A SENSORY EXPLORATION OF LEO SEASON

Leo season is an invitation to shimmy onto the dancefloor and unleash your realness, say Cara George & Bess Matassa of Mojave Rising

mojave leo season on The Numinous
Kali Uchis

Leo season grabs us by both hands and pulls us onto the dance floor to shake and shimmy with the sweet sensation that all we have to do is become more of what we already are. Yet the fluorescent feline’s secret jewel box lies buried within the deliciously difficult feeling that when we show up as ourselves, absolutely and completely, sometimes we dance alone, lit only by the fire of our realest, most generously unapologetic essence.

We’re not for everyone—but we cannot be for anyone if we’re not for ourselves. So turn it on, turn it up, and shine your light as you step into the strobe-lit center of your own incandescent value, powered by the sheer deliciousness of being. The message, glamourama glitter kittens, is that it’s alright to trust this life, even when it leaves us to bask alone in our own glow. Because we’ve got to let it show and it’s time for the world to know.

The keyword: Realness

The song lyrics: “What you find/What you feel/What you know now/To be real”—Cheryl Lynn, To Be Real. And check out our Leo season playlist, complete with bubblegum pop, heart-on-sleeve anthems, and glittering grooves.

Leo season mojave rising on The Numinous
Leo lady Cara Delevigne

The color palette: Fully saturated jewel tones and glowy, sun-kissed shades—think gold lamé, mouthwatering magentas, and torrid corals.

The style: Lisa Frank and a Vegas showgirl vacation in the tropics—think over-the-top sparkles, shine, fluff, bronzer, silliness, sex and, of course, rainbow leopard print.

The scents and flavors: Sunbaked and succulent—think juicy tomatoes, citrus collisions, tropical infusions, and ice cream dreams. Think coconut La Croix, gourmand scents, Caprese salad, and creamsicles.

mojave rising

The healing: It’s glamorously direct and deliciously simple—go for rollerskating, drugstore makeovers, beachfront carnivals, shared popsicles, or anything that offers full, earnest immersion in the precious present.

SENSUOUS INVITATION OF THE MONTH :: UN-GUILTY PLEASURES (by sign, below)

With this month’s pack of Leo planets beckoning us to become more completely ourselves than ever before, and Mars finally out of retrograde and moving from Scorpio into Sagittarius, we’re being asked to recommit to what turns us on and lights us up, even when our pleasures might be perceived as “uncool.”

This month, we invite you to abandon “good” taste and strip the supposedly guilty of its guilt as you dive heart first into the gaudy, tacky, sentimental, and over-the-top. Start with the suggestions below and then let your imagination run absolutely wild into pure, guileless pleasure, no matter its reputation.

mojave rising leo season on The Numinous
Nicki Minaj

::  ARIES ::
Leo season invites you to infuse your stripped down, embattled spirit with some larger-than-life glamorama and tenderized sweetness. Un-guilty Pleasure: Talk about love and feel it all with Celine Dion’s heart-wrenching, vocal acrobatics.

:: TAURUS ::
Leo season invites you to savor ephemeral pleasures that can’t be tied down or objectified, and to trust so deeply into your worth that you have nothing to lose. Un-guilty Pleasure: Divine the cosmic messages in lottery tickets, happy meal prizes, and boardwalk palm readers just like you would a serious tarot session with a seasoned professional.

:: GEMINI ::
Leo season invites you to utilize your endless penchant for information gathering to playfully and emotionally relate to others’ stories. Un-guilty Pleasure: Old-school slumber parties complete with Cosmo quizzes and rounds of “Never Have I Ever.”

:: CANCER ::
Leo season invites you to own your need for retreat and not wait for permission to feed the secret parts of your soul. Un-guilty Pleasure: Slip away and tuck yourself in with a solo Snuggie and Yankee candle.

:: LEO ::
Leo season invites you to glow, glam, and shine without worrying about who’s watching. Un-guilty Pleasure: Break out the bedazzler and blue eyeshadow and take yourself out for a romantic Olive Garden pasta dinner for one.

:: VIRGO ::
Leo season invites you to step into the scorching-hot spotlight as you rightfully claim full credit for your behind-the-scenes labors. Un-guilty Pleasure: Karaoke lounge night without opting for the private room; think ABBA, Barry Manilow, and beyond.  

:: LIBRA ::
Leo season invites you to trade the shoulds for the wants as you release into multiple versions of the ideal. Un-guilty Pleasure: Challenge your sense of acceptable aesthetics as you celebrate inspirational kitten and sunset photos, colored bras under white shirts, or even toe rings.

:: SCORPIO ::
Leo season invites you to find the juicy humor in your emotional intensity without having to scale it back one single bit. Un-guilty Pleasure: Binge on soap operas and reality shows where the drama runs high; think Melrose, The O.C., and The Real Housewives.

