THE NUMEROLGY OF 8/8

Felicia Bender explains how to use the powerful numerology of 8/8 to bring about your greatest manifestations…

numerology of 8/8 Daenerys on The Numinous
A day to channel your inner Daenerys

Question: What could possibly be more exciting than Leo season?

Answer: Leo season and the magical manifestation energy of the number 8!

In Numerology, the number 8 brings energy related to manifestation in the material world. It’s all about money, power, and achievement. And don’t misread the 8 as relating to “money only.” This energy is all about personal empowerment, since we really can’t fully manifest in the material world without a strong sense of self—and a consistent ability to be resilient, ethical, and hard-working.

Still, the numerology of 8/8 offers a strong vortex of manifestation energy that’s there for the taking. This is a powerful day to take a long-term view of your goals. Are you happy with your financial situation? If so, keep doing that. If not-so-much, then using this day to sit down and take a deep look at where you are, how you got there, and perhaps where you want to be instead, is mandatory.

And as a passing thought en route to the grocery store won’t cut it. This requires some concerted soul-searching and a bit’o long-term planning. Because the energy of the 8 isn’t “light.” It’s not particularly easy-breezy or “lucky.” Rather, the 8 brings ideas and desires into the material world ONLY when there is a solid focus, a plan, organization, and some elbow grease.

And when the going gets tough, the 8 gets going!

This month, the double 8 of 8/8 is a platform from which to launch our practical dreams, whether it’s a desire for a healthy and passionate relationship, a new job or career more suited to our talents, and that offers more money. This isn’t about fly-by-night endeavors. So make a plan. Tap a more business-like attitude. And most importantly, take yourself seriously!

This may cause some real “OMG I’m just not good enough” feelings to bubble to the surface. Don’t avoid them—we actually benefit when we take a look at our perceived weaknesses. We get to investigate where they originated and get serious about how we can get past self-sabotage and into our empowerment. You are the embodiment of the Divine, hear you roar!

So get ready to rumble and take advantage of this powerful opportunity to launch your “what’s next” plan of action. Take the high road and don’t succumb to defeatism, victimization, or any other negative “ism.” The 8 amplifies all that we think about and act upon, so step up and make it count.

THE NUMEROLOGY OF 7/7

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

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

Lucky number 7?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ruby Warrington My Mystical Week The Numinous

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

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

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

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

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

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

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll on The Numinous

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

PSYCHIC AWAKENING: FROM FASHIONISTA TO SHAMANISTA

Fashion stylist Colleen McCann knew something had to give when people started shouting “witch!” at her in the street. Here’s how she went from fashionista to shamanista, and found a way to merge both her worlds…

Colleen McCann Style Rituals shamanista on The Numinous

Shit got real when I heard my first “voice” in the Bodega on South 4th Street and Bedford Avenue over a fight about bananas – and I haven’t looked back. Okay, let me rewind a bit first.

My name is Colleen McCann and up until six years ago I was a typical Brooklyn girl. I lived in Williamsburg, I rode the J-train to the city every day. I brunched at Five Leaves, I threw elbows at sample sales and I had a successful 15-year career in the fashion industry as a designer, stylist, brand consultant and serial entrepreneur.

So what happens when you add “hearing voices” to your repertoire? Well, you start hearing more voices and rubbing elbows with the spiritual renegades that roam the streets of the city.

During the next fashion week, a gypsy woman approached me and wanted to further examine my vibrant green aura at her psychic salon. I darted away and she kept calling “Wait, this is really important come back!”

Quickly followed by my encounter with Joe of the Marcy Street subway platform, who came up to me and said: “Don’t worry about him” and proceeded to read every single thought I had on my mind about my then recent breakup with my boyfriend. I said to Joe “Wait, what did you say you did for a living?” He was a mattress salesman. We enter a long pause together, and he then says: “But I’m really into Astrology.” He winked at me and got off at the next stop.

The real icing on the cake came when this crazy lady on 33rd Street started screaming violently: “witch, witch, witch!” I turned around to see who crazy pants was aiming her opinions at, and unfortunately it was me. Run! I thought…but was I running from the eccentric pupu platter of NYC street weirdos, or was I running from my newly found freakish self?

Colleen McCann Style Rituals shamanista on The Numinous
Colleen’s old life involved a lot of shoes

Okay Universe, I hear you loud and clear. Time to get a second opinion – and maybe not at the psych ward.

So where do you turn in a situation like this? I was scared, embarrassed, uneducated on all subjects of mystical matters. Also, just plain fucking freaked out. But as luck would have it a random girl, now one of my best friends, came up to me in the hallway at my client’s office in midtown and randomly (or not so randomly) asked if I believe in psychics.

“Ummmm, I guess so?” I said, thinking: “Oh god she knows! She sees something is happening to me!” She proceeded to direct me to a psychic who had his mystical lair in the back of a 2nd floor botanical emporium in the flower district.

Following my nose, I soon found myself walking up a set of rickety, shabby chic stairs and swatting cherry blossoms and orchids out of my face to get to the unmarked door of my future destiny. I felt like I was headed for the latest speakeasy – one that was not yet reviewed on Yelp.

Walking in, I was greeted by a man I don’t even think remembered my name. But his black eyes locked with mine and he ran over and grabbed my hands and said: “Oh, honey you’re not crazy, you’re psychic! Sit down and let’s discuss.”

I stood, frozen, and as if watching a movie montage I flashed back through all the “WTF” moments I actually experienced since childhood. Do you remember those grade school contests where you had to guess the number of jelly beans in the jar? Well, I would guess the exact amount every time.

There was the time my little sister was playing tea party with her two imaginary friends, Dan and Carl, and I sat in silence thinking: but I see them, what’s she talking about?

Well – I may have been a weirdo, but at least I now knew what kind of weirdo I was, and I embarked on a mission to figure it all out. Which meant I did what any brazen New York girl would have done…I traded my high-heels for hiking boots and decided to get educated on all things mystical.

Colleen McCann Style Rituals shamanista on The Numinous
Shamanista boot camp…

I attended Shaman school in the wilds of the Chilean outback and against the desert back drop of Joshua Tree. As part of my training, I traveling the unpaved paths of Mount Shasta, Hudson Valley, Big Sur, Kauai, and any other energetically charged hot spot I could get to between days on set.

I have studied Peruvian Shamanism with the Four Winds Society where I learned how to do hands on healing with the chakra system and how to connect with my spirit guides. I also learned the art of channeling in the Nordic and Celtic traditions and regularly attend sessions with a group of Curanderas where I learn about plant medicine and tinctures.

In my free time? You can generally find me in a crystal shop in the back woods of Chinatown, where I learn about gems, mediation, astrology, auras, Feng Shui and medicinal teas from a group of women I affectionately call “The Chinese Crystal Mafia”.

I really put myself through the mystical wringer in an effort to work with my inner freak, but in the process I found I had manifested a whole new calling out of this adventure to reclaim my sanity. So now what?

