Numinous

THE NUMEROLOGY OF 7/7

Posted on by Felicia Bender

The number seven is the seer, the thinker, and the seeker of truth. Felicia Bender explains how to use the numerology of 7/7 to renew your trust in the Universe…Collage: Bethany Harper Walsh

numerology of 7/7 collage psychedelic by Bethany Harper Walsh on The Numinous

Lucky number 7?

The numerology of 7/7 means the energy open for us today is indeed lucky. And yet more than this, it represents an open door to spiritual insight—and also a moment to contemplate the ways in which you place faith and trust in ourselves and in a “higher power.”

Ask yourself: do I anxiously push for things to? And if they don’t work out the way I think they should, do I find myself plummeting down a rabbit hole of despair, frustration, or cynicism?

Or am I willing slow down enough to listen to my intuitive voice, even when the direction it’s steering me might make no sense whatsoever? Or when it doesn’t give me the answer I think I want?

Well, the numerology of 7/7/ says today is the day to open up, to slow down, and to trust. To trust yourself and to trust that the Universe actually is on your side, even if it doesn’t quite feel like it. And if you feel like you’re already in this flow, then keep speeding down that open road!

It’s also the day to declare some gratitude. To be a little bit vulnerable. To analyze data and situations, and yet balance this with your heart and intuition. The energy of the number 7 supports analysis, research, questioning…and intuition.

In order to optimize the numerology of 7/7, allow yourself some time to get unplugged. To get outdoors. To meditate. To write. To read. To study. And to slow down enough to notice the magic of the Universe as it is revealed in even the smallest of synchronicities.

Yep, you get a free pass to go about contemplating your own navel today. And as you’ll discover, you can get some profound insights about yourself when you simply invite the voice of your higher self in—and are open to receiving the information.

5 GENDERS: THE STORY OF THE NATIVE AMERICAN TWO-SPIRITS

Posted on by The Numinous

Prior to Christian intervention, fluid gender identities of the Native American Two Spirits were seen as a gift from the gods, says Pearson McKinney…

Osh-Tisch Native American Two Spirit on The Numinous
Celebrated Lakota Two Spirit Osh-Tisch (left) with his wife.

It wasn’t until Europeans took over North America that natives adopted the ideas of gender roles. For Native Americans, there was no set of rules that men and women had to abide by in order to be considered a “normal” member of their tribe.

In fact, people who had both female and male characteristics were viewed as gifted by nature, and therefore, able to see both sides of everything. According to Duane Brayboy, writing in Indian Country Today, all native communities acknowledged the following gender roles: “Female, Male, Two Spirit Female, Two Spirit Male and Transgendered.”

He goes on to describe how: “Each tribe has their own specific term, but there was a need for a universal term that the general population could understand. The Navajo refer to two spirits as nádleehí (one who is transformed); among the Lakota is winkté (indicative of a male who has a compulsion to behave as a female), niizh manidoowag (two spirit); in Ojibwe, hemaneh (half man, half woman), to name a few.”

As the purpose of ‘Two Spirit’ is to be used as a universal term in the English language, it is not always translatable with the same meaning in native languages. For example, in the Iroquois Cherokee language, there is no way to translate the term, but the Cherokee do have gender variance terms for ‘women who feel like men’ and vice versa.”

The Two Spirit culture of Native Americans was one of the first things Europeans worked to destroy and cover up. According to people like American artist George Catlin, the Two Spirit tradition had to be eradicated before it could go into history books. Catlin said the tradition: “must be extinguished before it can be more fully recorded.”

And as Brayboy also notes: “Spanish Catholic monks destroyed most of the Aztec codices to eradicate traditional Native beliefs and history, including those that told of the Two Spirit tradition.” As a result, Native Americans were forced to dress and act according to newly designated gender roles.

One of the most celebrated Two Spirits in recorded history was a Lakota warrior fiercely named Finds Them And Kills Them. Osh-Tisch (see main image) was born a male and married a female, but adorned himself in women’s clothing and lived daily life as a female. On June 17 1876, Finds Them And Kills Them earned his stripes when he rescued a fellow tribesman during the Battle of Rosebud Creek, an act of fearless bravery.

It’s an example of how in Native American cultures, people were valued for their contributions to the tribe, regardless of the gender attributes they exhibited. Parents did not assign gender roles to children either, and children’s clothing tended to be gender neutral. There were no ideas or ideals about how a person should love; it was simply a natural act that occurred without judgment.

Without a negative stigma attached to being a Two Spirit, there were also no inner-tribal incidents of retaliation or violence toward the chosen people simply due to the fact they identified as the opposite or both genders. If anything; “Traditional Native Americans closely associate Two Spirited people with having a high functioning intellect (possibly from a life of self-questioning), keen artistic skills and an exceptional capacity for compassion,” writes Brayboy.

We'wha (1849-1896), of the Zuni nation. We'wha was biologically a male and engendered with a female spirit.
We’wha (1849-1896), of the Zuni nation. We’wha was biologically male and engendered with a female spirit.

Once outside religious influences brought serious prejudice against “gender diversity,” openly alternative or androgynous people were forced into to one of two choices. They could either live in hiding, and in fear of being found out, or they could end their lives. Many of whom did just that.

Imagine a world where people allowed others to live freely as the people nature intended them to be, without harm, without persecution, without shame. Imagine a world where we are truly free.

This article originally appeared on Bipartisan Report. For further reading visit Indian Country Today.

JOURNALING BY SIGN FOR THE CANCER NEW MOON

Posted on by Ruby Warrington

Deep, sweet healing is available under the July 4 Cancer New Moon—on a personal and a collective level, says Ruby Warrington. PLUS a New Moon journaling exercise by sign…

cancer new moon bedroom journaling on The Numinous

 

 

Buckle up, bust out the tissues, and get ready to feel some serious feelings under the cashmere blanket cover of the July 4 Cancer New Moon. But rather than a hair-raising roller-coaster of emotion, forming part of a tender, loving trine to Neptune in Pisces and a newly direct Mars in Scorpio, this feels more like a loving embrace of the most sensitive, idealistic aspects of our beings—both individually, and as a collective.

And MAN does the world need this all-enveloping, watery hug right now—which is not here to drown us, or invite us to get swept away on on a tide of sentimentality. Rather, here comes a clarion call to see past the drama, the blame, and the collective pain so many have been experiencing, and simply feel all that is ready to be healed.

The Moon is at its most potent in its home sign of Cancer, the nurturing care-taker of the Zodiac, where it is being charged by the life-force energy of the Sun. Joined here by PR planet Mercury, and Venus, planet of peace, love and beauty, not only is this stellium sending us a beam of pure hope; voicing our vulnerability and caring so much we cry won’t look weak during this Moon cycle—it will reveal us at our most beautiful.

Cosmos willing, we’ll see the same from our world leaders too—since the Cancer New Moon, along with her stellar backing singers, is opposite a retrograde Pluto in Capricorn, shining a light on just how ugly things get when it becomes all about the power plays, at the expense of truly empathetic, authentic leadership. A taste of which we’ve been getting already.

And so the bigger opportunity now is for us all to use whatever influence we wield—in our own lives, within our family constellations, and with whatever voice we put out in the world—to transmute anger and defensiveness to pure, unadulterated compassion. To an mother’s unconditional love. And from this place, to harness the fiery power of Mars direct in Scorpio to assist the downtrodden in rising, Phoenix-like, from the ashes.

Oh, and you know that expression about drinking your cares away…? Not even the most kamikaze-strength cocktails will be able to mask the outpouring of emotion (that which we care about) that must accompany this healing process. If anything, we can all expect to be crying into the guacamole way before Monday’s Cancer New Moon rises.

And so instead, we invite you to turn your back on the BBQs and the inevitable, albeit beautiful, public crying this July 4. To carve out a day for some Cancerian self-care, to retreat into your shell, and to engage in the below journaling exercise—which is designed to help each sign plumb the depths of what personal healing is available beneath the benevolent beam of this Cancer New Moon, and during the next two weeks of this Moon cycle.

If you find yourself stuck drop back into your gut—using the keyword as an anchor for your musings. And above all remember to feel it all, to keep feeling, and then to feel some more.

ARIES :: ARIES RISING
My deepest family or ancestral wound is… The personal power I have access to when I move beyond this is… So, what healing modality is my intuition guiding me towards this Moon cycle? What shift could this create in my career, and in my being a role model for others? Keyword: Mother

TAURUS :: TAURUS RISING
What am I most reluctant to voice right now? To whom? How might my connections and close relationships move forward this Moon cycle if I could just find the courage*? What wider impact could these honest conversations between me and my collective have on the world? Key word: Vision
*NB you can

GEMINI :: CANCER RISING
What do I value the most about myself? My greatest talent is… How can I bring more of this to my day-to-day during this Moon cycle? Of what service could this ultimately be to others? What new levels of depth would this bring to the legacy I am imprinting on the world? Keyword: Abundance

CANCER :: CANCER RISING
The creative project I am ready to invest in this Moon cycle is… What is the love note I need to receive from myself this week to get started? Why is it difficult to write? How does this shift when I see myself through the eyes of my dream lover? When I express my creative gives, how does this shift my relationships with others? Key word: Vitality

LEO :: LEO RISING
Where and with whom in my tribal system do I need to exercise more compassion this Moon cycle? This will also be healing for me because… What are the limiting beliefs I hold about my my personal power? Seeing beyond these, how am freed to be proactive in doing my dharma? Keyword: Integrity

VIRGO :: VIRGO RISING
My role in the group currently is… To what extent does this allow me to flourish as a creative being? And what part of myself is being stifled? The conversation needed this Moon cycle for me to express my true gifts begins with… In what ways might my relationships, in love and business, flourish as a result? Keyword: Innovation.

LIBRA :: LIBRA RISING
My greatest ambition for 2016 is… How can I expand on this vision to also be of service in the world? What limiting belief am I holding about my capacity for attracting financial abundance? Who in my family tree am I most inspired by career-wise? This moon cycle I will connect to their energy by… Keyword: Reputation.

SCORPIO :: SCORPIO RISING
Five new ways I can find creative inspiration this moon cycle are… My dream travel location would be… What does my highest self find so fascinating about this place, and its culture? What emotional need does this speak to in me? Speaking from this place, my message for the world is… Keyword: New horizons.

SAGITTARIUS :: SAGITTARIUS RISING
The great mystery I am being called to investigate this Moon cycle is… Five ways shining a light on this area will improve my family relationships are… What in my own life could be healed as a result? This will make me feel more confident in my ability to experience abundance because… Keyword: Obsession.

CAPRICORN :: CAPRICORN RISING
In my close relationships I am always the one who… How can I experiment with being more authentically myself this Moon cycle? Three things I would like people to know about the real me are… In what positive ways might this shift the way I am perceived by the people in my life? Keyword: Respect.

