When we heard there was a nail salon in West L.A. where a gal could get a mani based on her horoscope, we were pretty sure we’d died and gone to lipstick-hippie heaven. Enamel Diction, hub of the “international color culture phenomenon,” paints polish in a whole new light—as purveyor of our subliminal traits and desires (whut??!!). And their on-site astrologist, Rose Theodora—natal chart-reader, art historian, and color curator to the stars (no, like, the actual stars)—is the clairvoyant behindEnamel Diction’s newest nail service: Colorstrology. We sent our resident astrology addict, Remy Ramirez, to test the cosmic waters herself—read on to get all the deets first hand (pun intended)…
Photos by Isabella Behravan
I’ve had my chart read a million times; all my crushes must first ace an astro-chart pre-screening before passing Go; and no one in my family is allowed to make a major decision until I’ve looked into their future (yeah, I said it) in my numerology book that was half off on Amazon. But even with all that, I still walked away from my Colorstrology appointment with a whole new take on astrology.
Right off the bat, I knew I loved Rose. Not only because she was a walking good-vibe generator, but also because we had shown up in almost the exact same outfit (if that’s not cosmic, I don’t know what is). She asked me to take a look at the color schemes organized by sign against the wall. Gemini was stacked with neon pinks and oranges, Sagittarius with deep purples, Virgo with nudes and peaches.
“Don’t worry about matching to your sign—just notice where you’re drawn first. Try not to think about it at all.”
The weird thing was that I was drawn to the blues—Aquarius—but I hate blue on my nails. In fact, I’m pretty much a pedi-only kinda gal. It just has never seemed practical for me to get my nails done when I know I’m just gonna screw them up in a week, digging through my purse for keys or whatever.
“Actually, blue makes total sense,” Rose said, studying my chart on her iPad. “Blue is the color of Aquarius; did you know there’s a full moon in Aquarius tonight? Aquarius is transiting your ninth house right now—you’ve probably been asking bigger questions about your soul purpose lately. Also, have you been doing a lot of publishing? All of that is wrapped up in your ninth house.”
Whoa, lady.
[Remy-+-Rose]
She went on to explain my phobia of flashy fingers. “Even though you’re a Sagittarius, your Mars is in Capricorn—very earthy, grounded, practical. You wouldn’t be quick to get your nails done if you didn’t see a really good reason for it.
If I didn’t before, I do now. Rose talked me through the labyrinth of my interstellar landscape. When I asked about romance, she was straight up. “First of all, we’re in Venus retrograde, so it’s not the time to be having sex with new partners; it won’t last. Your relationships have typically been short, but that’s because Pluto’s been in your seventh house. It’s transiting out of that in six months, so a big shift is coming for you.”
Amen to that.
“Colors have personalities; they have an aura…a wavelength. We can’t always see it, but they do emanate an aura.”
When she told me our moons were right next to each other in Libra, I wasn’t even surprised. “We both need beauty; we both need rest and music to feel restored,” she explained.
“We’re basically soul sisters.” I added, girl-crushing the fuck out of our session.
The moment we sat down for the actual manicure, Rose switched from astrologist to nail artist-whisperer. “We’re going to do a denim blue for her Gemini,” she said to Fariha, the graphic-designer-gone-rogue-nail-stylist, whose own nails were a combo of wild neons and out-there textures, “and this deeper blue for her Scorpio energy. These are both for money and self-worth, so I want to do some sacred geometry, but leave open space for her Libra moon. Also, let’s add gold to help steer her toward Leo. That’s her north node.”
In the words of The Dude: “Far out, man. Far fucking out.”
As Fariha cradled my fingers to painstakingly exact those mystical abstractions with an ultra-thin paintbrush, Rose started in on my color chart: a breakdown of which colors I would need to focus on wearing in the coming months to ensure success in specific areas (turquoise for career, deep purple for romance, gray for when I move, which she I assured me I’d be doing in the coming year). As we settled into the closing phase of what turned out to be by far the most illuminating nail appointment I’ve ever had, I finally got to ask some questions of my own…
RR: How did you end up partnering with Enamel Diction?
RT: I came in for an appointment and told [the owner] Mariana that I was an astrologer, and she was like, “Oh awesome, do you work with color?” I told her that my education is in neuroscience and art history—so yeah, I totally work with color. I have a lot of experience working in the art world—I’ve done astrology my whole life—but monetarily I was trying to be logical… by working in the art world, which doesn’t make any sense. But I had just gotten done working on a color exhibition, and even before she and I started this conversation, I had been looking at all these color astrology books I had from the ‘60s; it had just always been part of my life—that combination of fashion and astrology. So when she asked me, “Is there a way to personalize color with astrology?” I was like, “Actually yeah, there is.” From there, we started talking about how to curate this experience—that was months ago, and it’s just taken off.
RR: That’s crazy. I love when things come together like that.
RT: Yeah, it had been ruminating in her mind for a long time. But what’s really fucking crazy is that when I went to UCLA, I was managing a nail salon.
RR: Omigod, so cosmic!
“Some signs don’t discriminate patterns…Like Pisces…which explains Rihanna, by the way.”
RT: SO cosmic. But if you had asked me then, “What are you gonna do?” I wouldn’t have been able to tell you. I just knew I was gonna do something esoteric that had to do with astrology—that was always my passion—but when it came down to what that would look like, I didn’t know. When this came along, I knew it was right. Because the thing is—people always gravitate toward the same colors or their one default color, or they’re following whatever color is trending at the time—it’s just regurgitated. So the question became: How can we empower people through personalizing color? Because when you start looking at people’s charts, the colors that work for you and the colors that work for someone else are totally different.
