Alexandra Derby Archives

MY MYSTICAL LIFE: EARTH MAGICK WITH MY MOON SISTERS

Posted on July 22, 2016November 3, 2018 by Ruby Warrington

Earth magic, moon magick, astro magick and the magick of sisterhood…so so so so much magick to report this week!

With my retreat co-creators, Elyssa Jakim and Alexandra Roxo Maha Rose North on The Numinous — *With my retreat co-creators, Alexandra Roxo and Elyssa Jakim*

:: MONDAY ::
Still high / nursing a slight vulnerability hang-over following our Re-Write Your Love Story retreat upstate with Maha Rose North. If you saw my IG post Monday morning you’ll have got an idea of just how transformative the experience was for all involved. And I’m not gonna share too many details here (what happens on retreat stays on retreat, y’all!), EXCEPT to tell you about the moment we made actual freaking Earth magick.

Cut to Saturday night, and we’re ready to purge some of our old love stories around a crackling bonfire out in the forest, and we gather beneath the trees to a rumble of thunder and distant flash of lightening in the rapidly darkening sky. One by one, we begin to throw our old stories, our out-dated patterns, and our most deep-seated fears into the fire. Once we’ve all gone, we hold hands and a peaceful silence descends on our circle. The fire gently smolders, and another clap of thunder tells us the storm is getting closer.

Then, a lone voice opens the releasing up again, sparking a new wave of purging into the fire—purging of societal shit, of global shit, of deep, deep, deep ancestral shit. And as our words becomes more raw, more vulnerable, and more elemental, the first drops of rain begin to fall. Soft at first, and steadily building until the trees above can no longer shelter us. “I release not feeling lovable enough to be a powerful woman in the world.” “I release…the Rules.” “I release all hatred towards my body.”

It’s the last one that sets it off, and the heavens open, sending a deluge of water cascading down on us, washing the ashes of our words back into the Earth. I can’t contain a whoop of joyous laughter, and I look up to the sky, shouting: “THANK YOU FOR HEARING US!” Goddess responds with another huge smack of thunder, and we all lose it—laughing and sobbing and whooping, before finally running for shelter, fully electrified by the experience of what felt like communing live and direct with Mama Earth!

Like I said, real deal Earth magick in action. And, I now believe with every cell in my being, available to each and every one of us when we show up and give it up as our purest, most vulnerable, unadulterated animal selves.

ruby warrington alexandra roxo elyssa jakim maha rose north the numinous retreat — The posing before the storm…

:: TUESDAY ::
Speaking of feeling connected to the Cosmos, today’s Capricorn Full Moon (marking a culmination point in finance and career for me—due to my Sagittarius Rising and Aries Sun signs) saw me banking the second and final payment for the advance on my book. This, after last month’s Sagittarius Full Moon (lighting my houses of self-image and publishing) was the day I submitted the edited draft of my manuscript/memoir. Confirming my belief that the more closely you align yourself with your soul path as written in your stars (i.e. your birth chart), the more closely the stars align themselves with YOU.

:: WEDNESDAY ::
Did I mention that my retreat sisters (Alexandra Roxo and Elyssa Jakim) and I were also all bleeding together over our weekend upstate? “We’re in the Red Tent,” Elyssa nodded wisely Sunday morning—the night after our bonfire. And today when I met with Alexandra Derby, who facilitated the actual Red Tent ceremony I attended last summer, and who’s Cosmic Cycle tincture system I am crediting with finally (like, for the first time in my life) regulating my menstrual flow, we were wearing almost identical red dresses AND she was on her moon time too! Seems like the Numi tribe is synching up. OBVIOUSLY.

:: THURSDAY ::
A trip to Connecticut to experience forest bathing—a.k.a. a guided meditative walk through the woods, a.k.a. the Japanese art of Shinrin-yoku. New to the spa menu at the fancy Mayflower Grace hotel, research in Japan has shown that regular walks among deciduous trees shows increased scores for vigor, attentiveness, relaxation, friendliness, self confidence and clearing one’s mind—as well as decreased the scores for hostility, boredom, depression, anger, fatigue and confusion.

