Still Blooming
A reflection on growth, change, and becoming
At the beginning of this year, I chose one word for 2026:
BLOOM.
I remember choosing it because it felt hopeful. It felt like growth. Like possibility. Like becoming more of the woman I wanted to be and allowing Lotus Harbor to grow right alongside me.
But sitting here now, thinking about what I want to share for October, I find myself getting emotional.
Because when I chose BLOOM, I thought I knew what growth would look like.
I don’t think I understood then that some of the biggest blooming would happen inside me.
What Blooming Has Really Looked Like
This year has stretched me in ways I did not expect.
There have been beautiful moments. Exciting moments. Times when an idea became something real and I could stand back and think, I made that.
There have also been moments of uncertainty. Things I questioned. Things I changed my mind about. Things I worked hard on that did not unfold the way I imagined.
And maybe that is part of blooming too.
I used to think growth meant moving forward in a straight line. You set the goal, make the plan, do the work, and eventually arrive somewhere new.
I am learning it does not always happen that way.
Sometimes blooming looks like moving forward.
Sometimes it looks like changing direction.
Sometimes it looks like saying yes to something that scares you.
And sometimes it looks like trusting yourself enough to say, This isn’t right for me anymore.
Lotus Harbor Has Been Blooming, Too
MORE ROOM TO BLOOM
One of the clearest signs of that growth is the new Lotus Harbor space at Wood Wire & Whimsy. Expanding into two shelving units gave me room to bring more of Lotus Harbor together in one place, including crystals, jewelry, ritual tools, paper goods, and intentional gifts.
Standing back and seeing these shelves filled was emotional. What once lived mostly in my imagination now has a home that others can walk up to, explore, and experience. It is still evolving, just like I am, but it feels more like Lotus Harbor than ever.
When I look at Lotus Harbor today, I see so much more than products on a shelf.
I see pieces of myself.
This year, that blooming has looked tangible: creating personalized journals for a retreat, watching my shelves at Wood Wire & Whimsy grow into a fuller expression of Lotus Harbor, learning new ways to make and create, and preparing to step into retreat spaces this October.
Personalized journals created by Lotus Harbor for the Awaken Your Soul Retreat. A meaningful part of this year’s blooming.
What began as a custom journal order has become a meaningful part of my own October story. I created these personalized journals for the Awaken Your Soul Retreat, and now I’ll also be attending the retreat myself.
There is something special about bringing something I made into a space where I’ll also have the chance to pause, reflect, and reconnect. These journals represent the creative work I’ve been pouring myself into, while attending is a reminder to make room for myself, too. Both feel like part of blooming.
But some of the most important growth has been quieter.
Lotus Harbor has taught me that growth isn’t always about doing more. Sometimes it is about becoming clearer.
What belongs here?
What doesn’t?
What feels aligned?
What am I creating because I genuinely love it?
What am I doing simply because I think I am supposed to?
Those aren’t always easy questions. I’m still learning the answers.
But I’m learning that I don’t have to have everything figured out before I grow. I can grow while I’m learning. I can change as I discover more about myself.
Lotus Harbor can change too.
Blooming Can Mean Letting Go
October feels like such a natural time to think about this.
Outside, nature begins releasing what it no longer needs. The trees don’t cling to every leaf simply because it was once part of them.
They let go.
Not because something went wrong.
Because the season changed.
I keep coming back to that.
How many things do we hold onto simply because we once wanted them?
An expectation.
A plan.
A version of ourselves.
A responsibility we decided somewhere along the way was ours to carry.
The belief that changing our minds somehow means we failed.
This year, I’m beginning to understand that letting go can be part of blooming.
Sometimes we have to make room.
Sometimes the most loving thing we can do for ourselves is admit that something doesn’t fit anymore.
And sometimes growth is quiet.
No announcement. No big transformation.
Just the moment you realize:
I would have handled this differently a year ago.
That counts.
The Blooming We Forget to Notice
I think we are often so focused on where we are going that we forget to look at how far we have already come.
I know I do.
There is always another idea, another project, another thing I want to create, fix, or figure out.
But lately, I’ve been trying to look backward for a moment before immediately looking ahead.
Not to stay in the past.
To honor it.
The woman who began this year choosing the word BLOOM had no idea exactly what the next several months would bring.
She just knew she wanted to grow.
And she did.
I did.
Maybe not always in the ways I expected.
Maybe not according to the original plan.
But I can feel the difference.
And if you’re reading this, I want to invite you to consider that possibility for yourself too.
Maybe you’ve been blooming without realizing it.
Maybe the growth you’re waiting for has already begun.
