January 2015 - the Numinous

VALENTINO’S COSMIC PRE-FALL 2015 COLLECTION

Posted on January 29, 2015November 5, 2018 by Ruby Warrington

Oh wowow – how cool is Valentino’s cosmic pre-fall collection? It’s enough to make us think the Italian designer is secretly astro-obsessed. And guess what, it’s all in his chart…

What up, Valentino? First there was this super sexy astrology jewelry collection – and now this. The star-gazing 2015 pre-fall collection from the legendary Italian fashion house is totally inspired by all things galactic – so is the designer hiding a secret fascination with all things astro?

Garavani Valentino was born in Voghera, Italy, on May 11 1932. This places his sun in luxury-loving Taurus, and with both his Moon, Rising sign and Venus, planet of beauty and attraction, in deeply intuitive Cancer, it makes total sense that he possesses a natural empathy for the esoteric mysteries of life. How rad! You can check out his full chart here.

Can’t wait to see these cosmic creations rocking the red carpet this summer…

www.valentino.com

A LESSON IN LOVE: THE PEYOTE DIARIES

Posted on January 27, 2015November 5, 2018 by Ruby Warrington

“If Ayahuasca is the head medicine, Peyote is to heal the heart.” One woman shares her Peyote journey, and tells how the mystical cactus helped her find her family. Images: Daniel R. Moore (homepage) and Abbey Watkins (post), both via Behance.net

“I first heard about Peyote about four years ago when a friend told me about his experience in Arizona at the Church of Peyote, where he went to one ceremony after another for three months straight. I was captivated, and let him talk for three hours. His story was magical and he told it with so much love I could feel it. Also having known him for a while, I could see how his experiences had changed him as a person.

He continued to tell me whenever his “Roadman” (what the Church of Peyote call their Shaman) was doing a ceremony, and I always thought about doing it but the time was never right. Until my ex-boyfriend, also a mutual friend, texted me out of the blue three days after his first ceremony saying; “hey, I think I found OUR medicine.”

He and I share a very intimate knowledge of each other’s problems, and having taken Peyote he said he thought it could help me in the same way it helped him.
And so six months later, when I found out that he was organizing a meeting in Europe in two weeks time, it felt like a no-brainer. I had $200 in my pocket, but I was like, ‘fuck it, I have to make it work.’

He’s a pretty social guy and word had got around, so there were about 40 people in attendance. It was taking place in quite a remote place, and I travelled 24 hours to get there and missed the first round of medicine, so I was asking everybody how it was. They told me; “if it’s for you, life will just make sense.”

But I already knew it was for me.

Each tribe has their own way of running their ceremony, but I’ve done four ceremonies with the same guys now and it starts with burning tobacco, which opens up a channel to the spiritual world. The Roadman runs the ceremony, and then there’s a Fire Chief, whose job it is to make sure the fire, the “Grandfather,” stays bright and beautiful all night.

The person arranging the ceremony is in the “sponsored seat,” and they set the intention for the night. The Doorman’s job is to make sure people are sitting in the right spot and to keep things clean when people “get well” (throw up). The Drummer drums for everybody individually, and we all sing. And if the men run the ceremony, one female is also chosen to bring food – corn, meat and fruit – and water in the morning.

After the tobacco the Sponsor sets the intention for the night, then the medicine starts rolling, which comes in completely different forms depending on the Roadman. My first time, it came in four forms – a paste, a fresh form, a tea and a cold juice, and we were invited to take a portion of each. It’s a very acquired taste and all you can smell for two days afterwards is Peyote…I can’t describe it, because there’s nothing else like it and you know it right away; the mescaline.

As for how it makes me feel? The first time it made me really, really tired. So tired I couldn’t keep my eyes open. So the challenge was to sit and pay attention for nine hours straight.

It also really amplifies feelings. If Ayahuasca is the head medicine, then Peyote is the heart medicine. With Aya you take it and you go somewhere else, but with Peyote you’re completely grounded. I could talk to you like I am now, no problem, it’s just everything is amplified. In your head you’re able to connect the dots, like when you’re smoking weed, but in your heart it’s like taking MDMA – when you feel connected to everything, and you’re able to understand what everybody else is feeling.

Some people get trippy visuals but I never have. That first time I did feel raindrops on my shoulder which obviously weren’t there, and which turned into a feeling of joy that spread over my whole body. For me it feels like love is in that tepee, I don’t know how else to explain it. And afterwards, I always feel supercharged.

After my first time, I did two more ceremonies in the space of two weeks. I only took a small amount the first time and didn’t get well, but the second time I decided I wanted to dedicate my experience to different people in my life and wrote down ten names – so I took a spoonful of medicine for each of them…and got super well!

I saw it like there was obviously something that needed healing in each of those relationships, because when I took a spoonful for each of the same ten people the next time, I was flying high – a high that lasted six months. You go to places in your head where you get so emotional, and I often cry all the way through which is an amazing release in itself.

Now I feel like I’d do it once a month to keep me on track, like you might see a therapist. It can become a way of life, but for some people once a year is enough. Personally, I’d like to learn more, to understand the culture more and all the details about how to run a ceremony. They’d never let a woman put the tepee up, but I’m fascinated by the way they tie the knots in a certain way to honour the elements and stuff…and to learn about it, I just need to spend more time with them.

Also, the Roadman I follow is hilarious – he’s covered in tats, like a Mexican gangster, and he’s a funny motherfucker! For me he bridges the gap between my world and the ancient spiritual world, which makes it all so much more relatable to me. I told my friend I think I’m in love with him; he was like, ‘get in line!’

More recently, visiting Phoenix Arizona for a ceremony to celebrate the 13th wedding anniversary of my Roadman and his wife was one of the most beautiful things I’ve every experienced. I felt so blessed to go to the place where they’ve been doing these ceremonies for thousands of years. It was like visiting the holy land. But I’ve also done one with a different tribe in the Bronx in New York City, which was run by my Roadman’s ‘brother.’

People in the Peyote families know each other as relatives, and they believe that if you bring a partner into the circle and sit next to each other, that means you’re partners for life. It comes down to the fact that if you know this medicine works for you, then you feel a connection to other people in the same circles. It’s like there’s something in your makeup that’s the same, or you understand that maybe you experience the same kind of problems in life.

For me, the most beautiful part of my whole experience has been learning what real family connection feels like. Seeing how much the families respect each other, it’s ridiculous – and it’s why I keep going back.

Growing up, I never understood what family values were – my parents were there, but not emotionally. We’re very distant as a family. My friends are the people I would take a bullet for – but through the ceremonies, I’m learning how to forge a connection with my blood relatives too. The most important lesson has been to understand their value in my life, and to respect that. I appreciate them more for who they are now – and understand why maybe I should text my mom just to tell her I love her from time to time.

Elsewhere, it’s brought me so much clarity. Meeting new people, I can tell what kind of relationship we’re going to have, and if I used to have a tendency to give too much, now I’m aware of when that’s happening so I can stop. It’s like I’ve been granted an outside perspective. I’ve also learned to listen more and absorb stuff without feeling like I need to react right away. To just sit, and pay attention. I feel like I approach everything in a more peaceful, patient and positive way. And my close friends have all been able to see it.”

Peyote dear illustration by Daniel R Moore featured on TheNuminous.net — *Image: Daniel R Moore via Behance.net*

SOUL FOOD #2: A NUMINOUS READING LIST FOR 2015

Posted on January 22, 2015November 5, 2018 by Ruby Warrington

Feed your mind, and the rest will follow…The 16 books in this Numinous reading list are guaranteed to rock your worldview, heal your life, and feed your soul.

:: Ruby Warrington ::
“As soon as I heard about Russell Brand’s Revolution, I knew I had to read it. I’m a bit obsessed with how Russell has reinvented himself, and gone from ridiculous if charismatic addict and Hollywood wannabe, to bone fide Now Age guru – it reeks of a genuine spiritual awakening. His experience of this, told through the filter of his pop culture background, his intelligence, and with his entertaining way with words, is positioning him as one of the voices with the potential to really cause a shift in consciousness at a very mainstream level. The book is every bit as brilliant as I’d hoped, as entertaining as it is profound and agitating.”

