NUMINOUS TAROTSCOPES: NOVEMBER 2016

The Numinous Tarotscopes. Cast by Lindsay Mack, using The Starchild Tarot.

 

SCORPIO :: SCORPIO RISING – Eight of Swords, reversed

Happy birthday, sweet Scorpio! You are in your most shining element this month: rebirth. Novembcer leads us into the gate between autumn and winter; a sacred death cycle. For you, this time will be less about a death and more about the life that comes after it. You have been diligently moving through a soul shedding as of late—letting go, re-centering, and mastering your truth. It may not have felt that way to you, however. It may have felt like you were lost, a mess, or self-sabotaging. It has been something so much deeper than that, and now it is time to unfurl into what lies beyond—renewed, awake and aware.

Eight of Swords reversed holds the frequency of liberation from mental and emotional prisons, allowing you to walk through your life with a different world view. In other words, Scorpio: you’ve realized that the proverbial “prison door” has been unlocked the entire time. You’ve never been trapped, you’ve never had to plan an escape—you were free to leave at any time. This epiphany is what comes of being in Eight of Swords when not reversed. The reversal (which you are in this month) is the life after death. November’s invitation will be to rebirth yourself, like a phoenix from the ashes, into a more expanded, courageous life. It is a deeply empowering time, full of possibility, freedom and growth. The key will be for you to trust it—to step forward, leaving behind your smaller self.

Learning to trust the potential beyond olds pattern of feeling deeply stuck and small is a process that happens gently, over time. It is so important to practice compassionate self-acceptance as you expand this month. Most importantly, it is vital to have support. Be willing to speak up when those old fears and internal voices pop up; bring some light to the darkness, call in your council, and help yourself out. Remember: the unspoken patterning, thoughts and habits are the things that put us in jail in the first place. They rev up cycles of unintentional sabotage, secrets, and self-entrapment, leaving us confused, lost and stuck. You can rewire this by choosing to be seen in your vulnerability, Scorpio. Doing so will liberate you again and again, helping you to see clearly, allowing you to take proactive steps in the direction of your vision and dreams. You just have to take the first step.

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

SAGITTARIUS :: SAGITTARIUS RISING – Six of Crystals

Your cup runneth over this month, Sagittarius. What a sweet frequency to be moving through! In Six of Crystals, or Pentacles, we actually achieve a new level of balance by giving. This card heralds a time of personal blessings, gifts and energy; we have so much that we are able and happy to give some away. November is not only about enjoying the newly abundant energy that will be available to you, but about learning to give, listen and serve only when there is an overflow in your life. This is not selfish—this is wisdom. Showing up from this place of overflow assures that both you and the other person will be nourished by the exchange. The more you give, the more you will be filled up. It is a gorgeous circle of sacred replenishment.

The two keys to Six of Pentacles are balance and trust. In the Smith-Rider-Waite imagery of this card, a rich man is seen giving gold coins to two happy and grateful beggars. We see that the rich man’s brass scales are balanced—only after having given his money away to the other men. In this giveaway dance, both sides are made even, the duality is made whole. The beggars get to practice trust in receiving, the rich man gets to practice trust in giving—both sides get to master the idea that there is enough Universal abundance for all, that their needs will always be met. This is a deep healing for all parties.

There are times in life when we are the ones giving, and times when we are the ones receiving. It is deeply important to check in, to make sure we are at a point of overflow before holding space, and to resist giving our energy away when we need to be nourishing ourselves. In honoring that place of integrity, we commit to the highest frequency and energetic balance on the planet. Specifically, you are being asked to step up as a beacon of abundance and true generosity, Sagittarius, showing others how to practice sacred balance, trust, and receiving. You are learning from this, too! The more you honor this process of checking in and serving from a place of Universal flow, the more abundance there will be for you—expect a gorgeous overflow of love, earthly gifts and energetic upgrades this month. Be a living example of honoring the self and you will never want for a thing.

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

CAPRICORN :: CAPRICORN RISING – Starseed

November is going to be challenging for you, Capricorn, but in the best and most rewarding ways. Whenever we are in the energy of Starseed, or The Fool, it can be exhilarating and exciting—but also a little scary. This energy is tearing the house down in your sign this month, and I recommend you welcome it in with open arms. It is time to leap into the next phase of your life with abandon: there is nothing to do but jump. If you wait until you feel ready (as I know you love to, Capricorn), you will never do it. Trust that in the energy of The Fool, you’re more ready than you think you are. Get the support you need, prepare yourself as best as you can, and then commit. Doing this, even if you fall short of your mark, will kick off a powerful, exciting and expansive journey of the soul. Wherever you feel most unprepared and vulnerable is the place to begin.

The Fool is going to show up in wildly different ways for all of you: saying yes to being present, telling that person that you have feelings for them, quitting your job to pursue your passion. Don’t be surprised if your brain works on you a bit this month, Capricorn, telling you a story that you aren’t ready or might fail. There is no such thing as being ready—now is a perfect time. And, of course, there is no such thing as failure. I’ll remind you, Capricorn, The Fool isn’t necessarily about getting what you want. It could be that what you want is not what you need, but you won’t know that unless you try.

You have to try. You have to shift the energy of your life and shake things up. Even if it’s not what you were originally leaping for, there will be a treasure to come from surrendering to The Fool. If you HAVE been working hard to say yes to the unknown and live from the frequency of The Fool, this month will be amazing for you, truly showing you the proof of your hard work through expansive growth and new opportunities. If you’ve felt more stuck and stagnant in your life, November will be transformative, but challenging. It’ll be intense, but worth every moment. Just remember: you cannot be more ready than you are in this moment. Trust yourself and try something new.

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

AQUARIUS :: AQUARIS RISING – Queen of Cups, reversed

November will be a month of deep contemplation and psychic centering for you, Aquarius. Queen of Cups is double water; she is fully in touch with her intuition, and knows how to balance her humanness with her empathy. She feels deeply for others, and because of her depth, can hold space for loved ones and clients around her with ease. This is a beautiful, expansive card—a lovely one for healers and humans alike.

When she shows up reversed, it is important to make sure that your energetic boundaries are well maintained. Pay attention to where you may be prone to escapism in your daily life, as well as where you might be taking on negative or heavy emotions that don’t belong to you; the veil between you and other people might be a bit thinner this month. No need to worry or panic if you find yourself ungrounded and laden with other people’s vibes: just keep gently checking in and noticing if you are fully present in your energy. If not, take a bath, work with selenite, pink Himalayan salt, black tourmaline or malachite. Bring yourself back down. Take breaks from people in your life who are a bit more difficult; take ample time and space to clear your energy and home. Doing so will set you up beautifully to do exactly what Queen of Cups reversed was here for to begin with: to invite you into deep internal work around trusting your intuitive and empathic gifts.

In order to be really available for this kind of work, you have to pay very close attention to your energy. The more we tune in to our soul path, and start honoring our gifts, the more the brain tends to freak out and the more “thin-skinned” we can feel, empathically. If there has been a recent source of negativity or an energetic presence in your life that feels vampiric, this is the month to clear it out. Speak your truth, tell people how you feel or say goodbye to them. Extra self-care, self-inquiry and spiritual tools are going to be such wonderful allies for the expansion that is unfolding on the other side of the contraction. Ground regularly, drink lots of water, and do things that make you feel refreshed and rooted in your body. All of this is taking you to a new level of evolution on your soul path; be willing to shed all that doesn’t serve, including self doubt.

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

PISCES :: PISCES – The Emperor, reversed

The next 30 days will be an immensely transformative and powerful cycle for you, Pisces. To start, I would like to gently encourage you to shelve everything you think you know about The Emperor for a moment, and adopt a beginner’s mindset with it. The Emperor is The Empress’ duality; the divine masculine counterpart to the divine feminine. Strategy, authority and ruling (the qualities generally associated with The Emperor) are not really divinely masculine, but are masculinity out of balance—out of touch with feelings, emotions and intuition, operating from of a place of fear. To understand the teaching and the potential of this card, we have to start there, from a place of compassion and with a fresh perspective on its energy.

When The Emperor is right side up, it is a powerful invitation to practice standing tall; not being afraid to take up space. In The Emperor, we know our worth, and are able to speak our truth without apology or overpowering others. Everyone is deeply nourished from such an energy. The reversal of The Emperor, which is how it has shown up for you this month, Pisces, is bringing an equally important teaching. When The Emperor is reversed, it can show up as extremes in belief or behavior about one’s self. One moment, we might feel crippled by a lack of confidence, feeling deeply discouraged and like no one wants to listen to us. The next moment, we might feel totally narcissistic or domineering. It might show up as trying to make everything about us, feeling competitive, or attempting to control aspects of our lives from a false confidence.

Both of these are divine masculine out of balance, and are halves of the same whole. Feeling either of these extremes is NOT a problem: both are opportunities, and wonderful ones at that. Both are giving you the amazing chance to build your confidence and self-worth. This confidence can’t come from a write-up, a job, a new lover, your partner, or your clients. It comes from a reconnection to your place in the Universe as a worthy and beautiful being, healing any imbalance in the Solar Plexus and letting your light shine again. It comes from knowing that YOU need to give you the love, attention and validation that you crave. If you shift your focus and attention to those things, you will blossom and transform this month.

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

ARIES :: ARIES RISING – Five of Wands

Get ready for a wild month, Aries! Five of Wands is a tough energy, but has shown up in November with great tidings for you. It is inviting you into a kind of mastery of your ego, helping you learn to embody softness in the face of any combative beliefs, such as competition and jealousy. It feels like a walkabout, going on a journey through the shadow side of Aries to come out clean and wiser on the other side. I promise you: moving through the contraction of this card will only bring goodness. There is a big expansion for every contraction, so as you move your egoic labor this month, trust that it is happening not because you fell behind, but because you’re meant to move forward into new, evolved territory. The Universe is basically squeezing out any mental or behavioral splinters that are not going to serve you in your forward momentum.

Now, getting splinters removed is HARD! It hurts and can be a little scary, but it hurts more to leave the splinter in. That is the gift of this time, and why it is here: to free you from the old, painful shadows that keep you locked in self-judgment and the delusion of fear. Be willing to allow whatever is ready to come up to do so, allowing you to process and release it. Also: it is very important to practice pausing this month. This card can show up as fighting, believing that other people are out to get you, a sense of competition or that you need to fight for your place on top. None of that is true, of course: it is all a kind of fear based illusion.

It might be hard in moments to remember that your feelings are not facts, but this is why pausing and non-engagement will be very helpful for you. Take deep breaths, and wait an hour or two before you send that email or dispute that contract. If you are pissed at someone, resist the desire to engage in conflict until you’re a little calmer. Even the desire to call someone out is an invitation into mastery, Aries. Pause with it before moving forward. You get to hang out with the deepest parts of your shadow this month, and if you can believe it, nothing but goodness and growth will come from embracing it. Say yes to Five of Wands. It is here to transform your life.

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

TAURUS :: TAURUS RISING – Queen of Wands

What a magical month you have ahead, Taurus! You will be feeling yourself in a brand new way this November, all thanks to the Queen of Wands. The energy of this cycle will be elevating aspects of your personal allure, power and sensuality, all of which will propel you into a new and expanded frequency of your life. This could show up across the board for you, or in a concentrated area, be it personal, professional, love life, etc. Her aim this month is to help you to step forward, unafraid and balanced, into an area of your life where you previously lacked confidence. The energy of this gesture will bring all kinds of new, exciting and evolved opportunities into your life as a result. You just have to be willing to work with her, Taurus, to invite her in to do some deep work on your spirit.

The Queen of Wands is helping you to truly, truly know who you are; how gifted, glorious and magical you are. She’s going to help heal any doubt you have in yourself. All of the beauty, power and potency are already in you, Taurus; she is going to help bring it all forward. Queen of Wands is the “witch” of the deck; she is an intuitive and alchemical energy. Her elements are fire and water, and she walks with them and on her path in total balance. Alchemy, synchronicity and confidence is what the Queen of Wands emanates. When we are in this card, we are encouraged to drop into those frequencies, too: our beauty, our magic, our fire and our connection to the world around us. How are we walking through the world?

