Some people have the idea that people do not need to keep learning as they age. That personal growth is not for them. These people are silly.
Just because our Western society has tried to force us all into a capitalist, patriarchal paradigm doesn’t mean we have to do it. And as we see, that system isn’t exactly working perfectly, nor is it necessarily around to stay!
But we can keep learning, exploring, and finding tools that help us know ourselves better.
C’est parti (Let’s Go)!
Learning is a part of life – and it can be joyful
These are some of my favorite spiritual tools for personal growth, from astrology and Kabbalah to Reiki, Feng Shui, yoga, books, teachers and the people who make learning feel alive.
However, often we only learn when something bad happens. We get left by our partner and seek therapy. Our job lets us go and suddenly we become spiritual. A tragedy has us seeking higher knowledge.
But around here, we actively learn.
It can come in the form of that art class you’ve always wanted to take, or dance, or sewing. But it can also mean learning about you. Your path in this world. How to bring more joy into your daily life. And yes, even the big question: What is it all about?
Books are great resources, as are experience and people.
I am often asked who I think someone should study from or learn from, whether it’s health or wellness, spirituality or astrology, tarot or Feng Shui, food or herbs. And since we are in the month of Virgo, healing, and reviewing (read: editing) our whole life, heading into Libra New Year, here is some medicine for these times.
Learning is how we navigate challenges, find joy, and discover parts of ourselves. It is also part of our lifelong process.
We are always learning. Some of us are simply more proactive about it. (Hello, my Sagittarius stellium and 9th-house Moon.)
Below is a group of my favorite people to learn from across many modalities, as well as some gems you may not know about that can help you or someone you love.
Sharing is caring, and good news spreads. These are people I wish would take off more and become part of more people’s lives, because I think they can help make our world more loving, caring, and fun.
Because yes, taking care of each other is fun. And it gives us more time for play and productivity.
C’est parti!
Mystic Medusa
This is the best site for learning esoteric wisdom that I know of.
Yes, it’s got an astrology and tarot focus, obvi, but if I had a kindred spirit, this woman, as well as her legion of followers, are it.
It’s about etymology and culture, history, including pop culture, and it shows us the connectivity of our actions and our world through astrology and tarot.
In short, I feel like it’s a class when I read her articles, and her large archive keeps the wisdom coming. Plus, the comments section is full of likewise curious, conscious, and caring folks all over the world.
Win-win.
This is the kind of news I support, and her work inspires me.
Her site has a paywall. It’s not much for how much you get, but many of her articles can be seen, and she has windows where you can check out the site and see how much you get.
Use it.
No AI. No patriarchy-built BS. All wisdom and heart and force.
Enjoy!
Feng Shui: A Soul’s Mirror with Anette Halfon
This woman is wise AF.
A Gemini, of course she is smart, but her knowledge of Feng Shui has informed me for years. If she comes where you are, do go to an event because she is that Gemini spark of fun, too, as she imparts serious wisdom.
Because make no mistake: Feng Shui is practical magic.
No idea why moving a wooden chair or a metal mirror makes a difference, or wearing a color one day, or eating or not eating certain foods changes us, but it does.
Her information should be more widespread, so people have access to more tools to improve their lives, as well as the lives of their families.
Because yes, parts of the house correspond to your family.
Sometimes you get the book, the teacher, the chart, the practice, the thing that helps you see your life differently.
There are tools everywhere. Use them. ✨
Kabbalah Centre
I have studied it for 20 years, and the wisdom is WOW.
And yes, it is a wisdom.
People get robotic about it, religious, exclusionary and egotistical. But you know, people. Lol.
It is full of wisdom, tools, and community that can help you improve your life.
Like the truth of an astrology reading, the wisdom is a lesson that keeps with you. It’s a connection to Source, and another way to find it.
A main part of studying here is having a teacher, so you aren’t just in a class or part of a system alone. It is supposed to help you with your specific life and challenges. It’s more intimate than you expect and more personal.
The wisdom and my teachers have changed my life in ways I am still enjoying. And still processing and integrating.
I wish that for you, my stars.
(Again, not that it’s easy and all wine and roses. There are thorns and hangovers, lol. But it is worth it, beyond.)
Iyengar Yoga
This is spirituality in practice.
Exercise for the body, mind, and spirit.
No idea why standing with your back straight for a few minutes each day gives you self-esteem and loving-kindness, but I’ve seen it.
It is medicine. It is practical magic.
Geeta Iyengar’s book Yoga for Women, as well as Iyengar’s teachings, are simple and also not easy.
But they, as great teachers do, show you that it’s the way and that it is worth it.
It’s the study I suggest to all, and really, if you are called to it, do look into it.
There are studios and teachers around the world, too.
Anima Mundi Herbals
This Brooklyn shop is an oasis, and the wisdom of its founder is what I want you to focus on here.
(There is also one in Venice, but I discovered this place in Brooklyn, so it’s my favorite.)
Herbs and the natural world are part of us. They are us.
Many women around the world hold the keys to unlocking the healing properties all around us, with wisdom passed down, not often written, from cultures all over.
She does a great job of highlighting this wisdom from all over and is a great resource for herbs and healing remedies, as well as a springboard to find what speaks to you.
Our food is our life, and our relationship to it, as well as nature overall, can be improved, to put it mildly. Lol.
People like her, from her Brooklyn shop to her Venice store, offer places for people to learn and connect.
She is a resource I learn from, and there are others, but she’s a great place to start.