Oh, and it fights cancer and stuff too. The major reason for these findings is the presence of phytoncides in deciduous forests—particles produced to help plants & trees protect themselves from harmful insects and germs, which also decrease stress hormone levels and improve immunity. The forest “bath”? A slow, meandering stroll among our friends the trees, taking extra time to stop and smell the…phytoncides. Bliss. Book at www.gracehotels.com/mayflower

:: FRIDAY ::
OMG and there’s yet more Earth magic to come, as today I’m getting excited for OBONJAN! Read all about it here, but Obonjan is a summer-long music and wellbeing festival taking over a private island in Croatia, where I’ll be giving a talk on how to Get High On Your Own Supply next Saturday. They’ve also invite some of my favorite Numi friends + fam to be part of the experience, and so I’m also looking forward to some hang time with Alexandra Roxo (again, yay!), the New Age Hipster, Jayne Goldheart, Morgan Yakus and Shauna Cummins, and the guys from She’s Lost Control. Come join us! I’m only staying a week, but the island is open from July 28—September 6. You can find all the booking details here.

MY MYSTICAL LIFE: WHY WE ALL NEED AN INNER WORK BREAK

Posted on June 17, 2016November 3, 2018 by Ruby Warrington

Taking an inner work break is fun—and also give you space to BE the transformations you’re experiencing in your life…

:: MONDAY + TUESDAY ::
A month or so ago I noticed that my friend Valerie Oula had tagged a couple of her IG posts #innerworkbreak. There was one about a night in with Pretty Woman and some fro-yo, another simply titled: “Jenga + beer.” Valerie is the brains behind these beautiful intention candles and mists and works as a kundalini yoga teacher, meaning she’s usually up at 4.30am for sadhana (her daily spiritual practice), meditates with the best of them, and generally lives about as “clean” an NYC existence as you can get.

But, a fashion industry veteran like me, her posts showed that embracing a more mystical path has not meant totally forsaking her inner “material girl.”

And I can totally relate this week, having just come off a similar “inner work break” myself (also a break from this column, you might have noticed). Two weeks visiting friends and family in Europe found me setting aside my usual Numinous tools (besides my morning TM session) and dipping a toe back into my old life—which essentially became an exercise in honoring myself as a unified, material-mystical woman.

And fuck it’s been FUN! Not just the eating a bunch of pizza, drinking a bunch of beer, dancing until 7am at an outdoor rave in Poland, or investing in a new pair of summer kicks from Alexander McQueen (see below). But also the giving my numinous soul an opportunity to just be, for the inner work I’m so invested in to settle into my physical body, and to witness how my internal transformations are impacting my outer experience of the world.

Yes, they're from Alexander McQueen — *Yes, they’re from Alexander McQueen*

A lot of what we cover on this site—and therefore what I’m invested in personally—is about excavating the depths. It’s about investigating who “I” am, with the aim of bringing this “true” self to the world. BUT please please not to the extent that we forget we’re still human-freaking-beings!

Human beings who are here to forge meaningful relationships, to do meaningful work, and to hopefully be of service in some way—easy to forget if we spend so much time looking “in,” diligently monitoring our progress on our personal journey, we’re never “out” there, shining our light in the world. Which might look a lot like eating pizza, drinking beer, and simply being a loving daughter, sister, auntie and friend to people who don’t necessarily give a fuck what planets are conjunct your moon this week, since they’re got more pressing “real world” concerns they need to talk to you about.

Because: all this against the backdrop of the devastating news of the Orlando shooting, and frankly medieval talk of Britain’s potential exit from the EU. If ever there was a moment to simply embody the changes your inner work has brought about, then NOW could be a good time to step away from the crystals—and be out there living the changes our world needs to see.

My beautiful brother and his beautiful family...let's make a more beautiful world for baby Henry! — *My beautiful brother and his beautiful family…let’s make a more beautiful world for baby Henry!*

:: WEDNESDAY ::
In love with Alexandra Derby’s new four-part gem + flower essence system, which is designed to support your system holistically during every stage of your moon (yes menstrual) cycle. The idea is you take one of four tinctures depending where you’re at—Visionary for week one, Manifestation for week two (ovulation), Serenity for week three (a.k.a. PMS), and Womb Wisdom when you’re actually bleeding.