:: Erin Telford ::
“Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing by Caroline Myss was the first game changer for me. I read it in high school. I grew up in a total hippie household and we would get crystal therapy when we were sick and my parents had a guru, so this lifestyle was very comfortable to me but it wasn’t something that I had consciously chosen. It was just what I knew from my family. When I read Anatomy of the Spirit it was my first personal connection to the idea that we could heal our own bodies and that the Western medical system wasn’t the only model…was in fact a very poor and deficient model for healing. The concept of “dis-ease” blew my mind wide open because it just made so much sense. It opened me up to the vastness of what we could do as individuals to self heal.”

:: Alexandra Roxo ::
“The book Be Here Now changed my life greatly at age 19. I saw that this world was merely a TV screen, a matrix of lights, all a constructed illusion, and how everything works together. I learned about food, karma, God…and something clicked. The knowledge Ram Dass spoke touched my soul and awakened existing wisdom within my heart. It was the first major awakening I had, and I remember thinking: “YES. Finally.” In 2014 I decided to listen to all of his talks on my iPhone and was re-inspired,10 years later.”

:: Erica Jago ::
“What We Ache For: Creativity and the Unfolding of Your Soul by Oriah Mountain Dreamer, my dear friend who is a therapist and shaman. He shared the poem, “The Invitation,” with me and I wept. It was the first time I acknowledged and felt my own depth, and from that point forward my own personal healing began.”

:: Madeline Giles ::
“The Master’s Touch: On Being a Sacred Teacher for the New Age by Yogi Bhajan. Yogi Bhajan was not a man. He was an avatar in a human suit – I guess we all are in some sense, but Yogi Bhajan was wide awake to it and the technology he transmitted to us is guaranteed (with consistent practice) to make you happy, healthy, and holy. Need I say more?”

:: Dani Katz ::
“Right Use of Will: Healing and Evolving the Emotional Body. Hands down. No question. Right Use of Will came into my life several years ago, when I was heavily into ayahuasca, and tons of shamanic endeavors. It’s a channelled book – supposedly straight from the mouth of God – that lays out right and aligned third chakra relating. I take all channelled material with a grain of salt, but this book vibes high and true, and resonates on way too many levels for me to NOT take it to heart. It’s all about power – personal power, relational power, cultural power – what constitutes a distortion, and what serves the individual and the collective together. Since reading it, I move through life with a very clear certainty about how to exercise my own personal power with others and the world at large, while also being clear as to when others are out of line in how they are wielding their power with me/the world. It has since smoothed out my every human relationship, because I am clear as to what is right relating, as regards to will, and what isn’t. Armed with this knowledge, I know immediately when others are overcompensating for an underdeveloped third chakra, and can thus engage them in ways that support their empowerment.”

:: Sarah Hay ::
“This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate by Naomi Klein, Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet by Mark Lynas, and When A Billion Chinese Jump: How China Will Save Mankind — Or Destroy It by Jonathan Watts – these three books changed my life in 2014, and I believe that until people have read the information contained in them they will be functioning from a place of confusion, unknowing ignorance and powerlessness. Every single world event we are seeing today, from recent events of extremism in Paris, Nigeria and Syria, to extreme weather flashes in Gaza and the Philippines and water shortages in Yemen, plus extreme energy extraction in Canada, the US and the UK are all connected. We have the power to change everything, and climate is the one issue that’s teaching me this every single day.

:: Betsy Cohen ::
The book I feel every women should read is Make Every Man Want You by Marie Forleo. Marie is a huge hearted genius. Not many people know that this book exists, and when I read it I thought: “This is everything that I’ve been channelling through readings (in my work as a professional psychic medium) for the past four years about relationships all in one place!” I always tell people I hate the title but LOVE the book.”

:: Sarah Durham Wilson ::
“Shortly after my awakening four years ago, I remember being in a bath tub on a horse farm on Martha’s Vineyard and reading Don Miguel Ruiz’s The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book), and watching my life change in the air around me. A wonderful human handbook, for certain.”

:: Jennifer Kass ::
“A Course In Miracles. I always tell my clients it’s the template for reality. After knowing the basic spiritual truth that only love is real and fear is an illusion, we can drop everything we hear, think, learn into that template and know what’s real and what’s false, what will best serve us and what will not. Discovering the truth of reality freed me from fear and activated my own ancient love and knowledge within and allowed me to step into my divine life mission and become who I really am.”

:: Victoria Keen ::
“It would have to be…The Holographic Universe: The Revolutionary Theory of Reality. I discovered it a couple years ago in my studies about Sound and the nature of reality, and it is a thorough and fascinating investigation into the gaping blind spots in modern science. It brings to light, in a very succinct and easily comprehensible way, a scientific paradigm for truly understanding our connectivity and the power our thoughts have on shaping ‘physical reality’. This books lays the ground work for all energetic medicine, and I am so grateful it exists!”

:: Raquel Griffin ::
“HANDS DOWN, Marianne Williamson’s The Law of Divine Compensation: On Work, Money, and Miracles. I discovered it a little over a year ago and it totally changed my life…..it’s the definition of a GAME-CHANGER. This book completely redefined how I thought about money, work – and miracles for that matter. Marianne clearly illuminates the spiritual aspect of money (i.e. that money and spirit are linked), which is absolutely key to understanding and ultimately breaking the lack cycle. I honestly believe if every human lived by the concepts she elucidates in this book, our world would be a VERY different place.”

:: Sophie Teakle ::
“Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose. I have listened to this more than once as a recording, and find new meanings every time. I’m also in the process of rereading The Kybalion which has such astounding depth and profundity I know it will be at my side for a life time, its meanings changing as I too grow and evolve.”

:: Laurie Di Biagio ::
“The Alchemist. 18 months ago, this book opened my eyes to my own purpose – the fact that I too was on my own personal pilgrimage to the pyramids. That life is lived through the heart, not the head. And that what the heart tells you…you must follow. It came to be at the exact time it was meant to, as weeks later I embarked on a life of entrepreneurship.”

COMFORT EATING: THE FOOD THAT FEEDS MY SOUL

Posted on January 19, 2015November 5, 2018 by Ruby Warrington

They call today Blue Monday – the most depressing day of the year (which, if you’re feeling that way, is really just another reason to enquire after your Dharma, darlings). In the meantime, what better excuse to indulge in some serious soul food. Here, members of the Numinati share the dishes that make us tick…

Healing Blueberry Ginger Oatmeal by Breakfast Criminals featured on TheNuminous.net — *Healing Blueberry Ginger Oatmeal by Breakfast Criminals*

:: Ruby Warrington ::
“It’s all about the oatmeal. I went into denial for a phase back there, when the whole green-smoothie-for-breakfast thing kicked in, but now I’m back on the oats I would say I’m starting the day at least 20% happier. I make mine with half water, half almond milk, a handful of raisins (while it’s heating, to plump them up), a sprinkling of cinnamon, maybe some walnuts, and serve with half a banana sliced on top. It’s essentially baby food, creamy and mushy, and reminiscent somewhere at soul level of my first nourishment I guess. I go to bed at night thinking about it, and after my morning oatmeal, I feel full.”

:: Madeline Giles ::
“Baked sweet potato, mashed with melted coconut oil and a bit of pink Himalayan salt. It tastes like salty sweet velvet candy! I love it because it’s super nourishing, easy, energizing, and – something I need the most – grounding. I love sweet things, and while in my mind my favorite food is probably milkshake smoothies from Cafe Gratitude, I’m annoyingly sensitive to even the ‘healthy’ kinds of sugar – so sweet potato has become my go-to.”

:: Dani Katz ::
“I tend to walk a rather intense path, which is reflected in my diet – super clean and sparse and vegan – lots of greens and cultured veggies…simple whole foods that multitask for my body and soul. That being said, my soul food is…brown rice. Brown rice, for me, is like an Amma hug, a little bit of warm, yummy, maternal respite from the challenges of the Earth game, and all the rules I set up for myself in playing it ‘right.’

