The Numinous

BODY GLYPH: A CEREMONY FOR MOTHER NATURE

Posted on by Ruby Warrington

“Nature sustains us, and is a living force to be remembered and to be honored. She clothes us in sunlight and shadows, leaves and sand, flowers and geometry. This is the beauty of life off the runway and beyond seasonal trends.”

Photo © Polina Sirosh/Oliver Halsman Rosenberg as the credit line.
Photo © Polina Sirosh/Oliver Halsman Rosenberg 

When I first saw Oliver Halsman Rosenberg at a party on the roof of the Standard Hotel this summer, I knew it was only a matter of time before we’d be featuring him on the site. The NYC-born artist and global nomad wore bones around his neck and silver paint on his face, and is the living embodiment of the consciousness-expanding message of his work, “body glyphs” which use the human form as a canvas for messages divined from the world of the unseen.

Described as; “vibrational mantras manifested on skin,” Oliver’s latest project, Ceremony, is a collaboration with the photographer Polina Sirosh. Begun in Tulum, Mexico, on the cusp of the Mayan calendar change in the winter of 2012, the project continued over the summer of 2013 in Berlin.

Photo © Polina Sirosh/Oliver Halsman Rosenberg
Photo © Polina Sirosh/Oliver Halsman Rosenberg
Photo © Polina Sirosh/Oliver Halsman Rosenberg

HOW DID THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THIS COLLABORATION START?
I was in Tulum as part of a Design Hotels’ “Pop Up Ashram” project at Papaya Playa, where Polina was living with her husband Claus and two kids (in an amazing home in the jungle right on the beach). She saw me doing my body glyphs at an event there, and proposed we do a shoot. At first it was for fun, but we got such magical results that I moved into her guest hut and we continued to work together for a few months; shooting on the beaches, in the jungle, on ruins, and in cenotes.

WHERE DID YOU SHOOT AND WHY? 
Polina lives in Berlin part of the year, and she invited me to continue working on the project with her there. We used her house as a base and a studio, and then we would drive out into the amazing forests and fields that surround the city. We both have an attraction to the purity of nature, and for this series we wanted to explore and be inspired by the landscape.

Photo © Polina Sirosh/Oliver Halsman Rosenberg
Photo © Polina Sirosh/Oliver Halsman Rosenberg
Photo © Polina Sirosh/Oliver Halsman Rosenberg

HOW LONG DOES EACH PAINTING TAKE, AND WERE THESE ALL PRODUCED ON SITE?
Each painting takes three-four hours. Because I never know how Polina will ask the models to pose, I need to cover practically every square inch. I used her rooftop as the studio. It had an amazing view of the city, and created quite a meditative space under the expanse of the Berlin sky.

YOU HAVE DESCRIBED TO ME BEFORE HOW THE PAINTING PROCESS IS ALMOST LIKE ‘CHANNELING’ AN ALIEN LANGUAGE – WHAT’S THE MESSAGE WITH THIS PROJECT?
The calligraphy I do on the body is a language, it’s poetry, it’s math, it’s energy, and it’s meditation all at once. It’s always unique and un-premeditated. Often I just sit with the model, and based on her vibration different patterns emerge on her skin. One model I started to paint with King Tut colors and patterns unconsciously, and it turned out she was part Egyptian. For me it’s just a precious gift I have that I am trying to take care of, and explore in creative ways with creative people. I think with this project, Polina and I both wanted to communicate to the world is that Mother Nature is precious, perhaps the most precious and magical resource we have. And that the body the temple where we worship her. So this project is a celebration of all things natural.

Photo © Polina Sirosh/Oliver Halsman Rosenberg
Photo © Polina Sirosh/Oliver Halsman Rosenberg
Photo © Polina Sirosh/Oliver Halsman Rosenberg
Photo © Polina Sirosh/Oliver Halsman Rosenberg

WHERE WOULD YOU LOVE TO SEE A WOMAN WEAR ONE OF YOUR ‘PIECES’?
Polina often talks about a fantasy she has about being able to wake up in the future, and instead of wearing clothes, just step inside some machine that prints a fresh pattern of mine on her every morning. As far as seeing women wearing my pieces, I am really curious to see what the designers ThreeAsfour come up with for their next season’s line, which will be based on some textile patterns I created before I went to Berlin in Aug. But I guess the ultimate would be to see my future beloved wearing an otherworldly bridal dress at an altar out somewhere in nature.

Catch Oliver’s body glyphs in person as part of NYC fashion group threeASFOUR‘s PERFORMA 13 event on Nov 10th at The Jewish Museum (RSVP only). The glyphs also feature in the threeASFOUR Fall 2014 collection, premiering Feb 2014

MY MYSTICAL LIFE: THE BAREFOOT DOCTOR

Posted on by Ruby Warrington

Stephen Russell, a.k.a. the Barefoot Doctor has been teaching the way of the Tao for decades. Based in Ibiza, the author and global happiness guru also runs ‘conscious’ electronic dance music events around the world. Here he shares the details of a life that is deeply mystical but rooted in the material.

DO YOU HAVE ANY RECURRING DREAMS AND WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY MEAN?
“I dream lucidly so I use the time to create adventures with happy endings – which probably indicates that I like adventures with happy endings.”

WHAT IS YOUR MORNING AWAKENING RITUAL?
“I’d call it post-awakening, as I’m always too excited to be alive when I wake up to ritualize it. But a short while after opening my eyes, I do an hour or so training session in my martial arts practice, with a whole raft of bizarre moves to wake everything up, lubricate the engine, strengthen the flow of juice (chi), and meditation to reinforce the connection to Big Barefoot. I finish by telepathically broadcasting my good wishes to humanity and then cement it by flinging out a message or two far and wide on the Internet.”

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FEELGOOD BREAKFAST AND WHY?
“I’ve learned to stop bothering with favorites of anything as it’s all relative to lighting, camera angle and priorities at the time, and don’t actually eat breakfast anyway as I can’t eat before I train. After that and a shower the day’s begun, I wait till I’ve done whatever the morning requires and eat lunch instead. But if pressed on favourite breakfasts, porridge with full cream milk and white sugar – another reason it’s probably good I don’t eat breakfast.”

WHAT MANTRA DO YOU LEAVE THE HOUSE WITH IN THE MORNING?
“I have so many positive notions running through my mind at any moment it’s hard to alight on just one, but if I had to it’d probably be that everything I’m experiencing, no matter how irksome or magnificent, is an expression of life’s absolute love for me and that everything I do, no matter how bumbling or adroit, is an expression of my absolute love for life.”

WHAT’S YOUR LUCKY CHARM?
“The planet Earth.”

IN WHAT WAYS DO YOU MOST EMBODY THE TRAITS OF YOUR SIGN?
“I’m Virgo and aside from a caring nature and my work looking after multitudes of people’s states of mind on a daily basis, the writing aspect of the work involved, tying together an array of apparently disparate strands of knowledge and human experience into a single piece of fabric – that’s a Virgo trait more usually expressed as being fastidiously tidy at home (I’m not).”

WHAT OTHER ELEMENTS OF YOUR CHART DO YOU RELATE TO THE MOST?
“Leo ascendant, the performer on stage. Pisces moon, the psychic, trippy aspect. And it’s Venus in Scorpio that makes me sexy.”

WHO IS YOUR GO-TO GURU, AND WHY DOES THEIR WORK RESONATE WITH YOU?
“Me – I go to myself everyday as I don’t know anyone I relate to more or who has anything more pertinent to say to me than me. It’s a perk of the job when you’re a guru.”

AND THE HEALER YOU HAVE ON SPEED-DIAL?
“Me – for the same reasons as above.”

IN WHAT WAYS DO YOUR MYSTICAL BELIEFS INFORM YOUR WORK?
“In every way – that’s what my work is – sharing the Taoist cosmology, existential map, philosophy and methods that I practice myself.”

AND HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH NEGATIVE THOUGHTS?
“I don’t deal with them, I just think them and watch myself think them then choose the positive option instead. On the rare but occasionally inevitable times I’ve gone into a momentary spiral and fancy a bit of external bolstering, I call various friends and have a moan till I feel better. But I rarely think negatively these days or rather rarely let fearful or angry thoughts get the better of me – I’m having too much fun just being alive to waste a moment of it not enjoying the show.”

RETAIL THERAPY IS…?
“A momentary distraction from the existential process, and / or a gesture of appreciation for myself.”

WHAT’S YOUR POWER OUTFIT?
“Whatever I’m wearing – my power comes from within, not from my clothes.”

AND WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL BEAUTIFUL, WHY?
“My training each day because it settles my spirit, makes me fit, increases circulation, beautifies the complexion, brightens the eyes and makes every action feel beautiful.”

YOUR LAST CONVERSATION WITH THE UNIVERSE WENT SOMETHING LIKE…?
“I never stop having a conversation with the universe – my whole life is this conversation – but the issue we were just talking about was that I’m free to believe whatever I choose and that I have it all and have nothing to loose. And I told it I’d revel in the ambiguity of that.”

WHEN DID YOU LAST WITNESS MAGIC IN ACTION?
“I’m witnessing it all the time. This entire existence is magic in action.”

WHAT’S ON YOUR VISION BOARD RIGHT NOW?
“I don’t have vision boards – I just expect the best and surrender to destiny, knowing that given half a chance things tend to work out swimmingly.”

YOUR MISSION IN YOUR CURRENT EARTHLING INCARNATION IS…?
“To radiate the perpetual joy and delight I experience for being alive to as many people in the world as possible and to share as many of the methods that facilitated this state with as many people as possible, with a view to inducing the whole world to ease off a few degrees more. With just a bit more global relaxation, we all stand a far better chance of coming out of all this smiling.”

Barefoot hosts global ‘Magic Satsang’ meditation sessions online every Sunday at 7pm GMT time at www.barefootsatsang.com. Register at least one hour before, as numbers are limited to 200 globally. 

PSYCHIC CLOSET CLEAR OUT: ROOM FOR A WHOLE NEW ME

Posted on by Ruby Warrington

If the contents of your closet reflects who you really are, what to do when nothing’s working any more? Call in your friend Psychic Betsy to help intuit what should stay and what really needs to move on.

“Who IS she?” Photograph: Megan Gustashaw

The past two years have been a time of major transition for me. A move to NYC, a radical change in my daily working life and a slow and steady slide to the other side of 35 are the obvious, surface things. But internally, things have been shifting too. With Pluto (planet of transformation) squaring Uranus (the future, individualism, radical and progressive ideas) since June 2012, I get the feeling I’m not the only one (you can read more about THAT whole situation here) but one of the major tell-tale signs that I’m no longer the woman I used to be is that peering into the labyrinth that is my closet, I often can’t find anything to wear.

