Mars Retrograde

THE 2018 CANCER WANING MOON WANTS YOU TO FIGHT FOR YOUR FEELINGS

Posted on by Jennifer Racioppi
As Venus prepares to travel retrograde, the 2018 Cancer Waning Moon marks a powerful moment to integrate our feminine and masculine, and embrace the fierceness in putting our feelings first, says Jennifer Racioppi …
2018 cancer waning moon jennifer racioppi ruby warrington the numinous material girl mystical world timothy paul smith
Photo: Timothy Paul Smith

Waning Quarter Moon / October 2 2018 / 5:45am EST / 9 degrees Cancer

The 2018 Cancer Waning Moon invites a poignant pause. With Venus moving towards her retrograde station and descent into the darkness, the Cancer Waning Moon asks everyone, regardless of their gender orientation, to adopt the feminine qualities within.

This can be an aggressive position for Venus when she embraces her warrior aspects, and this Moon’s relationship to Venus profoundly amplifies our powers of intuition, empathy, and feminine moxy. As we prepare for her retrograde journey by surrendering what is no longer aligned, feminine values and voices will rise … 

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//The Cycle//
The Waning Quarter Moon falls at the halfway point between the recent Harvest Aries Full Moon and the upcoming Libra New Moon. This halfway point asks us to actively release our blocks to success. What’s standing between you and the fruition of your most heartfelt intentions and goals? Consider what you can let go of, and burn it, baby.

From a long-term perspective, this Waning Quarter Moon brings intentions set with the Cancer New Moon on July 4, 2016, to fruition. What are you cultivating in your life now that relates to what you hoped and prayed for on the New Moon in July 2016?

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//The Transits//
This Moon occurs just three days before Venus, the planet of love and beauty, stations retrograde. Venus will travel retrograde from October 5th- November 16th. Unlike Mercury, who goes retrograde 2-4 times per year, Venus only travels retrograde once every 18 months. As one of the most potent transits of 2018, this brings with it strong and necessary medicine. Her retrograde periods support realignment with feminine values.

This Waning Cancer Moon forms a perfect manifestation trine to Venus at the degree of her station, 10 degrees of Scorpio. The water trine deepens emotional introspection, and supports inner alignment in preparation for the upcoming retrograde cycle. And with Mars simultaneously clearing his retrograde shadow (finally) at 6 degrees of Aquarius, he makes an air trine to the Libra Sun.

This combination offers us profound resources that we can use to harmonize the masculine and feminine, both within ourselves and for the collective. 

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//The Square//
This cardinal square between the Libra Sun and Cancer Moon instigates an in-depth look at personal values. Fairness (Libra) squares safety and security (Cancer). As you prep for both the Venus retrograde station, and October 8th’s Libra New Moon, let the cardinal focus empower you to stand strong in your values. Now is not the time to let old limiting beliefs and insecurities stand in your way.

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//The Opportunity//
This Waning Quarter Moon amplifies feminine prowess. The Sun in Libra, who is ruled by Venus, prepares us for Venus’ descent into her underworld. Venus, who represents love and beauty has two sides— she the goddess of love and the goddess of war. The feminine, after all, protects what she loves.

We can expect this lunar moment to elicit deep emotional connection. Use it to your advantage. Prepare yourself for the upcoming Venus station and Libra New Moon by standing up and fighting for what YOU believe!

For more Moon wisdom, or to book a coaching session with Jennifer visit Jenniferracioppi.com.

CANCER SEASON 2018: A JOURNEY DEEP INSIDE

Posted on by Bess Matassa

Cancer Season 2018 brings a deep dive into our healing process, along with opportunities for true and lasting intimacy, says Bess Matassa … PLUS check out the latest installment of our Astrocast podcast with Bess and Sandy Sitron

Cancer Season 2018 The Numinous Bess Matassa
Photo: Maria Badasian

Slip into your swimmies and prepare to be fully submerged. The night-blooming flowers of Cancer Season 2018 are ripe and redolent, ushering in a month to tuck into our vulnerability, bear witness to our own softness, and validate every feeling tone that emerges.

With Mars, Chiron, and Neptune all traveling retro, it’s time to stage a farewell party to outmoded illusions, drifting slowly and steadily towards new shorelines. For tapping into underground power sources that don’t need to be proven to be potent. Beneath any surface desires for action and achievement, subtler tidal shifts in soul expansion are sounding their siren song.

