This edition of The Now Age podcast features a conversation about sex and self-worth, and is a sample of a new, magazine format show, that will be available to Numinous subscribers going forward.

Ruby gives an overview of Scorpio themes of energetic investments, vulnerability, and intimacy, sharing how she became disconnected from her own sense of soul-worth as a result of a sexually and emotionally abusive relationship—as so many of us experience. She is then joined by intuition coach Betsy LeFae and astrologer Bess Matassa, who open up the conversation to discuss how we can connect with the message of Scorpio-Taurus axis to reclaim our bodies and our wholeness.

Details for how to sign up for the new monthly subscribers' edition of The Now Age podcast coming soon.

The last in the current series, published July 4 2019, this is an incredibly fitting episode to end on. It features an in-depth interview with Janet MacGillivray and Eryn Wise of Seeding Sovereignty, an organization that rose out of the encampments at Standing Rock with a mission to amplify the voices and the stories of indigenous American youth.

Janet, and environmental lawyer formerly affiliated with the EPA, begins by sharing the origin story of Seeding Sovereignty, and why this was a call to find truly impactful and sustainable ways to do her work in the world. We then move into a wide-ranging conversation about the true meaning of healing, looking at how modern wellness communities and practices are often doing more harm than good—and how to address this.

In this episode Eryn and Ruby also discuss:

• Why it is time to work in partnership with indigenous peoples to tackle environmental issues

• What it means to be a spiritual activist

• The power of storytelling and deep listening as tools for healing

• Why decolonization begins with the individual—and means acknowledging the atrocities of the past

• How to engage respectfully with indigenous healing traditions

• How social media feeds narcissistic thinking that says some people are better than others

• Ways listeners can support the work of Seeding Sovereignty

Discover more about Seeding Sovereignty and their work HERE and follow them on Instagram @seedingsovereignty

When Adama Sesay of Lilith Astrology reached out about contributing to The Numinous, she also posed a question: why is mainstream astrology so white? Meaning, why do the biggest media outlets feature so few readers of color? Which is a really good and important question! Our ensuing conversation about this led to this post on the site—and formed the basis for the discussion in this episode.

Adama shares her own story of building her practice as a black woman, as well as the positive implications and healing opportunity in bringing more diversity to the modern astrology space. In this episode we also discuss:

-Astrology as a tool of self-awareness, self-acceptance, and personal growth

-Gender fluidity in the astrological archetypes

-The importance of diversity in the spiritual wellness space in general

-The role of the Pluto in Scorpio generation (born Nov 1983—Nov 1995) in transforming outdated paradigms

-The Lilith archetype, and why it is so relevant in the post #metoo era

Discover more about Adama and her work and book a reading HERE and follow her on Instagram @lilithastrology

As the Sun moves into Cancer it's time for our monthly Astrocast , with resident Numinous astrologers Bess and Sandy. Key themes that we'll be swimming through in the coming weeks, include: How to move more deeply into our feelings, "stay with" the sensations, and use our feelings as a navigational force; Learning to disarm ourselves and "come undone," and when and how to self protect; Feeling into the rhythms that are unfolding in our lives and learning to "go with" instead of against; How our self-image is a reflection of our internal landscape; Family patterning; and finding the balance between structure and flow.

Dates for your diary:
6/21 - Sun Enters Cancer + Neptune retrograde
6/26 - Mercury Enters Leo
7/7 - Mercury Retrograde in Leo, 7/19 Mercury Retrograde Enters Cancer
7/1 - Mars Enters Leo
7/2 - Cancer New Moon Total Solar Eclipse
7/3 - Venus Enters Cancer
7/8 - Chiron Retrograde in Aries
7/16 - Capricorn Full Moon

Discover more about Bess and book a reading HERE and learn about Sandy's upcoming offerings HERE.

This episode features an interview with diversity & inclusion expert Aaron Rose and gets deep into the weeds of our collective healing process around divisiveness and hate – the root of which, Aaron argues, lies in the of pain of separation and resulting fear of “otherness.”