In fact, it’s more like taking a trip down memory lane in my Facebook photo archive. That dress I wore to rave the summers away in Ibiza. The jacket that felt so sharp when I landed my first proper newspaper job, but which I haven’t actually worn since 2007. If what’s in our wardrobe is really a reflection of the person we are, at times it’s been like grappling with a case of multiple personality disorder. I look inside, and it’s like…who IS she?

It had got to a point where I’d just wear the same things ALL THE TIME, waiting for precisely the right meeting, party or dinner date when a 1980s sweater covered with gold sequins would obviously be just the thing. In the meantime, with so many perfectly good clothes waiting to be worn (I mean we’re talking a lot of designer goods here too people) I hardly felt justified buying new stuff to bridge the gap. Clearly, it was time for the closet clear out to end all closet clear outs. But where to begin?

Ruby, are you in there?
It makes me look like Kate Moss, right?

Our personal style is ruled by Venus, and in my case that comes with a serious case of Pisces sentimentality, not to mention a heady dose of fantasy and self-delusion (of course I looked like Kate Moss circa Glastonbury 2005 in that vintage beaded vest). I was going to need external help with this – and who better than my friend Psychic Betsy? A gifted intuitive who specialises in finding practical tools to aid in your personal and spiritual development, I felt that with her help I would finally be able to cut the crap and find the real me.

Before she arrived, I did a brutal edit – anything I hadn’t worn for 12 months or more was up for the chop, as was anything that had been making me feel like an imposter in my own skin. Together, we then did a short meditation to set an intention for the session – basically, to make space in my wardrobe for the new, updated Ruby. We also visualized all the clothes I got rid of finding their way into the hands of women who would rock them like they deserved to be rocked.

And as we began working through the pile, several things quickly became clear. No. 1 – I am no longer the good time girl who danced her way through my 20s and early 30s in a blur of cocktails and fashion forward frocks. “’I used to wear this in Ibiza’ is coming up a lot,” Betsy pointed out. And having got deep into a decade-long love affair with the infamous party island (to the point I even edited a magazine there for two whole summers), there was obviously part of me that still felt very attached.

Taming my inner hedonist has been a conscious choice – mainly because these days I want to be more present for the highs that show up in my life – “but I don’t want to say goodbye to the fun times forever,” I whined. The answer from Spirit? “But you have fun in other ways now, and don’t you need new clothes for that?” Sayonara, frilly pink mini dresses and tiger print crop tops.

The old me: cocktails and frilly pink frocks

It also became obvious that in certain cases my “sentimentality” was masking some serious lack mentality. We unearthed numerous “placeholders,” things I was hanging onto for dear life because I might need them one day – rather than setting the energy in those particular items free to come back to me in new and frankly waaaay cooler form. Now this was a concept I could get my head around. But in some cases, saying goodbye to things that had been with me for years was as painful as kicking old friends to the curb. “So take a photograph. That way you can keep the energy of them close, but make room for new friends too!”

Anything I spoke about in the past tense was also a straight up “NO,” but of course there were some things I was seriously on-the-fence about. “So let’s do a little intuition 1-0-1,” suggested Betsy, who then had me close my eyes and picture another woman wearing and loving the item in question. “How does that feel, in the space right below your belly button?” Well good, actually, expansive and happy. “And now imagine yourself putting it on.” Stifled, stale and tight. This was getting easier by the minute.

As little as an hour later, virtually everything on the pile was ready to be packed up and shipped off to my local clothing exchange store – save for a few items I had got a very strong sense I should pass on to my friends Gabby and Gala (the three of us recently formed a sort of fashion maven holy trinity on an impromptu trip to Gabby’s favourite store, Reformation, on the Lower East Side). Maybe it was Betsy’s presence, but I just *knew* they’d love them.

The sense of clarity, lightness and relief I’ve been feeling since has been liberating to say the least – as a friend recently confided to me, “purging (as in, energetic purging) might be my secret favourite thing.” Of course there are huge gaps in my wardrobe that now need to be filled, but how much fun is THAT going to be? And of course, there’s a fittingly serendipitous P.S.

When I took my haul to the exchange the woman next to me was unloading a job lot of Helmut Lang samples, including just the black jacket to replace my faded “placeholder.” I walked out wearing it, with a cheque for $142 in my pocket for the rest of my swag. And when, the next day, I found myself with five minutes to spare in Soho, I wandered into the Jerome Dreyfuss boutique. I’ve been on the hunt for a new wallet, as Gala has a theory that an upgrade can help attract abundance into your life.

#abundance

And what do you know, after weeks of searching (it had to be red and the right size for my mini Marc Jacobs handbag – not an easy score) it turned out they had just the thing. But it was from last season so they had to fetch it up from out back, and it also happened to be on sale. For precisely $142.

Betsy Cohen is available to assist with your psychic closet clear out too! To make an appointment, go to www.newyorkcitypsychic.com

 

INTUITION 101: HOW TO BE YOUR OWN PSYCHIC

Posted on by Ruby Warrington

Last week at the Golden Bridge yoga center in NYC, Gahl Sasson, a.k.a. the Cosmic Navigator, hosted an evening called Becoming Your Own Psychic. If “intuition is like a muscle, you have to strengthen it,” Ruby Warrington reports on a practical session that was sort of like a workout for the third eye.

The evening kicked off with a round of names and signs. Why? “We can’t do this without water. Intuition is ruled by the water signs, Pisces in particular.” In fact, wherever Pisces shows up in your chart, “is where you will benefit most in life from what your intuition is telling you.” For me (an Aries but with six planets in water signs throughout my chart), I have Venus (romance, taste, personal style) in Pisces in the 3rd house (communication, friendships, community). No wonder I just did a psychic closet clear out, and my friends often tell me they’ve just been thinking about me when I call.

There’s even a theory that Pisces was actually the first sign of the zodiac, and that all the others are just a figment of Pisces’ potent imagination. And in fact, any activity that gets you closer to your inner Pisces is a good way to get your intuition (“the ‘tuition’ that comes from ‘in’ side us”) flowing – “so go for a swim, take a salt bath (“a little temple of Pisces”), take a yoga class or read some poetry.” Particularly before bed. Pisces also rules our dreams, so tune in just before you set sail for the land of nod and expect much more clarity when you try to interpret whatever messages your sleeping psyche has for you.

And never forget, the opposite sign to Pisces is Virgo. By being fastidious with our daily habits and our analysis of the world around us, and working to maintain good health through diet and exercise, will we create the right internal environment for our intuition to flourish.

There follows a series of practical exercises, drawing on cultures from the Kabbalah to the Aborigines to the C.I.A. (yes, really) to flex your psychic muscle.

THE DREAM QUEST
“Pose a question to your higher self while you’re asleep, and you brain is not impeded by logic.”

  • Refrain from drinking alcohol for three days prior to your quest
  • Refrain from eating food four-five hours before you go to bed
  • Right before you go to sleep, pose a very specific question to your higher self. Use the words; how, when, where, what…(as opposed to why)
  • Drink half a glass of water, and go to sleep
  • On rising, drink the rest of the water and immediately write down what you can remember from your dreams
  • If you find it difficult to remember what you saw, set your alarm for four a.m. to interrupt your dream mid flow, and write then
  • Repeat for up to seven nights, until your answer is revealed by the symbols in your dreams. Think, how do the images feel to you, and what do these feelings relate to?
  • For extra insight, find a poem that relates to the most potent symbolic messages by plugging them into Google

THE ANGEL IN A CUP
“Use this to allow your higher self to locate something that’s gone missing.”

  • Take one angel, and one glass
  • Holding the glass out in front of you, ask the angel to hop in, and then place it upside down on a table to trap the angel inside
  • Search for whatever it is that’s missing – your keys, your passport, your child
  • As the boundary of the glass creates “focus” for your psychic energy (represented by the angel) you will likely hit your target in record time
  • Release the angel and let it fly away

DISTINGUISH INTUITION FROM FEAR
“How do you know if it’s your gut or your fear telling you to act? The sensations can be similar so train your body to tell the difference.”

  • Download some music you know you will really hate. For some people this might be gabber house, for others, anything by Justin Bieber
  • Force yourself to listen to it, loud
  • Take note; where do you feel the sensation of disgust in your body? What does it feel like?
  • Repeat with a piece of music you really love
  • Take note; where do you feel the sensation of pleasure and happiness in your body? What does it feel like?
  • Remember the difference between your physical experiences of aversion and attraction. This is your body’s way of communicating what you need to know

(N.B. this experiment can also be conducted using food)

THE SORTES VIRGILIANAE
“Named for the ancient Roman poet Virgil, when mystics would use passages from his Aeneid to predict the future.”

  • Chose a book you feel emotionally connected to, or that resonates with you in relation to your situation
  • Pose a very specific question to your higher self
  • Open the book at random, and select one sentence from the page
  • Using this passage,  work with your intuition to find the answer to your question

AUTOMATIC WRITING

  • Take a blank piece of paper and a pencil
  • When you are very tired and by the light of a candle, spend five-10 minutes writing down the first things that come into your head
  • Without reading what you have written, go to sleep
  • Repeat for 30 days
  • Only at the the end of the 30 days, read everything
  • Circle the things you have no recollection of writing down, and string them together to create a message or poem from your higher self

DEVELOP YOUR INTUITION, C.I.A. STYLE
“In 1995, President Clinton revealed records of a C.I.A. investigation into the validity of psychic activity by the intelligence community, instigated as a counterfoil to similar activity by the K.G.B.”

  • Close your eyes and relax deeply
  • Focus on a background
  • Focus on a colour
  • Focus on a symbol
  • Focus on a smell
  • Focus on a sound
  • Think, are there water, plants, people, food or animals in the picture you are creating?
  • Think, are there round shapes, patterns, hard edges, is the image soft, linear or cloudy?
  • Open your eyes and draw the picture your higher self has created. This is where you will find your mark.

Like any muscle, with your intuition it’s a case of use-it-or-lose-it, so practise these techniques regularly. Start an “intuition diary” to make a note of symbols, noises and smells that light a psychic spark in you, so you can track the daily workings of your higher self.  After all, who doesn’t want know how to be your own psychic?

You should also be aware that as you open up your own energy field and begin to blur the boundaries of time and space, you’ll become more susceptible to negative vibes sneaking their way in along with the insights you now have access to. So here are some practical tips for creating a cosmic force field to protect yourself as you delve into the unseen.

www.cosmicnavigator.com
@gahl1

TAROTSCOPES: OCTOBER 2013

Posted on by Louise Androlia

According to the Tarot, October promises a month of personal growth and renewed self-confidence for every sign. Resident reader Louise Androlia reveals what this means for you.