Here’s how rice became my surrogate mother: Over a decade ago, I combined syrian rue (an MAO inhibitor) with a heroic dose of mushrooms, turned out all the lights in my Los Feliz guest house, and buckled up for the ride. During the trip, I was shown a tiny treasure chest. It took me a minute (or an hour or a lifetime – hard to say on psychedelic time) to think to open the treasure chest, and when I did, I couldn’t have been more shocked to see what was inside:

A grain of brown rice.

I know it’s tied in to a past life (or two, or twelve) as a Tibetan monk. There’s something about the size, and the shape, and the feeling I get as it passes through my lips, and down my throat, and into my belly – I think: Wow, I’ve done this for thousands of years.

Brown rice is familiar. It’s family. It’s home.

Brown rice means me giving myself a break. It’s sattvic. It’s grounding. It reminds me that life doesn’t have to be so hard, and so intense, and I can be cozy and still be on my path, and in alignment. I know that in the grand scheme, brown rice isn’t all that unhealthy, but as a super strict ascetic who rarely allows myself grains or carbs, or anything that isn’t totally packed with nutrients, it is – for me – a little vacation from my otherwise ridiculously disciplined daily routine.”

:: Betsy Cohen ::
“Fresh coconut water from a coconut. I sort of can’t explain it, but it feels like the perfect fuel for what ever I’m needing at the time. It feels like a meal for my mind, body and soul.”

:: Sarah Durham Wilson ::
“My current obsessive soul food is a rich kale salad at night. I have a lot of theories about the powers of green food, mostly that if we want to align with the powers of the Earth, i.e. the powers of self healing, self-regeneration, death, rebirth, cycles and seasons, and infinite wisdom – which is also to say Magic, the forces that govern the universe, then eat as close to the Earth as possible. And if you want to feel alive, eat that which is alive itself. And I’m a vegetarian, so I mean, fruits and vegetables that grow from Mother Earth. Also, green is the color of the heart chakra, which is unconditional love, which is also Source. I feel more ‘sourced’ when I eat rich green foods. I feel more expansive, nourished, and alive. Simply put, food from the ground grounds me.”

:: Jennifer Kass ::
“My soul food is dark leafy greens because they are the highest vibration foods, grown in the sun, made of pure LOVE energy! Greens are the anchor of every meal and I love how I can do them raw when I need that, and cooked when I need something more grounding, and that they’re easy to mix with everything else that I love. They literally feed my soul because they keep my energy high and my connection to spirit wide open with their clean, pure energy.”

:: Victoria Keen ::
“Bone broth all the way! For winter it feels like the best way to infuse my body with warmth and nourishment at soul level. The alchemical act of making my own broth from bones, roots (like burdock and astragalus), seaweeds (like kombu and kelp) and mushrooms (like chaga and maitake) is love itself. This touches me at soul level, and the strengthening, immune building action of the broth itself nourishes the physical body. Essentially, it’s a gentle and powerful homemade medicine. (And p.s. veggie broths can easily be made with the same love and awareness especially fortifying with sea minerals).”

:: Raquel Griffin ::
“Nothing says soul food to me like homemade soup…bone-broth to be exact. Maybe since I cook it myself and get to infuse it with love, herbs and healing magic, it just feels like self-lovin’ in a bowl. And when I’m sick or it’s ridiculously cold out nothing hits the spot quite like it.”

:: Sophie Teakle ::
“Coconut – it gets itself into almost everything I eat, starting in the morning with my porridge…I use heavy coconut milk and simmer it with oats, chia and cinnamon for some serious winter nourishment! I use lighter milk in my tea and coffee, oil in everything I cook, coconut butter in my raw chocolate, and coconut flakes as garnish/in my granola. Coconut is one of the world’s miracle foods.”

:: Laurie Di Biagio ::
“I am grew up on the Jersey Shore in an Italian American family, and we call Sunday ‘Red Sauce Gravy day’ around these parts. A pot of gravy with meatballs, sausage, and pork chop on the bottom is the classic, but my favorite is to make it with squid and sauteed calamari or blue crabs. Growing up on the water and surrounded by fisherman, the combo of classic Italian comfort and the treasures of the sea bring me home wherever I roam.”

What’s your Soul Food? Connect with us and share on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

A STORY OF ASTROLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Posted on January 16, 2015November 5, 2018 by Ruby Warrington

Is Astrology helping tell the story of human responses to climate change? With Saturn in Sagittarius and a scary new deadline to cut fossil fuel emissions, it’s time to pick each pilgrimage wisely, says Ruby Warrington. Images: Mariano Peccinetti

So this was going to be a post about how to use astrocartography to plan your vacations and retreats in 2015. Astrocartography is the practise of placing your birth chart over a map of the world, to see where the different planets hold the most influence for you – which is obviously completely fascinating, and I urge you to download your map here STAT!

But then I started reading Naomi Klein’s climate change manifesto This Changes Everything – and it’s become a story about how air miles feel like my most guilty pleasure.

Scanning my mind for my very favorite, most life defining memories, so many of them were made following the burning of a shit-tonne of fossil fuels – like the time I travelled to Greece as a moody adolescent, and got to experience another culture first hand for the first time. Or to Ibiza as a happy-go-lucky rave babe in my twenties, and to Miami to marry my husband, just the two of us, nervous and giggling like teenagers in the garden at the Delano hotel.

These are the memoires that exist in 3D Technicolor for me, aromas, emotions and all, and I had been fully intending to create many, many more in 2015. I’ve already booked a trip down to the Bahamas to swim with dolphins in February, which, considering I have a life-long phobia of snorkelling (I am a human, last time I checked I am not equipped for breathing underwater) I’m anticipating will be a game-changer for me.

Then there’s Lauren and Joe’s wedding in London in March (my biggest matchmaking success story), and the big ol’ Santa-Fe-to-Big-Sur road-trip I’ve been loosely fantasizing about.

But since This Changes Everything, I’m beginning to relate to the part of my mind that continues to think it’s totally okay to jump on a plane somewhere every other month like that creepy, morally corrupt dude Mr. Burns from The Simpsons. There is shame, and there is a degree of disgust.

In her book, Klein says it’s our collective “climate change denial” (i.e. continuing to jump on planes places every other month) that means we’re currently facing a situation where, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA): “If we do not get our emissions under control by 2017 our fossil fuel economy will ‘lock in’ extremely dangerous warming.”

By “lock in,” they mean seal the deal on irreversible changes to our global climate, which could trigger completely devastating environmental disasters on an as yet unimaginable scale – the trailer for which disaster movie has already begun playing on a loop.

Klein’s manifesto makes for scary but what feels like essential reading. Relating to the 28% of fossil fuel consumption attributed to the transportation industry, it’s also got me thinking about Saturn, planet of harsh life lessons, restriction and karma, recently having stationed in globe-trotting, happy-go-lucky Sagittarius. Where it will remain until – you guessed it – December 19 2017, a.k.a. pretty much D-day on potential environmental Armageddon. Which suggests that the next three years are about a stern approach to re-thinking our attitudes to why, when and how we travel.

Wow, it sucks being stuck in this materialistic human suit sometimes. At the center of my being, my soul intelligence can be finally waking up to the fact that it’s time for some RADICAL FREAKING CHANGES, but still my physical body will argue; “not quite yet though, yeah? Swimming with those dolphins is seriously gonna rock your world…”

The hard-core environmentalists will argue that there is no room, or time, for compromise. But the Titanic won’t turn on a dime. Which is an interesting metaphor in itself, considering it’s also been predicted that a rise in sea levels resulting from the disintegration of the West antarctic ice sheet (due to global warming) could wipe out coastal metropolis’ like New York, LA and London by 2100.