RR: Perfect segue! How do astrology and color intersect?
RT: Colors have personalities; they have an aura. I don’t always like to mention that because people get weirded out, but it’s true. They have a wavelength. We can’t always see it, but they do emanate an aura. Your chart is not an extension of you—it is you. It’s an organism. You’re dynamic; you have these elements—your personality can’t be contained or defined. So in astrology, each planet has a ruling sign, and those signs also have a personality. Pluto is the planet of transformation; the moon rules emotions; the sun is about vitality; Mars is directive energy. Mars is a great example—it’s associated with the warrior, Aries. Aries is red. So we think about matching the personality of the person with the personality of the colors emanating astrologically.
We’re also seeing what people need to heal, what they’re moving through—nothing is stagnant. So for example, if I take a very shy, quiet person who’s not comfortable in their skin and not comfortable around other people, and then I tell them they have to wear florescent orange, they’re going to fucking hate me! And more importantly, they’re going to hate themselves in the color. But if they’re trying to get out of their shell, I have to look at their chart to see what’s going on astrologically that can help them with that process, and what color resonates based on those factors—which doesn’t mean shocking them with orange. And then after color, you start getting into texture. Some signs don’t discriminate patterns, other signs do, so you have to think about that, too. Like, Pisces doesn’t discriminate patterns—which explains Rihanna, by the way.
RR: Ummm… that is amazing.
RT: Yeah, and then there’s the soul element, too—because people get stuck. A chart is a person’s evolvement, and a person can go through their chart several times. I look to see where they are in their evolution and if they’re getting stuck somewhere so I can help move them along.
“I diagnose a person using astrology, and then I come up with a color prescription. I use it as a healing modality.”
RR: You mentioned earlier that you studied neuroscience and art history—how does that background influence how you think about astrology?
RT: It allows me to get technical and analytical, and to think about the psychology, because it’s bio-psych, so I think about it more from a psychological perspective. And then from the art history angle, I think about fashion and the history of fashion, and how colors work together. In art history, you’re looking at images all day long. For me, I was studying all these artists and looking at what they painted, and in the back of my mind, I was always thinking: I wonder what sign they are? Astrology was always there for me because I’ve been studying it my whole life.
RR: Tell us about chromotherapy and how it affects people’s lives.
RT: So, it’s color therapy. Colors have auras, and when you bring the right auras into people’s lives, it helps them to shift. A great example—the personality of orange is highly energetic and heated; it has a lot of movement. If a person brings orange into their house while they’re struggling with depression, it’s going to be a great way to activate them and get them moving again—but only for a short time. Too much orange is way too mentally active; it’s only good in small doses. So, I diagnose a person using astrology, and then I come up with a color prescription. I use it as a healing modality. Here’s another example—gray is the color of indecision; it’s not black and it’s not white. Capricorns usually like black or white because they’re typically very decisive.
RR: I’m curious what the response been like from your clients.
RT: They love it—they tell me they can see it working, that I’m helping them understand astrology in a different way. It’s a new way of accessing the energy because when you paint your nails, it lasts for two weeks. If I say, “wear turquoise,” what are you going to do, wear turquoise every day? No, you only wear it once, and how effective is that?
Also, it affects how people experience you, so it can help with that. If you’re looking for a relationship, how do you attract your partner? You can work with your chemistry and magnify certain attributes to attract the right person. Like with you, for example, I could tell you to wear bright red—but that’s not going to be the right guy for you—you need someone with more depth. You don’t want someone who’s going to be attracted to red—think about the kind of guy that would be attracted to red.
RR: Omigod, you’re right… fuck that guy!
RT: Yeah, fuck that guy. I met a guy recently, and as soon as I saw his chart, I was like, “You love women in red,” and he said, “Of course, every guy does. Who wouldn’t?” And his eyes lit up and got all big.
RR: And you were like, “Ew!”
RT: Yeah, that guy can be fun, but that’s definitely not the guy you want long-term.
RR: When you’re doing people’s colorstrology, do you focus more on the feminine planets—Venus and the moon—for women, and the masculine planets—the sun and Mars—for men?
RT: No, because I’m very contemporary in thought, and I’ve met some of the most feminine men. One of my very best friends only expresses his moon sign—his sun sign dissolves. So, I’ve been working with him to actualize more of that sun energy—he has some planets sitting on it, sort of depressing it, Saturn, actually. So, I look at every chart individually of sex; it’s all equal to me.
RR: What’s this I hear that you started a nail polish line with Enamel Diction?
RT: We’re developing it now; it’s not out yet. It’ll be coming out around the holidays. It’s 100% astrology-based. So, I looked at what’s going to be happening with the planets, thought a lot about the colors, studied a ton, and developed the shades based on that.
RR: Tell us about Color-scopes!
RT: It’s a horoscope of color that I publish weekly. It’s about the transiting planets and what’s happening astrologically that week, and choosing a color that everyone can work on collectively. Last week it was rose gold; this week it’s blue—not just because of the full moon in Aquarius, but because of lots of other things happening, too. It’s about ways to work with the color, and how to make the colors work for you using chromotherapy and astrology—so, showing how can the colors can help you this week, based on your sun sign or your rising sign (if you know it).
RR: Let’s say we were doing our nails at home and we don’t have access to all this in-depth information about our charts. Is there a cheat-sheet we could use—like go-to colors for energy or for attracting romance?
RT: There isn’t, only because the planets are constantly moving, so it creates movement within the colors, too. But you can always check out the color-scopes online, read how the color that week affects you and what you have going on for you in the moment. Should you be spending money? Should you not? Find colors to help curb your spending habits for the week—that kind of thing. But yeah, the color-scopes are great cheat-sheets.