AQUARIUS :: AQUARIUS RISING
I have been neglecting my overall wellbeing lately by… How has this impacted on my ability to truly value myself? What ambitions have I achieved in the past as a result of instilling healthy habits and routines? What new way can I find to connect to my higher self this Moon cycle? Keyword: Efficiency.

PISCES :: PISCES RISING
When I am in my creative flow I feel… But the limiting beliefs I hold about my creative self are… What actions can I take this Moon cycle to challenge myself creatively? In an ideal world, in what ways would this transform the way others see me? Keyword: Play.

TAROTSCOPES: JULY 2016

Posted on by Lindsay Mack

Cast by Lindsay Mack, using The Starchild Tarot.

CANCER – Wheel of Fortune 

 

Happy Birthday, sweet Cancer! What a complex and beautiful energy you’ll be in this month with the Wheel of Fortune—a card that sometimes blesses us with her presence when we have left this moment and drifted off into the future. Honestly ask yourself, Cancer: have you been you checked out of your life in some ways? If so, ask yourself why this might be. Is some aspect of the present feeling uncomfortable, unpleasant, overwhelming, or unfair? Is there a struggle to trust that the future will unfold as it is meant to if you don’t plan every moment?

Be gentle with these inquiries, but be willing to go deep with them. Wherever there is resistance to the present moment is exactly where you must offer your attention and curiosity, especially for this month. The alchemy of the Wheel of Fortune happens when we make the commitment to keep our eyes on our own paper; that’s when we begin co-creating our future with the Universe. The magic happens when we foster this trust in the Divine and loosen the reins on our old methods of control. When there is more space within us, there is more room for the new! This month is about making that room and coming back to ourselves.

Just go slowly and give 100 percent to whatever happens to be in front of you. If you find yourself off in tomorrow or next year, come back home. You’re at choice all month, Cancer. Be willing to make the best of it. Write that letter. Go to the dentist. Wash your dishes. Just be HERE. The rest will come with ease, and it will be glorious.

The day-to-day of the Wheel of Fortune is not always going to feel like much is happening and that’s totally appropriate. The card will always be zeroed in on the minutia of our lives, and whatever is of most importance in this moment. Whatever is here is forming the bridge to the next phase of our lives, even if it doesn’t seem like it. This month gives you the chance to be totally empowered and responsible for the foundation of your future, Cancer, for the unfolding of your dreams. With each moment spent in the present, you create the conditions and the foundation for the future you want. Show up for it.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

LEO – Eight of Cups

 

July is about transformation for you, Leo: empowered, powerful transformation. The month is going to be beautifully cathartic for many of you, and will have a lot to do with moving through transitions that will be life changing. You’ve been working your butt off for the last few months. Many of you have been in rebalancing mode, steadying your nervous systems and brain chemistry after some massive life swings. Now you have your ducks in a row; your feet are on the ground, your emotions are in check, and things will be so much clearer.

This is the perfect planting ground for Eight of Cups magic, as we need a healthy clarity of emotion in order to transform our lives in a powerful and balanced way. A huge aspect of this month for you, Leo, is about being willing to release aspects of your life that are no longer serving you. Being brave I staking out a new path, in a new direction—and not because you’re restless, bored or scared, but because its time. Every single one of you have an aspect of your lives to bless and release this month, effectively transforming that area and opening it up to new opportunities, loves, places and things.

After all, it is only when we make space in our lives that we can be open to receive the new—even if many of the things being let go of this month are things you may have worked hard for. Blood, sweat, and tears hard. Many of you devoted yourselves, sacrificed, tried, went to therapy, put in extra hours; cared for these aspects of your lives and were committed to making them work. Honor this work with all of your soul. Do ceremony and ritual to close the cycle. Speak and write about them; mourn them. In doing so, you’re honoring the preciousness of this life.

That nothing is permanent. That in order to have the beautiful garden we desire, we must weed the garden we currently have. This takes guts, something you have in your DNA, Leo. So rather than bemoaning the loss of something outgrown that you worked so hard to maintain, bless your humanness. Bless your work, your effort and your love. Bless your desire to keep going, too. Bless all life has given you up to now, and then take the next first step forward.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

VIRGO – Page of Cups

 

July has some real sweetness in store for you, Virgo. The invitation of the month is to dive deeply into your magic, to revisit your imagination, and play with abandon. Page of Cups is a gorgeous, whimsical energy, one that holds the dual element of water and earth. The water in Page of Cups can flow to magical realms with ease, because it is grounded and held by the loving embrace of its earthy side.

That is what you are going to be exploring within yourself this month, Virgo: how your earthiness allows you to stay steady and grounded while you fly to other worlds, have amazing experiences, get lost in the joy of the moment, or try something new. You’re going to be learning a whole new side to your Earth element—how it can dance with water, and how it can be a foundation for magic in your life.

Hanging out in this place of grounded dreaminess is the crux of the whole month for you. Because from here a lot of new gifts can flow in, which is really why Page of Cups is the master energy of July. You know how to work, Virgo. Now its time to learn how you can get the same satisfaction and abundance from play and ease. July’s energy feels a lot like a denouement after a climax; there has been so much expansion and shifting in the energy for you guys in the last few months, and now there’s a kind of a cooling off. It is no less exciting and wonderful than any other energy, just a little easier and more mellow. So much more flow will be possible.

You’re learning new ways of being on the planet with Page of Cups, Virgo; accessing the sweetness, magic and joy from the mundane moments of your life. You’ll have access to that energy all month long—if you’re willing to allow it to flow in. If you do, it will change your life, lighting up all of the beautiful possibilities that lay around a corner or just beyond our imagination. This is the perfect month to get into a new healing or magical modality, to play with a new tool or splash in the ocean like a child again. Whatever brings you to those places of preciousness or imagination, dive deeply and explore.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

LIBRA – The Universe

You are entering an evolutionary portal this month, Libra, one that will radically shift your life in a multitude of ways. Get ready for some big and beautiful upgrades in July, ushered in by the beautiful energetic waves of The Universe. It has been such a gift to track the expansion of Libra as a sign these last few months. You guys as a whole have been working SO hard, have been surfing such enormous waves—and if the past has been a challenging pregnancy; July is when you’re finally going to give birth. You’re finally on the edge of the next karmic cycle of your life, and it is going to be glorious.

The Universe, or World card, marks the end of the Major Arcana. It is the completion of an entire cycle of growth, expansion and wisdom. It has been said that the World card is not the end of a chapter, but the closing of a book. We will put this book back on our shelf, and we won’t revisit it in the same way again. For each of you, there is an aspect of your life, whether huge or mundane, that is ending permanently—and all for the better. The World always brings joyful change, change we desperately desire, and the promise of a whole new cycle of continued expansion ahead.

The main thing for you to digest this month, Libra, is that you don’t have to do anything to access this rebirth. You have created and called it to you by virtue of your hard work, and your willingness to move through all of the energetic invitations in front of you. You have said “yes” to every aspect of your evolution, and now there’s a gift at the end of the rainbow—the ability to permanently leave behind an old, outdated aspect of yourself, and blossom into the authenticity of who you really are.

This takes courage, willingness and trust; heart and soul. You’ve got it all, Libra, everything it takes to move into this new time. The intensity of the last few months hasn’t been just a shitty time—its been squeezing out the old beliefs that talked yourself out of your magnificence, out of what you deserved, and into victimhood, blame and excuses. All of that is ending, and a new way is beginning. All you have to do is allow it.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

SCORPIO – Seven of Swords

 

Seven of Wands is a very complex energy, one that is working in subtle ways for you this month, Scorpio. It is about both the upgrading of an old thought pattern, AND the chance to speak and defend your desires in some way that will be truly transformative. Both of these central concepts will be woven together for you in July, providing the framework for a very powerful, internally fruitful month around your career, passions and endeavors.

Sevens in the Tarot have to do with inner work around an external thing; whatever it comes up around totally looks like an outside job. We are often focused on how that aspect of our lives looks, appears or seems—we might be busy with how the lives of others look and seem, too. Whenever we get a Seven, it is a redirection of our energy from external to internal. The Seven of Wands is specifically inner work around outer artistic goals and appearances. So, the first invitation of the month for you, Scorpio, is to inquire as to why external acknowledgement is important to you around that particular area of your life.

If you feel that it will give you something you are seeking, know that there’s no way you can get anything externally without first receiving it from yourself internally. Be willing to seek proof of this; see how much more flows into your life when you approve of yourself without comparison. When we are clear in who we are, we can honor, defend and speak to this. So share who you are, Scorpio: your truth, not your image. Look at all the places in your life you can be more raw and honest. Defend your position without fear that you will lose status or fall. Honor where you are and what you think without censorship.

When we understand that we cannot lose anything we are meant to have, our truth becomes easy to express. The other very subtle energy sweeping through you this month, Scorpio, is that one particular outdated thought pattern is being upgraded for a much truer, braver, more aligned operating system. Release any perception that you have to be anyone other than who you are, allow a new leader in the mind to rise up, guiding you to a renaissance in the way you create and share your art in the world.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

SAGITTARIUS – Akashic Records

 

This is an magical month for you, Sagittarius! A new paradigm within yourself and your life is now available to you, and you will be walking in a sacred energy not seen in any other Tarot deck. * The actual Akashic Records are said to be a sort of cosmic hall of records, in which everything in the Universe that has ever happened or will ever happen is housed. It is also said that we can access this information at any time, if it is in our highest and best interest, in order to receive wisdom and answers about our lives.

The Akashic Records is also a card in Starchild Tarot, and this month it brings brings magnificent tidings for you, Sagittarius—for it is bringing you into full alignment and embodied understanding of how your wishes and desires line up with your soul path. Opposed to the things we might want, desire or wish for in the Earthly realm, our soul path always lines up with our deepest soul desires, and they can align fully if we can honor the balance between what we are here to do and what we desire to cultivate.

You will be working with and living in the energy of the Akashic Records this month, which means that you’ll be experiencing what it is to be in co-creation with the Divine when it comes to your life now. So, on one level, there is a deep honoring of your dharma, your karma, your soul path, and what you’re here to experience, master and move through. What you truly long for—yes, THAT—will be taking root within the garden of the Divine this month. You are truly ready to receive it, and it will come with great wisdom and medicine.

You will also be unlocking an inner knowing that is crucial to receiving what you’ve longed for: an understanding of how what you have been desiring fits into your soul path. If one of us is here to master self-love, it is crucial that we walk solo in the world for a time. If we are here to master brain chemistry, we’re going to move through many mental ups and downs before centering. Expect life to radically shift for you this month, Sagittarius. You are moving into an alignment with the Divine, in total surrender and co-creation; see how what you desire blossoms from that place.

*this card was channeled and added to the Major Arcana by Danielle Noel, creator of the Starchild Tarot

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

CAPRICORN – Ten of Crystals

What a glorious month you have ahead of you, Capricorn. Ten of Crystals, or Pentacles in the traditional tarot, is such a rich energy; a treasure trove of blessings. There is so much abundance, healing and expansion possible within the month for you, if you are willing to allow it in.