So skinny-dip into your shimmering sensitivities, water birth new notions of personal triumph, and let your longings lead you back home to your own private island. You belong to all the selves your secret cavern can hold …

Get the quick and dirty on the four key astro events of Cancer Season 2018 below—and listen to the full Cancer Season 2018 report from Numi resident astrologers Bess + Sandy HERE in the latest edition of our Astrocast podcast …

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Terrarium Cancer Season 2018 The Numinous Bess Matassa
Photo: Mong Bui

Sun in Cancer (6.21-7.21) // Think … Terrarium Building

Cancer’s cardinal water energy washes us back onto our own shorelines, and activates themes of privacy, belonging, and soul-centered security. Think of the luminous lunacy of your inner lifeworld as your own tiny biodome, a carefully tended shelter for your wildest dreams. Use this image to play with the edge between guarding your treasured visions, and slowly exposing them to the sunlit world.

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Mars Retrograde (6.25-8.27) // Magic Animal Growing Capsules

As the planet of frictional force and engine-revving libido slows its roll, it’s a glorious moment for considering your relationship to “being” rather than doing. For celebrating the “actions” that happen on a soul level, even when you can’t see them directly manifest in the material world. Make this a month to allow for all flavors of growth and movement. Think of all that you can build without having to go hard or prove your right to exist (and check out the YouTube clip at the link above for some magically wacky inspo!)

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Mercury and Venus in Leo (6.29-9.5 and 6.13-7.9) // Paula Abdul’s “Forever Your Girl”

“Hey baby, you’ve got to remember …” As the planets of pleasure and vocalization travel through the glitter kitten terrain of Leo, pin your bedazzled-heart to a ruffled-sleeve with this classic roller rink anthem of unabashed passion. Venus in Leo teaches us that allowing our affections to spill over generously and vulnerably is the gateway to loyal loving that lasts, while Mercury in Leo seals each messages with a magenta-lipped kiss. Come clean about your right to your fluffiest feelings and adorn your most cherished romantic hopes in their truest colors.

Film noir red heels Cancer Season 2018 The Numinous Bess Matassa
Photo: Simone Perrone

Jupiter Direct in Scorpio (7.10) // Film Noir Chic  

As the planet of wild expansion stations direct in deep sea diver Scorpio, there are gems to be mined in our most intimate partnerships. How can fully embracing your own shadow lead to the veneration and celebration of your only-human partners? How can you integrate and assimilate your own darkness as simply another quality of the light? Play with the complete range of feeling in deliciously dramatic, film noir inspired fashions and remind yourself that taking this seriously is a tasty affirmation of your right to feel it all.

HOW TO FIND YOUR POWER DURING MARS RETROGRADE

Posted on by The Numinous

With Mars retrograde for the summer, it’s time to reconnect with our inner drive. Healers from London meditation hot-spot, Re:Mind Studio, share how to go inside to find your power right now …

personal power find your power the Numinous Re:Mind Studio London
Photo: Cristian Newman

“Find your power” is a super buzzy rallying cry in the wellness and healing worlds that can leave us feeling more confused than courageous. Where has it been hiding? How do I hunt it down? And what exactly does it look like? 

Cosmically, the concept of power connects us to Mars, planet of drive and creative libido. At its core, Mars energy is about affirming our right to be here, to want what feels good to want, and to go after it in a way that brings us fully alive.

With Mars stationing retro for the Summer, we’re being asked to dive deeply into our internal power centers, and to explore what pushes our buttons—in a good way. For example, Mars rules anger—but rather than projecting onto others any time we feel pissed, this is a moment to examine what this emotion is here to teach us. Where it wants us to take action and make positive change in our lives.

We teamed up with healers and speakers from the Summer of Women’s Power event series at London’s Re:Mind Studio to roundup the top tips for activating your life force right now …

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Treat Your Triggers Like Treasures
“Any time you feel triggered, use this as a way to learn something about yourself and the area in your life you can pull back your personal power.

Rather than react in the moment, take however long you need to sit with the emotions that are coming up and pay attention to the stories that accompany them. Write down some questions that will help you look deeper. Journal about it. It may feel good to talk it out with a friend. If needed, seek professional guidance—with a therapist or healer—to help make more sense of why this feels so raw.