As I continued my trip down the crystal-laden rabbit hole I started feeling a lot of internal moral conflict, not to mention external physical exhaustion, with the double life I was living. Arriving on set, it would be impossible to ignore the toxic side of the fashion industry: greed, vanity, ego, drug addiction, workaholism, alongside a whopping dose of eating disorders. Did I really want to subject myself to this any longer?

Being a fashion stylist is back breaking work. The hours are long and the work very physical. There are always a plethora of personalities to juggle in the room, and not to mention the constant jet-lag. So what’s a girl to do? I had been maneuvering this double life for six years straight, and I needed to make a shift. So instead of turning my back on the industry that had embraced me for so long, I decided to take my lemonade…and make a lemonade stand!

Colleen McCann Style Rituals shamanista on The Numinous

It was simple: my fashion clients have become my healing clients. These days, I address the underlying issues in my well-dressed community, as who better than me to truly understand the unique brand of pressure and stress they experience day-to-day.

Truth be told I was a little nervous to start telling my crew what I had been up to in my free time. Would I be socially ostracized? Would I lose my clients? As I started confessing my weekend whereabouts, people would stare in silence for a minute and then say something: “Ohhhhh, that explains a few things. When can I get a session?!”

Eureka! There was room in my life for my passions to coexist. I did however have to make a few changes to accommodate my morals, schedule, energy level and a budding new business.

Since coming out of the Shamanic closet, I started a business called Style Rituals. I use my fashionista roots AND my spiritual know-how to realign the energetic body with the physical body. I may still clean out someone’s closet, but we are removing low vibrational clothing, along with a hands on healing, manifestation techniques, altar building and a discussion with their spirit guides.

And while the majority of my work now is healing-based, I also made a conscious decision to do fashion projects with people I enjoy being around, or who’s projects are doing good in our society.

Next up? I’ll be taking my place as resident Shaman with LA-based Daily Bliss Yoga Retreats when we head to Thailand in March. And I’m creating an online webinar to help women who are spiritually blasting wide open and have no idea what’s happening to them work out the, ummm, “kinks” shall we say.

Having been there and done that, I’m honored to be able to help others that are going through exactly what I did. To help them remember who they really are, and re-gain their sovereignty – while navigating modern life in the modern world.

Find out more about Colleen and her work at Stylerituals.com

YUMI SAKUGAWA: HOW TO BECOME ONE WITH THE UNIVERSE

Yumi Sakugawa’s cute illustrated books bring life’s big questions down to earth. But mastering them herself will always be a work in progress, she tells Gabriela Herstik.

yumi sakugawa interview on The Numinous

If there’s one thing Yumi Sakugawa thinks you should every day, it’s meditate. And with her sweetly illustrated books, the Los Angeles based comic book artist and illustrator is on a mission – to teach the world that there’s no right way to meditate, and you should do it anyway. In fact, Yumi is leading a shift in how we approach our relationship to our consciousness – and her childlike curiosity on her everlasting search of ways to connect to the cosmos is creating some truly spectacular magic.

The Numinous: There’s an almost childlike innocence in the way you present very important spiritual and Universal truths. How do you think this helps get your message across?
Yumi Sakugawa: I want to believe that core spiritual and universal truths can be distilled to simple and profound messages that can be easily understood by everybody regardless of religious background, spiritual training or level of education / life experience. Also, I don’t think illustrated books should be limited to just children.

yumi sakugawa interview on The Numinous

TN: One of the points you emphasize is that we ARE one – with each other and the Universe. How do you think living in this truth can change your life, and how has it impacted your own?
YS: This is a principle I illustrate a lot, but one I have the hardest time practicing for myself. I want to believe that in embodying this truth, we collectively awaken to the idea that other people’s suffering is our own suffering, to help remind us of our innate nature to take care of our communities and the planet as a whole.

I do feel ready, more than I’ve ever been, to really ask myself what cosmic interconnectedness means and how I can embody this more in my life and my work. Self-care and self-love must come first before extending that love to the community at large. Meditating on this truth gives me a greater sense of responsibility and purpose in the art I create and share with the world.

yumi sakugawa interview on The Numinous

TN: How and why did you decide to tackle such a heavy (and worthy!) concept like oneness? 
YS: Again, I think I am drawn to this principle of oneness because I have the hardest time fully practicing it – even though I know on some primal, deep level that this is something the survival of our humanity and goodness depends upon. I spend a lot of time alone working on my artwork, which makes it easy for me to have an isolated and self-centered worldview. I am in awe of friends and colleagues who are really out there in the world interacting with more people from all walks of life every single day in very difficult, challenging situations – whether they are teachers, doctors, community activists, or work in the non-profit sector.

But at the same time I feel very lucky that my artwork has found an audience out there, and it’s so humbling to know that the work I create to ease my own mental health issues and insecurities can also help complete strangers from all walks of life, in all parts of the world. That, to me, brings a beautiful and profound sense of interconnectedness, that so many people may be experiencing the same shades of suffering, but can also experience the same spiritual relief by unshackling their minds from their own self-inflicted and self-limiting beliefs. I am reminded often that my artwork cannot exist in a vacuum and it must be seen by other people in order for the process of creation to be complete.

yumi sakugawa interview on The Numinous

TN: What’s on the horizon for you in the upcoming Year of the Monkey?
YS:
I do hope to further extend my involvement with the world in 2016, though I am not sure yet what that would look like. In addition to continuing to create more artwork and comics relating to mindfulness, perhaps I will be doing more workshops and guided meditations IRL? To be continued! (Ed. Let’s talk Yumi, we’d love to create a Numinous Presents event with you!)

yumi sakugawa interview on The Numinous

TN: What’s your process like for creating your art? Is there a special space that you tune into?
YS: Especially with my books about meditation and mindfulness, it’s important for me to be in an intuitive flow state where I am feeling clearheaded and not overthinking things. This is why it is so important for me to meditate first thing in the morning. Having meditated for seven years now, I cannot imagine doing my creative work without a daily meditation practice, which creates the best mental space for me to pay attention to my inner guide – the voice that tells me when something is authentic or not. It is in this space where the best creative decisions are made, and the artwork that needs to be created unfolds with the ease of a flower opening its petals to the sun.

TN: What is the one message you hope to get across to all humans who read your books?
YS: Pay attention, listen and celebrate.

Discover more about Yumi Sakugawa and her work at Yumisakugawa.com

MY MYSTICAL LIFE: A NEW WORKING WARDROBE, AND THE REALITY OF TRUTH

Elevated living in my PJs, The Reality of Truth, and getting some supplies in for my Moon time…

My Mystical Life column by Ruby Warrington of The Numinous
PJs + Wild Child lipstick by Ila = my new working wardrobe

:: MONDAY ::
Still vibing off our Numinous Presents: Lead Your Own Moon Ceremony workshop, which was led by Deborah Hanekamp in NYC last Saturday. Having my moon in Cancer (the moon’s home sign) I’ve always felt especially attuned to her movements, which is one reason I’m always posting about what sign she’s moving through in our Instagram #moonscopes. But Deborah’s teachings brought a whole other level of awareness to how to use each Moon phase, PLUS all the proper protocols for hosting my own moon ceremony (for myself or others). Essential info – which is why we’re planning to bring the course to LA next month. Watch this space!

