Ruby Warrington

MY MYSTICAL LIFE: DOPAMINE BEANS, AND A HAPPY RE-BIRTHDAY!

Posted on by Ruby Warrington

High on Dopamine beans, reunited with a favorite healer, and lighting a candle for Supreme Abundance this Taurus New Moon…

Ruby Warrington my mystical week The Numinous

:: MONDAY ::
I’m all about my dopamine beans! Which sounds like a 1990s rave drug, but is actually a high-grade supplement from “transformational food” company Sun Potion. An extract of Mucuna Puriens (a.k.a. the Velvet Bean, how lush), it’s said to improve brain function, elevate mood and sooth the nervous system (a.k.a. a Retrograde essential!). Containing a naturally occurring Amino acid, that transforms to Dopamine in the brains, Mucuna Puriens is also described in Chinese medicine as a “Jing tonic” – a tonic for the life force. And way more high vibe than a Gin Tonic, one of my old preferred mood enhancers, lol.

:: TUESDAY ::
The Retro also bought amazing Kerri Aab back into my life today, who I first met a few years ago and who creates the MOST potent and perfectly blended custom flower remedies. But I forgot how equally uplifting and supportive the Skype consult alone with Kerri is (which is when you determine the flowers going in your blend). To me, this woman is the definition of LIGHTWORKER—a gifted healer who makes the darkness so much easier to navigate. Book a session: Seedtoblossom.com

:: WEDNESDAY ::
Mercury Retro might have tried to keep it from me, but I finally tracked down my delivery from Mama Moon Candles—an amazing witchy apothecary based in the UK, which I discovered after I connected with founder (whose identity remains a mystery!) on Instagram. Hand poured, 100% vegan, and paraben free, I’ll be lighting up some Supreme Abundance for my New Moon ritual Friday…www.mamamooncandles.com

Supreme Abundance candle, £25 ($36)
Supreme Abundance candle, £25 ($36)

:: THURSDAY ::
Doing final preps for our Mercury Rising event at the Standard, High Line this Saturday—including a chat with Ophira from the Astro Twins about our F*ck You Mercury Retro salon (one of three workshops taking place throughout the day). My big realization? Exactly how much I NEED this. Life has been intense this past couple of months, and I can’t wait to spend the day talking it out, soaking up some amazing cosmic wisdom, and doing some much needed emotional healing in the evening breathwork session. See you there!

Mercury Rising May 7 The Standard NYC The Numinous

:: FRIDAY ::
Happy Re-birth Day Jackie O’Shea! One of our beautiful contributors shared with me this week how today’s Taurus New Moon marks one year since she left her old job in banking to pursue her dharma working as a channel and healer (a nicely cosmically aligned move, I might add). Which got me thinking about the concept of a “re-birth day.” Because just like we celebrate our solar return, and have anniversaries for our relationships, or began a new business for example, isn’t there also a date in all our calendars that marks the day we too took that one giant leap? For me, I think it’s February 18 2012 – the day I packed my bags and moved to New York City. Which makes this part of my journey Aquarius, with Gemini Rising and a Capricorn Moon – (OMG, favorite new game). What’s yours?

DREAMS BECOME REAL: READING FOR THE TAURUS NEW MOON

Posted on by Hannah Ariel

The Taurus New Moon is an invitation to claim what’s rightfully yours – one small step at a time, says Hannah Ariel. PLUS a channelled message from the Angelic realms by Jackie O’Shea

TAURUS NEW MOON 2016 ON THE NUMINOUS

“If you stay close to nature, to its simplicity, to the small things hardly noticeable, those things can unexpectedly become great and immeasurable.” – Rainer Maria Rilke

It may take a substantial amount of time, but when a Taurus finally sets their mind to manifest a particular ambition; move over. Taurus, like a bull seeing red, does not let anything stand in its way. It knows its worth always, and hardly takes no for an answer. Sure, we can use the word “stubborn” to describe Taurus energy–but truth is, without Taurus, NOTHING would happen in our lives.

That’s right. Taurus is our innate capacity for pure PRODUCTIVITY; a persevering force of nature. It is the second sign of the zodiac after Aries—and Aries, though it has the power to act as a fierce spark of inspiration, cannot sustain itself. Taurus keeps life going, keeps it growing. As the fixed Earth sign, it sets things into place for the whole zodiac wheel to turn, for the whole year to come.

With a Taurus New Moon, we are put in touch with what we feel MUST happen next to sustain and improve on what has begun. Manifestation becomes a mission. This Taurus New Moon wants us to secure something we’ve recently found is VITAL to our unique existence. May it be our home, a relationship, a job, our source of income, or our health, everyone has something they value right now that needs special attention.

And it’s something tangible. Something specific. Taurus deals in real life. Not in your mind, not in your imagination, not in reverie—and on May 6th, this Taurus New Moon wants you to be here, now, with two feet on the ground, physically activating your energy and your emotions to empower true fulfillment on the earthly plane.

Fertile as ever, the Taurus New Moon also plays into a GRAND EARTH TRINE—which happens when three planets in the same element (in this case, Earth) form a triangle, feed into one another with ease. And you can imagine a grand Earth trine like a raw crystal quartz; you receive what you put into it—as if your intentions have an opportunity to focus, structure, transmute and transmit into a bigger picture.

Your subconscious craving for the stability (Pluto in Capricorn) you know (Sun in Taurus) you need (Moon in Taurus) is at work, in order to keep expanding your life’s story down to the last detail (Jupiter in Virgo goes direct May 9th everybody!!) Beyond Mercury in retrograde, beyond the mind’s doubts, things ARE moving, life IS happening.

Want to move what feels like a mountain? Here’s the trick; keep it simple this cycle. Ruled by Venus, part of Taurus’s relentless drive comes from the need to feel complete satisfaction. So take a moment, take stock. What is the one thing that you feel needs major “improvement” since 2012 (the last time we’ve seen major focus on Taurus energy)? The one thing you feel you’ve been disappointed with over and over again, the one thing you can’t seem to ever “get right,” that always appears to be needing your attention and, well, perhaps a shift in perspective (Mercury is retrograde after all, also in Taurus) Got it? This is the key to where to start moving, doing, putting in the work.

While of course we have the power to magnetically attract what we know we need in our heart of hearts, it is through our own efforts that we can really claim something that is “ours.” So no matter how basic the steps; carry them out, one by one, until you get a result in real life. A Taurus New Moon reminds us it’s okay to uphold a materialistic outlook at times—and this is one of those times. There are material gains to be made this cycle. You are on a mission to manifest something to your own satisfaction.

And speaking of “retrograde”—don’t be fooled into thinking you can’t act right now, either. Yes, we have five planets appearing in retrograde motion. In fact, having both inner planets (Mercury and Mars) and outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto) in retrograde is like TIME TRAVEL! As such, we are finding ways to gain back a part of our lives we may have lost our grip on.

We are finding answers to what may have de-stabilized us over the years. We are creating tactics, new plans of action based on what has yet to work for our future growth. ALSO because so much of this energy is rooted in the past, we are at an advantage. It appears we are getting a chance to secure something, fix something we may have thought we lost only to find it here again, staring us in the face, ready to be reclaimed and put back into place.

We all have Taurus somewhere in our chart—we all have a part of us that takes time to cultivate, through careful intention, year after year. Taurus trusts, quietly and patiently, that all things of beauty take their time to unfold—that every beautiful garden begins with a tiny seed. This is the part of us that puts its faith in the natural world, into all that can be grasped by the five senses, and understands that even just one strong step in the right direction is more valuable than one hundred in wayward motion.

As such, this Taurus New Moon deals with our ability to take charge of opportunities that have presented themselves to you over the years, perhaps time and time again, that you have yet to bring into fruition.

Look to the days leading up to the Taurus New Moon for clues to your manifestation game; how you actually feel about your capacity to manifest and get what you need. Neptune in Pisces made an aspect to the Sun in Taurus on May 1st, reminding that you have to believe in your own success story to see it come true. On the 3rd, the Sun in Taurus made a trine to Jupiter in Virgo reminding us that a dose of positivity goes a long way.

Above all, remember that Taurus is a self-sufficient energy—it is up to YOU to work up the determination and confidence to continue to work to get what belongs to you. It can be the smallest thing that has gone unnoticed all these years, and which this retrograde has brought right back into focus for you to get it right once and for all. Remind yourself that you know how to move mountains, one simple measure of action at a time.

Book a personal reading with Hannah Ariel: [email protected]

:: CHANNELLED MESSAGE FOR THE TAURUS NEW MOON by Jackie O’Shea ::  

There is an infinite supply of abundance for you to partake in, there is never a need to fear lack. Only when you perceive obstacles and barriers as blessings in disguise will you begin to acknowledge the full bounty of your life here on Earth. Each struggle is only arising for you to grow in appreciation and desire for that which you don’t currently have, making it sweeter when you do find yourself in moments of gratitude for that which is bestowed upon you in this lifetime. 
 
You are infinite consciousness embodied in human form. Never doubt the significance of your own human incarnation. You are abundant beyond worlds of possibilities. There is nothing that could hold you back from learning your lessons with grace through the cycles of time and embodying all that you are in every moment of this waking human incarnation.
Never doubt or lose faith in the presence of your angels, your team of supporters, who are with you always. They will always respond when called to assist with your every need. All they need to interfere with the path you have chosen to live at any given moment is your permission.
 
There is no need to worry dear one, all is complete and holy and good. There is no need to fear the next part of the story. All is divinely laid out out and written by one hand, the hand of God, of higher consciousness, of infinite potential. 

TAKE CHARGE, MAKE CHANGE: THE NUMEROLOGY OF 5/5

Posted on by Felicia Bender

Freedom through self-discipline is the energy behind 5/5, says Felicia Bender…

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The numerology of 5/5 offers a dynamic gateway turbo-charging the energy around any and all change we want to make in our lives.

“OUT with the old, IN with the new!”—is the siren song for this auspicious date.

In numerology, the number 5 is the freedom seeker.  Its energy is all about progressive thought and action, fearlessness, and adventure.

On the flipside, the challenges this vibe brings can be fear, restriction, and self-sabotaging excess.

So when we have this portal of dynamic energy at our fingertips on 5/5, what do we want to do with it?

It’s a day to think about the constructive use of freedom—freedom through self-discipline. Anyone can run around doing anything they want whenever they want to, yet this isn’t true freedom—it’s myopic self-absorption.

In April we lost iconic and unorthodox artist Prince. In an interview he said that when he got into the music industry he was driven by the need for absolute freedom—freedom to say what he wanted, play all the instruments on his albums, and to have no constraints.

Yet he also said that he soon realized that undisciplined freedom led to decay—and that he knew that he needed a “spiritual mentor.” He suggested that everyone needs a spiritual mentor. He seemed to seek (after much “been there, done that”) the ultimate freedom only found by living and looking at life on this planet through a spiritual filter.

So what does freedom mean to you at this juncture in your life? What felt like freedom to you five years ago most likely doesn’t hold the same resonance now.

Do you want more money? More time? To get out of a non-productive relationship? To take your relationship to the next level of commitment? To take the plunge and change career or geography?