My cycle is generally pretty irregular (something I’ve been working on with Aly for a while now), so I just made a note in my diary what days I should perhaps switch up this past month. And wouldn’t you know. Coinciding with my touch-down back in NYC, today I began to bleed as the “Womb Wisdom” notification popped up. I might have felt like I was on an inner work break in Europe—but something inside is working. The Cosmic Cycle Elixirs go on sale Monday June 20 at Alexandraderby.com. A percentage of proceeds will go to Femme International—supplying girls in east Africa with reusable menstrual cups.

Cosmic Cycle elixirs by Prophetessa, available June 20 2016 — *Cosmic Cycle Elixirs by Prophetessa, available June 20 2016*

:: THURSDAY ::
Planning details of a FREE virtual Full Moon + Summer Solstice ritual I’ll be hosting with Numi contributors Alexandra Roxo and Elyssa Jakim next Monday, June 20. You can join anywhere in the world, and the idea is to celebrate and give thanks for the manifestations we are brining into the world, and set a solstice intention for the summer. Think: an overview of the current cosmic climate, self-inquiry for the Solstice, and a guided meditation connected to like-minded spirits around the world. Spaces are limited—click here to sign up!

:: FRIDAY ::
And looking forward to our Club SÖDA NYC Solstice Picnic in McCarren park in Williamsburg this Sunday too! As mentioned above, there’s been some (very high-vibe) beer-drinking going on these past couple of months, but I’m now almost two weeks into my latest EPS—my dad’s term for the “extended periods of sobriety” I launched Club SÖDA NYC to help people navigate—and FEELING IT. The feeling of being high on life, that is, that I get when I get booze out of my system for a while. The picnic is gonna be a super low-key “friends of the Numinous” type thing, but if you’re in the hood, swing by and say hi!

MY MYSTICAL LIFE: WORKING WITH THE HIEROPHANT, AND MY FAVE NEW SMOOTHIE

Posted on January 15, 2016November 3, 2018 by Ruby Warrington

Dream diaries, a past life regression, and how the Hierophant became my favorite new guide…

*My new smoothie + current desk buddies: Chalcopyrite (Peacock Ore) and Pyrite*

:: MONDAY ::
New week, favorite new smoothie (which is basically a high-vibe rip-off of the Truth Chakra smoothie at the Jivemuktea cafe – as in there’s no agave and they also use soy milk). Recipe (makes enough for 2):

1.5 cups home made hemp milk (here’s a post with my recipe)
1 cup filtered water
1/2 a frozen banana
2 tbsp almond butter (I use the Wholefoods fresh churned stuff)
1 scoop Sun Warrior Vanilla vegan protein powder
1 tsp psyllium husk
2 tsp ground flax seeds
Half a pack of frozen blueberries
An ice cube or two

OMFG

:: TUESDAY ::
With the Moon in dreamy Pisces, what better day for my friend Aly to tell me I really need to get into a dream diary practice – i.e. write down whatever I can remember from my dreams the minute I wake up. “But my dreams just aren’t that vivd,” I told her – to which she replied: “well don’t judge them!” And she’s so right. The way to get your dreams to show you more, is to pay more attention to them – by keeping a dream diary, for example. Aly’s been doing it for years, and she’s received whole book-loads of info about how the Universe works. You can read some of her dream wisdom on her new website.

:: WEDNESDAY ::
Moon in Pisces also meant perfect timing for my first past life regression, since Pisces rules our dreams and inner visions. I’d booked in with Morgan Yakus at Maha Rose (where they were also brewing the most incredible ginger, rose petal and nettle tea), who uses hypnosis to access past life information stored in the subconscious. Once we got down there, I retrieved some really good stuff – mainly about my mission and my karma in this lifetime. And yes I saw some past lives too – like being a kinda bohemian prophet in California in the 1960s, and meeting my husband for the first time in a Medieval court – where he literally appeared as a “knight in shining armor.” Hmmm. Sometimes in a trance state, it’s hard to say where cosmic consciousness ends and romantic fantasy begins…!