For you, Taurus, this is the big question, because Queen of Wands is a light that shines from within, one that helps draw all kinds of amazing opportunities, people and experiences to us. This month, you have a chance to change your life on an energetic level, stepping up into a new level of your personal confidence and power. The other added benefit of being in Queen of Wands this month is getting to receive an extra dose of energetic badassery. This card doesn’t play games, doesn’t play small, and is not going to lessen its power for anyone’s discomfort. I encourage you to adopt this mindset for yourself. Let November be the month that you step into your power and release the fear of shining too brightly.

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

GEMINI :: GEMINI RISING – Eight of Cups, reversed

November is looking to be an extremely significant month for you, Gemini. Eight of Cups is a card of very courageous transformation, inviting us into the willingness to walk away from some aspect of our lives that we may have worked hard for, but is no longer serving us. This is where you are this month, my loves. You are ready to release something—a person, a relationship, a home, a job, or even a mental pattern or habit. Doing so will be difficult, but freeing in a way you can’t even imagine. The biggest contraction that can come with this card is, of course, the terror that if we give this familiar but unsatisfying thing up, we won’t ever get anything else.

That contraction is exactly why this card is so unbelievably transformative—any time that we take a chance in life because we know it is right for our heart and soul, we will never be left in the lurch. Even if this thing is extremely risky, scary, or we have worked hard for it for years, if it’s time to let go of it, we can only receive better in it’s place. Really receive this truth, Gemini—by walking away, you can only get something more expanded and exciting in the place of what you left behind. It’ll take all your courage and all of your trust, but if you do it, there will be a big shift in your life. A kind of journey of the spirit will commence, and you will be on track to receive some very big upgrades.

The first way to approach this card is by taking a gentle and objective inventory of your life. What parts of your life are not serving you anymore? These can be tough questions, but you can’t begin to walk forward without having a sense of what you are walking away from. From there, you then have to ask yourself how you desire your life to be different from what it is. If your brain tells you it’s impossible, tell it to buzz off. You do not need to know the how about any of it—the leaving or the receiving on the other side. You just need the willingness to be free, to consider that your life could be more satisfying and full than you ever imagined, just by believing that you deserve better. If you’ve got that, Gemini, you’ve got everything.

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

CANCER :: CANCER RISING – Two of Wands, reversed

There has been a kind of ripening taking place within you the last few months, Cancer. Now it is almost time to pluck the fruit from the tree—this month will be devoted to helping you to prepare for your next move in life with all the wisdom you have gained. It is the last important act before picking what you’ve grown and sharing it with the world. The Two of Wands is a kind of mature ambition, knowing where you want to go in your life, and taking the last steps forward before moving into achieving that. Specifically, these steps are around planning, preparing and readying yourself for a big launch forward. November will be about turning ideas into action, dreams into reality.

First, you need to create the space to expand into—doing so will yield beautiful and generous results in your life. You are ready, Cancer, just take the month to get all your energetic ducks in a row. The Fool worked its magic on you so potently last month, Cancer—now you get to take all of the light, potential and ephemera of The Fool and turn it into results, actionable steps forward. The energy this month will be pointing you, again, toward more action through the lens of preparation, asking yourself where you want to go in your life and what you can do to make that possible for yourself. Two of Wands turns dreams into reality. The way to get there, Cancer, is to deeply focus on these next steps. If you drift too much into distraction, or over planning, you will miss the mark a bit.

It’s not a disaster if you do; just re-center and come back to your focus, allowing your dreams and the present moment to be your compass. Doing so will help you to stay tethered to your courage, and you will need a strong bond to it for the coming months ahead. Understand, Cancer: you are being prepared for a lot of expansion. You’ve been getting invitations since the summer that have asked you to open up, to practice being seen and to shine your light in the direction of where you want to go. You’re closer than you’ve ever been before in Two of Wands, so get excited. You’re about to be opened to a whole new world of discovery as you take these soul centered steps forward.

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

LEO :: LEO RISING – Ace of Swords, reversed

Let November be a month of soul-centered goal-setting for you, Leo. Allow yourself to get totally clear on what you want, where you are going, and what you need in order to get there. It is really important to honor this time for that purpose—doing so will open you up to new doors in a profound way. It is not necessarily the time to act or to take steps forward—although if that’s on the horizon for you as a Leo, great! Just make sure your ducks are in a row as you expand. What you DO want to focus on is cultivating the confidence to move forward with a brilliant new idea, and/or building the foundation to support your next big leap forward. Think the plumbing, wiring, structural integrity of the “house”—save the curtains, candles, and painting for next month.

Doing this will greatly increase your chances of being able to step forward in your life with the kind of preparation that will take you very far. It’s not the sexiest of months, but it will be the most fruitful. Ace of Swords is a very, very powerful energy. It’s very raw, and full of psychic and mental clarity; a true zone of genius. It represents an inspirational sweet spot, where we are open and aligned to receive amazing new ideas. You are really synched up to this place, Leo, even if you don’t necessarily feel that way. The key this month is hitching the brilliance of Ace of Swords to a structured plan. If you want to become bicoastal, don’t just sit at your altar setting intentions. Start actually crunching numbers, joining a frequent flyer miles program, figuring out where you could live on both coasts and how it would be financially nourishing for you.

If you want to teach, to write a book, to create something new—prepare for the creation, for the event. Cleanse your home, plan to carve out several hours a day to work on it, plan an outline. Then move forward with it. Nothing is impossible for you. You just need to create the space and the structure in which these dreams and visions can flourish. Doing so will not only enable you to put your intentions into action, it will build the confidence in you to move forward with it. You’ve got the vision and inspiration covered, Leo. Now build the foundation for it to stand on.

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

VIRGO :: VIRGO RISING – Page of Swords, reversed

Page of Swords reversed is going to be energetically helping you to take it nice and easy this month, Virgo, especially around areas of ambition and career. Slow and steady truly wins the race here. You may be taking on too much at once, may be biting off a bit more than you can chew—you might just be severely doubting yourself in an area of your life. No matter what, there is a deep wisdom to be gained from going slowly, being thoughtful, pausing and considering before you take on a new project. There is much to be attained by releasing commitments in your life that do not bring you joy, ones that you may be doing only out of obligation, or in the hopes that some kind of bigger opportunity will arise from it. You want to take this month to re-center in integrity, making sure there is time in your life for everything you want to do—that includes taking care of yourself.

Page of Swords is such a lovely card, an energy ruled by earth and air. This card represents powerful and enthusiastic ambition, someone who is so excited and ready to share their projects and visions with the world. It comes from a very pure place, and has been hard won; the Page of Swords has worked hard to balance the mind in order to use it for the highest good. He or she is healthy, balanced and ready to take on the world, manifesting their visions. When reversed, the same excited energy is present, with a little twist: there may be some really massive inner doubt and insecurity going on.

This is crucially important to understand about the reversal of this card, because if the insecurity is left unchecked, we run the risk of agreeing to things out of a frantic need to make ourselves feel better, or more secure with where we are going in our lives. We want to, ideally, hang out in the general discomfort of the reversal of this card, trusting and knowing that we do not have to take on more than we can chew in order to “be on top.” We can move through this time with ease and grace, perhaps taking a wise pause to work on our overall vision, or to meditate on the idea that everything happens as and when it is meant to. Drop your sword and come back into trust. Just hang out this month; there is no need to rush.

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

LIBRA :: LIBRA RISING – Seven of Wands

You have been fighting an invisible army, Libra—and now it’s time to drop the fight and go home. Move back into the present moment, out of the head and back into the body. You cannot get where you want to go by fighting, by energetically muscling through your life. I know that this effort is coming from the most well intentioned place—you want to move forward, to evolve in your life. The most sensical thing is to work hard for it, right? Not exactly. A lot of what you are working so hard for, Libra, are things that are your birthright: abundance, career expansions, artistic freedom, living in your truth, and relationships that make you feel alive. If you want to receive that, you have to shift the way in which you are working for it. Ease, grace, willingness to receive, focusing on self.

You will be much more likely to receive these gifts and dreams by creating a centered inner life, rather than an external life ruled by effort and struggle. I’m not saying, by the way, that all Libras are fighting wildly and off the mark in their lives. Far from it! What I am saying is that Libra, as a sign on the whole, is moving through a huge collective upgrade. You are ALREADY on track to receive all that you desire—you have to create balance in your inner life for it to come in. Take a courageous forward this month: totally and completely drop the fight and the war. You don’t have to work so hard, loves. For some of you, this might mean that you quit a job, go on medication, start a meditation practice, or even move from where you live. If you want change, start radically. Try something different; something that will bring ease into your life. Nothing can come from the effort you’re putting forth but more effort.

We create the future we desire with the quality of our attention. What kind of energy are you moving through the world with? Are you so busy in your head that you are not offering yourself the attention you deserve? Seven of Wands is an internal fight that seems external. “If I only got this or that, I would stop trying so hard,” or so the belief goes. Stop trying, period. Start allowing. You’ll actually create space for everything you deserve in your life to come forth.

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

DEEP INSIDE: READING FOR THE SCORPIO NEW MOON 2016

The Scorpio New Moon is an invitation to journey deep inside—so that we may emerge reborn, says Sandra Sitron…Artwork: i MANIPULATE

Scorpio new moon 2016 The Numinous

 

On Sunday October 30th at 1:38 pm ET (17:38 UTC) we have a New Moon at 7 degrees Scorpio.

The Moon and it’s message: “Cradle your heart in your hands.”

This Scorpio New Moon asks you to get quiet, so that you can hear her persistent whisper…Slow down. Study yourself. Prepare to let go of that which is no longer serving you. Be brave. Trust yourself. Cup your hands around your heart in honor and protection. Be your best witness. Hold space for yourself. Listen to the quiet, still, emotions that have been buried beneath “busy-ness” and action.

Your job right now is to Be. Your job is not to Do.

Every New Moon marks a new beginning; a time to plant seeds of intention for the upcoming Moon cycle. To visualize the manifestations of the coming 28 days. And the Scorpio New Moon especially is here to show us what needs to be eliminated in order to make room for the new.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Scorpio New Moon arrives with the season of Autumn in its fullness. It invites us to witness the trees as their leaves fall away. The leaves are ready to die, to decay, to go back to the earth. The leaves have served their purpose. The tree trusts this. There is no effort in letting the leaves fall away. The only action is to let go—trusting that the next cycle will bring new leaves.

Scorpio tells us about cycles. As such, it rules Sex. Birth. Death. Rebirth. You may not fully understand the cycle that you are moving through. But trust that you are moving. You may not understand why letting go is so important. Yet let go you must. This watery, intuitive moon is not about logic. So let go of logic and open your heart to trust.

But also, don’t expect to be shown the easy way out.

Scorpio’s ancient ruler is Warrior Mars, while her modern ruler is Transformational Pluto. She will challenge you. She will prod you. This Scorpio New Moon may poke at your underbelly. May knowingly turn your eyes to what is decaying in your life. She wants you to see what is ready to be burned and transformed. She wants to help you eliminate the old to make room for the new.

The challenge of this Scorpio New Moon is to explore our deepest, most habitually fixed emotional reactions. The emotional grooves that are scored deep into the nooks and crannies of our psyche. Want catharsis? Recognizing these buried emotions could bring a lot to the surface. Releasing them could set a fresh new cycle in motion. So show up courageously. Look closely at your wounds. Don’t shy away from intensity.

Look at the part of your life that you are trying to control. Scorpio rules letting go AND control. Can you loosen your grip?

Ask: what are your thoughts and feeling about this area of your life? Is there some fear there? If so, is the fear triggered by a thought? What is the thought? Why do you believe the thought? What proof is there? When was the first time you thought this? What was going on in your life at that time? Is there another thought that could replace it? How would you like to feel instead?

Free up some time this weekend to just sit quietly and see what comes up. Scorpio archetypes are the Detective, the Researcher, and the Psychologist. It is the job of all these archetypes to search and uncover. To reveal a hidden truth. Do this with your emotional self. Take a steady, close look beneath the surface.

Then slow down. Trust. Witness. Let go. Cradle your heart in your hands.

