant oil or perfume open a portal into your heart, a protected one that can only be entered by Venus herself.

Inhale, and feel Venusian blessings flow into your heart center.

When this practice feels complete, see the portal in your heart seal safely and give thanks to Venus.

As you go about your day, notice feelings of love and being loved fill your being. Practice seeing the world through a gaze of appreciation and gratitude for the beauty of life. Delight in the sensual experience of being embodied. Remember your true value and worth.

The Sensual Delight of Venusian Perfume

What could be more Venusian than a perfume dedicated to the goddess?

As a triple Libra, Venus is my ruling planet — meaning she’s especially influential in my life. It’s no wonder beauty is my core life code (you can read my artist statement here, just scroll down a bit). While I’ve always been an artist and experiment with many mediums, when I create perfumes I know they come straight from my soul. 

Many of the perfumes I’ve designed are dedicated to Venusian goddesses — so many, in fact, that I’ve decided to offer them all in a single discovery set. 

The Venusians Discovery Set includes six 1ml samples in glass vials, each perfume is all-natural (I’ve studied with the preeminent natural perfumers of today) and infused with the Venusian energy of goddesses from around the world

If you’re inspired to try these alchemical perfumes, please enjoy 10% off as my thanks for reading here :) Good now through the end of Venus’s retrograde on September 3rd, 2023. Use VENUSRX at checkout.

You might also like:

• The Magic and Medicine of the Rose

• Ritual Beauty: A Sacred Skincare Routine

• Aphrodisiacs - essential oils, flower essences, and crystals

• How to Be Spiritually Sovereign: Making Magic with the Virgin Goddesses

• Love & Libido—Rituals and Recipes for Valentine’s Day

---

An Imbolc Ritual

Welcome to February—what an auspicious start to the month! 

We have our Aquarian new moon, Imbolc, and the Lunar New Year all coalescing at the beginning of a new month. 

While Aquarius expands our vision of what’s possible, the new moon and the beginning of a new year invite us to set intentions for bringing these visions to life. 

At Imbolc, a cross-quarter celebration on the Celtic Wheel of the Year, we say our goodbyes to winter and welcome the spring. Traditionally, this is a time for planting seeds, trusting that they will spring to life when they’re ready. 

Now, as we envision and set our intentions this day, we plant the seeds for the year to come. 

Can you keep faith that your seeds will germinate even though there are not yet signs of life?

The wheel of the year will bring births and celebrations, gifts and harvests, endings and completions. At this turning, we’re asked to hold faith that all will come if we plant our seeds, taking the first step and trusting the cycle to carry us to the next. 

And yet, there are no guarantees, as we well know by now. Which asks us to find even more faith and resilience—can we effort enough to plant our seeds knowing full well they might not bloom? Can the simple act of planting and letting go be enough to fill our spirits, in this moment, at this time?

Setting intentions, letting go of attachments, and staying in the present moment—this is your invitation today.

An Imbolc Ritual

Begin by lighting a candle in honor of the Goddess Brigid, who presides over Imbolc.

Gaze into the flame, giving thanks for the presence of fire—its life-giving heat and light and its destructive and cleansing powers as well.

Allow the flame to clear your eyes and mind of preconceived notions. In tantric yoga, we practice trataka—the act of gazing into a flame, unblinking as much as possible, until your eyes water and cleansing occurs. You might like to experiment with this as you cleanse.

When you feel the cleansing is complete, close your eyes and come into your heart. Ask your truest self and heart what seeds wish to be planted at this especially potent new moon. 

Allow whatever arises to pour into the flame, where the spirit of fire carries it to spirit. Feel your desires with all of your heart, and then let them go.

When you feel complete, thank the fire, Brigid, and blow out the flame with gratitude. 

---

You might also like:

• 6 Ways to Celebrate the Autumn Equinox

• How to Be Spiritually Sovereign: Making Magic with the Virgin Goddesses

• Mythoanimism: An Emerging Spirituality

• Celebrating Samhain: Modern Rituals and Festivities for Connection and Protection

The Color Bubble Practice for Energetic Protection

Here's a super quick practice for energetic protection.

