Hi, I’m Bex! And I believe astrology can change your life!

This is why I’ve created ✨ Starbound to Paradise✨. It might sound idealistic (hey, sometimes the most romantic, crazy & exciting things do sound idealistic) but I truly believe in the power of astrology to help change your life. And in this newsletter, I am going to share how.

By working with the stars, the lunar flow, and the movements of the planets within my own birth chart I have constructed my personal, dream existence. I live in South Goa, in a sprawling bungalow I call ‘The Shanti Shack’, that looks out over Indian ricefields, resplendent with exotic birdlife, water buffalo and butterflies as big as my palm. I’m woken at 6am by the crooning call of peacocks, which suits me just fine as one of my chief joys is watching the burning amber coin of the morning sun rise over Goan hills.

I divide my days between writing about astrology as @cosmic_cures, coaching people with 1:1 birth chart readings, holding workshops and retreats in shady shalas surrounded by coconut groves, and enjoying the myriad of pleasures afforded by life in South India. Namely: swimming in the tropical, bath-warm Arabian Sea; reading fantasy-realism novels and spiritally non-fiction from a beachside sunbed; attending a soothing sound journey or heart-expanding ecstatic dance; drinking fresh watermelon juice or sweet water from a young coconut in a breezy cafe whilst I type my novel (an astrological mystery currently consisting of 40,000 words) and forgetting what day of the week it is because here, really, it hardly matters.

And when I’m not in Goa? I’m travelling the world. Last year, I took June and July ‘off’ to explore the spiritual mountains of Mexico and a mystical lake in Guatemala with my best friend, and three weeks of September were spent hiking through the breathtaking (sometimes literally - altitude is a MFer) scenery of Nepal as I completed the Everest Basecamp trek. This year I’ve been in Italy, Amsterdam, Portugal and Switzerland, alternating between festivals, nature, astrology pop-ups and chilling with friends. Hey, it’s the Libra in me that needs balance! This newsletter will also provide tips for globetrotting, solo female travel, becoming a digital nomad, and leaving the rat race behind.

After all, one of the biggest things I value in this life is freedom and the chance to run towards adventure and experience with wide, open arms.

It wasn’t always like this. I used to be part of ‘The Grind’ (in London, no less) but, via astrology, I have completely altered my entire existence.

This is a resource that is available to everyone.

You can look up your natal chart right this moment, and what you’ll receive is a snapshot of the sky when you were born; your celestial DNA.

Your cosmic map for your self-development, purpose and ultimate fulfilment, if you will.

And I am here to be your pilot, wingman, captain, navigator… however you want to view it, ✨ Starbound To Paradise ✨ aims to put YOU in the driving seat of this star-studded journey.

It will provide insight, inspiration, and hopefully some practical tips and tools for creating your own dream life (after all, my Sun-Mercury Cazimi in Virgo THRIVES on being useful via the written word!)

“How does ✨ Starbound To Paradise ✨ work?

And how can it help me?”

👉🏽 Newbie to astrology? Starbound To Paradise is the perfect place to start your journey.

👉🏽 Got a decent handle on your birth chart? This is the newsletter for you!

👉🏽 An absolute pro who also works with the stars for a living and has found yourself curiously diving into what a fellow cosmic navigator has to say on the subject? Welcome! You’ll love it here!

I aim to make astrology accessible, enjoyable and useful. My aim with Cosmic Cures - the medium through which I share this knowledge - is always to provide the three Cs of Clarity, Confidence and Comfort with my readings. I specialise in self-developmental astrology, as a way of aligning with your purpose in life and identifying both your star-given skills and your potential blocks, fears and triggers. This is what I’ll be bringing you within the musings and discourse within ✨ Starbound To Paradise ✨.

Here are some examples of articles I’ve been brewing up:

✒️ Astrology and Financial Freedom: How getting to grips with your 2nd House opens the door to abundance.

✒️ Love, Sex and Commitment in the Stars: Using the 7th/5th House and Venus/Mars as cosmic keys to understanding relationships.

✒️ Escape the Grind! Find Your Purpose! This series of articles is about ‘Confidence Activation’ and using your birth chart to help increase self-confidence, understand limiting beliefs, and launch your dream project to help you escape the rat-race.

✒️ How to live in South Goa for £50 a week: including sunset cocktails on the beach and an hour-long therapeutic massage!

✒️ The Dirty Word of Manifestation: Cosmic attraction, Tao, and bringing the world to a single point - let’s discuss manifestation.

✒️ Astrology and Mental Health: OCD, anxiety & depression in the birth chart.

✒️ Solo Female Travelling - Tips & Tricks: from India to Guatemala; Nepal to Mexico… the tips for travelling alone, and ways to approach solo adventuring as a woman from someone who’s done it!

I’ll also be holding regular polls on my Instagram (come say hi!) asking what YOU would like to read about, so I very much envision this being a co-creation space.

Please remember that astrology is a pseudo-science - I view it as a wonderful tool for self-development, introspection and pause for thought.