Tending to your wounds in this way will help you feel stronger, more whole, like there are no ‘gaps’ where your power is leaking out. Ultimately, this wholeness will make you invincible.” – Ruby Warrington, Founder, The Numinous 

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Get Body Con
“We can come in to our true power by getting out of our heads and coming into our bodies, since this is the where we often store old emotions and also where we can tap in for our deepest intuitive knowledge. This is something I’ve been working on myself for some time now, and a simple way to begin is to meditate for 5-10 minutes before sleeping with your left hand on your heart and right hand on your womb area. As your mind begins to quiet, be open to just seeing what comes up for you.” –Yulia Kovaleva, Co-founder, Re:Mind

re:mind studio remind studio summer of women's power ruby warrington the numinous mars retrograde material girl mystical world
Re:Mind Studio

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Return to Innocence 
“Reconnect with something in the material world that brings you alive in an immediate, visceral, unedited way. It could be as simple as a song, or a favorite color or object. Maybe it’s something from your youth, like an old school playlist from your teen years. Let whatever it is remind you that you have a right to your tastes and your specific flavor of encountering the world. Carve out the edges of yourself through this process of loving exactly what you love without apology.” – Bess Matassa, Assistant Editor, The Numinous 

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Claim Pleasure as Your Birthright 
“Pleasure is a woman’s birthright. It is her source of power, creativity and vibrancy. When a woman learns to cultivate a continuous state of deep pleasure in all areas of her life, she is a force to be reckoned with. A woman who owns her desires and puts pleasure first will not take an averagely led life for an answer.” – Grace Hazel, Empowerment coach

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Retreat Into You
“My tip is to get yourself onto a retreat this summer. Even if that means you can only afford a day somewhere, do it! Give yourself permission to unplug, connect back into your body, and meet like-minded people.” – Millie, Studio Assistant, Re:Mind

re:mind studio remind studio summer of women's power ruby warrington the numinous mars retrograde material girl mystical world
Re:Mind Studio

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Get Obsessed 
“Critiques about our ‘too muchness’ are often connected to others’ discomfort with the intensity of our feelings, and how much space we’re taking up. Throw proportion out the window and tap into your primal force that wants to live rawly and fully, no-holds barred. Start by treating whatever you’re loving like a romantic obsession. Whether it’s a new passion project, your healing process, or simply a topic that’s lighting you up right now, stalk it, dive in deep, and let it take up all the space that it needs to bring you alive.” – Ruby Warrington, The Numinous 

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Fall in Love 
“We embody powerful energy that we can tap into through the elements of love. As love blooms we discover our truth and in that truth we reveal our authentic self. There is nothing more powerful.” – Jasmin Harsono, Emerald and Tiger

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Plan a Solo Date 
“To connect with our life force, we have to get down and dirty with our most intimate desires, wants, and needs. Which means some good old fashioned solitude. Notice any stickiness you have around the concept of being ‘alone’ and commit to sitting with the discomfort. And while you’re at it, make it juicy. Treat your time with yourself like a sweet vacation. Take yourself for dinner. Dress up for yourself in clothes that feel like second skin. Let this solo dance lead you back to the power moves that you alone can bring.” – Bess Matassa, The Numinous

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Re-nature Yourself
“Connect to your roots, to the power of our land. Notice how it feels to be out in nature, how it impacts your body, your mood and your emotions. Once you begin to tap into the rhythms of nature, you begin to tap into the natural and honest rhythms of your life. The ups, the downs, the endings, the beginnings. Our lives are part of an ever ebbing, ever flowing cycle. A portal into our wild inner guidance.

As nature fully blooms this summer, think of the areas in your life where you can to. What areas are calling you to grow, to create, to express? Remember yourself as a sacred woman that has chosen this Earthwalk. You’re powerful. You’re needed to seed and grow new life, a new way for humanity.” – Vickie Williams, Vickie Williams Yoga

Connect to your power in real time with London’s new meditation and spiritual hub, Re:Mind, with their Summer of Women’s Power event series. Designed to activate, inspire, and uplift, workshops cover everything from “Self Pleasure Magic” to “Daily Ayurveda,” leaving you tapped in and connected to your very own superpowers.