Read on for the cosmic aspects at play PLUS New Moon self-inquiry by sign…

Scorpio new moon 2016 The Numinous

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NEW MOON CONJUNCT MERCURY
The pitter patter of rain.

Chatty Mercury joins the Scorpio New Moon to help communicate to you what you are ready to let go of. These communications may be quick and persistent, like the pitter patter of rain. All you have to do is allow the message to come through. Mercury is bringing lots of ideas and new information. Areas of your life that you think you have all figured out may be ready for new interpretations. Get ready to start up a conversation with your highest self.

NEW MOON TRINE NEPTUNE
Finding your way through the maze.

Dreamy Neptune is in a harmonious Trine aspect with the Scorpio New Moon. This energy will help you open up to your intuition to receive a message from across the veil. The symbol promises that if you use all of your senses and follow your best hunch, you will arrive at your destination. Let your third eye help you navigate.

SUMMARY
You are ready to go inward. Explore your deep feelings. Let the unnecessary fall away. The leaves have fulfilled their purpose. Let them go, reflect, and prepare for the next cycle.

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NEW MOON SELF-INQUIRY BY SIGN :: For a more accurate reading, see which house in your birth chart contains 7 degrees Scorpio.

Aries or 8th House
What desires are you avoiding? What is blocking you feeling into what you truly want? What do you see when you lean into the feeling you would like to have right now?

Taurus or 7th House
Are you holding on to any assumptions about relationships that you are ready to let go of? Where did these ideas originate? Can you see how they are no longer serving you?

Gemini or 6th House
Is anything preventing you from making healthy choices for your body? What is one habit you can let go of this week that feels aligned with your goals for your health?

Cancer or 5th House
What is blocking your creative self-expression? Why are you allowing this to persist? How might you bring more creativity and fun into your life?

Leo or 4th House
Take a moment to tune into yourself and have your notebook ready: If your inner child could talk to you, what would she tell you right now? Is there a pattern she is holding onto that she is ready to let go?

Virgo or 3rd House
What is coming up for you mentally right now? What are the ideas that won’t go away? How can you pay attention Do you see any assumptions that are influencing you in relation to this topic?

Libra or 2nd House
What is blocking you from realizing your self worth? What limiting beliefs are behind any instances of poverty consciousness (“I am not enough / There is never enough”?)

Scorpio or 1st House
Let yourself breathe more fully, and see if you can get more deeply in touch with yourself. What is blocking you from expressing your unique energy in the world? How can you step past this?

Sagittarius or 12th House
What is the dominant feeling surfacing for you right now? What’s it like to feel this way? Journal on this feeling and then ask yourself: What can I let go of in order to heal?

Capricorn or 11th House
Jot down some hopes and dreams for your future. Who in you might interfere with your goal? (Can you give a name to the part of you that may interfere? Can you have a conversation with that part?)

Aquarius or 10th House
Where would you like to be ten years from now in regard to your career? Can you imagine how you might get there? What must you let go of to realize your greatest ambitions for yourself?

Pisces or 9th House
What deeply held beliefs have you found yourself questioning? How could you chose to see things instead? How could this help you progress on your spiritual path?

NUMINOUS x SLC LONDON: HALLOWEEN HAPPENINGS AT TOPSHOP

Join The Numinous and She’s Lost Control for some spooky Halloween Happenings at Topshop in NY and LA…

halloween happenings at topshop the numinous

Let’s get spooked! We’ve teamed up with She’s Lost Control to curate a program of mystical Halloween Happenings at Topshop in NYC and Los Angeles over the weekend of October 29 and 30 2016.

Numinous Founder Ruby Warrington has curated a program featuring some of our favorite modern mystics. So stop by for a Halloween-themed workshop or oracle reading, and to say hi to our Numinous reps on site.

Here’s the line-up…

TOPSHOP NYC, 478 Broadway, New York, NY 10013.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 29

  • Spooky Flower Crowns with Stems Brooklyn
    Join the floral goddesses of Stems Brooklyn to create your very own custom floral crown for Halloween. Flower Crowns aren’t just for your summer music festival, let’s make them spooky! Our team will show you the ropes with tutorial on how to DIY your own crown. All supplies, florals and accessories included. Come with an open mind and spooky inspirations! Workshops are subject to availability and first come first served at 12pm 2pm 4pm and 6pm

Discover Stems Brooklyn on Instagram.

  • Oracle Readings with Rebecca Conran
    Oracle cards are an ancient and reliable way to receive spiritual guidance and to gather detailed insight into your innermost questions. Through psychic intuition Rebecca helps you to understand where you are currently in your life, where you are going, and what you can do to support yourself holistically. Readings are first come first served and subject to availability. Allow for 15-20 minutes.

Discover Rebecca Conran on Instagram.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 30

  • Potion Making with Elyssa Jakim
    Join the ethereal Elyssa Jakim for an autumnal afternoon of witchery that will teach you not only how to make delicate elixirs of crystal and flower essence but how to tap into your power as an alchemist. Each session will include a group meditation and will center on its own theme and energetic master. You will leave with your very own potion for bathing, imbibing, and body anointing.

Potion Menu
1. St. Germain’s Alchemical Elixir: Prosperity, luck, and good cheer
2. Venus’s Potion for inner beauty: Pearls, mermaids, lilies, pine

Workshops are subject to availability and first come first served at 12pm 2pm 4pm and 6pm

Discover Elyssa Jakim on Instagram.

  • Soul Tarot Readings with Lindsay Mack
    Lindsay Mack is an intuitive healer, holistic counselor, tarot reader and teacher; she is also the founder of Wild Soul Healing, based in Brooklyn, NY. She offers and facilitates Soul Tarot Readings™, which are gentle and grounded intuitive channeling experiences with the Tarot for transformation and evolution. Readings are first come first served and subject to availability. Allow for 15-20 minutes.

Discover Lindsay Mack on Instagram.

***

TOPSHOP LOS ANGELES, The Grove, 189 The Grove Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90036.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 29

  • Spooky Flower Crowns with Thistle & Seed
    Amp up your Halloween costume by creating your own gorgeous flower crown in this witchy workshop. Adorn yourself in fresh florals for the dark Hallows night. All supplies, florals and accessories included. Come with an open mind and spooky inspirations! Workshops are subject to availability and first come first served at 12pm 2pm 4pm and 6pm

Discover Thistle & Seed on Instagram.

  • Tarot Readings with Natalia Benson
    Natalia Benson is a modern mystic, esoteric enthusiast and the resident Astrologer for WhoWhatWear.com. Natalia takes an empowering and holistic approach when reading the cards, recognizing Tarot as a mirror of your current state and a means to empower and enrich your life. Readings are first come first served and subject to availability. Allow for 15-20 minutes.

Discover Natalia Benson on Instagram.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 30

  • The Love Spell Potionarium with Eyewalker Elements
    Activating your sensory experience with the ancient technology of plant based wisdom and essential oils, you will have the opportunity to create your own custom love potion. Taylor Eyewalker will guide you through a process of self inquiry, brief but deep meditative practices and breath to develop your own personal intention behind your custom perfume. In this workshop you will be given the tools to create and leave with something activated, potent and personal to continue creating the life of your dreams. Workshops are subject to availability and first come first served at 12pm 2pm 4pm and 6pm

Discover Taylor Eyewalker on Instagram.

  • Halloween Horoscopes with Danielle Paige
    As the veils thin for Halloween, things can get pretty scary…but it’s definitely NOT scary to understand more about your soul contract and your birth chart. In these mini readings astrologer Danielle Paige will dive deep into one key aspect of your chart to help you navigate Scorpio season as your most powerfully magnetic self. Readings are first come first served and subject to availability. Allow for 15-20 minutes.

Discover Danielle Paige on Instagram.

COSMIC TIME TRAVEL: NO MORE KARMA DRAMA?

How do our past lives impact us today? Emma Whitehair embarks on some cosmic time travel…

cosmic time travel split face past lives alien the numinous

 

“Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb, we are bound to others. Past and present. And by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.”

This quote from Cloud Atlas gives me goosebumps all over, and has me questioning the millennial take on carpe diem—‘YOLO’. What if we don’t ‘Only Live Once,’ as many mystical traditions believe, and in fact experience many, many lives.

We all have our soul tribe. Those folk who instantly seem familiar, as if we’ve met before. Or those ‘right person, wrong lifetime’ relationships, where you have an undeniable soulful connection, yet it feels like you’re just not meant to be. This time round anyway.

I’ve also come to believe we attract challenges into our life that we choose before we are born. But what if we can ace our pre-birth plan? Make amends, complete unfinished business or heal ancestral wounds/limiting beliefs, without the need for a karmic car-crash to get our attention.

Although pain can be a great teacher, if you are already half-way though your soul syllabus, perhaps suffering is not necessary in order to evolve. And once our lessons are learnt, we can transcend these karmic loops, to a more advanced level, like a cosmic computer game.

So with the intention of going beyond karmic dramas, to better understand this journey, I did some spiritual time travel. And here’s some of what I unearthed along the way…

:: RE-VISIT PAST LIVES ::

The feelings the soul may have departed a former life with, can show up in the present. But you hold onto your history at the expense of your destiny. Reliving and then releasing them however, can be game changing. Scott Murden is a Past Life Regression therapist whose clients often have seemingly unexplained fears, aversions and/or traits, which he believes to be linked to samskaras—imprints on our soul, from past lives.

In our session, I was transported to the Frontier, where I was a Native American Indian…with a white man cattle herder as my forbidden lover. As you might imagine, my wild west romance didn’t have a happy ending. Our plan to elope with a stolen herd, was foiled and I was the one captured, then hung. This grim death perhaps explaining the throat chakra restriction I wrote of here.

Scott invited me to connect with the positive emotions from this past life—love against all odds, passion and adventure. I also felt the urge to say goodbye to my cow-boyfriend, and to tell him that we would meet again, in another life. And with this, I felt my heart open.

cosmic time travel split face alien the numinous

:: THE PAST & FUTURE AS WRITTEN IN THE STARS ::

I first encountered Astrological Counselling on The Arrigo Programme where I learnt that a snapshot of the universe at the exact moment and from the precise location we are born, creates a blueprint for our life story. We choose to be born when our karma is energetically matched with the stars, which provides our roadmap with its unique patterns and Jungian archetypal themes. And what I find most exciting about this idea, is that it reminds me that we are microscopic pieces of a incomprehensibly vast and interconnected reality—the Universe.

In my first reading I was shown that I’m an old soul learning advanced lessons. And my North Node (which identifies what one’s soul purpose in this lifetime) is in the fourth house —which is all about security and emotional stability. Sudden loss in previous lives also seemed to be triggering some fears.

Recently I was introduced to Sting’s personal astrological counsellor—Debra Silverman, who has a unique and fun approach combining soul-centered astrology with psychology. While on our call, Debra first asked what had happened in my life over years showing up as key “destiny lines”. She also saw that one of my soul missions in this life is to clear karma from my mother’s lineage. Apparently, the unhealthy feminine energy I had around me in childhood with, is now being healed with my new-found spirituality and joy. My story is being re-written. Hallelujah!

:: SEEING INTO THE FUTURE ::

My natal chart shows that I’m coming into a period of great transformation, and although this is predestined, there are many routes to the same destination. We’ve all seen Sliding Doors, right? So, I wanted to know if there was any advice or red flags I should be aware of in order to reach my full potential within this fresh cycle.

Teresa Symes fuses the psychic with the psyche and was once voted Britain’s #1 intuitive by ELLE magazine. As she reads for Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson and Kate Winslet, and is also near impossible to reach. When I finally persuaded her I wasn’t a tabloid hack, Teresa gave me a reading over the phone. Beginning by clarifying that the future is 70% free will, 30% destiny, she explained how people and situations are brought into our lives to get us on track, as long as we recognize and work with them.

To boost manifestation, Teresa also sent me this ‘Charming Positivity’ Rune Stone bracelet from her collaboration with Michelle Theodorou. Reaching into the velvet pouch is a process of divination, and a booklet with all the ancient meanings means I can get a window into my future while wearing the Runes that chose me for that week.

cosmic time travel split face alien the numinous

:: THE UNIVERSAL FILES ON ALL YOUR LIVES ::

If we were all in a state of amnesia, having lived many previous lives that we don’t remember, how are some able to recall the past, or see into the future? The answer lies in The Akashic Records. An energetic resource library for each and every soul’s human existence, throughout time.