5/5 is a great day to energetically and actively commit to the change you want to become your new reality. And to then create a game plan. Visualize. See it—and more important than that, FEEL IT.  If you don’t believe you can exist in your new reality, it can never materialize.

5/5 can be like an energetic elevator—yet you have to find the elevator, push the button, step inside the elevator, decide what floor you want to go to, push the button, and be ready to get off when you reach your floor. Oh, and the 5 is nothing if not fun, so make sure you find a way to enjoy the ride!

TRIMARAN BOTANICALS: SKINCARE BLESSED BY A SHAMAN

Posted on by Ruby Warrington

Mimi Young, founder of Shamanic skincare line Trimaran Botanicals, shares her journey and her process…

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Occasionally, a brand appears on the horizon that just vibrates authenticity – and Trimaran Botanicals, a skincare line out of Vancouver, is one such offering.

Created by modern shamanic practitioner Mimi Young, it’s no surprise to learn that each and every product is interwoven with the energetic imprint of the spirit realm – to create a line that nurtures the beauty of the user, inside and out.

It’s been an honor to collaborate with Mimi on this piece, in which she discusses her connection to the spirits (“No different than a friend texting you – those little communications just happen…”) her products, and her process…

The Numinous: How did you originally connect with your plant spirits?
Mimi Young: It happened by accident, really. For almost two decades I had been psychically smelling plants – smelling fragrances of plants (and other substances) that are not physically in my surroundings, and it took me a long while to realize that this was the spirits calling to me for recognition, to be heard.

I then realized I had the gift of communicating with these spirits when I was in Mexico. There was a tropical house plant where were staying – the leaves resembled a peace lily, although to this day I am not certain what species it was. I was in the bathroom, and I quite clearly heard the voice of the plant, “It would be so nice to experience this Mexican sunshine!”

So right away, I picked her up and put her on the deck, and it was crazy because then I kept hearing, “Thank you, thank you.” When I returned home, one of my house plants – a peace lily that had not flowered for years – was blooming with radiance. I interpret that as a beautiful token of gratitude from the spirit.

I can hear plants, animals, and crystals – and, as mentioned, experience clairscent-based communication from those realms; I perceive scents beyond the limitations of physical space and time. This morning I was talking to fern, dragon, the wolves… I wasn’t asking for this, I just held the space and it happened.

Trimaran Botanicals Cellulite Oil on The Numinous
Cellulite Oil, $138

TN: And when did the idea for Trimaran Botanicals come up?
MY: Pun intended, it happened “organically”! I was searching for a product to assist with reducing cellulite after having a child, and so I made myself a body oil. To add to its benefits, I blessed it to ensure not only its physical efficaciousness but its emotional and spiritual effects as well.

The Numinous: How do you create your products now? What’s the process?
MY: I work with the spirits. I am physically the only human being when I am making the products, but I truly see it as a collaborative effort.

As a shamanic practitioner, I live my human life but the door to the spiritual realm, and to the plants, is always open. And the plant spirits (or animal, or crystals) will come to me and tell me things throughout the day. No different than a friend texting you – those little communications just happen. I mean it’s spectacular and beautiful, but it’s so much a part of my everyday that it’s normal for me now. A great example is that the plants just told me the other day to add to our current AURA COLLECTION, explained to me the functions of each new product, and even the ingredients I should be using!

In terms of filling orders, my process is both orderly and intuitive:

– I examine each order as if it’s a medical chart, as I allow myself to tune in to that customer’s order.

– I ask my plants what this person might need, be it an item from the line or a custom order.

– I always hold the product in my hand and bless it with that person’s name so it becomes “for” that person, but also adding that it’s also “for anyone else that might receive this product,” in case it ends up being passed forward – as a gift, in sharing, etc.

– I will also add to my blessing a mantra, an invitation for something like security, groundedness, self-compassion, etc. Sometimes I even write it down on my founder’s card to be placed in the shipment.

– Before it’s shipped, the order is placed in a nook in my studio – a space set up for my assembled inventory, surrounded with crystals and plants – to be charged with more intention, solfeggio music, sacred plants diffused in the air.

– Once it’s been charged, I pack it and anoint the package with sacred sage, asking that the order be delivered swiftly and without damage. So even the shipping process is energetically blessed. And I kid you not, all my orders end up being delivered far faster than expected!

Trimaran Botanicals on the numinous
Good Vibes Elixirs, $44

TN: Do you take the same care sourcing your suppliers?
MY: I have multiple suppliers. My requirements are their integrity as artisanal suppliers of the finest pure, wildcrafted, organic, botanical ingredients such as cold-pressed plant oils and first-distillation, solvent-free essential oils, but I the energy with the people themselves also has to feel right. All of my suppliers believe what I believe – I can quickly pass on any messages from my plant spirit to them, and it’s like everyday coffee break conversation!

I didn’t set out looking for shamanic suppliers, it just turned out that I attracted a network of suppliers who work the way I do: they speak with the plants, they too fulfill my orders with loving intention and anoint my shipments with sage for protection. They understand my process and share the same values. As such, my raw ingredients are always handled with love, and have not been sitting in a stale, cold, business as usual factory/storage space.

TN: How long have you been practicing shamanism – and what was your initiation into the tradition?
MY: Becoming a shaman isn’t like choosing to become one and taking a course (although I understand that there are courses out there), it is a spiritual inheritance, and it is through my work with a seasoned shamanic practitioner that I have honed my abilities to connect in an ongoing way with the spirit realm. What I have learned cannot be learned in the Western definition of learning, it’s been through spiritual experience and touch.

My shamanic practitioner did give me the formal tools and language for me to remove my “self” from my “ego,” however. In doing so, my ability to honor my “unknowing” and to ask for guidance from the spirit world has given me the ability to go deeper into my journeys and collaborations with spirits, and to bring back into the physical world a deepened intuition, and heightened senses.

Ultimately, my “knowledge” come from the messages I receive in my journeying, and with the plants – being a shaman means listening first.

Trimaran Botanicals on The Numinous
Sacred Smudge Mist, $46

TN: What will women gain by approaching beauty from a shamanic perspective?
MY: My hope is that the experience of using Trimaran Botanicals will bring a person’s inner beauty to the surface, as that is the purpose of the brand: alignment of deep inner beauty with the outer.

I also hope that Trimaran Botanicals is something that people can use to continue their own practice of connecting with themselves, of coming home to themselves, and of acknowledging that the plant world is interconnected with ours, so that they can truly connect with the outside world from a “whole” and holistic place.

TN: What’s your definition of beauty for the now age?
MY: I often question why we need to define beauty. For example, the lightness we experience when we are one with nature cannot be experienced through a facial or fitting into a pair of skinny jeans.

That said, beauty to me speaks of internal balance. It’s being happy with yourself, where you fit in the world, and where you fit in your own skin. When we can nurture this and cradle ourselves, is when I think we can begin to understand that we are really, truly beautiful.

Discover more about Trimaran Botanicals on Instagram or shop the brand at Trimaranbotanicals.com

WHY IS GAY TANTRA SO TABOO?

Posted on by Lisa Luxx

Why is gay tantra so taboo? It’s time to call an end to the dogma of patriarchy and traditional gender roles, says Lisa Luxx…

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Credit: Concha on Behance

Here we are at a mountain top tantric yoga retreat on Mexico’s Pacific Coast. The love of all my lives is trembling in zen beside me. Class is about to adjourn after our first day and it’s been enlightening; a breath of fresh mountain air into the depth of my ‘yoni’ after a year of undiagnosed vulva pain and gender delusions.

Then the goddess leading the workshop goes and says something that brings the screeching banshee of psychosexual trauma right back. “Your homework is to think about having sex with the opposite sex.” A fellow dyke raises her hand and asks, “Why has it got to be the opposite sex?” The goddess, unmoving, diverts her eye line from the gays and announces stoically, “Because tantra is for man and woman.”

Oh. I wonder why no one ever told me that before. I’d e-mailed the school ahead to tell them, “My girlfriend and I would like to do the practical tantra retreat,” and they opened their pockets wide for us to dispense our money. But they never said, “Tantra is for man and woman.”

On our walk home my girlfriend expresses how uncomfortable she is to have been given these instructions, I argue that it’s probably okay, trying to diffuse the upset. And start to think about having sex with men. It plays out like a Kung Fu fight in my head until some element gets thrown through the stain glass windows of my eyes and I see in front of me that it’s way too 2016 for this kind of disheartening heteronormativity.

It seems, this super straight approach to tantra comes from the misled belief that Shiva and Shakti literally represent man and woman. However, I got mulling this over with my friend Stephanie (who’s written a book called Sex Drive on liberating her orgasm) and she introduced me to the cult icon Barbara Carrellas who wrote the first ever book on queer tantra: Urban Tantra.

“Shiva and Shakti, in Hindu tantric philosophy, are actually huge entities representing consciousness (Shiva) and energy (Shakti). When Shakti and Shiva had sexual intercourse it gave birth to the world. How this got confused with vagina and penis, I do not know,” Barbara explains on the phone to me, after I’ve returned to England.

Back at Hridaya in Mexico, Antoaneta’s teaching became more cracked and twisted as we went on. By the second day she had termed, and continued to refer to, the clit as the “little penis.” An offensive that landed like the shells of warfare in the trenches of my creed.

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I’ve toured spoken word performances that educate women on the facts that may empower their clit and one facet of this is that the clit is not small; it can extend up to 9 inches within us. The clits of many straight women will be bigger than their partner’s dick.

The course leader – who began the retreat glowing in light and by now had morphed into this disheveled, haggered devil of a being – proceeded to laugh off lesbian sex as something that only happens in yoni therapy, not a real manifestation of love on this earth. We walked out. My girlfriend cried all the way back to our cabana.

The next day we bumped into another lady from the course who was quite distressed. She told us she too was gay and what we’d missed in the final day was a ceremony whereby many unknown men had entered the space. Men who had not been on the course but who were marched in to save any woman having to pair up with another woman during the sensual massage.

This lady we spoke to, who we’ll call Kirsty, had left in floods of tears, “I feel stupid because I don’t know why I came back to tantra. I thought it was worth giving another chance but discrimination is all I’ve ever experienced at tantra schools.”

When I spoke to my queer friends about my experiences in Mexico, they had all nodded solemnly and said, “Yeah, homophobia is a real problem in mainstream tantra.” And, that was the key lesson for me to learn; there is a mainstream tantra, which doesn’t have the social awareness that some of us expect.

For anyone who has ever experienced ‘energy genitals’ they’ll know that the line between owning a dick and a pussy can be smudged. I’ve had a dick before. Insomuch as I’ve felt the erection rise from my pelvis and enter my girlfriend, and she’s felt it inside her. I wouldn’t have had the linguistics to explain this before speaking to Barbara, who coined the term ‘energy genitals’.

“There is a position called Yab Yum where the person on the bottom could have a physical possession of a vagina and the person on top could have a physical penis. But the person with the vagina experiences a penis. Once they start rocking and holding eye contact the man feels he’s being penetrated by the woman.”

