Welcome to the Temple

In these monthly gatherings, we come together to restore relationship with the living world through sacred oils, ritual, meditation, and seasonal attunements.

We listen to the plants.
We honor the cycles of Earth and sky.
We gather in devotion to the sacred woven through all things.

The Earth is our temple. And we are her tenders, guardians, and devotees.

This is a living path of soul restoration — one that brings spirit into the body, ritual into daily life, and coherence into a fragmented world.

This month, we turn toward the archetypes of Leo, the eclipse, and meet with jasmine.

Anoint with me in September!

Our next gathering will be on the September new moon: 10am PT on Thursday, September 10th. Upgrade to paid and join us!

AND on September 21, you can join me for a 42-day anointing journey with the Goddess Ma’at. Together, we’ll move through a powerful treatise from the Egyptian Book of the Dead, or The Book of Coming Forth by Day. Imagine how six consistent weeks of self anointing might impact you :)

On to the wild temple!

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On Wednesday, August 12, we gather from 10 - 11:30am PT for our monthly Rewilding the Temple circle and anointing ceremony.

Save the date — Zoom link at the end :)

The Sun, Moon, Mercury, Jupiter, and the South Node will all be in Leo that day. And, this is the first eclipse on the new Aquarius–Leo nodal axis, which means it opens the eighteen-month themes I wrote about last week: authenticity, desire, creativity, and the distance between our public masks and our inner hearts. (Find that article here.)

A solar eclipse in Leo obscures the Sun in the sign the Sun rules. Light, dignity, reputation, and the star of the show — these significations retreat into the dark while what lies underneath has a chance to be seen.

Our Plant Ally: Jasmine

Jasmine absolute is euphoric, which in the energetics of fragrance means it shifts consciousness while keeping us in our bodies.

In Chinese medicine terms, jasmine calms shen and softens the pericardium — the Heart Protector, the layer of walls that accumulates around the heart over a lifetime of betrayals and disappointments and small self-protections. In the west, jasmine is the royal of the florals, a deeply seductive and sensual scent that encourages embodied pleasure and creativity. All together, it is perfect for our Leo anointing.

You are welcome to attend without the oil and simply receive the energetic attunement. Or, you can bring your own jasmine – dilute in 3-10% carrier oil in preparation. Or, purchase a super luxe jasmine anointing oil from me — I’ve blended day and night-blooming jasmines together in a strong 10% dilution that is a perfume in itself.

Jasmine absolute is one of the most expensive oils in most aroma lovers collections, and for good reason. The flowers are picked by hand, often at night, and thousands of petals are needed for a small amount of oil. My hope is that purchasing the anointing oil makes communing with this sacred ally more available to any who wishes to connect with this divine fragrance.

Order Jasmine Anointing Oil

Orders placed now will arrive after the 12th, but you will get the oil in time to keep anointing for the rest of our lunar cycle :)

If this is your first gathering, welcome!

Rewilding the Temple meets once a month, on or near the new moon. We gather for ninety minutes, live on Zoom, with the replay in here and/or in your course portal within 48 hours.

Every gathering follows the same rhythm:

• We arrive and attune to the season, I share a bit about the astrology of the lunation, and then we explore the botany, clinical use, and energetics of our plant ally for the month.

• We then move through a guided anointing practice. During this experience, I guide you to commune with our plant ally and set intentions for the lunar cycle to come.

• At close, we share in council for anyone who wants to speak (always optional!).

• You’ll leave with a rewilding practice for the cycle, a Tarot spread around our themes, and prompts to keep going deeper on your own.

See you soon,

Juniper

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Welcome to the Temple

In these monthly gatherings, we come together to restore relationship with the living world through sacred oils, ritual, meditation, and seasonal attunements.

We listen to the plants.
We honor the cycles of Earth and sky.
We gather in devotion to the sacred woven through all things.

The Earth is our temple. And we are her tenders, guardians, and devotees.