The theory goes that since long before recording devices were invented, our spirit guides have been indexing every multidimensional detail over potentially thousands of years, ready for us to access, without the help of an expert or having any psychic abilities. Becoming empowered to read your files is just a matter of raising one’s vibration, having a pure intention and being open. It’s also worth noting that you may get a clearer answer with open-ended questions that get to the heart of the matter, rather than those that just require a yes/no response or idle curiosity.

Drawn to her scientific approach to this mystical subject, I spoke to Akashic Records Consultant Jen Eramith who explained that all past and future life information come from the same source, whether in the form of regression work, psychic readings or even dreams. This means there are no rules and many routes to accessing this universal library of information.

With permission (this part is important), Jen has learnt how to file through someone else’s records, to feel for information relating to specific questions. “I know I have opened a person’s Akashic Records when even though I have never met and know nothing about them, it feels like I’m falling in love. And the more each of us has a sense of Love, the more easily we access Akashic information through everyday intuition,” she told me.

Although you can gain great insight from a reading with someone like Jen, the beauty of these records is that you can access them yourself. There are thousands of guided meditations online, but from the few I listened to, they mostly seem to suggest a temple and white-robed librarian. I prefer to imagine that the records are filed digitally, like cloud storage.

A movie I’m obsessed with, Interstellar, sums up what the Akashic Records boil down to—quantum physics and love. Two incredibly complex, destiny-steering forces. Watch this clip to see what I mean, and although our intention may not be to save the world, messages can still travel through time, when we illuminate the Love within.

A SENSORY EXPLORATION OF SCORPIO SEASON

Scorpio season invites us to embrace the power of personal transformation, say Cara George & Bess Matassa of Mojave Rising…

cover5
Hillary (Sun in Scorpio), Vintage Photo

Scorpio season tempts us to descend into our own trenches with curious headlamps as we mine the rough and ready diamonds of our most intensely intimate desires. It’s a month for reckoning with past patterning, for cleaning out our basements, and, through this fearless process, discovering the immutable essence that can never be stripped from us.

The zodiac’s ferocious femme fatale challenges us to celebrate every damn part of ourselves and to learn to withstand the endless cycles of desiring, having, and losing, in all their messy, primal glory. So take a deep breath, step into your sharpest stilettos, and get ready to get raw. You are light and darkness and mind and spirit and guts. You are smoke and ash and ripe tropical flowers and everything that dies and everything that comes back. Can you handle the seasons of your life? Hell yes, says the Phoenix.

The keyword: Reckoning.  

The song lyrics: “This is the part of me/That you’re never gonna ever take away from me, no!/Throw your sticks and stones, throw your bombs and your blows/But you’re not gonna break my soul”—Katy Perry, “Part of Me”

Check out our Scorpio season playlist, complete with stripped-down songstresses, exposed anthems, and hardcore feels.   

Harpar's Bazaar 2014
Harper’s Bazaar 2014

The color palette: Macabre boudoir shades fit for a Cleopatra queen. Think oxblood and burgundy, oxidized metallics, burnt gold, black glitter, and classic kohl.  

Grace Jones in A View to a Kill
Grace Jones in A View to a Kill

The style: Bulletproof Bond girl meets Alexander McQueen in the 1970s underworld. Think bodysuits, plunging zippers, louche loungewear, see-through lace, daring cutouts, and garter belts mixed with vinyl and leather.  

flavor3

The scents and flavors: Heady, nocturnal, and powerfully primitive. Think tuberose, oud, un-pitted olives, black cherries, raw meats, and after-dinner liquors.

The healing: Full-throttle archeological excursions and no-holds-barred carnality. Everything from closet-cleaning and oceanfront metal detecting, to sex-positive parties, pole-dancing classes, mixed martial arts, and mud wrestling.

***

Sensuous Invitation of the Month: Time Travel (by sign below).

With Scorpio and Capricorn planets coming into conversation with Sagittarius and Aquarius energies, and Neptune stationing direct, Scorpio season 2016 has a back-to-the-future vibe that urges us to time travel into our own past lives. As we sift through our emotional archives, we can re-envision habitual grooves with tough tenderness, look passionately at all that it has taken to bring us here, and launch ourselves forward with both seasoned maturity and daring wildness.  

ARIES
Scorpio season invites you to go deep or go home, as you sink your hands and teeth into your life with both your characteristic vigor and a recommitment to endurance. 
Cosmic Era: The Middle Ages—chainmail, ferocious fencing, and burning the candle at both ends.

TAURUS
Scorpio season invites you to notice where you hold back from transformation in the name of security, and to experiment with overturning and renewing. Cosmic Era: The Industrial Revolution—rapid expansion, innovative optimism, and earthy pragmatism.  

GEMINI
Scorpio season invites you to temporarily fold your butterfly wings and practice digging in the dirt as you go far beyond the surface to investigate the inner workings. Cosmic Era: Ancient Egypt—sarcophagi, the River Styx, and intricate pyramid building.

CANCER
Scorpio season invites you to collide with another person’s feeling landscape as you practice stepping outside your own emotional core and honoring the inner world of another being. Cosmic Era: The Renaissance—humanism, artistic perspective, and emotional rebirth.

LEO
Scorpio season invites you to fuse your passion for pleasurable exposure with a more risky self-revealing that brings absolutely all of you into the light, even the not so glittery pieces. Cosmic Era: 50s Vegas—dice rolling, nuclear testing, and the casino-floor courage to bare it all.  

VIRGO
Scorpio season invites you to play with power dynamics as you mix your capacity for cautious humility with a long-overdue seizure of the throne. Cosmic Era: The Tudor dynasty—crown jewels, divine rule, and the occasional beheading.  

LIBRA
Scorpio season invites you to plunge headfirst into the messier aspects of partnership as you take your penchant for relating into more radical territory. Cosmic Era: The Roaring 20s—voting women, speakeasies, and romantic revolution.  

SCORPIO
Scorpio season invites you to recognize where your capacity to understand the more primal parts of the human experience leads you to clam up, shut down, or withhold, and to practice not holding back one bit of your intensity and reveling in the full range of your feelings. Cosmic Era: 70s New York—the birth of disco and hip-hop, explosive street life, and graffitied expressions.  

SAGITTARIUS
Scorpio season invites you to repurpose past pain and use your high-spirited, free-wheeling levity to adventure into your own darkness. Cosmic Era: The Enlightenment—individual liberty, scientific discovery, and open debate.

CAPRICORN
Scorpio season invites you to loosen your grip on your usual emotional control centers and discover the strength in what you may consider weakness. Cosmic Era: Southern Cali in the 60s—surf, sea breeze, and rose-colored love-ins.  

AQUARIUS
Scorpio season invites you to turn up the heat on your cool, analytical approach as you experiment with the beauty in blood, sweat, and tears. Cosmic Era: Ancient Rome—sumptuous feasts, gladiator clashes, and exploratory sexuality.  

PISCES
Scorpio season invites you to notice when your need for retreat becomes unnecessarily reclusive, and to practice becoming intimate with everything that surrounds you as you fall deeply in love with the world again. Cosmic Era: 90s Seattle—world beats, emo crooning, and slacker idealism.   

MY MYSTICAL LIFE: LIFE LESSONS FROM THE ROAD

From Austin, TX, to the West Coast…it’s been a week of life lessons from the road.

lessons from the road ruby warrington joshua tree hugging The Numinous

:: MONDAY—WEDNESDAY::
Anybody who follows my Instagram feed will know the Pisces and I have been on a road-trip the past two weeks. Schedule: Austin—Marfa—Santa Fe—Sedona—Grand Canyon—Vegas—Palm Springs—Joshua Tree—LA. And it has been a TRIP—meaning the daily checking off of bucket list items, AND the deep and thorough examination of the contents of my head / current situation.

As I’m back in NY for a few days this week (yep there’s more to come!), I wanted to take the opportunity to record a few spiritual lessons from the road. Here goes:

Even your soul project / true calling / dharma work can become a ball and chain if you let it. In fact, there’s perhaps an even stronger likelihood of it taking over your entire life than a “regular” job where you clock in and out every day, since it’s what you were “born to do.” Like breathing. And so it feels natural to do it ALL THE TIME. Getting away from my desk and onto the open road gave me some invaluable perspective on how, with so many projects bubbling (book, sweatshirt line, live events, Club SÖDA NYC, etc!) I have allowed The Numinous to become my everything this year, to the point that there was no space in my life for…ME. Let alone for it to still feel like fun. This realization hit has I found myself trying to get a WiFi signal hiking somewhere in the Sedona red rocks, and suffering extreme bouts of anxiety at the number of unread emails that were building up while I “wasted time” checking out the Grand Canyon. I mean WT actual F?

A road trip is the perfect crucible from some honest self-reflection. Since your driving buddy essentially acts as a giant mirror for all your shit—kind of like your higher self observes your ego mind running rings around itself in meditation. In my case, the Pisces was the voice of my higher self—my fretting over where to do the conference call I had scheduled in TWO DAYS TIME, my fearful monkey mind trying to stay in “control” as my external environment shifted on an hourly basis. “You don’t have to do any of it if you don’t want to,” he reminded me. “You chose all this.” And what a fucking privilege too! The key insight being, that if I chose this work, then it is absolutely in my power to un-choose any bits that are no longer working for me. Like responding to every email I get within the hour. And same goes for all of us, in ANY situation, actually. YOU get to chose where your energy goes.

I do not need any more crystals, animal totems, oracle decks, or bunches of sage. A.k.a. all the trappings of “spiritual materialism”—a term that’s come up a few times lately, and so obviously was asking to be pondered. Not to mention my go-to on every stop of our trip being to seek out the best esoteric book store in town—which began to feel a bit like bypassing the art and going straight to the museum shop. As you can imagine, my house is FULL of spiritual paraphernalia—a Ganesh here, a clutch of crystals there. And it’s all very pretty. But I can’t honestly say I feel a true connection to most of it. And what become so clear on my trip was that all that “stuff,” for me, is simply a collection of talismans for the real spiritual work (the “art,” if you like) that’s happening on the inside. What I would define as the honest self-inquiry into WHO I AM and WHAT I NEED be the most fully me—as in, the truest expression of my spiritual self. Example: a healer I worked with recently told me a could use some Malachite in my life. But as I found myself returning lump after lump of the pretty green rock to its shelf in various esoteric stores along our route, I was also coming to the realization that what I truly need to develop spiritually is less time responding to emails, and more discernment on where I’m placing my energy (see points no. 1 & 2).

My email / work addiction is way worse than my alcohol addiction. As I explained when I wrote out my sober curious story a couple of weeks ago, my path to a more sober life over the past few years has meant a lot of sober firsts. And besides a few beers at the Austin City Limits festival on the first night of our trip, this has been my first ever (well, since the age of 15 or so I guess) sober vacation. “Holiday drinking” had always been my sobriety hall-pass (“I’ll only drink on holiday”), and so stepping outside of this has allowed for plenty of opportunity to witness my alcohol cravings and where they come from. And—ta-da!—the majority of the time I find myself fantasizing about a cocktail, it’s to flick the switch from work to play mode. Or rather, numb out the constant desire to…numb out with work and email! Being off my laptop has meant being fully present with my (not always exactly carefree, vacay-ready) self—showing me the extent to which I use work / being productive and busy, as a way to NOT just be with me. Which is what vacations are all about…which is why I now see I always held booze (believing it to be the most effective off-switch from work) as a vacay staple.

Hugging trees is the best. The hippies knew it, and every time I remember to do it I’m reminded how good and grounding, how calm, regenerative, and holy it feels to put your arms around a tree and really squeeze. Cut to Joshua Tree, where I found myself doing some filming with my boo Alexandra Roxo for a VERY EXCITING PROJECT (yes, another one!!) we’re launching on your asses next month. At one point, Roxo whips off her shirt and grabs the nearest trunk—the naked part not so natural for me, but my own tree-hug just as heartfelt. Our mutual friend Madeline has got into it lately too, “and she says it’s like doing a drug deal,” Alexandra joked. “In the city, you have to look in all directions and then go for it while you’re sure no-body’s watching.” Well, I say screw that! Who cares if they see? Tree-hugger and proud. A part of me I’ve been happy to re-connect with on the road.