:: SAGITTARIUS ::
Leo season invites you to relax fully in the present moment of courageous creation without having to imbue it with philosophical meaning or needing to sniff out what may be next in line. Un-guilty Pleasure: Get wild and weird with jazzercise, prancercise, square dancing, or line dancing.

:: CAPRICORN ::
Leo season invites you to suspend some of your hard-earned perspective for the deliciously innocent belief that you’re worthy of being adored without having to exercise any effort. Un-guilty Pleasure: Adorn your living space with some Liberace-style “palatial kitsch”: gold- plated picture frames, red velvet lamps, and pink cherubic statues.

:: AQUARIUS ::
Leo season invites you to feel fully into the arduous heat of passionate attachments and let them burn and burn. Un-guilty Pleasure: Start a Nicholas Sparks’ book club and cry your damn eyes out with the ephemeral human beauty of it all.

:: PISCES ::
Leo season invites you to assert yourself completely without needing to ask permission. Un-guilty Pleasure: Clear the dance floor with a show-stopping boogie down to the smooth, mellow sounds of Michael McDonald’s yacht rock.

A SENSORY EXPLORATION OF CANCER SEASON

A luscious monthly exploration of the cosmic energies for Cancer Season by Cara George & Bess Matassa of Mojave Rising

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Cancer season coaxes us into the nocturnal realm of hothouse flowers, deep sea skinny dipping, and the glow-in-the-dark feeling that we belong to ourselves completely. It’s a season for standing so profoundly inside our own hearts that what we feel becomes identical to what we believe we ARE—and this belief becomes the unstoppable tidal force that parts the seas of self-doubt.

So break your own heart wide open this month, and take the full plunge without even testing the waters. Mine the juicy, radical tenderness that arises from this emotionally risky business to construct a pathway all the way back to the house of your dreams. Slip out of those old clothes and back into your own skin. It’s time to get soaking wet.

The keyword: Submersion.

The lyrics: “I love it in your room at night/You’re the only one who gets through to me/In the warm glow of the candlelight/Oh, I wonder what you’re gonna do to me” – The Bangles, In Your Room

Check out our playlist, complete with classic crooners, languid ladies, and aural journeys to the interior.

The color palette: a cocktail of crepuscular shades that conjures everything from impressionist water lilies and opalescent conch shells to strangely striped scarabs sporting wicked sapphire and violet backs.

Mojave Cancer

The style: South of France artist’s atelier meets beach blanket bonfire. Undone wavy locks or messy upswept braids paired with glam 50s pinup one pieces, sexy lace-edged smocks and low slung trousers with stacked raffia wedges or slip-on mules, and explorations in inner/outerwear with lingerie inspired pieces and ruffled accents fit for romancing your own heart.  

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The scents and flavors: deliciously briny, fermented infusions and memory palettes—think everything from kimchi, pickles, olives, and sardines, to grandma’s holiday fruit cake and perfumer Christopher Brosius’ “Archetype” series, which pairs scents with emotional narratives.

 

CB I Hate Perfume
CB I Hate Perfume

The healing: explore creative boundaries through exercises in sweetly risky exposure—sharing your private writing with trusted girlfriends, signing up for a full-on open mic night, hosting a dinner party without tidying up one bit, or even constructing a terrarium that symbolizes the slow unveiling of your loony inner lifeworld. (NB: perfect timing for our Re-Write Your Love Story women’s retreat!)

numinous retreat re-write your love story

SENSUOUS INVITATION FOR CANCER SEASON :: FRAGRANCES (by sign)

With all the recent mutable astro energy now getting a heavy hit from Cancer’s cardinal action, and Mars stationing direct in fixed Scorpio, it’s a month for recommitting yourself to your most private visions—and beginning to wear these fantasies on your sleeve. Become intoxicated by your own secret scents and leave a beautiful trail wherever you go!

:: ARIES ::
Cancer season invites you to explore the exhilarating internal action that’s possible when you courageously commit to a feelingSwap out the potent colognes you spray directly onto your skin and experiment instead with stepping into the mists of a room spray that conjures landscapes built for dreaming and scheming. Think star-studded mountain campfire scents, fresh linens, or meadow flowers. TRY: Somerset Meadow by Crabtree & Evelyn.

:: TAURUS ::
Cancer season invites you to scuba dive down towards a different kind of emotional security that doesn’t have to manifest in the material world. Probe the waters with classic beach scents redolent of salt, suntan oil, and oceanic breezes that remind you of the strength of your flippers, no matter the turn of the tides. TRY: REPLICA Beach Walk by Maison Martin Margiela.

:: GEMINI ::
Cancer season invites you to temporarily fold your wings as you probe the poetics of your inner life without having to constantly externalize or testify. Get back to the basic contours of your own heart with simple, herbaceous blends and lively florals like basil, lavender, lilac, and lemongrass. TRY: Lime, Basil & Mandarin by Jo Malone.

