Material Girl, Mystical World: The Now Age Guide to a High-Vibe Life

by Ruby Warrington

From astrology to meditation and tarot to yoga, tastemaker Ruby Warrington, founder of The Numinous, takes you on a stylish journey through modern spirituality in Material Girl, Mystical World.

Inspired by the consciousness-shifting traditions that have moved seekers for generations, Material Girl, Mystical World is a fabulous adventure in the “Now Age”: a sophisticated upgrade on cosmic thinking—from healing crystals to doing your dharma—for women who know that a closetful of designer shoes can happily coexist with a deeply meaningful life.

Set against the backdrop of Warrington’s own transformative path from her dream job as an influential fashion journalist to creating The Numinous, the high-style, high-vibe online magazine about spirituality for modern women, Material Girl, Mystical World invites readers on a colorful journey to discover their own path to personal enlightenment in every area of life, from love, sex, and relationships, to fashion, beauty, health, and wellness.

From how to survive and thrive at Burning Man to creating rituals that celebrate the Divine Feminine to exploring the shaman in you, Material Girl, Mystical World brings together the best of the Now Age: advice and guidance from the leaders at the front of contemporary spirituality; tips, strategies, and quizzes; plus beautiful design and illustrations. Merging style and soul, beauty and bliss, and karma and cool, Warrington shows us that it is within our power, right now, to create a life that is both meaningful and fabulous—while also contributing to a major shift in global consciousness.

Genres: Nonfiction, Spirituality, Self Help, Memoir, Audiobook, Magic, Astrology

304 pages, Hardcover

First published May 2, 2017

About the author

Ruby Warrington is a lifestyle writer and former features editor of the UK's Sunday Times Style supplement. In 2013, she created The Numinous, an online magazine that bridges the gap between the mystical and the mainstream. She is also cofounder of Moon Club, an online mentoring program for spiritual activists, and "sober curious" event series Club SODA NYC. She now lives in New York City with her husband, Simon (a.k.a "the Pisces").

Reviews

[Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a lot to unpack with this one. It's part autobiography , part spiritual Memoir, part buying guide, part superficial tour of the New Age; kind of a who's who of the affluent, white spriritual movement. I borrowed this from the library out of curiosity for how the mainstreaming of new age ideas has come about. I did not go in expecting deep insight or a grand intellectual journey.

I was continually impressed with the authors transparency and honesty about herself and her journey; that's really the most worthwhile part of the book. There is a really interesting, meaningful, thoughtful work in here but it's diluted and obfuscated with uncritical fluff and materialism.

There are gems of thoughtful commentary / insight about the New Age movement, feminism, and contemporary spirituality sporadically throughout. The real problem arises, though, when the author refuses to critically and analytically evaluate the kind of hokum peddled... everywhere.

The book is an exemplar of shrouding conspicuous consumption in the language and motions of self acceptance. I don't doubt the author's intentions are personally meaningful, if not good, but I'm also deeply skeptical of her approach towards self development that hinges on Skype session with a shaman to see her spirit animal or promoting crystal healing through a contact in the fashion industry who sells thousand-dollar wares.

[Rachel Bridgeman · Rating 1 out of 5]