And I know, I KNOW. But how about, for now (really though, NOW), we commit to only travel for true pilgrimage. It’s an idea that’s also in keeping with Saturn in Sag, the notion that our journeys must have real purpose, and if it meant we all took just one trip a year instead of five, wouldn’t that be going some way towards meeting the IEA’s 2017 targets? As for all those business trips, the jaunts across continents for meetings that really need to take place face-to-face…um, isn’t that why we invented Skype?

As always, writing and thinking about environmental issues makes me feel like a total hypocrite and also extremely naive (you too, I know, which is why it feels so much nicer to just keep looking the other way), because of course I’ll be going to that wedding. Obviously a trip to Berlin to meet my new nephew this summer counts as a pilgrimage too, right? And actually, isn’t this all just too little, too late?

But as a mere human, a microscopic particle in the organism of our collective Earthly consciousness, I have no real choice but to believe that even the one, or two, or three trips I choose not to take this year will make a difference. A theory that only really works if I’m not the only one making those choices.

So then how to choose the journeys that are really worth waiting for? A while ago I had my astrocartography chart read by a British astrologer called Zoe Hind. It’s all way too complicated for me to explain in detail here, but below is a map of my chart to give you an idea.

The different colored lines represent the planets, and the labels at the top and bottom – “MC, IC, AS, DS” – show their highest and lowest points, as well as where they are ascending and descending. The idea being that a planet ascending over a certain country means it’s influence will be strengthened there. The reverse if it’s descending. So where there are lots of lines, shows where in the world there is the most cosmic potential for you.

Thinking in terms of my personal and spiritual growth (i.e. “pilgrimage”), this looks a lot like Hawaii, South America, Africa, Scandinavia, and Russia / Tibet. None of which have factored in my travels to date. But with cosmic healer Chiron strong over the Pacific, Hawaii could be the ideal location for a solo retreat, says Zoe – opposed to a group trip, as Uranus, planet of group activity, is also at it lowest there.

South America, the Amazon in particular, is where my Sun, Venus, Mercury and Chiron, all in my fourth house of family roots, are “going to sleep.” The interpretation? “If you were going to have an; ‘I want to get away from myself, change my mind and challenge my core beliefs in a group scenario’ sort of trip, then obviously South America is looking very strong. Because the planets in your 11th house of groups (Uranus, North Node) are also lit up.” Which sounds about right for the ayahuasca experience in Peru I’ve got scheduled for somewhere around age 50.

As for putting my money where my mouth is for now though, and simply staying put? When I moved to New York from London in 2012, I had a visceral sense of destiny itself kicking me out of my comfort zone and into a new life across the Atlantic.

And wouldn’t you know, my Sun, the essence of my being, and Moon, representing my instincts and subconscious mind, meet high up in the sky, directly above this dirty, dramatic, endangered city. It’s my three-year anniversary next month, and the internal pilgrimage I’ve been on here has created some of my most momentous life milestones of all. So this year I commit to making lots more of those, RIGHT HERE.

Discover more about Zoe Hind’s astrology at AstroZo.com

Read more about This Changes Everything

BE THE DARK: HOW TO EMBRACE YOUR SHADOW SIDE

Posted on January 12, 2015March 11, 2019 by Emily Tepper

We are bombarded with messages urging us to “be the light” – but what if true healing means embracing the darkest aspects of ourselves, asks Emily Tepper. Images: Andrew Robinson via Behance.net

Be the dark. Walk boldly through the unknown reaches of the soul.

This year, I am embracing my inner “dark worker,” because I’ve come to realize that actually our dark side is the most creative place to be. It is in the fertile void, in the dark, underground, where the seed germinates.

There are aspects of our creativity, our courage, and our power which, like a seed, can only incubate in total darkness. This is why my darkness has become my favorite place to be.

I have spent so much of my life trying to improve my dark moods, to lighten the dark humor that might provoke or offend the polite, and soften the sharp opinions that are often hard to hear and accept – even when getting right with them can be the most crucial step to getting out of denial. It’s meant denying the darkness in me that also translates as a low tolerance for bullshit, a quick temper, sudden rage, and profound grief.

It’s ironic though, that since I decided to accept my darkness, my moods have improved considerably. Like it was the constant pressure to “be the light,” the constant cultural shaming of the dark, that was half the issue. The dark is immensely powerful, and yet we are afraid of it.

But think about where the dark exists in our language: pure creativity “rises up,” from “the underground.” The answers to our most profound existential crises often lie buried in our “sub” conscious.

But the dark is where shame is lifted and new truths are actualized – as seen and witnessed only by those who are also willing to stray far enough from the safety of the will lit path to witness.

Every fairy tale Princess walks a dark night in the forest on her way to healing and reclaiming her majesty. To grow, she is made to face the utter fear of the wild and unknown. In the dark, and usually alone, it is through this journey that we find ourselves.

We’ve all heard stories of the Dark Night of The Soul, and how powerful it is to pass through it to the other side. We go on to heal others in our ascension to the light, but we become who we are in the dark.

So now consider this: maybe “black magic” isn’t evil at all, but actually where the alchemy happens. Perhaps there is a tremendous, almost disgusting, amount of power available to those who are willing to go there. Maybe that’s what makes the practitioners of the “dark arts” so frightening to the rest of us.

And before you villainize the villain, consider that in some countries it is dark for most of the day, most of the year even. What if your natural state of being is more Norway than Florida? My moods are like the weather of Siberia – cold and dark, with occasional bursts of incredible, irrepressible light. And I’ve decided I’m good with this version of myself. She doesn’t need improvement.

Our emotions are like a weather system. They are shifting constantly, and the seasons of the soul they represent are the very essence of change and manifestation.

If the spiritual “industry” is full of Light Workers – this year I am declaring myself a Dark Worker. And I urge you again to Be The Dark.

How will you honor your dark side in 2015? Connect with us and share your story on Twitter or Facebook.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR CHANGE

Posted on January 9, 2015March 11, 2019 by Laurie DiBiagio

How to navigate internal and external shifts in your Universe? Laurie DiBiagio shares her ten commandments for change.

At 29, I would like to graciously grant myself the title “Change Connoisseur.” I also don’t think claiming myself an aficionado of change at such a young age is in any way audacious. I have been blessed with three dominant, mutable signs: Sagittarius Sun, Pisces Ascendant, and a Gemini Moon. I was designed by the stars to mutate.

With this astrological recipe, life is ever-changing for me: exciting, exhausting, emotional, and inspiring. I love it, but I often feel like there is never a moment to fully catch my breath. Somehow I never fall short. With all my experience in the fields of eternal transmutation, I believe I’ve earned myself an Olympic gold medal in reading the signs of transition and metamorphosis.

At the end of each year in my 20’s, I always ended up in a drastically different place from where I started. Ending one relationship to enter a new. Living in NYC to relocate to Hawaii (and back again). Quitting one job and starting the next. Thinking I was going to end up with him to finding the only person I needed to fall in love with was myself. Navigating my way through my parents’ chaotic and melodramatic divorce. Giving up the corporate world to becoming an entrepreneur. Living alone in a cottage studio 20 steps from the ocean on the North Shore, to sleeping on my mom’s couch. Going from adventurer and lover, to homemaker to vagabond, daughter, sister, student, teacher, and back again: multiple times. And this barely scratches the surface.

Within all this, one well-learned and highly prevalent lesson is that change doesn’t always appear victorious, or come in a neatly wrapped box with a shiny little bow. It is often very well disguised. It most likely won’t appear as anything spectacular and grandiose, BUT it will be perfectly placed, and it will be the exact tool that you need to continue on this great journey: good, bad, and ugly.

Ahh, the delightful path of the unknown. While at times it may appear devastating, it is always miraculous: never a punishment, always a gift. Everything manifests in our lives exactly at the point it is meant to. When we have learned all our lessons, of course, to allow that particular event to be released. Without change, how would we let go? To defy the force of change is to defy the Universe. Yet people do this every day, and some for their entire lives.

In defying the Universe, life becomes stagnant and difficult because you are no longer conscious or open to the abundance you are meant to receive.
With that being said, and with no further adieu, here is my guide to conjuring and summoning forth the signs for dynamic change to occur in your life in a really intentional and “prepared” way. You must remember though, there really is no treading lightly into change. Change is meant to facilitate growth and enlightenment. Without trips, slips, falls, and some bruises we wouldn’t reach the next level. Change comes with light and dark energy, both with great purpose. You must accept this notion.