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This is a genderless phenomenon. And for someone who exists in the grey area between genders and doesn’t always feel wholly assigned to the physical sexual design given unto me, tantra appealed because it focuses on energy rather than physicality. And tantra does exist as beautifully open as that. Barbara Carrellas runs her own courses which allows for magic to happen off-script.

For example, “One guy came to a women’s class because he couldn’t make it to another. So he was doing the breathing technique for women and he was flying just as far and as fast as any women in the room. To which I realised, there’s a lot to this I don’t understand and I think I’m being fed a lot of myths and lies.”

The Radical Faeries, once a gay male counter-culture network in the US is now opening up to all gender and sexual identities. Within their discourse is tantric teachings. The network has now spread globally too.

When one embarks upon a tantra course they lay themselves open and become ultra vulnerable, any teacher who is insensitive or who makes you feel invisible can emboss serious damage within you.

It’s important to find a workshop leader that is emotionally equipped to the complexities of sexual identity. When humans come together and open themselves up in a small space it’s bound to get messy and as my friend Jessie says “you just have to hope for a great facilitator”.

Jessie is part of women’s only tantric program called Shakti Tantra which she tells me is a great place to heal. But the divide should not be a must for us to feel safe. For any tantric workshop to serve its purpose it needs to be free of patriarchal dogmas. That doesn’t mean being free of men.

Ask lots of questions before you book your space on a course: will I get split up from my partner, will I have to be paired up with anyone I don’t want to, will I have to reveal details about my sexual past, and so on. If you don’t get the answers you’re looking for then keep searching for the right tantra course. There are retreats friendly to all persuasions, genders and sexualities (including polyamorous types).

Tantra began as a deliberately transgressive art form. It was the sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll of its day. It was a political movement. So take these homogenous tantra fundamentalists with a pinch of salt and reclaim the art form. As Barbara says: If you want to practise the semen retention that’s fine but, don’t tell the rest of us that’s the only way to do it!

TAROTSCOPES: MAY 2016

Posted on by Lindsay Mack

Cast by Lindsay Mack, using The Starchild Tarot.

:: TAURUS – Ten of Cups ::

Sweet Taurus, are you appreciating all that you’ve worked so hard for? Are you allowing yourself to be present for the goodness in your life? Are you savoring the loveliness of the moment? Sacred, sacred gratitude: this is the best birthday gift you could give yourself, Taurus. Bowing to yourself in profound love and appreciation. Looking at your life and seeing how far you’ve come. Drop the story about all that you don’t have and just be here for this moment.

As cliché as it sounds, this life is like a beautiful sunset; it flashes by so quickly. If you’re unconsciously living out the story that you don’t have all you need, you can miss the beauty that’s right in front of you. This is a month to appreciate all that you’ve worked for, grown through, earned and learned. Celebrate all that is here, all that is shifting and changing. Celebrate yourself, Taurus. You deserve it immensely.

The power and the lesson in this monthly journey for you, Taurus, is that the brain/ego can be VERY devoted to this idea that we need more than we already have in order to be happy. The ego also loves the idea that we are not enough, that we are not deserving. A newfound commitment to gratitude, joy and presence in genuine moments shatters these chains, setting you free into a new paradigm of self-love.

Its been a VERY intense few months for you, Taurus; this month feels like its weaving together all that’s been released, and all that’s been gained in the recent evolutionary shifts, welcoming you back to the awe inspiring beauty of the moment. To begin to practice gratitude, start with some simple mindfulness exercises or a walking meditation. Doing so will start to rewire those powerful and untrue beliefs that the ego holds so dear, leaving you much more present and spontaneous.

Ten of Cups is a flash of perfect joy and gratitude – one of those moments where it feels so beautiful to be alive. Those perfect, shining flashes of Ten of Cups gratitude are little gateways home to the present moment. So lean into these sweet and precious moments, Taurus. Be awake for them. Put your phone down, drop your story and just BE. Quietly celebrate all that you are, how far you’ve come and all that is here now. It is your birthright.

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

:: GEMINI – Ace of Crystals ::

Geminis are walking a funny, funky paradigm this month. You’re being asked to be open, yet do nothing. It sounds a little crazy, but there really is a method to the madness. Firstly, this is a month where it would be wise for you to FULLY retreat into your cocoon, Gemini. Show up for work, travel when you need to, do whatever you have to do, but don’t overextend. Don’t over offer. Lean into the medicine of the retrogrades fully and completely.

Let this be a time of gentle self examination and self evaluation. Say yes to what’s here, but don’t add any more logs to the fire. Instead, commit to going inward. This is the “do nothing” piece from the paragraph above. There is plenty to focus on, honor, resolve, expand through and work on right now. Doing “nothing” will enable you to be present for all that is already here. It will also help you to actually be available for the invitation of the retrograde, to surrender to it instead of fighting it. As the saying goes, “do nothing and nothing will be left undone.”

YET – you’re moving through Ace of Crystals. Ace of Crystals is a fresh and beautiful gift. Aces are like a marriage of the light and ephemera of The Fool and the incredible manifestation energy of The Magician. There’s an alchemy to them that really presents a transformative opportunity. The Ace of Crystals is going to be beautiful for Geminis this month. This particular card can show up as a physical, literal gift or a totally invisible, energetic one. In order to receive it, Gemini must be open, which rounds out the fullness of the invitation for you this month. Be open, yet do nothing.

Ace of Crystals, regardless of the form it takes, is a seed at heart. And as one seed can create an entire garden; one child can create an entire legacy. Seeds are important, precious, and require our attention. This is why Gemini must walk the line of being open and doing no thing in May. If you overextend yourself, there won’t be room in your garden for the gifts that are dropping in for you. The retrograde is actually making it possible for you to be in this place of newness. Embrace it, be present, be flexible, and weed your garden in preparation for all that is to come.

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

:: CANCER – Two of Crystals ::

It is all about personal boundaries for Cancer this month. Say no when you need to, carve out space, give back whatever you’ve been holding for people in your life. Sweep the slate clean, and be gently unapologetic about it. Honor your truth. Two of Crystals is a powerful time when we are juggling something precious – a new career, a new life change, our children, our job, etc. It represents a time of very hard work, important work: our work in the world.

This work requires the fullness of your attention. It represents a time when you just don’t have as much space, time or attention to offer to other things or people in your life outside those big commitments. This is absolutely appropriate for you right now, Cancer. You DON’T have space for lesser things right now. So speak your truth and kindly communicate this. Then, and this is the most important piece, be gracious enough to let those people or things tantrum about your “no.” Its their stuff, not yours. You don’t own anyone an explanation. Just send compassion their way, and keep doing your thing.

But the key for you this month isn’t just to focus on the work at hand, Cancer. It isn’t just to master your boundaries, although that’s a big part of it. It’s the willingness to release your perceptions of being a hero or a savior to those in your life who are struggling and identified in their own victimhood. I know this can be difficult to hear, but any time we are holding someone up because we believe they cannot hold themselves on their own, we are enabling them. When we DO NOT have the personal space (and you don’t this month, Cancer), it doesn’t help these other people or situations: it drains you as it enables them.

Love the people in your life enough to give them back whatever weight you’re carrying for them on their behalf. It’s the truest gift you could give them as a friend, a child, a parent, or a colleague. And so, if you feel dread, fear, anger or resistance towards a project, person or situation, it’s time to gently pause your involvement with it, or let them know your plate is full and they’ll hear from you when you have more personal space. Trust that if it’s in your highest and best, it’ll be in theirs too.

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

:: LEO – Five of Swords ::

Be so, so gentle with yourself this month, Leo. Like Gemini, this is a time to do far less than you’ve been doing, and go inward. Your focus this month is to re-center yourself. Your health, energy and wellbeing depend upon it. Five of Swords energy is a sting and a bummer. Often, the card can arise when we are fully faced with a rough consequence to an impulsive decision. It can result in a situation or a realization where we are contracted and full of regrets and self-defeat. But it doesn’t always have to feel this way.

This energy is related to April’s Tarotscope for you, too. Last month, you received some wisdom to be sure in your decisions; to not let looks or the surface of a situation fool you. Now there’s an opportunity to deeply and beautifully evolve from that place. Firstly, if you DO NOT feel this sense of defeat or contraction, then rest easy. It is not a prediction that you are going to feel terrible. The wisdom of the month will serve you regardless. Secondly, if you DO feel like you’re fully enmeshed in Five of Swords energy, then this will help you to really make peace with that experience.

May’s invitation for you, dear Leo, and the true medicine of the Five of Swords, is to master how to re-center in your life without judgment. Plain and simple. If you cheat on your partner, admit it and start to rebuild. If you relapse, call your AA sponsor and get to a meeting. If you binge, forget to take your medicine, spend all of your money, just come back to YOU. There is no final nail in the coffin in this life; you don’t have to repent or self-flagellate, you don’t have to beg for forgiveness. You’re a human and humans are supposed to get messy.

Frankly, we’re supposed to screw up – so forget the stories of how we just can’t get it right. We’re supposed to walk the edges of cliffs and evolve through our falls, our foibles and misanthropic choices. Its okay to make a bad call, or to experience regret. Just don’t add the energy of self-judgment to the pain and discomfort you may be in already, Leo. Re-center and take responsibility for yourself. No story, no judgment. Make amends – either to another or to yourself. Be sweet and gentle. All things heal in time.

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

:: VIRGO – Eight of Swords ::

You are no longer trapped in the prison of your mind, Virgo. A transformation has taken place, and a new way is available for you. In many alchemical and powerful ways, you are free. This is a mental shift that will have a massive and beautiful impact on all aspects of your life this month. It might be largely invisible and subtle to those around you – but for you, Virgo, its like a veil has been lifted. For the last few months, Virgos have been “waking up” more profoundly than any other sign.

A total paradigm shift has been occurring, and the landscape has been changing hugely. This wakeup is exactly what Eight of Swords is all about. In this card, we go through a totally transformative process: we stop believing the story of our mind. The blinders come off completely in this card – or at least, this is possible if we go all the way with this invitation. Virgos really experienced this in April, and began to see the possibility and flexibility of their power through this new lens. In May, Virgo begins to embody this shift.

You were never trapped, Virgo: you only believed you were. Now you know you aren’t, so what will you do with your “one wild and precious life?”, as Mary Oliver says. That full and beautiful question is the centerpiece of this month for you, Virgo. It is powerful to consider. You are no longer imprisoned by your mind. So what will you do with all this freshness, space and energy? It is possible that this month could hold huge changes for you, all based in joy and empowerment. Because you can now see clearly, it will be simple to see when this is available some capacity. There’s no more trepidation, just celebration.

A good word of wisdom for Virgo is to lean into the retrogrades and surrender to their energies. The Mercury retrograde – your ruling planet – is particularly important for you guys. Go within and do quiet work on yourself. Clear and clean up old patterning, beliefs and situations that result any time you have believed yourself to be in a prison of your mind. It is going to be a very loving, potent and joyful process for you this month, Virgo. Embrace it with all you are.

