Week 4: Dandelions, Boundaries, Devotion

Happy New Year! More like a happy zodiacal new year rather… This week we lurched from the watery and dreamy season of Pisces, into the cardinal fire of Aries. Aries is the leader of the zodiac, with a new cycle beginning on the Spring Equinox (3/19). There is potent medicine within this Aries season for us which I am going to delve into below for you all. If you felt a little wind in your sails so far this week, that’s no accident! And if you’re on the other side of that coin still holding onto something heavy, know that the grief of changing seasons takes a while to integrate and I’m with you. ♥

Welcome to week 4! I’m so glad you’re still here, and if you’re just joining us now, welcome! For a little refresher, for the last 4 weeks we’ve gone on a journey.. First week emerging from a liminal chrysalis into a new life of heart expression. Second week, we embraced the beast of all that torments us alchemizing foe into friend, wound into medicine. And lastly in week 3, we left behind limiting beliefs that don’t serve our purpose for us being here in this life.. We considered the healing needed post the shock that comes from taking a step in the direction of our truth. This week is all about continuing to build upon those steps, taking all we’ve learned and giving it the radical permission it needs to lead us this year.

As the Earth begins to wake up to Spring, I’m sure you’ve maybe seen some Daffodils beginning to shine their faces towards the warming Sun, or maybe you’ve joined them in that act! (highly recommend). Both the Daffodils and warm rays of Sun are testimonies that life keeps on keeping on, regardless of our thoughts on the matter. They remind us that Spring, both of the soul and season are promises made, eternally unbroken. Another yellow energy that will soon follow these Daffodils though, is the Dandelion.

Considering we are in this Strength-Leo, heart of a lion energy year, that we’ve been chatting about the last 3 weeks, I would like to point your attention to this humble little ‘weed’. In French ‘dents de lion’ means ‘Lion's tooth’ named this because of its jagged edged leaves, and to me as well because it’s got that fluffy mane of a bloom.

Dandelion is a potent medicine for the kidneys, liver, gallbladder, and it even strengthens the heart by lowering cholesterol and regulating blood sugar. Every portion of the Dandelion is edible and medicinal, however what I also respect about Dandelion which is seldom recognized, is its energetic properties aside from the physiological. Dandelions will grow in almost every type of dirt, they not only grow with great pride wherever they are; but they also send a deep tap root down into the ground that loosens up hard-packed soil. This helps to aerate the earth, reducing erosion. These little flowers barely get the attention of us as we regularly go about our lives, and are often misunderstood as people try to rid them from their lawns or gardens. Yet they have such a strong message for us that we are missing!

No matter how much money Monsanto wants to spend on trying to rid this magical little beam of light from the Earth, no matter the misconstrued allegations about it or what we’ve been conditioned to believe… it will find a way to come back even stronger. If you garden: Have you ever thought you weeded out a Dandelion just to come back a week and a half later with an even stronger and larger one in its place? These things are unstoppable, and for good reason!

Their confidence serves as a cue for us to start before we’re ready. The earth is barely awake into spring and Dandelions are already out and about! They don’t care if there will be another hard frost, they’ll just get right back up and try again. Dandelions go first before they know it’s totally ‘the right time’ and they are cherished and celebrated for it by the bees, as some of the first nectar of the season. Regardless of what your gift is… Dandelion encourages you to put it out in the world. If it freezes or flops, Dandelion too gives you the permission to try at it again without judgment or ridicule. Dandelion has this heart centered energetic quality of the lion I really want to continue to promote. It will befriend any soil as it’s home, even if it seems inhospitable. It will feed nourishment to the famished bees, even in the bitter cold of early spring without certainty it will survive. It will try and try again with full knowledge of its truth regardless of being misunderstood and mistreated. This invitation is not exclusively Dandelion’s either.

Dandelion and I want to let you know that there is no one right way to do it your way. As one of my mentors Marie Forleo says, “insight is gained from action, not thought!”. Imagine if the Dandelion were to be hanging out as a seed in the earth contemplating when the right time is to take the chance at life? Waiting until the danger of frost truly has passed to emerge? Millions or billions of bees all over the earth would not have any early food to eat and may die. Meaning the entire web of creation as we know it would be massively impacted in a negative way. We need their courage to survive, we need your courage to survive as well.

The Dandelions inspire a path of leadership in the plant kingdom, blazing the trail to allow everyone else to follow in their path as Spring progresses. How can you begin to develop your path of heart-strong leadership moving into Aries season? One way is to get clear about your boundaries to past editions of yourself that seek to limit your growth or impact in the world.

One thing that is absolutely magic about Aries energetics is that when they are complete with something, that’s all folks! They let what doesn’t serve them slip off like butter in a hot pan. You can’t spell boundaries without Aries right! Draw that line between you and the thoughts or people, that tell you it’s not quite yet time to shine, to grow, to bloom. They are mistaken! Gently remind them it’s safe regardless if it’s a big hit or a tiny ripple, it’s yours and that is remarkable. Lean on this energy throughout this season as you put one foot in front of the other towards your next version of self.

Another quality I deeply respect about Aries and really all the Cardinal signs in the zodiac (Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn) is their devotion. The relentless ‘devotion to growth’ of the Dandelion emerges in late March and April during Aries season.

How have you gotten back up after being kicked down in the past? Why? Because you have to. It’s your birthright not only to exist and live, but to truly thrive in this world. To feed others with your nectar, no matter how subtle or sizable it may be. There’s no one right way to do it your way, get up and do it anyway. The Dandelions know it, and so can you!

Thirdly, Aries run hot on faith in whatever it is they believe in. They are not a hopeful bunch, they take action and have faith that whatever they’re plowing towards will gather fortuitously. Hope is not enough when starting seeds or growing plants, or believing in yourself. Take it from me, I do all three on a daily basis. Hope is passive, faith is action. We don’t hope for Spring, we have faith in it arriving. It WILL arrive no matter how many dandelion seed heads we blow away for it to come. “Hope is a beggar, hope walks through the fire and faith leaps right over it” - Jim Carey”

Have faith in whatever it is that you’ve been marinating on for the last year: the conversation, the relationship, the job, the art, the move, whatever it is! It’s calling you because it wants to connect with you, lean on the faith that Aries energy so generously provides that it will coalesce in perfect order.

The more we rub up and step across the boundaries of what we think is possible for us, the more confidence we pocket. Think like a Dandelion this week, and in closing I’ll leave you with this very cliche yet very true quote by Gandhi, “Be the change you wish to see in the world”.

Here’s a guided meditation to help you center into your faithful inner flame.

(click view to listen when prompted):

With so much love and gratitude,

Taryn xx