This is a living path of soul restoration — one that brings spirit into the body, ritual into daily life, and coherence into a fragmented world.

This month, we turn toward the archetypes of Cancer and meet with rose geranium.

Deep Nourishment with the Cancer New Moon

Every season carries its own invitation.

Some seasons ask us to begin. Others ask us to persevere, to harvest, or to let go.

The season of Cancer asks us to receive.

Every New Moon offers an opportunity to plant intentions, but there is something especially nourishing and potent with a Cancer New Moon.

Cancer is ruled by the Moon itself. When the Moon returns to its own sign, there is a sense of harmony, as though the cosmos is briefly speaking its native language.

Cancer is yin energy in the height of summer — a watery, inward moment in a year otherwise heavy with fire and air. The slow outer planets all sit in restless, structural signs right now (Saturn and Neptune in Aries, Uranus in Gemini, Pluto in Aquarius), and with this as our backdrop, the Cancer lunation offers us a breath of receptivity and flow.

The phrase that came to me while preparing this teaching was “hydrating the soul.” I don’t think I’ve ever used those words together before, but they immediately felt right. Just as the body eventually becomes dehydrated without enough water, our inner lives become depleted without nourishment, beauty, rest, and genuine receiving.

Cancer reminds us to drink deeply.

Our culture is very yang — we celebrate movement, productivity, and constant growth. Yet the natural world is balanced in yin and yang. Every wild ecosystem depends upon periods of restoration as much as periods of expansion. Cancer season is an opportunity find this balance. As lunar-ruled water sign, Cancer carries the qualities we often associate with yin energy: receptivity, nourishment, restoration, emotional intelligence, intuition, and care.

Although we often feel the need to fill our summers with activity — travel, gatherings, celebrations, and long days filled with plans — classical astrology offers another perspective. In the agricultural societies where much of this symbolism developed, Cancer marked a season when the immediate work of survival had eased. The seeds had been planted. The days were long. Food was beginning to grow. For a brief moment, life offered permission to rest in the abundance already present.

Rather than asking, What must I do next?, Cancer asks, Can you receive what has already been given?

Many of us carry an unconscious belief that rest must be earned, that nourishment comes only after achievement, or that receiving somehow requires justification. Yet the natural world offers another model.

A tree does not apologize for drinking deeply after the rain. Wildflowers do not hesitate to turn toward the sun.

Receiving is not indulgence.

It is participation in the reciprocal rhythms of life.

This month’s practice is an invitation to remember those rhythms.

Scroll down for more on Cancer’s gifts, including:

• Cancer as the Mother Archetype — and what the higher octave of the Mother actually means

• Seasonal lessons on HOME — within and without

• What Cancer teaches us about nurturing and reciprocity

• How our Mercury Retrograde and Saturn Square impact this new moon’s energetics

Plus, as part of your monthly subscription, you’ll also find:

• A full Rose Geranium plant profile, including traditional aromatherapeutic uses, classical Toaist alchemy energetics, and plant spirit healing

• A guided anointing practice for inner coherence — one to fine tune your ability receive nourishment and share from an overflowing heart

• Journal Prompts & Reflections for the season’s wisdom

• A beautiful rewilding practice that is perfect for Cancer Season

• A 90-minute replay of our gathering — including an exploration of zodiac

• A Tarot/oracle spread for deeper new moon insights

• And even more, if you can believe it!

Read on and enjoy!

Save the Date to Join us Live in August

Our next gathering will be on the August new moon: August 12th, 9-10:30am PT.

On to the wild temple!