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

:: LIBRA – Queen of Swords ::

Sweet Libra, pause before you speak, share, commit, assume, or accuse this month. Pausing is both your prayer and the answer to it. Pause, inquire, self reflect, THEN speak. You’ll be going on a lot of inner journeys with your communication this month. Trust this deeply and let it unfold. Let your process be more silent than it’s ever been, and hang out in the Void of that space. The reason for this is simple: Libras tend to leak verbally and mentally when they feel lost and scared. Right now, you guys are in the death portion of a massive birth-death-birth cycle.

The death part is totally a time of unknowns, which is when the ego can try to grasp onto anything that feels familiar or comfortable to abate this fear. What I gently invite you to consider this month, is that the grasping is actually preventing you from cycling all of the way into your rebirth stage. The grasping is just the ego, the part of the brain that wants to feel ground under its feet. And part of how you guys enable this grasping and sense of safety is through your mental and verbal brilliance. Right now, though, this gift is going through its own upgrade, and it’s a time for far less speaking, and much more inquiry so that the cycle can complete itself.

So resist speaking or communicating about the STORY of what you’re going through, and instead allow the fullness of your vulnerability to shine through. Let yourself say that you don’t know. That you are scared. Lost. Shine a light with your words so that they may be clarified, set free by the truth. Queen of Swords is a master communicator. She’s able to slice through any doubt, confusion or fear, and speak from the depths of the heart. She is, after all, water and air. Queen of Swords is your sacred guide for this work. But to access her, you must pause and stop the “leak”.

If you’re scared, pause. If you feel victimized, pause. If you feel slighted, angry or frustrated, pause. Pausing will give you the space to move through the experience of your feelings and emotions (water), and the frenzy of your thoughts (air), until you come to a middle place. So much healing, clarity, illumination, and evolution will be borne from that place. Let your mantra be, “pause”.

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

:: SCORPIO – Justice ::

Scorpio has living up to its reputation the last few months, standing at the doorway of one sacred death/rebirth after another. So much evolution is happening for you, Scorpio, and this month holds one of the most profound energies for you thus far. Justice is a powerful Major Arcana card, and could also be understood as the embodiment of the concept of “karma.” Karma is the simple understanding that whatever is here is supposed to be here. Whatever is here is bringing a gift. This is Justice, and the invitation that it brings.

So whatever happens for you this month, Scorpio, is exactly what is supposed to be happening. There are no accidents or mistakes, especially not when we are in Justice energy. Your work this month will be moving through your own process of accepting, understanding, and even embracing this. It is only when we can accept what the present moment brings that we are free to change it. It’s time to take a step back and evaluate your life through the blind eyes of Justice. Can you find the medicine, the gift, the purpose and the function of whatever is here for you?

There’s a reason why there’s a sword on most Justice cards, and it feels important for you this month, Scorpio. We can think of this as the presence of the suit of Swords in the Tarot, which is all about mastering brain chemistry. Justice can be very difficult for the ego and brain. Sometimes Justice revolves around something hard or difficult to “understand.” Other times, it can come up around stuff that is so amazing, so beautiful, that we have a hard time believe that its true or will last.

The feelings around Justice are the wounds to tend to – so d some psychic surgery and remove any untrue beliefs. The work for you this month goes right to the bone, right to the heart. Trust that this is bringing a gift and a treasure, even if you cannot see it. The way we can start to swim in the current of Justice is to go outside. Every tree, bee, flower, weed, every animal whispers the truth of this life to us, if we can lay down and listen. Nothing is permanent, everything brings a gift, everything has its place in the Great Web. You must touch this wild place, Scorpio, in order to see the parallels in your life, too.

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

:: SAGITTARIUS – The Sun ::

Dear Sagittarius, this month is filled with so much sweetness for you! So much light, gratitude and joy. It is going to feel like a massive weight has left your shoulders. So much is sloughing off of you; lots of karmic stuff is cycling out, and it can’t come a moment too soon. You’ve been asked to be in the dark about some things for a long while, Sagittarius, and this month is truly a burst of understanding and clarity around areas that might have had you confused for years. It’s a big, big time. Think new relationships, new career, new expansions. The sky is the limit.

There will be answers, illumination and breakthroughs that will rock your world this month. There’s just one teeny, tiny, little invitation in order to swim in all of this beauty: Vulnerability. This is the key that unlocks the door. This is your final frontier, Sagittarius. Understanding and truly embodying the fact that vulnerability isn’t a weakness – its one of the sexiest things about you. It’s the truth that moves mountains, changes hearts, softens minds and shifts your karma. Now, you guys can be as sweet and as vulnerable as they come, except in certain situations. And it’s in these areas where you can allow your knees to bend a bit, and your heart to crack.

You will know what I’m talking about, because it is probably the area you’re already getting defensive about upon reading this! Your bravado and confidence is amazing when its authentic, but distances you from the light and warmth of The Sun when it’s a mask. Shake the ground from underneath you with your vulnerability; it’ll change your life, especially this month.

You’re getting massive gifts in May, regardless of this invitation into softness and vulnerability. But to take it all the way, let yourself crack when you need to. By doing so, its almost like you’re opening yourself enough to receive what you’ve been asking and praying for. It feels very sacred, and very internal. Allow yourself to go on this holy journey toward the light. Expect relief this month, too. Any of the stuff that’s been in the works, unspoken, unfinished will come to a blissful conclusion now. You guys are making so much room for the new, the light, and the beautiful. Just tie up these last pieces and you’ll be home free.

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

:: CAPRICORN – Ten of Crystals, reversed ::

You’re going back to the drawing board in many ways this May, Capricorn, but this is totally appropriate for you. This is what the retrograde is for. You’ve been doing some massive, massive work on yourself, releasing and shoring up old beliefs that no longer serve. Like Sagittarius, you have also been asked to do a lot of this in the dark. It has been no easy feat, and you’ve shown up for it spectacularly. Now it’s time to truly rewire all of the foundational stuff that is not serving you, and that has outstayed its welcome. Its time to get back to basics, Capricorn, and do some work on the foundation of your life, beliefs and body.

A lot of this old foundation just doesn’t fit anymore. And so until you do this, nothing will be able to come in to your life that is a true harvest of what you deserve. This is the best news you could get right now. The retrogrades are specifically primed for this kind of work, a supportive rewiring. Be willing to be very present with this more internally focussed time. It won’t last, and it is crucial to your growth and ability to receive.

Ten of Crystals is a beautiful card, a gorgeous and powerful reaping of all our hard work. You received the Ten of Pentacles reversed. This isn’t bad, but it is an important distinction from the right side up interpretation of the card. The reversal indicates that you’re almost to that glorious, gorgeous harvest, but not quite. The image I am getting is like a highway running parallel to another highway, separated by a concrete divider. If you attempted to merge over, you would crash. But if you drive until the next turnoff, exit your highway and merge onto the parallel one, you’ll be home free. It’s the process of the merging, the turning and the reentry that is the key.

Go through the full healing and rewiring process, Capricorn. Resist the temptation to just crash “through” the divider. There is a much gentler, easier, more fruitful way to wake up. Look right into the heart of your untrue and outdated beliefs. Stop just intellectualizing them; make concrete changes. Release bullshit distractions; really honor the work and process of the moment. Merge onto the aligned highway of your life.

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

:: AQUARIUS – Three of Swords, reversed ::

This is a month of deep healing for you, Aquarius. The wounding you’ve been moving through, any pain that arose in April, will finally have space and time to be cleansed. This month is a sacred time to tend to deep cuts, to apply balm to slashes in the heart. To no longer break your own heart; but to make amends to yourself, and to resist exposing yourself to anything or anyone who is cruel, unkind or unsupportive of you. So spend lots of nourishing time in nature, put your phone in a drawer, and focus on healing. Heal whatever is left unresolved in your sweet heart, and keep moving toward the salvation of renewed growth.

You guys have been shifting, changing and moving so fast that you haven’t had enough time to process any grief or hurt from the last few months. That’s been totally aligned, but it is now the perfect time to do this internal healing work. This month, you’ll finally have space to not only heal, but to find joy and lightness again. This is the invitation of this retrograde for you; space, clearing and renewal. Healing in order to create space is the key to this month for you, Aquarius.

Three of Swords can be a very painful energy to move through. It can portend heartache, heartbreak, wounding, and drama. It’s a huge mental energy, too; lots of beliefs and thoughts that don’t serve. But because you got this card reversed, Aquarius, the pain of this card is behind you. It is already over. The storm has passed; now you must rebuild. There is a reemergence that is so beautiful with this card reversed. You are truly going through a rebirth, Aquarius.

Be in and around fresh water as much as you can. Bathe, cleanse, and wash yourself in the water of lakes, rivers and streams if possible. Treat yourself kindly during this time. Take naps, go slowly, let things be as soft, as gentle and as deep as they can get. Really up your time in nature, too. Make this a very nourishing experience. This wound clearing for Aquarius might go back years. Whatever has been left unexamined is now ready to be looked at and squeezed out. Trust this time, trust all that its bringing to you, and keep allowing it to releasing layer upon layer of shrapnel from your soul, leaving you whole and new again.

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

:: PISCES – Nine of Wands ::

There are some powerful journeys in store for you this month, Pisces. Journeys of the heart, the mind and the soul. These journeys are all beautiful, but intense, and will absolutely take up a great deal of your energy this month. It is the last big expansion of energy for you before a period of well deserved rest this summer. The key with Nine of Wands is to take breaks when you need them. It’s a lot of work, movement and effort to travel through this card’s energy. So go slowly, and ask for help when you desire it.

You do not have to be an island, sweet Pisces. Open your heart, speak your truth, and believe you’re worthy of help and a kind ear. This has really been, frankly, what the last few months have been about for you guys. Getting you to ask for help; to open your heart to community, and to be seen in a way that is really powerful. Those of you who have allowed yourself to be more vulnerable and available to assistance have been receiving it in incredible ways. There have been big, big time shifts and gifts for Pisceans who have asked for help and guidance along the way.

For those of you who are still locked in your victimhood, your mental stories about what is fair or unfair, I gently invite you back to your truth. To the shining, beautiful truth of your special, unforgettable and wonderful nature, Pisces. Nine of Wands, no matter where you are, will be a road home. A road back to your truth, to your path, and to your goals. In order to reach them, you must, must, must, must go gently and slowly. Pace yourself; that’s the key with this card.

Take breaks when you need them, allow yourself to be held up and seen by people who you trust. Ask for whatever assistance you should need along the way and you will absolutely receive it. It is very important for you to speak your truth this month, too. If you have something to say, say it. If you have something to express, express it. Do not hide or suffer in silence. Share your experience and let yourself be seen. It’s the last big, effortful journey before some amount of regeneration and rest for you. Be willing to go the distance and leave the heaviness behind.

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

:: ARIES – The Lovers ::

Seeing and being seen is the medicine of the moment for Aries this month. Expect some BIG personal shifts and upgrades around how you view and think about yourself, all for the better. But let’s start with what The Lovers is NOT: it is not necessarily a harbinger of new love, a rekindling of an old love, or a new relationship. It can be, but this isn’t the bottom line of the card. It’s not about another person or situation; when we are in The Lovers’ energy, the people around us become our mirrors. For you, Aries, the people around you will be deep and powerful reflectors of your truth, beauty, goodness and gifts this month.