Something of a “millennial Marianne Williamson,” Aaron’s work focusses largely on explaining how this pain / fear manifests in our reality as political scaremongering, media stereotyping, institutionalized racism, and exploitative capitalism - and that, in seeking to address any of the above, we must first look at how these systems have taken hold and become embedded within ourselves.

In this episode, Aaron and Ruby also discuss (among other extremely important topics!):

-Aaron’s own journey as a queer person healing from the conditioning of the Catholic Church

-Identity and embodiment through the lens of quantum physics

-Why amends-making is an essential part of our collective healing, and how to do it

-Why we are the “generational clean-up crew” tasked with undoing the wrongs of our ancestors

-Why in the Now Age it is vital that we bring our spirituality to our politics

-How to use your voice for the highest good of all

Discover more about Aaron and his work HERE and follow him on Instagram @aaronxrose

In May 2019 (perfectly timed for Gemini season!) "burnout" was officially recognized as a syndrome by the World Health Organization—and in this episode Ruby talks to entrepreneur and activist Samantha Moyo about the high risk of burnout among social entrepreneurs.

When a passion project comes with an added layer of social responsibility, taking any time out can feel like it's not an option. As well as the "buck-stops-with-me" mentality and personal attachment that comes with running your own business, time off can lead to feelings of guilt and a sense of "letting others down"—leading to burnout, or even breakdown.

In this VERY IMPORTANT EPISODE, Ruby and Samantha also discuss:

-Samantha's own breakdown after exiting her last company—and how she recovered

-The inner and outer instability that comes with "being the change"

-Why slowing down and doing less is modeling a necessary societal shift

-Samatha's work with leading climate change initiative, Extinction Rebellion

-Self-care tips for social entrepreneurs and activists

Discover more about Samantha HERE, follow her on Instagram, and learn about the work she does with social entrepreneurs at Tamuka.co

This week's episode features a conversation with Brazilian healer, philanthropist and activist Vivien Vilela, who is also the co-founder of the annual Aniwa Gathering of indigenous elders (June 5—9 2019). Having confronted her own demons with a deep immersion into ancient shamanic practices, Vivien shares how this led to her dedicating her life to her spiritual studies, and to the preservation of indigenous culture and wisdom.

We have so much to learn from these cultures, whose people have been subjected to unforgivable exploitation in the name of Western capitalist gains—and while we have so much to learn from them, it is vital that we engage respectfully with their teachings and traditions. Vivien shares her views on this, as well as offering a profoundly hopeful vision for a world in which indigenous Earth magic is embraced as a balm for environmental dis-ease.

In this episode Vivien and Ruby also discuss:

-How we can merge ancient wisdom with modern technology to benefit everyone

-Vivien's experiences + learnings from a 28-day shamanic vision quest

-Why our fear of nature is at the root of the harm being done to the natural world

-Why indigenous elders are the personification and the voice of nature

-Tools, rituals, and practices for helping to heal the Earth we can implement in our lives every day

The 2019 Aniwa Gathering takes place June 5—9 AT Camp Timber Trails, MA. Reserve your spot to sit and learn from 40 indigenous elders from all over the world HERE—and use the code NOWAGE15 for 15% off your ticket

Numinous resident astrologers Bess and Sandy are back, with a deep dive into the astrological transits for Gemini Season 2019. Themes discussed in this episode cover:

-Cultivating a beginner's mind and being satisfied with knowing what you know, without needing to grasp beyond that in an attempt to have all the answers.

-Letting what wants to reveal itself do so in its own time. Being available to synchronicity and learning to cultivate faith that you cannot "miss" anything that is truly meant for you.

The Gemini New Moon period
-What kind of witch are you?! Being open to your personal flavor of magic, working as a channel to let what wants to come through you come through you. What can you shift and transmute—what kind of alchemist are you?