Lead your own moon ceremony workshop The Numinous and Unity Essences
LA date in Feb 2016…TBD!

:: TUESDAY ::
Since I’ve mainly spent this month working towards my March 1 BOOK DEADLINE (out spring 2017 #savethedate), I’ve also been mainly spending all day every day in my PJs. And doing a bit of research for the chapter on beauty, I remembered this post on The Art of Sacred Adornment by Kitty Cavelier. She writes how: “When you rouge your lips, be aware that you are bringing red, the color of passion and power, to every word you speak. As you paint your fingernails, remember that every stroke of the polish is a prayer of adornment for all the magic your hands create every day.” So the PJs can stay, but I’ll be adding some lipstick and polish from here on in (see main pic!)

:: WEDNESDAY ::
Dinner with my friends Ian and Drita, who recently moved down to Costa Rica to help open a high-end shamanic healing retreat called Rythmia. Needless to say I’ll be heading down to check it out later this year, and in the meantime I’ll be watching The Reality of Truth – a documentary exploring how people, groups and entire cultures tap into an alternative, “true reality” through spirituality, meditation, and psychedelics. Featuring ALL the great Now Age speakers, you can win a $10,000 retreat at Rythmia when you buy a copy.

:: THURSDAY ::
Ah, the magic of manifestation. While we were trying to engineer a move from London to NYC, I’d been making my husband (a.k.a. The Pisces) a morning cup of tea in an “I <3 NY” mug every day for like 18 months. Once the Universe heard and gifted him with a transfer to the Manhattan office of his firm, we told our friends Catherine and James about this, who were like: “oh we’d quite like to live in New York too.” So we gave them the mug for them to try their luck…and they’re only only moving to NY next month!! They’re here looking at apartments this week. As for the Pisces and I? We’ve moved on to an “I <3 LA” mug…

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

:: FRIDAY ::
Placed an order with Kerrilynn at CAP Beauty for some Moon Juice snacks, which they began stocking this month. The thing about getting to know my personal moon cycles better (i.e. properly tracking and working to regulate my period) is that I know when I’ll be PMS’ing. And with the book deadline not exactly going anywhere, I figured a supply of my fave Chocolate Chaga Donuts and Rose Geranium bars might come in handy in the days to come. Except they’d only sold out!! I’ll have to make do with the Mulberry Cacao Crunchers instead #sigh #fristworldmaterialgirlproblems…

Moon Juice Chocolate Chaga Donuts, $8
Moon Juice Chocolate Chaga Donuts, $8

FEEL YOURSELF: READING FOR THE FULL MOON IN CANCER

The Full Moon in Cancer is inviting us to feel our way home…as we simultaneously step into brave new world, says Hannah Ariel.

Reading for the Full Moon in Cancer by Hannah Ariel on The Numinous Christmas Day 2015

“Like great works, deep feelings always mean more than they are conscious of saying. Great feelings take with them their own Universe, splendid or abject, they light up with their passion an exclusive world.” – Albert Camus

If you feel like you’re having an existential crisis – hang on a minute. If you feel like you’re feeling too much to put into words, that’s okay, be still inside and keep quiet for a while. If you feel like you are bursting at the seams to say something – maybe it’s time to say it!

And if you feel like you are opening up to feelings you’ve never felt before – say hello to a Full Moon in Cancer that began as a New Moon in Sagittarius. (And if you feel nothing, make sure you aren’t somewhere hiding in a corner, in total denial of what’s happening in your life right now!)

Astrologically, December has been a month of shifting our long-standing perceptions as a result of more expansive experiences in our lives; experiences that have re-defined our purpose here on Earth; experiences that shook us right off the branch we were clinging to for dear life; experiences that have left us here, now, with an opportunity to become more emotionally rooted in what is TRUE for us personally.

Just think for a moment – the constellation of Cancer is ruled by the Moon, which rules over how we experience our greatest, biggest FEELINGS, our deepest subconscious habituations. It is where we find our sense of belonging, our ability to be receptive, and our ability to establish a connection with our sensitivity.

Essentially the Moon is HOME, and in its full creative potential in Cancer – so even if it feels like you can’t recognize the territory this Sagittarius New Moon carved out for you, call on this energy now. It is time to let go of whatever is keeping you from feeling at home within your own life.

For a Full Moon in Cancer is pure maternal energy. This Full Moon is here to nurture our future development, by feeding us just what we need. Like the tide, she guides us with a subtle body of heavenly energy, helping us know how to act, when to re-act, and when to go with the flow with life.

Allow this to be a sweet and deep and personal experience, that may begin with a welling up of sentiments. Sentiments, perhaps, that you need to let go of. This may involve tears. It may involve laughter. It may involve silence. Whatever this Full Moon in Cancer brings forth in you as she rises to her full expression, feel the protective flow of energy the Universe is offering, and just a few days after Winter Solstice.

The Solstice is the exact moment where the Northern Hemisphere is tilted farthest from the Sun. It is the longest night of the year, and without awareness, it can potentially be a time where we feel as if we’ve lost our “truth north,” or guiding light. As the Earth turns now, we’re being pulled to a place where only karmic memory can remind us of our next move.

The Full Moon in Cancer IS karma. Its light is a reflection of the Sun in Capricorn, on its way to its annual death/rebirth date with Pluto in the same sign. We are being asked to let go of the old and birth something new. It is within this alchemy that destiny will do its best work. Feel this. Find whatever it is that brings a strong sense of being peacefully in the right place, at the right time, within yourself, ready to nurture your future.

No matter what kind of Sagittarian adventure you’ve been on the past two weeks, it’s time to come home to yourself and your inner journey, and experience true emotional re-calibration. Sure, we’ve had our eyes opened to fresh new visions. But how can we move into these realities without connecting to the reality of our… FEELINGS?

How can you be upfront with yourself when asked the question: “How does what I am currently experiencing make me feel?” Does the answer to this question serve your future? And how can you answer without grasping for the same old familial patterns you’re accustomed to leaning on for emotional stability?

It could be all too easy for this Full Moon in Cancer to trigger old habits, old instincts, and old patterns that used to make us feel safe and “at home,” especially at a time of year steeped in family traditions.

Perhaps Christmas always sees you revisit certain family members, and the accompanying emotional patterns – but whatever tradition you find yourself carrying on, know that astrologically it’s a brilliant time to experience yourself ANEW.

Tap into the energy of the Winter Solstice for this, and know that you are supported as you go further into exploring a new spiritual identity, shining like a beacon in the dark. Know that this is about feeling your way into a new reality. The Sun has just passed through the “galactic center” of the Universe – literally – a time in space that offers the opportunity to go way further into your cosmic self. So allow yourself to be re-wired. What if the Universe promised you that on this day, this year, you have the power to create a new tradition? A new space to experience yourself. Then what would you feel?