Libra – King of Pentacles

Happy Birthday to you. I’ve been talking frequently about work for you Libra, and sorry to be a bore but it seems like your professional life really has been the focus the last few months. I wonder if this has been leading up to events coming to a head now. It’s always nice to feel like your birthday month brings you an extra surge of power and October is going to be very much about summoning this personal strength and inner courage. This is your fourth Pentacle card in a row, again calling on you to channel the earth energy, especially when you are tempted to be pulled away by the clouds. The King Of Pentacles is a strong force and gives you another boost of confidence to really ask for what you want this month. This is a card of abundance and I feel another “GO” signal for any projects you’ve been working on this year. If you aren’t out there pushing your talents, then what are you waiting for? October offers an evolve or evaporate ultimatum. Which will you choose? The King of Pentacles also brings to me feelings of someone with a dominant energy around you. In business you may find yourself reaching out to a collaborator, someone that could inspire you with their mentoring approach. Alternatively, you may have been on a bit of a power trip lately or putting too much pressure on yourself. In which case, watch out for a burn out. To be blunt, CHILL OUT! Don’t let your health suffer…holistic massage alert! Because of the strength of this card please also be aware of anyone in your life that you feel has a negative dominant energy over you. This could be a lover or family member, and if you feel sometimes like you’re under the thumb then this is your chance to stand up for yourself and reclaim your voice. Try some meditations for the Throat Chakra. You may subconsciously be living out moments from your teenage years, where you felt like you weren’t ‘good’ enough or ‘smart’ enough. Remembering that your past is not a blueprint is so important. And nor is it a holiday destination! You know that you can choose how you view your life and path right? Channel some love to your inner child, say farewell to those ‘I’m not good enough’ thoughts, pack your bags and move forward.

October 21st Mercury Retrograde Tip – With dominant energy surrounding you, choose not to be intimidated by that certain someone. Rather, use this time to observe and learn.

Scorpio – Page of Pentacles

Change is in the air Scorpio. If this scares you then realign yourself with the fact that you are the master of regeneration, and that being afraid of change is really redundant for you, like packing your superhero cape in the closet and throwing away the key. No, no, no! Stand strong in the face of flux but be as fluid as possible. You were so busy last month, and things aren’t going to slow down in October. With the Page of Pentacles the entrepreneurial spirit of last month endures, and you certainly aren’t short of ideas. This is still Scorpio hour. What this October is really about though, is getting to grips with combining your elements. For a sign that’s so intuitive and deep you have been really aware of practicalities over the last few months, and have been feeling a new connection to the earth energy. Usually you are all ‘feelings’ and this earthy grip is good for you, encouraging you to make decisions that are going to work well for you long term, less emotional quick fixes. And you feel guided towards people and places that spell out F U T U R E for you. It might be in your nature to look for spontaneous love affairs, but right now, shock horror, the idea of a joint bank account doesn’t seem so terrible. If this doesn’t resonate, then have a think about your intentions. Are you complaining that the world is against you? Is your Facebook page filling up with ‘this terrible thing happened TO me’? Have you forgotten about your personal power? Begin shifting the way you see things, return to your gratitude practice, and GO! Meanwhile, back to those brilliant ideas. The Page of Pentacles is a dreamer, and October will find you aiming for the highest heights but this time you have an agenda. The imagery on the Rider Waite deck for this card speaks great volumes, and I see you clasping gently the pentacle in your hand, like you’re letting a Chinese lantern off into the sky, honouring all your biggest dreams before you set off on your mission…to do list firmly in hand.

October 21st Mercury Retrograde Tip – Don’t show off and don’t project aggression. Your voice is your expertise, so always use it with patience and kindness.

Sagittarius – The Magician

As soon as I picked this card I felt that October will be all about confidence for you, Sagittarius. It’s amazing how for someone who can be such a power house and a fiery force,  you sometimes have these little dips and start believing you have nothing to offer the world. They often come when changes mean you can’t necessarily see the way ahead, so you suddenly feel you could be failing somewhere. Good job I’m here to halt that thought and show you how to use this incredible card as motivation for the new season. The Magician is one of my favourite cards of the Major Arcana, helping you suddenly realise that you have absolutely everything you need to manifest your hopes and dreams, with all his mighty tricks at your disposal. Pretty cool, right? The Magician lays out the elements in front of him; mental strength, inspiration, feelings and practical skills. So what to do with your newfound toolbox? October brings a reconnection of the forces that drive you Sagittarius. You might find yourself digging back over the last ten years and making a ‘top ten’ list of the work projects you loved the most, or, linking to last months card, the times where you noticed the love around you the most. Writing yourself this kind of love letter is a great way to boost your self-esteem. Anyway, the reason you need this boost now, is that The Magician is a card that holds a strong force for success. Fame and success are very much in your energy sphere right now, which is why I don’t want you to miss out. Be social and communicative. This card shows you expressing your talents very well and really being heard. Anywhere you feel an imbalance then look to the elements and grab what you need. Feeling too emotional? Pull from the earth source and nourish your body with grounding root vegetables, or get outside for a run. Feeling burnt out? Pull from the water source and let a little of the hippie back in. You know your intuition is spot on when you tune in, and this could guide you back to your centre.

October 21st Mercury Retrograde Tip – The Magician is linked with Mercury so you can use this time to your advantage. Communicate kindly towards yourself and others, and practise your magic tricks ready to unleash them in your birthday month.

Capricorn – Three of Pentacles

You’re upping your game this month Capricorn, and I feel movement is finally coming your way. There have been a lot of stops and starts this year and something is about to click for you. The Three of Pentacles is an incredible card, with mastery and teaching being a key theme. I feel that you might need to be stretched a little, or a lot. You don’t work well if you aren’t occupied, you get bored easily and that can become a really negative space for you. And when you need a push, sometimes you have to push yourself. This card encourages you to step it up and always shows to me that the student is becoming the master. So I see you considering applying for a bigger role, or a promotion, somewhere with greater responsibilities that suits your specific talents better than recent times. There is a great teaching element to this card, and you may take on extra members of your team or employ some interns for your creative endeavours. Spreading your skills to a wider group will also give you a confidence boost that you might need. You often give off an air of complete fearlessness when inside you can feel totally directionless. So let others build you up. This card suggests that you should be open to receiving some mentoring yourself, who are your teachers? As they say a therapist always needs their own therapist, and this season it might be that you ask for some help to get you to where you want to go. The Threes are also always about expansion so socially this month you may find your best times are out with a gang of your closest friends, while sharing ideas and down time in a group setting will be very motivating. Collaborate with your nearest and dearest and you might be surprised with the awakenings that you have. And don’t dismiss anyone. The most unlikely person could be the key to unlocking an idea for you. In the love zone, more play dates! Think of your partner as your teammate and enjoy the feeling of duality. If you are single then meeting people in a group setting is likely to be a winner this October. Could be time to allow your friends to set you up on a blind date?

October 21st Mercury Retrograde Tip – Be open to letting people teach YOU, sometimes you take on the leadership role too strongly and don’t let anyone help you.

Aquarius – Nine of Wands

You were busy last month weren’t you? Run off your feet even. The Nine of Wands offers encouragement in the face of a long slog, and as much as I want to ask, ‘are you okay there?’ I don’t feel like things are terrible. You’ve just been all systems go – no rest for the wicked as they say. There have been so many opportunities for growth recently and this card is a reminder to just keep going. It’s here to alert you to your resilience and to remind you that you are almost through your current challenges. Think of this card as an army of cheerleaders pushing you towards the finish line. I want to talk more about your personal life, so in regards career, all I want you to take on board is that if you don’t look after your mind, body and spirit then you won’t be able to do the work you want. It’s a two way street, and if you totally burn out you’ll feel useless. So keep that at the forefront, and let balance be your mantra. Okay, so does it feel like the road to L O V E is paved with more stress than strength? Again, you are inching your way there, but it would be nice if you didn’t have to learn an army of lessons every date you go on. So often we don’t find out what we want until we see what we don’t, but how about you draw some serious lines in the sand. Keep attracting the same ‘wrong’ person? Redefine what might be right for you and grab your personal power back. Sometimes we sit and complain but haven’t taken the time to acknowledge what we really want. I feel like you will resonate with this, so how about a positive game plan? Energetically you can also boost yourself with the same tactic, shifting your focus onto only what is really important and necessary. Self love and consideration go a long, long way. When you are ploughing up a mountain you don’t want to involuntarily knock yourself back, so use ‘movement’ as your mantra. This is a positive month and rewards are coming. I believe that challenges are in place to move us to higher ground, so aim REALLY high Aquarius.

October 21st Mercury Retrograde Tip – You know all about Mercury and that old crossed-communication problem – so think straight talking, no games. They aren’t worth your time.

Pisces – Nine of Wands

The magic card for you this month Pisces! The Nine of Wands is often known as the ‘wish card’ and I’m happy to turn it over for you after what seems to have been a lot of ups and downs this year. A theme that keeps coming up for you Pisces is about the choices you make, and I want to keep pushing you towards understanding and really working with the knowledge that you get to and HAVE to participate in creating your own life. You can be swept away with feelings and your wonderfully intuitive nature means you sometimes get lost in dreamland – then find yourself getting upset about why nothing is happening the way you imagined…and blaming it all on the Universe. This card always comes up to let you know that you have power in your thoughts and actions and that the energy around you is very strong for getting what you want. Create some solid intentions, without them then we can float around a little. Manifesting is about making positive and practical daydreams and then surrendering them and getting on with acting on our ideas. So this October, really notice how you live your life day-to-day. Are you someone that focuses on the negative? Who weighs the ups and downs of every day so you can write off the day as good or bad? Try as an experiment to only give your energy to the good, no complaining about anything for a week. Actively switch out entertaining your negative thoughts with a daily gratitude practice. And let me know how you get on. Back to your card, which is a water card, and so made for you. Let a little magic in. If you’ve already been putting in all the above work, then this month is about you celebrating the effort you have made and actually stepping back and noticing the shifts, even the ones that seem tiny, and taking on this new mind-set as a permanent attribute. Surround yourself with those who uplift you, it’s a simple thing but how often do we act on it? Collect your nearest and dearest together and have a new season intentions hangout. Make mood boards or even just have dinner and support each other as you talk about your intentions for the next few months. Enjoy life.

October 21st Mercury Retrograde Tip – Take a meditation class to fine tune your thought processes. Even if it’s totally ‘not you,’ do it anyway and thank me later.