This is a great one for times when you need a little extra "cushioning"—maybe you're about to go to a crowded place, for example—and a great daily practice. Try this each morning for a week and see what happens!

Quickie Practice for Energetic Protection

First, breath into your heart and notice the light there. See this light grow and fill up your entire body, and then go beyond your body, creating a bubble of white light around you.

Most of you have probably done something similar to this before—and it works! Your energy, intention, focus, and partnership with spirit will create an effective orb of protection around you.

But if you want to go further, experiment with filling your bubble with different colors! Every color has a different vibration, and therefore different protective and healing qualities.

Visualize the bubble filling with green, blue, violet, red...

How does each color feel? Over time, you'll learn your own  unique color language and know exactly what color to use when 🙂

---

Download your FREE guide to Egyptian Deity Rituals

Send it my way!

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at anytime.

You might also like:

• Rooted: A Seasonal Grounding Practice

• All About Flower Essences: How to Partner with Plants for Whole-Self Healing

• Healing with the Goddess Ma'at

• 7 Signs You're a Modern-Day Mystic

• Lessons from Squirrels

Discernment on the Spiritual Path: How to Protect Yourself in Unknown Territory

There's an interesting phenomenon at play these days...

In much of our lives, we've learned to discern truths from untruths, to question new information and check it against our trusted guideposts -- be those scientific findings, published books, educational institutions, non-profit research groups, church leaders and religious texts, or other authorities.

Everyone will have different guideposts, which can clearly lead to conflicting information and cultural clashes. But still, people do tend to have their own ways of knowing what to believe.

But in one area, I've seen perfectly thoughtful and sane, people become completely bamboozled.

Spirituality. Especially any spirituality that might have a "woo-ish" leaning.

It's only been in the last 50 years or less that we've seen a mass exodus from organized religious institutions, in the West at least. And people simply haven't figured out their guideposts.

It's almost as if, when someone says they have a direct channel to spiritual wisdom, people simply believe it. They have no existing guideposts to check this new information against.

What's especially fascinating to witness is how people will struggle to integrate every new spiritual teaching into their personal cosmologies. If it got published, it must be valid. And if it's channeled information from spiritual beings, then surely it's true!

Oh the existential crises this approach to spirituality leads to! It breaks my heart.

But it's not all that difficult to shift our relationship with incoming spiritual teachings, new teachers, different approaches...

Let's begin by remembering that everyone is working with their own set of human filters, and whatever teachings they offer have arrived through those filters. (And of course, some people are just liars.)

You have filters too. The more conscious you become of your own filters, the better able you’ll be to identify the filters in others. Question yourself. Look at your shadow. Celebrate your wisdom. Then extend the same grace to other teachers you feel drawn to. (And disentangle from those you’re not drawn to—you don’t need to listen to everyone.)

You can also learn to identify and trust our own inner guideposts with greater clarity. For me, this is often a somatic experience—while the brain can argue for the validity or falsity of just about anything, the body will tell you what actually resonates with truth.

As we travel deeper into spiritual territory, this phenomenon—the task of filtering spiritual truths from the messy soup of information out there—takes on an even more challenging dimension: direct experience with "spiritual" beings.

When we open our intuition and are able to communicate with the spirit world more clearly, we still need to remember that not everything we encounter is pure love and light.

Many people have the tendency to assume that because an entity or being is not embodied, because it resides in the spirit worlds, it knows more than they do.

And even more bizarrely, there's a tendency to assume that these beings always tell the truth.

I remember a woman telling me once that her friend talked with Jesus. Of course, I know this is possible. Jesus is a powerful and loving energy that appears to many people.

But in this case, "Jesus" was telling her friend to hurt himself. To make decisions that he never would have chosen for himself.

I was shocked to hear that they were confused about this--they were actually questioning how to follow Jesus's guidance even though it didn't feel right.

Hopefully you're tracking here and realize that this entity was not Jesus.