On December 25th, 2015, how about cozying up to a new enlightened idea of what makes you feel alive. The light you have longed to kindle all year is ready to be ignited now, ESPECIALLY as Uranus, retrograde since July 26, goes direct in Aries. When Uranus is retrograde we may doubt sudden new potentials as they present themselves. When Uranus goes direct, we are booted out of the status quo in order to re-boot something important about ourselves.

So acknowledge where you’re experiencing twists and turns in your destiny, FEEL how it makes you feel, upgrade to the new reality, and acclimate. Although you may feel like you’ve been supercharged with something otherworldly, unrecognizable, unacceptable, and out of bounds, this Full Moon in Cancer is not meant to shock so much as it is here to bring you to where you belong.

SURPRISE; this is how you now feel “at home.” SURPRISE; this is where you’re supposed to be in your life. Whatever you uncover, maybe you’re most surprised to find you’ve had it in you all along – what you need to move forward, and this ability to feel your way into the future. So be receptive to what has suddenly become true for you, and feel its existence with your whole heart.

For a personal reading with Hannah Ariel contact [email protected]

AN AUSPICIOUS DAY: MASTERING THE MAGIC OF 11/11

11/11 brings a super-charged portal of opportunity. Practical numerologist Felicia Bender has a lesson in working with the energies at play

Angel number 11/11 by Felicia Bender for The Numinous

 

 

Numerologicially speaking,  11/11 can be a significant date for us – if we’re aware and participating with the opportunities it brings our way.

I’m often asked about repeating numbers, particularly the repeating pattern 11:11. Whenever we see repeating numbers in our lives, it signifies a code that’s attempting to communicate with us on a different level than the rational, logical way we receive communication on a daily basis.

It’s kind of like the Universe is sending us a text.

In Numerology, the 11 is a Master Number – like all repeated numbers (11, 22, 33, and so on) – and Master Numbers contain a higher spiritual vibration or frequency, for lack of a better term. If a Master Number is one of the core numbers in our Numerology chart, for example, it indicates a higher level of potential, and also more challenges. So while working with Master Numbers might feel oh-so lofty, it can be a really tough obstacle course. It comes with added intensity. The Master Numbers demand that we master our life in particular ways.

That said, what about the 11 specifically?

First of all, the number 1 is all about new beginnings, independence, initiative, achievement, individuation, self-confidence, and innovative creativity. So when we see this repeating number, it’s beneficial to remind ourselves to focus on what we want in our lives opposed to what we don’t. Because the energy of the number 1 expands what we focus on, like a magnifying glass.

When we see this repeating number, a window of opportunity is being flung open – with this energy in our court, we’ll begin to manifest our thoughts and desires with turbo-speed. It requires that we’re disciplined and mindful about how we focus our thoughts and what we allow to play in our minds. If there’s any time to dive into our positive affirmation file, this is it. Don’t waste this valuable and high-powered energy on trivial or negative things.

The 11 is also the higher level 2 energy (1 + 1 = 2). The number 2 is all about harmony, balance, cooperation, diplomacy, and love. Add the Master Number and up the ante – and the 11 is the “wounded healer” and spiritual messenger.  The 11 is highly intuitive, extremely sensitive, out-of-this-world creative, and an inspired healing agent. The 11 lives mostly in the ethers and part of the struggle with the 11 energy is to bring it down to Earth in a way that’s useful and constructive.

Those with 11s in their chart will undoubtedly encounter experiences and situations that are harrowing, difficult, and extreme. This is because experience isn’t the best teacher, it’s the only teacher. The person mastering the 11 energy will come through the fire as an inspired healer and wise counselor.  Yet it takes walking the walk and talking the talk to reach the point of mastery.

As for the date 11/11 as a doorway, if we look at the numbers, we can see this is even represented visually – each 11 looks like a door. The two doors can be seen as an intersection between the physical and the spiritual world. Since the 11 is all about spiritual enlightenment, we can also use the energy of this date for understanding and manifesting our higher purpose, whatever that might be at this given moment.

In this sense, 11 is our cosmic cheerleader – here to remind us of our ever-transitioning evolution, and to assure us that we’re moving in the right direction. The day 11/11 is giving all of us a cosmic shove off the ledge, a super-charged window of opportunity. So today, let’s be sure to focus our thoughts, think big, and look for the opportunities opening up.

It’s the day to plant the seeds we’ve been wanting to plant, and to plant them mindfully, with care, and with a commitment to follow through with the actions needed to successfully cultivate these new beginnings as we enter the next phase in our lives.

MARIANNE WILLIAMSON INTERVIEW: RECLAIMING THE POWER OF THE FEMININE

“Women ourselves have bought into this idea of ‘feminine’ as meaning ‘weaker’…” Jo Becker‘s Marianne Williamson interview speaks to what it means to be woman and a spiritual activist.

marianne williamson interview for The Numinous

 

Marianne Williamson is a powerhouse. The fierce voice of modern spirituality shares her love-driven ideas on how to heal America far and wide: she’s written four New York Times #1 bestsellers, chats with Oprah on the regular, and even ran for Congress in 2013. To me, she embodies the future of feminine leadership and spiritual activism.

I’m inspired by her eloquent commitment to heart-centered change. Years before I read her books, I heard her life-changing statement from A Return to Love, the quotation she is now famous for:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

I caught up with her at an Institute of Noetic Sciences conference. Astronaut Edgar Mitchell founded IONS back in 1973 after experiencing samadhi during the flight back to earth. Since then, IONS has been devoted to bringing together science and spirituality. I see Marianne Williamson as similarly groundbreaking in her work: she joyfully and relentlessly marries political activism with spiritual awareness.

The Dalai Lama said, “The world does not need more successful people. The world desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of all kinds.” Personally, I think the world needs successful peacemakers, healers, and lovers; and numinous women like Marianne Williamson are shining examples.

A lot of people think that “spiritual activism” is a contradiction. What would you say to them?
Spiritual activism is a change in thinking: from a mental filter of fear to a mental filter of love. Given that thought is the causal level of all experience, active thought and change of thought is the most powerful force in the Universe.

Earlier today, a scientist was talking about how information, as in data, is only 10% of what causes people to actually change their behavior. And we have the data. We know what climate change is doing, we know how dangerous nuclear power is. We have the data on what violence on television and video games is doing to young people’s brains, we have the data on the carcinogens that are in the air…So why is it that “knowing the data” isn’t enough to make us change?

What makes us change comes from a deeper place, and that’s what spiritual activism is. It’s when something of the spirit, of the heart, becomes active in our thinking, and our thinking gets lit up. Because the mind itself can be used for purposes of love or purposes of fear, so spiritual activism is when we seek to do whatever it is we do from a place of love and with the intention of love.

And I’m talking about the love with which the mother lion protects her cubs. The love with which the adult female [and some males] of any species that survives and thrives exhibits fierce behavior when she senses that her cubs are threatened. So the marginalization of spirituality, the minimization of love as force, is just part of the ego mind’s propaganda.