:: MY TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR CHANGE ::

1. Ban words like “restriction”, “limitation”, and “realistic” from your vocabulary. Do not allow the projections of fear and jealousy within yourself and others to poison your mind.

2. Don’t let the facts fool you. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. Believe. Pray. Give gratitude. Find the blessings in your current situation. Be open and you shall receive.

3. Never hesitate to ask for help. Call upon Green Tara or your most present Ascended Masters and Goddess to show you the way, to reveal in time your next move. Our teachers, angels, and spirits are always here to guide us with their divine intuition and wisdom.

4. Always stay in your heart. No matter what, you can always come back to this space. I often find myself holding my pointer and middle finger down on my heart chakra or placing a rose quartz there in my savasana to remind myself to tap in. All change exists in the heart, not in the head. Stay here. Be still. Listen.

5. Embrace alone time. You time. Spirit time. Listen to music. Get out in nature. Meditate. Read your cards. Hold your crystals. Clear and shield your energy. This will keep you vibrating on a frequency that allows these magnificent little thought bubbles to enter your stream of consciousness. Make life a ritual.

6. Write. Write. Write. Write what is in your heart, your soul. Write your goals, hopes, dreams, and wishes. Write anything you desire. Nothing is too ambitious, for it would not exist within you if you weren’t meant to have it. Keep your words with you, or burn the pages and release the ashes to the universe.

7. Follow the Moon. Set intentions on the new moon, and release when it’s full. Bring your writing, oils, crystals, incense, deities, or anything else that serves you. Make it an art form.

8. When in doubt, pray it out. Just pray. TRUST. One small action every day toward your desires paired with good old fashioned genuine belief will leave you with a tried and true recipe for success.

9. Believe in miracles, they happen everyday. The Universe always provides. Do not forget this. Make it your Mantra.

10. Know that you are exactly where you need to be at this very moment. Now, let it go. Watch magic happen. You will know it when it hits you. Be aware. In the advice you speak to others, in the advice given to you, in moments that feel full of impending doom but are really full of grace, you will feel it hit you. Take the ride. Do not resist. There will be no denying it because you will feel it in every fiber of your being.

Laurie DiBiagio is a designer, maker, artist, entrepreneur and adventurer. You can follow her adventures through the wild unknown at Sirenaandthesea.com and follow her @sirena_and_the_sea

TAROTSCOPES: JANUARY 2015

Posted on January 6, 2015November 6, 2018 by Ruby Warrington

How are you feeling about 2015? I notice that around this time my Facebook feeds starts filling up with people saying how awful their year has been and that next year BETTER be good. I never really resonated with the idea of threatening the year ahead? It doesn’t seem like the most proactive or positive way to introduce yourself to something. Imagine if when we met a new person we shook their hand and shouted at them: YOU BETTER BE A GOOD FRIEND OR ELSE!

Everything is of value, so how about we offer some compassion to ourselves instead? Maybe a bit of a pat on the back to say YOU DID IT, 2014 was tough but you kept walking. The learning from most challenging times does not usually present itself to us in an instant, we have to trust it will appear at some point. For now, just urge to be kind to yourself, rest, and when you are ready, be curious about what positive developments might just be ahead.

Now, onto your scopes! This month’s Tarotscopes are a sneak peek from your 2015 Tarotscopes that are now available for instant download in my shop. Each scope is over 4500 words and reads like a coaching session that you get to keep on hand throughout 2015! I’ve also created an Astro Goddess illustration for each sign, to act as your spirit guide for the year ahead.

As a treasured reader of my writing for The Numinous I’d like to offer you 10% off your 2015 Tarotscope using the code NUMILOVE2015.

Happy New Year. I love you and I am so grateful for each and every one of you.

Capricorn / Capricorn Rising

I feel this is a very important year to grow up and get real! Over 2014 you saw perhaps some of your most intense and challenging moments and the same themes kept coming up over and over again. You questioned your abilities, your confidence and your identity. You fought against yourself many times, because it felt like the only thing you knew how to do. However, near the end of the year, maybe even in the last few weeks, something has shifted, an awakening of sorts. You are in place to receive the truth from your highest self and guess what, it doesn’t want you to keep working against yourself!

So over the course of the year I feel you will be constantly releasing this pressure and practicing it hard, knowing that you can change the course of your whole experience. You also get to discover that Monday mornings don’t have to be a dread when you love what you do. You are invited to pursue and explore what an enjoyable and lucrative career would be for you. You are allowed to give yourself permission to move away from what sucks your energy dry and what just doesn’t seem to cut it for you anymore.

You will also (as usual) be called upon by others for advice and guidance this year. Know that since people act as mirrors for each other, as you dish out the sage advice, you must take it for yourself too. Some people will stand in front of you with anxieties that match yours word for word. This is to remind you that you are never alone.

Every time you take some pressure off yourself you will receive a wink from the Universe, as every time you are willing to do this you will open a new space to receive something that feels good to you. Experiment with valuing all of your feelings and know that it is safe to honour them. I’m excited to say that I feel your confidence and self worth is set to get a great boost if you choose to participate with a fresh perspective towards your journey. Your best self is waiting patiently for you to show up fully, honestly and with vulnerability. You are loved.

This is an extract from your 2015 Tarotscope. Read more here. Questions? Come and chat with me about how your month is going @louniverse

Aquarius / Aquarius Rising

I feel so energized, excited and so proud of you for just ‘shaking it all off’ recently. I feel like the year ahead is like fresh soil, waiting for you to plant, so don’t be afraid of shifting up anything and everything. Your motto for 2015? Surrender forever! Your ruling element this year is the fire energy and so it’s a huge year for embracing your own independence, freeing your spirit and exploring your passions. This is completely available to you if you also complement it by being kind to yourself!

I’d like you to start this year with a commitment to your own wellbeing. I want you to know that you can still be loving and supportive of others while caring for yourself. You don’t have to exchange your health to boost someone else’s! I also want you to not feel guilty about your life being well and good when others around you struggle. You are so loved and everyone is dying for you to really pursue what makes you happy.

You’ve learned a lot of lessons over the past year and now it’s time to embody them and really allow yourself to receive the good stuff. It’s time to release self-sabotaging habits and forgive the past. The surrender practice is pivotal to this year, because the more that you believe your life has a perfect and natural flow to it, the more you will be surprised by it’s unusual and exciting offerings.

Imagine what it would feel like if the dark forest were truly behind you? Imagine if that rollercoaster really had come to a stop? What if if you really have evolved into a fresh space? Embrace life and the world around you as if it still has something to offer. You are at the start of a new cycle in your life, trust that the unknown holds more gifts for you; don’t you want to see what they are? Magic is real don’t you know. Be the calm within the storm.

This is an extract from your 2015 Tarotscope. Read more here. Questions? Come and chat with me about how your month is going @louniverse

Pisces / Pisces Rising

I feel that in comparison to last year there is a distinct shift in your journey now, as it becomes much more active and appealing to you. You did a lot of ‘going through the motions’ last year, processing experiences, recovering from heartbreak and just doing a lot of life admin. Now that we move into a fresh space you are invited to believe in your life again. You are also going to have to take a chance on trusting it too.

This is a super divine year for your sense of confidence and ability to get your best self and/or message out to the world. You are naturally a creative thinker and doer and it feels to me like this year has been designed for you to be able to really learn to sit comfortably within your passions.

You also have a wonderful opportunity this year to really embrace and admire the human experience, rather than blame it for its pitfalls. You are able to shift away any thoughts you have about your story not being valuable and are free to dive back into exploring what the world has to offer you. You will find that your old worn out negative self-beliefs start to become tiring to you as you prepare to commit to positive change for your mind, body and spirit.

