For as long as she can remember, writer Mon Barton has described herself as a cynic. She’d laugh her woo-woo friends right out of the room. But now… has she given it a go and found it’s actually kinda working? Here’s what happens when a cynic dips her toe into the world of woo-woo.
All my adult life, I’ve been a card-carrying cynic. I’ve always preferred hard facts, sarcasm, and, frankly, more self-sabotage than self-care. Hence a career in journalism.
If you had told me even a year ago that I’d be arranging crystals on my bedside table depending on my emotional needs, lighting incense to curb cigarette cravings and booking in for healing sound bath sessions, I would have laughed you right out of the room.
Ask my friends who were into that kind of thing – I DID laugh them right out of the room.
And yet, here we are.
Somewhere between navigating the relentless news cycle, the absurd cost of living, the societal pressures and dangers of being a woman, and the creeping existential dread, my ironclad scepticism began to crack.
My inner child was searching for something that a hot girl walk, after-work wines and doom-scrolling just couldn’t provide (of course, I still love all these things). I yearned for carefree days spent playing fairies with my best friend Ophelia in the garden when we were little girls. We made potions, collected treasure, summoned magic, covered ourselves in mud and danced around the sprinkler. How could I re-capture that without losing my grip on reality and/or getting done for indecent exposure?
It started small: An infrared sauna session to sweat out stress, a sleepy herbal tea to wean me off my mild melatonin addiction. But soon, I was downloading astrology apps, holding shiny stones, and tracking the lunar cycle like an old-timey mariner.
The more I let go of my narrow-mindedness, the more it worked. Not because I believe a planet in retrograde is actively affecting my Wi-Fi connection, but probably because these things can offer a bit of a pause and a low-stakes framework for introspection.
Finding Magic Amidst the Mundane
In a world that demands hyper-efficiency and hustle, incorporating a few ‘woo-woo’ habits into my routine has become a kind of quiet rebellion. My stress response has often been distraction by way of overstimulation – a night out, a high-intensity dance class with music so loud I can’t think, a back-to-back binge-watch of three seasons of Below Deck – but these new rituals allow me to get grounded, give up control to the universe and invite in some whimsy.
- Feeling Seen in Astrology: I’m learning that opening an uncanny horoscope or understanding my birth chart isn’t about letting the cosmos dictate my destiny; it’s the unexpected comfort of validation. Seeing my quirks, emotional blind spots, and communication habits laid out on paper actually just feels nice.
- Navigating New Love and Loved Ones: Using astrology as a translation tool for human connection has been a revelation. When I met my boyfriend earlier this year, he asked about my rising sign and immediately looked it up when I didn’t know it. Looking at how our charts interact – “thank God you don’t have a Cancer placement” – was a fun, no-pressure way to talk about love languages and communication needs. When I’ve been unsure how to handle a situation with friends and family, I’ve started considering their astrological wiring. Whether it’s true or not, it’s helped me make sense of things like emotional withdrawals or hyperfixations, instead of assuming it’s something I’ve done.
- Spilling Spiritual Tea via Tarot: My friend Ash, a self-proclaimed ‘Diva Oracle Reader’ who does TikTok live sessions every week, read my tarot cards the other night at a leaving drinks for my old job. She makes it so fun and funny, but given I was in such a transitional spot, it was also really reassuring and empowering. As the cards landed, they offered up opportunities for discussing burnout, future plans, exciting changes and past pain. Plus, it didn’t hurt to pull the Ten of Pentacles, representing long-term wealth and legacy now, did it?
- Sensory Anchors through Sauna and Palo Santo: My brain is noisy, so creating tactile boundaries helps. Doing a guided meditation in a hot, dark sauna or swirling around a stick of Palo Santo (ethically sourced) goes some way towards telling my mind to ‘shut it’ for a second. Lying on a yoga mat to take in crystal bowl vibrations does nothing to improve my poor physical flexibility, but it does let my mind go all gooey and stretchy. Clutching a hunk of amethyst when I’m doing online therapy might be a total placebo, but it doesn’t hurt anyone – plus, they look pretty on my desk.
Respecting the Roots
As a late-stage convert, I need to acknowledge that none of this is new. Western wellness culture has a knack for repackaging ancient, sacred traditions, stripping them of their history, and slapping a high price tag on them at farmer’s markets.
This is especially true for smoke-cleansing practices like burning white sage (smudging) or Palo Santo (‘holy wood’). White sage carries sacred ceremonial significance for First Nations people across North America, while Palo Santo is part of medicinal and spiritual traditions for Indigenous South American communities. The commercial rush for these items has raised serious concerns about over-harvesting and cultural exploitation.
For those of us dipping a gel-manicured modern toe into ancient ritual, ‘whimsifying’ our lives means treading respectfully, sourcing products mindfully, or opting for locally grown alternatives like rosemary, lavender, and garden sage. Sound healing traces back thousands of years through Aboriginal, Tibetan, and Egyptian cultures, while sauna is a centuries-old social institution in Finland and Eastern Europe. Approaching these lineage-rich customs requires genuine curiosity and care to make sure we’re not treating them like disposable aesthetic trends.
Final Vibe Check
Am I abandoning modern medicine, science, or critical thinking? Absolutely not.
But I have realised that healthy scepticism and spiritual play can co-exist. You don’t have to fully believe in the mystical mechanics of something for it to improve your life. If reading a horoscope helps you articulate your boundaries, if a full moon reminds you to rest, or if sweating in a wooden room brings a moment of peace to a chaotic week, then cool.
Whether you call it placebo, self-care, or full-blown woo-woo. My nervous system, relationships, and even the inner sceptic are all surprisingly on board.
