Embracing Mystical Travel, Luxury Art, and Self-Care
Five Years...
Welcome back to City Mystic Lux, where we've been on a journey of transformation and healing. We are thrilled to announce our relaunch, redefining our focus on mystical travel, luxury art, and self-care. For those who have been with us since our early days, you may be wondering about our five-year absence. Today, we'd like to share the incredible story behind our hiatus and how our founder's journey has shaped the new direction of City Mystic Lux, formerly City Mystic.
The last private reading before putting City Mystic on hiatus.
The Accident...
Five years ago, our founder was involved in a severe car accident, leaving her unable to walk for a year and battling a neurological disorder due to the trauma. The irony of the accident was to be the unexpected directional shift for things to come; an inescapable pause that made space for rearrangements. Deep ones. A drunk driver was to tap into her life sending her spinning through the traffic of it all, unsure where the needle was left pointing. During this challenging time, she discovered the power of healing through various tools and practices. Not before the agony which precedes any type of hard-fought surrender. An acceptance of the death of what once was had to come prior to any other change slated by the gods or the Universe or the great mysterious atomic web of life. Long languid moments spent asking the Great Mystery a myriad of whys eventually led to small movements, and those then led to improvements. Nutrition, herbal remedies, sobriety, spiritual practice, tarot, journaling, and community building all played crucial roles in her recovery process. Later. Over time. One step, one day, one action, one prayer at a time.
Life scramble!
Natural Healing...
A balanced, nutrient-dense diet and natural herbal remedies significantly affected our founder's physical and mental recovery. After a year in bed, unable to walk much save for a cane-supported hobble here and there, she began to leave her bed. A wave of ambition occasionally washed over her between fever dreams and pain-induced hallucinations. She made plans to pick up City Mystic again by way of dreaming up the next big Tarot Deck production in London. She planned tarot classes and reading time slots. Her inner light flickered. Reality called. Her body was a long way from capable, but the dream fueled furtherance. Then, of course, in March 2020, came COVID. Once again, her plans were dashed for a plan made by a force greater than herself. More surrender led to a furious garden seed shopping spree. Two months later a booming urban food garden was well underway. Enamored with the experience of early morning meetings with the local hummingbirds who took residence in her garden, she stayed quiet and tethered to the dirt. The dirt and the birds and the bees and the sun made medicine for her. Life became a meditation in nurturing, watering and harvesting her garden. She took in the remedies. Her body grew stronger. Her mind settled. The hallucinations retreated. She stood longer. Carried more. Ached less. The world burned and coughed and paused. Nothing called. Moments under the sun cutting away kale, cucumbers, great big squashes and tiny bright tomatoes were the work. Herbs and tubers regathered her melted dreams and made them into something new. By focusing on the power of nourishing foods and holistic remedies, she found the strength to heal her body from within.
Sobriety...
Her body improved, but still, the great ache pulled her back down to the bed. Less often, but powerfully nonetheless. The sadness of what was lost was still ever present. Alcohol and marijuana kept it at bay, at least momentarily. There were still circles of suffering yet left to transcend. An inner calling tugged, and she began to explore sobriety. She found a community of sober friends to join and began to explore the spiritual toolkit they held. They took her in and shared generously what they had learned on their own journeys. Six months into the process of being and staying sober with the help of sober allies and friends, she began to walk without a cane. In no time at all she and her little dog Amigo began embarking on five-mile-long journeys through her neighborhood. A miracle the doctors said was unlikely took place. Life in bed quickly became a memory, an old reality. The New was brimming with power, ability, and relief. By nine months her full vocabulary had returned, hallucinations were broken, food became digestible and the pain was nowhere in sight. A great, deep healing had been birthed. Embracing sobriety allowed our founder to maintain clarity, presence, and focus during her healing journey. This commitment to mental and emotional well-being played a crucial role in her ability to navigate the recovery process.
Healing sanctuary.
Early sobriety filled with serenity.
Spiritual Practice and Tarot...