This energy is being offered to you so that you can start seeing yourself as others see you. This isn’t an energy that just puffs the ego; the colors run really true, and very deep. There is a power to The Lovers that can radically and permanently shift our opinions and beliefs about ourselves. It all happens in alignment with the truth – and so in any area you have a false view of yourself, someone or something is going to reflect the truth to you. Now comes your opportunity to accept this invitation and embody it.

This whole year for Aries is going to be about upgrading old beliefs and evolving your view of yourself. It has been, up until this point, about healing and offering love and care to the nervous system. May offers some more blossoming and sweetness. April was a CRUNCHER of a month for Aries – so much ego eradication, stress and insecurity. This month, dive back into the truth. Do you know who you are? In April, I don’t know how many of you would have answered that you knew with confidence. This month is a different ballgame. The Lovers will help profoundly with this.

If you are not in a position where someone in your life is reflecting to you YOUR specialness, pay attention to those who YOU feel are beautiful. What you think is amazing in them is what is amazing about you too. If you’re falling in love with someone, you’re really falling in love with yourself. What you feel is special and wonderful about someone else, is in you, too. It’ll be a heart centered homecoming to the truth of your amazing nature, Aries. So dive in courageously, and let yourself see and be seen.

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

COSMIC CULTURE FOR MAY 2016

Posted on by Amelia Quint

Check out Amelia Quint’s round-up of cosmic culture for May 2016, bringing you the most mystical new releases in music, film, and literature…

Beyonce Lemonade on Cosmic Culture May 2016 The Numinous
Queen Bey

:: MUSIC :: 

BEYONCÉ

If you haven’t watched or listened to Lemonade yet, you’re missing out on one of the most powerful musical events of our generation. More than an album or documentary alone, Lemonade is a work of feminist, activist art. Fueled by the blues and righteous anger, Queen Bey’s Moon – Uranus – Lilith in Scorpio conjunction roars louder than ever. Lucky Jupiter is transiting her Virgo sun in the selfless twelfth house, immaculate timing for her to give the world such an amazing gift.

Lemonade is available now on iTunes, Amazon, and Tidal.

PEACHES

Peaches
Peaches

Already a mainstay in the electronic music world, Maya Jane Cole’s NSFW brand of genderfluid, sexually charged charisma has her poised for mainstream success. Peaches’ new album, Rub Remixed, was created entirely by female and female-identifying producers – how’s that for divine feminine? Her Sun, Moon, Venus, and Neptune are aligned in magnetic Scorpio, and she has Mercury retrograde in Sagittarius, a placement known both for its poetic potential and ability to shock.

Rub Remixed is set for release on May 27.

:: TELEVISION ::

Prince
Prince

Don’t waste your precious energy on TV this month, as May is heartbreakingly devoid of any high-vibe premieres. Instead, take the time you’d spend binge-watching Netflix and pay respects to the incredible artists that have recently passed beyond the veil.

David Bowie
David Bowie

Watch Prince as he debuts his signature purple style and Jimi Hendrix worthy guitar riffs in Purple Rain, or David Bowie in his iconic turn as the Goblin King in Labyrinth. Light a candle, listen to their music, or perhaps write something of your own. Ask yourself: “What legacy do I want to leave behind in this world when I move on to the next?”

:: FILM ::

HIGH RISE

High Rise
High Rise

An adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s critically acclaimed novel, this dystopian thriller follows the tenants of a luxury high-rise apartment building as they descend into Lord of the Flies-esque tribalism. The novel is a cutting critique of materialism and excess in modern society – must know themes for any modern mystic. If the Kubrick inspired poster is any indication (A Clockwork Orange, anyone?), this is going to be good.

High Rise is scheduled for US release on May 13.

ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

Alice Through the Looking Glass
Alice Through the Looking Glass

What witch can resist the charms of Lewis Carroll? In this sequel to the live-action 2010 film, wild card Gemini Johnny Depp reprises his role as the Mad Hatter, along with many other original cast members including Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway. In keeping with the ancestors theme, Alan Rickman is featured here as the voice of the Blue Caterpillar. Go for the memories of Professor Snape, stay for what’s sure to be an magical escape.

Alice Through the Looking Glass is scheduled for US release on May 27.

THE WITCH

You can read our full review of The Witch in last month’s Cosmic Culture post, but great news…

The Witch will be available on DVD on May 17. Yes, please!

:: BOOKS ::

THE INNER FIX: BE STRONGER, HAPPIER AND BRAVER

Addictive Daughter
Addictive Daughter

In the first book from Persia Lawson and Joey Bradford, the YouTube self-help divas known collectively as Addictive Daughter share their personal strategies for navigating life in an overstimulating world. With practical videos like “The Trick to Manifesting Your Ideal Lover”, “Why It’s Okay to Be Jealous of Your Friends”, and “How to Stop Anxiety & Panic Attacks in an Instant,” their written advice is sure to be as entertaining as it is enlightening.

The Inner Fix will be available on May 19 via Yellow Kite Books.

365 TAROT SPELLS: CREATING THE MAGIC IN EACH DAY

365-Tarot-Spells-1
365 Tarot Spells

Are you a tarot lover who wants to learn magick? This book is for you! In Sasha Graham’s follow-up to 365 Tarot Spreads, she offers a spell for every day of the year based on the archetypes of the tarot. According to the book description, each spell has a list of ingredients, visualization, meditation, affirmation, and card layout — oh my! With enchantments for money, career, creativity, love, and more, Graham definitely has your magical needs covered.

365 Tarot Spells will be available May 8 via Llewellyn Worldwide.

MY MYSTICAL LIFE: AN ACTUAL DATE WITH RUSSELL BRAND (KINDA)

Posted on by Ruby Warrington

Tending to my zen-den, a modern day witch hunt, and a Skype date with Russell Brand…

Ruby Warrington My Mystical Week The Numinous

:: MONDAY ::
So I spent the past two weeks on vacation in Hawaii, where I had planned to switch off completely and mend my broken mind after pretty much a year of #nodaysoff. Which, for various reasons, is not how things panned out – but OH WOW, what valuable lessons and insights the Universe had in store for me instead! Why do I bring this up? Because rarely does life give us what we think we want – the Universe prefers to serve us what it knows we NEED. Basically the number one thing to keep in mind as we head into this Mercury (+ Mars + Pluto + Jupiter + Saturn!!) retro phase. So be open, be vigilant, and just watch in grace and wonder as it all unfolds.

:: TUESDAY ::
Mega congrats to my beautiful friend and collaborator Kirsty, who launched the most fabulous service today – an online subscription service for high-end, hard-to-find scented candles named Scent. When you set up an account, you’ll be asked to create a “scent profile” so all the candles you receive can be tailored to your tastes. Your zen-den never smelled better – and just in time for Mother’s Day too! Discover more at Scentfrom.us

Scent candle subscription service on The Numinous
Loving the beautiful imagery on Scent…

:: WEDNESDAY ::
And speaking of zen-dens – can we just officially acknowledge that ritual baths are currently officially a thing? Like is anybody out there not soaking with a bunch of salts, crystals, and activated herbs? Which is timely, actually, since with all those planets currently in retrograde, the big memo from the Cosmos is to slow things TF down. So check out this ritual bath recipe from Deborah Hanekamp, or stock on House of Intuition’s genius “bath bags” (like a tea bag but for your bath, see below) – and soak it up!

house of intuition bath bags on The Numinous
Clarity Bath Bags, $8, House of Intuition

:: THURSDAY ::
An interview with Jessica Knoll, who’s runaway best-seller Luckiest Girl Alive is – hello – an absolute feminist classic. Do not be put off by the breezy comparisons to Gone Girl etc, this is a straight-up Medieval witch-hunt at its most gory. And in the Now Age? Girl comes out alive and kicking. It’s not giving anything away to reveal that Jessica recently came out about the rape scenes depicted in the book as being based on her own teenage experiences – in other words, took one giant leap for female kind in re-writing history from the perspective of herstory. Read it and weep (tears of  fully empowered female joy).

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll on The Numinous

:: FRIDAY ::
Got so SO close to making an actual dream come true today, when I got to speak at an event hosted by the David Lynch Foundation with none other than…Russell Brand! Only Rus ended up being Skyped in – so near, yet so far. The topic? Meditation as a tool for addiction recovery and substance abuse, and of course Russell nailed it. I’ll share a link to the whole panel discussion when it’s posted online, but one classic RB take-away to take you into your week-end: “I used substances to access a alternate state of consciousness. Now I have meditation for that.” Amen.

HOLY F*CK: UNLOCKING THAT P-CHI

Posted on by Alexandra Roxo

Yes, P as in pussy! In her latest Holy F*ck column, Alexandra Roxo explores ways to get things moving and grooving down there…

IMAGE 1

“Why you wear such tight clothes? Chi no flow down there!” The words of my five feet tall Chinese acupuncturist, Alice Yan, from Mott Street still haunt me every time I suck myself into a skinny jean or put on a pencil skirt.

I’ve been trying to keep that lower chi flowing for years and it’s recently come to my attention that I’m not the only one with some blocked P-Chi. By P, I mean Pussy, yes. Call it Shakti, sekhem, prana… Whatever it is. It’s the vibes seated deep in your pelvis waiting to be tapped into and, culturally, even globally, we all know p-chi is repressed/suppressed/depressed…All of it.

Instead of going to the bigger stuff – patriarchy, women being squashed out of all religions, femicide etc…- I say let’s start the healing  on a micro-level, in our own lives, and mostly in our own panties.

A few years ago I found myself in a relationship, deeply in love, but with zero sex drive. Basically, my lower chakras were asleep. I looked for help. And it came via Paz de la Huerta, a goddess with free flowing P-Chi. So, I felt good about turning to Grace Kim, an amazing coach, for help.

It was a case of: “Hi. I can’t feel my lower chakras and – worse – I”VE BECOME OKAY WITH IT.” Her response? “Well this is blocking the flow for work, money, sex, and creativity for you. Manifestation occurs when the lower and higher chakras meet. At the heart.”

She showed me a chakra map for manifestation, sent me to a 5Rhythms class, recommended I wear more red, shake a rattle, and put my feet on the earth. DONE. But, slowly my energy crept back into my head, my mind, my iPhone…That, plus no connection to nature living in Brooklyn, and my lower chakras went on vacay, again.

So, when my acupuncturist straight up yelled at me and told me it was my fault I had bad cramps and irregular periods I got it. And since then I’ve been working on it, determined to stop living from the waist or neck up.

I recently did a snake dancing ceremony with a woman named Londin Angel Winters who has the chi FLOWIN. (You can just see when a woman has that Pussy Shine Light on. It’s a beacon of light in a dark world!) She uses the snakes to help you connect to your Kundalini and subtle energy body, using the metaphor of your pelvis as a cauldron – and, when you drop into that cauldron, you activate, the heat rises, and the heart melts. BOOM.