What is going to be really eye opening for you this year is accepting a new mentor or teacher into your life. This guidance is something that you feel really ready for, although that currently might be a subconscious knowing as your conscious self fights against it! In regards to your anxieties, there is still a part of you that perceives yourself as broken and therefore unfixable. Some of the most negative stories you tell yourself are so familiar that you either totally believe in them or think that this is ‘just how it is’. It’s time to now accept that as a human you are a master of change and can shift your thoughts when and as you choose.

This is an extract from your 2015 Tarotscope. Read more here. Questions? Come and chat with me about how your month is going @louniverse

Aries / Aries Rising

My wonderful warriors; 2015 is a year for embracing the self and not being afraid to explore your own truths. You have an important mission and it’s to release your own self-sabotaging stories. You can be hard on yourself and it’s time to instead start to see what those around you see. You are embraced and adored by your journey itself, and life is waiting for you to dive in. There will be many opportunities this year to test your trust in your intuition and to believe that you are a success story.

You are really needed this year, not only by yourself but also by others. You are often seen as a mentor to many, did you know that? Your fire energy is appreciated, people see you as far more capable than you sometimes see yourself, and I want you to see this energy within yourself too and be able to bathe in it. You aren’t lacking in empowerment at all, but you aren’t always quite as attached to it as you could be. Sometimes you shed your skin and forget to put a new one on and it leaves you feeling a little lifeless or uninspired. Failure is only an illusion. Your highest power lies in every moment you feel a spark of interest, a buzz of hope and a flicker of the great and wild unknown.

As I speak on behalf of your highest self, I feel uplifted about the open space you have to explore. You are definitely going to feel that sense of having to get out of your own this way, as demands for your talents and time arise, you will really have to claim your true confidence!

Coming out of 2014, I feel you are more apt at managing your feelings and this will give you a bonus super power of being able to connect to your intuition at the drop of a hat. You only need to trust that, when faced with internal drama or chaos, there is always a simpler solution if you are open to receiving it.

This is an extract from your 2015 Tarotscope. Read more here. Questions? Come and chat with me about how your month is going @louniverse

Taurus / Taurus Rising

Fear of failure is the same as fear of success – they are both an unknown space. This year I’d like you to get comfortable with the idea that maybe things will turn out in a perfect way that works for you, but you must be willing to throw yourself off into the unknown to receive the benefits. It won’t come as a surprise to you that I’m going to bring up my favorite practice of SURRENDER as a gift for you to work with throughout the year, as it is truly going to be your super power and a chance to take on a whole new more relaxed way of thinking.

I feel that the coming months are going to bring through the changes you have been building up to over the past year, and as the year moves ahead it will be essential to keep checking in on how within your flow you are. Do you even know what the natural flow of life feels like? It’s when you notice synchronicities all around you, and you don’t feel like you are fighting against yourself!

This is a year for absolutely and completely tearing down the foundations of how you approach your own will and successes. Lets call it a classic case of breakdown to breakthrough. Don’t panic though, I’m not anticipating that you’re about to hit the floor and dissolve! But I do want your attitude to be shaken up and changed so that you can think about your material world with a whole new attitude this year.

Don’t be afraid to rise up and try again. Pick yourself up this year from whatever you feel has got your knees a knocking. Make your will bigger than your won’t. You will certainly not be short of ideas, the only thing you need is a clear channel to bring them through. Work on getting familiar and comfortable with your anxieties and fears; then you can give your deserved energy where it belongs – to your passions. It’s time to get up, stand up, open up and ultimately accept yourself as the golden soul you are.

This is an extract from your 2015 Tarotscope. Read more here. Questions? Come and chat with me about how your month is going @louniverse

Gemini / Gemini Rising

I feel that this year you are embodying and mastering all the lessons that the past year brought to you. You felt the push and pull so strongly in 2014 and now you get to truly take back your power and put it into play.
You can be a perfect combination of organized and scattered, lost and found. This year you are being urged to realize that there aren’t all these different versions of you, but that you are just one person who is constantly evolving. You no longer need to try to fit yourself into a mold; you are the mold.

Your being is as stretchy and expansive as the Universe itself. Your only job is to learn how to be fully embodied within your self without being controlling and restrictive. As you will be working on upping your inner and outer confidence all through the year, self-care is the absolute key to your personal and financial successes. You may have to work hard to release some old negative stories that you have written for yourself, but you totally have the strong super powers within you to do so!

Get excited about the shifts you are making for yourself and the potential of feeling truly good. Don’t be afraid to drop that to do list and let life flow in a natural way; know that you have got this. It’s also an amazing year to allow yourself to receive help, as well as new friendships and relationships, and it’s certainly your turn to embrace love and guidance as an alternative to being the constant facilitator. You will be mastering a new way of communication so that you can feel more connected to those around you.

You are never short on thoughts and ideas – they are there, very frequently whizzing in all directions, but managing them into a place of authentic expression can sometimes be challenging for you. You often have a fear of being misunderstood so sometimes try and put across what you think needs to be heard, rather than what you actually want and need to say. You can really trust your self, now, just believe that you can.

This is an extract from your 2015 Tarotscope. Read more here. Questions? Come and chat with me about how your month is going @louniverse

Cancer / Cancer Rising

You will no doubt be aware that you are standing in a significantly different place to this time last year. Even those of you who feel that nothing has shifted are likely to have had an arc of experiences in 2014 that at the very least has awarded you with a beneficial shift in perspective. I feel really excited and vibrant tuning in to your year ahead, and have the urgency to sit tall in my seat. Your confidence has heightened and you no longer have any desire or need to play small. The energy that surrounds you is in grand support of you really ‘going for it’ within your adventure.

This year is all about firing yourself back up and showing up for your life. The fire energy is so powerful for you, although it’s not your natural state being a sign powered by water. So although your go-to is usually to work with your feelings and intuition, as you move through the year you’ll realize that your sense of personal power explodes when you stand firmly and walk tall. Your ability to start really asking for what you want, without guilt, will put you in a very special and enchanting place.

What is essential for you over the coming months is to really be open to releasing self-judgment, guilt and shame. To loosen up all those expectations that you have piled on yourself and to seriously stop obsessing about what others might think of you. Get obsessed with Y O U. I call it a positive selfishness. You’ll discover that the more you pursue what you have the urge to bring forth into your life, the more confident and capable you’ll feel.

Finally, you have to allow the magic to happen in perfect alignment. You have to accept that perhaps divine timing is better than your timing. It’s a tough one to crack but boy does it help you when you just stop, surrender and get on with the minute in hand.

This is an extract from your 2015 Tarotscope. Read more here. Questions? Come and chat with me about how your month is going @louniverse

Leo / Leo Rising

I see you starting this year with some serious plans and ideas in place, and in fact much more of a practical approach to last year. Over the past 12 months there was a lot of coasting along, not laziness, but less of a structure. There were times when you felt like you were just saying yes, yes, yes to everything, which sometimes went in your favour and sometimes, not so much.

What you have learned in recent months is to really connect to your own inner workings and desires in your day-to-day life – and you are building up your confidence to complement this. It’s time to restructure your views on manifesting so you aren’t just going through the motions while wishing some things would change. Instead you are in full on magical action mode!

This will also be a year of stripping back the layers and strengthening your support systems underneath. You are so easily sociable but often see yourself as a loner within the world or having to always put on a brave face. It’s even easy sometimes to feel aggressive towards the outside world and accusatory of those around you. Keep going within. Then ask for help from the people you get super excited and inspired by.

There is also a real need for self-love and nurture throughout your whole year, as it will be what brings that sense of personal harmony to you. You want to be the mother to yourself and continuously ask yourself ‘what do I need right now?’ – which is actually a very valuable and effective morning meditation to get right to the core of what your soul needs. There is always information available to you from your highest self; you must only make space to listen.

This is an extract from your 2015 Tarotscope. Read more here. Questions? Come and chat with me about how your month is going @louniverse

Virgo / Virgo Rising

To begin 2015 in the most productive and positive manner I want you to cast a respectful eye across the year gone by. Can you believe how things have changed? Did you know things were going to shift so much? Aren’t you kind of impressed with how you navigated those highs and lows and are still standing? Yes. The past does not need to be re-written or re-organized and time is never wasted.

