Which flower empowers each zodiac sign?

National Gardening Day is celebrated on April 14, nearing the end of Aries season and blooming directly after the spring equinox.

The original flower children were the Natufians, our hunter-gatherer forbearers who began burying their dead on flower beds some 14,000 years ago.

Since then flowers have grown (get it?) beyond their funerary function and are used as medicine, apology, edible good, perfume inspiration and romantic gesture.

Flowers possess the power to stimulate posistive responses in humans and have long been used in art and verse as metaphor and memento mori. Fun fact: the word anthology itself translates to “a collection of flowers.”

In a similar vein, or stem, Ukrainian artist Viktor Mikhalev is using discarded weapons and ammunition to fashion what he calls his “flowers of war.” From rot to root to resplendence, read on to learn more about the power flower for your zodiac sign

ARIES (March 21 – April 19)

Thistle

Ruled by warrior planet Mars, Aries is the first sign in the zodiac and the onset of its season coincides with the first day of spring. Thistle, a resilient, prickly flowering plant embodies the battle ready, armor on, action oriented, bloom from blood modality of Aries, themes explored and an ode realized in the banger of a poem, “Thistles” by Ted Hughes which includes the lines: “From the underground stain of a decayed Viking. They are like pale hair and the gutturals of dialects. Every one manages a plume of blood.” Heavy metal and utterly Aries.”

TAURUS (April 20 – May 20)

Lily of the Valley

I’ll bet my stars that the biblical Eve, she of the leaf bikini, rib meat and unruly appetites was a Taurus. In kind, this flower is said to have sprung from the tears she shed when she was banished from the Garden of Eden, transmuting emotion into the useful/ tangible being a bull specialty.

Taureans prioritize their personal comfort over all and everyone and Greek myth holds that the god Apollo created Lily of the Valley so that his harem of nymphs would have something soft to walk on.

The birth flower of the month of May which includes the bulk of Taurus season, Lily of the Valley was also the favorite bloom of long reigning bull regent Queen Elizabeth II.

GEMINI (May 21 – June 20)

Daisy

Represented by the twins and prone to oscillation, Geminis struggle with decision making and concrete commitment. As they are duality incarnate, Geminis vibrate with the daisy, the preferred petal for the ‘he loves me, he loves not’ method of choosing sides and partners. Mutable and ruled by Mercury, Geminis are highly adaptable, conversationally contagious and can thrive/shine in any company. In kind, the daisy, native to Europe and Asia, can survive in myriad climates and can now be found on every continent save Antarctica.

CANCER (June 21 – July 22)

Larkspur

Larkspur is the flower for the month of July and by association, the sign of Cancer. Ruled by the moon Cancer relates to the divine feminine, the mending of physical and spiritual ailments and care as control. Apropos of this, larkspur has been used as both medicine and poison and for purposes ranging from the mundane to the magical.

The scientific name of larkspur is consolida ajacis, the first word translates to “make firm” as the flower was used to stave bleeding and accelerat healing. As a cardinal water sign, Cancer is deeply nostalgic and has a hard time letting go, moving on and not lamenting what has been lost.

In kind, larkspurs represent the unbreakable bonds of love and the word ajacis itself refers to the Greek warrior Ajax as legend holds the flower bloomed where his blood spilled during the battle of Troy.

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LEO (July 23 – August 22)

Sunflower

Leo is ruled by the sun and these towering flowers worship at that solar alter. The bloom was revered by the Incas and Aztecs who integrated the flower into temple rites as symbols of the sun. Leos are natural hype men that can turn a party up or the downtrodden day of a stranger around.

In a similar mark of salvation, sunflowers are hyper-accumulators meaning they have an incredible capacity to absorb toxic materials into their tissues. In the wake of the nuclear disasters of Chernobyl and Fukushima, and in places with dense concentrations of lead, sunflower fields are planted to aid the land in its recovery.

VIRGO (August 23 – September 22)

Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemums bloom in autumn and in the Chinese tradition are counted among the Four Gentlemen or Four Noble Ones, plants that symbolize various virtues. True to the grit and grace of the Virgo disposition, chrysanthemums are associated with resilience and courage in the face of all adversity.

In the major arcana of the tarot, Virgo is represented by the Hermit card, a figure that ventures into the wilderness alone in search of cures he can share with humanity. In kind, chrysanthemums have been immortalized by the revered and reclusive poet Tao Yuanming and the leaves of the flower are not only edible, but a common component in Chinese medicine.