So, firstly, congratulate yourself, Capricorn. It has been one hell of a ride for you during the last few months, and you’ve handled it beautifully. There has been so much willingness to move through uncomfortable soul growth; even when you hated it, you still said “yes.” Secondly, this beautiful energy is here this month because of all that hard work—it is showing you the harvest for soul work, rather than human/ego work. This is a crucial distinction, because the latter being replaced by the former is exactly why the last few months have been such a crunch: you’ve been evolving. Evolution is always inherently stressful to the brain and nervous system, but almost always means a wild and beautiful soul expansion.

Ten of Pentacles is the culmination of a cycle of work that yields to a beautiful harvest. The journey to that bountiful place is often difficult and challenging, but ultimately rewarding beyond expression. When we are in this card, we are in an incredibly abundant time, financially, spiritually, emotionally and physically. It is a moment when everything comes to fruit. It is also a card that speaks of healing a family legacy, too. Our choices have stretched back energetically and have taken us way beyond what our parents or their parents did, and rightly so. When we honor our path, despite the conditioning we have received, we can open to all that we desire and all that is here for us. It’s a beautiful energy, and one that you have worked your ass off for, Capricorn.

The key to the presence of the Ten of Pentacles in your month is that we only can receive its richness when we are aligned with our true soul path—not what we think we “should” do, or what others tell us they think we should do. The evolutionary upgrade that Capricorn has been in has been devoted to ending ego and struggle. July will be a perfect chance for you to witness how beautiful life can be when you surrender, allowing life to flow from your aligned path, rather than a place of fear or control.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

AQUARIUS – Five of Crystals 

You are continuing with your mastery around lack, scarcity and fear this month, Aquarius. Five of Crystals, or Pentacles, is traditionally a contraction card. It’s often viewed as a negative, difficult energy, although it has NOT shown up like that for you this month. It is important to know that right off the bat. The Five of Pentacles is only a mindfulness bell, showing you where your beliefs are not in line with your truth. Anytime we have a disruption between our thoughts and our truth, it’s going to create stress of some kind—that’s what this card is waking you up to, Aquarius, so you can smooth it out and expand through it.

Somewhere, for each and every one of you, you’re carrying a belief that is making you feel small, scared and desperate. Maybe even slightly, but it is there. Be really willing to explore this within yourself, because that’s what this card is in service of this month: correcting and rewiring any untrue beliefs. This is so important, because when we feel scarcity, lack or fear, it takes us out of alignment with our flow and truth. It can tend to make us more frantic or desperate, perhaps even in one specific area. Ask yourself: do you trust in the flow of the Universe in all areas but one?

It’s important to ask, because, ironically, the more we feel that begging, scared energy, the tighter we become and so the less we receive. Money, love, help, guidance and community cannot flow through a blocked drain, just as water cannot flow through a hose with a knot in it. So untie the knots and see how much more abundance floods your life. It’s a critical shift for you, Aquarius, and this might be coming up around an area that feels really sensitive right now. Go through it as gently as you can, but do explore it. Nothing will be able to get into your life until you do.

Five of Pentacles is a feeling, not a fact. We are never, ever truly out of alignment with the Universe, but we can squeeze ourselves out of receiving through believing something that makes us experience a tightness of spirit. This also has to do with anywhere that you feel you are undercharging—especially if this comes from anything less than an overflowing personal well. Check your energy levels. Be really clear about where you are, and then honor it.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

PISCES – The Sun 

Understanding, clarity, warmth, truth and rebirth. These are just some of the beautiful qualities of your July, Pisces. Like a warm beam of sunlight on cold skin, this month is going to unravel you in the most delicious way possible. Expect to feel better than you have in a long time; there is nothing but goodness in store for you this month.

The Sun comes after The Moon card in the Tarot, the latter being a very intense card, often having to do with the void, old traumas and life being obscured in some measure of darkness. This is worth mentioning for you, Pisces, because the Moon card in the Tarot is ruled by your sign. You know how to surf and float through huge emotions, depths and times of darkness. You understand, innately, what the flow of the Moon feels like; each day, each moment a little more full or waning. And because you are the master of this, The Sun will feel so much sweeter. As cliched as it sounds, we cannot have the light without the darkness, which is why this month will be so brilliant for you.

The Sun is offering you the chance to fully embrace your innate nature, Pisces. It will provide a framework of appreciation and gratitude for your brilliant ability to coast in times of choppiness and changeability. The Sun’s energy brings us back to a childlike heart, back to the simplicity and to the empowerment that comes with self-acceptance and self-love. It also provides literal clarity, both in the form of light and answers. Light pours on every crack and cranny of our lives when we are in The Sun, helping us see things as they truly are. This card can bring deep joy, but more importantly it brings illumination. It brings answers to long held questions. It brings acceptance and forgiveness. It helps us to embrace all that we are, all that we’ve become. It’s a beautiful energy, and will radiate from your being this month, Pisces.

The last wisdom to offer about this card is that you can trust it. It is safe to come into the sunshine and the warmth. Explore any fear around that; the only fear there is of your own brilliance, anyway. So shine your light, let it beam out of you—know that you have been the light in the dark this whole time.

This is a good month for Pisces, especially those of you who are healers, artists or helping profe King of Cups wears a mask to do his healing work in the world. Not a bad mask, but one that allows him to hold both a private experience and a public face; and he can do this because he is a gentle leader, one who is coded for service.

Basically what this invitation means for you, Pisces, is that it’s time to get back into the flow of life. To show up. To speak your truth, share your wisdom, and to not hold back. The world really needs you. It needs you in your joy, in your light, healthy and happy. You have overflow, so use it. A gentle invitation to those of you who, at this moment, might feel miles away from this place of energetic abundance, this place of balance and generosity: remember you can always choose the willingness to stay open to the possibility of a different way of seeing, doing, and being.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

ARIES – Ace of Pentacles 

The name of the game for you in July is all about receiving, Aries. Are the doors and windows of your life open to gifts and grace? How much goodness and ease is able to flow in to you? This inquiry will be a very important one for you this month, and there will be consistent invitations to widen your channel of receiving; these invitations will come in many forms, so keep your heart open for them.

There are a gorgeous and magical worlds contained within the Ace of Pentacles, which is a seed of possibility and fruitful abundance. All Aces are spiritual teachers, containing gifts straight from the Divine. The Aces don’t always offer specific physical items—instead, they ask us to be available to receive the energy of whatever they carry, regardless of the form it comes in. The Ace of Pentacles lives in the realm of money, abundance, gifts, newborn babies, homes, and the body. Pentacles are about living spiritually on the material plane, so the Aces represent all that can be attained within this balance. It’s a beautiful, welcome medicine, and is here with some deep gifts.

For you, Aries, the time has come to truly embody that you will receive more from being open and rested than being exhausted and burned out. This month will flex your trust and ease muscles in a big way; let’s take actual money, for example. The more you understand that you only ever receive abundance directly from the Universe’s bank account, the more any monetary stress, strain, pressure and planning can be dismissed and upgraded. This Ace is both a gift and a healthy challenge in this realm; how easy are you willing to let it be?

The Ace of Pentacles is, above all, a seed. This is important to embody, because seeds don’t look like forests. They don’t look like the flowers and trees that they become. Be open and available to any gift this month, Aries, no matter what it looks like. The key is receptivity, openness and ease. You will be asked again and again this month to let it be easier; to upgrade your willingness to receive rather than cultivate. Feeling this connection to the abundant flow is our birthright. Once you can consider that there is a lush garden of Divine abundance around you, the harvest becomes a joy.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

TAURUS – Ace of Cups

Let the love flow in this month, Taurus, both from yourself and the external world. Let everyone and everything beautiful around you be your mirror, so you can begin see your own beauty, specialness, uniqueness and wonder through the eyes of those who love you. Even a beautiful sunset or a flower; as I said before, in this card, the world is your mirror.

The Ace of Cups is about love; falling in love, allowing yourself pleasure, being cleansed and washed anew. This may or may not be a month to receive new love from another, but it is certainly a month to receive love from yourself. This is the soul of the Ace of Cups, and the deepest teaching of the Cups as a suit, I think: that love is an inside job first. We must be willing to receive it from ourselves before we are able to receive it from another. And as in partnership, it’s not what you say, but what you do that counts.

July gives you the opportunity to clean up your inner dialogue, Taurus, to upgrade it to reflect new language and new forms of self care and kindness. Be kind to yourself, dear one. Honor and bless yourself, wholly and completely. Let this whole month be a ritual in self-celebration. If it makes you uncomfortable, it is exactly what you need. The Ace of Cups is not only upgrading the ways in which you love and regard yourself, it is also upgrading the love and relationships you have around you. If you desire a partner or community, the work and rewiring you do on yourself will open the door to brand new interactions and connections on that front. It will open your heart and open your channel.

Any and all relationships in our lives are mirrors; what are yours reflecting to you, Taurus? The love is there—you just might need to polish your mirror a bit so you can see clearly. If you allow pleasure into your inner life, you will multiply it 1000-fold externally. If you love yourself and regard yourself with worth, there will be more outer reflections of it. The more we love ourselves, the clearer the mirror becomes. Go slowly, go curiously, go gently. Consider it might be the most natural thing in the world for you to fall in love with yourself. The cup is right there; drink deeply, Taurus.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

GEMINI – Ten of Wands

Have you heard the term, “fool’s errand,” sweet Gemini? The Webster’s dictionary defines it as: “a task or activity that has no hope of success.” So often we can wind up in one of those, no? So wrapped up in our thoughts, beliefs and stories that we don’t take time to consider: is what I am doing sustainable? Is it manageable? Do I need to ask for help? In this case, Gemini, it goes no, no…and YES. It is not your hopes, dreams and dearest desires that are the fool’s errands—it is how you are attempting to fulfill them that needs an upgrade.

Not the what, only the how is unsustainable. And that’s what this month is dedicated to correcting. As such, you must ask for help, Gemini. You must. ask. for. help. You’re at a critical point right now, one where there is an opportunity for massive personal and external transformation. If you’re lost or struggling, ask for advice and then take the advice. If you’re burned out and exhausted, burning the candle at both ends, drop the story that fried equals productive. There is a happy middle ground that you have yet to master, Gemini. You can come up for air. You can take breaks. You can let people in; you can be vulnerable. You can ask for help.

How? Be willing to see the support that surrounds you. Be willing to see how much easier it can be if you can offer yourself a moment here or there. There is another facet of Gemini that this card is speaking to very specifically: yes, the totally hidden inner life you keep so secret. I’m talking to those of you who’s co-workers, friends and even loved ones would never know how full your plate actually is (Gemini men, I hope you’re hearing me).