:: CANCER ::
Cancer season invites you to voyage into the loonier side of the crustacean’s energy with experiments in witchery, weirdness, and self-possessed wilding. Sport a highly proprietary blend of essential oils that mixes dirty, earthy organics with spicy spirituals—think patchouli, sandalwood, burning leaves, incense, and oud. TRY: Patchouli 24 by Le Labo.

:: LEO ::
Cancer season invites you to delight in the curious sensation of actually climbing back into the safety of your clamshell as you learn when to retreat and engage in some solo play. Sample the scents of home with classically comfortable vanillas, candied, playground edibles, or blossoms and botanicals reminiscent of your childhood backyard. TRY: Candy by Prada.

:: VIRGO ::
Cancer season invites you to recommit to your creative force as you revel in building and birthing wondrously imperfect artistic endeavors with your own hands. Celebrate craftswomanship and construction with woodsy cedar, pine, and birch tar accords, and resins, leather, and medicinal notes that conjure the earthily generative spaces of tree houses, libraries, and apothecaries. TRY: Opone by Diptyque.

:: LIBRA ::
Cancer season invites you to experiment with irrational and visionary vibrations as you trade mental acuity and constant assessment for the full-throttle sensation of no longer fighting your gut feelings. Infuse your usually crisp, clean florals with intoxicating blooms and indolic, over-the-top scents, or sample spicy blends of cinnamon and pepper. TRY: Opium by YSL.

:: SCORPIO ::
Cancer season invites you to unclench your fists and unlock your secret diary as you start sharing your inner world with trusted confidantes. Dose yourself in emboldened, exuberant scents that conjure the sun-baked celebration of secrets revealed—think tropical fruits and flowers, gourmand scents, the clarity of citrus accords, and even in-your-face drugstore indulgences. TRY: Sensuous by Estee Lauder.

:: SAGITTARIUS
Cancer season invites you to bring it all back home as you practice recommitting to inner visions as much as outer adventures. Engage in some armchair olfactory voyaging by discovering your dream travel destination’s local scent landscape, and decking out your bedroom in candles and oils that conjure this topography—think anything from Big Sur juniper to Turkish coffee. TRY: Gypsy Water by Byredo.

:: CAPRICORN ::
Cancer season invites you to let your hard-built structures benefit from some saltwater softening as you honor what it would mean to come a little undone (without falling apart). Dose yourself in easy, breezy romantic scents or sample “chypre” fragrances that infuse your woodsy self-sufficiency with a little wet moss. TRY: Citron Citron by Miller Harris.

:: AQUARIUS ::
Cancer season invites you to pair your far-flung, forward thinking visions with curious explorations into your roots as you probe past legacies and lineages. Discover vintage scents like Jicky, Shalimar, Anaïs Anaïs, and decant them into glamorous mid-century perfume vials. TRY: Chanel No.19.

:: PISCES ::
Cancer season invites you to infuse your usually transcendent, boundaryless emotional climate with some highly personalized desire as you practice fighting for your own feelings and learning when to say no. Dab badass, musky, animalic scents into hidden places between your breasts and behind your knees as you recommit to your fierce, untamable feeling nature. TRY: Sahara Noir by Tom Ford.

A SENSORY EXPLORATION OF GEMINI SEASON

Enter Gemini season—with a tribute to the one and only Prince, in this month’s exploration of the current cosmic energies by Cara George & Bess Matassa of Mojave Rising

Prince gemini season the numinous

Gemini season beckons us to strap on our butterfly wings and sample the infinite possible pathways through the kaleidoscope of our lives. The zodiac’s iridescent muse reminds us that we can choose “both, and,” rather than “either, or,” and that it’s all just happening without us always having to understand.

It’s a month for simply letting the Universe happen through us, without judgment and sometimes without any filtration at all. So click your ruby-slippered heels together three times, and turn your story inside out. Bend it. Stretch it. Paint it twenty-five shades of rainbow-kissed wilderness. And remember that certainty is brittle. Indeed, that certainty begs to be broken.

The keyword: “Threshold.”  

The song lyrics: I’m not a woman/I’m not a man/I am something that you’ll never understand” – Prince, I Would Die 4 U

Check out our playlist, complete with street sounds, exploratory electronica, and rogue tunes from across the pond. And while our musical Gemini patron saint isn’t on Spotify, we’ve included special Prince picks in our sign-by-sign selection (further below).

The colors: Somewhere over the rainbow and way beyond Kansas with iridescence, shimmer, and glitter, cracking us open to prismatic perspectives.  

