We’ve chosen the Nylon Hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus viridiflorus) as the flower essence of the month because it is the earliest cactus to flower around here in Northern New Mexico and it grows on the highest ground. It grows just a short hike further up from our earthship on a stony, dry outcrop along a ridge. We love hiking up there to visit it.
Nature is full of fractals and this cactus is an example of a stunning, tightly patterned fractal that draws you in when you come across it on the barren stony grounds in the high altitude hills of New Mexico. At first, it’s hard to see the small, dense and incredibly beautiful, near perfect spheres nestled and disguised between the stones and shingles. Like mushrooms in the woods, once you see one, you begin to spot them everywhere. They have such a concentrated, intense and otherworldly feel to them, as if they come from another realm. They are the earliest flowering, highest growing and most cold resistant cacti of New Mexico and the tiny buds were just forming along their outer edges meaning that in a couple of weeks, the bright yellow flowers will be revealing themselves to the world.
This flower essence holds all the energy and strength that this cactus needs to survive at altitude where little else survives. As a flower essence, it helps us to connect with our own inner strength, the type of strength that doesn’t need to shout out or make itself seen. It is more of a deep, quiet strength that underlies our very being. We all have this strength but it is often hidden, or we have lost contact with it. This flower essence helps us recognize it again, and re-remember our strength.
It also brings a certain perspective to our lives. Sometimes, we get lost in the daily grind, we can’t see further than the end of our nose and this can feel frustrating and limiting, this flower essence brings us a higher, wider perspective. As we mentioned, Nylon hedgehog cactus grows at high altitude, way above the normal world and it is this ability to survive and thrive looking down on what is happening below that it shares with us in the flower essence.
And lastly, this small but mighty cactus has an amazingly powerful life force and vitality, which is encapsulated in its flower essence. Our strength and vital life force are viral in these challenging times in the world, let Nylon Hedgehog cactus flower essence put you in touch with yours.