The Softer Image lessons from the road sober party reiki nyc The Numinous
Scenes from The Softer Image. Behind me, there was wild dancing and kava shots…

:: THURSDAY ::
I have to make some space here for beautiful Luke Simon’s nightlife experiment The Softer Image, a substance-free “high-vibe lounge” that debuted in NYC tonight. So happy I was back in town for this!! Said vibey “highs” were supplied by the equally divine Sah D’Simone‘s alchemical elixirs and tonics, a group trance to kick the evening off by talented hypnotherapist Shauna Cummins, and THE BEST old school housey soundtrack from DJ Bryce Hackford. There were hugs, wild dancing, impromptu reiki sessions, and my clock read 11.11pm before I knew it. Held in a Chinatown loft, maybe it was the kava shots, but the feel I kept getting was 4am-loved-up-after-party—only it all ended by midnight and everybody was completely sober. Thank you, Universe (and Luke), for hearing my pleas—and delivering a new way to switch off from work and have FUN. No alcohol required!

:: FRIDAY ::
I hate the rain. But today I love the rain. Since I’m my own boss, I shall be choosing to mainly work from underneath my duvet. Which will mostly mean reading the early proofs of Guru Jagat’s new book Invincible Living, ahead of my live Q&A with her at tomorrow’s Numinous Presents event in Brooklyn. I bet she has a thing or two to say about email addiction…since Kundalini yoga was developed by Yogi Bhajan as an antidote to what he saw (way back in the sixties) as the onset of “technology sickness.” Intrigued? There a still a few spots left—click here to discover more and sign up. 

guru jagat The Numinous

 

RISE SISTER RISE: Q&A WITH REBECCA CAMPBELL

Whatever Donald Trump—the Divine Feminine is RISING! Ruby Warrington talks to Rebecca Campbell about her new book Rise Sister Rise, and hears why it’s time for the Wild Woman to be heard…

rise sister rise rebecca campbell Q&A on The Numinous

RUBY WARRINGTON: Your background is in advertising—what are the secret cues in advertising messages that have blocked the rise of the Divine Feminine?
REBECCA CAMPBELL: Wow, this is a BIG question. Generally speaking though, patriarchal society (which is exaggerated in advertising and the media) has tried to contain women to fit into a limited number of socially acceptable archetypes: the Maiden and the Mother.

There has been very little representation of the Wise Woman—the woman who is not afraid to share her voice, who cannot be contained, or restrained of the Crone, who becomes wiser and more potent with her years.

Advertising is also based on making the product a hero—which means exaggerating a problem it is designed to “solve” (often perpetuating fears). For example, when talking about periods, it’s about being discreet. When talking about aging, it’s about halting this natural process. So you can see how we’ve been taught that embracing the cyclic nature of being a woman is “a problem.”

RW: Was there an “aha” moment for you in terms of focusing on this work with your new book?
RC: I was very much in my feminine when writing my first book, but I soon realized I had no idea how to run my business from the this place. A career girl who learned to make it in man’s world, I reverted to the old patriarchal ways of being the hard worker, the warrior, the good girl. Of using pressure not pleasure as my driving force. Of putting my service to others above service to myself.

My client sessions were booking out six months in advance, and I kept promising myself that I would tend to filling my well when things quieted down. But days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. I became increasingly aware that it was not possible to bloom all year round and that there had to be a different way.

Then I had a dream that was just so real, I woke myself up mid sob. In the dream I had a baby—and everyone was in awe of her because she never ever cried. But because she didn’t cry, a whole week passed without her being fed. Guilt-stricken, I scooped her up and brought her to my breast. As I looked down at her face I saw myself, my mother, and all the women in my family.

I then checked my phone and discovered a text from my dad to call home because mum had breast cancer. Later, I looked up the metaphysical meaning of her illness, and discovered that it can be to do with a refusal to allow ourselves to receive and be nourished.

I saw how even though I had left the corporate world, I was still operating this way too. So I cleared my diary for a week and went to the Chalice Well Gardens in Glastonbury—to fill up my inner well at the mother of all wells. It was here that I heard the first whispers of Rise Sister Rise.

rise sister rise rebecca campbell Q&A on The Numinous

RW: Who and what have been key figures and teachings for you in terms of awakening the Divine Feminine in you?
RC: There are so many! Maya Angelou, The Magdalenes, Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Christiane Northrup, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Marion Woodman, Sally Kempton, Starhawk, Gurumayi Chidvilasnanda, Alexandra Pope, Monica Sjöö and Barbara Mor.

RW: You talk about the importance of healing our relationships with our mothers—why is this? And what has been your own experience of this?
RC: We receive a blueprint of what it means to be a woman from our mothers, and often the relationship we have with her will be mirrored in how we see the world. How held we believe we are by Life. How to give and receive love, nourishment and support.

When we heal our relationship with our mother, we have the opportunity to heal and connect ourselves to Mother Earth in the process. To let our own inner rhythm sync back into harmony with the rhythm of the planet and of all life. We are also able to give ourselves the mothering that we need, and are able to show up to life full rather than looking at the world and other people to fill us up.

RW: In what other ways do you bring your inner Wild Woman forth in your day-to-day life?
RC: First, by acknowledging my fears and feelings when they surface—no matter how inconvenient, uncomfortable, crazy or embarrassing (I’ve got an amazing whatsapp group of ladies where we hold the space for us to do so without judgment—there are A LOT of emoticons).

I then work on transmuting these feelings through creative expression (rather than pushing them down). This could be through dance (Sia is great for this) or some form of creation such as writing.

And finally, by really honoring the wild woman phase of my monthly cycle (PMS time). I have learned that if I push down what’s rising in me and what is falling away during this time, I will probably find a destructive way of keeping myself contained and restrained such as overeating or having a few too many glasses of wine.

rise sister rise rebecca campbell Q&A on The Numinous

RW: In what ways do you think the rise of the Divine Feminine is already creating a shift in society?
RC: I believe it is becoming safer than ever for her to be seen and heard. We can see her in Michelle Obama, and in shows such as Girls. We can see her at work as women rise together in collaboration rather than in competition. With every new woman who rises, by following her intuition, claiming her power, and sharing her voice, she makes it easier for another woman to follow her lead.

This era of history has been prophesized by the mystics and sages of all the ages, and I believe that social media and the rise of the female entrepreneur has had a lot to do with this coming to pass. It’s becoming easier for women to come together in circle, to collaborate, and to unite.

RW: And what do you think differentiates this movement from, say, the 1970s feminist movement?
RC: To me, the rising feminine is feminism of the soul. And as we recover from the past few thousand years (!) of patriarchy, I believe it is important not to seek its polar opposite—to move from patriarchy to matriarchy. Rather, it is time to bring the sacred masculine and sacred feminine energies back into balance. As the sacred feminine rises, may the sacred masculine rise along with Her.

RW: Looking 20 years into the future, what do you think the bigger impact of a feminine uprising could be?
RC: I believe if we all honor the cyclic nature of our bodies and of life, the planet will go back to a state of harmony. We see ourselves as separate from nature but that is just not true. We are part of nature but so many of us have disconnected ourselves from it—and in doing so, we have disconnected from both The Great Mother (Earth) and from ourselves.

The sooner we surrender to our own cyclic nature (for example: for women, our monthly cycles are connected to the waxing and waning of the moon), the sooner this planet will move back into balance. I do believe it is possible and I do believe that we are all being called to surrender to this calling before it is too late.

Rise Sister Rise: A Guide to Unleashing the Wise, Wild Woman Within is out now on Hay House. Rebecca Campbell will also be joining Numinous Founder Ruby Warrington and Madeline Giles of Angelic Breath Healing for a special event in NYC on 11/11 2016. Full details to be announced!

THE SOFTER IMAGE: HIGH VIBE NYC DANCE PARTY

The Softer Image is a new NYC nightlife experiment from hip healer & mystic Luke Simon. On a mission to help folks “get turnt while staying woke,” we needed to know more…

the softer image nyc dance party luke simon The Numinous

 

The Softer Image is an exploration of new ways to party. Imagine, nightlife that expands your consciousness and improves your health. Let’s get wild without getting sick. Let’s get turnt up while staying woke. Let’s get psychic not blacked out. People want to let go and feel the Spirit so they turn to spirits. Our pop up party uses healing and holistic cocktails to open the human energy field to fun on a cosmic level.

THE NUMINOUS: What was the idea behind A Softer Image? Why do we need a party like this?!
LUKE SIMON: I wanted to start hosting a high vibe party because so many people in the city now are doing healing work and are no longer drinking. Or maybe just don’t like the spooky energy at bars, but still want to go out, dress up, dance and basically celebrate life.

We have so many amazing workshops, sessions and classes now, but there was this reservoir of vibes building up in me that just wanted to be free and have fun! Spirituality doesn’t have to be about serious self-cultivation and restraint. My higher self constantly urges me to DANCE through life. But when I try to do that at a club in NYC, it doesn’t even really start ’til 1am, and then I have to take off the next day of two to recover my sleep. Not to mention if there are drink and drugs involved.

TN: What’s your vision for the night?
LS: As I’ve honed my vibrational sensitivity, I’ve been dreaming of people hanging out in a beautiful space with great music and an elixir bar. The idea of Portals fascinates me—they say Stone Henge was one, and many cultures have used physical spaces and group energy to open up to the Universe. I was also intrigued by the idea of group trance, rituals and spells in the context of a party. Because a party basically is a ritual—the intention is FUN, and everyone brings their energy to the ritual in their own way. Partying is sacred!

TN: As you know, with our Club SÖDA NYC events we’re encouraging people to get high on their own supply. But nightclubs still feel flat to me without alcohol! Is it really possible to go wild on the dancefloor totally sober? 
LS: The Softer Image comes after a lot of personal experimenting with how to feel good in a healthy way. It’s a gathering for people to explore this question for themselves: can they have fun without alcohol? And also, what are the other, softer substances that can also help us let go of our inhibitions and have fun?

Softening has been a huge theme on my personal journey: softening the mind and trusting the flow. But also, letting go of the aggressive reaching for things that make me feel tense. Yoga has taught me about “arriving” to every moment, and “abiding” in my body and in my heart. The deeper healing I have done in the past years is all about softening the edges and releasing all that still tries to leave this moment—which alcohol, ultimately, facilitates.

The Softer Image NYC sober party pink pear The Numinous

TN: What’s the music policy? Have you got a theme song for the night?
LS: The song “Now that we’ve found Love what are we gonna do with it?” keeps coming to mind! I am so amazed by all the spiritual energy in the air and how much people are transforming. But I feel there is still this seriousness and strictness that we can integrate with a little celebration and release. What do you do with the Love and the Freedom once you get it?! You want to celebrate, but where? The Softer Image will be popping up around cities to give people a place to be their high vibe self and have fun in a beautiful, playful, temporary zone.

TN: So what can we expect on the night?
LS: Kate Falcone is creating a beautiful pink tinted interior, and the first gathering features Shauna Cummins leading us into a group trance to manifest our desires. She calls the work “Wish Craft”! Light being and wellness coach Sah D’Simone is manifesting the high vibe bar with balancing and softly altering herbal tonics, superfood snacks and juice blends. And I will DJ, along with Bryce Hackford.

The Softer Image is happening October 20 2016 from 8pm at a private location in lower Manhattan (TBA to ticket holders). Entry is $20—but Numinous readers get $5 off with the code “NUMI” Click here to get your ticket and follow @thesofterimage on Insta for more info.

WHO AM I? READING FOR THE 2016 ARIES FULL MOON

Allow opposition to bring awareness this Aries Full Moon, says Sandra Sitron… Artwork: Sara Shakeel

free aries full moon ritual 2016 The Numinous
Click here to sign up!