MY MYSTICAL LIFE: HOW TO USE THE RETROGRADES FOR HEALING

Posted on by Ruby Warrington

With Pluto, Saturn and Mars all retrograde, there’s rich opportunity now to transcend deep-seated patterns and re-vamp your sense of purpose. This week showed me how to use the retrogrades for healing…

Michael Venture Sub Rosa My Mystical Week Ruby Warrington The Numinous
Sub Rosa’s Michael Ventura

:: MONDAY (-WEDNESDAY) ::
A healing session with Michael Ventura, who also happens to be CEO of design and branding agency Sub Rosa, which also happens to be the venue for some of NYC’s most high-vibe happenings (including our Club SÖDA NYC event in April with Biet Simkin). This is what I love about New York—everybody has a side project that’s at least as interesting as their day job. In Michael’s case, 10 years spent studying everything from Traditional Chinese Medicine to Native American shamanic healing (with Yogi Bhajan’s personal healer, no less).

“These retrogrades have stirred up all kinds of funky stuff,” I told him. “You know, like ‘who am I?’ and ‘how can my voice have real impact in the world?'” (um, anybody else feeling the existential crunch right now?) My treatment was a combination of hands-on healing and pressure-point release, with some crystals and some burning herbs, after which I practically levitated off the table, leaving with the instructions to send an update by email after two sleeps. By which time I was actually experiencing a disquieting sense of wanting to completely re-evaluate my message and my mission, in line with my personal needs.

And since I know I’m not alone in this right now, I share with you here Michael’s beautiful response:

“We all too often think of our lives across two spectrums—positive and negative. However, there is a third and powerful force—neutrality—which can serve you well in these times of reflection and integration. You don’t need to have the plan. At the same time, you don’t need to get down on yourself for not having a plan. Simply un-attaching and not identifying with an outcome will let things happen at their own pace. A flower doesn’t bloom by trying to bloom. It simply allows.”

blooming rose on the numinous

:: WEDNESDAY NIGHT ::
So I allowed the unease (WTF am I doing with my life? How is what I’m doing actually of service in the world?) to just be there. And now enter my third sleep of the week, during which I experienced the most incredible healing dream—facilitated (in my dream) by wonderful Alexandra Derby, who appeared in my mind’s eye and told me it was time to perform a ritual.

This involved an astral visitation with my ex—a man to whom I utterly subjugated my sense of self during my late teens and early twenties. Confronted with his same old, patronizing ways, I felt his words and gross, overbearing sexual energy bounce off me, like I’d developed a cosmic force-field. “You are an insect on the sole of my shoe, and I am more powerful than you will even know,” was basically the over-riding vibe. At which point I came semi-conscious to the sound of a series of “clicks” in my brain—as if a piece of code in my internal operating system had been re-written. By morning, I awoke feeling newly and fully empowered on my path. Existential crisis averted!

So…I’ve gone into way more detail here than I usually would in this column, but my this week has been an amazing opportunity to work with the current retrogrades for healing. Pluto and Saturn, in particular, are opening up deep karmic wounds, and since everywhere I look it seems people are experiencing a similar sense of having outgrown their own skin, or are having conflicting thoughts and feelings about where they’re “at” and what they really want, it felt appropriate to share.

And so, I believe this is a perfect time to:

– Seek assistance bringing any funky energy that’s being stirred up to the surface—ideally a session with a trusted energy worker (think reiki, acupuncture, sound healing—whatever works for you).
– Allow all the weird shit you might be thinking and feeling to just be there. Don’t over-analyse it—just allow it move through you. Trust that it will find its own way out—in a dream like mine, perhaps.
– Feel it to heal it. Which means resisting the temptation to numb out from it with drink, drugs, drama, shopping (*insert your preferred method of numbing here*).
– Journal. I actually wrote a poem the morning after my healing dream, my favorite new way to purge the numinous un-namables that are screeching to be let out. Try it—I bet you like it!

:: THURSDAY ::
Mainly processing the above. While also finally finishing my book manuscript (TF!)

:: FRIDAY ::
A beautiful astanga class with Makeesha Hill of the Urban Yogis—a grass roots initiative bringing the tools of yoga and meditation to NYCs inner city communities, that we’re supporting with sales of our Designer Yogis sweatshirt collection. A fitting end to this week of self-enquiry, as one of the things that’s coming through loud and clear for me right now is that if my work (like, this platform) isn’t actively in service of helping people be happier humans, in a healthier, more harmonious society…then really, what’s the point? As the Yogis themselves would say: #peaceisalifestyle!