Do you resonate with what the Dalai Lama said: “the Western woman will save the world?”
Of course I resonate with it, but with all due respect to the Dalai Lama, I don’t think we need any man’s verification. I have a bit of a problem with the fact that we’re quoting a man to affirm our own power. I have the same great respect and reverence for His Holiness as anyone, but come on girls! I think what’s most important is that you say it. And I say it. Because we are affirming what we are doing: that this world is changing because we say so. Because we say so.

Marianne Williamson interview the aphrodite training on The Numinous

You’re doing a lot of work right now with balancing masculine and feminine energies in women. Why is this important to you?
It’s such a significant issue. I am a product of the 1970’s wave of feminism—obviously the women’s movement is a wonderful thing, obviously I consider myself a feminist. But there is what I think of as a flawed strain of feminism, through which we actually suppressed the feminine in the name of feminism. And we embodied in many cases the archetype of Athena. She goes out there, she goes into the world, she manifests, she makes things happen.

But we get to embody as many energies, i.e. goddesses, as we choose, and Aphrodite is important as well. She embodies romance and beauty and pleasure, and I think many women, myself included have had a lot of psychic scars from buying into the belief that cultivating the masculine side of ourselves was actually more important than cultivating the feminine side.

I also think a lot of women have come to a very confusing point in their lives, realizing ‘I made this happen’ or ‘I made that happen.’ ‘I had these professional goals—some of which I’ve manifested, some of which I haven’t.’ But when are the other areas of my life, which are just as important to me, going to occur? Old wise women don’t get pregnant.

I’ve seen a lot of young women particularly deeply saddened, even traumatized, by the fact that while they feel they’re on some track professionally, their relationships, and child-bearing and deeper issues of cultivation of the family and romance have become…it’s like women are standing there saying, ‘How did I become clueless in this area?’ And then not only ‘How did I become clueless?’ but ‘What are the clues?’ They’ve become lost.

Inviting in the Aphrodite energy of love, pleasure, beauty – what does that look like in a woman?
The integration of the Aphrodite and the Athena in my own life has been so important. I think obviously we’re all masculine, we’re all feminine, but women are here to major in feminine. It’s part of honoring our incarnation not to sideline something so fundamental to our being. And women ourselves have bought into this idea of ‘feminine’ as meaning ‘weaker’ without knowing it. Not women as weaker, but feminine attributes as weaker. I think many of us are seeking to reclaim lost pieces of ourselves, scattered pieces of ourselves.

What advice do you have for young women?
I think my biggest advice to young women would be, ‘enjoy it while you got it.’

And not try to be the ‘wise woman’ before your time?
The decades of life are like different rooms in the house. I have a daughter, early childhood, junior high, tween, high school college, now she’s a woman on her own. None of those phases is more or less magnificent than any other. And being in your 20s is fantastic, so be in your 20s when you’re in your 20s. Being in your 50s is fantastic; being in your 60s is fantastic. With every phase you lose something and you gain something. Be where you are when you’re there.

Having said that, I think something good is happening among American women. We’re starting to catch up, and we need to. We’ve not been the most mature group compared to women in other societies. And we’ve acted like we’re clueless regarding the suffering of women around the world, particularly at the hands of our own government in too many cases. We decry the policies towards women of a place like Saudi Arabia and for good reason, but when we invade countries that didn’t do anything to hurt us, a lot of the people who are dying in such invasion are women and their children.

So this is not a time for women of any age to be ditzy. This is a time to be deep. But I see many women of all ages seeking greater depth and it’s inspiring.

 

How do you think we can start to wake up to the suffering of others without dismissing it as ‘other people’s karma’?
Oh please! What a brilliant ego device that is. It might be that person’s karma to be starving, but it is my karma to give them food. Their karmic challenge might be that challenge; my karmic challenge is to help those who suffer that way. The ego is brilliant at coming up with excuses for not helping. There is no serious spiritual path, and there never has been, that gives any of us a pass at addressing the suffering of other sentient beings.

Now, get sucked in by it? Absolutely not. But there’s a difference between denial and transcendence. If you don’t even look at it, you’re not in transcendence. You’re in denial. But if you look at it and practice positive denial, which is: I deny the power of this phenomenon to continue. Why? Because I said so. Because I’m gonna do something about it. Because I know other people are gonna do something about it and we’re gonna make sure this ends. That’s positive denial.

Do you have a daily spiritual practice?
I am a student of A Course in Miracles. The course is 365 days of lessons; mine today is, ‘I will be still an instant and go home.’ Yesterday was, ‘I trust my brothers who are one with me.’ It’s a specific curriculum for dismantling a thought system based on fear, and accepting instead a thought system based on love. So spiritual exercise becomes like physical exercise. You are rebuilding your body, but with spiritual exercise you are honing your attitudinal musculature, just like in yoga. You want the correct position in your attitude, just like in your body. With physical exercise, you are developing your physical muscles so you can be strong and run. In spiritual exercise you are developing your capacity to be still. Your capacity for impulse control.

What practical applications does this have? It means there is a greatly diminished probability that you will send the frickin’ text that you will regret for six months. It diminishes the possibility you will say or do something or push the send button that will so sabotage a relationship or work situation or whatever. It diminishes the possibility that you will be so distracted by the meaningless chaos of the world that you will not be able to show up fully as a fully actualized human. We wake up in the morning and we take a shower because we want yesterday’s dirt to be cleansed off our bodies, but if you don’t meditate or pray, you might not be cleaning yesterday’s dirt from your mind. So internal purification is as important as external purification.

Marianne Williamson’s The Aphrodite Training began October 23 2015 and will continue to be available via live stream through October 25 2015. Get all the details and sign up here.

HOW TO NAVIGATE YOUR SPIRITUAL ROADMAP

Hit a bump in the road? Never fear, says Shaheen Miro. Your soul created a spiritual roadmap for you to follow in this life, here’s how to navigate yours…Images: Benoit Paillé via Behance.net

spiritual roadmap story on TheNuminous with images by Benoit Paillé

Life is filled with twists and turns, some that take us deeper into our soul journey, others that lead us off-track for a while. I have found on my own path that we are never truly lost, but that there will be moments of feeling like we’re in the dark. Usually this happens when we’re ignoring our intuition, and not honoring our spirit.

But before you came to this wild and crazy world, you created a map for yourself – a charted path your soul is here to live out. Nope, this doesn’t mean that everything in your life is set in stone. Rather, your spiritual map is a blueprint that guides you towards opportunities for growth, and chances to explore the deeper regions of your soul.

These key co-ordinates on your map are points of power that help to ignite your spiritual fire, so you can paint the world with all your unique colors. To experience your own divinity, and to live out your creative purpose.

Bumps in the road
Your map is filled with lessons and sacred moments. These may manifest as physical obstacles, dealing with health, safety, and security. You will also encounter moments of darkness, and depression. Maybe you will battle addiction, challenging relationships, a questioning of beliefs, upheavals, or fear.

At times you will even question your own soul purpose, and ask why the hell you embarked on this journey in the first place! But rest assured, you are here for a reason…and that reason is to simply dance, flow, and slow grind with the Universe.

Your map is also filled with strategically placed people, places and events. And like all geographic maps, you have created exit points, and alternate routes to help traverse any bumps in the road.