Trust, faith and education are your revolving doors for 2015 – kicking off with a need to really claim your confidence and KNOW that you really do have things within your power. Recognition that fighting against yourself is no longer an enjoyable act, and that accepting yourself as an ever-evolving person really does make sense!

Your voice is yours to claim and get to know. You are going to be called countlessly to have to speak your truth and learn what your truth is. Many of you will have to cut the ties from past anxieties to not feel afraid of standing powerfully in your own mind, body and spirit. Surrender is your most valuable tool here, and learning to take pressure off yourself will also be a repeating cycle.

Learn to recognize the instant that you start piling on restrictions to your ambitions and potential. Every time you become aware of this is a chance to step back and realize that you don’t want to be hard on yourself. I’m excited for you to realize how far you’ve come. Getting yourself into confident phoenix mode will be forever helpful – so recognize that you are supposed to be continuously rising from your own ashes. There is no such thing as being broken or weak, you have this in hand. Choose to get connected and feel empowered.

This is an extract from your 2015 Tarotscope. Read more here. Questions? Come and chat with me about how your month is going @louniverse

Libra / Libra Rising

Last year felt like a struggle for many of you, as all your anxieties surrounding friendships and romantic partnerships seemed to be charging at you with sharp teeth. What is happening as you emerge into 2015 is a clearing of this tension and a push to realize that maybe the hard slog is now over.

You have reached a major tipping point of change. You are shedding your skin as the year begins and allowed to take a breather and really acknowledge how far you’ve come. You’re are possibly or probably going to experience a lot of the new this year and although that can feel quite terrifying it is also an indication of a lot of fresh starts in your internal and external world. The sense of catapulting yourself into the unknown and knowing that you will be okay is a strong message for you.

I want you to practice a lot of self-gratitude, as I feel you’ve been down on yourself recently and it’s time to recognize that maybe you are as wonderful as those around you believe. We constantly get urged to believe in ourselves, and it’s only because it kind of, well, works! You don’t have to show off about how awesome you are, but you can congratulate yourself for showing up and trying. You have certainly been doing that.

Now it’s time to stop the fight and start allowing things to open back up. Times are changing for you from a personal perspective, and it’s important that you show up ready and willing to acknowledge and connect to your own divine sprit. You are way out of the woods and that magical space you always hoped to see is right in front of you. You’ll see it when you believe it. You can trust that it is safe for you to step into the natural flow of your journey again.

This is an extract from your 2015 Tarotscope. Read more here. Questions? Come and chat with me about how your month is going @louniverse

Scorpio / Scorpio

2015 feels SO positive and exciting for you Scorpio and I feel so light when tuning into your year! This year marks the beginning of a wild adventurous new time for you, and you will come to see the efforts of the last few years bloom. The past two and a half years have held a lot of hardcore lesson learning for you, with Saturn sitting in your sign and acting as the intense taskmaster! This is not to say you haven’t been up to it, many of you have felt strongly called to get completely connected with what your purpose in this world is today and beyond. Now that Saturn has moved on you are poised to be able to loosen the stress grip just a little!

I feel that overall you are going to be feeling much more balanced this year and aware of the elements within you and how they twist and turn. You have the ability to create harmony between the material and spiritual as you recognize they were made to be a team. Think of your intuition as a light that you can pull down and spread onto the world around you. You have gained a lot of wisdom recently and there will be moments where you notice yourself processing knowledge and feeling the empowerment that you can receive from truly owning and respecting your experience.

I feel I could write all day about the great potential the year has in store for you, the energy feels so abundant and exciting, but I really feel you already know that…In fact some of you are shaking a little, because you really feel that you do have the power of co-creation with your life. As a Scorpio you are designed to constantly reinvent yourself and embrace change. Recognize that the Phoenix (rising from the ashes) is your natural state and you may never need fear ‘what might happen’ again.

This is an extract from your 2015 Tarotscope. Read more here. Questions? Come and chat with me about how your month is going @louniverse

Sagittarius / Sagittarius Rising

This year is wide open for you to fully embrace and explore its offerings. There will be many opportunities for you to up your game and get into full on Phoenix mode and I encourage you to try it. Change is still very present for you, and tied strongly into magic making! The more open you are to perceiving the world around you with new eyes – the more of the weird and the wonderful you will see.

You are the only one who can hold yourself back this year. Some self-doubt has been rattling at your door here and there in the past year. Unlike some others, you really do know that you are capable and talented, and love setting your sights high. Why then, do the confidence anxieties still walk in? Or those worries about what others might think? Well, I have to say it – these feelings are NORMAL.

You may find that trust issues come up around work situations, but be aware that no one is ‘out to get you’, instead you can combat those fears by really reminding yourself how tuned in you are. It’s time to trust that it’s impossible to make bad decisions if you listen to what feels right. The more you get apt in saying NO to things that aren’t working for you the quicker your confidence will elevate – and in order to experience the big wows of 2015 you are required to practice upping your trust quota regards your inner voice.

Finally, the glow of joy is hovering over this whole year and you are encouraged to really discover what your sources of happiness are. This is something it’s easy to lose touch with as we get older, but remember that smiles are not exclusive to a destination named Happiness – they are accessible in every moment you choose. Put yourself into receiving mode to make up for any energy lost over the past year, and allow others the chance of getting to know you on a deeper level.

This is an extract from your 2015 Tarotscope. Read more here. Questions? Come and chat with me about how your month is going @louniverse

STRONG AS BONE: A YOGA SEQUENCE FOR CAPRICORN

Posted on January 6, 2015November 4, 2018 by Ash Bonelli

Facing down 2015, it’s time to move out from the transformational vibe of the past 12 months and put the new you into action. Ash Baker shares a simple yoga sequence for Capricorn that’s designed to create a solid foundation for all that lies ahead. Images: Karolina Daria Flora

December 22 to January 19

Ruler: Saturn
Element: Earth
Modality: Cardinal
Anatomy: bones (skeletal structure), joints, knees and teeth

10th sign of the Zodiac

Here comes the New Year! Glitter, gold and cheers!

This is always an exciting time because things feel raw, open, attainable, and fresh. The Queen/King of the mountain, the Cappy goat, looks down at all the terrain to be explored in the coming year with complete determination and resilience. Never fear though, this seabeast comes with the guarantee of seeking out solid ground so you can rest assured that harnessing this energy will be planted in reality. This sign doesn’t do whimsical, fleeting or cloud consciousness.

Use the cosmic energy now to get a head start on your biggest dreams, desires, goals and, of course, for facing your challenges. Take any downtime over the remaining holiday period to write a practical yet powerful action plan, and prepare your mind for gorgeous possibilities to open your heart in 2015! Capricorn rules the bones, the skeleton, the architecture that holds up our worldly suit. The below poses are designed to help cultivate a connection to your structure, as feeling strong is the key to conquering the year ahead!

:: Tree Pose // Vriksasana ::

Bend your right knee and draw it up towards your chest. Hold it in place for a moment. Take your foot and place it on either your inner ankle, calf or inner thigh. NEVER on the knee itself! Press your foot into your leg and your leg back into your foot to create stability. Externally rotate your right hip out and your right sit bone under. Keep a bend in the left knee. Bring your hands together at your heart or raise them up like branches above your head. Repeat on the other side. Hold for three-five rounds of breath.

:: Chair Pose // Utkatasana ::

From a standing position bend the knees and come down like you are going to sit in an imaginary chair. Keep the knees pressing together. The more you stick your butt out the easier it will be. Let the weight be in your heels. Bring your arms slightly behind you with only a slight bend at the elbow. Extend the shoulders down and back opening up the chest. Feel your collarbone expanding and your core heating up. Three rounds of breath. Repeat three times, with your goals in sight.