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Our July Rewilding the Temple Gathering is coming soon. June’s even was even more nourishing than I expected, and I’m really looking forward to connecting with you all again. Save the date:

Rewilding the Temple
July 14th, 10am - 11:30am PT
we meet via Zoom

Paid subscribers: Find your link to join us at the end of this post :)

Not yet a paid subscriber? Upgrade now, or purchase a one-time pass at a sliding scale:

Subscribe now

One-Time Pass

Right now, memberships are only $5/month. This will go to $11/month in September — but if you upgrade to paid now, you’ll get to keep the lower rate and continue to access all these ceremonies and more :)

In case you’re wondering what folks experienced last month…here are some kind words from our June gathering:

There are a lot of sources that offer a look at the astrology of the new moon each month, but these Anointing Ceremonies offer an opportunity to combine that with fostering a new relationship with the sacred plant that is chosen each month. I have been anointing myself with Blue Tansy this month since the New Moon and have noticed that that I am just being more authentically myself and especially bringing my sense of humor out into the world more and more. It has been happening almost without my input which makes it an even more magical experience. I have always marked the New and Full Moons my whole adult life in some kind of ritual or ceremony, but this paired with a sacred anointing is really special. —KW

I just want to say I thought I would enjoy the Rewilding Blue Tansy class, but I enjoyed it even more than I thought I would. The way you wove in & out of different modalities from astrology to plant and flowers essences was astounding like a spider effortlessly walking through its web. I know little about astrology and I learned a lot about a subject I didn't know anything about. The energy and the passion you espoused really great to see. — JC

One person even said that our anointing practice felt like an awesome acupuncture treatment — I totally agree.

This month we’re working in Cancer’s territory. The new moon on July 14 lands in late Cancer right smack in the middle of our Mercury retrograde, pulling us more towards a quiet review rather than major goal-setting.

Rose geranium is the ally this month.* Clinically, it’s a true balancer — endocrine, nervous system, circulatory — with particular affinity for emotional cyclicity and patterned tension. Energetically, it’s a deeply nurturing oil, attuning us to the healing frequencies of the lunar mother archetype.

Quick Time-Sensitive Note: Order Your Anointing Oil by Sunday Night

Rose geranium anointing oil orders need to be placed by end of day this Sunday, July 5th. Oil ships July 6th — after that, delivery before we gather isn’t guaranteed.

Purchase Our Monthly Anointing Oil

*You do not need to have the oil in order to participate in our gathering! I always provide alternatives. And if you happen you have your own rose geranium oil, you can of course use that.

Reminder: What You’ll Receive

Our ceremony on July 14 includes a botanical deep dive, full anointing practice with acupoint guidance, astrological teachings, a meditative journey, and time for sharing and reflections. You’ll also receive written materials, including an oracle/Tarot spread, and a replay of the live event.

This is a really rich offering, and one I absolutely love sharing :) I hope to see you there!

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On Rewilding the Temple & Soul Coherence

Yesterday, we had an absolutely beautiful gathering under the new moon for our first proper Rewilding the Temple!

I feel so inspired and grateful for everything that transpired and the ongoing invitation to continue offering these sacred circles.

As I shared in this post, the vision for this offering emerged in response to a deeper soul-level coherence within myself (I mean, I’m mid 40s. It’s about damn time, lol.). And from this place, I could truly listen to what wants to come through me.

These monthly gatherings feel really, really important right now. We are in legit wild times (this article shares more about my understanding of our current metamorphosis).

There is a lot of change, a lot of unknowns, a lot of grief…and a lot of possibility.

These monthly circles help us connect with community, inner resilience, and the field of creative possibility that is also available to us right now.

Can you even imagine how a full year of these gatherings might transform you?

Truly — imagine what might shift if you actually did the following every month for 12 months:

• Set soulful intentions on each new moon, mapping out your journey for the next lunar cycle

• Made these intentions in partnership with the astrological energy of the season, bringing you on a journey to understand 12 key inner archetypes by the end of the year

• Received an energetic treatment for soul coherence each month — with a simple anointing practice to support you every day of the lunar cycle

• Meet and commune with a sacred botanical ally — a key oil chosen for each lunar cycles themes

I know that anyone who joins these monthly gatherings will emerge with greater soul-level coherence, purpose, and inner sovereignty by the end of our year.