 

Full Moon at 23 degrees Aries :: October 16 2016 :: 12:23 am EDT

The Aries Full Moon is a time to break out into a fresh field of experience. To leave fear behind. To explore a higher octave of expansion. But to do so we will need to be open to new perspectives. We are being asked to boldly consider our relationships, our identity, and our openness to change.

Any Full Moon is a flowering. It’s a time to reap what you sowed at the New Moon two weeks ago. It’s also a time of all-out energy, and emotionally driven actions. The flower opens. The bees buzz. The allure is high. Action is high. Reaction is also high.

The Full Moon occurs when the Moon and Sun face-off. In Astrology, this aspect is called an Opposition. The Moon is in Aries and opposite the Sun in Libra.

Any Opposition bring our awareness to two sides of the same story. The Libra-Aries axis is the story of Relationship. Aries is relationship to oneself (identity). And Libra is relationship to another (partnership). Aries is “me” and Libra is “me and you.” Aries speaks to identity and individuality. The drive to push the ego identity forward into the world. The desire to be alive. Libra is balance and partnerships. Libra wants to objectively understand the self AND the perspective of the other person.

This Aries Full Moon offers a chance to step into a new relationship pattern. It is a time to upgrade your perspective through greater understanding of yourself and the people around you.

What is the lesson of the Aries-Libra axis? It teaches us to know ourselves well, but try to objectively understand the other person too. It teaches us to hold our boundaries. It reminds us that when we concede to another person habitually, we experience a build-up of resentment and self-victimization. It shows that when we lash out in anger, without awareness of how we influence those around us, we create pain and discord.

This axis can help us learn that anger (a trait ruled by Aries) is a powerful emotion for self-protection, and that it is productive as long as it is expressed responsibly. Ask, can you communicate your anger while still staying open to love? Or does your anger cause you to shut down? Alternatively, have you become so distanced from your anger, that it has been bottled up and transformed into resentment? (A good way to discover if you are denying your own anger is if you find yourself habitually surrounded by “angry” people).

Aries-Libra teaches how to say “Yes” to your own identity, while simultaneously acknowledging the other person’s “Yes.” To acknowledge what you need and what someone else needs. In conflict, know what you need and how you feel. Then ask the other person what they need and how they feel. Find solutions that enliven both of you. This is Aries-Libra at it’s best.

Join our FREE Aries Full Moon Ritual, Sunday Oct 16 at 5pm PST / 8pm EST. Sign up here!

***

ARIES FULL MOON
Stepping onto a field of fresh, new daisies.

Sunday’s Aries Full Moon will open up the path to new understanding of self and other. Yet there is another dimension to this lunation that we haven’t discussed yet—the dimension of change. There is a major opportunity to change at play, because “The Great Awakener” Uranus is conjunct the Aries Full Moon.

Depending on how you orient yourself, this Moon can be shocking, or it can be fun. Where you are open, you will learn and grow. Where you are closed, you will find yourself in the same old shadow of your fears. The fresh field of daisies is there. It’s waiting for you to explore. It’s dewy. It’s alive. You planted the seeds at the last New Moon and they grew. They are beautiful. The field invites you to come out and play. As long as you are open, lively and flexible you will work well with this awakening energy. And wherever you are attached to a certain outcome, or operating from a fearful habit, you may encounter volatility.

Put yourself in a mindset that opens you up to be refreshed. Let yourself step into a new perspective. Certainly, there may be arguments and disagreements. Refine your approach to conflict so that it broadens your perspective instead of leaving you shut down. There is usually something to be learned from a disagreement. A shift in perspective can feel easy—if you are flexible and open to change. Or it can feel hard—if you remain attachment to a certain outcome.

You can use the energy of this lunation as an opportunity for some self-study in this area. During the 24 hours before or after the Full Moon, carve out some space and time for reflection. Journal freely or ask yourself the following questions. Remember that whatever arises is exactly what you are ready for:

– Have I been making time for the projects and activities that are truly important to me?
– What would I do today if I wasn’t worried about what anyone else thought?
– In what relationship(s) in my life do I feel stuck?
– How would I like it to feel instead?
– What do I need to do, feel, or think to make this shift happen?

***

ARIES FULL MOON CONJUNCT URANUS
A ray of light cutting through clouds.

The Full Moon is conjunct Uranus. Uranus awakens us, shocks us, changes us. Uranus is the Magician, Inventor, and Rebel. He helps us break free from tradition and defy the establishment. He shows us a completely new idea. He opens us up to a new dimension.
However you experience this lunation will give you big clues about how you experience change in general. Notice this weekend when you tighten up with resistance. Keep pushing yourself to innovate. The sunlight cutting through the clouds symbolizes your true identity cutting through fear. Fear is just a story. Tell yourself a new story in which you are strong.
Your recipe for strength during this lunation is one part flexibility, one part self-understanding, and one part diplomatic grace.

***

ARIES FULL MOON :: SELF-INQUIRY BY SIGN

This lunation challenges you to adapt. Whatever area of your chart the Moon falls in is where your adaptation will be most apparent. If you know what house of your chart 23 degrees Aries is in, read for that house. Otherwise, read for your sign.

Aries or 1st House
Am I open to change with my identity? What happens emotionally when my identity is challenged?

Taurus or 12th House
Am I open to change with my spirituality? What happens emotionally when my spirituality is challenged?

Gemini or 11th House
Am I open to change with my hopes and dreams? What happens emotionally when my dreams are challenged?

Cancer or 10th House
Am I open to change with my career? What happens emotionally when my career is challenged?

Leo or 9th House
Am I open to change with my philosophical views? What happens emotionally when my core philosophies are challenged?

Virgo or 8th House
Am I open to change with my sexuality? What happens emotionally when my sexuality is challenged?

Libra or 7th House
Am I open to change with my relationships? What happens emotionally when my relationships are challenged?

Scorpio or 6th House
Am I open to change with my health and habits? What happens emotionally when my health and habits are challenged?

Sagittarius or 5th House
Am I open to change with my self-expression? What happens emotionally when my self-expression is challenged?

Capricorn or 4th House
Am I open to change with my home or family? What happens emotionally when my home or family relationships are challenged?

Aquarius or 3rd House
Am I open to change with my ideas? What happens emotionally when my ideas are challenged?

Pisces or 2nd House
Am I open to change with my money? What happens emotionally when my finances are challenged?

Join our FREE Aries Full Moon Ritual, Sunday Oct 16 at 5pm PST / 8pm EST. Sign up here!

TEMPLE OF VENUS: LEARNING TO BE LESS HARD ON MYSELF

In her latest Temple of Venus column, recovering over-achiever Elyssa Jakim asks: “How can I learn to be less hard on myself?”

Elyssa Jakim be less hard on myself on The Numinous
Impish Elyssa aged five

Flashback: The blizzard of 1996. Greater New York metropolitan area. I am eight years old. I’ve spent several days frolicking in the snow with friends. When school resumes session, a fight breaks out on the school bus because I kept a girl’s rainbow shoelace that I’d borrowed for snow stomping. She tells me she knows I stole it. I yell and scream and insult her in self-defense (even though I’d had no intention of returning the lace—it was so beautiful!)

Later, I will feel terrible about this. Forever.

Skip to fifth grade. Every day of fifth grade. I replay all the things I have done wrong socially. The rainbow laces incident. That time I said the wrong thing to the boy I had a crush on. Or said the right thing to the boy my friend had a crush on. And I berate myself.

Repeating and repeating my wrongs in my mind. Every day.

To make amends, I grow up into a perfectionist. An intellectual, and a serious student. Someone who also takes up self-improvement projects a little too readily. Who always has a to do list that includes things like “have fun” or “breathe.”

But today I am a recovering over-achiever.

In fact, I am currently living in a college town…looking after babies for a living. Yes, I feel insecure about this as well; perhaps I have lost my intellect and let my critical thinking skills go. But here’s the thing: as fate would have it, I have stumbled upon the perfect teachers when it comes to the question I seem to have spent my whole life asking: How can I be less hard on myself?

Because in the room where I work, I am swaddled in literal softness of all kinds; soft rugs and pillows, soft baby hair and cheeks; warm hugs; the honey sweetness of baby laughter; the miracle of a sleeping baby in my arms.

And here’s what the babies have reminded me so far…

1. Trust your own innocence
I have noticed, unsurprisingly, that I am always pre-disposed to give the babies the benefit of the doubt. To see “the light of the child” as Maria Montessori puts it. Even when a fourteen-month old deliberately does something “wrong” or “bad,” I can see her full innocence and sweetness—the “wrong-doing” does not make her unworthy of love to me. And knowing myself as an essentially good person, why should I be unworthy of my own self-love when I make a mistake?

2. Be your own parent.
The biggest shift you can make in the direction of self-kindness, in my opinion, is one of self-talk. What if every time you notice yourself feeling anxious, hurt, or self-doubting, you take a big breath and imagine you are the nurturing parent of your self? What would you say to you? It would probably sound like: “It’s okay my darling. I love you and I see you. You’re doing so well. You’re working so hard. I think you’re wonderful.” In moments of self-criticism, a move toward self-compassion and self-softness is what the anxious heart truly needs. If you can remember to be gentle, sweet, and nurturing to yourself whenever you’re tempted to punish yourself, your whole inner landscape will shift.

3. Don’t take things personally.
Because most of the time, the mean things people say or “accuse” you of, aren’t really about you—they’re about them. Strive to shrug off criticism, and don’t hold yourself accountable for the feelings of others. When a baby is upset, I know that it’s not about me. It’s about that child expressing a need for something like hunger or nap or connection. It isn’t healthy for me to take up a baby’s emotions or sense of urgency if I’m helping him, it’s best if I remain calm. When facing tough interpersonal interactions, try to remain calm. I like to zoom out in this moment and remember that we’re all spiritual beings having a human experience. Tapped into this Universal truth, who really cares if someone didn’t like my skirt, or the way I handled a particular situation?

4. You’re exactly where you need to be.
Numinous tarot mistress Lindsay Mack often reminds me of this: “You are exactly where you need to be.” And these words are always a deep reminder straight to my heart space, which in turn relaxes my whole body. Nothing has gone wrong. There is no-one (especially not your self) to blame. In fact, here is an opportunity to accept. To find grace. Your situation isn’t your fault, it’s your opportunity. Your perfect situation for growth. It’s to show you what you’re supposed to be learning right now. Babies are always exactly where they are, in the present moment of being. We are born into raw presence, living one moment at a time. Isn’t that miraculous?

5. Laugh a lot more.
Laughter releases stress in the body. Period. If we can take the seriousness out of life, it frees up the part of us that takes things too seriously. It can also be empowering to laugh at life’s trials and tribulations, to see the humor in any situation. Yogananda tells us to find the company of those who make us laugh to release our worries. You can also watch or listen to things that are funny, or find a laughter yoga class (which NYC friends, Maha Rose Healing Center holds from time to time). Needless to say, baby giggles, cuddle puddles, and facial expressions always have me laughing.

***

So, how does all this baby talk connect to the goddess Venus? In the mythology of Venus, we are always asked to consider her birth—that moment she arrives on the shore, born of the sea, resplendent. It’s funny to me that Venus was not born as a baby, but as a total babe. She was born and exists as the fullest expression of her being. She exudes self-confidence, which comes from true self-kindness. She is not a goddess who typically represents nurturing or mothering such as Mother Mary or Quan Yin.

But, in her luminosity, she is a wonderful teacher of self-compassion. She helps us to find the wild and free and sensual within ourselves. Being with babies and with Venus teaches us that we can always begin again. We can always infuse our lives with freshness, sweetness, and softness. We can always rebirth ourselves to be more loving. See the sweet little babe in you, and know that you are always worthy of love and even rainbow shoelaces. Protect her and hold her like you would a treasured gem. Come back to the Venus in you, and know you are glorious. That should make it easier to be less hard on yourself.

Need more Venus inspiration? Check out Elyssa’s last Temple of Venus column on healing our money issues.

HEALING FROM ABUSE WITH TRUTH AND YOGA

“To me, yoga is about deep, honest listening and truth-telling,” says Nina Endrst…who shares her story of healing from abuse for the first time.