Aries – Ten of Wands

Aries, I feel you might have taken all the excitement of The Fool last month, done WAY too much and now feel like you are wilting at the wayside? The Ten of Wands in a word is ‘Overwhelmed’ and I always find this comes up at that point when you feel completely burned-out. So as a theme for the month, try to use it as a way to just be aware. Often when we get to overwhelm, it’s because somewhere along our journey we haven’t noticed ourselves getting stressed, and then all of a sudden BOOM we drop like flies. This month I want you to ask for help, and I mean that. Spread your tasks out in front of you, because this card is about delegating, even when you don’t really want to. You have a team on hand, and so it’s a case of loosening your grip and not being such a perfectionist. Trust those around you and know that they can be of assistance, even if it’s just letting some boring tasks be done by someone else it will free you up to get your energy back. What you don’t want is to end up resenting your work because you are too tired. I feel confidence issues have come up for everyone this month, and for you, Aries, as much as you know you’re brilliant, sometimes you suddenly flip and freak out. Caught in the act, sorry! Once you get your health in check you’ll be back on track. I feel it’s time you re-introduced yourself to the term ‘rest’ – and remember, real rest isn’t running ten times round the block, it’s silence. True, positive nothingness. The thing I love most about the Tens is that they are always the tipping point back to the Ace energy, so if we look ahead to the Ace of Wands, we find a massive boost of inspiration and energy that can be your motivation. To be able to continue on your amazing journey you need your wonderful spirit! You know that if you are too worn out then you can’t get on with these stupendous plans and we need you on top form, Aries. It’s almost like you need to look at yourself from the outside, as if you were your very, very best friend. I bet you’d be reaching out with a hug, a dinner invite, flowers and love. This can be such a good way to realise what we really need. Your mantra this month? Nurture.

October 21st Mercury Retrograde Tip – Seriously use this retrograde to climb to a safe place and get some energy healing, you deserve it.

Taurus – Ace of Pentacles

And back on with the action plan Taurus. I hope you used last month to recalibrate a little because The Ace of Pentacles is an amazing go-getting card, with efficiency at the forefront. This Earth card will give you new insight and inspiration into all earth bound areas. There is an emphasis for you on the home front, which means you may be moving, buying or selling, and if so this is a chance for you to align yourself with a new area or city that feels right for you at this point in your life. I feel a very strong sense of a ‘new you’ moment occurring this month! The Aces are very personal cards, encouraging you to really honor your self and leap back onto your path. If my hunch that September was a bit wobbly for you, you will welcome this chance to reconnect to your beloved Earth. Career wise, this could bring a new type of energy around your finances, a chance to get on top of your taxes or gain some new independence. If you are looking to start your own venture then this is the card with the green light as it shows that the Universe has your back. So be bold, get out there and start looking for investors and the right people to team up with. This is a positive action card, Taurus, and above all a chance to grow. Let the past be only a teacher, and be inspired by what lies ahead. You can occasionally get a little stagnant and stubborn so you have to be the person who pushes yourself forwards. Get some inspiration from your fire sign friends, how do they approach change? You have the amazing ability to get things done and maybe just need a confidence boost to believe it. Either way you are headed in a good direction, keep going. Please apply all of the above to your health too, as it might be time for a new direction with self care, which means finding something that resonates with you now instead of your familiar routine. If the Ace represents beginnings then we also have to honor what’s ending, and as we move into the new month you may have found yourself having to part ways with a long-standing cycle. Maybe you finally let go of that on-off relationship or left a job that was no longer serving you. If so then YAY, I’m proud of you. You will likely find things will suddenly move forward with a stronger velocity.

October 21st Mercury Retrograde Tip – In close relationships watch out for a judgmental attitude just so that you can feel on top. I guess what I’m trying to say is, don’t be a pain in the ass just for the sake of it 😉 Practice fluidity with your stubbornness.

Gemini – The High Priestess

I love the journey you’re on this year Gemini. I feel you have been more in tune with your self and your intuition than ever before, and this month will be no exception. The High Priestess holds so much energy in the Tarot deck, and she is an amazing character to resonate with. It’s likely that you have made some changes in the past months to do with really getting yourself ‘together.’ By that I mean that as a Gemini we all know you can switch from this to that, and from feeling to feeling quite easily, but lately you’ve been craving a oneness, something solid and familiar, an inner home and I feel you’ve been making progress here. With this card, October will mean some more work on the balance of your subconscious. Maybe in recent months you’ve felt a little more confident in your work and relationships and now you want to curl up and redefine your inner self. I’ve been touching on self-confidence issues for everyone this month, and for you this is about learning to trust your own decisions and intuition. You are the unexpected psychic gem of the zodiac in my opinion, and always have the correct ‘feelings’ about things, which sometimes comes as a surprise to you. This card can come up if you have wildly shifted in the wrong direction recently, so if you are reading this feeling completely off balance then you are being called back to yourself. Make sure you are surrounding yourself with those whose energy supports you. Don’t feel guilty for not wanting to spend time with people who you have come to recognise lower your mood, but at the same time acknowledge why those people exist. If we are all teachers for one another, why is it that that one person gets to you? This is the kind of work you can do with this card. She is the perfect mentor to meditate with, and meditate you must. Check out this simple breathing exercise – even a couple of minutes makes a difference, promise.

October 21st Mercury Retrograde Tip – Make sure you don’t use this energy to turn your self love switch off and start negatively judging yourself. Only good intentions for you sweet Gemini.

Cancer – The Empress

Hello lovely! We had this wonderful, nurturing card for you back in March, so you must flick your mind back to then and see if you are feeling a similar energy. There may be a lesson that still needs to be learned or a project that is completing. Last month I encouraged you to watch and wait and surrender a little. It’s likely you found some movement happening in the last couple of weeks especially, and The Empress is calling on you to remember to TAKE CARE! Now I know it’s not rude of me to say you are a fan of life beneath the duvet, and I feel right now you’d rather like to crawl there for the entire winter. Go for it! Well at least, a little. You need some TLC and The Empress brings this in, as well as balance. It’s okay to slow down a little. I know you have things to do, but you definitely feel change in the air, a recalibration even? And you know that for that to happen you need to calm the buzzing in your ear. So what to do when you feel like you can’t stop? Rest can happen in just a moments, if you let it. Know that you won’t be able to do anything at all if you get sick, stressed or overwhelmed, so a day off will actually pay for itself because of the energy boost you’ll get. This card will encourage you to find the balance everywhere, in relationships as well as in matters of work and health. Check in regularly and notice the highs and lows. Then think to yourself, who can be released, and what stresses don’t really deserve your attention? The Empress is the mother, the Earth mother, the spiritual mother, so may usher in something as simple turning the love you give to your own children (or friends) back to nurture yourself. Let others help you, surrender to moments of joy around you, and keep your eyes up with the sun and the stars. Beauty is with you and within you, so get lost in the moment, be present and believe in Love.

October 21st Mercury Retrograde Tip – Watch out for emotional retrograde, and don’t cry over spilt milk as they say. Use the energy to close doors that should have been shut a long time ago and welcome in the new.

Leo – The Sun

How did the surrender practice go? I feel like you learned some lessons last month Leo, and now you deserve a little celebration. This will likely arrive with a renewed sense of self-confidence, and I definitely feel that roar about ready to come out. The Sun is a card representing total joy and positivity, and you’re encouraged to take those new intentions you set in September and act on them. Speak out, using your voice to spread a positive message. The difficulties of your past can be your strength this Winter, and there really is a new wave of power coming through if you let yourself really connect to life. I also feel it could be an awesome month for a detox or cleanse, to remember how your body feels in it’s natural state. You are prone to over indulging of course, so get your addiction on in the form of a positive attitude. Get totally dizzy over moving forwards and be energised by the spirits of those around you who inspire you. The Sun card always carries a little of the midas touch, and so your gab may be gifted let’s say. Energy is high and you want to get out there. You may end up packing a case and seeking this card out for real – remember travel can be physical and metaphysical, so what sun-kissed journey might you go on? This card will always link back to the inner child too, reminding us of the pure joy we arrived on the planet with, and you might want to do some work on your past to clear yourself of moments where you didn’t feel so loved. This might mean a solo journey, or experimenting with a visit to a hypnotherapist. If you can’t feel this sun energy in your life, then I encourage you to hang out with the most positive people you know. Look at their attitude to life and how they make things work for them, and don’t be too proud to attempt a change of attitude. It’s incredibly brave to start out fresh and be willing to look at things in a different way, and it’s never to late. Healing is abundant.

October 21st Mercury Retrograde Tip – If your ‘gab is gifted’ try not to get burned out, which means balancing your work with some serious sofa time.

Virgo – Five of Wands

Another Five for you this month Virgo. This number teaches us many very ‘human’ lessons, and if last month you felt a lot of energy around financial worries then this month we are addressing your energetic and creative side. As with all the other signs, self-confidence is a factor too. I always look upon this card as a tangled up ball of wool with you in the middle pulling at all the strings, feeling it get tighter. The trick is being to step back and pause, surrender, then allow yourself to really ‘see.’ This is when you find that suddenly the space is clear. Remember this analogy if you feel this way this month. The Five of Wands brings about elements of competition and mixed messages, maybe not the perfect combination for a month with Mercury going retrograde, but I know you can keep on top of it. I feel it’s more likely that this mix up will be in your surroundings. It may feel like you’re shaking your head back and forth in the office and feeling frustrated with other people. You might be observing conflict amongst your friends or family and it could feel draining. There might be a few difficult conversations to be had, but don’t be afraid. I know that you can move forwards if you manage to articulate what is important for you. This card also brings in some change. Nothing crazy though, all you need is to be fluid and excited about something different, even if it’s a faux excitement at first! It’s time to recognising the power of your own voice, and speaking up rather than sitting back and knowing you what you have to say has value but not being quite sure how to acknowledge it. Having said that, there are elements of this month where it’s actually just going to be better for you to slither on out of there. You can sometimes put a lot of pressure on yourself Virgo and there’s really no need. It’s more a case of not paying attention to the thing that feels a bit ‘meh,’ as there are 500 positives surrounding it. Cozy up with your loved ones and enjoy your favourite season, but just remember keep moving forward, step-by-step.

October 21st Mercury Retrograde Tip – Don’t be tempted to get involved in other peoples dramas, you have better things to focus your energy on.

Cast using the Rider Waite Tarot Deck.

www.louiseandrolia.com
@louniverse

36-HOURS IN LALA LAND: YOUR SPIRIT GUIDE TO L.A.

Posted on by Raquel Griffin

Sun, sand, palm-trees and organic produce as far as the eye can see… yep, it’s L.A. baby…and we’re hitting it fast & hard. Welcome to 36 hours in L.A. Numinous style. By Raquel Griffin.

Okay before we even get started with our Los Angeles travel guide: TIP #1. As lovely as L.A. is her traffic is legendary so to beat the gridlock blues we suggest you make like the locals and plan your pleasure-seeking based on what side of town you’re on: which means EAST SIDE (Silverlake, Los Feliz, Echo Park, Hollywood) vs. WEST SIDE (Culver City, Venice, Santa Monica, Topanga, Malibu, Pacific Palisades). Though not a hard and fast rule it definitely beats having to endure a 2-hour round of car karaoke while you’re stuck on the 101. Trust us on this one.