Maybe BLOOM was never asking me to become someone new. Maybe it was asking me to trust the woman I was becoming.
LEARNING THE LANGUAGE OF MYSELF
Over the past few years, I have found new language for understanding myself.
Astrology helped me recognize parts of myself I had always felt but did not always know how to explain. Learning that I am a Pisces Sun, Gemini Moon, and Virgo Rising did not tell me who I had to be. It simply gave me another mirror. Sometimes it helped me pause and think, Oh. That makes sense.
Human Design offered another piece of that understanding. Learning that I am a 4/6 Manifestor helped me understand why I often feel called to begin something before I can fully explain where it is going. It also reminded me that my path does not have to look like anyone else’s.
I do not use astrology or Human Design as rules. I use them as invitations to notice, reflect, and trust myself a little more.
For me, self-discovery has never been about fitting into a new box. It has been about becoming more fully myself.
Lotus Harbor has taken shape through color, words, symbols, intuition, and the quiet reminders I have gathered along the way.
CURIOUS ABOUT YOUR OWN BLUEPRINT?
If something in my story has made you curious about your own, you can create a free astrology birth chart or Human Design chart using the links below.
An astrology chart can show your Sun, Moon, Rising sign, and the wider pattern present at the time of your birth. A Human Design chart can show your Type, Strategy, Authority, and Profile.
I think of both as starting points for curiosity, not instructions for who you should be. Take what resonates. Question what does not. Let the rest go.
For the most accurate chart, enter your birth date, birth location, and exact birth time if you know it.
CREATE YOUR FREE HUMAN DESIGN CHART
These tools are offered for personal reflection and self-discovery, not as rules or predictions.
A BLOOM REFLECTION FOR YOU
Take a quiet moment with whichever question is calling to you. You do not need to answer them all. Let one honest answer be enough.
What parts of myself have I spent years trying to change?
What if some of those qualities need understanding rather than fixing?
When do I feel most like myself?
What consistently drains me?
What lights me up?
How do I know when something is truly a yes for me?
Still becoming.
Still learning.
Still blooming.
“I trust the woman I am becoming. I honor what has bloomed, release what no longer belongs, and give myself permission to keep unfolding in my own time.”
OCTOBER MOON RHYTHM
The Moon’s phases are astronomical events. These prompts are optional Lotus Harbor reflections, not claims that the Moon causes emotional or physical changes.
THIRD QUARTER | OCTOBER 3
What am I still carrying simply because I once chose it?
NEW MOON IN LIBRA | OCTOBER 10
Where in my life am I being invited to create a new kind of balance?
FIRST QUARTER | OCTOBER 18
What is one small action I can take that honors who I am becoming?
FULL MOON IN TAURUS | OCTOBER 26
What growth in myself have I been overlooking or minimizing?
COMPASSION AND INNER STRENGTH
When I think about everything this year has asked of me, I can see how much I have needed both compassion and inner strength. In traditional chakra practices, those themes are often connected with the Heart Chakra and the Solar Plexus Chakra. To me, that feels like learning to be gentler with myself while also trusting my choices, my direction, and the woman I am becoming.
HEART CHAKRA + RHODONITE
The Heart Chakra feels especially connected to this part of my story. In traditional chakra practices, it is associated with love and compassion, while Rhodonite is often connected with forgiveness and compassion. For me, this pairing reminds me that blooming can also mean softening toward myself, releasing what I no longer need to carry, and making room for who I am becoming.
Reflection: Where can I offer myself more compassion for the way I have grown?
SOLAR PLEXUS CHAKRA + CITRINE
The Solar Plexus Chakra feels connected to the part of me that is learning to trust myself. In traditional chakra practices, it is associated with personal power and self-confidence, and Citrine is often connected with this energy center. For me, this pairing reminds me that I do not need to have every step figured out before I move forward. I can trust my choices, take the next honest step, and allow the path to unfold.
Reflection: What would I choose if I trusted myself a little more?
These are traditional spiritual associations offered for personal reflection. They are not medical advice or promised outcomes.
SOURCES + NOTES
Moon phase dates: Timeanddate, Washington, D.C., October 2026.
Moon sign placements: Astro-Seek, October 2026 Moon Phase Calendar.
Personal astrology chart tool: Astro.com Free Astrology Chart.
Human Design information and chart tool: Jovian Archive and myBodyGraph.
Traditional chakra associations: The Crystal Council references for the Heart Chakra and Solar Plexus Chakra.
Traditional crystal associations: Energy Muse references for Rhodonite and Citrine.
Affirmation and reflection prompts: Original Lotus Harbor wording.
With care,
Terri
Founder of Lotus Harbor