And this is what I want for all humans. We need people who are aligned, have spiritual agency, and can keep showing up in creative service of our greater good during these absolutely wild times.

Watch the June Replay Right Here — with all sorts of goodies for you, too

Since June was our first proper ceremony, I’ve decided to let it live here in this Substack article, making the full ceremony available to all paid subscribers for all of time…or something like that ;)

So even if you just join as a paid member for a month, you can enjoy this full offering, which includes:

• A 90-minute replay of our gathering — including an exploration of Gemini archetypes, a guided anointing practice, and community shares

• A deep dive into blue tansy — written for you to refer back to

• A written reminder of your anointing sequence, so you can easily practice all month

• Journal prompts to go deeper with our monthly themes

• Simple rewilding practices to connect you to the land and the season

• A Tarot/oracle spread for deeper new moon insights

• Plus, you can add reflections and questions about your experience right here in the comments on this post.

Scroll down for your replay and goodies!

On Sourcing Your Oils

My own Blue Tansy anointing oil is still available for purchase through June 21, so it’s not too late to jump in on the practices for this lunar cycle.

After that, I’ll begin shipping rose geranium, our oil for July.

You are always welcome to source your own oils, or simply join without the oil at all! Inviting the spirit of the plant into your field is enough. :)

Save the Date to Join us Live in July

Our next gathering will be on the July new moon: July 14th, 10-11:30am PT.

Registration will open soon. As always, you can join as a paid subscriber or purchase a one time pass at a sliding scale. Learn more here.

Psst: Join as a paid subscriber now, and you get immediate access to our June new moon ceremony + complementary access to July’s! For $5! Whaaaaa?

Subscribe now

Reminder: Live Flower Essence Workshop on June 28th!

This is a special, one-time live offering all about the magic of flower essences — you can read more in this article. In short, you’ll:

• Communicate with plants, authentically and from the heart

• Root your medicine making in a reciprocal relationship with the living earth

• Discern which plants are offering gifts, and which are not yet

• Understand the language of flowers — using morphology, the doctrine of signatures, and your own intuition

• Make your own flower essences — a sacred process you can repeat for life

• Explore creative and effective ways to work with flower essences

Plus you will receive a replay — with lifetime access — and an in-depth guide to support your ongoing journeys with the plants.

We’ll meet on June 28th (right before the full moon, when blossoms are most potent). And yes, you can watch the replay if you can’t come live.

This is insanely valuable. And I made it super accessible. Grab a spot here — it would be so wonderful to connect with all of you around the plants this month!

Join the Flower Essence Workshop

On to the wild temple!

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We live in a world of duality. From the one to the two — yin and yang, feminine and masculine, dark and light — it is the coming together of two dual forces that holds the generative energy to create something new.

Yet when duality becomes polarized, it causes so much of our human pain. Good or bad. Right or wrong. This or that.

In reality, good and bad are part of one greater whole. Same with desire and aversion. Joy and grief. When we forget this, the fractures caused by overly polarized or dualistic thinking keep us from moving into the wholeness of who we really are.

For most of my life, I’ve held a somewhat silly sense of inner fracturing that I couldn’t quite understand. I say silly, because from the outside, my struggles looked as if they were already resolved. I just didn’t feel it inside.

So what were these very silly internal fractures?

Part of me loves living on the wild land. Eating foraged foods, focusing on local ecosystems, and running barefoot and wild through the forest (ok, not really - I don’t love splinters…but you get the impulse, lol).

The point is to shed cultural conditioning, rewild myself back to my true nature, and live in authentic and reverent partnership with the Earth.

Based on much of the work I share, I’m guessing this isn’t a surprise. And I’m guessing that many of you reading this can relate ;)

But another part of me is fancy. My heart knows that beauty, art, and the creative love that fuels much of our culture is the point of being human.

I want beautiful scents, temple arts and rituals that transform the soul, and to explore the wide range of sacred plants that thrive not just locally but around the world.

