There were many things to celebrate on 4/20 and hopefully you found and enjoyed some of them.

Besides being International Cannabis Appreciation day, 4/20 is also the first day of Taurus. It is our entrance into a time of peace, serenity and a return of warmth and abundance.

In our recent past, especially in northern climates, we endured a winter season that was harsh and required more self-denial, focus and maturity. Taurus time is the middle of spring. We can start to trust the warmth now. We can relax and enjoy the weather, fruit, flowers and each other.

It’s time now to recover our sense and sensibility. To reroot our consciousness in our bodies. To enjoy the smell of flowers, the feeling of the sun on our skin, the sound of good music, the taste of fresh food. We are spiritual beings having a sensual experience here on Earth.

This is time to remember that and to reconnect with our sensual nature and its needs, like good food, clothes, someone to touch. People born during this time of the year typically live lives which center around such needs. Issues of resources tend to reign larger in their lives than most. Comfort and the long term maintenance of that comfort will be another major theme in their lives.

Taureans have to be careful not to pay too much for their comfort and security. When something is overvalued, such as security, the Bull may, for instance, sacrifice creative freedom and take a well-paying job at the expense of his creative and spiritual development. He may end up financially secure, but also bored to tears. The issue of calming down and recovering a connection to his body and to his instincts needs to be addressed for a Taurean to shine.

Regardless of whether you’re a Taurus, from 4/20 to 5/20 we are all experiencing this energetic impulse. If we are wise, we will use it to slow down, calm down, and reconnect with our natures.

This past 4/20, I drove to Ben Lomond, a small town in the Santa Cruz mountains just south of San Francisco for a week-long seminar on herbs. The seminar was held at a rustic Quaker retreat center in a beautiful redwood forest. And we spent the week learning about herbalism and how to use simple knowledge to take care of our families and our communities. It was such a fitting way to celebrate and commune with the Earth. I felt a deep sense of connection to my innate sense of myself.

Since the seminar it has been easier to trust my gut instincts. My sense is this is the whole purpose of serenity and peace of mind. Not for its own sake, but as a necessary ingredient if we are to live full lives.

We need to trust our senses, and in order to trust our senses, we need enough quiet and stillness to connect to them. It’s why I created the Serenity formula, currently offered by Real Wellness in two kinds of delivery methods: a quick-acting vape, and a more long-lasting sublingual tonic.

This is my offering to help people reconnect to themselves using gifts from the earth: herbs. Herbs that help us calm down, slow down and sense what we sense.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh…relax and find what pleases your senses and gives you a sense of peace.

That is valuable information.

— R.W.