:: THURSDAY ::
I sent this email:

Hey Danielle – I just received my Starchild Tarot Akashic deck, thank you SO MUCH!!

I think “my” deck has finally found me. I am head over heals about these cards…(+ the fact it’s the 3rd time the Akashic Records have entered my field this week)

So of course I smudged them and pulled a card right way. Question: What will my book bring to this planet? What I am creating?

Only…The Hierophant!!

Thanks again for your beautiful dharma Danielle xxxx

:: FRIDAY ::
Goal for the weekend – work out how to get an “8-hour massage,” which my friend Deborah was telling me about over tea this week. Apparently, this was a treatment enjoyed by the Egyptian pharaohs – designed to bring about a kind of trace state, and access psychic information from deep, deep within the body tissue. “It’s totally doable, you just need to switch out the therapist every two hours,” said Deborah. Unless you’re Mariah Carey that is – who paid her masseuse $1500 for the treatment back in 2012!

MY MYSTICAL LIFE: XMAS GIFT IDEAS, AND BINGEING ON TRANSPARENT

Posted on December 18, 2015November 4, 2018 by Ruby Warrington

Read on for at least three high-vibe Xmas gift ideas, an astro walking tour of NYC, and all the reasons I love Transparent…

:: MONDAY ::
Whipped up a batch of my favorite new thing – hemp milk. I’ve been making my own nut milks for most of this year, mainly as, oh let’s see, it’s way cheaper and tastier and healthier than buying the store-bought stuff. I’ve been through almond (too much pulp) and cashew (digestive no-no for me), and had settled on Brazil nut as my fave. But then I got my hands on a copy of Rich Roll and Julie Piatt’s plant-based lifestyle bible The Plantpower Way (an excellent Xmas gift btw), and was convinced to give hemp a try. OMG, it’s lighter than air, mixes like regular dairy milk into hot drinks, AND YOU DON’T EVEN HAVE TO STRAIN IT. Here’s my recipe:

1/2 cup hulled hemp seeds
4 cups of water
Pinch sea salt
1/2 tspn raw honey

Blitz.

:: TUESDAY ::
When Bess Matassa, a.k.a. Street Sign Astrology, invited me on an “astrological walking tour of NYC” obviously I wasn’t going to say no. Even better, Bess’s tours are based on your actual birth chart – taking in sights, stores, and hidden secrets of the City that act as experiential representations of different aspects in your chart. Wow! Mine began beneath the giant whale at the Museum of Natural History, since so many of my planets are in the watery (read: totally emo) 4th and 8th houses of my chart. We then moved on to check out some fierce mammals, since the “learning edge” that Bess saw in my chart can be summed up as: “getting cozy with savagery.” Grrr…(p.s. a tour with Bess would also be a great Xmas gift)

:: WEDNESDAY ::
Hello, exchange economy. Since I was in need of some energetic clearing, and my friend Aly wanted some advice on her website…we agreed to do a swap. A healing session for me, a coaching session for her. We met for the exchange over a 2-hour session today, with amazingly high-vibe results! It got me thinking: what skills could you exchange with one of your friends for an alternative kind of hang-date? It’s a win-win – you both get something out if it that you might otherwise pay a couple of hundred dollars for, and it’s so so much more bonding than getting your gossip on over a bottle of wine. Promise.

:: THURSDAY ::
Totally binge-watched the entire second series of Amazon Video’s Transparent, which is definitely one of my favorite shows to have emerged in the past year. If you haven’t seen it a) it’s the story of a (fictional) boho Jewish family in LA coming to terms with the shift in tribal dynamics after the father comes out as trans (“trans-parent,” geddit?), and b) basically clear your diary and get stuck in. Reading this back, it strikes me that it’s essentially a clever, hilarious, emotionally resonant version of the Kardashians – with some really great music, plenty of sex, and copious amounts of medicinal marijuana thrown into the mix.

:: FRIDAY ::
Not quite sure how this happened already, but this is the last weekend you (London crew) can visit the mystical Astrolounge Xmas boutique we curated with the team at Selfridges Oxford St. It’s really been such a special project, and what an amazing opportunity to bring all things Numinous to life…in one of Britain’s most iconic department stores, no less. You can also get your custom birth chart tee printed to order while you wait – oh hello, excellent Xmas gift idea no. 3.