I danced with this snake named Bojack. And although he was around my neck, I felt it deep in my WOMB. Well, basically all my lady parts…It was like my Kundalini’s inner heater got cranked up to high. I cried and drove home feeling high as a kite! It was a powerful way to get that energy flowing. The next dance led to a deeper activation deep in my pelvis. A sense of ease. Grace. Calm.

IMAGE 2

In fact, as soon as I set my intention to unlock my P-Chi in a LIFE way – opposed to just a SEX way – is when it started to unfold. A filmmaker I barely know called me the other night and we chatted for two hours, with her asking: “Do you practice masturbation manifestation?”

I was like “Hot damn! I been practicing “sex with lotsa people” for so many years, but now since I’m on month four of celibacy I’m even re-defining my orgasm!” #Latetotheparty? But yes, I AM practicing masturbation for manifestation no, and it’s working. It’s another way to say hi to your P-Chi and get to know it/work with it/party down with it, and most of all HEAL it.

The other night while engaging in this “practice” I had some amazing business ideas. I called my friend Elyssa the next day to share, and as I told her I looked around and saw three white cars drive past. All with 11 on the license plates. I started screaming. P-CHI ON.

If this all sounds intense, don’t worry. You don’t have to wrap yourself in a reptile or do sex magic to switch on your P-Chi. My new friend Jayne Goldheart, another super activated woman, took me to a Qoya class, which is another way there. It’s a type of dance that def heals some deep feminine energy. I loved it.

And while I found myself twirling my pelvis in the dark it dawned on me: there are WAVES of women up on this cultural pussy healing and reactivation, and as I’ve been sucking my gut in so I can zip my leather pencil skirt, they have been fighting the good fight to keep women in their pleasure power pelvic center! Thank. Goddess.

The journey of healing and harnessing your P-Chi can be lifelong. It can be scary at times.  Unlocking Shakti and Kundalini can also bring major waves of change in your life, but it’s so worth it. An awakened woman also scares some people off, but the ones who are meant to stick around and dance with you will.

The path of the open pelvis is a long and winding road, and as you consider whether to embark on the journey yourself, remember this: it’s also the direct route to unlocking your Goddess Energy, abundance, and intuition. And to the thousands of women helping remind us to get back to this power: I salute you all.

5 Easy to Get Your P-Chi Flowing

  1. Start wearing more dresses and stop wearing underwear. I’m not saying wear a short tight dress panty free on the 6 train in NY in rush hour. Yuck. I’m thinking Saturday to brunch, a long Mara Hoffman look, a gentle breeze…Also, cross your legs less. That stops the flow!
  2. Call in sick the first day of your cycle and start to make your own ritual around your period. And if your period is in a state of dysfunction (which mine was for years) spend some time on it, cause that’s a P-Chi block you’re dealin’ with. Read Alissa Vitti. Christiane Northrup. Ween yourself off Advil and listen to your cycle.
  3. Move! NOT Soul Cycle – that crunches your P-Chi. I’m talking something that loosens and opens things up. Jamaican dancehall class has been my medicine! What’s yours? I also love Qoya, 5Rhythms, and will be getting into ecstatic as soon as I get some bell bottom yoga pants.
  4. Let your belly hang out. I know this sounds wiiiiiiild right? Lol. It is pretty radical – what if we all took photos on Instagram with our bellies free? #Revolution. But honestly the breath is the biggest tool to warming up your nether regions and once you start releasing your breath into your pelvis you will feel a difference.
  5. Write out your P-Chi story.  Do a ritual around your relationship to your lower chakras, the energy there, when it’s been blocked, when it’s been wounded, what you want from it.  Go as far or close as you want with it.

Alexandra Roxo is an LA based filmmaker and actress who has recently began doing coaching, healing and teaching work. Read more on alexandraroxo.com. Follow her on Insta here and read her past Numinous articles on Now Age love and sex here.

SKIN DEEP: DO TATTOOS MAKE ME LESS SPIRITUAL?

Posted on by The Numinous

Calling all spiritual truth seekers: it’s time we cut the judgement and accept all who don’t fit into our preconceived ideas about what spirituality looks like Chris Grosso… Artwork: Alessandra De Cristofaro

Alessandra De Cristofaro on The Numinous

It’s not only racists, sexists, and homophobes who have closed minds. I find it very interesting to watch just how much some “spiritual” people get bent out of shape over other people who don’t fit their image of what spirituality is supposed to look like.

I have lots of tattoos. I honestly don’t care if you’re tattooed or not; I just happen to like them, and so I get them. As a result of said tattoos, however, I’ve heard comments like: “Anyone who desecrates their bodies couldn’t know the first thing about spirituality, compassion, loving-kindness, or well-being.”

I’m not singling anyone out here, because I’ve caught it from Christians, Buddhists, yogis, nondenominational spiritualists, and more.

But it’s not just those of us with tats who are on the receiving end of this. The stereotypes often carry over to include people whose lifestyle and appearance deviate from what’s traditionally considered “acceptable” as either a spiritual or cultural norm.

This can include dyed hair, piercings, nontraditional attire, and a plethora of other choices that “don’t fit the spiritual mold.” And, sadly, it pretty much goes without saying that to be “different” is to subject yourself to occasional mockery by those who fear the unfamiliar, which is never a good time.

But as happens with every generation, younger people immersed in counterculture are speaking out. Like those who came before us, the 1960s hippies for example, we know our hearts are dedicated to the revolution, to changing humanity for the better – no matter how we choose to present our physical form to the world.

And sure, some of us may look funny to others – but isn’t life’s diversity something to be celebrated rather than scoffed at, especially when the “funny”-looking people are also working hard at making this world a better place?

I’m grateful to no longer feel the need to judge others whose outsides don’t match mine – though it certainly wasn’t always like that for me. Relinquishing superficial judgments is something I’ve worked on diligently. Through years of practice, today I can honestly say that I’ve made sincere progress.

I don’t give a shit about your style of dress or haircut or whatever other external things seemingly make us different. I’m much more interested in what’s happening on the inside—what does your heart have to say?

When my first book, Indie Spiritualist: A No Bullshit Exploration of Spirituality, was published, I received criticism from some “spiritual” people, based solely on my outer appearance. What surprised me was that some of it occurred when two spiritual teachers I deeply respect, Ram Dass and Tara Brach were kind enough to share the endorsements they’d written for it on their Facebook pages, in support of the book’s release.

Chris Grosso: a.k.a. The Indie Spiritualist on The Numinous
Chris Grosso: a.k.a. The Indie Spiritualist

Both Ram Dass’s and Tara’s work have been extremely important in my life, so I was touched that they took the time to spread the word about mine. Their Facebook posts included a picture of me, clearly showing my heavily tattooed arms. In all fairness, the majority of the comments from people were very nice and supportive, but there were still those who felt the need to leave shitty remarks based on nothing more than my appearance.

An example from Tara’s page is: “I’m at a loss on how true wisdom can exist simultaneously with the obsession to tattoo your body. It would seem that seeing through the maya of social conditioning would include seeing the silliness of tattoos, especially many, many, many tattoos.”

If you truly consider yourself to be invested in spirituality for the betterment of all humanity, please take a moment to contemplate whether those who live differently from you or practice differently from you are affecting your life’s well-being – spiritual or otherwise. If they’re not, then why not continue to explore why you care?

I’m offering you these questions from a sincere place, a place where we can attempt to find some reconciliation rather than create more separation.

Accepting one another for exactly who we are as we step foot onto the spiritual path is of paramount importance because—regardless of the differences in our personal tastes, styles, or beliefs—bettering ourselves through conscious, intentional living is always for the greater collective good, which includes all of us.  

Each moment any of us (and I mean any of us) sits in meditation, says a prayer, practices yoga, counts a mala or rosary bead, or takes a mindful breath while skateboarding, hiking, making love, or rocking out at a concert, we truly benefit all beings.

And if your spiritual practice doesn’t help you practice kindness, compassion, and acceptance, and include everyone, then what’s the point?

***

About the Author: Chris Grosso is a public speaker, writer, recovering addict, spiritual director, and author of Indie Spiritualist (Beyond Words, 2014) andEverything Mind (Sounds True, October 2015). He writes for ORIGIN, Mantra Yoga & Health Magazine, and The Huffington Post, and has spoken and performed at Wanderlust Festival, Yoga Journal Conference, Sedona World Wisdom Days, Kripalu, and more. A self-taught musician, Chris has been writing, recording, and touring since the mid-90s. Visit The Indie Spiritualist

NOWHERE TO HIDE: READING FOR THE SCORPIO FULL MOON

Posted on by Danielle Paige

Let it all hang out…and allow “it” to spark your transformation, says Danielle Paige. PLUS a channelled angelic message for the Scorpio Full Moon by Jackie O’Shea

afterlight

The need to feel. The need to destroy. The need to begin again, new, pure, hungry for something the makes your soul feel alive again. The need to hold on tight…and yet, to let go.

Welcome to this week’s Scorpio Full Moon. She will be exact on April 22 at 1:24am EST at 2 degrees of Scorpio.

A Full Moon shines a light on all things hidden. There is nowhere to hide now; it all comes out and usually in a dramatic way. Combine this with Scorpio energy, and we’ve entered a zone where we’re being asked to crack open and reveal the parts that might not be so pretty. Which, of course, is always subjective.

It may be pretty to cry – because it means you’re releasing old pain. It may be pretty to be a hot mess – because you’re feeling raw, untamed, and unapologetic, which in itself can be freeing and sexy!

A Full Moon is a powerful portal that help us tune into the Universal energy as we become moved by her gravitational pull. She dances over our soul. She plays with our heart. She lights us up. She brings our emotions to a head. She can keep us up at night, revealing questions that have been trapped in our subconscious for some time.

She taunts us….and when she’s in Scorpio, she does so in a transformative and healing way by going way, way below what’s happening up on the surface to get to the heart of the matter.

This Scorpio Full Moon may feel intense. But hold on to the awareness that she is here to show us the magic that’s hiding deep within. Scorpio energy doesn’t care what something looks like on the surface because it knows that underneath….inside….deep in the shadows….there is is a spark so bright it has the potential to transform into something more powerful than anything we’ve seen before.

This is where we are reborn, from this spark, from this light. But, first, something must be destroyed. That’s just how Scorpio works. Seductive and mysterious, Scorpio understands, as with everything in life, that we must let go of what has been order to breathe anew, to feel alive, and to move. Because when we move, when we transform and evolve, is when we truly live.

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Here are a few tips to help you tap into the transformative powers of this Scorpio Full Moon:

1) Allow yourself to access places within yourself that you haven’t felt in a while. It’s okay, you’re safe. The holding onto the past is what’s keeping you stuck.
2) Release anything that no longer serves you. Energetically imagine sending it down into a vortex and clearing it out of your energy field. Cut cords, take a salt bath, anything that will help you let go of the old.
3) Magick! Break out the tarot cards, runes, candles, crystals etc. This is a perfect time to use your tools to help you activate your intuition and turn on your witchy vibe.
4) Observe. See the light in others and it will help you identify the light in yourself.
5) Cleanse your chakras to balance your energy field so that you can feel lighter and more open.
6) And last but not least…sex it up! Scorpio is all about passion and intimacy so bust out the black leather and/or lace lingerie and channel your inner Lilith!