This month, crack the door of your heart open to someone that can support the whole you. If this isn’t a partner or colleague, journal about it or see a therapist. It can be equal parts relief and painful to have such a good poker face that no one knows what’s really going on underneath. But it’s time to be brave and really let someone in. Because it can be easier, Gemini. It can be so, so, SO much easier. You have the chance to upgrade your operating system this month, in ways subtle and overt. Take a break, rebalance, ask for assistance. You deserve it.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

POLITICAL CLIMATE CHANGE: A COSMIC OVERVIEW

Posted on by The Numinous

We’re living through a time of intense political climate change, as reflected in the Cosmos. Five of our favorite mystics unpack the signs of the times…and weigh in on the way ahead. Artwork: Sammy Slabbinck

political climate change artwork by sammy slabbinck on The Numinous

Here on The Numinous, astrology is not a tool for “predicting” future events, or explaining things away while abdicating our role in shaping how our lives play out—both individually, and as a society.

Rather, we see astrology as a language of symbols that speaks to our collective human experience on Earth, offering valuable perspective and allowing us to examine the bigger picture—especially useful at times when emotions are running high, clouding our judgement and making it difficult to choose the next right course of action.

As in the case of Britain’s recent referendum to leave the EU, the shock results of which have seen a nation spiral into panic and chaos. Made all the more vertigo-inducing against a backdrop of unrelenting terrorist attacks, and an emotionally fraught US election campaign.

Last month, in an eerie foreshadowing of the central issues to Brexit, New York magazine described the Clinton-Trump race as: “kind of a civil war. It’s a referendum on the country’s feelings about inclusion, about women, people of color, and their increasing influence…how it edges out the white men who have long held an exclusive grip on power.”

In short, it’s safe to say we are living through a period of intense political climate change—as written in the current movements of the celestial bodies. Skeptical? Since the political polls leading up to the Brexit referendum were woefully misleading (echoing the last general election in the UK), the wisdom offered by our resident astrologers below—including commentary on what will be needed of us moving forward—feels as relevent as anything the political scientists have got to say…

PLUTO IN CAPRICORN by Ash Bonelli
We are in unstable times, and have been financially since 2008 when Pluto, the planet of wealth/power, moved into the structural sign of Capricorn—and the extent of financial corruption in the world began to come to light. We’re currently half way through this cycle—during which we have seen a growing divide between rich and poor with the emergence of a super-elite, as well as major differences in values between the generations. (NB. “Even eerier? The last time Pluto was in Capricorn was 1762-1778, the exact time when the U.S. was fighting for its independence from England. It was also during this transit that Thomas Jefferson sounded the rallying cry for “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” and helped author the U.S. Constitution.” – Ophira Edut)

SATURN SQUARE NEPTUNE by Ameila Quint
The Saturn-Neptune square, currently occurring November 2015 through September 2016, is shifting cultural philosophies on a global scale. To give you the big picture, this alignment has caused ideological clashes for centuries in a looping cycle that goes back as far as the Salem Witch Trials and the Crusades!

Saturn is in Sagittarius, the sign of foreign affairs, expatriates, and immigration—all issues at the heart of the Brexit referendum. Sagittarius also rules expansion, so we’re being called to open our hearts and minds to new ways of relating and thinking. Unfortunately, this change won’t come easy with tough Saturn in play.

On the other hand, Neptune is in Pisces, his home sign. This magnifies the energies of compassion, healing, and spirituality. It’s a call from the Universe to ask, on a societal level, what you believe and why. The Brexit referendum did just that. It’s also interesting that Saturn and Neptune are both associated with karma in their own way, because the reverberations of this vote have certainly been karmic in scope.

JUPITER TRINE PLUTO by Ophira Edut
The announcement of Brexit also coincided with the June 26 barrier-breaking Jupiter-Pluto trine, a rare meet-up between global connector Jupiter and powerhouse Pluto. Trines are generally positive and harmonious—but they can also cause things to move quickly, and this massive upheaval happened in the blink of an eye, or so it seemed.

Jupiter is an excitable, optimistic planet that can quickly overshoot its mark. The hopeful populists did not wake up the morning after Brexit economically or politically empowered, but rather, to a currency that plunged to its lowest value in 31 years overnight.

Jupiter is also the “armchair philosopher” of the cosmos, whose starry-eyed visions don’t necessarily translate into reality. Stateside, we hear echoes of Trump’s “Make America great again” slogan. Um, perspective please? If anything, Trump—with his Plutonian land grabs and abuses of power—is making America hate again. And that’s the last thing this world needs now.

MARS DIRECT by Hannah Ariel
With warrior planet Mars about to go direct in controlling Scorpio (June 30th 2016) our urge to define, defend and protect boundaries is intensified to extremes. Mars in Scorpio demands that our actions reflect our integrity—and as it resumes direct motion, what we “yes” and “no” to becomes an act of personal empowerment.

This is a period of cutting ties, creating new bonds, and ultimately realizing from whence we draw our power—and what we must do with this power once we feel we have it. Scorpio rules creation and re-creation, so there is nothing being destroyed at this time that cannot be re-created.

THE UNIVERSAL 9 YEAR by Felicia Bender
In numerology, 2016 is a Universal 9 year—the number of completion, of letting go, transition, and transformation. It is a year of surrender, in it’s truest sense—a positive, intuitive way of living, that grows we learn to develop trust.

Trust that’s needed in a time where old paradigms are crumbling, dissolving, going up in flames or coming up for serious review. We can see this everywhere, from Trumpmania, mass violence, and displaced refugees, to the spotlight on rape culture, and the Brexit referendum—to name just a few boiling points. Numerologically, this is right on time.

This is the end of a cycle, and we can’t move into the next phase without a sobering and stark look at what has been (since the cycle began in 2008—the last universal 1 year) and where we’re at. The task at hand is to then let go of all that’s no longer serving all of us. This isn’t easy. It’s terrifying. It incites anger and fear and every other possible emotion.

THE WAY AHEAD…
“We can use this Saturn/Neptune square for the overall good. We must work on building a solid foundation (Saturn) that is created from a place of justice for all (Neptune). A place where everyone has their needs met. A society where equality becomes commonplace. But it will take time, patience, respect and dedication to achieve these Neptunian dreams.” – Ash Bonelli

“Saturn rules authorities while Neptune rules visionaries, and these groups were very much square to each other in the Brexit polling results. Still, the only way to make this transit work is to find a balance. In this case, this means steadying dogma with compassion, and laws meant to protect with laws that truly heal.” – Amelia Quint

“If anything, Brexit and Donald Trump’s shocking success is exposing an inconvenient truth: Despite the gains of social policies such as marriage equality, there’s a hate-filled Orlando shooter, a Brock Turner getting a tiny slap on the wrist in the Stanford rape case, millions of scared and small-minded people who would rather tank their economy than allow a Muslim or a Mexican to cross “their” (in some cases stolen) borders. We can’t sweep this under the rug or look the other way much longer…which, while also inconvenient, is a wakeup call we can’t ignore.” – Ophira Edut

“The key? Understand that what must fall away must do so without a net, leaving behind a liminal space—a gap. Understanding that we must make friends with this vortex of uncertainty while the old is cleared and the new is being created. And despite all of our impulses otherwise, we must enter into this space with optimism and a sense of excitement, because here is the opportunity of a lifetime to create something new on a massive scale. This process is not for wimps. It’s easier to criticize and despair. Yet it’s our challenge and our charge to visualize and create a now and a future that is more evolved and humanitarian across the board.” – Felicia Bender

“Stay tuned for how this plays out, as the Sun in Cancer will come into its yearly opposition to Pluto in Capricorn July 1st, reminding us that what brings us comfort can also at times hinder out ability to grow. No matter how much is perceived to be at stake these days, the astrology of the times reminds us that it’s all for the sake of transformation.” – Hannah Ariel

5 SIGNS I NEEDED A SPIRITUALITY DETOX

Posted on by Victoria Cox

When your practice becomes a crutch it could be time for a spirituality detox, says Victoria Cox. Artwork: Elayne Safir

Elayne Safir

I’ve been fascinated with the esoteric side of life since I was a little girl, but in recent years I’ve been delving a little deeper. Kundalini yoga, tarot, energy healing, astrology, crystals, meditation. You name it, I’ve probably tried it.

And lately I began to notice that whenever life got more intense, I would lean a little harder on these practices.

I’d pull a tarot card every day (okay, sometimes several), check five or more astrology sites religiously, and my morning meditation schedule became a non-negotiable. To the point I began to wonder if, instead of utilizing these practices to gain a deeper meaning of life, I was using them to numb out. After all, I was no longer experiencing the blissful results and striking insights I’d encountered initially. Simply put, the whole thing was starting to make me feel neurotic.

So, what was a girl to do?

In a twist of irony, my question was actually answered during an energy healing session. After listening to me whinge about how I was working so hard on myself yet my anxiety levels were creeping higher, I was informed I was being put on a month-long “spirituality detox.” In short, it was time to cut the woo-woo and get grounded.

Here are the five signs that showed me I was in need of a spirituality detox. If anything sounds familiar, you might decide to join me…

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A daily practice becomes a daily obsession
For me this was Kundalini meditation. At first, the results were impressive; I was calmer throughout the day and found myself less likely to get sucked into life’s dramas. Yet, as external challenges mounted, I became more rigid about my practice. I had to do it no matter what.

There were mornings where I woke up tired yet pushed myself through the practice, counting the seconds until I was finished. My morning “meditation” was beginning to feel more like bootcamp, and I was no longer enjoying it. As a result, the benefits I’d experienced when practicing from a place of reverence, began to ebb away.

Pursuing spirituality for personal gain
Over time I’d acquired a toolbox of sorts to deal with life’s rough patches. If was feeling anxious, I journaled about my feelings. If I was feeling uninspired, I meditated. If I wanted to create something new in my life, I would use visualization techniques.

These tools were extremely helpful in getting me through hard times, but I was starting to use them in the good times too, to satisfy my ego desires—opposed to spiritual yearnings. And then when life didn’t go exactly the way I wanted it to, I became angry. I realized that in using these practices this way, I was buying into the idea that the the Universe somehow “owed me”—and was mystically designed to reward selfishness, when actually the opposite is true.

Self-helping vs. self-medicating
I noticed a pattern of behavior that went something like this: waking up after a boozy night out I’d feel a familiar sense of self-loathing about having drunk too much. To alleviate these feelings, I would head straight to a yoga class to clear my head.

Feeling better about myself, I would then come home and have a glass of wine—undoing all the good work I’d done in class! I was essentially using my practice as a quick-fix means to feel better in the moment while ignoring the real issue (why I’d drunk too much again)—instead of a way to learn about myself on a deeper level.

Searching for the next spiritual fix
Living in New York, there are a classes and workshops offering every spiritual answer under the cosmos. Energy healing; Chakra cleansing; Past-life regression. You name it, it’s here. While this is wonderful in many ways, I noticed how the sheer abundance of choice made it feel like there was always one more thing to try.

I began to convince myself that I needed to do every treatment, attend every event. I was treating these revered spiritual arts like a mass consumer, always looking for more instead of stopping and simply asking myself what I was trying to heal.