SATURDAY – EAST SIDE

10AM: Tarot Reading at HOUSE OF INTUITION (Echo Park)

Billing themselves as “space of love and light specializing in spiritual guidance,” set yourself up with a stop at The House of Intuition. Located in a sweet cottage nestled above a busy street in Echo Park what the House lacks in size it makes up in services…from Astrology, Aura and Chakra Balancing, Reiki, Animal Communication, Sound Therapy and Meditation all your spiritual needs promise to be met within its walls. Need to know why Fido won’t cozy up with you and your new beau? Crown chakra feeling a bit off-center? Grab a session with any of the reputable readers & practitioners here and get it all taken care of. Easy.

www.houseofintuitionla.com

11AM: VINTAGE SHOPPING @ TAVIN (Echo Park)

1970’s Bohemian Vest by TavinShop on Etsy.com
1970’s Travel Bag by TavinShop on Etsy.com

For every gal who has ever dreamed of raiding Stevie Nicks’ wardrobe, this one’s for you. Steeped in 70’s Cali goodness, TAVIN stocks an impeccably curated selection of boho-gypsy gear perfect for your witchy-woman-festival-girl-tour-de-force look…tambourine not included.

www.lifebytavin.com

12PM: Lifestyle porn @ DREAM COLLECTIVE (Silverlake)

A slice of lifestyle heaven…
Kathryn Bentley’s designs

There’s teepee inside. It’s a clothing store ANNNDD there’s a T-E-E-P-E-E inside…only in L.A. and gosh darn it we LOVE that. Filled with a gorgeously curated selection of hand crafted items from local artisans like the shop’s owner, jewelry designer Kathryn Bentley, the Dream Collective aesthetic is all about embracing primordial forms and influences from indigenous cultures. Whether choosing an evil eye cuff from Kathryn Bentley’s collection, a card from Thunderwing Press or a pair of Cali-cool handmade leather sandals from Beatrice Valenzuela, at Dream Collective curating a magical, mystical lifestyle lair is all in a day’s work.

www.dreamcollective.com

1PM: Natural product junkies @ ECO APOTHECARY (Silverlake)

Handmade essential oils
Re-fills available here

A cute little sliver of a shop in Silverlake, The Eco-Apothecary is a stroke of brilliance. Filled with handmade Sulfate Free, Paraben free, Vegan and Organic home, bath and body products, the store’s large selection runs the gamut from detergent to hairspray and everything in between. Products are sold in bulk and you can bring a bottle and filler’ up or you can purchase one of the hundreds of colorful glass and BPA free plastic containers sold at the shop. And if that weren’t enough you can even take a whirl at creating your own signature fragrance with the extensive selection of handmade essential oils on hand…Ooh la la.

www.ecoapothecary.com

2PM: Thai Massage Yoga @ THE RAVEN SPA (Silverlake)

If you’re in need of some LA style pampering The Raven Spa & Healing Center is the place to go for the Thai yoga massage of your life. Guaranteed to melt stress and leave you feeling like a blissed-out bowl of jello, this signature treatment gives new meaning to the term “afternoon delight.”

www.theravenspa.com

4PM: Retail therapy @ SHAREEN VINTAGE (Downtown LA)

Housed in a gigantic nondescript warehouse, Shareen Vintage is one of the most glorious vintage experiences ever. Actually the words vintage orgasm come to mind. Lined wall-to-wall with dresses, skirts and blouses from the 1950’s through the 1980’s, a knowledgeable member of Shareen’s sales staff will be assigned to you to will commence whisking you thorough their extensive collection while piling clothing up as you go along based on their sharp style assessment. Once you have your goods you’ll be given a “spot” to disrobe in what looks like a giant vintage living room. Since this place is strictly ladies only, the act of playing dress-up quickly turns into a party, with fellow customers randomly coo-ing and ahhing over each others wares. A couple of things to know before you go: 1) There are no “dressing rooms” so if you’re a little shy about stripping down to your skivvies we highly suggest you bring a slip 2) There are no price-tags. Each item is priced at the moment of sale by Shareen but fear not, prices mostly range from $20-$80.

www.facebook.com/shareenvintage

7.30PM: Dinner @ Shojin (Downtown L.A.)

Just a little light tempura…
Organic, vegan Japanese heaven

This amazing in-the-cut organic/vegan/macrobiotic Japanese hotspot tucked away on the third floor of an indoor mall in Little Tokyo is the perfect place to re-stock your tank while showing your tastebuds just how much you really care.

www.theshojin.com

SUNDAY: WEST SiiiiiDE

9:30AM: Morning worship @ AGAPE SPIRITUAL CENTER (Culver City)

If you you’ve ever watched the film “The Secret” then you’re familiar with Dr. Michael Bernard-Beckwith, founder of Agape Spiritual Center. Described as a “trans-denominational” church all are welcome at Agape, even atheists. Agape is all about “creating a community and a practice that is the embodiment of evolving consciousness” or what they like to call “new thought-meets ancient wisdom”. With pre-service meditation time, guest speakers like Marianne Williamson and “sermons” that often focus on our role as infinite beings co-creating reality, to say that Agape is not your momma’s church is an UNDERSTATEMENT. Add in a house band that serves up some serious guitar riffs and a choir that covers the Rolling Stones and you have the quintessential “church” for the new age. Hallelujah.

www.agapelive.com

11AM: Brunch @ CAFE GRATITUDE (Venice)

Eating the dream…
…at the only place to be seen.

Imagine a sleek, gourmet vegan and raw restaurant, now plop it down in the middle of a hip locale like Venice or Larchmont and what do you get? CAFE GRATITUDE. Created in Berkeley and recently expanded to Southern California, CAFE GRATITUDE is all about delivering dazzling dishes with a side of positive affirmations – plates are printed with statements like “I am Humble” and “I am Open Hearted.” With a menu that’s beyond healthy and a waitstaff that’s beyond attractive, it’s no wonder this has become THE PLACE for the kale and green smoothie set. And did I mention they have coconut bacon? A couple of tips on the menu: 1) Make sure to order a cup of “I am Immortal”…STAT. Made with Reishi, Shilajit, Ormus, coconut milk, raw honey & cinnamon..it’s a Cafe Gratitude love affair in a cup 2) Be prepared to want everything placed in front of you including their beautifully decorated “hamsa” water jugs and “What are you grateful for?” dishes. 3) Save room for dessert. Now, this might seem obvious but it’s easy to get side-tracked here. Trust us on this one. You’re welcome.

www.cafegratitude.com

1PM: Some reading time @ THUNDER BOLT BOOKS (Santa Monica)

Make friends with store manager Bobby
Everything from the Voodoo to the Vatican

Thunder Bolt Books is by far one of the best spiritual bookstores we have EVER set foot in. Though a small-ish space, Thunder Bolt  is packed ceiling to floor with every spiritualist book you could imagine…from obscure titles you could swear were “only available on Amazon” to newly released must-haves. What’s also refreshing is that works from all traditions are welcome here, so expect a great range on everything from Catholicism to Voodoo. And if that weren’t enough they’ve also got a fabulous $5 used book bin AND the biggest single cut crystal in the WESTERN HEMISPHERE. Yep. It’s pretty awesome. And if you’re nice, the super sweet and knowledgeable store manager Bobby might just pour you a cup of tea and you two can just kick back and shoot the breeze.

www.thunderboltspiritualbooks.com

** Not open Sunday, but worth checking out if you’re in Santa Monica: THE HOMEOPATHIC PHARMACY 

Staffed with amazingly knowledgeable homeopaths, this place is an alternative health junkies dream. Got something that ails you? From herbs to salves, to standard & hard to find homeopathic products they’ve got a remedy for EVERRRYYYTHING.  **RECOMMENDED PURCHASE: Net Remedies #9. Like Rescue Remedy on steroids, it’s a super potent homeopathic cure-all for everything from cold & flu, to overexertion, neuralgia and anxiety. It’s like the perfect first-aid kit in a bottle that’s also small enough to fit your purse….and who doesn’t need that, right?

www.smhomeopathic.com/

3PM: More vintage shopping @ HIDDEN TREASURES (Topanga Canyon)

Kate Moss has shopped here!!
And so has Lenny Kravitz!!

Tucked away in the hills of Topanga Canyon, like something out of a dream HIDDDEN TREASURES is a vintage lover’s Shangri-La. In a time when the term “vintage” has become almost synonymous with unbelievably high prices, Hidden Treasures is an anomaly…an amazingly well-stocked (Kate Moss & Lenny Kravitz are fans), fairly priced vintage-store where you can still find pristine 20’s dresses and gorgeous buttery 60’s leather jackets attrue vintage prices (items range from $20 -$150). But don’t expect the “curated” 5-items-on-a-rack experience here. The selection and the space are expansive so be prepared to dig. It’s also worth checking out the $10 bin out in front – a quick look might yield a serious score. And don’t forget to ask Mary Bee, the store manager, about the “back room” because what you see in there might just render you speechless.

www.facebook.com/hiddentreasurestopanga

4:30PM: Meditation @ LAKE SHRINE RETREAT SELF-REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP (Pacific Palisades)

Sunset overlooking the Pacific Palisades?…Umm, yes please. Add beautifully landscaped grounds and the serene sound of birds chirping and you’ve got a meditation station triple-header.

www.lakeshrine.org

6PM: Kundalini yoga @ GOLDEN BRIDGE (Santa Monica)

Gurmukh: she rollerblades too

A sweet intimate spot and the newest outpost of the L.A. Kundalini mecca that is Golden Bridge (yes Demi Moore’s studio of choice), this is the perfect place to get your good vibes on. Plus it’s Gurmukh, people…It’s G-U-R-M-U-K-H.

www.goldenbridgeyoga.com

8:30PM: Dinner @ MATTHEW KENNEY’S – M.A.K.E. RESTAURANT (Santa Monica)

Home of the pitch-perfect fine dining / raw food  experience, super-star chef Matthew Kenny’s M.A.K.E. Restaurant is as good as it gets. Can’t get enough M.A.K.E. in your life? Well there’s an app for that. Matthew Kenny’s got an “Everyday Raw Detox app” featuring 100 recipes for healthier living. Now how smart is that?

www.matthewkenneycuisine.com

10pm: Cocktails poolside @ the BEVERLY HILLS HOTEL (Beverly Hills)

Seal in the high vibes of your visit with a nightcap at the Beverly Polo Lounge, not only the epitome of old school Hollywood glamour but meeting point of some seriously positive ley lines. According to L.A. psychic Aiden Chase; “There’s an energy field in the land here that supports wishes and dreams. The city’s natural ‘good vibe’ energy, from the Hollywood Hills to the ocean has supported people’s dreams from actor to entrepreneur for over 100 years…” And, interestingly, Chase pinpoints the Beverly Hills Hotel as “a huge power center” of this energy. In fact, “if I’m having a bad day, I will go there, meditate in the gardens and feel much better. I always have my meetings at this hotel, and they always turn out successful.” So kick back with a mojito and get your manifestation station on. A whole City of Angels will be listening.