Still want to go deeper and do some healing work? Danielle is hosting a virtual circle for the Scorpio Full Moon Friday April 22. Find more here.

:: CHANNELLED ANGELIC MESSAGE FOR THE SCORPIO FULL MOON ::

There are many opportunities for you to work with the lunar energies. With so many planets currently in retrograde, this means allowing yourself to backtrack, embracing this time of review and reflection, and not get so caught up in the forward progress that you may desire. These are times of reflection, times of change, and times of embodiment.

Allow things to be as they are, for the tides to ebb and flow. Any roadblocks are here to help your highest vibrational destiny come into being. If barriers, false starts, and trials and tribulations appear, allow yourself the time to slow down and reflect on what no longer serves you that can now be transcended and released – even if this simply points to an emotional response pattern that is being triggered. Allow yourself to work with what IS, embracing that everything is happening for your highest destiny and evolution, even if it doesn’t appear so.

Begin to embody compassionate resonance during times of struggle and hardship as well as times of joy and transformation. You can help others more deeply by going into the depths of your own struggle and pain. And there is no need to worry about taking too much time to process the darkness, for time is infinite from the perspective of the soul.

Your lessons and evolution are far more significant that you may currently imagine, since you are embodying a place of learning where you can express into form all of the different facets of your multi-dimensional self, and be a full expression of infinity. The only limit you face now is in prohibiting yourself from embodying your truth, whatever that truth may be – a turbulent emotional state, a joyous state, or somewhere in between.

The current lunar energies are here to help you begin to embody your truth, whatever that looks like for you, and to express it into form without holding back. It is safe to fully feel every emotion, every sorrow, every hardship, and trial, allowing the density of your emotions to pass through your physical and energetic body. Allow the density to transcend and be transformed into higher light vibrations, creating the potential for newness.

You have the opportunity to begin to embody your highest path now and live the life that you desire to live. There is nothing holding you back in the time-space continuum but your own internal perceptions and barriers of consciousness. These have neurological ties to behavioral patterning encoded into your body hologram, but all of this CAN be loosened and transformed. All of this can change. You are being redefined in every moment, constantly creating new cells and patterns of behavior and embodiment.

We are proud of you for allowing all things and creation to be as they are. Now is a time to transcend time and space so that you can be everything that you are, recognizing yourself in all of the physical manifestations of the world. Enjoy the embodiment of this divinity, enjoy even the struggle and the heartbreak, so that you feel safe transcending the cycles of time that your mind has become entrapped by.

Allow yourself to grow with grace and transcend the old energetic limitations and boundaries that have held you back in the past from embodying your full divine higher self. You are an infinite creative immortal being and there is no reason to think of yourself as less than the divine embodiment that you are. We are proud of you every time you chose grace over struggle. We are proud of you every time you transcend an old karmic situation. We are proud of you every time you breath deep and take a moment to pause the breath. In higher consciousness you are infinite, all things are obtainable, and you are the infinity that you seek and desire.

Join Jackie O’Shea for an Embodying the Divine Feminine Full Moon Circle on Thursday, April 21st at 7pm PST available via live stream, recording, or in person in Los Angeles

Details and Tickets: embodydivinefeminine.splashthat.com

THE NUMINOUS PRESENTS: MERCURY RISING

Posted on by Ruby Warrington

Join us and Standard Talks for our Mercury Rising event, a full day of next level wellbeing and cosmic empowerment…

HL_Numinous_MercuryRising_Square

YES – we’re organizing a day-long event right in the middle of the up-coming Mercury Retrograde period. Are we crazy? NO. Because it’s time to break some taboos and show you how to make this much maligned Cosmic aspect work FOR YOU.

Numinous founder Ruby Warrington has curated Mercury Rising – a very special roster of talks and workshops, featuring some of our favorite modern mystics. Co-hosted by Standard Hotels, the day-long event is designed to help empower you in navigating this tricky astrological climate.

Famous for creating delays, miscommunications, and wreaking all kinds of havoc with our schedules, Mercury Retrograde has become the Donald Trump of the astro calendar – but there’s nothing to be afraid of! With awareness and a willingness to embrace what comes up, this can be a potent time for healing old wounds, tidying up unfinished business, and working WITH the Universe to carve out your best future.

Our Mercury Rising event has been designed specifically to show you how – with 3 instructional, fun and interactive workshops, PLUS individual tarot readings to leave you feeling fully empowered and with a Cosmic goddess glow!

Click here for tickets and logistics – and read on for everything you need to know…

DATE:
Saturday, May 7 2016

LOCATION:
The Standard, High Line, 848 Washington Street, New York, NY, 10014 (PLUS make a weekend of it with a 15% discount on rooms with the code MERCURYRISING) 

TICKETS:
Full day – $89 (including drinks and snacks)
Individual workshops – $35 each

RUN OF PLAY:
11am-12.30pm – F*ck You Mercury Retro Salon with The Astro Twins
Elle.com astrologers Tali and Ophira Edut break down WHY Mercury Retrograde gets such a bad rap, while providing expert insight about how we can actually make the energy at this time work in our favor. They will also provide an in-depth overview of the planetary aspects influencing this specific Mercury Retro phase, to further illustrate how to maximize the cosmic potential of the times – with a view to setting up your best summer ever.

12.30-1.30pm – Break (with refreshments from the Montauk Juice Factory + option to add on a lunch-box from Standard Hotels)

1.30-3.30pm – Lead Your Own Moon Ceremony with Deborah Hanekamp
As well as teaching participants the proper protocols for creating your own New and Full Moon ceremonies, this workshop includes an overview of how to work with the different phases of the Moon each and every month – including diet, lifestyle, and wellness practices. Living in alignment with the lunar cycles is a way of connecting to your own innate power source, giving you the inner strength to navigate any Mercury Retro hi-jinx!

3.30-4pm – Break (tea + pastries)

4-6pm – Breathwork for Mercury Retrograde with Erin Telford
Breathwork is an active meditation technique designed to move stuck or heavy energy, and a super fast way to emotionally detox – the perfect healing for clearing anything that’s come up during the Mercury Retrograde period. Think part self-healing technique, part catharsis, part adult temper tantrum, and part psychedelic experience! Set to music,  you will be held in sacred space during the entire session, releasing what isn’t yours to hold anymore and emerging with more light and clarity.

6-7.30pm – Individual soul tarot readings with Lindsay Mack (drinks + canapes)
We finish the day with sunset refreshments on the terrace, where The Numinous resident tarot reader Lindsay Mack will be available for mini one-to-one soul tarot sessions. With this final piece of cosmic guidance in your toolbox, you’ll be primed to thrive despite whatever the Mercury Retro phase sends your way – you may even find yourself looking forward to the next one!

***

THE ASTRO TWINS
Through their popular astrology website, identical twins Ophira and Tali Edut help “bring the stars down to earth” with their unique, lifestyle-based approach to astrology. They are also the official astrologers for Refinery29, ELLE.com, Elle Australia, Virgin Hotels, GaranceDore.com and Interview Germany.As well as being featured in numerous publications, the sisters have read charts for celebrities including Beyoncé, Stevie Wonder, Jessica Simpson and Sting.
www.astrostyle.com

mercury rising deborah hanekamp on The NuminousDEBORAH HANEKAMP
Deborah Hanekamp is a Seeress and Medicine Woman carrying over 15 years in the healing arts as an Initiated Amazonian Curendara, Reiki Master and Yogini. Guided by the present moment, Deborah has facilitated Medicine Readings and healing ceremonies all over the world. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Time out New York & The Numinous.
www.unityessences.com

 

Erin Telford Mercury Rising on The NuminousERIN TELFORD
Erin’s mission is to help people heal their relationships with themselves. She pulls from a toolbox of therapeutic conversation, lifestyle and spiritual counseling, essential oils, crystals, mantra and other healing tools. She is a healer, acupuncturist, herbalist and Reiki Master and leads individual and group Breathwork sessions. She was recently featured in Refinery 29 as one of “6 Women Who Are Redefining Wellness in New York City.” She is also a regular contributor to The Numinous and Live the Process online magazines. www.erintelford.com

Lindsay Mack Mercury Rising on The NuminousLINDSAY MACK
Lindsay Mack is an intuitive tarot reader, teacher and heart centered healer based in Brooklyn, NY. She is the founder of Sacred Tarot School in NYC, and regularly tours her classes, workshops and Soul Tarot readings all over the world. She is the co-facilitator of Brooklyn Fools Tarot Intensive, located at Maha Rose in Brooklyn, and she is a full time tarot teacher at Spirit Weavers Gathering.
www.lindsaymack.com

A SENSORY EXPLORATION OF TAURUS SEASON

Posted on by Bess Matassa

A luscious monthly exploration of the cosmic energies for Taurus Season by Cara George & Bess Matassa of Mojave Rising…

Image: Astromatcha
Image: Astromatcha

Taurus season coaxes us off the battlefield and into the boudoir as we relax into wanting what feels good to want – while already having everything that we need. This Venus-ruled bovine beauty reminds us that Venusian pleasure seeking is never frivolous, and that fully inhabiting our desire is the gateway to an unshakeable belief in our own value.

It’s a month for languishing in the simple “this-ness” of things as you sink your teeth deeply into what you love. Your diamonds don’t need to be appraised. Your love needs no justification. And baby, you’re always, absolutely, worth it.

The keyword: Succulence.

The song lyrics: “They say our love won’t pay the rent/Before it’s earned, our money’s all been spent/I guess that’s so, we don’t have a plot/But at least I’m sure of all the things we got” – I Got You Babe, Sonny & Cher.

Check out our playlist, complete with country crooners, slow jams, and classic rock.

The color palette: Think beautifully basic yet voluptuous hues that mix Dallas rodeo with a feast in the Scottish highlands: camelback and denim blue paired with crushed grape, burnt copper, and emeralds.

Rodarte 2016
Rodarte 2016

The style: Comfortable luxury that molds to the body like a second skin: jeans and a silk blouse, linen dresses, leather jackets, faux fur in pale pink and tan.

Klydie Thomas
Klydie Thomas

The scents and flavors: Ripe, rich, and classically decadent. Freshly grated truffles, high-quality olive oil and creamy burrata or St. André cheese, full-bodied floral essences, mulled spices, slow roasts, and tobacco.

 

Sabatino (olive oil shot)
Sabatino (olive oil shot)

The healing: Taurus Season is about straightforward, sensuous engagement with the abundant world. Lay your body directly on the dirt in a park or botanical garden and trust in the hard ground and juicy sunshine’s capacity to deliver exactly what you need. Select fabrics that beg for tactile engagement and literally dive into them. Take a scent making class, celebrate with an elaborate tasting menu, or enjoy a night of poker or blackjack as you place bets while knowing you’ve got nothing to lose because there IS no limit on your value.