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Spiritual neurosis
I discovered that my motives were becoming completely anti-spiritual, as I indulged in a sort of metaphysical materialism. Over time my beloved practices had morphed from a source of comfort into a supposedly mystical way to manifest my worldly desires.

Instead of wanting to go to a sound-bath at the end of the week to relax, I felt I had to go—or I would be missing out on some great revelation about myself. I wasn’t. I was living my life wrapped up within my ego’s neuroses instead of living from my heart.

***

Once I saw clearly how I was misappropriating my spiritual practice, I asked my energy healer what I needed to do.

Her prescription?

No mind-altering substances (i.e. alcohol) for 30 days. Stop reading or engaging with all esoteric information. Cease all meditation. Stop all energy practices or group healing

Instead?

Spend time on grounding activities such as house-cleaning. Practice intense cardio exercise. Sleep and rest. Spend time in nature. Take plenty of salt baths to detox the body and drink lots of water.

Initially it seemed like too big of a pill to swallow. But as I deleted my astrology and tarot apps from my phone I already began to feel lighter. When my alarm went off at 7am for my morning meditation I almost squealed with pleasure at the thought of sleeping for an thirty extra minutes. I relished the empty weeknights where I didn’t have some class to attend.

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I knew it was the right thing to be doing simply because it felt so damn good. I felt like a child taking a month off from a very strict boarding school. Admittedly the hardest part for me was not drinking alcohol; I didn’t partake during the week, but I’ll be honest and admit that I still dabbled, albeit lightly, some weekends.

And once the thirty days were up? There were some practices, such as Kundalini yoga, that I was dying to get back into—simply because they made me feel better. But there were others, like my incessant tarot card pulling, that no longer held any appeal.

Most importantly, my experience taught me far more about myself then I’d learned in my obsessive pursuit of all things Now Age. I learned that the spiritual path is a long and meandering one; that there are no quick fixes or shortcuts.

Most importantly it taught me to listen to my heart instead of my head, and to always ask myself if what I’m seeking is in service of enlightenment or egotism.

Have you had a similar experience to Victoria? Share your thoughts with the Numinous tribe Instagram and Facebook, or in the comments below…

SENSITIVE SOUL: WORK WITH A CANCER MOON SIGN

Posted on by Ash Bonelli

Tips and practices to help understand and work with your Cancer Moon sign from Ash Bonelli. Artwork: Prince Lauder via Behance.net

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The Moon represents the inner subconscious world that we usually only share with those we love and trust. It can show us our needs and how we care for others—and as such, our Moon sign (where the Moon falls in our birth chart) shows the style in which we express this softer side.

Work out your Moon sign, when you do you chart for free here.

The inner world of the Cancer Moon sign is a gentle, vulnerable and emotional landscape. The Moon rules the sign of Cancer so she feels quite at home in this sign making it easy to fully express her archetypal nature. When we think of the crab itself (the symbol for Cancer), we see the hard protective shell on the outside but know there is nothing but softness on the inside. A small being that carries its sanctuary on its back so it can feel at home wherever it goes.

These themes symbolize the Cancer Moon sign. You can put on a brave face, but deep down you feel EVERYTHING. You usually cry easily and really experience the emotions of any particular situation or environment you happen to be in. This Moon is very in tune with its intuition, thoughts and feelings—so much so you sometimes forget that not everything is always about you. Being sensitive is great, until it isn’t and you become resentful and hide away in your shell. There is a fine balance to be found with the Cancer Moon sign.

Taking care of others usually makes you quite happy, but when it goes unappreciated or the care isn’t returned you can get quite hurt. And so Cancer Moons are often working on expressing their needs. Working on being vocal about this is really important, as you can get so lost in taking care of others that you end up with the short end of the stick.

Fear of getting hurt is very real for you for you, mainly since being hurt in love, for example, you may feel it more deeply than others. Honestly, unless you live under a rock, you will be familiar with this pain and what it can do to you. So this is a genuine fear, but not one that should stop you from receiving love.

Often times the Cancer Moon sign is associated with the mother, and rightfully so—since both Cancer and the Moon represent this energy. But not every Cancer Moon sign wants to be a parent. The mother archetype is actually about nurturing and caring for others, offering tender love and support, and this can be applied to anything in life. Your career, your pets, your friends, your home or your hobbies. You can channel this inner need to love into anything and it will be fulfilling, just as long as you let others love you back so there is a sense of balance in your life.

Below are some suggestion to connect more to your sweet Cancer Moon sign, and make the most of its intuitive expression…

:: ACTIVE LISTENING ::
The Cancer Moon sign has a tendency to feel first when engaging with others. This can go badly if you what you intuitively pick up about someone is incorrect, which can shape the relationship in the wrong direction. You can get your feelings hurt because you feel you know what they “really meant.” But assumption is really dangerous, since it can lead to un-founded resentment which can turn into distance.

This can be easily avoided if you work on listening to what they are actually saying, rather than simply feeling into their energy. If assumption-based feelings occur take the time to ask questions to gain further insight. Use your nurturing nature to engage in a more open conversation. This way you aren’t incorrectly just reading (or rather feeling) between the lines.

:: SANCTUARY ::
All Cancer Moon signs need a place to retreat. They need a space to feel safe and secure where they can let all of their emotions out without judgement. This doesn’t need to be an entire home or apartment either. It could be one room, or even a space within a room. Maybe a meditation pillow with a small altar if this practice speaks to you.

It could also be a certain location, such as your favorite park or beach. For some it could be a place from your childhood. The Cancer Moon sign can be very nostalgic so places that awaken happy memories really warm your heart.

:: NURTURE ::
Find something to nurture in your life that isn’t another person. The need to express care is innate, but you can get burned out if this means attracting energy vampires. Needy people love the sweet lunar crab, for you will always try to help solve the problems they should be dealing with on their own. And so learn to be selective.

Finding a hobby that will reward your nurturing with feelings of worth and accomplishment is such a good idea. Think gardening, or cooking, working with animals, or becoming a beekeeper. What do you want to be good at that requires time, nurturance and patience? Find something that makes your heart feel good and you will bring some emotional balance back into your life.

:: INTUITIVE PROTECTION ::
Being that you are such an intuitive, maybe even psychically gifted person, you need to work on protecting your energy. Otherwise it’s likely people will energetically take from you until you are totally drained. This can make you feel vulnerable in an unhealthy way.

Begin by taking time each morning to visualize yourself being cleansed by white healing light. Just a simple shower before (or even during!) your regular shower. Then imagine a bubble of light surrounding you, which people can only enter into when invited by you. It can be any color that you love.

These are your mental and energetic guards for the day ahead. You could also burn some sage in your space before your start your day or make a healing spray with essential oils to mist yourself with. Anything that  creates an energetic boundary between you and the world will help.

Also, be present to when you feel depleted. What was going on? Who were you around? Sometimes the best defense is creating literal space between you and the people or situations that take advantage of you.

Above all, may you find comfort in your innate ability to be vulnerable—and use it to show others the strength in letting down our guard in a world that needs it more than ever before.

HOLY F*CK: SIX WAYS TO SEXUAL HEALING

Posted on by Alexandra Roxo

The sexual dysfunction on our planet is DEEP, says Alexandra Roxo—time to address our collective second chakra problems. PLUS six ways to begin your own sexual healing journey…Additional images: Instagram.com/look_at_this_pussy 

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The last month has been a head-slam-against-the-wall of a reminder of our modern world’s second chakra problems—the shooting in Orlando, the Stanford rape cases…WTF. I’ve felt the weight of our planet’s dysfunctional relationship to sex and sexuality more than ever before. I’ve also heard people from around the world pour out their stories online during this time and come together in solidarity and sharing. This has been incredibly moving for me. So many people I know have been assaulted, abused, or experienced attempted assault or rape because of their sexuality, or simply because they are a woman.

Our planet’s sexual dysfunction is DEEP. It’s passed down from generation to generation, and we are all living with it in our DNA and in our bodies. This may manifest as strange and irregular menstrual cycles. Louise Hay says many STI’s are shame-related. So many women have trouble orgasming. You can’t post an image of a woman’s nipple on Instagram. All proof that sexual shame and general fucked-up-ness is still rampant.

And then there’s men’s sexual trauma. Most cis gendered men born in the US are mutilated the first day they’re alive on this planet! My friend Daniel Moglen has been doing workshops with the ManKind project in order to heal himself and his relationship to his own masculinity: “What pains and angers me about my circumcision is the fact that the opportunity to experience deeper sexual pleasure was taken from me (violently!) without my consent within the first few days of entering this world. And that this is such a normalized process in our culture,” he says.

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Male genital mutilation is archaic. Its barbarian. And it’s accepted. As well as the supressed anger many men have about this, in a recent podcast sexpert Jaiya discusses how it could even be a reason many men have no rhythm: their hip energy froze out of trauma. WHOA. As a feminist who can be quick to blame things on the patriarchy, lately I’ve been accepting that this early sexual assault on many cismen could be behind a lot of sexual aggression.

And we haven’t even BEGUN to discuss global sex trafficking, female genital mutilation, systemic rape. The list goes on. So are we just…fucked?

Well, it’s my personal belief that one of the answers to healing this insane deadening of the Earth’s sacral chakra is indeed that: Fucking. And cuming. As much as possible. In the most sacred of ways. I mean, John and Yoko knew what the fuck they were talking about!

As a queer woman who has been through my own second chakra traumas, I feel like I am doubly called to this mission: CUE MARVIN GAYE’s Sexual Healing. (Also this video.)

My friend Daniella Rabbani and I have even been working on a new project called “The Cuming and the Curious” which chronicles a West Village/Hamptons Jewish living married gal (Daniella) and a queer free spirit single gal (me) in search of better sex. And in this search we have discovered MANY sexual healing crusaders of note!

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Our fave sexpert is Kim Anami. Please watch this video. She believes that women all over the world are under-fucked—claiming that a stronger vagina and more orgasms keeps your body in better shape than 1000 pilates classes a week. She claims your depression will lift. Your ass will lift. You will radiate wellbeing. And she makes it a point to add: “This does not come from junk food sex. Only gourmet sex.” We are talking about a deeper sex. An orgasm that strikes you to the core. UM YES PLEASE.

Sexual energy has the power to heal you. Also to heal your lover. And the Earth. And yet avoiding or bottling up sexual energy is another form of dysfunction for 99% of people, and therefore society. See many Catholic priests, and how their vows of celibacy lead to sexual perversion.

On a physical level avoiding sex can also mean trouble. Depression. Weight gain. Endless snacking. When you have sex you wash cortisol out of your body, preventing belly fat. Your breasts also swell up to 25%. We are animals, people! And our bodies were made to be animalistic!

But what if you aren’t feeling like sex, or even masturbation, at all? Well, sorry to break it to ya but this means the energy simply isn’t flowing down there. It’s happened to me before and it sucks. Kim Anami says, if you aren’t getting wet for someone (including yourself!) then there is a dysfunction. She is anti-lube for that reason!