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I’m pretty fucking scared right now. I’ve never written about what I’m about to share, let alone shared these experiences with the world. It takes courage to be vulnerable and stand where we truly are, exposed. But it’s time to tell the Truth.

And the Truth is, I’m healing. Aren’t we all?

When I was nine years old, I was sexually abused by my babysitter’s son. I felt broken. Deeply ashamed and frightened. And for a long time, like many others, I remained silent, in fear. It took months for me muster the courage to even tell my parents—who were in the middle of a messy divorce at the time. Then I saw a Nick News segment on sexual abuse. Shit! What happened was really fucking bad, I thought.

And I felt even more guilty, the lump in my throat growing. I wanted to run as far and fast as humanly possible, but I was paralyzed. After what seemed like hours, I walked to my room, locked the door, and cried until I had nothing left. I was struggling with so many questions intertwined with intense emotions. Why did he do this to me? Why do they do this to us? I realized I had to talk.

I don’t remember much after that day, but I remember his parents called me a liar. After that, I just wanted stop talking about it, to forget it and go outside and play and try to reclaim everything I felt had been taken from me. So we back-tracked. Charges were never brought against him and I was once again, silent.

It took years to realize that this was not only the root of the profound anger and anxiety I have experienced in my adult life, but also would also prove to be the root of my subsequently developing Crohn’s disease. I can see now how my body and soul went into survival mode—how all the anger, sadness, and confusion went straight to my belly and rotted there, for years.

***

Nina earnst healing from abuse with truth and yoga on The Numinous

But in the beginning, I was a resilient kid and simply went on living my life. I had loving parents and an incredibly special group of friends (most of whom are still in my life) but deep down I remained a little girl, suffering in silence. I presented myself as tough and a little rough around the edges, when in fact I was incredibly sensitive and lost. When I got dressed in the morning, it was as if I put on an extra layer—a suit of armor to “protect myself.”

By 13, my hormones spun this carefully constructed regime out of control. My temper was explosive, and I made it my business to give my parents hell, regularly. It had all become too much to handle. One night, I took handfuls of pills and hoped that would be that. Thank god, it wasn’t. But the truth was, my soul knew I needed help and was screaming for it.

At 19 I had my first panic attack, on a plane. Everything, I’d spent my teenage years avoiding came rushing to the surface. My heart was racing, breath stuck in my chest, my belly as hard as a rock. Anybody who struggles with anxiety will know this feeling all too well.

Only, from the outside, my life looked pretty damn great by this point. I was attending college, I had amazing friends, and managed to maintain almost straight A’s alongside a busy social life. I was fucking happy! So where the hell was this coming from?

The Truth is, I had been avoiding my pain for so long, I didn’t even recognize that I had been living a lie.

***

At 21, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s (a chronic intestinal disease). I believe this was a direct result of the emotional and physical stress compacting in my stomach over the previous decade. I had tried to survive it. I had made it my mission to ignore the pain—to suppress it, push it down, deep into my belly. But here it had seeped into my cells, my tissues, my spirit.

No one knew the Truth about what had happened to me. My dearest friends only knew bits and pieces. I’m not sure I even knew the whole story, back then. Sometimes we have to make choices, and I had chosen over and over again not to acknowledge the shadows, leaving a patchwork of half-truths.

At 29 (my Saturn return) everything changed. I had a flare-up and became very ill, ultimately meaning I had to take medical leave from my job in fashion. I found myself facing some harsh realities that I couldn’t ignore any longer.

At this point, I’d been practicing yoga on and off for years, but it was in this moment that I started to live my yoga. To begin healing my body and spirit, by fully living my Truth. I left my job, signed up for yoga teacher training and took a huge leap of faith—inviting my heart to crack wide open.

The Truth is I gave myself ample time and space to be alone during that year. To cry uncontrollably. To talk, to listen, and to forgive. This is because, to me, yoga is and always will be so much more than back-bending and headstands. It is about deep, honest listening and truth-telling.

Through my practice, I learned that the way to the healing light is found when we sit quietly in darkness.

***

 

Nina earnst healing from abuse with truth and yoga on The Numinous

At age 31, I wake up every single day, grateful for my mind, body and spirit. The smile on my face is not permanent but it certainly is genuine. My mental and physical health are better than ever, as are my relationships with everyone—from my loved ones, to strangers I encounter on the street.

My story is that our stories do not define us. But I do believe everything we experience on our path—bright and shiny or painful as hell—is to lead us to where we are meant to be.

The Truth may not be easy to say, or to hear, but my god is it the only way to heal.

Nina Endrst is a yoga teacher based between Tulum and NYC. She creates a safe and nurturing environment for students to explore themselves honestly. Her vinyasa sequences are thoughtfully designed to strengthen and soften the mind, body, and spirit. She lives her yoga and is inspired by traveling to places outside her comfort zone both physically and emotionally. You can discover more about Nina and her work at Ninaendrstyoga.com, and connect with her on Instagram and Facebook.

KARMIC PORTAL: THE NUMEROLOGY OF 10/10

The numerology of 10/10 brings a double dose of good karma—if we are brave enough to use it, says Felicia Bender…Artwork: Eandaru Kusumaatmaja

numerology of 10/10 karma by Eandaru Kusumaatmaja The Numinous

In Numerology, the number 10 is a Karmic number.

Yet while the other Karmic numbers (13, 14, 16, and 19) indicate that there is a debt to be paid, the Karmic number 10 offers something different.

This number actually offers a burst of “good” karma.

And with a double dose of this energy available to us on 10/10, comes a fabulous opportunity to do some work around completing certain things in your life that need closure. To be kaput. Done. Finito.

As such, the numerology of 10/10 offers us a portal for rebirth. For here is an opportunity to identify and act upon our sense of individuality and assert our independence in a healthy and dynamic way. It is challenging us to step into our authentic and unique gifts.

For with the numerology of 10/10, we’re also offered an energetic opening that links with the valuable energies of the number 1—which are leadership, independence, individuality, creativity, and a pioneering spirit.

And so, if we are willing and ready, here is an invitation to take action to finish what is DONE in our lives, and then turn our focus and our talents to new beginnings.

This said, the numerology of 10/10 will take considerable courage and initiation for optimal results.

And as if it weren’t powerful enough on its own, this year 10/10 is happening in the number 9 Universal Year (2016 is a 9 Universal Year). So this day offers some added punch—IF you’re ready to surrender, and to let go of what is no longer serving you and opening yourself to making room to change to enter your life.

The Universal energy of the 9 has been plying all of us all year long with intense energies related to change, transformation, and letting go.

And, now that we’re readying for 2017—a 1 Universal Year—this collision of the 9 and the date 10/10 becomes super-powered.

Don’t miss out on setting the stage for stepping into the next big thing in your life.

:: TACTICS TO MAXIMIZE THE NUMEROLOGY OF 10/10 ::

Rethink your own thinking. Can you step back and see the ways in which you have perhaps been living with an outdated operating system? Working within limited beliefs and worn out memories that continue to hold you hostage in an unfulfilling or off-track life?

No more excuses. This one is self-explanatory. It’s time to take responsibility for where you find yourself right now—the good, bad, and the ugly. Step into where you are and make a plan for the change you want to see, whether it’s one small step or a monumental shift.

Lighten up. All of this change, transitional and momentum can feel unsettling and can tip into overwhelm, and a feeling of being heavy and “too much.” If this is the case, try to shift perspective and pace yourself. Find humor when you least expect it.

MY MYSTICAL LIFE: SHARING MY “SOBER CURIOUS” STORY

WTF does “sober curious” mean anyway? Allow me to explain…

Pre-beers at Austin City Limits
Shiny sober people—pre-beers at Austin City Limits

:: MONDAY :: (and basically on my mind all week)
So the Pisces and I have embarked on a fuck-off road trip for the majority of October (planned very last minute, but totally fitting for my Aries Tarotscope this month)—and we kicked things off seeing LCD Soundsystem at the Austin City Limits festival last night. Coincidentally our favorite band just happened to be playing in the first city and on the first night of our trip. Thank you, Universe!

Those who follow me on social media will also know that I had a couple of beers at the festival (three, to be precise), which in turn led to a couple of comments from people asking “erm, what happened to #highsobriety?” Comments that were quite justified, since having begun hosting my Club SÖDA NYC events this year I have been talking a lot about my journey leading a more sober life.

These comments also made me realize I can’t then just randomly go drink a beer without properly explaining myself! As such, I have decided to share my sobriety story here this week—which I have done in person at my Club SÖDA NYC events (stands for Sober Or Debating Abstinence btw), but never in a post on this site. So here goes.

***

Having been a habitual binge drinker for the majority of my 20s and 30s, I have spent the past six years slowly but steadily unlearning the habit of reaching for a drink on autopilot in any and all social situations.

Why? Well firstly the hangovers had become pretty fucking unbearable as I entered my middle 30s, and never really worth the short-lived buzz of the night before. But on a more sinister note, I had also been able to pinpoint alcohol as, if not exactly the cause, then a major contributing factor to the daily anxiety and overall sense of doom that had begun to cloud my days.

I only made the connection recently, but this coincided with me first learning to meditate back in 2010—and subsequently having my first ideas about creating The Numinous. And stepping deeper onto my spiritual path over the following months and years, I began to question the nature of the “high” that I (we?) got from alcohol.

The more I worked on healing my emotional wounds (much of which is documented elsewhere on this site), and the deeper a connection I forged with what felt like my whole / true / spiritual self as a result, the more I began to feel naturally high a lot the time. The question became; why did I (we) even “need” alcohol, anyway?

But no way was this process proving to be a walk in the park. Booze was (is) everywhere, not to mention it being a highly addictive (in fact the most addictive) drug. They say the definition of madness is repeating the same behavior and expecting a different outcome—and considering I spent the next few years resolving not to drink, drinking anyway, then feeling like shit and hating myself for it, it could also be said that alcohol was beginning to drive me crazy.

So eventually, a little over a year ago, I asked a friend to bring me to a couple of AA meetings. By now I was only drinking maybe once or twice a month (versus what had been three or four times a week). But if I was still having a hard time saying “no” in certain situations—or else obsessing over the next time I would “allow” myself a drink—I must be in denial about a more serious drinking problem, right?

And while I could immediately see what an amazing source of support AA is to the people the program resonates with, sitting among these brave souls I felt like an imposter. When it came time to introduce myself with the classic: “hi, I’m Ruby and I’m an…” the word “alcoholic” stuck in my throat like a puke-inducing tequila slammer.

Some people might say I was (am?) simply in denial, but I had already made so much progress cutting back on my drinking by this point, it was hard to swallow the idea I was “powerless over alcohol” (the way they frame alcoholism in AA). I also knew from conversations I’d begun having with other friends that no way was I the only one who felt this way. And so I got a bunch of us together to talk about it over a pot-luck dinner at my apartment. Which was essentially the first Club SÖDA NYC meet-up.

We shared our stories, along with our conflicted feelings about booze (could be so much fun! but at such a high price…), and it felt good, and right, to shine a light on the shame and confusion most of us felt about this. Questions that came up were along the lines of: does continuing to drink even when life is generally better when you don’t make you an alcoholic? If so, does this mean total abstinence is the only answer? Or is it possible to be mostly sober, and still drink in a high-vibe way from time-to-time?

***

These questions are at the heart of a conversation I’ve since been having a lot, not to mention a subject I’ve been doing more and more research on. And besides plenty of soul-searching and at times painfully honest self-inquiry, discussions at Club SÖDA NYC events and a few great books (listed at the end of this post) have led me to draw the following conclusions:

1. Our brain chemistry is designed to a) seek pleasure and b) avoid pain, causing us to repeatedly seek out anything that ticks these boxes. And so, since alcohol is a substance that a) provides pleasure by b) numbing pain, human beings are essentially pre-disposed to become addicted to alcohol.

2. Since we are old enough to understand that certain behaviors lead to certain outcomes, we are conditioned to believe(by society, media, and relentless marketing) that drinking alcohol a) provides pleasure and b) numbs pain. Also, that it is a necessary component to any and all social situations, celebrations, dance parties and first dates, and that it makes miserable days feel more okay.