Yes, disembodied beings might seem super spiritual at first simply because their existence is so different from ours. But there are all types of beings out there, and they're perfectly capable of lying in order to fulfill their own agendas.

So how do you know if a being is a loving guide or just someone pretending ?

There are a few tips I offer my students:

1. Let your body be your guide. Cultivate an unshakable faith in your own body's ability to tell you what is right for you. (Yes, this takes practice, but everyone can learn to do it.)

2. Start with a trusted ally. This is a spirit helper that you trust beyond any doubt. It may be a power animal, well ancestor, or other deity. To help alleviate any confusion, I recommend meeting this ally in the presence of skilled teacher or healer. This might be during a healing session, a personal mentorship session, or a group class. Once you have your ally, you ask them to check out anyone new you might want to communicate with.

3. Learn more about the types of beings you might be encountering. We co-exist with land spirits, nature beings, spirit guides, ancestors, ghosts, angels, demons, and more. The more you learn about the non-ordinary realities around us, the more potential you have to see the truth when encountering new entities.

4. Develop highly attuned psychic protection skills. You can prevent and eliminate so many unwanted encounters simply by maintaining a good energy hygiene, spiritual sovereignty, and a vibrational state that does not invite them to communicate with you. Again, we can all learn how to do this work.

Though the spirit worlds are as full of diverse energies and intentions as our ordinary reality is, we can all learn to navigate them with greater skill and ease.

Stepping outside of mainstream or established religious belief systems isn't easy. Most of us will encounter confusion, dark nights, and more on our paths. But being able to cultivate a personal cosmology and inner guideposts to support your journey is such a gift. May you be blessed upon your path.

---

You might also like:

• How to Be Spiritually Sovereign: Making Magic with the Virgin Goddesses

• On angels, psychic saviors, fallen gurus, and sovereignty (And the magic of being human)

• Humans are losing their ****, and how body and Earth can help

• 7 Signs You're a Modern-Day Mystic

A Shamanic Guide to Illness & Health

Explore the five main causes of illness from a shamanic perspective―and how to heal them.

In this free workshop, you'll discover:
​

• The 5 types of spiritual illness we all encounter
• How to know if you're experiencing spiritual illness
• The surprising ways addressing spiritual illness can impact your life
• A practice to strengthen your energy field right now

TAKE A POWERFUL STEP TOWARD THE LIFE YOU'RE HERE TO LIVE.

Enter your email to access this 65-minute workshop today!

Send me the workshop!

Are Your Thoughts Your Own? Claiming Mental Sovereignty

How many of your thoughts are your own?

If you've ever really looked under the surface of your thinking mind, you've probably already realized that so much of what we think, believe, and even feel is heavily influenced by outside sources.

Our family patterning. Our education systems. Our work environments. Our social groups. Religious organizations. The news or entertainment we give our attention to. And now more than ever, our social media feeds.

Yet beyond these clear pulls on our consciousness, there are even more subtle and potentially dangerous threads involved...

These are energetic threads created from magnetic thought forms, mass hysteria and hypnosis, collective trauma, and more.

Most of these threads are natural occurrences with no hidden agendas behind them. They simply arise, and we can learn skills to disentangle from them so we can return to sovereign wellness.

But some of these threads are absolutely intentionally created. As creepy as that might sound, we can 100% learn to unhook from them as well.

Curious as to what all this means? What kinds of "threads" I might be referring to? And most importantly, how you can protect yourself?

Good! Our world needs us to unhook from the chaos out there and come back into our hearts, our truth, and our power.

This is why I'm teaching a six-week course all about psychic protection. We begin February 1, and classes will be recorded in case you need to miss one.

There are a few spots left. If you feel even the slightest pull, it means you're ready to claim new levels of spiritual sovereignty. Join us.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

---

---

Is Possession Real? (Spoiler...yes)

Sometime around winter solstice, I got a possession.

A what? Like in The Poltergeist? Yeah...kind of. There really are disembodied spirits that can influence us to varying degrees. But I promise, I've never seen this actually look like The Poltergeist.

