I want to tell you something about the day Korey and I got married.
We didn't have a big wedding. No venue, no reception, no hundred people watching. We had our families, a small private balcony inside the San Francisco courthouse, and a woman we'd hired to unite us who asked, almost casually, whether we'd like her to include a four directions prayer in the ceremony.
I had no idea what that meant. But something in me said yes immediately. It felt right in the way that things feel right before your mind has had a chance to weigh in.
So there we stood, on this beautiful balcony, in the middle of a courthouse, rotating clockwise together as she named each direction. East, South, West, North. Each one offered as a blessing. Each one carrying its own wisdom, its own energy, its own gift for the life we were about to build.
And then we asked her to add a fifth. Above and below. The center of the circle. She turned us back to face each other and called in our highest selves, anchoring us to the earth and opening us to the sky, before she finally pronounced us married.
I think about that moment a lot. How something so ancient and ceremonial found its way into something so small and quiet. How a framework I didn't even have words for yet was woven into the very foundation of my marriage.
That was the first time the four directions found me.
It would not be the last.
What Are the Four Directions?
The four directions, North, South, East, and West, are one of the oldest frameworks humans have used to orient themselves to the world.
Across Indigenous traditions in North America, Mesoamerica, Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Celtic spirituality, and countless other lineages that developed entirely separately from one another, the four directions appear again and again as a map. Not just a geographic map, but a map of the self. Of the seasons. Of the stages of a life. Of the qualities we need to cultivate to live in balance.
Each direction carries its own wisdom:
East is the direction of the rising sun. New beginnings. Vision. The breath of inspiration before the day begins.
South is the direction of fire, growth, and the full expression of summer. Passion. The heart. The courage to act on what we love.
West is the direction of the setting sun. Release. Transformation. The wisdom to let go of what is no longer serving the next chapter.
North is the direction of winter, midnight, and the deep quiet of the earth. Stillness. Rootedness. The accumulated wisdom of what has endured.
Together they form a circle. A complete picture of what it means to be alive, to begin, to grow, to release, and to rest. To turn toward each one is to honor every season of yourself, not just the ones that feel productive or visible or easy.
I love this framework because it doesn't ask you to be in only one state. It asks you to recognize that all four are necessary. That the stillness of North is just as sacred as the fire of South. That the release of West is just as important as the vision of East.
How the Four Directions Became Part of My Practice
Years after that courthouse ceremony, I entered a Priestess training that formally introduced me to the four directions as a practice.
We learned how to call them in ourselves. How to open a circle by turning to each direction, acknowledging its wisdom, and inviting its energy into the space. How to close the circle when the work was done.
It became one of my favorite parts of the training almost immediately. There was something about the physical act of turning, of orienting your body toward something larger than the moment you were standing in, that felt like coming home to a language I already spoke somewhere beneath words.
I started bringing it into my retreats.
Every gathering I've held since has opened the same way. I invite the women present to cross a threshold, to offer up something they're ready to leave behind, and to open themselves to a gift that Spirit has waiting for them on the other side. Then we call in the four directions together.
Sometimes I, or a co-facilitator, will walk the land before the retreat begins and collect things that represent each direction. A stone for North. Something living and green for East. A feather for West. Something warm and fire-like for South. These become part of the altar that holds the space for the entire gathering.
Every single time, without exception, something shifts in the room when we do this. You can feel it. The air changes. The women settle differently into themselves. The ordinary moment becomes, without any drama or performance, something sacred.
Why North Came First
When I started building Wild + Rooted Sanctuary and knew that the sprays would carry the four directions as their foundation, the question of where to begin felt significant.
I could have started anywhere. Each direction has its own beauty, its own gifts, its own particular relevance to the women I serve.
But North kept calling.
North is the direction of winter. Of midnight. Of the deep, root-level stillness that exists beneath the noise of everything you're holding. It's the direction of the elder, the ancestor, the part of you that has already survived everything that felt unsurvivable and carries the quiet proof of that.
In a culture that is obsessed with East energy, with beginnings, new chapters, fresh starts, hustle, and momentum, North is the direction we most consistently neglect. And it's the one we most desperately need.
The women I work with are not lacking vision or passion or the willingness to begin again. What they are lacking, what I was lacking for a long time, is permission to be still. To be rooted. To stop moving long enough to hear the wisdom that lives in the quiet underneath everything.
North is that permission.
It is the direction of coming home to yourself before the world tells you who to be again.
That is why North came first. And that is what every bottle of this spray is trying to offer you: one breath, one moment, one small act of returning to the stillness that has been waiting for you all along.
What's Coming Next
North is the beginning, not the whole story.
East, South, and West are already alive in my mind and in my heart, each one carrying its own botanical blend, its own intention, its own invitation.
East will hold the energy of new beginnings, of breath and vision, of the inspired exhale before the next chapter opens.
South will hold the warmth of fire and heart, of passion and presence, of the courage to be fully alive in the life you're actually living.
West will hold the wisdom of release, of transformation, of the grace that comes when we finally set down what we've been carrying.
Each spray will be its own ritual. Together, they will form a complete circle.
We are building something here that is meant to last. Something rooted in ceremony, in the wisdom of the land, in the ancient understanding that we are not separate from the natural world but always, in every season, in relationship with it.
North is where we begin.
We're so glad you're here.
FAQ: North and the Four Directions
Why is the spray called North? North represents the direction of stillness, deep rootedness, and accumulated wisdom in the four directions framework used across many Indigenous and spiritual traditions worldwide. It was chosen as the name for the first Wild + Rooted spray because it embodies what the blend is designed to offer: the grounding, the quiet, and the permission to come home to yourself.
What are the four directions? The four directions, North, South, East, and West, are an ancient framework used across many cultures to map the qualities of nature, the seasons, and the self. Each direction carries its own wisdom and energy. Together they form a complete circle that honors every stage of life and every season of the human experience.
Are more sprays coming? Yes. East, South, and West are in development, each with their own botanical blend and intention. North is the beginning of a complete collection that will eventually offer a ritual tool for every direction of the circle.
Do I need to know about the four directions to use North? Not at all. North works as a grounding aromatherapy spray regardless of whether the directional framework resonates with you. The botanicals do their work whether or not you know the story behind the name. But for those who are drawn to the framework, it adds a layer of meaning and intention that many women find deepens the ritual.
Is the four directions framework from a specific tradition? Similar frameworks appear across many cultures and traditions independently, including Indigenous North American traditions, Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Celtic spirituality, and others. Wild + Rooted's use of the four directions is informed by ceremonial training and personal practice and is offered with deep respect for the wisdom these traditions carry.
The Circle Is Already Open
The four directions found me in a courthouse in San Francisco before I had any language for them. They found me again in a Priestess training. They show up every time I open a retreat, every time I watch a room of women turn together toward something older and wiser than any of us.
They are in North. They will be in every spray that follows.
And they are, I believe, already in you. The stillness of winter. The vision of spring. The fire of summer. The release of autumn. All four, always present, always available, always waiting to be called in.
We are just here to help you remember.
You are your own sanctuary. The tools are simply how you remember.