I’ve billed subsequent Club SÖDA NYC events as being for the “sober curious,” which basically sums up the way I feel about my journey with sobriety today—much of which has meant getting curious about the above findings, in both my thinking and my life choices.

It has meant questioning the nature of addiction, and the stigma we attach to alcohol addiction in particular. For example, you’d probably be happy telling people you’re addicted to coffee…but alcohol, not so much. But if evolution (not to mention a lifetime’s social conditioning) has pretty much set us up to believe alcohol is the answer to…let’s see…the existential crisis known as “being human,” then where’s the shame in simply acknowledging this?

After all, as Brené Brown teaches in Daring Greatly, shame-breeds-secrecy-breeds-stigma-breeds-shame—and shining a light on that shit is the only way to end the cycle, as any AA advocate will also tell you. (Despite the whole “anonymous” part kind of playing into the secrecy-stigma-shame game in my opinion…which is also NOT to dismiss how invaluable the support provided by AA is for many millions of people! Jeez. This can be such a slippery conversation.)

Living sober curious has also meant facing a lot of sober firsts. If my journey thus far had got me comfortable with sober dinners and sober networking events, say, now it was time to attempt my first sober wedding, first sober vacation, first sober nightclub, first sober family visit. A.k.a. the drinking occasions I had held onto as sacred (read: not going to be much fun / even doable without a drink).

And turns out that some of these things are amazing—if not waaaay better—sober, and that some are not as much fun / even worth doing without alcohol. Which I basically see as my soul telling me to a) either not do those things, or b) accept that life is simply not endlessly entertaining / enjoyable!

Because last but by no means least, living sober curious has meant getting super comfortable with the fact that being human is not—and is not supposed to be—comfortable. We are designed to experience a whole range of feelings on a daily basis, some “good,” some “bad,” and all in service of keeping us in alignment with the choices that are in our highest good. Feels good? Do more of it. Feels bad? Either don’t do it, or do something to make it feel better (like, maybe actually have that “difficult” conversation with your mom versus getting wasted on rosé next time you have to see her). Option three? Simply sit with it, feel it, and allow it to pass. (It will pass).

The way I see it, alcohol momentarily overrides the “feeling bad,” thus providing a fake “feeling good.” The problem being that we then never get around to addressing whatever it was that was making us feel like shit in the first place. And so another soul-destroying cycle is perpetuated.

And well, at this point on my sober curious journey, I can tell you that consistently choosing not to drink feels fucking GREAT. Feels confident, calm, safe, focussed, enthusiastic, engaged, and energized. And that it’s also great when it feels awkward, sad, angry, lost, or lonely—because it turns out all these feelings are just part of my human experience, and so choosing not to numb them out feels like choosing to be fully ME.

***

So then why drink those beers at ACL? Why not show up fully “conscious,” fully myself, to an experience I could pretty much guarantee would be awesome without alcohol?

The short answer is that dancing under the stars to my favorite music is still one of the very few (if not the only) drinking occasion I still hold sacred. Sacred as in…a way to connect to the undefinable, numinous, part of me that is pure sensation, pure experience. Yes, there are other (low and high-vibe) ways to attain this state—but as humans have known since the dawn of civilization, one other use for alcohol is to get there fast. Like, in the 90 minutes LCD Soundsystem are on stage. If (and it’s still an “if”) I choose to keep alcohol in my life at all going forward, it will be solely for…dancing under the stars to my favorite music. Like a Pagan.

Which is about where this becomes a tricky conversation again.

Because the sober stalwarts might say this is just my addiction talking…and to be fair, I might well agree with them. Is it fucked up that I’m also kind of okay with that? Yes…I guess…because they might also say that it’s irresponsible of me to be preaching the joys of #highsobriety, and then go drink a beer (or three)! Even if it’s only once or twice a year. And I take this on board whole-heartedly, since I know that my path to semi-sobriety is unique to me—and that, for many, alcohol poses more of a serious if not a deadly threat.

If this is you, then I bow to your sobriety, and to your spiritual resilience. You are an inspiration.

For now, this is who I am, and this where I’m at on my sober curious journey. I’d love to hear where any of you reading stand on the issues it’s brought up—since the more sharing, and the less shame, secrecy and stigma about alcohol and the slippery, slippery subject of alcohol addiction, the better.

FURTHER READING – 

The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction Is Not a Disease

This Naked Mind: Control Alcohol: Find Freedom, Rediscover Happiness & Change Your Life (Volume 1)

The Sober Revolution: Women Calling Time on Wine O’Clock (Volume 1)

The next Club SÖDA NYC event will be on December 1 2016 in NYC. Sign up for our newsletter for more details as they are announced.

THE LIFE CHANGING MAGIC OF CHOOSING THE RIGHT FRIENDSHIPS

What if you applied the life changing magic of Marie Kondo’s tidying methods to choosing the right friendships, asks Victoria Cox? Artwork: Found on Pinterest

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Friendship is a constantly evolving thing. We have our inner circle of friends, our coven of trusted confidants. Then there is a secondary circle, comprising people we are friendly with but who are less likely to know our strange quirks and deepest desires; work colleagues, gym buddies or school friends.

Over time, lesser known friends move into the inner circle, whist others move out of the constellation entirely. The point being that our friendship circle is ever changing, as we mature and grow. It is not designed to be stagnant and fixed.

Some friendships gain strength year after year, reaching surprising levels of intimacy. Some fade away entirely either through neglect, distance or simply growing apart. Then there are others that come to an abrupt end, the flame of friendship extinguishing itself in a dramatic fashion.

I understand all of this. So why do I still find myself trying to maintain friendships that no longer serve me? The answer to this question can often be surmised in one word: obligation. After all, if we’ve spent years building up a friendship, investing our time and our hearts, it seems counter-intuitive to throw it all away.

But what if we could learn to accept that if things aren’t what they once were? Acknowledge that it’s time to move on, with no hard feelings?

After all, I’ve learned to do this is every other area of my life. I’ve walked away from dysfunctional relationships; shitty bosses and unfulfilling jobs without even looking back. Why not apply the same thought process to my friends?

And then I finally read Marie Kondo’s book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and a light-bulb went on in my head.

Kondo, a Japanese organizing expert, touts the virtues of tidying by asking of everything you own: “Does this spark joy?” and if not, thanking it for its service and getting rid of it. But instead of pondering whether inanimate objects in my apartment sparked joy, what if I applied this method to choosing the right friendships?

Admittedly my first thought was to question whether or not I would qualify as a sociopath in comparing my friendships to my heavily stained shower curtain.

But really, what if we were to scroll through every friend listed in our phone contacts and ask ourselves: “Does this person spark joy in my life?” I would hazard a guess there’s probably a good thirty percent of people about whom we would either answer with a long “hmmm…”—or else blurt out a “Hell No!”

And when you really think about it, why would we choose to spend our valuable time with friends that no longer spark joy in our life? It simply doesn’t make any sense. Until you factor in that godawful G word. Guilt.

So powerful is the G-word (evil twin of the that O-word again—obligation) that I recently found myself spending hours with a friend who I didn’t want to hang out with, doing things I had no interest in doing and wishing I was somewhere else. Talk about soul-destroying.

And so turned back to Kondo’s book, seeking more pearls of wisdom to apply to my friendship circle.

She also wisely counsels that nostalgia is not your friend when it comes to your closet—and it turns out it’s not much help when it comes to friends, either.

How many times had I continued to hang out with a friend based solely on memories of what fun we used to have together? As it turns out, way too many. Our conversations always took a detour back down memory lane, peppered with “Remember when’s?” rather than “I’m so excited for…”

Sadly, the past is the past and if the only connection is over what was instead of what will be, then it might be time to reassess what purpose that particular friendship is serving. Is this person invested in your future dreams? Do they relate to the person you are today, or only the person you used to be?

Friendships are unique. Unlike relationships with our family, we choose to enter into them. And unlike a marriage, there’s no piece of paper reminding us we’re obliged to try and make it work. We choose each other because the relationship means something to us, it brings us joy, makes us laugh, brings over pizza when we’re feeling down and out.

Whilst it may be incredibly sad to bid adieu to a friendship that just isn’t working for us in the same way—because we’ve changed, they’ve changed or it simply doesn’t jive the way it used to—it’s also freeing to remember that since we chose to get into it, we can also choose to get out.

CITY TOUR: A GUIDE TO SPIRITUAL CHICAGO

Forget everything you know about the Windy City—there are plenty of high-vibe happenings in Spiritual Chicago, says Andrea Kasprzak…

guide to spiritual Chicago The Numinous

 

The Windy City may be better known for the Cubs than the cosmic, but it’s not all deep dish pizza and boozy baseball fans. When it comes to tapping spiritual Chicago, you just have to know where to look. Here’s our itinerary for a day of crystals, yoga, and high vibrational cuisine.

9AM :: Kundalini Yoga at Sat Nam Yoga
The second you step into this cozy, sanctuary-within-the-city you’ll want to curl up on a white sheepskin rug and never leave. Take a kundalini class in the sun drenched front room, shop for sage and crystals in the store, or book a treatment with some of the area’s most sought after healers. Not to be missed: lunar tune-ups in the outdoor courtyard during monthly new and full moon rituals and cosmic vinyasa (yoga and symphonic gong immersion under the projection of the stars).

sat nam studio spiritual chicago The Numinous
Sat Nam Yoga

11 AM :: Soak at Float Sixty
Whether you consider sensory deprivation tanks a spiritual experience or a just a slightly trippy way to spend an hour, you’ll never regret the experience. Head to this River North haven to soak in style. The industrial cool space features tons of tubs, a meditation room to hang out in post-soak, and a grooming area. Try the Samadhi Tank for a super cool intergalactic womb-like vibe.

1PM :: Juice and Crystals at Infiniteus
Kill two birds with one (high energy) stone at this Wicker Park rocks and juice shop. First, hydrate with a cold-pressed juice or purified alkaline water amidst massive amethysts and orange calcite covered tables in the cafe. Then, hit up the back room to shop for gems and crystals. Owner Alex Drummond is super knowledgable and on hand to help. Bonus: they’ll even deliver your gems and juices to your door.

2PM :: Gong Therapy with Mason Pain
Transportive, elevating, and a little bit other-worldly, getting gonged by sound therapist Mason Pain offers deep release on a higher level. Surrender to the healing vibrations of three gongs, as well as singing bowls and chimes. Sessions begin with Yoga Nidra to open you up to maximum receptivity.

mason pain gong spiritual chicago The Numinous
Maison Pain

3PM :: Nut Milk at Owen + Alchemy
Think you’re over juice after too many cleanses? This gothic cool Logan Square juice bar from Anne Owen and Jared Van Camp may change your mind. Try the nut milks. We suggest the dessert-y 54 (raw hazelnut, cacao, cinnamon, vanilla bean, raw local honey) or the fresh and creamy 59 (young raw coconut juice and young raw coconut meat).

4PM :: Tarot Reading with Laura Gonzalez
Laura, a self-described Mexican witch, has felt a true connection and psychic insights since childhood. Tarot card reading is her passion and it shows. Sessions are meant to offer guidance and clarity. Go deeper by asking specific questions. Laura’s hyper presence makes it easier to digest tough truths.

5PM :: Reiki with Jerry Mikutis
Clear energy blocks and connect with a like-minded sensi soul during a session with Reiki healer and yoga instructor Jerry Mikutis. Her warm personality and magic touch puts clients at instant ease.

6PM :: Vegetarian Dinner at Green Zebra
Bar and ballpark snacks may get first bill, but there’s still plenty of high vibe, creative and veggie-centric places to grab a bite. Case in point: Green Zebra. Fresh, local, and elevated, the West Town restaurant is a standout not to be missed. Small plate dishes like the Hen of the Woods mushroom pate and fermented beet tartare with borscht yogurt, candied pistachios, and dill pickles are plated to impress.

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Green Zebra

8PM :: Crystallsage Massage at Ruby Room
Cap off the night with a Crystallsage Massage at this Wicker Park healing hybrid space. Sessions start with a flower and gem essence spray and reading. Move into a treatment room for an intense 90-minute massage featuring Himalayan salt crystals for serious grounding. After, shop for crystals and spend the night in one of the upstairs rooms.