Numinous founder Ruby Warringon at the Selfridges Astrolounge opening in October — *Me at the Selfridges Astrolounge opening in October*

MY MYSTICAL LIFE: STORY MEDICINE AND THE GOOP MRKT

Posted on December 4, 2015November 4, 2018 by Ruby Warrington

Getting my emo on at Story Medicine, and Gwyneth being Gwyneth at the Goop MRKT….

No column last week since it was Thanksgiving and, frankly, I was drunk. And it was so good to let my hair down and switch off for a day! It’s been a HARDCORE YEAR (any other life path 8s out there feeling it??) and I’ve been pretty much tee-total in the name of getting some serious inner and outer work done. But turns out a dose of “spirits” medicine was actually just what the doctor ordered 🙂

Anyhow, I’m back, and I’m also trying a new format for this column, mapping my week Mon-Friday. Lemme know what you think!

:: MONDAY ::
I got to see an advance screening of the new J-Law movie Joy, and entrepreneurial ladies, this is a holiday season MUST. It tells the story of legendary inventor Joy Mangano, and busts the myth of the “overnight success.” So many times building the Numinous I’ve been like, “oh man, this isn’t not working, it’s never going to work.” And then something DOES work, and I just keep going. Joy’s story is a reminder that making your dreams real and running a business is hard. You will feel completely vulnerable. You will encounter setback, after asshole, after humiliation, after enormous IT bill from somebody who didn’t even do what you asked, but it’s what it takes and it’s worth. Every. Minute. (watch the trailer below)

:: TUESDAY ::
I was reunited with my sweet soul sister and Temple of Venus co-creator Elyssa Jakim, who spent the past few months over in Portland (only meeting the love of her life…on Tinder!) She introduced me to two exciting things: a documentary series called The Quest For The Cures, all about one man’s search for the best natural cancer treatments (weekend watch-list sorted), and the fact she’s doing Akashic records readings from 12-5pm tomorrow at Species by The Thousands in Williamsburg. GO. She’s amazing.

:: WEDNESDAY ::
I went to meet Gwyneth Paltrow at the opening of her Goop MRKT – which is essentially the NYC version of our Astrolounge @ Selfridges, a high-vibe holiday pop-up decked with all things mysti-cool. A lot of people don’t like GP, but we say back-off bitches. As beautiful Alexandra Derby (who invited me) put it: “She comes from privilege, so her putting $1K sweaters on Goop is just her being her authentic self.” And isn’t that what it’s all about?? Enough hating on the sisterhood. Less envy of those who “apparently” had better breaks than us. How about just be inspired and go get yours.

Ruby Warrington and Gwyneth Paltrow at the Goop MRKT on The Numinous — *Me + GP @ the Goop MRKT*

:: THURSDAY ::
Story Medicine! So Alexandra and I cooked up this idea for a crazy-ass event, where YOU, our guests would create the content by coming to share your stories. And in the process get heard and get healed. The amazing team at lululemon’s HUB seventeen said “yes,” and we hosted the first Story Medicine event last night. There were tears, there was laughter, there were many, many hugs, and there was a vegan feast from Daphne Cheng (see pudding below). There were even three dudes! But best of all was hearing all the stories. Raw, honest, human storytelling is the BEST entertainment you guys. We’re planning the next one for Feb 2016.

chia pudding by Daphne Cheng for Story Medicine by The Numinous — *Out of this world chia pudding by Daphne Cheng*

:: FRIDAY ::
In the spirt of no such things as TMI (see Story Medicine), I got my period today. Now, I’ve been researching how to work with your cycle, and the wisdom all says “on day one, retreat from society and go within” – since this is when your intuitive powers reach their peak. Thing is, that would have meant no column again today. Also canceling four really important meetings this afternoon. Truly committing to working with my flow is totally on my to-do list for 2016, but since my cycle is really irregular it’s hard for me to plan for down days when my bleed begins. So period experts reading this, any insight on this one much appreciated!

@NUMINOUS_BOOKS