:: Downward Facing Dog ::

Come to hands and knees. Tuck your toes and root down through all ten fingers especially the thumbs. Bend your knees deeply bringing your belly to your knees. Feel the length and extension being created in your spine. Press your hips/sitting bones up towards the sky and ground your feet into the floor, at least energetically if the heels don’t reach. Your head will extend out between your arms and allow your shoulders to drop and widen down your back. Come back down and take Child’s Pose. Three rounds of breath.

:: 2015 New Year’s Meditation :: Letting go to let it in ::

Come into your deep, rhythmic breath while either sitting cross-legged or laying on your back. Imagine as you inhale and exhale a layer of yourself that is worn out and tired, peels away like the skin of an onion. Removing any previous frustrations, heartbreaks and disappointments from the past year. Allow yourself to shed the old skin to become new again, ready for what’s next on your path. Stay here for five-10 minutes visualizing this symbolic dry brushing of things you no longer need on this new journey ahead.

:: Monthly Mantra :: I am my own source of strength for not only myself but others around me. That way we are all lifted up.

DO “THE WORK,” HAVE YOUR BEST YEAR EVER

Posted on January 6, 2015November 5, 2018 by Ruby Warrington

Real spiritual “work” = practise + action – and 2014 was the year I finally signed up, says Ruby Warrington.

Numinous founder Ruby Warrington shot by Thomas Giddings for TheNuminous.net — *Portrait: Thomas Giddings*

“Doing the work”. It’s a phrase that gets thrown around a lot in holistic / alternative wellness circles – but what does it actually mean? Is it like the time I went for acupuncture and was given “homework” to do – little sticky packs of Mugwort, called “Moxa”, to affix to my liver meridian and set light to like incense each night? Fair enough, I had been drinking quite a lot to avoid dealing with a stressful work situation, but wasn’t the state of my liver my practitioner’s to deal with?

Apparently not. If I’ve come to understand anything about how real healing, both physical and metaphysical, works in the past year, it’s this: ultimate wellbeing – just like ultimate abundance, ultimate freedom, and, ultimately I guess, ultimate bliss – is a collaborative effort between myself, whichever practise I happen to be working with at the time, and the all-loving, all-knowing Universe itself.

Looking back over the past twelve months, I can honestly say I’ve had one of the best years of my life. And not because everything just “worked out”, or opportunities fell from the sky like globules of golden bird poop. But in terms of my personal evolution, I feel like I’ve busted through blocks (to borrow just a little self-help speak) I wasn’t even aware were holding me back. Well maybe I was aware…but there’s NO WAY I was going to admit it and deal – not in this lifetime at least.

But deciding to face my demons, be my own knight in shining armour and slay the freakin’ dragon once and for all, looking ahead to 2015 I feel simultaneously like I’ve aged a decade and like I’m ten years younger. And it has not been easy. There have been tears, and there has been anguish. There has been much meditating, much journaling, and much reading of books with “Conversations” and “God” in the title.

But above all, there has been a very conscious decision on my part to actually “do the work”.

When I used to hear that phrase, I’d think it was referring to some kind of mystical alchemy that went on inside the body if you did enough yoga, took enough gong baths, or had enough therapy. As if the divine oneness was watching on, and would do some divine laying on of hands to absolve all your issues once you’d reached a certain quota of zen / worthiness.

2014, which shall forever more be referred to as “the year that changed EVERYTHING”, showed me that it’s actually way more prosaic than that. You want to change something? Move forward in your personal development? Bring about the internal “shift” that’s gonna raise your vibration to attract all the abundance you just know is out there waiting for you into you life? Then babe, the buzzword here is action.

For example, it’s one thing to accept that perhaps your cash flow issues are more to do with your attitude to money than the fact accounts clerks get off on withholding checks owed to you – and a whole other deal to weep buckets in a Family Constellations Therapy session as you see how it’s actually intrinsically linked to your Grandmother dying young, and your own mother not really knowing how to give you love as a result.

But the real work? That happens when you then do the Landmark Forum, and realize you actually have to call your mom and tell her it’s never really been okay that she loved your brother more than you, because she’d basically learned how by the time he came along. And then you actually do call her, and there are buckets more tears, but you end the conversation by telling each other how you feel like mother and daughter for the first time you can remember.

Phew! That’s what I call work. And it’s also where the “mystical alchemy” part comes in, because you know what? I’m facing down 2015 in a better financial position than ever. “Money” equates to “mother” in Jungian therapy after all.

And if dealing with my lack mentality was what I decided I wanted to work on in 2014, once the floodgates had opened it turns out it was time to tackle all the other niggling issues I began to realize were all a part of the jigsaw puzzle. Those feelings of lack…well weren’t they also contributing to my inability to share (the load, my visions, my real feelings)? This was another Landmark revelation – the full story / trauma of which I’ll share (now I’m getting better at it) in a later post.

One of my favorite things of all has been learning to work with my intuition this year – you know, actually act on my gut feelings about things, even if this often means taking the scarier, hairier route. If I started to meditate because I thought it would help me get more clarity and focus, little did I know the work my practise was prepping me for was the ability to first notice my truth, and then go stand in it, no matter how many people it might piss off.

And by meditation, I don’t just mean the ten minutes I manage on a good morning. By bringing the practise of being able to step back from my thoughts to everything I do – a hard core workout, a complicated writing assignment, my super intense / difficult / transformational experience at Burning Man, and, yes, my relationship with my mother, has been some of the most important work of all.

I actually predict that “work” and “money” are going to be big themes for us all in the coming months. In numerology, 2015 is a universal “8” year (you add 2+1+5), which is the number of challenges, personal power, and hard-earned reward for your efforts. In other words, do the work this year and the compensation could be bigger than ever. So here’s how…

First up, you need to define what you want to work on. And I say, go big. No shying away from that “thing”, it’s time to drag the monkey off your back, look it right in the eye and declare: GAME ON. (Oh but clue – the real monkey might not be what you think. Like my money issues turned out to be mother issues, the fact you have a hard time holding onto a relationship is, undoubtedly, all about your DAD).

Now just start looking around for the “way in”. Besides the Family Constellations work and the Landmark (which is pretty hard core, FYI), last year I also tried acupuncture, breathwork meditation, had regular visits with a shaman, hit the mat at The Class with Taryn Toomey, and worshiped at the church of IntenSati. Not to mention that transformational trip to Burning Man. Each and every one of which provided an insight, a tool, or a doorway for me to see into.

WALK. THROUGH. THE. DOOR. Don’t just stand there looking at the portal of opportunity any one of your practises has opened for you. Where the rubber meets the road, is where you choose to take action. It’s one thing to get an intense download about your relationship with your father after a particularly crazy Kundalini kriya, and a whole other ball game when you then send him an email laying out all the deets (yes, this also happened to me last year).

Don’t be shy. As in, don’t shy away from taking the necessary action. And if you’re having trouble working out what that is, it’s probably the thing you least want to do. But you know you have to. In fact, if it makes you cry just thinking about it, that’s probably it. Tears – of emotion, of compassion, of release – are often how you know the work is working.

Finally, you’d better embrace feeling a little bit weird, while all this is going on. Our brilliant Tarotscopestress Louise Androlia (aka Louniverse) is also a holistic life coach, and one of her favorite things is to remind her clients it’s actually normal to feel abnormal when your life is transforming, inside and out. So expect to doubt yourself, expect to feel vulnerable, expect to question your sanity sometimes – just don’t expect it to be a breeze, is what I think she means. After all, if it was meant to be easy, it wouldn’t get called The Work in the first place. But it’s worth it.

Month: January 2015

VALENTINO’S COSMIC PRE-FALL 2015 COLLECTION

A LESSON IN LOVE: THE PEYOTE DIARIES

COMFORT EATING: THE FOOD THAT FEEDS MY SOUL

A STORY OF ASTROLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

BE THE DARK: HOW TO EMBRACE YOUR SHADOW SIDE

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR CHANGE

TAROTSCOPES: JANUARY 2015

STRONG AS BONE: A YOGA SEQUENCE FOR CAPRICORN

DO “THE WORK,” HAVE YOUR BEST YEAR EVER

@NUMINOUS_BOOKS