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The look: Ethereal glitter rock, expansive androgyny, and high/low cultural collisions. Feathers, gossamer, fabrics that move, and star-studded stilettos paired with men’s leisure wear.

gemini season color palette on The Numinous

 

The scents and flavors: Dazzlingly disorienting mixtures of synthetic and organic that both excite and confuse our olfactory sensibilities. Think Thierry Mugler’s ecstatically strange “Angel,” street meats, and unexpected snacks like lavender ice cream or nasturtium salad.  

gemini season on The Numinous

The healing: Mind-altering descents into the urban fray: think wandering flea markets and bazaars as we revel in cacophonous sensory mosaics; signing up for an off-the-beaten path walking tour or scavenger hunt; or maybe just brunching in a new neighborhood or sampling a fresh food truck.  

GEMINI SEASON BY SIGN :: COLOR PALETTES AND PRINCE JAMS!

With all four mutable signs playing a key role in the cosmic landscape of Gemini season, it’s a moment to don our mood rings and delight in chameleon color palettes as we let the full spectrum of visual and emotional luminescence into our apartments, makeup bags, and beyond. In the wise words of the Purple One: “I wish there was no black or white/I wish there were no rules.”  

:: ARIES ::
Gemini season invites you to experiment with energetic androgyny as you mix your masculine action principle with some radio tower receiving, and revel in the curious sensation of not having to commit to a particular end goal. Think color collisions fit for a tough yet bedazzled Jem from the Holograms.

Prince Anthem:Cream”

Aries Colors

:: TAURUS ::
Gemini season invites you to quicken your pace and get out into the melee as you let your tightly-held values collide with alternate belief systems. Infuse your usual chocolate truffle palette with the levity of some candied Jordan almond pastels.

Prince Anthem: Pink Cashmere”

Taurus Colors

:: GEMINI ::
Gemini season invites you to celebrate the full expression of your circulatory, winged sociability while also finding some ballast to soothe your nervous system. Activate your inner Rainbow Brite with Skittles shades and playground primaries.

Prince Anthem: Controversy”

Gemini Colors

:: CANCER ::
Gemini season invites you to break up calcified habitual patterns and practice voicing your emotional needs directly. Radicalize and renovate your clam shell with electric neons fit for an 80s prom queen Ariel.

Prince Anthem: When Doves Cry”

Cancer Colors

:: LEO ::
Gemini season invites you to practice glowing brightly without having to stand at the center of the action, as you trust in an individualism that doesn’t need to be spotlighted. Let your full-on solar power kick back under a Capri sun with summer sorbet shades and limoncello yellow.

Prince Anthem: Raspberry Beret”

Leo Colors

:: VIRGO ::
Gemini season invites you to celebrate the dazzling dance of information gathering without having to worry about developing expertise. Honor the ever-unfolding spectacle with ballet slipper pinks and mint julep shades fit for a midsummer night’s dream.

Prince Anthem: Nothing Compares 2 U”

Virgo Colors

:: LIBRA ::
Gemini season invites you to say yes to both ends of the spectrum and to infuse your high-minded idealism with some “beginner’s mind” buoyancy that’s deliciously judgement free. Conjure newness with clean slate greys and an unexpected splash of sparkling limeade.

Prince Anthem: Diamonds & Pearls”  

Libra Colors

:: SCORPIO ::
Gemini energy invites you to explore fusing your “go deep or go home” mentality with a fresh curiosity that can contain both gravitas and levity. Old Hollywood femme fatale enters the technicolor age with a palette that trades vampy purple for ombréd lilacs as you play with varying levels of potency.

Prince Anthem: Private Joy”

Scorpio Colors

:: SAGITTARIUS ::
Gemini season invites you to celebrate the “unknown” with in the known as you infuse your sense of far-flung adventurism with a little local exploration. With a rare succession of two Full Moons in your sign this season, it’s a moment for colors that conjure nocturnal howling, lunar metals, and the air that fans your bonfire.  

Prince Anthem: Little Red Corvette”  

Sagittarius Colors

:: CAPRICORN ::
Gemini season invites you to mix your proclivity for wise maturity and getting the job done with some juicy, youthful playtime. Deck your life out with a boss lady leisure palette perfect for yacht parties and transcontinental jet setting.

Prince Anthem: Sign O’ The Times”

Capricorn Colors

:: AQUARIUS ::
Gemini season invites you to sample the infinite array of possible perspectives without having to commit to a credo. Summon your prismatic potentials with colors fit for splashing in a forest pool or climbing to the top of some magically elven tree where you can just sit back and let it all be.

Prince Anthem: 1999″

Aquarius Colors

:: PISCES ::
Gemini season invites you to balance your penchant for continuous emotional intake with a little intellectual detachment and some soft-focus solitary retreat. Relish shades of wine, roses, and terracotta as you let this rich, grounded palette soothe some of this season’s mutable madness.

Prince Anthem: Purple Rain”

Pisces Colors