So how do we find sexual healing in this fucked up world, with it’s second chakra pain? We start with ourselves. Like Gandhi said. Like Rumi said. Like basically everyone said. So here goes…

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:: How To Begin Your Sexual Healing Journey ::

  1. Volunteer. I’ve been doing this since I was a pre-teen and it’s one of the most rewarding things on the planet. Find an LGBT youth center. A women’s shelter. A sex trafficking organization. Whatever touches you, give your time. It will heal you and also others in turn. Once a month or once a week just start doing it.
  2. Start a jade egg practice. I started using a jade egg when I saw Aislinn from Moon Root Yoni Eggs post about them on Insta, and immediately began feeling the power in my puss. You can get all sorts of stones for different kinds of healing—I got a red agate to bring the heat and I really feel it. Kim Anami is also pro-jade egg. She even adds a weight!
  3. Conscious touch and relating. If you’re in a relationship and haven’t been feeling sexy lately start slow, with some massage and conscious touching. And if you’re single, consider ways you can be touched that don’t involved you getting wasted and ending up in a stranger’s bed. Maybe it’s contact improv. Or trading massages with a hot guy. Or finding a tantric sexual practice. Or exploring touch with a friend (with some clear boundaries in place). Once you release social conditioning about touching and being touched the possibilities are endless.
  4. Movement. I am SO pro-movement. Daniella swears by Gyrotonic. I love 5Rhythms, dancehall, and hip hop. Move those hips.
  5. Sharing. Find a women’s circle where you can talk about your orgasms or lack thereof. Your sexual traumas. You desires. Or create one! THIS IS SO IMPORTANT. Carrying shame and guilt and secrets around sex can be really harmful to yourself, so find a way to let it all out in a safe space.
  6. Do your research. Read books. Watch videos. Learn about your body. Did you know that there are reflexology points in your pussy? That the cervix is connected to your heart, which is what makes orgasms from that space so opening? That tiny points on your clit are connected to your whole body? When you start to get to know it you’ll be like “Dang the left tip of my clit connects to my deep belly! WEIRD!” Educate yo’self!

Finally, I am guiding a weekly Virtual Women’s Circle to facilitate conversations about conscious sexual practice and healing. One hour a week on the phone, it’s totally anonymous (you can use a sexy pseudonym!) and anyone can dial in to ask questions and chat about sex and spirituality. Email me here to sign up.

Alexandra Roxo is an LA based filmmaker who also does one-on-one intuitive counsel, energy work sessions, and mentorship. Red more and contact her on alexandraroxo.com. Follow her on Insta here and read her past Numinous articles on Now Age love and sex here.

TRANSMUTING TRAGEDY: HOW TO WORK WITH SATURN SQUARE NEPTUNE

Posted on by Amelia Quint

The Saturn square Neptune astrology of the 17th century Salem Witch Trials is currently repeating. But beyond the cultural tension in the air, there is potential for great progress now too, says Amelia Quint…Artwork: Silvia Coco

saturn square neptune on The Numinous

For better or for worse, 2016 has been a year of change. With tragedy after tragedy it can feel impossible to make any sense of the zeitgeist, but this cultural climate has been building since 2015. Thanks to an astrological alignment of Saturn square Neptune, we’re all revising our belief systems.

What does that mean for you as an individual, and for our society as a whole?

:: WHAT IS SATURN SQUARE NEPTUNE? ::

Saturn and Neptune are both very powerful in their own rights. Saturn is the ruler of structure, responsibility, and karma. His mythology is complex, and he also had power to subvert social norms.

Meanwhile, Homer referred to Neptune’s Greek counterpart Poseidon as “Shaker of the Earth”—because the god’s volatile temper was known for causing earthquakes. Neptune was also “god of the deep”, and is associated with the unknown and unknowable aspects of life, including magic and spirituality.

Right now, Saturn is in Sagittarius. Sagittarius is associated with all forms of expansion—and so overseas travel, foreign cultures, philosophy, and religious beliefs are all Sagittarian pursuits, given take you outside your comfort zone in one way or another.

Saturn here is challenging the way we as individuals and a community view our own ideologies and those of others. He asks, “What do you believe in, and why?” Sometimes, we may not like the answer.

In addition, Neptune in Pisces is putting pressure on Saturn in the form of a square aspect. It’s a tough aspect, to be sure. And as a backdrop to current political and world events, it can feel like one step forward and two steps back. But history shows us this is not the case…

:: SIGN OF THE TIMES ::

Saturn square Neptune has been causing ideological clashes for nearly a millennia—and the 17th century alignment of Saturn in Sagittarius and Neptune in Pisces saw the Spanish Inquisition and Salem Witch Trials, both brutal regimes carried out in the name of religious belief. (An aside: It’s curious that Robert Eggar’s The Witch, set during that period, has had so much success during the same astrological lineup centuries later!)

Certainly ideology is a vital topic of discussion now. There has been progress and there has been adversity. As a resident of South Carolina, I felt the unspeakable sadness of the AME Church shooting in Charleston and celebrated the great victory for the black community that was removal of the Confederate flag from the SC Capitol grounds.

Only a few months later, the US Supreme Court ruled laws banning same sex marriage to be unconstitutional, effectively legalizing same sex marriage—something I thought might never happen in my highly conservative state. Outside of the US, Ireland legalized same sex marriage as well.

Then there are the acts of violence that we have become all too familiar with—the Charlie Hebdo shooting, the ISIL shootings at Bataclan and throughout Paris, bombings at Brussels airport in Belgium, and most recently, the shooting at Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando.

To list them all at once is a pain too acute to bear, but is necessary in order to acknowledge the common thread: that these are attacks on and because of belief.

They are intended to instill fear and feelings of otherness. But what we have seen at every turn is that humanity refuses to succumb to fear and doubt, and holds instead to the belief that “love is love is love”.

Truly, this is the axis of Sagittarius and Pisces in its most heart-wrenchingly beautiful form—a invitation to use the Sagittarian freedoms of speech, religion, and love to conquer hate and to heal the world around us with selfless Piscean empathy.

:: CULTURAL METAMORPHOSIS ::

If you look just beneath the conflicts, you’ll see that Saturn square Neptune is also a catalyst for incredible advancement in culture and spirituality. The 14th century Saturn in Sagittarius square to Neptune in Pisces saw the denouement of the High Renaissance in the West, including the building of the Royal Library at the Louvre in Paris.

Petrarch also wrote his collection of sonnets during this time, altering the poetic form for centuries to come. In the East, the powerful Ming dynasty assumed control and began construction on the Great Wall of China, one of the great wonders of the world.

These squares are also known for being portals for mystical revelations and supernatural events. An extremely rare alignment of Venus and Jupiter called an “occult” occurred during the 12th century square, and Halley’s comet was observed during the 16th century square. During last year’s square, NASA announced the existence of liquid water on Mars, which brings the possibility of life beyond of Earth closer than ever.

The Divine Feminine also seems to resurface during Saturn-Neptune squares, despite being suppressed throughout much of Western history.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, perhaps the most famous Marian apparition in the history of the Catholic Church, appeared during the 16th century square. In that same period, famous occultist Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa wrote De nobilitate et praecellentia foeminae sexus (On the Nobility and Excellence of the Feminine Sex), making a huge contribution to the modern magical understanding of femininity.

In the same way, feminine spirituality has experienced a massive renaissance in pop culture and fashion over the last year—and, for the first time, in America we have the opportunity to vote in a female President.

:: HOW TO WORK WITH THE ENERGY OF SATURN SQUARE NEPTUNE ::

The best way to collaborate with this vibe is to know where Saturn and Neptune are transiting in your natal chart. If you don’t know where Sagittarius and Pisces are in your chart, you can calculate your chart here.

Once you know what houses are being activated for you personally, focus on transforming your beliefs in those areas for amazing results.

  • Wherever Saturn is transiting is where you need more structure and stability. Are your current methods and belief systems working for you? If not, how can you realign them to feel more free?
  • Wherever Neptune is transiting is where you need to heal and take a spiritual approach. Is there a dream, message, or vision you want to share with the world?

Finally, give yourself the time and space you need to process any feelings that come up. These are challenging times, and an extra focus on self-care is required. Write, rest, or do whatever else helps you feel whole again. While you’re at it, see if someone near and dear to you needs some extra love too.

The exact dates of Saturn in Sagittarius square Neptune in Pisces are: 26 November 2015, 18 June 2016, 10 September 2016.

MATERIAL GIRL MYSTICAL WORLD: ANA DEE OF THE MOON CULT

Posted on by Ruby Warrington

Ana Dee is the fierce cult leader at controversial alien outfitters The Moon Cult. She talks girl power, hand tattoos, and stylish self-defense with Ruby Warrington…

Ana Dee, a.k.a. Cult Leader interview on The Numinous
Ana Dee, a.k.a. Cult Leader

The Numinous: Why should every girl embrace her inner alien?
Ana Dee: I struggled with searching for a label that fit me in the past, and came to realize I couldn’t pinpoint just one. So to me, being an “alien” means you don’t fit any mold, and our following is a sisterhood that relates to this mentality. At The Moon Cult we take pride in being ourselves and offering clothing to girls who are comfortable in their own alien skin. For some, accepting your differences is a life-long journey—but when you choose to love and accept yourself, it’s much easier to love and accept others.

TN: What’s your definition of girl power?
AD: Girl power to me is the feeling that you can take on this world and everyone in it, while exuding hella confidence. This means no doubts, no fears, and ambitious thinking. The girl power mindset at The Moon Cult means that we won’t take shit from anyone and we won’t take no for an answer. Being young and being a woman is hard enough, but with a ‘lil girl power, you can accomplish anything.

TN: Why do you sell self-defense items? Isn’t that promoting violence?
AD: Our customer wants killer protection to match their killer style, and The Moon Cult offers a huge selection for the tough girls. You can never be too careful and we cherish the opportunity to help prevent any harm on anyone. We make sure that all of our posts and products do not promote violence, and explain in every listing that the weapon’s purpose is to protect, or for decoration. When making a weapons purchase with us are also agreeing to your state laws and our privacy terms.

Ana Dee's hand tattoo on The Numinous
Ana’s hand tattoo

TN: What’s been the most empowering experience of your life—why?
AD: Getting my hand tattooed was an empowering experience for many reasons. One, I did it for me and no one else. Two, it was to prove to myself that I would never conform to a government job, and would self-manifest my own future.

Knowing well that the tattoo would prevent future employment at many places, it represented that I was successfully running my own business and didn’t have to think about a “plan b” anymore. When you work for yourself, you can wear what you want, dye your hair, have long nails, and most importantly, BE YOURSELF.

TN: What makes you cult leader material?!
AD: I feel that so many girls can relate to my lifestyle, and my experiences, and I try to be as open as possible with the struggle and hardship I’ve faced to show girls that it’s possible to overcome anything and create their own destiny. Particularly due to the vicious and endless cycle of social media judgment I’ve experienced.