LIBRA (September 23 – October 22)

Cosmo

Symbolized by the scales and balances of justice, Libras favor order, classic lines and facial symmetry. In kind, the name of the cosmo flower comes from the Greek kosmos, the belief that the whole of the earth and the universe were, or could be, in absolute harmony. Dare to dream. Cosmo and kosmos also relate to cosmetics, “the art of beautifying, art of anointing or decorating the human body.” Ruled as they are by Venus, planet of love and aesthetics, beautification/deification through decoration are the super powers of Libra who seem themselves reflected in the petals and poetics of this flower.

SCORPIO (October 23 – November 21)

Anemone

Scorpio is ruled by death dealing planet Pluto and is associated with the eighth house of sex, fatality, and transformation. In Ovid’s epic “Metamorphoses,” the poet braids sex and death together to tell the story of how the anemone came to be through the doomed love between the mortal and OG male model Adonis and the goddess Aphrodite.

During a hunt, Adonis was gored by a wild boar and died in his lover’s arms. The blood that flowed from his wounds mixed with the tears she shed over his body and became the anemone flower. To memorialize her man, Aphrodite established the Adonia festival wherein women would seed “Gardens of Adonis,” an assortment of plants they would place onto their roofs in the hot sun, thereby mirroring the movement between the underworld and heaven.

Under the glare of the sun, the plants would die, thereby paying homage to the life cycle of Adonis. Dead flowers and fresh grief? Very in step and in bloom with Plutonian themes and the Scorpio archetype.

Astrology 101: Your guide to the star

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 – December 21)

Peony

Sagittarius is a mutable fire sign concerned with expansion of the mind and freedom of the body. Relative to this, the peony is named for Paeon, a pupil of Asclepius, the god of medicine who was himself taught by Chiron, the centaur symbol for Sagittarius.

According to myth Paeon used the petals of the Peony to treat a wound for god daddy Zeus and when Asclepius became murderously jealous of his student’s power, Zeus turned Paeon into the flower to protect him from his tutor’s wrath. Add to this that Sagittarius is the sunny side up, it will all work out, turn that from upside down optimist of the zodiac and peonies come in every color save for blue.

CAPRICORN (December 22 – January 19)

Ivy

Capricorn is the builder of the zodiac, willing always to endure in order to achieve. Sea goats, like ivy itself, are born to climb and are capable of surviving and thriving even and especially in poor soil conditions/difficult childhoods and amidst serious shade.

In Greek myth, ivy is associated with Dionysus, the god of wine, women and good times who is oft depicted with ivy wrapped around his head and magic “wand.” Capricorns get an undue reputation for being stodgy and rule abiding, but they are earth signs first and foremost and in the major arcana of the tarot, are represented by the Devil himself, a dude that knows a thing or two about the pursuit of pleasure.

In kind, Caps make for natural hedonists and stamina blessed sexual deviants. In relationship to Dionysus and akin to Capricorn, ivy stands as a symbol for the persistent nature of desire.

AQUARIUS (January 20 – February 18)

Orchid

Ruled by structured Saturn and chaos courting Uranus, Aquarius is the boundary dwelling, anarchist outsider of the zodiac and in kind, orchids resemble engorged alien genitalia.

As a fixed air sign, water bearers can be difficult and uncompromising when it comes to their visions, making the execution of their grand plans a bit of a challenge.

Similarly, orchids have the smallest seeds in the world, making them troublesome to grow and cultivate but well worth the effort and their weight in wondrous weirdness.

The influence of Uranus lends itself to Aquarians wanting to revolt against or utterly upend the status quo, in kind, mature orchids grow upside down.

PISCES (February 19 – March 20)

Water lily

Pisces is a water sign associated with the twelfth house of belief, escape and the unconscious mind. Water lilies are a significant symbol of resurrection in the Buddhist and Hindu faiths as they close at night and reopen at dawn, mirroring a spiritual rebirth. Because of their relationship to Neptune, planet of dreams, delusions and blurred visions, Pisces are artistically inclined and the water lily has proven itself to be consistent muse to painters for centuries. The power of the flower to bloom in dark, dirty water reflects the Piscean ability to find the light in the most irredeemable of people and places.

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Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture and personal experience. She is also an accomplished writer who has profiled a variety of artists and performers, as well as extensively chronicled her experiences while traveling. Among the many intriguing topics she has tackled are cemetery etiquette, her love for dive bars, Cuban Airbnbs, a “girls guide” to strip clubs and the “weirdest” foods available abroad.