What typically happens is that someone starts feeling low energy or mildly depressed/anxious, but there's not really a reason why.

Over time, if the possession isn't taken care of, it can lead to a host of harmful effects—anger issues, addictions, chronic illness.

The problem is, these are all normal human things, so we don't realize that there's a foreign energy involved. Even people who live and breathe this work, like myself, can be influenced without realizing it.

I'm extremely grateful that years of training have taught me to recognize the subtle signs that a foreign entity is attaching to me early on.

For me, it's a very physical sensation. I know that when my back has a certain type of tingle, someone is with me who shouldn't be.

I've actually had bouts with this tingling for years, but I'd always chalked it up to my own anxiety. Thankfully, I have a better understanding of the layers involved now, and I know to take action right away.

With this possession, I tried to clear it myself. Well, I actually reached out to three friends who are gifted in this area first, but with the holidays and everyone traveling, no one had time.

So I tried and tried to clear this being. I went to nature to partner with the strength of the earth. I smudged all over the place. I tried to compassionately help the being move into the light.

While I felt a little better with the earth and smudging, nothing worked.

Sometimes, when a really big entity attaches to us, we become so depleted so fast that we simply aren't able to heal ourselves. This is why we need each other so much when it comes to healing!

Fortunately, one of my favorite magical energy healing women got back to me after the holidays and we were able to have a session. She confirmed what I felt and was able to do the work to clear the being (though it sounded like a heavy lift this time even for her!).

My heart's deepest wish is to illuminate this phenomenon to others. So many are suffering and don't need to be!

The first step is awareness. If this is new or interesting to you at all, please come to my free class on January 12th. I'll be talking about a lot of surprising influences on our wellbeing, including this one.

The next step is protection. Obviously, if my experience tells us anything, it's that sometimes shit just happens. Actually, if the past few years have taught all of us anything, it's that shit happens that we can't control, and there's no good reason for it.

That said, there are plenty of things we can do to lessen our chances of picking up foreign energy. Just like eating well and exercising can support our physical immune system, good energy hygiene can support our spiritual immunity.

If this sounds interesting, definitely sign up for Energy Hygiene and Psychic Protection! This is a live, virtual six-week class where I'll be teaching you how to identify foreign energy, protect yourself, and cleanse yourself from the basic subtle energies we all pick up on. This way, you'll be able to both keep yourself as healthy as possible and recognize the signs for when you need more support.

Then, for those who really feel called to this work, learning how to do extractions and psychopomp suffering beings would be a good next step. I only share these teachings within advanced trainings. If there's enough interest, I'll set some up this year—let me know!

May you navigate the wild worlds of spiritual beings with safety and ease.

---

A Shamanic Guide to Illness & Health

Explore the five main causes of illness from a shamanic perspective―and how to heal them.

In this free workshop, you'll discover:
​

• The 5 types of spiritual illness we all encounter
• How to know if you're experiencing spiritual illness
• The surprising ways addressing spiritual illness can impact your life
• A practice to strengthen your energy field right now

TAKE A POWERFUL STEP TOWARD THE LIFE YOU'RE HERE TO LIVE.

Enter your email to access this 65-minute workshop today!

Send me the workshop!

---

Spiritual Sovereignty: Can You Heal Yourself?

One of the first things many people are taught when they step onto a spiritual path is this:

“Nothing can harm you without your permission.”

Followed by this:

“You have access to all the divine guidance you need within. You just need to learn to listen.”

And now, with sovereignty becoming such a buzzword, this line of thinking comes next:

“Your sovereignty is your birthright. No one can attach to you energetically without your permission. You can declare old contracts be broken.”

In my experience, all of these beliefs are both true and more complicated than they seem at first glance, and the implications of believing the most simplistic interpretations of these ideas are not without consequence…

Let's start with the idea that nothing can harm us―spiritually and energetically at least―without our permission. Take a moment to think about the implications of this teaching...

First, this can be a comforting thought. As you begin to realize how many hidden influences are at play in your life―including what we might call negative energies―you might start to feel overwhelmingly vulnerable. Returning to the belief that no "invisible monsters" can hurt you without your permission is incredibly reassuring.