Raquel Griffin is founder of Granola Glamour.
@granolaglamour

BIRTH CHART FOR AMMA THE HUGGING SAINT

Posted on by Ruby Warrington

As Mātā Amṛtānandamayī Devī, a.k.a. Amma, celebrates her 60th birthday today, the Astro Twins Ophira Edut examines the chart of the Hugging Saint – a woman who was born to heal the world.

Walking through New York City’s East Village, I recently spotted a red bumper sticker plastered to the curb bearing the words “Love is telepathic.” Groovy sloganeering aside, there’s one person on this planet who would probably agree. Her name is Amma, and she’s hugged 33 million people all over the world. That’s right—hugged. Ordinary people like us, from all walks of life, stand in line for hours for a magical if momentary embrace from the woman whose name, given to her as a teenager, means “mother.”

With seven planets forming a six-pointed star in feminine signs this July (a grand sextile, in astro-terminology), there’s no surprise our world is crying out for mother energy. The planet and its inhabitants need nurturing, compassion and connection like never before. So when The Numinous asked me to analyze Amma’s chart for her 60th birthday, I couldn’t say no.

I myself have never been hugged by Amma. I came to the Manhattan Center while she was in New York City, saw the long line, and my impatient Sagittarian nature overrode my desire for a spiritual squeeze. Full astro-disclosure: with my stiff Capricorn rising, I was secretly relieved. I once became notorious for being a “one-armed hugger,” and if I can get out the door with a wave instead of an embrace, I’m good. Yet, I also think it’s because I’ve spent too many years trying to be “serious” and responsible, trapped by my own stoic body language. I’m probably starving for affection, and will be the person who bursts into tears the second I meet her.

After hearing raves about Amma’s healing touch, I came to regret my moment of impatience and uptightness. I have certainly felt her radiant love telepathically since then, just seeing the glow she’s given friends, hearing about her incredible presence, and of course, by looking at her astrological chart. Now, I’m gonna have to let go of my silly stance and let myself experience Amma up close. Until her next visit, it will just be through the planets in her horoscope wheel…which is kind of an esoteric embrace in my world.

Here’s what stands out in Amma’s birth chart to me:

All you need is love: Sun in peacemaker Libra.
Amma, not surprisingly, is a Libra. In fact, she has four planets in the sign of unconditional love, peace and harmony. Libra rules relationships and interpersonal matters, and perhaps this is why Amma can stay awake 22 hours on an average day, giving hug after hug. In my experience, many Libras don’t really like or need to be alone—in fact, they thrive on the energy of other people.The planets Amma has in Libra are the Sun (her identity), Mercury (communication and touch), Neptune (healing and compassion) and Saturn (authority and stability). No surprise she can radiate sacred, comforting Neptunian energy but also has the dignity given by heavyweight Saturn. The combination of glamorous Neptune and serious Saturn has the marker of someone who is, in essence, a professional healer or empath. Naturally, she’s so much more than that. While she’s got her arms wrapped around the world, Amma also runs a huge, largely volunteer-run non-profit that serves orphanages, hospitals, programs for widowed and elderly people, and builds homes for the homeless worldwide. Since Saturn is also about building and structure, no surprise that she her giving also takes on concrete form.

Amma’s moon sign is steady, salt-of-the-earth Taurus.
The moon governs our feminine energy, and shapes the kind of mother women will be (even if they are spiritual mums, like Amma). Set in sensual Taurus, the most grounding and affectionate zodiac sign, Amma’s moon sign gives her the power of healing touch.

Playful, yet dignified: Amma has a regal Leo rising.
According to her sources, Amma was born at 9:09 am, which dictates the ascendant, or rising sign, in the chart. The rising sign rules the “face” you show to the world, the first impression you make, or your appearance. Amma has the beauty, presence and passion gifted by a Leo ascendant. Her expressive face, radiant smile and protective Leo hugs are all part of this chart factor, too. Leo is ruled by the Sun, the giver of vitality and joy. As a result, Amma’s “hugs” are probably more an exchange of life force energy—or a transmission of her own abundant supply of it, awakening people from feeling separate, isolated or alone.

Energized by giving: she has Mars and Venus in Virgo, the sign of service.
Energizing Mars and love planet Venus are both in Virgo, the helper and healer sign. Perhaps this is also why Amma stays awake for the majority of the day giving. With Mars here, she’s energized by her acts of service—and says as much herself. Venus adds palpable love, beauty and harmony to the equation. Both are in Amma’s first house of fame, making her a public figure for her work.

Mother to society: revolutionary Uranus is in Cancer, the mother sign.
Uranus is the cosmic liberator, in Cancer, the sign of the mother and nurturer. Nestled in Amma’s eleventh house of groups, humanitarian work and social reform, she has indeed become a virtual mother to the world.

A karmic destiny to serve: North Node in Aquarius, sixth house of service.
The north node (destiny point) in Amma’s chart is Aquarius, the zodiac’s humanitarian sign. It’s also in her sixth house of service. Her south node (past life karma) is in regal Leo, in the twelfth house of compassion and healing. This indicates that she’s had fame and fortune in past lives, and doesn’t need to live a life of luxury this time around. However, she carries the energy and fullness of having experienced the pleasure of material riches in former lifetimes. She is abundant, rather than lacking—although she spends her life hugging, the residual Leo energy also helps her avoid lapsing into the “martyr mother” role. Amma is not quiet, invisible and suffering silently. She’s the buzzing center of all the action. Aquarius is the sign of groups and communal living, and Amma lives her entire life in a crowd. She’s a leader, the hub of her many charities that run without her being present.

So here’s a 60th birthday hug, 33 million strong, to Amma. I hope one day to experience an in-person hug from her.

Read The Numinous interview with Amma here. 
www.amma.org

www.astrostyle.com
@astrotwins

AMELIA POWERS: HOW WE REALLY HEAL

Posted on by Ruby Warrington

When handbag designer and shamanic healer Amelia Powers was diagnosed with the most aggressive form of brain tumor, she rejected conventional treatment in favor of treating her cancer with CBD. Ruby Warrington hears her story. Portraits Philip Volkers.

Next Sunday, it will be 18 months to the day that Amelia Powers underwent “debulking surgery” for the aggressive brain tumour that had manifested, seemingly overnight, on March 28 2012. She had gone to bed alone that night, sobbing, “that deep, quiet crying that you don’t do very often,” upset after an argument with her then boyfriend. Waking in the middle of the night with what felt like a migraine coming on, she discovered, to her distress, that she had vomited in her sleep.

The sickness persisted, along with the headache, both of which she attributed to the “migraine.” It wasn’t until she woke up in an emergency room in Bologna, where she had travelled on business for her luxury, bespoke handbag line (despite having difficulty reading the departures board at the airport) a few days later, that the full force of what might be happening to her hit. Confused and alone, she travelled home to face the worst possible prognosis – this was a grade three anaplastic astrocytoma, the most dangerous form of brain cancer, from which the median survival time – with treatment – is 18 months.

And yet, here we are on Skype, where we have been meeting regularly across time zones since March this year, for me to document her story, and; “there’s nothing wrong with me!” she cries. “I do the Royal Ballet workout every day, I eat no meat, sugar, wheat or dairy. No alcohol. My body is rocking. I was told 100 percent I would die from this, but I feel in perfect health, perfect alignment. I feel…” she drags a hand through her shiny black hair, cropped short after her first round of chemo “…beautiful. According to them, I should be at death’s door.”

Instead, she is up late, preparing to display her latest collection of handbags in the window at Fenwicks for London Fashion Week – alongside names like Rupert Sanderson, Preen and Richard Nicoll. The bags are starting to really take off, but; “I just want them to be a platform so I can talk about this,” she turns her head to show me the bald patch she refuses to cover up. “I want to be able to talk about how we really heal.”

Because, having repeatedly refused further chemotherapy and radiation to treat her illness, Powers is the latest figurehead in a groundswell movement towards alternative therapies for cancer. In the States, “cancer thriver” Kris Carr has built a mini empire on her story (she is winning her fight against a rare strain of liver and lung cancer through diet alone), while here in the UK Lord Saatchi presented the House of Lords with his Medical Innovation Bill in December last year. Following the sudden death of his wife Josephine Hart from ovarian cancer, he described chemotherapy as “medieval, degrading and ineffective”, and wants doctors to have the choice to offer alternatives.

At present (speaking about his wife); “what you have is a situation where a woman is first tortured and then dies. Why? Because that is what’s required by law.” Not that it’s the doctors’ fault. “Everybody’s doing their level best. But they are inhibited by the prospect of a trial if something goes wrong.” This despite the fact that one doctor admitted to him that an estimated one in 10 people are killed by their cancer treatment.

Powers says she knew “their way” would kill her after one round of chemo. “My skin crawled like it was alive. I lost my hair, had two epileptic reactions. They also put me on steroids because my brain was swelling through my skull.” Met with only more of the same from her doctors, she decided to seek her own alternative. “I found a video on the Huffington Post of a man whose eight-month-old had the same tumour as me. He had treated it with Cannabis oil, and the tumour shrank in four months. Side effects? All it did was make her sleepy.”

More internet research led her to a man she calls the “Wizard of Woodacre,” a 70-year-old healer based in California manufacturing the cannabinoid tincture CBD (the psychoactive constituent THC has been removed) which she’s been taking daily since. Over email, her “Wizard” explains the legality of what they are doing; “In the State of California it’s legal. However, it to the Feds it remains a schedule 1 drug, in the same category as heroin – and supposedly with no medicinal value. Hopefully I’m a small enough operation that I’m under their radar.”

With over 500 clients, including one 37-year-old oncologist, the Wizard says inquiries rocketed after Sanjay Gupta’s CNN documentary on medicinal marijuana aired last month. He has faith that his treatment – which is harvested and blessed in the light of the full moon – “we work on an energetic and spiritual level in addition, and give thanks to the spirit of the plants in the Native American tradition” – will be made legal in his lifetime.

On a very practical level, nutrition is coming to be seen as key in cancer treatment – and prevention. On the Wizard’s recommendation, Powers has switched to a completely alkaline diet, while Laura Bond, who’s blog, Mum’s Not Having Chemo, is being made into a book that’s out in November, says that all her research has shown quitting dairy to be “the final piece in the healing puzzle” for many people. Having interviewed over 60 experts around the world for the book; “sugar and dairy are known as the ‘cancer accelerators.’ Your doctor won’t necessarily tell you that, which really shocked me, but it’s just not in their remit.”