The Urban Yogis: a.k.a. Raheem Lewis, Tyrell Carter, Jaytaun McMillan, Makeesha Hill, and Juquille Johnston on The Numinous
The Urban Yogis: a.k.a. (l-r) Raheem Lewis, Tyrell Carter, Jaytaun McMillan, Makeesha Hill, and Juquille Johnston

HAVE SOME FUN: READING FOR THE SAGITTARIUS FULL MOON

Posted on by Hannah Ariel

The energy of Sagittarius Full Moon is here to encourage you to go out and have fun. So step outside of your comfort zone, and see what the Universe has in store for you, says Hannah Ariel…

sagittarius full moon 2016 on The Numinous

With the Sagittarius Full Moon, we’re turned on and tuned in to our inner visionary; the archer that shoots beyond the Moon, the courageous voice that resides within, reminding us that we are always on a journey—and we that have what it takes even when we think we aren’t “getting it” or we are “missing the point.” When we feel challenged from all ends of the spectrum.

Sagittarius tells us to keep it up, keep going—because there’s something here for you. With the Sagittarius Full Moon, there is a heightened awareness of how we are experiencing (or lacking) the faith that is totally necessary for us to keep going, keep reaching. And it certainly hasn’t been an easy ride lately.

The energy of the May 6 Taurus New Moon dealt with the grounded, earthly facets of our lives. It inspired a manifestation process that has asked us to take it easy, one step at a time, and amid a myriad of retrograde energies that have thrown us emotional curveballs left and right. The sagittarius Full Moon is here to lift our spirits in the face of hard work, emotional work, and spiritual work.

It there’s one thing to know about the Sagittarius Full Moon, it’s that your your willingness to keep your head high and your eyes forward is required; that your confidence, your inspiration, and your vision is truly essential. This moon needs you to work yourself up to a state of full-fledged faith in whatever project you are currently involving your energy with.

Because chances are, with four planets still in retrograde, you may still be riddled with some doubts—doubts that are keeping you from fully giving yourself over to the manifestation process and getting what the Taurus New Moon in Taurus signified you truly want and need from this cycle of energy.

So here we are, May 21, just a day after the Sun enters Gemini, with the moon reaching its peak fullness on the very first degree of Sagittarius—making an EXACT conjunction with MARS also in Sag. This signals an awakening, since there is a “fighting spirit” to this degree. According to Dane Rudhyar, the first degree of Sagittarius reaffirms our capacity to remember previous achievements in the face of adversity, even achievements experienced by past generations. There is something seriously spiritually uplifting about this degree!

Just imagine, for a moment, that at this point in your journey you are being supported by the visions of your ancestors—all the people that came before you to help bring you to this point in time to do what you came here to do. This first degree of Sag, where the full moon and Mars retrograde will meet, “implies a special kind of fire that burns the now to build a greater tomorrow. It is future oriented—refers to the very power implied in the process of civilization—the perpetuation of the spirit of struggle,” writes Rudhyar.

If you feel like you’ve been struggling, know that you’re so not alone; and that you are about to be SO empowered by this Sagittarius Full Moon!

At this time, also keep in mind the power of being connected to other people. With the Sun in Gemini, we may be reminded how some of the most incredible opportunities arrive when we just get out there and mingle with the whims of the Universe, when we aren’t afraid to let go our way of doing things, when we step outside ourselves, and communicate our process and ideas with friends and neighbors.

The energy of this Sagittarius Full Moon feels like the friend who encourages you to go out to ‘the party’ with them, even when you’re not ‘in the mood’—only to go on ahead, and find exactly what you’ve been looking for to help you in your process. The invitation now is to experience opportunities seemingly MEANT for you that you’d never have stumbled across if you hadn’t listened to the voice that said: “c’mon, it’ll be fun!”

Also, as a reminder, lucky Jupiter went direct at the beginning of this cycle, another reason to get that bright-eyed optimism back online. Sure, Jupiter is also squaring Saturn retrograde in Sagittarius, confronting us with our capacity to remain optimistic even in the face of limitations. But you’ve got nothing to lose by staying positive. Jupiter goes forward as Saturn moves backward, so instead of looking to where things went wrong in the past, have faith and look to where things are going right.

If you’ve been honoring your Taurus New Moon intentions and have been carefully plodding away at a task, this could be your big breakthrough—or a reminder of how much others are there for you, whatever your manifestation mission may be. What began with a material outlook may very well reveal a whole new spiritual understanding of what you are capable of as a human being among other human beings.

Look for events around this Sagittarius Full Moon to show you where you need to give yourself an extra push forward, or find a friend to remind you: “c’mon it’ll be fun.” It’s Sagittarius, after all!

To book a personal reading with Hannah Ariel email: [email protected]

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