I also often feel like the “mom” to most of my friends, even being the youngest of the bunch! I simply want to take care of everyone around me and make others happy. I definitely put others’ happiness before my own, and feel this is part of my purpose on this planet.

We got a look into the mystical world of this badass material girl!

:: MATERIAL GIRL ::

My label: Wildfox

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Dress, $161, Wildfox

My shoes: Jeffrey Campbell

bernice Loafers, $135, Jeffrey Campbell
Loafers, $135, Jeffrey Campbell

My fragrance: YSL Black Opium

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YSL Black Opium, $90-$115

My jewels: Swarovski

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Cuff, $199, Swarovski

My pampering: A weekly massage

My home: Condo

My food: GMO-free is the way to be!

:: MYSTICAL WORLD ::

My awakening: Yoga, tea, emails

My sign: Scorpio, can’t you tell?

My mantra: “Expect nothing, appreciate everything.”

My healer: Mother Nature

My reading: Art of Seduction: An Indispensible Primer on the Ultimate Form of Power

My transformation: Building a thick skin

My mission: To spread love and inspire others

Shop the collection at TheMoonCult.com

Tie-dye halter onesie, $35, TheMoonCult.com on The Numinous
Tie-dye halter onesie, $35, TheMoonCult.com

CURIOUS COMMUNICATOR: WORK WITH A GEMINI MOON SIGN

Posted on by Ash Bonelli

Tips and practices to help understand and work with your Gemini Moon sign from Ash Bonelli. Artwork: Prince Lauder via Behance.net

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The Moon represents what we need in life to feel safe, secure, and how we need to be nurtured, and understanding your Moon’s requirements can help you connect deeper to your more private self. When you have a bad day or are just feeling “off” you want to tap into your Moon. She is the cosmic mother and learning more about the sign where she sits in your birth chart, can reveal so much about your internal landscape.

Work out your Moon sign, when you do you chart for free here.

The Gemini Moon sign is forever curious. She wants to learn about anything and everything. This Moon loves to engage and communicate, since Gemini is a mutable air sign that needs mental stimulation and variety. When things become stagnant the restless demons set in—and so keeping things moving in life is key.

Depending on the rest of your chart, these behaviors/tendencies may express in a need to always have light and breezy conversations. You enjoy gathering data, processing it and then moving on to the next interesting person, subject or experience. This flitting about keeps things upbeat and interesting yet can have a downside.

The Gemini Moon sign is learning to also go deep. It’s about finding some balance between superficial experiences and really getting to know yourself and others on a more intimate level. Because of this Moon’s voracious appetite for new information, you can come across fickle or insincere if this expression is out of balance.

This analytical moon usually symbolizes a gifted speaker, writer or teacher. Since you are always gathering information you put it to good use by sharing it with others, and this exchange of thoughts, ideas and insights can be quite soothing for you. The give and take is the thrill that propels you forward to find more.

This is a delightful quality that makes you fun to chat with, as well as being able to turn a negative emotional situation into a happier one. The Gemini Moon sign is clever and witty, so having an innate emotional tie to these abilities can bring true fulfillment through expression.

Just make sure to keep the input and output in check or you will never be able to get to your deeper self. There can be an avoidance of darker undercurrents if you don’t allow yourself time to really feel your feelings, which may mean missing out on the beauty of vulnerability.

Below are some suggestions to bring some balance back to your energetic moon as well as ways to emphasize it. These are meant to empower and bolster your emotional wellbeing to be at your best!

:: FOCUS ::
Zero in on a project that you have to stay committed to—anything that will require you to stick to it long enough to actually become proficient at it. Since Gemini is placed in the linguistic camp you could learn a new language. Mercury being Gemini’s ruler is associated with dexterity so you could learn to play an instrument. The other benefit of this for you emotionally, is that once you’ve mastered this new interest you then get to share it, creates a beautiful cyclical effect for your heart, and your Gemini Moon sign.

:: BREATHWORK ::
Learning to control your responses in more hectic situations could be very healing—and one way is with the simple art of breathing. Try practicing the 2:1 ratio breath, in which increasing the length of your exhalation helps to relax your parasympathetic nervous system. Start by breathing through the nose in your natural way without counting. Then after a few rounds begin to breath in for a count of two, and exhaling for four. Work your way up to deeper breaths from there, and try doing 10 rounds the next time you begin feeling the frazzled.

:: MINDFULNESS ::
In the simplest terms, this simply means being aware and in the present moment without judgement—actually quite hard, since the Gemini Moon sign is often stuck between wondering what the future holds and dwelling on the past. Finding a meditation practice that works for you is key, and if sitting still is just too much for you try doing a walking meditation, which will burn up any restlessness through mindful movement. You could also try Qi Gong—which covers practices from the gentle Tai Chi to the more fierce option, Kung Fu. Potentially a healing double whammy, helping you to focus and be more in the moment while still satisfying the need to learn and grow.

TEMPLE OF VENUS: A GUIDE TO WATER MAGIC

Posted on by Elyssa Jakim

In her latest Temple of Venus column, Elyssa Jakim embraces her inner mermaid with a guide to water magic…

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Water is perhaps my number one healer and teacher, since I have experienced so much magic with this element. Many moons ago, in deep meditation, I heard clearly: “You are a water witch.” That was my title.

Do you feel at home in water? Do you ever think you must have been a mermaid? Are you thirsty to step into your water witchiness? Are you a water witch too?

Last fall, I journeyed to the Pacific Northwest and found myself in the company of some serious water stewards—more water witches! At the Pacific Women’s Herbal Conference, Lorraine Bayes held a water ceremony and I felt as though I were home. Then in Oregon, I found the magical Camilla Blossom Bishop through word of mouth. When we met, she told me she was teaching a course about how to be a water healer. I was being led back to water again.

With Camilla, I learned how to conduct a water ceremony, and how to fully honor this element. The capstone of this experience was a ritual in which I floated in a chemical free salt pool that held water from around the world. Once again, I felt that I was home. I emerged radiant and resplendent. And now it’s your turn.

Here’s my guide to water magic, whatever element you call your own.

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:: DRINK LOVE WATER ::

Here’s a message for you, channeled from Venus herself (remember she was born of the water):

Charge your water with love! In 1999, Dr. Masaru Emoto famously taught the world that water molecules hold the vibration of the thought one applies them. If you hold water with the intention of love, water crystals make a beautiful shape. If you hold it with fear or anger, they make jaggedy, almost viscerally painful shapes.

The sum of this is: we drink what we think! So, how can you love up your water?

Here’s what Camilla taught me: put the water in a beautiful vessel. Breathe into your heart and feel its loving sweetness. Imagine the love from your heart moving into the pitcher or cup. Imagine that this water is being fully purified into its highest, most optimal, healthy state. Now, get creative! Sing to your water, listen to beautiful music, add flower essences and crystals. Then drink up the nectar of life. Take joyful sips. This is very subtle, but your water will taste better and it will fill your body, soul, and mind with love. Water is thought to be the first medicine, so let yours heal you.

:: BATHE IT IN ::

When I was a little girl, I used to dunk my head in the bath water, sing, and swish my hair to and fro, believing I was a mermaid. Past life recall perhaps?

Bathing is an ancient practice for health, rejuvenation and beauty. The tranquility and solitude of the bath make it a perfect way to practice self-love and self-care. The bath lets us reset and get to know ourselves very deeply. I like to think of water as feeling—and as such, bathing allows us to pay homage to our emotional state. The water holds us like the womb. It also helps us to know our sensual and sensitive sides.

As far as practical magic goes, bathing is one of the most effective aura cleansers there is. The water we bathe in holds our emotions, thoughts, and physical tension, which are able to release down the drain. If you think you’ve been picking up a lot of other people’s stuff, or just want to clear and reset, put sea salt, Epsom salt, and/or baking soda into your bath and let yourself be cleansed.

You can make your bath time even more powerful by creating a theme for your bath. One example is Mermaid Paradise: Put hibiscus and lily flowers in your bath with sea stones, shells, blue and green candles, and your favorite essential oil. Or how about a Yummy Goddess Heart Bath? Rose petals, rose water, rose quartz, Himalayan sea salts, soft tea-light candles and music.

When you’re ready to drain your bath, see anything and everything that’s not serving you wash away.

:: GET BLESSED ::

One way to practice being a water witch, a water alchemist, and a true mermaid, is by helping to heal the waters of the Earth. The gorgeous thing here is that when you bless water you are being blessed in return. It’s a beautifully symbiotic relationship.

How can you experience this? Visit a body of water, and put your intention of love and healing into the water source. This means you can sing to the water. You can tell it your hopes and dreams. You can put loving words into it like “peace, beauty, love, tranquility, and gratitude.” You can make a wish into the water. You can tell your water source how beautiful she looks. You can bring her flowers or another such gift. It sounds like what we do with the drinking water, right? It’s all one, my darling.

Another way to bless water is to find a water deity you connect to—I love Yemaya, Venus (duh!), and mermaids. Call upon this divine being and ask to connect with her. Breathe all your love into the water with the help of your divine team.

Whatever your method, after you send your love into the water, stand back as something miraculous happens. The water will send love back to you. This might feel like a wave of love or positive energy. Or it might feel like nothing at all. But it will happen. Your subtlest of energies will sense it. And because “water is feeling,” don’t be surprised if you come over quite emotional.

***

In embracing water magic, I salute you on your journey back to your mermaid self. May these suggestions open the door to your own discovery of who you really are. Report back with your tales!

Elyssa will be holding a water ceremony at our Numinous “Re-write Your Love Story” retreat at Maha Rose North. Book with a friend before June 17 and you’ll each qualify for $50 of— email [email protected] to enquire about this early bird discount.

For more information on Elyssa’s offerings (including custom baths!), visit elyssajakim.com.

Need more Venus inspiration? Check out Elyssa’s last Temple of Venus column on body image.

10 WAYS TO BE A UNICORN

Posted on by George Lizos

Bring forth the most authentic you and basically BE a Unicorn, says George Lizos…

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“They said I could be anything, so I became a unicorn!”

What if I told you this popular Unicorn quote actually has a literal meaning, and your fascination with Unicorns is your subconscious way of expressing that?

The Unicorn represents happiness, fulfillment, and abundance—and paradoxically, the Unicorn’s strength, purity, and poise are also qualities we possess already, and through which our talents, abilities, and personality are expressed.

Elsewhere in our world, the Unicorn is said to refer to something that’s different and unique. Yet, different and unique are not the same as authentic. And it is authenticity that leads to happiness, abundance and fulfillment, not uniqueness. Uniqueness needs to be manufactured. Authenticity comes naturally.

Lightworkers’ fascination with Unicorns shows that we’re finally in the process of getting this! We’re in the process of reclaiming our Unicorn souls. To complete this, we need to replace our desire to be unique, with a desire to be authentically US. Which in turn holds the key to following and fulfilling our life purpose.