The first time she read tarot for herself over morning coffee was monumental. It had been two years since her last intimate conversation with the cards. One morning she found herself naturally pulling out her favorite Xulun deck and throwing cards on her bed- a simple ‘body, mind, spirit’ reading stood as a mile marker of recovery. She had found a part of herself that had been lost. A long time would still yet pass before she could muster the inner strength to touch her own decks- the ones she made with soul and had become such a source of sadness. She learned the power of connecting with the creative output of another artist and the emotional safety that dynamic can facilitate. There was such gratitude for the Other Artist. Reading Xulun was like reconvening with an old friend. Another level of healing had just taken place. She began pulling daily cards and journaling in a free-association manner about them. She wrote letters to the Universe. Soon after she found fellow artists to meet with on weekly Zoom meetings to sit and create together. They meditated together. They shared their feelings, processes, practices, and experiences. She saw the Universe and hope in their connection. She began meditating daily. A friend invited her to read and work The Artist’s Way together. She and The Great Mystery grew close. Her trust expanded. Her surrender poured from her. Her body began to feel like its former self, but better. Pain dissolved. Our founder turned to spiritual practice and tarot throughout her healing journey as essential tools for self-discovery and personal growth. These practices provided a framework for understanding her experiences, offering guidance and insight during the most painful and confusing moments.
First Tarot reading in 2 years.
Journaling…
Journaling became an essential outlet for processing emotions, tracking progress, and documenting her journey. In tandem with daily readings and free-association journaling, sketches, a letter to the Universe every day, meditation and eating fresh food from her garden, she began to dump all her pain, hope, experience, fear and confusion onto the pages of many a beloved journal. She became preoccupied with quality blank pages- good paper, solid binding, sturdy pens... the new tools, so simple, became masterful tools for recovery. By putting pen to paper, she found a way to express her thoughts and feelings, paving the way for a deeper understanding of her healing process. Her words continued to come back as she ventured out of the liminal wordless space of deadening ache and back into life. Getting her experience out of her and into a book made space in her. Even when it didn’t make sense it at least made space.
Overjoyed journal sketches :).
Community Building…
The support and encouragement of a robust and compassionate community were invaluable during our founder's recovery. From her fellow artists to her fellow sober sojourners, the feeling of connection to other people renewed her hope and gratitude daily. Despite being physically isolated- first from the accident and later by the pandemic- she never felt less alone. She went to sober recovery meetings, artist creative meetings, support groups with others with her same neurological diagnosis, group meditations, and hangouts with her friends from across the country. She called people on the phone every day- some she barely knew. She attended international artist workshops in London. And midnight recovery meetings in Paris and New York. All on Zoom. Willing to participate and share authenticity. Connecting with others who shared similar experiences or provided valuable resources significantly impacted her ability to heal and grow.
The Relaunch of City Mystic Lux…
Surrender. That was the tenor of the great lesson permeating all facets of her healing journey. A need to cease fighting anything or anyone overwhelmed all others. A new skill had been learned. And although she desired a reunion with her life as City Mystic founder, there was still yet more healing to do. The time for relocation was upon her. She secured a job in San Francisco and sold her house in Sacramento. She found a loving yet humble home in the city through one of her many communities joined in the early stages of recovery. She re-established her life and did her part to be of service to other organizations. Patrons still contacted her about City Mystic decks which had long since been pulled off the market. Event organizers asked if she was available to read at events. Friends asked if she was giving readings. City Mystic revealed itself to be more alive than simply in her own experience- it proved to exist for many others outside of herself. After months of prayer, meditation, checking in with trusted friends and guides, and contemplation, the next right thing appears to be a re-ignition and re-imagination of City Mystic.
After a long and inspiring journey, we are excited to relaunch City Mystic Lux with a renewed focus on mystical travel, luxury art, and self-care. Our founder's experience has shaped our new direction, and we are eager to share the tools and practices that have helped her heal with our community.
As we embark on this new chapter, we invite you to explore the transformative power of mystical travel- both within and without, luxury art, and self-care. Whether you are new to City Mystic Lux or a long-time supporter, we are grateful for your presence and look forward to sharing this journey with you.
Lastly…
Thank you for being a part of the City Mystic Lux community. Together, we will continue to explore the realms of mystical travel, luxury art, and self-care, creating a space for healing, growth, and inspiration. Our founder is looking forward to sharing tools she’s learned along the way, soothing practices and empowering activities that have reshaped her relationship with the world around her starting from within. Stay tuned for exciting updates, resources, and stories as we embark on this new adventure. We are so thrilled to be here with you as we meet again, renewed, changed, yet the same at our core.
City Mystic. Reborn. Renewed. Reimagined.