Unfortunately, if we take this belief to its natural conclusion, what does it say about those who struggle with the spiritual and energetic dimensions of health? The implication is that if someone has a spiritual/energetic ailment―such as cording with another person, an energetic attachment, or even possession by a foreign entity―then they must have, on some level or in some lifetime, agreed to it.

This agreement isn't conscious of course, but subconscious. Nevertheless, you agreed. So it's up to you to "break your contracts" and "claim your sovereignty".

Oh, did you try and things were still difficult or stuck? Well then, this line of thinking goes, on some level you must feel as if you're benefiting and not really want to get better.

This way of thinking about sovereignty is what happens when a spiritual truth gets hijacked by a capitalist narrative.

Sound familiar? This was certainly the party line in my three-year shamanic practitioner training, and I've heard versions of this repeated in yoga, reiki, and energy classes often...

Personally, I absolutely DO NOT believe things are this simple, and I do not endorse victim blaming in this way.

This way of thinking about sovereignty is what happens when a spiritual truth gets hijacked by a capitalist narrative.

When I come across thought patterns that take individual empowerment and personal responsibility to the extreme, I feel grateful for having spent so much of my life overseas. Not all cultures are as individualistic as the American one is. There are other ways of being in the world and relating to spirit.

Yes we are powerful. Yes we can heal ourselves. And yes, there are times when we resist healing because of some perceived benefit, usually unconscious. But true spiritual healing is a much more complicated soup of karma, randomness, soul growth, and mystery than a simple declaration of sovereignty.

True spiritual healing is a complicated soup of karma, randomness, soul growth, and mystery.

When we remember that we are all connected, and that we were born into an ecosystem with layers of interconnection that reach far beyond our physical dimension, we also begin to recognize that healing happens in community.

Most of us need support at some point in our lives. Even with decades of training and practice under my belt, I still turn to beloved friends, teachers, and healers for help when I can’t see the whole picture or need a healing boost.

Healing also happens over time. Spiritual healing isn’t like taking a pill—more often it involves navigating layers of connections and contracts, lifetimes of karma and energetic patterning, and deep psychological integration and initiations. When we embark on this kind of healing journey, being held in community and supported by a healer are essential foundations for the path before us.

And let's be real here—when you're suffering, connecting with your true inner power is hard! How are you supposed to clear and recharge your energy field when you've been knocked flat?

This brings me back to the other common belief that is both true and more complicated than it first appears…the idea that we should be able to access our own intuition and not rely on others for guidance.

Well, yeah. I agree. And I'd say most people tend to overly rely on others to be their conduits to spirit—getting divinations, seeking out gurus, asking for advice, drawing endless oracle cards…many people fearfully avoid the personal responsibility that comes with committing to their own decisions.

But this doesn't mean that we should never turn to others for guidance and support, ask for help interpreting our dreams, or receive divinatory readings. Again, in our layered ecosystem of connection, we often are meant to have insights and wisdom reflected back to us by others.

As we walk the path toward true spiritual health and sovereignty, it’s both important to develop skills to empower yourself and to turn to others when you need support.

Healing is a delicate dance between personal responsibility and partnership with trustworthy healers who can support our journey. We are vulnerable and we are powerful. We are individuals and we are all connected. We are human and we are divine.

---

If you’re interested in learning more about the unseen forces that influence your health and well-being—and how you can learn to better work with these energies—be sure to sign up for my upcoming FREE workshop:

A Shamanic Guide to Illness & Health

Explore the five main causes of illness from a shamanic perspective―and how to heal them.

In this free workshop, you'll discover:
​

• The 5 types of spiritual illness we all encounter
• How to know if you're experiencing spiritual illness
• The surprising ways addressing spiritual illness can impact your life
• A practice to strengthen your energy field right now

TAKE A POWERFUL STEP TOWARD THE LIFE YOU'RE HERE TO LIVE.

Enter your email to access this 65-minute workshop today!

Send me the workshop!