Reimagining Valentine’s Day - How does the divine feminine view this day of love and romance?

Ah Valentine’s Day. Of all the holidays, this one seems to elicit such diverse reactions. From making time for a romantic evening with a loved one, to stressed out gift-givers complaining about it’s commercialization, to feminist critique of how patriarchal this holiday is, to the Singles Awareness Day effort...everyone seems to have their thoughts on February 14th.

I get it. It can be tempting to write off Valentine’s Day as an over-commercialized holiday that upholds patriarchal gender roles and relationship standards. 

But there is so much energy behind this day, centuries of energy, all focused upon February 14th as a day of love and romance. 

As someone who lives and breathes by reading energy, I just can’t ignore the energetic potency of Valentine’s Day. What if we could harness this energy to feed love, romance, and sensuality in their highest forms? What would this look like for ourselves and our loved ones? 

The energy of love is one of the highest frequencies we can attune to―and there are all types of love we can celebrate. 

Romance is the recognition that life is more than our routines and tasks―it’s an invitation to step outside of the ordinary and notice the beauty available to us if we only effort to notice. 

Sensuality is our ability to enjoy embodiment―more than vehicles to live through, our bodies can be portals to pleasure, intuition, and shared experiences. 

The invitation from the divine feminine energy rising throughout our planet is to harness the collective energy of this holiday to raise our vibrations of love and take time for pleasure.

Love and pleasure, even, and perhaps especially, in the midst of shutdowns and long winters.

This invitation will look different to everyone, and I encourage you to ask your heart what it most needs this Valentine’s Day. 

For those in relationships, this can be a powerful time to acknowledge and show your appreciation for your partner. If you’ve been distracted or just getting by each day, try pausing to deeply express your gratitude for all you love in your partner. 

This year will mean staying home and spending Valentine’s Day with the entire family this year for many. What if this became an opportunity to express familial love and appreciation?

If you’re trying to call in a partner, or if your relationship has been on the rocks, or your heartbroken, beat down, and tired, you might like to see if you can harness the energy of Valentine’s Day for your own rituals and reflections. What happens when you open your heart and feel into your deepest needs and desires? 

Regardless of our individual situations and needs, Valentine’s Day offers us all an invitation to engage in exquisite self care. To romance ourselves, engage our senses, and set aside precious time for pleasure and joy.  

For me, this almost always involves botanical treats―herbal teas, aromatic baths, body oils, homemade chocolates, perfumes...the plant world brings us both energetic and aromatic blessings. 

Enjoy these rituals and recipes for self care this Valentine’s Day, and explore the apothecary and perfumery for special Valentine’s Day gift sets, sensual perfumes, and heart-healing aromatherapy products. 

Curious as to a bit of the history behind this day, and why there’s so much energy here?

In many ways, Valentine’s Day is one of our more mysterious holidays as far as its origins go. There are at least three saints named Valentine or Valentinus, though legend has it that one in particular inspired the holiday: While in jail, he sent the first “Valentine” to his crush. And then he was martyred, so his legacy, now a quite romantic one, lived on. 

But all the saints get days. What made Saint Valentine’s day become such a popular holiday?

For this, like with many holidays, we need to look further to the past and the ancient Roman celebration of Lupercalia―a fertility festival celebrated mid-February. As Christianity spread, this festival was outlawed.

Still, in the Middle Ages, February 14th was known as the day the bird began mating—the love and fertility connections continued…

Whatever the origins, we can trace the popularizing of Valentine’s Day with romantic love to Chaucer, and this holiday has continued to celebrate love and romance ever since.