Here are 10 simple ways to reclaim the authentic, awakened, balanced unicorn you really are:

  1. Wear your imaginary alicorn: The alicorn, or Unicorn’s horn, symbolizes awakened intuition. By visualizing yourself wearing an imaginary alicorn, you work with the Unicorn energy to clear and empower your third-eye chakra. This is the portal through which spirit flows, to guide you in taking a balanced approach.
  2. Breathe into your heart: Your heart is where your Unicorn soul resides. Found between your masculine lower-body and feminine upper-body chakras, your heart chakra acts like a control centre, monitoring the information emitted by your other chakras and feeding it to your Unicorn soul, to help it provide accurate guidance. Consciously breathing into your heart clears blockages here, and helps facilitate this process.
  3. Allow yourself to be vulnerable: Vulnerability breaks down walls of pretense, and allows your authentic self to surface. Have weekly vulnerability dates where you consciously encourage yourself to get real with what’s going on in your life, express suppressed emotions, and allow yourself to feel them fully.
  4. Shower yourself in rainbow light: Rainbow light contains all the colors of your seven chakras, thus showering yourself in rainbow light is a quick and easy way to clear both your masculine and feminine chakras, to find balance. Do this while literally in the shower, and use the flow of water symbolically to empower your visualization.
  5. Schedule blank space: Most people are imbalanced towards their masculine side. We’re all about going for it, working it, making it happen, and have forgotten how to chill out, take it easy, and trust the Universe to take care of things. To rebuild your feminine energies, consciously schedule time in your day, week, month, and year, to mindfully plan yin activities (i.e. “do” less and “be” more) to cultivate more balance.
  6. Take uneasy action: If you’re imbalanced towards your feminine side and tend to procrastinate a lot, schedule time to take uneasy action towards your life purpose. This is action that is attainable but feels uncomfortable, meaning you must push yourself to grow.
  7. Dance: Don’t let the simplicity of this one mask its effectiveness in reclaiming your Unicorn soul! Your body is a physical extension of your Unicorn soul, and by shifting your attention out of your mind and into your body through dance, you encourage the flow of your soul’s energy, letting it move you into a balanced state.
  8. Drink alicorn water: In the Middle Ages, the Unicorn’s horn was believed to help neutralize poisons and purify water to create antidotes to most ailments. While wearing your imaginary alicorn, use it to channel sparkling white light into a glass of natural mineral water. Drinking this alicorn-infused water will infuse your body with Unicorn energy, allowing your balanced Unicorn soul to rise naturally.
  9. Do authenticity checks: To check if you’re faking uniqueness or being authentic on a particular decision, check in with your heart. Visualize yourself following through with a decision while having your hand on your heart. If your heart expands in agreement, you’re being authentic. If it contracts in disapproval, you’re faking uniqueness and need to take a more authentic approach.
  10. Create a unicorn altar: Honour your newfound perspective of Unicorns by instilling it in your everyday space. Having a physical reminder of your Unicorn soul in your house is a powerful way to train your subconscious to living the Unicorn way. Use Unicorn statues, flower essences, and candles to add texture in your altar, and celebrate finally capturing your Unicorn self!

george lizos be a unicorn on the numinousGeorge Lizos is a Spiritual Life Coach, the author of Be The Guru and the creator of Unicorn Bootcamp: Find Balance, Discover Your Gifts, and Fulfil Your Life Purpose. George empowers people to stop idolising spiritual teachers and become their own gurus. To learn more visit www.georgelizos.com 

THE NUMEROLOGY OF 6/6

Posted on by Felicia Bender

Turn your attention towards your relationships and utilize the numerology of 6/6, says Felicia Bender…

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The numerology of 6/6 offers a dynamic gateway of energy centered on love and relationships.

In Numerology, the number 6 is the nurturer. Its energy is all about unconditional love, service, responsibility, justice, the home, and beauty.

On the flipside, the challenges this vibe brings can be unhealthy perfectionism, self-righteousness, and unyielding control.

So how do we maximize this portal of dynamic energy at our fingertips on 6/6?

It’s a day to consider our point of view about love. Does our version of love feel like Vance Joy’s in This Mess Is Mine—“When you think of love do you think of pain?” Or are you coming from a more of an “all you need is love” perspective?

This is to say: How does love show up for you, and how do you show up for love? 

Through the numerology of 6/6 we can see ourselves more clearly in terms of what our responsibility is—and has been—in our relationships. It’s a moment where we can choose to relinquish all the “shoulds” that swim around in our heads: “I should be married by now,” or “He shouldn’t do it that way,” or “I should have known better.”

Any should that comes up in relation to love—it’s a day to rethink it. To reimagine  it. And to change it, recalibrate it, and revise it. Also, to take off any distorting “rose colored” glasses and give ourselves—and others—a break.

All the number 6 wants is to love and be loved in return. Yet what stands in the way of this simple yet driving need? Unyielding judgment stands in the way. Unrealistic idealism stands in the way. The inability to forgive stands in the way.

The numerology of 6/6 brings a great day to energetically and actively intend to worry a bit less. Its energy bolsters your efforts to “let go and let love” in the truest, most unconditional sense.  We might be moved to actively write a note of forgiveness to our ex (and to ourselves in the process), burn it, and let it go.

Or w might decide that we will never again bring up that time that s/he did that horrendous, unforgiveable thing to our intimate partner whenever we get into a fight. We may decide to make a pact to tend to ourselves as diligently as we attend to others.

The numerology of 6/6 can act like a platform for self-realization when we allow ourselves to open the heart and witness our hurts spill out onto the floor—almost like the materials you might use to create a beautiful, textured, and colorful collage.  Allow the energy of the day to support you in taking responsibility for yourself, your actions, and your responses within all relationships.

SELF-ENQUIRY BY SIGN FOR THE GEMINI NEW MOON

Posted on by Hannah Ariel

A reading for the Gemini New Moon – PLUS the essential questions for each sign to journal with, to make the most of the cosmic energy…By Hannah Ariel

gemini new moon 2016 the numinous

“Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dialectic between the two.”
–Octavio Paz

Gemini is easily misunderstood. We use words like “tricky” and “flighty” and “fickle” to explain this sign’s ability to weave in and out of worlds of ideas, concepts, and even illusions. But replace these words with ARTFUL, playful, adjustable, and you get a picture of the kind of magical thinking, the sheer ingenuous creativity that is Gemini.

With the moon in Gemini, we are naturally oriented to move between intellectual realities—and yet for all our mental processing, the conscious expression of this astrological placement would be to arrive at something that resembles a decision; a perspective; a point of reference.

This year’s Gemini New Moon (June 5th at 15 degrees) is an opportunity to get CLEAR about what to do next, particularly in regard to our personal CREATIVITY. Our relationship to our creativity and our relationships to the people who either bring the juiciness out or just suck the fun out of it will also be highlighted.

Prior to the Moon and the Sun joining forces, Venus will have been moving alongside the Sun in Gemini all week to clarify a connection between what we think we want, what kinds of interaction our personality craves, and if we are living this truth.

Venus in Gemini isn’t as sentimental as it is logical. Information is valued. Ideas are valued. The sensible application of the two is valued. At this time, it will seem like simple logic to do away with what no longer tickles your fancy. Seriously. If you’re not being stimulated, excited, and delighted, then it’s a time to think about why, and which part of your personality is being ignored.

This Gemini New Moon is also precipitated by a GRAND MUTABLE CROSS. What the heck is that? Why does it matter? What will it mean?! Well, to get technical about it, this cross is a squaring of energy—a confrontation so to speak—of four planets in all four mutable signs: Sun/Venus/Moon in Gemini in opposition to Saturn in Sagittarius meets Jupiter in Virgo in opposition to Neptune in Pisces. PHEW!

This configuration is not meant to confuse but to bring you closer to what is, what isn’t and what will continue to be true for you. A Grand Cross asks us to deal with conflicting realities head on to create one NEW one. Unsettling? Sure. Scary? No. Just be prepared to make BIG decisions this summer…decisions that will carry you into a whole new creative cycle.

In beginning this self-enquiry, included below are some questions to aid you in a journaling ritual this Gemini New Moon. Engage. Keep it real with yourself. And keep in mind, with Neptune about to go retrograde June 13, your answers may not appear logical to anyone but you—so simply follow your OWN intuition.

This your opportunity to clear the decks, to create as much clarity as possible, and make room for some brilliant breakthroughs.

*These are suggestions for your SUN SIGN. However, if you know which house in your chart the New Moon will take place in, take this into consideration too.

**As much as Gemini rules writing and self-reflective journaling it also rules conversation. Cerebral discussions, heart-to-hearts, and astrological and/or tarot consultations of all kinds are favored right now. The key is to make this energy work FOR you, so don’t get dragged around by the universe. Get in the middle of it. Think about it. DO something about it.

:: ARIES :: 
Where am I channeling my mental energy? Where am I getting lost in mindless chatter? How can I speak more of my truth? What mental myths need to be dismantled? How can I see the bigger picture, and why it is so important for me to trust my intuition right now?

:: TAURUS :: 
How am I spending my time? How can I re-organize my priorities to align with my values? To what extent am I aware of my financial reality, and do I recognize where I need to depend more on my own resourcefulness?

:: GEMINI :: 
Am I always tapping into ways of doing my own unique thing? Where am I shutting down in fear of being heard or seen? Who am I placing too much value in? With Sun/Moon/Venus in Gemini, it’s time to learn and love all of YOU.

:: CANCER :: 
What needs to be retrieved from my imagination? Where is my lack of faith? When did I stop believing in the impossible? Where am I living in a state of mistrust?

:: LEO :: 
Who truly inspires me? How can I be an inspiration to my friends? Where can I take the lead more, and when do I find myself blindly following along with others?

:: VIRGO :: 
Who am I finally and fully expanding into becoming? Do I see the beauty in the big changes and encounters that life has gifted me with? What am I taking for granted? Is it time to release my grip on something or someone?

:: LIBRA :: 
Where are the holes in my own belief system? How can I patch them up? What new lessons does my life want me to incorporate? Where do I stand on forgiveness?

:: SCORPIO :: 
When was the last time I let myself fall in love? Do I continue to value what the experience of love honestly offers me? When was the last time I gave myself permission to feel grounded and whole?

:: SAGITTARIUS :: 
Am I living up to my word? What have I become responsible for? Where can I lighten up my load? With Saturn in Sagittarius you may be taking on more than you need to. Consider: what structures serve me and which can I release?

:: CAPRICORN :: 
In what ways do I consider myself to be spiritual? Do I know how to take a time-out and spend time alone with myself? How does it feel to be in my body these days? Am I truly thriving and enjoying my day-to-day?

:: AQUARIUS :: 
What can I use to express myself creatively? How can I update my personal toolbox? Do I trust myself enough to truly honor and express my unique gifts? Who invigorates the deepest parts of me? Where am I being drained?

:: PISCES :: 
How can I feel more securely connected to my roots? Am I allowing myself to fully let go of memories and people who haunt me? What takes up space in my heart—and what can I let go? How am I sacrificing myself to please others?

To book a reading with Hannah Ariel contact: [email protected]

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