“It can be difficult, because most physicians do not have specialist knowledge of alternative medicines and so may not feel able to supervise,” says Professor Susan Short, one of the few oncologists who would talk to me for this piece (Powers’ own doctors declined to comment). Again, this leads to “fear of litigation,” says Bond – meaning it’s safer to stick to the company line, despite the fact; “the standard treatments we offer are not as effective as we’d like,” admits Short.

She thinks only around five percent of patients refuse chemotherapy, and that while “alternatives provide hope for a better outcome, few have proven benefit. But this approach can make patients feel more in control.” And yet, as ever, she wants me to know that “the agents we use offer the best known approaches to treatment.” People like Powers and her Wizard would disagree. “About 25 percent of my clients have complete healing, 40 percent a moderate healing. These are approximate numbers, but I think they are better than the numbers for most chemo treatments.”

Of course, very limited clinical trials into medicinal marijuana have been done. Conversely, according to Cancer Research in the UK, any type of chemotherapy is tested for ten years minimum before it’s used on patients, while they also point out that the reason clinical trials of medicinal marijuana are limited is because its effectiveness can’t be proven.

But after an MRI back in April appeared to show that her tumour had been stabilized (i.e. there had been no further growth) Amelia was positively floored by her doctor’s reaction; “her answer was, ‘if you’re not going to take our treatment, then please carry on with what you’re doing. I’m really sorry that I can’t give this to you’.” In her eyes, this represented a major victory.

But when a further scan, in July this year, suggested that perhaps there might have been some growth, the prognosis left her reeling. “My doctor said; ‘in our opinion the chemo and radiotherapy didn’t work. But we think you should have a proper go with it.’ Here I am, with my hair gone, my teeth in a mess, periods which are just coming back. They all agree with me – the chemo is palliative. He even admitted; ‘Most patients chose it because they panic’.” Rather than upset, she seemed angry. “In hospital all I hear is negatives; ‘this isn’t working, it’s growing, you are not going to live from this, nobody does, we can’t do anything for you, we don’t know what to do…What the hospitals offer isn’t healing – it’s fear.”


Watch Amelia’s video diary. By Charles Bayliss.

Following an abusive 14-year marriage, Amelia has done extensive research into the theory of quantum healing – in simpler terms, the power of positive thinking. And this represents another important aspect to what she is still convinced is her recovery (she has decided against any more MRIs, preferring to base her decisions going forward on how she feels). Working with the Shamanic healer Wendy Salter (“I call her my Yoda”), she has developed her own connection with spirit and says she has undergone deep energetic healing of this and past lives to try and treat the root cause of what she believes now has been a self-inflicted illness.

“I know that this was my body’s reaction to the negative emotion from my marriage, as well as unresolved issues with my family. My brain exploded from it,” she states. And it was only finding the strength to contact her ex-husband (“I hadn’t spoken to him since I walked out”) and send a “stream on consciousness” plea to her family to stop sweeping their issues under the carpet (“they have since all started coming forward”) that she feels the deep healing that needed to happen has begun. “I need love to heal,” she tells me, awash with emotion. “And what I’ve also realised is that this love is in ME. It’s not the love that comes from a man. Here I am, alone at 40, no children, dealing with all this, and I feel like I’ve found…nirvana.”

And it obvious to me that the woman I have come to know in some ways intimately over the past six months, embodies her next statements fully; “I’m not afraid of anything. I’ve accepted death. I don’t know how long I’ve got, but I’m at peace with that, I’m not in a desperate place.”

When Laura Bond was doing the research for her book, she found several common traits among the people who had managed to beat cancer on their terms – the ability to overcome the fear around death and dying being one of them. “Which is easier said than done,” she admits. “There are practical steps, like mindfulness, being rooted in the present and not getting caught up in catastrophic thoughts about the future. Also, being out in nature, where you always feel part of a bigger picture.” She also found one doctor who told her that the simple faith that what they were doing was working “creates a sense of relaxation, and that’s when healing occurs. If you’re living in a place of fear, being pumped full of adrenalin and cortisol, these conditions just aren’t conducive to healing.”

Essentially, many of the alternative therapies people are experimenting with (and let us never forget that this is only experimentation, a personal choice, taking your life in your own hands), are not about the same “military measures” we find in hospitals. More often, it becomes a case of learning to live with cancer, but to build up the immune system to manage it – the opposite of chemotherapy, where the immune system is destroyed along with the malignant cells, to be rebuilt again.

This also means that many of these measures – from changes in diet, to the massive doses of vitamins that help some people find relief – can also been seen as preventative measures. “Cancer is presented to us as such a shot in the dark,” says Bond, “but there are so many thing you can do to lessen the risk – meaning your genes don’t have to determine your destiny.”

Last week, the morning after our last Skype session, Powers sent me a text message; “Bergdorf’s and Neiman Marcus want to buy my bags. Guess I will be seeing you in New York!” And I remember the other thing that linked all Laura Bond’s cancer thrivers. “It’s unbelievable the pressure people have been put under, and so a lot of survivors share a tendency to rock the boat. They were unafraid to question what the doctors were telling them, and not be intimidated.” To the doctors who want to tell Powers there’s no proof what she’s doing will work, that there’s no way she’ll be coming to visit; “they also told me I shouldn’t be here now. So I’m your proof, aren’t I?”

This story also appears in the UK Sunday Times Style magazine.

www.ameliapowers.com
@Amelia_Powers

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this piece are those of the people quoted. Do not seek an alternative course of treatment for cancer or any other illness without first consulting your physician.

AWAVEAWAKE: kundalini on the catwalk

Posted on by Ruby Warrington

AWAVEAWAKE \AH-weyv-ah-weyk\, noun:

 

  1. NY-LA fashion label by former stylist Jaclyn Hodes
  2. In nature: a wave, followed by a wake
  3. In spirit: a wave of kundalini energy, leading to awakening
All images: AWAVEAWAKE s/s 2014 presentation

“It’s a collection that doesn’t scream ‘eco’ – it just is,” says designer Jaclyn Hodes of her fledgling label AWAVEAWAKE. Having featured recently in Vogue and been picked up by buyers at Opening Ceremony, the line’s conscious credentials are hopefully; “something felt, if what you see is just something beautiful. I’m not trying to be super conceptual, but hopefully there is a sense that’s there’s something more behind what are essentially quite simple designs.”

The AWAVEAWAKE aesthetic is sort of Courtney Love circa the Cobain years, meets Buddhist monk. Oh-so-very now age. Cut long and a lot on the bias, and manly from silk, colours for the S/S 14 line (featured here) were inspired by a trip to Chiang Mai in Thailand, with titles like ‘Sprit Peach’; “it has a very specific vibration, a little Hari Krishna I guess.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All dyes are natural and done in Los Angeles, where Hodes spends half her time. “We were working with a natural dyer in Portland, who was able to get the truest black I’ve ever seen, like she was actually doing some kind of black magic. But she was too expensive…”

A former stylist, Hodes’ career shift to designing came as part of her Kundalini yoga teacher training; “(my teacher) Gurmukh told me; ‘if what you do is not aligned with this path, it’s probably not going to work for you.’” Fashion had always been “a guilty pleasure,” and styling “very much illusion shattering,” but “I was still very attracted to it.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At summer solstice in 2011, “I thought I would move to Santa Fe, set up a store and start selling slip dresses. And suddenly everything fell away and the next thing I know I’m making them, doing a presentation and being featured in Vogue.”

As for the design process, “I try not to get too clinical about it,” but there is some serious positive intention going on here. “In Sikhism there is a sound current vibrating in all creation, which is why mantra is so important,” she says, giving a clue. Meanwhile, at the SS14 presentation there were candles and incense, “it was all an offering.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All of which will appeal to a certain kind of customer for sure. And for everybody else, these are just beautiful clothes.

The Fall 2013 collection from AWAVEAWAKE can be viewed at www.awaveawake.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GABBY BERNSTEIN: FASHION JUNKIE

Posted on by Ruby Warrington

Spirit Junkie Gabrielle Bernstein is as famous for her fabulous outfits as her modern girl philosophy on living a miraculous life. She talks wedding dresses, turbans and shopping from an abundance mindset with Ruby Warrington. Portraits by Annie Powers.

So did you always dress like the fashionista babe we know and love from your Instagram feed Gabby?
No – I used to dress like Mariah Carey, I’m not even kidding. Horrifying! It was like the tighter the better because I used to work out so much, I was like I may as well wear tight clothes. Also when I was building my business really wasn’t into spending money on clothes.

So that wasn’t something you ever used to of make you feel good about yourself? That’s a trap a lot of people fall into…
No! I wanted to always look good, but I didn’t need it to be a designer brand, or some major fashion statement. But that changed when I met my fiance Zach. He has very, very strong interest in fashion, and he would take me to McQueen and Barney’s, and places like Costume National and Comme des Garcons  – for me it was like going to a museum.

Was there a turning point when you got into high fashion yourself?
I think that happened when I bought my first pair of Isabel Marant sneakers, which coincided with me starting to be in the mindset of like; ‘oh I can afford to buy them’, you know? And that was kind of like a big deal for me.

“My new pink wallet. #abundance”
“Got distracted in the #surflodgemtk boutique…”

I remember those first experiences too – spending real money on clothes and feeling like ‘this isn’t going to completely bankrupt me’. It’s like getting into an ‘abundance’ mindset…
Yeah! It was amazing. But really if you always shop within your price range you can always feel abundant – buying on credit automatically creates a feeling of lack. And if you’ve saved up for something special the energy is clean. I’ve also got to a place where spending $300 on one special piece makes me feel way more special that walking out of H&M with ten bags of cheap plastic stuff.

We’ve spoken about this before, but tell me about detoxing your closet from all the ‘plastic’…
I was addicted to hi-lo shopping, and I had to recognize that it was an addiction based on my old belief system. My parents weren’t wealthy, so my experience of gifts and shopping growing up was all about quantity over quality – that was normal, but not right. When I was able to witness that I put myself on 90 days of no hi-lo shopping. And I’ve remained abstinent!

You must get loaned a lot of stuff these days too?
I was introduced to one of my favorite designers, Camilla, through my friend Annie Ladino, a really great stylist in New York. She put me in touch Camilla’s publicist Denise, and then they just started loaning me a ton of stuff – amazing. Now I own so many of her kaftans it’s insane. It’s become a go-to look for me because it kind of works anywhere anytime, even though it’s more beachy and summery.

“Doing a meditation for prosperity on the beach”
“It’s a good day when…@camillawithlove”

And it’s also so the opposite of the whole ‘Maraiah Carey’, in your face sexy thing.
Exactly, yeah. And you know, I used to dress like super hippie at college too.