Reiki Healing with Pause in Joy: Patti Penn
Reiki healing is a practice that is for everyone.
It’s a practice in connection to yourself and everything else.
My Reiki healer is a force of information, teaching, and care. She gives the medicine you need. But if you aren’t near her, find a Reiki teacher who works for you.
Reiki connects you to yourself, to your inner power, healer, and creator.
Of course, everyone on this list does that, but her work is focused on you and your path, with your gifts and challenges.
Working with her means, yes, she is your teacher, but you are also active. Not everyone can do that.
When you are ready, the teacher appears. And boy, does Patti Penn fit this.
I suggest finding someone who connects you with you so powerfully, because that is what a real teacher does.
Follow her IG for a taste, and of course check her availability.
That is, when you are ready to meet yourself.
Because that’s what’s up with her.
Coach Catherine Harris
I met Cathy over the interwebs sometime during COVID, and her work and her life are a testament to everything she coaches.
And she’s proof that Virgos make excellent coaches, advisors, guides, and cheerleaders.
The Red Wheelbarrow Bookshop by Penelope Fletcher
This 6th arrondissement bookstore in Paris is more than a place to find your next best read, because it is that. It’s also a place to connect with others and find community in Paris.
With her bookstore events, and her general gift for connecting people to books that will change their lives, Penelope’s bookshop is a must-hit in Paris.
I know this from experience.
You can peruse the charming shops. She has two, one for kids, too, a few doors from each other.
I mean, you’ll be near the Jardin du Luxembourg and the Panthéon anyway, so you may as well.
And grab a tote. They are the le top!
The Abbey Bookshop
You are near Notre-Dame and want that used-bookstore-in-Paris experience you’ve dreamed about since reading travel guides and, of course, the legends of Ernest Hemingway and James Joyce?
This is your spot.
Brian’s bookstore has been around for almost four decades, and the labyrinthine, small space packed with books is a wonder.
However, here Brian lives the expat experience by creating a space to actually connect with others.
He has fresh coffee out all day to grab, and if you’re lucky, you will be offered maple syrup!
At night, he frequently has book events, and impromptu wine at closing happens. Feel free to bring a bottle and start it yourself, lol.
It’s the kind of expat experience that I’m sure is what the writing legends of old had, where community happens because people open up spaces and invite others to join.
A Paris gem.
Books
Here are some of the books that have stayed with me, opened something up, or simply made me think differently:
- Many Lives, Many Masters by Dr. Brian Weiss: the most amazing account of past lives that will change you.
- The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield: OMG. Just finally read this in Paris and WOW. It’s been around for decades, and it really is the best at explaining the unexplainable WOW of connectivity and purpose. Read it.
- Circe by Madeline Miller: this story of a woman resonates like whoa.
- The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz: a classic for a reason.
- The Education of a Kabbalist by Rav Berg: my favorite book from him, along with his books on Kabbalistic Astrology, of course. But for life, this is it.
- The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley: opened up worlds for so many.
- The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer.
- The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran.
- You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay.
- Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch.
- Still I Rise by Maya Angelou.
- Toni Morrison: everything.
And then:
Alan Watts, The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are.
Ram Dass, Be Here Now.
Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness.
Caroline Myss, Anatomy of the Spirit.
Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist.
Poetry. Lol. All of it.
The account @international.poetry.forum is a gem, and the site is illuminating.
Movies
Sometimes the medicine comes through a screen.
- What Dreams May Come
- What the Bleep: Down the Rabbit Hole
- The Secret (original cut)
- Dead Poets Society
- Cinema Paradiso
- It’s a Wonderful Life
- The Matrix
- Cloud Atlas
- Ikiru
- Fantastic Fungi
- Pan’s Labyrinth
Astrology Accounts I Love
As a wisdom-seeking Sagittarius stellium, here are some of the astrology teachers and accounts I love on YouTube:
1. Christopher Renstrom
Great takes, knowledgeable, and hilarious analogies that make his discussions of topics and insights unique.
2. Embodied Astrology
Wisdom and guidance that is direct and also full of self-reflective guidance.
3. Pam Gregory Astrology
Through YouTube, she teaches astrology and its application by doing what Pisces do best: heart-centered work.
A gem.
Use Your Tools. Know Yourself.
Book a reading with me here to dive deeper into what the astrology is supporting you to release and embrace at this time.
You are awesome as you are.
How about you connect to, know, and explore yourself more?
That’s the point of all of this, really.
Not waiting until something falls apart to start paying attention.
Learn. Explore. Ask questions. Find teachers. Find books. Find people. Find practices that bring you back to yourself.
Be so well, mes stars. 😊
Want to go deeper?
Your birth chart is one of the most personal tools you have for understanding yourself, your patterns, your gifts, and the energies you’re working with right now.
In a private astrology reading, we look at your chart, your questions, and what’s actually happening in your life so you can move from simply knowing your astrology to using it.
Use your chart. Don’t hide behind it. ✨
💎 Book a private astrology reading with Leah here.
Please share below any tools, books, movies, healers, teachers, or practices that you’ve found helpful.
WE GOTTA SHARE THE GOODIES!
And also tag me on social media with you in action, or at rest, so I can repost and we can inspire each other!
@thediamondisyou on IG
@leahcappuccino on TikTok
Wants to know. Has some questions. Very Sag. Always up for pizza. Planning several trips. Big fan of joy. Wants to talk about it. All of them. Is sure we can figure out this whole living thing. Is rooting for you.