Now you’re probably thinking…damn, why would I make things so hard for myself? But you aren’t meant to struggle, simply to learn. The truth is you probably forgot you’re a total badass filled with enough light to outshine any darkness. Moments of opposition are here to remind you that you are living, learning, and that you are in control!

spiritual roadmap story on TheNuminous with images by Benoit Paillé

Navigating the Map
The fastest way to get back on track if you feel you’ve veered off course, is usually to literally stopping what you are doing with your life, and move in a completely different direction. This will invariably activate your spirit and lead you closer to a feeling of wholeness.

I know there is at least one area of your life that could use a good change. So how about you override your current plan, chose to link into your spirit, and experience something else? Ask yourself this:

Does this current path feed or deplete my spirit?

Hmm, now this can be a tough question. You may need to meditate on it for awhile, so talk to Spirit, connect with your guides, and carve out some time for stillness.

What to Do When You are Lost
Navigating back onto your soul path all starts with one small step in the right direction, but you must take action. Don’t just say: “I wish I could…” Begin to do it!

Fear is often the only hurdle. Fear that you will fail. Fear that you won’t be good enough. Fear that you might lose everything. Fear that you might actually succeed. Let me tell you a secret: fear is usually an indicator that you are getting close to something good.

So make love to your fear. Test your fear. Punch your fear in the face if you need to. The most brilliant adventures usually start off down a dark, ominous, strangely intimidating path. So take a few steps forward and see what happens. At which point feel free to say, “Hey Universe, give me a damn sign so I know where to go next!” – and just witness what shows up.

spiritual roadmap story on TheNuminous with images by Benoit Paillé

Know that it’s also okay to make a U-Turn. Maybe you went for something that felt right. Now it doesn’t. Say thank you for the experience, and move on.

Look for markers along your journey. Is there anyone, or anything that stands out on your adventure? Reoccurring events all bear significance…good and bad. Chronic situations are indicators that you aren’t paying attention. Anything that sends a tingle up your spine is an invitation to honor your spiritual artist.

How to Refuel on Your Adventure
Being low on fuel feels like depression, opposition and discomfort. You will feel drained, mentally, emotionally, spiritually…and most often physically. So how do we refuel?

Stillness. Prayer. Meditation. Creativity. Spiritual Cleansing. At our core we are all sensitive, fluid beings, and being inundated with the chaotic voices of the outside world will drown out your own navigation system, and lead you further and further from your destination.

Commit to a daily meditation practice of at least 10 minutes. Learn to listen to your breath, as this is the beat of your soul. When you follow the rhythm of your breathing you release toxins, and purge the “ish,” so you can see more clearly.

Prayer is a way to express to the Universe and your own spirit what you want and need in life. Prayer is also a sacred moment to give gratitude for the things you have. Gratitude that will active good energy, and allow you to flow with your highest good.

Creativity isn’t just painting a picture, or singing a song. Creativity is about all kinds of expression. So ask: what does your inner artist want to experience? What form of expression makes you feel alive?

Spiritual cleansing is the literal act of clearing away the debris from your Aura. Using sacred ceremony to release these stuck energies will allow you to glide forward, unencumbered by the weight of any unnecessary baggage. Burn sage. Take a sea salt bath. Use the Gypsy’s Aura Elixir!

spiritual roadmap story on TheNuminous with images by Benoit Paillé

Off-Road Adventures
If you take anything from this, let it be the affirmation that this is YOUR life, YOUR map, and YOUR adventure! Be a bitch if you have to. Say “no” to the things that wear you down. Say “no” to the relationships that are limiting you. Say “no” to the job that’s depleting you. Say “no” to the friends who aren’t vibing with you.

And then take this adventure off road. The destination isn’t the point, it’s all about the journey your spiritual map has in store for you.

Shaheen Miro is an Intuitive Consultant, Energy Worker, Artist, and Spiritual Nomad. Find out more about his work at ShaheenMiroInsights.com and @ShaheenMiro

DRESSING FOR THE DECK: A TAROT FASHION SERIES

How to fully embody the lessons of the Tarot? Play tarot fashion dress up of course, says Gabriela Herstik…Photography: Mary Decrescenzio 

tarot fashion series by gabriela herstik the magician featured on The Numinous

:: THE MAGICIAN ::

There’s a certain power that arises when you tap your own intuition, your spirit, and declare to the Universe that YOU are the one in charge of your own manifestations and actions. The Magician sings of this. She is inner strength, manifestation and power. And she uses all the elements at her disposal to create.

I wanted to feel alive, regal, and (my version of) colorful in this outfit. I wanted to feel cloaked, and protected and magickal. I wore the dress I wore for my 20th birthday layered under a big, knit sweater, and I added layered necklaces and a scarf I cinched around my waist. I wore two different mala beads around my wrist, wrapped my pentacle necklace into a bracelet.

I grabbed my skeleton hand chalice and figured I would find a wand in the forest and use my eyes as daggers to round up all the suites of the Tarot. I wanted to feel strong and powerful. I wanted to feel like I was magick manifested.

tarot fashion series by gabriela herstik temperance featured on The Numinous

:: TEMPERANCE ::

Temperance speaks of working with opposing elements and using them to find balance. Battle water with fire, earth with air. Temperance is a card of healing, of renewal, a flowing stream promising something better, something easier.

I wanted to interpret this card surrounded by water, with pieces in sweet blue and just a touch of red (lipstick always counts). I picked up this wonderful vintage teddy from the place I work, Hip Wa Zee, and paired it with this sweet little robe I got from my friend Ivory who runs an incredibly curated vintage shop called Forgotten Feather Vintage.

I was feeling very “Secret Garden,” and I believe Temperance reminds us to find our own secret garden, our own place of peace. A safe haven to remind us that once we find balance, everything else will fall into place.

tarot fashion series by gabriela herstik the hermit featured on The Numinous

:: THE HERMIT ::

The Hermit speaks of vulnerability, of shedding your layers and moving inward. In the Wild Unknown Deck, the Hermit is represented by the turtle, and the symbolism is both obvious and profound – that underneath your shell, you are your own home.

My spiked leather jacket is like this shell, a barrier between me and the world. It gives me the confidence and strength to own my s***. Pieces like this are  my protection as I move through this life, especially as someone who can be passed over as vulnerable or weak because of my small frame.

I wore a vintage nightgown from Forgotten Feather, something really delicate, to represent the journey inward. Embracing The Hermit means dealing with your own issues face on – finding them, learning from them and hopefully growing from them. It also means picking up your shell, and continuing along your own path as you explore what it means to tune into yourself.

tarot fashion series by gabriela herstik the hanged man featured on The Numinous

:: THE HANGED MAN ::

The Hanged Man. This card reminds us to change our perspective, let go of ego, and embrace the sense of rebirth that’s available when we choose to see things in a new light. The Hanged Man is represented by a bat in the Wild Unknown deck, and just like the bat uses echolocation to see, we are reminded to use our intuition when our own sense of perspective is off.

