Aries season approaches, witches! The start of Aries season signifies the astrological "new year" AND the start of Spring, making it an ideal time to set some new intentions, refresh our energetic and physical spaces, and plant seeds of all kinds! Aries energy is bold, confident, expressive, and unapologetic. This is cardinal Fire!! Venus falls under this sign in my own birth chart, so I find that Aries has a tendency to express itself through my love of bold and colorful (and often fiery-toned) clothing, decor, and art. Since this is a time of renewal, I was inspired to create a practical "closet curation" (more fun than a clear-out) ritual for confidence and expression, as well as a recipe for a magical mist to spritz over your clothes to enchant your fashion with the energy of passion. All you'll need for the wardrobe ritual itself is your own creativity and the clothes you already own!
1. First, create a pleasing environment. This ritual isn't meant to feel like a chore, so do whatever makes you feel relaxed and ready to have fun. You're going to be trying on clothing, so make sure you have access to a room with a mirror (and lighting that doesn't feel like a personal attack--modify if need be)! Light candles or incense if you like, and maybe turn on some music that makes you feel confident and grounded!
Clothing and fashion can be stressful for lots of people for a myriad of reasons, but this ritual is meant to help you feel like getting dressed is FUN and bolster your confidence. If you catch yourself in negative self-talk, do your best to call out your inner bully and redirect that energy towards how excited you are to start expressing yourself more fully through your clothing. Of course, be gentle with yourself and take a break and come back to the ritual later if you're feeling especially activated or anxious.
2. Now you're going to take 5 or so minutes to reflect on how you want your clothing to make you FEEL. Try to narrow it down to 3-5 feelings to allow some room for range (for all us multitude-containing cuties) while still giving you a clearer idea about your intentions while getting dressed. For example, I chose "playful", "sensual", and "bold". If you've been stuck in a wardrobe rut and have no IDEA how you want your clothes to make you feel anymore, feel free to take to Pinterest and start gathering some inspiration of outfits you not only LIKE, but would like to wear yourself (that's an important distinction). Then look for commonalities in the energy of the looks you've saved and go from there!
You can also take inspiration from your own Venus placement! Think about keywords associated with the sign your natal Venus falls under that you'd like to express through your clothing! The element of your natal Venus can also help give direction to what colors you might gravitate towards (again, use this as inspiration! If the colors associated with your Venus' element don't speak to you--don't wear 'em!):
Fire Venus: Warm, fiery tones like reds, oranges, yellows, magentas, fuschias. Bold colors and patterns.
Earth Venus: Earth tones! Think colors you'd see often in nature. Deep greens and blues, browns, tans, and goldenrods. Cozy textures.
Air Venus: Light and airy colors. Pastels, black/white, neutrals. Airy fabrics are a good one here, too!
Water Venus: Jewel tones/watery colors! Blues, seafoams, purples, shell pinks--flowing fabrics.
3. Time to sort out your clothes! Depending on how much clothing you have to go through, you may want to spread this ritual out over a few different days by category (pants/skirts, tops/sweaters, dresses/sets, etc). You're going to put each item into one of 4 piles: Keep, Donate, Style, and Repurpose/Trash.
The Keep pile is for clothing that makes you feel like any of the words you chose in step 2 and fits you comfortably that you wear semi-regularly.
The Donate or sell pile is for clothing that is in good condition but doesn't align with how you want to feel in your clothes or no longer fits you.
The Style pile is for clothing that DOES align with how you want to feel in your clothes but don't wear regularly--either because you're not sure what to wear it with or because you've got cold feet about pulling off a certain fashion choice you admire!
The Repurpose/Trash pile is for clothing that doesn't align with how you want to feel in your clothes or no longer fits you AND is no longer in good condition to donate. Some garments can be cut into rags for cleaning (or even for making a rag rug if you really want to get creative), and others can be tossed. (I know it hurts and I'm not encouraging excess waste, but sometimes a garment has really reached the end of its life!)
4. You've separated your clothes into piles and now it's time to play dress up! This is where we focus on the all-important "Style" pile. The words "play dress up" are intentional here--it's especially important to try to keep a playful, open-minded, and creative attitude during this step. You're going to try styling several outfits around each piece in your "style" pile. Try out combinations you normally wouldn't! Get a little silly and see how you surprise yourself! You may discover that you love to power-clash, or pattern-mix, or dress in monochrome! Remember that if you put some pieces together and you think it looks ridiculous--it's all part of the process (and you might even get a good laugh out of it)!
Again, Pinterest is your friend during this step if you aren't feeling especially inspired! Try searching for outfits that include the kind of piece that's stumping you and see how you can create something similar with pieces in your closet. At the end of this step, any pieces you were able to find ways to wear/love can be added into your "keep" pile, while the rest can go into the "donate" pile. Notice if there's a consistent "theme" among the clothes you liked but ultimately couldn't find ways to actually like WEARING them--maybe sequins are something that you love the IDEA of, but not really the EXPERIENCE of. All of this is valuable information that will help you make wiser shopping choices in the future and give you a clearer vision of your own personal style!
5. Now you've got a closet full of pieces you will actually WEAR that feel like an expression of who you are and have been curated with intention! Don't forget to ACTUALLY bring that Donate pile to a local non-profit or donation center...this ritual won't feel nearly as satisfying if it results in one more bag of clothes that that sits in a corner or your trunk for months (not like I've ever done that with a bag of donations before or anything...)
Passion Portal Wardrobe Mist
If you want to work some extra credit wardrobe magic, you can create a magical mist for confidence and protection to mist over your clothing whenever you please! I like to make this spray on a sunny day so it can sit to charge for a few hours in the rays of the Sun to give that extra boost of "radiant" energy.
Combine the following ingredients in a spray bottle:
- Rose Water (You can make your own or buy some ready-made. I like to use the kind that already comes in a spray bottle, you can find it in the skincare aisle of most health food stores. You can also find bottles of rose water at many Middle-Eastern grocers!)
- Orange Blossom Water OR a few drops orange essential oil OR a few orange peels (If using fresh orange peels be sure to keep your mist refrigerated and replace after 2 weeks.)
- 3 drops Carnelian essence and 3 drops Black Tourmaline Essence (You can make your own or use the one we make in-haus!)
Rose brings an energy of beauty while also keeping us protected from harm with her thorns. Orange brings confidence, joy, and luck. Carnelian helps ignite our passion, and Black Tourmaline helps ground us in our purpose and adds an extra boost of protection. Whenever doing laundry or getting dressed, just shake and spray to give your OOTD an extra dose of glamour magic.
