moonflower cups of gold
leo new moon themes + mandala workshop invitation
“This is your moment in the sun. Soak up the delight of living this ephemeral life.”
— if Golden Poppies could speak
This article is a part of the ongoing moonflower series exploring the connection between flowers, astrology, and creativity.
In case our path’s are crossing for the first time — hi I’m April: artist, mother, founder of themoonismycalendar 🌙 poetic plant person and 🌸 budding (get it?) flower essence practitioner.
I have a Capricorn sun, Virgo moon, and Leo rising. To me astrology is an exploration of the nature of energy, mythology, and the quality of time. It speaks of the seasons and the spirit-filled journey of learning and returning to celestial and terrestrial lessons over and over.
To celebrate the upcoming new moon in Leo - the sign of creativity and the spirit of play - I’m excited to share that I’ll be teaching a Moon Mandala Workshop Friday July 25th from 10-11am Pacific / 1-2pm Eastern.
This is the first time I'll be sharing a framework for creating moon mandalas that will help you embed your intentions into your creation and have a process to follow for the cycles to come.
Creating moon mandalas is one way to make something meaningful and creative every lunar cycle as a signpost on your journey through the seasons of your life. I hope you’ll join me to create some magic of your own! You can learn more and register here: Moon Mandala Workshop
It’s a little late in the season, but golden poppies are still blooming in northern California. For this lunar cycle I chose to paint the our state flower and pair it with the new moon and season of Leo. The fixed fire sign of summer1.
Leo is often shamed for being too showy and self-centered. When in reality it is the raw child-like desire to be seen as good and special, which is not a bad thing!
Everyone lights up during a standing ovation — audience and performers alike. A divine celebration of radiant delight. The soul of creativity thrives with appreciation and applause — a heart exchange of celebration and praise.
The flame that ignites passion for life, expressing itself through song, poem, story, fashion, anything with a little flare. That is the contagious creativity and courage in the heart of Leo.
Son of the sun. Life is a little extra with Leo on the stage.
In this article we will explore the golden heart of creativity, along with some prompts, practices, and flower essences for embodying authentic radiance.
“If it’s loving that you want the most, it’s loving that you do the best.”
My dad aka Papa John, Leo extraordinaire
little cups of gold
These silky velvety four-petaled golden flowers have a steady glowing presence in the California landscape. That steadiness feels like the sun, it feels like the glowing heart of Leo.
Yes they are abundant aka common, but each one is a unique cup of gold.
The spirit of generosity kind of gold. A reminder to shine for the sake of shining kind of gold. Not to amass fortune through possession, but to be grateful for the good fortune of catching a glimpse of ephemeral this beauty.
Although later tied to the hungry Gold Rush fever kind of gold, the California poppy’s wealth is only present while being rooted in the soil, without which the wildflower quickly withers and dies. It is not meant to be plucked or possessed.
the radiance of the golden poppy
In the opening chapter of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden (1952), the California poppies are described as being: “a burning color – not orange, not gold, but if pure gold were liquid and could raise a cream, that golden cream might be like the color of the poppies.”
Cups of gold with energy and vibrancy resonating with the radiance of Leo.
Before I knew which flower I was going to choose for the Leo new moon, I recorded a video and shared this post last year about the unfolding of the creative process.
Until More is Revealed
Whether it’s a book or a painting or a song, we often only get to see the final product - not the hundreds of design decisions or word choices made along the way.
the sign of the sun
At the center of the solar system and associated with anything that takes center stage is the astrological sign associated with fame and being in the spotlight.
Ruled by the guardian of the Sun. The source, the center.
Leo is vital life force energy that radiates like the sun
Leo is a fixed fire sign that celebrates the heart’s desire
Glowing with generosity
Ruled by the sun, Leo is the center of the solar system
Self-centered, centered in the Self
Leo seeks respect through leadership and confidently sharing their gifts
Notice what happens when Leo feels disrespected
The energy of Leo is self-reliant, confident, charismatic, passionate, loyal, determined, enthusiastic, and self-expressive
Shine your light, the creative spark that beckons others into their radiance
With a strong sense of self and self-expression, Leo emboldens our creativity and exudes confidence. There is an invitation to play, to create for the sake of it, to invite others into the glorious storytelling around the campfire or BBQ in mid-summer.
To gather around the light, the fire, the lion, the sun.
Your heart is a compass.
Leo “My heart is …”
Themes:
Spirit of play
Feeling centered in the self and connected to source
Radiating generosity
Leading from the heart
Inviting the inner child to be unapologetically confident and carefree
Igniting your creative spark, letting it become contagious
Being mindful of what you draw into your orbit
The path of integrating Leo energy is a tricky balance between confidence and insecurity and moving past the fear of overshadowing others.
Affirmation: I am passionate and empowered to create my life through play.
Practices and Prompts:
Explore how it feels to be seen, and
Notice what you need to feel loved and special
Give what it is that you want to receive
Whistle and make your heart happy
Redefine royalty and loyalty outside of hierarchy and possessiveness
Practice being the witness observing the self when the ego gets overactive
Accepting that you wont every be everyone’s cup of iced tea and modeling confidence rooted in Self-love
Prompts: What would it look and feel like to liberate yourself from the needs of approval and recognition? What if you unashamed yourself for wanting praise and appreciation?
the pulse of circulation
The heart beats about 100,000 times a day
It is a pump with electrical impulses that constantly contracts and relaxes with its own rhythmic intelligence
Moving the living fluid known as blood
Working tirelessly to bring oxygen to the body from the lungs
The right and left sides of the heart have unique functions in the systemic loop
Receiving and giving
Giving and receiving
Heart - Lungs - Heart - Body
A transfer of oxygen and a release of carbon dioxide
Facilitating relationship with plant life and mutual flourishing
Over and over, a figure eight of infinity
Infinity - no beginning and no end - circulation and regeneration
Inquiry: What are the mechanisms for flow and circulation in your creative process?
moon mandala workshop for leo new moon
Join me for an interactive online workshop to incorporate creative lunar tracking practices and insight for the upcoming Leo new moon cycle.