If you’ve ever explored the natural, sacred perfumes I make, you’ve seen this side of me as well. And I know many of you also resonate with the soulful call of beauty and art.

For a long time, I felt as if these sides of me were somehow at odds. How could I devote myself to the ecology of here and the wildness of the Earth, and still douse myself in sacred oils from Egypt and India, or feel the soul-shifting experience of an art exhibition in the world’s biggest cities, or design elaborate rituals that take place in a temple rather than on the land?

I’m curious — have you ever felt this sort of split within yourself? Even if it doesn’t seem like a fracture at all from the outside, you feel an internal call to reckon with inner duality?

The art of healing these internal splits and fractures is a foundational part of what I call soul restoration. Coming into soul-level coherence with who we really are; our thoughts, actions, and beliefs coming into authentic alignment with the essence of our soul.

We often teach what we need to learn ;) And teaching the art of soul restoration has helped me come into greater coherence with these two paths that once seemed so separate. Now, obviously, they are one and the same.

It is the coming together of the wild, ecologically reverent path and the path of sacred beauty and aromatics.

It is Rewilding the Temple.

Rewilding the Temple is a new monthly ceremonial offering.

Each new moon, we’ll come together to plant seeds for the lunar cycle ahead through sacred oils, ritual, meditation, and seasonal attunements.

This is a living path of soul restoration — one that brings spirit into the body, ritual into daily life, and coherence into a fragmented world.

Every gathering brings us in touch with an astrological guide (the moon sign) and a botanical ally (we’ll experience a profound, seasonal anointing).

Our first ceremony lands on June 14th with the Gemini New Moon and Blue Tansy as our ally.

How perfect is this? Gemini is the sign of duality. A trickster energy that bridges divides through both love and play. I didn’t plan this — which makes the perfection of Gemini as our guide for kicking off these ceremonies even more meaningful.

Below, I’ll share a bit about this new offering as well as other updates to The Mythoanimist Path. I’m making some changes to help this publication become even more valuable and easier to navigate for all of you. Read on!

New Monthly Gatherings for Animists & Alchemists

Rewilding the Temple gatherings are offered each new moon, and there are two ways you can step into our circle:

1. Upgrade to a paid membership. All paid subscribers will receive a link to join for free:

Subscribe now

2. Purchase a one-time pass. These are offered at a sliding scale:

Purchase a One-Time Pass

On the Gathering Flow

Every ceremony moves through:

Seasonal Teachings
Reflections on the current astrological and energetic threshold

Botanical Encounters
An exploration of our monthly oil’s spiritual, aromatic, and energetic gifts

Sacred Anointing Ritual
A guided energetic attunement with the oil

Meditative Journey
An imaginal and intuitive encounter with the deeper wisdom emerging through this season

Rewilding Practice
A simple practice to carry into your daily life and relationship with the Earth

Soul Integration
Journaling prompts and reflections for continued embodiment

Sacred Council
Space for sharing, reflection, questions, and connection

Replay Access
So you may revisit the ceremony in your own timing

Updates to The Mythoanimist Path

I’ve been writing this Substack for over three years now. It’s grown significantly in that time thanks to the support of my beloved readers! Thank you for being here!

As a result, I’ve made some updates that I hope help you all make the most of your subscription, whether you’re free, paid, for founding member :) Here’s what’s new:

1. A “Start Here” page with a growing archive of articles arranged by topic.

2. A Member Vault — a library of perks for paid subscribers, making it easier to navigate and find your benefits.

3. Essays — a collection of longer, in-depth and reflective pieces all in one place.

What else would be helpful? Let me know your thoughts!

I’d also love to hear where you’ve felt fractioning within your own interests, and if any reconciliation has occurred ;)

Leave a comment

Juniper Stokes is a botanical perfumer, soul alchemist, and rewilding guide through mythic landscapes of the nature, spirit, and the cosmos. For over 25 years, she has been guiding soulful humans back to the heart of who they are and why they’re here.

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