Sensuous Invitation of the Month: COSMIC MANICURES BY SIGN

By the end of April we’ll have five planets retrograde in earth and fire signs, and there’s no better moment for digging into our interior dirt and engaging in some emotional landscaping. This month asks nothing less from us than our radical faith in the earth’s endless cycles of sensuous generation and mercilessly loving deaths, and reveals to us that we always instinctively know when it’s right to root down and when it’s time to tear away with our gorgeously manicured hands to create anew.

Nails by @ciaomanhattan2012
Nails by @ciaomanhattan2012

:: TAURUS ::
Savor a brand of solidity that’s also buoyant and responsive. Try scented polishes that move you towards a dynamic sensual engagement that’s anything but dull, or experiment with how much nail art each digit can handle until they’re bursting with life.

:: GEMINI ::
Take a break from your endless information gathering as you settle into sweet sensations without having to ask why. Play with iridescent, prismatic shades that are also textured.

:: CANCER ::
Birth your inner fantasy life into the physical world. Ground your little mermaid visions with incandescent shell toned nails or midnight colored blues and violets, or meditate on a desirous inner vision of your nails and team up with a talented artist to bring it into being.

:: LEO ::
Marry your urge for illuminated recognition with an abiding trust that you’re always already enough exactly as you are. Affix luxe diamond and ruby nail gemstones, or sport a “fuzzy” coat that appears so fluffy that you could sink comfortably into your own nail bed.

:: VIRGO ::
Soothe your mutable Earth sign’s impulses towards ordering and discerning with a fixity of feeling that takes the world at face value. Try classic, metallic glittery shades or solid gold.

:: LIBRA ::
Pair your brand of high-minded, idealistic love with a more carnal flavor that doesn’t need to strive to capture the goods. Play with acrylics and release into the “realness” of the fakeness as you celebrate the infinite value of artifice and ornament, or try “opposite” colors on different nails.

:: SCORPIO ::
Relax your urge to penetrate to the depths and instead relish the simple goodness of the luscious, flowering surface of things. Celebrate the steady unfurling of spring blooms with fresh green and pale rose shades, and choose a signature shade on your ring finger as you wed yourself to your own worth.

:: SAGITTARIUS ::
Sample an earthen rootedness that seeks depth over breadth. Fuse your Amazonian streak with bonfire colors and animal print decals, and practice blending into your animal pack with browns and russets that are equal parts expansive and fixed.

:: CAPRICORN ::
Engage in a different brand of “building” that allows the world to do its work upon you. Revel in the slow unfolding of a paraffin wax treatment, or activate your refined, sophisticated flavor of sensuality with a “velvet” manicure.

:: AQUARIUS ::
Drop back into your body as you swap out endless futurism in favor of the delectable present moment. Pair your eccentric, cerebral edge with Taurus primitivism by trying tropical neon nail art, or keep your nails clean and bare to get ready for dirt digging.

:: PISCES ::
Practice “landing” as you learn to value the material as much as the mystical. Commit to a monochromatic mani in a bright kelly green or chartreuse that marries your deep sea diving to the color of land vegetation.

:: ARIES ::
Fuse your action-oriented potency with a yin vibe that knows when to hold ‘em. Choose an in-your-face shade and then dial the color back just a notch; turn saturated magentas into peachy pinks or glossy corals that are equal parts emboldened and receptive.

SELF-CARE: A RITUAL BATH FOR REIKI HEALERS

Posted on by Deborah Hanekamp

Healers and empaths – sometimes you gotta give yourself some TLC, as recommended by Deborah Hanekamp… Artwork: found on Pinterest

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This bath is medicine for the empath, some healing for the healer, and a way to soak up the power and presence of your own energy.

Taking a ritual bath combined with the self-healing treatment of Reiki has been a gift for me over the past 15 years working as a Medicine Woman and Reiki Master. And my heart is fed by sharing it now, for it is essential for Reiki Practitioners to regularly balance our chakras, clear blockages and call in our abundance as light workers.

I believe that the more people there are practicing Reiki, the more peaceful the world will be. To effectively share the enduring magic of Reiki, we must strengthen our “Reiki muscles” – beginning with self-healing, self-care, and personal ritual.

:: INGREDIENTS ::

Fresh pink roses, rosemary, and basil, to cover the surface of the bath water

Baking Soda: 1 TBSP
Apple Cider Vinegar: 1 TBSP
Epsom Salt: 1 Cup
Crystals of: Peach Moonstone, Fluorite and Amethyst
Cedar Wood, Jasmine and Rosemary essential oils: A few drops each

Combine all ingredients in a tub of water as hot as you can stand

:: RITUAL ::

Clear your energy by smudging your body with sacred Palo Santo smoke, including the soles of your feet and back of your head

For practitioners of Reiki 2 and up draw Se Hey Ki over the tub water

Step into the bath and dunk your head under the water

Place the Peach Moonstone crystal on your solar plexus, the Fluorite on your heart chakra, and the Amethyst on your third eye

Begin a self-healing treatment, combined with deep, rhythmic Ujjayi breath

When your self-healing treatment is finished, dunk your head under the water again and chant the sounds of the seven chakras from root to crown; LAM, VAM, RAM, YAM, HAM, AUM (the crown chakra’s sound is silence).

TEMPLE OF VENUS: HOW TO RECEIVE

Posted on by Elyssa Jakim

Elyssa Jakim’s monthly Temple of Venus column returns with some wise words on the practice of receiving… Artwork: Megan Thorp-Levitt

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The paragon of the divine feminine, Venus is born of water. She, like water, receives, or takes in. Receiving then is the nature of the feminine, right? But paradoxically, we often talk about women as “givers.” The woman is the mother, the gatherer, the caretaker, the nurturer. And of course, we all give and receive, regardless of gender. But I want to posit that many of us, women in particular, are not receiving enough.

Especially if you’re an empath or a healer and a highly sensitive person, you may feel as if your tank is constantly empty. As if you’re “giving” all the time, in small and subtle ways – like giving up your ability to make decisions, giving up your lunch hour to a friend, giving up your freedom because of “should’s” or “supposed to’s.” Are you an over-giver? Venus is here to help!

The first thing to remember is that receiving is not about doing. It is about simply being and allowing. But society is set up for us to do, and do, and do some more. We’re taught to do our homework, to get good grades. We’re expected to be brilliant self-starters and become CEOs of our own empires. Our society loves masculine, Yang phrases that get us fired up like: “hit the ground running,” “just do it,” “get it done,” and “killing it.” And well, ehem, can I please get a “fuck that”?

Receiving is your birthright as a divinely feminine creature. Here are some ways to receive…

:: RECEIVE GIFTS ::

A receiving practice is really about cultivating deeper awareness about what you’re already receiving. By truly acknowledging what you receive, you can take this energy in consciously and use it to refill your tank.

A simple way to do this is to receive your gifts! Whenever someone offers to pay for you, cover the tab, or gives you some kind of gift receive it willingly. Say “thank you” with graciousness, and do not offer to pay instead. Feel into the sensation of receiving by taking a second to breathe in the kindness and the loving feelings it brings up. Visualize this feeling filling you up.

Now try it with praise. When someone compliments you, do not leap in to downplay your worthiness! Breathe it in. Receive this gift. It may feel awkward at first, but once accepted, it can feel so good. I’m going to give you one right now to practice: with “You are an incredible being, always doing the best you can. I love you and I see you.” No joke, that is the truth!

Another great way to receive more “gifts” is to ask for help and favors. Can’t reach a top shelf and a tall person is nearby? Ask them for help! This is a really simple way to receive and I’ve noticed in doing this that people really like being given a simple, discrete way to help out. Try it with kids. They LOVE it.

In fact, one of my favorite phrases about receiving is: “receiving empowers the giver.” So be a gracious receiver and empower the people who give to you. It makes everyone feel good.

:: RECEIVE THE PRESENT ::

The present moment is always ripe with abundance and possibilities, and so when we stop to just be, we get in touch with our receiving nature. We are “being” rather than “doing.” (NB: I have learned so much about this from my dear friend Lindsay Mack, who now writes the Numinous Tarotscopes).

A great way to be more present is to practice deep listening. Next time you’re in conversation, notice the cadence of your interlocutor’s speech. Notice each word. Take them in. This is deep receiving.

Is there someone in your life you can do a better job listening to? Make a commitment right now to listen more deeply in conversation with this person (I’m doing it too, believe me). Really receive his or her words, and see what you notice. Were you keeping yourself from receiving this person’s love in certain ways? How can you take in more of the love that’s all around you? Which brings me too…

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:: RECEIVE NATURE ::

Nature is always waiting to shower you with her myriad gifts. So whenever your tank is really low, take any opportunity you can to find nature. Even an office plant or the sidewalk tree will help you to reset.

In many belief systems, nature is the feminine polarity of the divine — that’s why we call her “mother nature” and “mama earth.” By stepping out into nature, we are refreshed. We are filled to the brim with nature’s essence, which is a mirror of our own. We are reminded of our inner nature, which is peace, strength, love, beauty, wonder, and so much more.

An energy healing secret is this: when you’re tired, touch a tree. And on a long hike through rugged terrain, touch tons of trees! They will energize you. Once when I went out in nature with a teacher of mine, we were connecting with trees, and she was teaching me how to feel the spirit of a plant. I turned to a Ponderosa Pine and exclaimed, “This tree needs love.”

I put my hand on the tree and breathed into it. I let it take me on a little visual journey and it showed me how it was a mama bear. It grounded me. It made me feel safe. I laughed, telling her, “Obviously this tree didn’t need love. She just wanted to give me some of hers.” My teacher nodded: “That’s usually how it goes.”

It turns out, of course, Ponderosa Pine was exactly the medicine I needed for what was going on in my life at the time. So receive your dose of nature. Give your heart to the earth and she will give you so much it will bring you to your knees (in the rapturous way).

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:: RECEIVE YOUR LIFE ::

This bears repeating: receiving is following your intuition. This section has fewer tangible steps, for it is intangible and highly personal – yet so many of us are striving to learn how to follow our intuition as one by one we “wake up.”

Difficult, since following your intuition may go against the Yang ways we have been taught (do your homework, go to college, no days off, time spent doing nothing is SLACKING). But this is needed in order to balance the energy on this planet right now. So, can we embrace the slack? In the Western world, we have been living in such a masculine paradigm, that it’s time to strengthen our other muscles – the intuitive receptive muscles. Yes, the pelvic floor muscles just to complete the metaphor!

So how can you be more intuitive, and open to receiving messages from spirit? Where can you put space in your life just to be and listen to your inner guidance? Here is the biggest secret of all: the Divine is standing right next to you, ready to guide you, ready to give to you every day if you let it.

So let go and let God. Do less to receive more (wisdom, love, creativity). It’s funny, it’s miraculous, but it works! And it feels damn good. Bowing to you, may you receive all the gifts and may you feel radiantly receptive, revivified, and rejuvenated.

Please note: this article is intended to be useful to all, regardless of gender. We can all use help with receiving.

Need more Venus inspiration? Check out Elyssa’s last Temple of Venus column on connecting to your inner child through crafting.

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