Friday July 25th from 10-11am Pacific / 1-2pm Eastern
$35, sliding scale, or by donation
The themes of Leo can show us how to embody our radiance and notice what is currently in our personal orbits.
It helps us connect with our inner light and courage to express our creative visions. Leo season is a time to connect with the spirit of play and creativity for the sake of enjoying the process.
flower essence for radiance and creativity
I’ve been working with flower essences for the past ten years, and honestly I don’t know how anyone keeps their spirits up without them!
Flower essences are vibrational medicine composed of spring water, fire and light from the sun, and the energetic imprint of a flower. It’s not a coincidence that the original essence collected is called the Mother.
Here are four essences that come to heart that address qualities connected with the Leo archetype. There are many more, but if I had to choose from the reparatory I would offer:
Sunflower ( Helianthus annus - FES)
A strong flower for being centered in the self. Balancing spirit and ego with the permission to shine without worry of overshadowing others. A flower in the field of flowers. A star in a constellation of luminaries.
Being infused with radiance, generosity, and a “sunny” presence. Integrating and balancing the polarities of low-self esteem and arrogance into easeful confidence. Seeing the self as an expression of divine light.
Buttercup (Ranunculus occidentalis - Healing Herbs)
Yellow, a glossy yellow lit from within. The glow of self-worth. A Leo ally for assurance that comes from deep inside rather than seeking outer recognition. Accessing your unique inner light. A small and heart-y flower that exudes contagious radiance.
Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata - FES)
This flower essence brings fuel for creative projects. Working with this essence feels like lighting your paintbrush on fire and dancing in a mountain meadow with dragonflies. This essence helps ignite lively energy to bring creative forces into physical form.
I took this essence at the start of painting the Moonflower series last spring after I had been dragging my feet from months. Within a day I felt momentum to create from a fresh space of clarity. I would say this is the essence that became my first “this must be the flowers at work” moment.
California Poppy (Eschsholizia californica - FES)
I love this description from the Flower Essence Society website: “The California Poppy is truly a plant of the sun, opening and closing in response to the radiance of the light and flourishing in open, sunny meadows. The California Poppy helps the soul to gather its forces of light and warmth so that they can radiate within the chalice of the heart as an enduring presence.
This light of the heart is a form of spiritual Gold, which finds its counterpart in Nature in the metal of gold deep within the earth, and the sun itself which pulses as life-giving solar heart for the whole of the earth.” 2
Key patterns of imbalance/indications: Escapism, ungrounded spirituality, infatuation with glamour, addiction, anxiety, difficulty sleeping
Positive qualities: ability to be with oneself despite pain, discomfort or anxiety; knowing the source of light and warmth within oneself; containment of bodily and soul forces creating greater calm and resiliency; radiant heart-centered spirituality
All that glitters is not gold.
shaping the golden state’s identity
Like Leo, golden Poppies are famous - they were central to shaping the identity of the Golden Sate at the turn of the century. A flower that became larger than life.
The golden poppy was chosen as the state flower by the California State Floral Society in 1890, however the story of the California Poppy officially becoming the state flower a decade later is fraught with the project of settler colonialism.
According to Katrina Reynolds in her master’s thesis: “Fields of Gold: Designing the Golden State with the California Poppy, 1880–1930” the role of the poppy in state identity was central with attempting to legitimize white settlers as native sons by associating themselves with this native wildflower. 3
Yet the flower is not at fault, flowers will outlive all empires and political campaigns.
a symbol on stolen land
Reynolds writes, “In California, the golden poppy became a tool that settlers – as individuals and collectives – could use to strategically respond to their precarious status as “Californians.” By claiming the poppy – the true Californian – as their own, settlers were able to craft a culture.”
This thesis shed light on the golden poppy’s shadow in material culture as a symbol used for rebranding stolen land.
shadow integration
The shadow of Leo enters into a space without humility; shining only for attention that is ego driven, rather than a celebration of the light that is in all!! The remedy is knowing when it’s time to ask permission and listen before taking the stage. Lead by listening.
Hold the tension between nothing is about you and everything is about. What do you tend to take personally? What if it’s not personal?
May we soak in the medicine of self-love rooted in the radiant knowing that we are all a unique ray of the energy of the universe. Beaming to each other in the image of creation’s light.
Thank you so much for being here, your presence is a gift.
With love and roses in the sky,
April
p.s. Hope to see you for the creative workshop on Friday for moon mandala play!
Post post reflections: Wow - this piece was a lot, like maybe it was too much? Remembering the gift of Leo is that we inspire each other through sharing and shining, not dimming our light. Shine on!
In tropical astrology in the northern hemisphere, of course — being explicit to not make assumptions geographically or astrologically.
Flower Essence Society https://www.flowersociety.org/california-poppy
“Fields of Gold: Designing the Golden State with the California Poppy, 1880–1930” by Katrina Reynolds
Love this: "Everyone lights up during a standing ovation — audience and performers alike. A divine celebration of radiant delight. The soul of creativity thrives with appreciation and applause — a heart exchange of celebration and praise."