However, it is NOT based on science. I am not a therapist. Astrology cannot make you richer, happier, thinner, more loved, more successful, more wise. It CAN help you ask the right questions, prompt you to take positive action, and bring about ‘ah ha’ moments of clarity that move you towards a sense of balance and alignment. And this, lovely friends, is what I have created ✨ Starbound To Paradise ✨ to share.

More About Me, Bex, Your ANBF (the A stands for Astrological, of course)

👋🏽 Hi! I’m Bex! Please do drop into the comments and introduce yourself!

I’ve been working with astrology in a professional capacity for almost four years now, but spirituality is part of who I am - it’s as intrinsic to me as my sense of humour, love of exploration, cackling laugh and dusting of nose freckles. My dad - Owly, who’s also my guru - has been teaching yoga, meditation, shiatsu, tai chi, quigong, NLP and several other innovative or esoteric healing practices since before I was born (he’s an Aquarius, obviously). I was brought up surrounded by crystals, incense and Deva Premal music; I got my first pack of Tarot cards at 12, and one room in our house was devoted to an entire library of books on energy healing, chakra points, Taoist philosophy, Chinese astrology, meditation techniques, Buddhist teachings… basically, my childhood revolved around the concept of ‘mindfulness’ before it became a Millennial buzzword.

I spent a lot of time in hospital when I was younger, due to an auto-immune disease that slowly and surely destroyed my kidneys. It was an interesting period of life - the formative years of ten to fifteen were spent half from home, half from a hospital ward, and over this time I lost all my hair due to medication; bloated like a little puffer fish from intense steroid treatment; was on bed rest for days because of high blood pressure; had several stents, lines and tubes stuck into me as I was on dialysis and plasma exchange; missed huge chunks of school and eventually had a kidney transplant at fourteen.

Owly basically lived in the hospital with me for a large portion of the time I was there, and we would meditate to help lower blood pressure and increase healthy white blood cells, discuss the importance of (mindset + attention = emotion > action), and work through the pain and trauma using Eastern philosophies and spiritual teachings that proved to be just as essential as the Western drugs I was pumped full of.

It’s fair to say that during those important years of my childhood and adolescence, I was given a practical crash course in the concept of Where Attention Goes, Energy Flows.

You know what? It made me the person I am now.

Resilient. Determined. Optimistic. Passionate. Grateful - oh, so so grateful - for my freedom.

And absolutely committed to living the most fulfilled, purposeful, and expansive life filled with adventure, love and friendship that I possibly can.

This is part of the reason I love working with astrology, as I’ve discussed above. I believe in the power of magic, and I know for a fact we create our own reality based on where we focus our attention. Practices like intention setting, moon rituals, daily journaling and cosmic excavation of our motivations can help create a laser-beam focus towards a more fulfilled and peaceful path.

So why Substack?

Well, on top of being an astrologer, I am also a writer at heart. Before I wound up here, living in a sleepy little beach community in South Goa, I was a professional writer, journalist and content creator. I lived in London (big up Battersea!) and zoomed around the world as a travel writer, or hit up the latest bar openings as editor of one of the top cocktail/drinks websites in the UK. It was fun - for many years I was in my element - but it took its toll. After almost a decade of this, I realised I was ready for the next step. Spiritual evolution, tropical horizons, and a less hectic lifestyle were calling. Plus the work-life balance was tipping hazardously towards the former.

At University I studied English and Creative Writing, and had SUCH a fantastic time that I stayed on another year to complete a Masters in Creative Writing. I just adore the written word. Whether it’s immersing myself in a captivating novel, constructing my own piece of fiction, dipping into a short story or interesting article, become absorbed in an hour or two of self-developmental journaling, dedicating time to a ‘self-help’ book, or sharing my astrological insights with curious readers - this is where I find my happy place. So it made sense to join Substack.

The majority of these articles will be behind Paywalls - you’ll be able to gain insights and enjoyment from the ‘free’ bits, but I also believe that knowledge, time and effort should be financially validated in a world where we all need money to survive. My heart, soul and years of study will be poured into each word I type, so I’m really hoping that if you find yourself here in my little cosmic corner of the internet, you feel excited and enthused enough by the prospect of being part of ✨ Starbound To Paradise ✨ that you want to join up for the small amount of £5.55 a month (less than two flat whites in a Hackney coffee shop!) or choose to be a yearly subscriber. I’ve also created a couple of options for the REAL hardcore astro-fans, where you can buy packages which also offer my services as your ‘personal astrologer’ - you’ll get birth chart 1:1s, oracle card readings and regular astro-insights to help you on your celestial path. If you’d like to read the lovely things people have said about my services then please check the Feedback Highlight on my instagram here.

Anyway, that’s enough waffle About me; now let’s dive into the gems From me! Make yourself a cup of cacao or hey, pour yourself a glass of wine, hit the Subscribe button below, and get comfy - your cosmic journey with ✨ Starbound To Paradise ✨ awaits. All aboard!

Bex xx 💋