I chose a floral shirt to represent growth and rebirth and a slick leather style skirt to represent how we must let judgments pass over us without resistance. The darker color pallet and oversize knit shawl were inspired by the aesthetic of the card, and the image of the bat itself. I was inspired by pieces that make me feel powerful, intuitive and strong.

You can check out Gariela’s full fashion tarot series at the link.

What card do you channel most often in your fashion choices? Comment below or tag us in your tarot fashion images on Instagram or Facebook!

DANNY BRITO AND THE CULT OF WITCH KITSCH

Miami-based Danny Brito is our latest fash-art obsession. He talks feminism, magic and alien abductions with Gabriela Herstik

Danny Brito Alien t-shirt and witch tote on the Numinous
Danny Brito Alien t-shirt and witch tote – back by popular demand 09/03/15!

Okay so first off, totally digging the cute meets sassy meets edgy theme you have going on. When did you decide to start selling and creating your art? Were any aliens involved?
I started selling my art right out of high school. I would hand paint tote bags and sell them on Livejournal! But I would say I started taking it seriously in about 2009, when I decided I wanted to start working for myself. I don’t think aliens were involved, although I completely believe in the supernatural…all this sass has been with me since birth. I really feel like my style is a reflection of myself. I’m a very opinionated person who likes really cute and weird things.

You’re based in Florida. Do you love it? Hate it? What’s it like?
Yep I was born and raised in Miami. I really hated it for a while, and spent most of my early 20s trying to move somewhere else. In the past two or three years though I’ve really grown to love it here. I live about two miles from the beach so it’s kind of a slow paced lifestyle, which I like, but it also has some of the allure of city life at times. Miami also has a really great art scene. If I’m feeling especially uninspired, I like heading down to Wynwood in Downtown Miami and just taking in the street art that’s literally everywhere.

Danny Brito self portrait on The Numinous
Self-portrait

So as you can probably tell, we’re a tad obsessed with all things mystical. What stirred your inspiration to create pieces like the Junk Food Pentagrams and Ali?
I grew up going to catholic school my entire life and as a weird gay kid my body basically repelled the lessons of the bible. I was also really into science fiction and reading about magic and stuff and it’s still kind of stayed with me as an adult.

Are you into the mystical and numinous side of life? If so, does this impact what you create?
I’m not a super spiritual person, but I do believe in karma and that there are spiritual, mystical things out there in the Universe. I personally just like to focus on being a good person, or the best ‘me’ I could be. I think it impacts my art, especially my more feminist or motivational type pieces. I like being able to uplift people with the things I create.

Danny Brito badass bitch poster on the numinous
He’s a feminist too

Besides all the pieces in your shop, you have some wild art pieces – a lot of which also happen to feature totally rad women! Is this intentional?
It’s completely intentional because I’ve just always drawn girls, even when I was younger. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I realized the injustice women face every day. I’m a cisgendered gay man, but I consider myself a feminist and I like to create things that support women. I think the girls I draw are inherently girly but still strong.

Don’t think you’ve escaped more questions about aliens just yet – we have to ask, are you a believer?
I am! Absolutely, I mean I’ve never personally seen any proof but I just find it so interesting. If there’s a low budget alien movie, I’ve probably seen it. I’m also an avid X-Files fan. I’ve seen every episode more times than I can count.

Last but not least, are there any life lessons you’re dying to pass on to our Numi readers?
I think just be yourself, 100%. People can see when somebody is genuine, even through the internets. If you want to get to know me, just follow me on Instagram, Tumblr, and Twitter. Essentially my social media is my brain just spewing out onto the web.

P.S. Numis – Mention The Numinous when you’re checking out of the Danny Brito Etsy store and you’ll get a special surprise! Keep scrolling for a selection of that’s on offer…

Danny Brito junk food pentagram pins on the numinous
Junk Food Pentagram buttons, £3.50
Danny Brito All Seeing Eyes and Crystals Zipper Pouch on The Numinous
Danny Brito All Seeing Eyes and Crystals Zipper Pouch, $10
Danny Brito All Seeing Eye lapel pin on The Numinous
Danny Brito All Seeing Eye lapel pin, $8

FULL MOON IN AQUARIUS: A VEDIC READING

Vedic astrologer Eve James explains how the July 31 Full Moon in Aquarius speaks to the unification of global consciousness…Image: Shae Detar

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There’s been lots of talk about this being a Blue Moon, as the second Full Moon this month. But I won’t spend any more time on that here as it’s simply a calendar defect, and if we followed a lunar calendar, this discrepancy wouldn’t exist. However, in the Vedic calendar the second Full Moon in July is aligned with the star sign of Sravana, and takes place on July 31st at 6:34AM EST (3:34AM PST).

This star sign is traditionally accepted as the birth star of Goddess Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge, arts (creative action) and music (the divine sound or vibration penetrating the entire universe). As the last Full Moon was in Purva Ashadha, a sign of great selfless love, and the haunting beauty of sacrifice, it makes sense that there follows a sense of unity, knowledge or wisdom.

True creative action begins when all minds in the sea of humanity are unified in the vibration of love and understanding, as opposed to divided and fragmented in our singularities. Goddess Saraswati represents the creative consciousness behind diversity, bringing a multitude of flavors, colors, sounds and experiences to the Universe. And it is within that ocean of diversity, that the song of unity is orchestrated.

The goddess is shown holding the Veena (a musical instrument) and the song of her Veena expresses each note using the one voice of a united Universe. She is also associated with the Divine Voice within, the voice of intuition, the architect or creative principle of destiny. The star sign Sravana is associated with the ears, with listening and receptivity; the ideal student.

Falling at the tail end of July, this Moon will affect much of August, guiding us into an introspective space in the coming month, and highlighting a need for truly listening to the voice of our intuition.

Even though the principle energy of both July Full Moons is potent, it is still only enough force to cause a ripple in the water. This summer will continue to be the catalyst for inspiring possibilities, yet concrete realization of these goals will still be a work in progress.

This Full Moon should be seen as a mirror reflecting all the possibilities of the future. For those of you who choose ride the waves and utilize your full potential, you will achieve your goals – especially if those goals are ultimately in service of unity, or with any cause bigger than the needs of the singular self.

How will you work with the energy of unity and collective consciousness this Full Moon period? Connect with us and share on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter!

Read more from Eve James, or book a reading at Eveofastrology.com

MANFESTATION STATION: HOW TO DESIGN AN ALTAR

A cosmic radio tower for broadcasting your wishes to the Universe, manifestation expert Emily Tepper shares how to design an altar that’s perfect for YOU…

"Fluorescent Virgins" by Pilar Gordillo via Behance.net on The Numinous
From “Fluorescent Virgins” by Pilar Gordillo via Behance.net

GO WITH WHAT’S RIGHT FOR YOU
We live in a time with unprecedented access to information and advice – including this article! And while it’s amazing to be able to approach altar design by tapping into different covens and styles and belief systems, the point is to put YOU and your desires at the center of the altar. After all, it is there to act as a radio tower for the divine as experienced through YOU.