Really? Like what kind of stuff?
Oh my god like, corduroy pants and Birkenstocks and all of that shit! Ripped t-shirts…

Sounds rad… Do you still have any clothes from that period? Do you get sentimental about keeping old clothes, or do you prefer to keep the energy in your closet nice and clean of memories?
The only things I have from back then are like, the things I stole from my college room mate…she had great style, but maybe don’t put her name in this story!  But in general I’m not sentimental about material things, I don’t get attached. You’re setting yourself up for failure that way, because at some point it will be lost, or break, and if it’s become so special there’ll be a sense of loss.

The wings she wore on her first book cover; “a statement about being a spiritual girl in the material world”
“Black Milk galaxy dress. Oh yeah I went there”

I think you’ve always been inspired by the way your friends dress too – right?
Yeah, like my friend Elisa has become a sort of fashion guide for me. I just really like the way she puts herself together, so I started to buy what she was getting, you know. But it’s less about copying than enjoying and appreciating how somebody looks.

Some women can get territorial about their ‘look’ – what’s that all about do you think?
That comes from a place of comparison and attachment to being uniquely ‘you’ – it’s a way for your ego to enhance your ‘specialness,’ as if only you can have that look. I say, when people want to dress like you see it as a compliment.

Do you feel like you do that with people, in the same way that you’ve had lots of different guides, teachers and gurus in your life as well?
Yeah. I think in every area of your life you can definitely pick up different things from people you find inspiring and make them your own…even Zach has been a great teacher to me when it comes to fashion. But again, it’s about taking those ideas and making things your own – constantly bringing it back to what is real to you, and not getting too into the comparison thing of thinking ‘I have to be like you’.

Gabby’s portrait of kundalini guru Yogi Bhajan: “being well dressed was a sign of self-respect for him”
“Wooden prayer beads obviously”

You’ve told me how you like to gift yourself also. Why is that important?
When you buy something as a gift to yourself, the energy behind it is coming from a place of gratitude, as opposed to neediness. That’s when it becomes a gift, not an indulgence. A celebration of yourself.

So when do you gift yourself?
Well around the time that I sold my fourth book I kind of had a little shopping party for a few weeks…

Oh, good!
Yeah…but I have to be careful, because I can still find myself doing these weird, sporadic shops when I just end up with stuff I don’t need. I think a lot of women have this problem. So, I try to stick to only going out shopping with an intention, you know? You also said something once that really hit home for me – when you’re contemplating a purchase, ask ‘is there something else that will do the same thing?’

So what’s on your spirit junkie shopping list right now?
Well since I got into Kundalini yoga I’m trying to buy more whites. Like yesterday I bought some white jeans and a turban online. The turban was from Venuis Turbans in LA, I basically just googled it!

Love it.
I also got Zach some mala beads, which are for meditating with – it’s a necklace with 108 beads, which you count through your fingers as you chant a mantra. Usually when I’m teaching I’ll have a mala in my hand too, or if you’re like having a bad day you can just carry them with you.

Cool. I want you to talk to more about turbans, and why they’re important too…
So, you when practicing Kundalini, you want to keep the energy you create in your body, that’s why you cover your head. From a personal perspective I also feel like I want to respect the sacred tradition – I feel like if I’m a teacher I’ve got to play by the rules. And I also do feel the difference. As you open your chakras, you can feel pain in your crown chakra. Like you can get headaches, or you can feel like, almost bruised on the top of your head – and when you wear the turban it feels better.

Almost like a little bandage? Why is that, that you feel sore?
Because the energy is soaring through the top of your crown!

“OMG my new whites”
rockingmynewvkeenpants
“Rocking my new @v_keen pants”

Okay wow. So back to the “whites.” Why?
It’s about reflecting positive energy out into the world, whereas dark colors, and particularly black, can soak up negativity. So in general I have found myself clearing a lot of black out of my wardrobe. I just don’t feel that good when I’m wearing it anymore.

Did you wear a lot of black in your PR days? That’s the classic image of a New York City PR girl…
Yeah, I think I’ve always worn a lot of black! And I love my black leather Acne jacket, it’s one of my most treasured items, but it can feel kind of like I’m wearing a dark hole, you know? It feels heavy. I’m actually thinking my new staple is going to be white jeans.

Good idea. What are your favorite denim brands?
I like Citizens of Humanity and I actually don’t own a pair of Mother jeans yet but I love the way they look on people. I also really like Isabel Marant’s jeans, of course!

Now I’m interested to hear how else the contents of your wardrobe has shifted since you’ve began following a more spiritual path.
Well apart from the white, I feel like I want to dress more beautifully, if that makes sense. I’m inspired by people like my Kundalini teacher Gurmukh, who always wears her turban and her whites, but might have a color she’s representing that day in her beads that is also reflected in a gem on her turban. She’s very artful about the way she adorns herself, almost like she’s dressing herself like a priestess.

Displaying necklaces in her wardrobe space at home: “I don’t wear them but I love how they look”
“Love my new #kundalini snake tee”

 

Actually Gurmukh’s turban is really amazing.
It’s outrageous. She hasn’t actually cut her hair for 45 years, and when she doesn’t wear her turban you just see this like huge bun on top of her head. It’s not dreadlocks, she washes it, but it’s probably down to her butt, you know?

Amazing. Are you going to stop cutting your hair as well?
Absolutely not! But in terms of how I want to dress, in Kundalini in particular, it’s almost like a sign of respect for yourself and the class to show up really well dressed. I remember during my teacher training I was doing like a praktikum and I wasn’t wearing all white that day, and my teacher…

Sorry, what’s a praktikum?
It’s where you take a fake class to practice. So I was teaching in front of my ‘class’ and I was being graded on it. And I didn’t wear all white that day and my teacher told me off! Even if you’re wearing wrinkled clothes, they’re like, ‘go iron your outfit!’ But it all comes from an emphasis on self-care. Yogi Bhajan was also really into jewelry and gemstones.

A dreamcatcher from Colorado above her writing desk; “I just dig it – a good thing to have around”
Crystals on her alter; “they all have a different energy – I just have to remember to clean them!”

It’s interesting, in ‘The Doors of Perception’ Aldous Huxley talks a lot about how in visionary experience the world often reveals itself in this kind of glowing, jewel-like state. He thinks that that’s one of the reasons jewels have been so revered throughout history and why precious stones became precious. Because in some way they reflect to us the way the world was really made.
That’s neat, that makes sense to me. And there’s also the energy and the healing properties of the stones. Gurmukh has told me I really need to get an emerald for my pinkie, because it’s the finger that represents the voice, the speaker, and the emerald amplifies the voice.

Nice. And I know we’ve spoken as well about the whole thing of living in your yoga clothes. Does that still happen?
Yep! By day I’m in my yoga clothes which means by night I’m ready to get dressed up and go out.

“Biker jacket and #yoga pants. Always a good look”
“Sat Nam folks!”

 

Which is probably the reverse to how a lot of women dress!
Exactly, but I love to get dressed up for my evening lectures for example. For that my outfits can really vary. I mean I’ve worn anything from a really wild Camilla caftan, to like my Isabel Marant fringe boots with like tight black pants and a top. Then other times I’ll wear something more conservative, like a Helmut Lang blazer and jeans. It really depends on the crowd and the overall vibe.

Totally. And what about how an outfit makes you feel?
I feel really empowered wearing nice clothes. It wasn’t always like that, I didn’t always care, but I’ve realized that fashion can literally make me feel like a different person. Whether I’m teaching or lecturing, wearing something that will expand my presence is important.

Absolutely. But do you ever have those days when nothing you put on makes you feel right? Like the hours are counting down to your lecture and you’re like ‘no, no, no.’ Have you got a go-to that always works?
A good jumper is always a go-to. I have long ones, short ones, and actually if I were to buy anything new right now it would be more rompers because I like the way I can put it on and then I’m done. And I mean, even I had to go to a black tie wedding I think I’d wear like this Catherine Malandrino jumper I have.

Well speaking of weddings, how did you chose what to wear to marry Zach? This is like, the most important public speaking gig of your life. I take it you are doing a speech?!
I’m wearing the second dress I bought…which it typical of the bad habits in my shopping style, like, get the first thing you see then go back and get it right! I wanted to wear something that was a real wedding dress, so I could feel like a bride. For anybody who wants to see it, we’ll be doing a #spiritjunkiewedding hash tag on Instagram. See you there!

www.gabbyb.tv
@gabriellebernstein

SEE NO EVIL: FASHION’S TALISMAN FOR FALL

Posted on by Ruby Warrington

There’s a mystical mood in store this season, as designers anoint the the evil eye as their motif of choice. Here’s our lust list. Now all you have to do is manifest, Numis…
Continue reading “SEE NO EVIL: FASHION’S TALISMAN FOR FALL”

MY MYSTICAL LIFE: TARA STILES

Posted on by Ruby Warrington

As NYFW threatens to throw everybody’s material / mystical balance all outta whack, who better than model-turned-yogini-designer-author and Strala Yoga founder Tara Stiles to share the elements of her Mystical Life?

WHAT IS YOUR MORNING AWAKENING RITUAL?
“If I’m in NYC I wake up at 6:30am to the sound of my husband, Mike, making our morning juice or smoothie. We drink that, then it’s off to Strala for the morning STRONG class. I either lead the class or take it, depending on what day it is.”
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TAROTSCOPES: SEPTEMBER 2013

Posted on by Louise Androlia

As we head into a new season, what’s the back-to-school mood for your sign? Resident tarotscopes lady Louise Androlia dips into her deck…

Virgo – Five of Pentacles
Happy birthday, my sweet friend Virgo. September is probably your favourite month and I want you to enjoy it! This is the first time we have had a repeating card in these ‘scopes. The Five of Pentacles made a visit to you just a couple of months ago in July. When a card repeats itself, sometimes it’s just hopping up and down trying to be heard, so please revisit the advice I gave you in July, but also think back to that month and see what might be echoing now. Continue reading “TAROTSCOPES: SEPTEMBER 2013”

NEED-TO-KNOW: PRACTICAL MAGIC

Posted on by Madeline Giles

Move over David Blaine. Outta the way, Seigfried and Roy. Magic isn’t just for Las Vegas side-shows, it’s for LIFE, says Madeline Giles…

In Western culture, we’re taught that magic is either smoke and mirrors entertainment (best seen in Las Vegas) or for occultists (and therefore may or may not open an evil portal to haunt you for the rest of your life). In my humble opinion, these versions of manipulated “magic” are completely limiting and totally watered down. Genuine magic is not creepy or something only a privileged few can do. Magic is your birthright.
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BECOMING MY OWN ASTROLOGER: ASTRO TWINS RETREAT

Posted on by Ruby Warrington


I’ve always thought astrology was the coolest thing. The idea that my soul chose to be born at a particular time, so that in this life I would embody certain personality traits to help me on my karmic journey. And as a believer in what’s meant-to-be, isn’t the circumstance of your birth the ultimate?
Continue reading “BECOMING MY OWN ASTROLOGER: ASTRO TWINS RETREAT”

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