Sagittarius Full Moon period
-What is this quest that you're on? Working with your past without having to purge or "fix" it. Understanding the relationship between where you've been and where you're heading. Consciously integrating your stories and letting all your feelings inform your future choices.

Key dates for your diary:

5/21 - Sun and Mercury move into Gemini

6/3 - Gemini New Moon

6/4 - Mercury moves into Cancer

6/17 - Sagittarius Full Moon

6/21 - Neptune moves retrograde

For this week's episode, I invited our resident Tarotscopes reader Brandon Alter to interview Cassandra Snow, author of new book, Queering The Tarot. When Cassandra's reps first reached out, I knew this was a subject I wanted to cover on The Numinous. The Judeo-Christian underpinnings of the tarot have lent the practice a hetero- and cis-normativity bias that's alienating for queer readers—something that's being addressed in more modern, evolved decks.

Besides, as Cassandra writes in the intro to her book: "tarot, with its infinite capacity for reframing, reinterpretation, and retelling, is a perfect medium for sharing and exploring queer stories and experiences," and Brandon, gets deep into this subject with her in his interview.

In this episode, Brandon and Cassandra also discuss ...

-What it means to "queer" the tarot

-Rewriting the heroes journey of the major arcana for queer and other marginalized communities

-Looking at the suit of pentacles beyond the capitalist model of "wealth"

-Meeting your chosen family in the tarot

-Specific cards that can be powerfully interpreted through a queer lens

-Using the tarot for self-love and sex- and body-positivity

To discover more about Cassandra Snow and her work, visit cassandra-snow.com, get your copy of Queering The Tarot, and follow her on Instagram. You can also hear more from Brandon on his podcast, The Spiritual Gayz.

In this episode, intuition coach Betsy LeFae talks all about how to bring our intuition to our most intimate relationships. We can think about our intuition as an internal GPS system that's permanently set to "home." When we go off course, it's often because our ego / thinking mind believes it knows a better route or a shortcut—based on the external programming we have received from parents and the wider society from the moment we were born.

And in no area does this external conditioning get more of a say than in our intimate relationships. When it comes to love, sex, dating, family dynamics, and close friendships, external beliefs about how these should look are often so ingrained we find ourselves operating on autopilot without even realizing it—leading to all kinds of dysfunction, frustration, and heartache.

In this episode, Betsy and Ruby also discuss:

-How to hear and trust the voice of our intuition over all the external noise

-Why it's so hard to trust our intuition when it comes to love + sex

-How to use dating apps to practice intuitive intimacy + learn the art of trust

-Why being vulnerable in our friendships is the first step to attracting the partner we want

-Why emotional intelligence is the first step to living a more intuitive life

-How alcohol and other substances can separate us from our intuition

To learn more about Betsy and her work, and to book a 1-2-1 coaching session, visit Betsylefae.com and follow her on Instagram @betsylefae

How to reconcile life in the material world with our spiritual beliefs is at the heart of any Now Age conversation - and nowhere is the inherent push-pull between the material and the mystical more apparent than in our relationship to MONEY (as represented by the Taurus / Scorpio axis in astrology).

Whether we're aware of it or not, most of us in the West have internalized capitalist values that place profit and progress above all—often including our own wellbeing, as well as the health of our communities and our planet. This is often at odds with wanting to truly be of service in the world, as marketing our services and profiting from people we are trying to "help" can also begin to feel exploitative and icky.

In this super enlightening conversation, Ruby and guest Abby Allen get into the true meaning of "conscious entrepreneurship"—with a deep dive into topics such as:

-Why raising our consciousness also means questioning any internalized capitalist values.

-The Buddhist perspective on good business practice.

-How to market ourselves and our work from a place of service.

-Why money is not the route of all evil - greed and exploitation are.

-How to rewrite money stories that keep us locked in a lack mentality.

-How we can enact equity in ways that go beyond the monetary.

You can discover more about Abby and her work at Neonbutterfly.com and follow her on Instagram @abbymallen and @livingneon