WORK WITH SYMBOLS
When choosing artefacts for your altar, think less less about the object itself and more about what it symbolizes for you. Yes, crystals, candles and other sacred objects all look beautiful and bring their own super-powers, but to truly personalise your altar include a few items that are completely unique to you and your situation. For example, if you want more dates and your ideal date is a day on the beach, you could place some sunscreen on your altar. Or if you want to call in more financial abundance, write yourself a check from your dream client.

Numinous founder Ruby Warrington's altar from summer 2014 featured on The Numinous
Numinous founder Ruby Warrington’s altar from summer 2014

FEEL INTO IT
Having trouble finding a symbol for what you want? When you’re manifesting something, the trick is to focus on creating the physical feelings of having that thing in your life before it actually materializes – that way, the Universe will pick up on the signal (feeling) you’re putting out, and send the corresponding object / event your way. So choosing your symbols, what image / object comes to mind first when you’re getting into the emotional essence of your hot beach date? Or having unlimited funds in the bank? But remember, the symbol can be anything – there are no rules!

PAY ATTENTION TO PLACEMENT
As a rule, you can work with the energy flow of your altar by placing objects and symbols relating to the things you want to call in to the right – and things that symbolise the all the things you want to  clear / move away from to the left.

Numinous Tarotscopes writer Louise Androlia's altar featured on The Numinous how to design an altar
Numinous Tarotscopes writer Louise Androlia’s altar

HAVE FUN!
Seriously – even the witchiest witch experiences work better when they vibrate with joy. And while often ritual work is about accepting things as they are and then shifting them to a better place, improvement and ascension happen in a gradient from bad, to not as bad, to pretty good, to awesome! Make creating your altar about enjoying this ride.

TAKE A MINERAL BATH AFTER YOU INTERACT WITH YOUR ALTAR
Altar and ritual work can be a bit of an out there experience, and minerals calm the spirit and bring us delicate souls “back into the body.” My personal favorite is a mineral rich blend of dead sea salt and kelp powder (also good for growing my mermaid tail back). But seriously, it’s important to honor the process of re-grounding after communing with the spirit world and that’s important. It’s what being a material girl in a mystical world is all about, after all.

What’s on your altar, and why? Share your altar pics with us on Instagram and Facebook, tag #NuminousAltars, and we’ll include them on our altar Pinterest board to inspire the Numinous community!

FULL MOON IN CAPRICORN: A VEDIC READING

In Vedic astrology, the Full Moon in Capricorn ushers in an opportunity to embrace concepts of unity and Universal love, says Eve James

vedic reading for Juky 1 2015 full moon in capricorn by eve james on the numinous

Sitting in contemplation about the astrological theme for Summer 2015, a profound yet simple story from my teacher in India rose from the depths of my memory. In short, it was a story about his Master asking one of his close disciples why he felt the need to shout when angry. This disciple humbly replied that he had become frustrated – but his Master explained that the need to shout proves that anger creates distance and separation.

Even when someone is physically close to you, he explained, if you get angry with them you feel the need to shout loudly in their face – as if they were standing on the other side of the Grand Canyon. Conversely, the Master pointed out, when two people really love each other or feel tenderly towards each other, the need for speech dissolves. They feel internally connected, even if they find themselves physically separated.

Therefore, anger literally creates distance – whereas love engulfs that distance. Love unifies even while experiencing physical distance, while anger separates even in physical closeness.

This summer, we find ourselves riding an oceanic wave of higher consciousness, that is pushing relentlessly forward. Its only agenda is to manifest in a palpable way, exposing the truth of the heart, the truth of unity, and the interconnectedness of the human condition.

The first full Moon of July will be on July 1st at 10:20PM EST (7:20PM PST), and it’s firstly important to say that this Moon will actually be in Sagittarius in Vedic astrology (which calculates planetary positions based on astronomy versus the Western tropical system). More specifically, it is in the Vedic Venus-ruled star sign of Purva Ashadha. Whereas the previous star associated with Venus (Purva Phalguni) demonstrates the beauty and power of deeply romantic, personal love (as expressed in stories like Romeo & Juliet), Purva Ashadha is a sign of great selfless love, and the haunting beauty of sacrifice.

Though the stories of these two star signs intertwine, Purva Ashadha doesn’t sing the song of union for the sake of one or two of us, but for all of us. It is the sign of the cosmic waters, the ocean of collective consciousness and a rising awareness of universal love and connection. This sign should not be mistaken as fluffy, idealistic or lacking grit. It’s a sign that deals with the vulnerability of our human condition, something we all share, and the love that penetrates all things — the glue that unifies us all.

vedic astrology reading by eve james for the july 1 2015 capricorn full moon on the numinous

The quality of love expressed through Purva Ashadha manifests as a kind of inner upheaval, showing us what is worth fighting for in life as a family, a culture, a community, a city, a country or planet.

Purva Ashadha is known as an “invincible” star, demonstrating the invincible truth of unity and love, yet it is also a sign that, if compromised, is said to bring separation, war and disharmony. It also demonstrates how sometimes friction or conflict brings us into greater harmony with the truth of life, just as the terrible nature of war shows us the value of peace.

Due to this influence (which began June 28), through July we will continue to be required to use our moral compass, contrasting our core values against ideas, social structures or even laws that are unjust. This ushers in a tidal wave of opportunity for love and tolerance over judgement and anger, as expressed in last week’s landmark Supreme Court ruling to legalize same sex marriage in all 50 states.

Due to the heightened energy of this Full Moon, we can also expect some heated situations, and a microscopic focus on areas of our romantic or family life that need renovation. This could lead to times of intensity in romance, a dualistic expression of union and separation.

Travel is another big theme this month, as Purva Ashadha is also said to give blessings in travel and multicultural experiences. This is a perfect time to dissolve the idea of any country or culture as “foreign”, and embrace new ventures overseas in business or leisure. Donating to charity or non-profit organizations, starting a new project that supports bridging the gap between communities, and learning a new language also fits nicely into the agenda.

For those of you who have considered teaching or learning overseas, the experience should be especially fruitful and rewarding during this period.

Sacrificing for the good of the family as a unit is also commonly experienced during Purva Ashadha periods, and you may find yourself away from home with work or the service that you offer, or, conversely, experience what feels like an increase in responsibility and duties in the home.

You may also feel a new creative edge to projects you have been working on, and feel the need to restructure your team to bring fresh people or energy to your project. Some of this new work may require sacrifices that test limits, or bring into focus dynamic potential for expansion.

Philosophical and political discussions, arguments, debates or protests, are other things you may wish to embrace this month at your discretion. Purva Ashadha is definitely a sign that fuels higher thinking and deep political renovations, but it can be a sign of hostility – just as the ocean becomes destructive in a storm. Avoid harsh, opinionated or heated discussions if you wish to be affective, and rely on a grounded sense of unity, tapping into the Universal love consciousness (even with your enemy) if you want to be heard.

How will you work with the theme of Universal love in the weeks to come? Connect with us and share on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter

Book a reading with Eve James and learn more about Vedic astrology at EveOfAstrology.com