If Dan Brown taught me that not finishing a book because it is so god awful is not a crime, and E.L James taught me that sticking to my guns and not reading popular fiction in case I get viewed as book snob is not a sin, then this one made me realise that good reviews and a good book are not mutually exclusive.
What I am clumsily trying to say is that this book is so very very bad. If this review manages to stop 1 person from reading it then I will be a happy person.
I came across it whilst viewing Lisa Lister's 'Witch' on Amazon in the 'If you like this...' section.
When I saw it in the library I took it home and boy I wish I could go back and have a word with myself.
That is half an hour of my life that I will never get back...
This book is so very bad, so insipid, shallow and purely egotistical that it has no value at all. I would beg, plead and cajole anyone thinking of buying it to borrow it from their library, and when returning it hide it somewhere people won't be able to read it.
Then leave awful reviews. It is THAT BAD. 295 pages of pseudo 'knowledge' , of preening, name dropping and product placement represented as way of living 'holistically'. Apparently you CAN live a spiritual existence AND have a closet full of designer shoes! WOW!
It is a hollow rhetoric disguised as 'life style' advice .
It is so badly written that I, mistakenly taking it on a long car journey, developed a headache and sore hands from clenching my fists.
Rarely do I react so very strongly to a book that I want to encourage just one person from reading it, but boy this book hit every single button in my book reading happy place.
It is badly written, interspersed with tables to give it a pseudo scientific look 'Here are the phases of the menstrual cycle! 'Here are the locations of your chakras' OOhhhhhh!!!
It represents everything I personally detest in modern life, conspicuous consumerism, elitism, the sheep like mentality of modern life who follow the leader in the hope that they too can be touched with greatness.
It pains me that somewhere out there could have been a book that truly changed lives and yet this....abomination...was published.
She obviously knew the right people or where the bodies were buried...
Please. I would beg. Read Maya Angelou, read James Ellison, read Doris Lessing, hell, read anyone but Ruby Warrington. She has nothing to teach.
If you must check it out please borrow it from a library, hide it when you return it and spend the money you would have used for this book on something good that enriches your life.
This book says it is a 'stylish journey through modern spirituality'. It contains nothing spiritual at all.

[Maggie Gordon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, this was a truly horrid, vapid mess of a book. From it's overly shallow engagement with its material, to the utterly terrible excuse for prose, Material Girl, Mystical World is no better than a crappy news stand magazine, meant to be consumed and forgotten in a short amount of time.

Why do I keep grabbing crappy books and tormenting myself? For the past couple years, I've been reading in new areas, and the best way to get a sense of what is out there is to read broadly and without too much initial hesitation over picking up something new. You'll rapidly find out what works for you. Unfortunately, the new age/metaphysical field has a lot of junk literature. A LOT. I was originally drawn to Warrington's book because a HarperCollins release has to be somewhat higher quality, right? I need to stop thinking big publisher means actual editing. Bad Maggie, bad! Additionally, I went in thinking that a book that deals with trying to reconcile a modern, technological life with the realities and beliefs of more spiritual interests would be a fascinating and potentially useful book. Unfortunately, that's not what I got. Instead of worrying about whether she would need to put her brain away to engage in spiritual practices, Warrington is more concerned about whether people will think she's a dirty hippie. She wants to be cool, and lucky for her, spiritualism is currently trendy. Woo.

Warrington was originally a magazine writer for fashion, and, to be honest, it shows. While she's great at telling you what expensive clothing various people she meets are wearing, actually digging into and understanding the topics that she's trying to teach people about is the weakest part of the book. Not only does she not present any sort of useful skepticism, she doesn't even give readers enough information to really get a sense of all the different practices she explores. Her writing is clumsy and juvenile. Though I would expect a magazine writer to at least know the power of brevity, editing was obviously not a priority for this book. There are useless asides, hashtags, and chatspeak littered through the pages that do nothing but make this feel like a book written by a much younger woman. When I read that Warrington was 40, I was honestly shocked because the style and narration of this piece was so immature.

Warrington is very concerned with the consumer end of spiritualism. She recommends expensive jewelry, small batch artisinal makeup, and expensive guru services (because these are skills you couldn't possibly learn on your own). She speaks about how spiritualism makes it so that she doesn't crave things like status as much, and yet with all the namedropping of products and people, it is obvious that's not the case. There's nothing wrong about being concerned about the safety of the products you use and consume, but there's a definite appeal to exclusive branding here. Ironic given how so many of the products she talks about are made by spiritual practitioners for a fraction of the price that she's probably paying. No, you don't need to spend several thousand dollars on a piece of high vibrational crystal jewelry. Hell, your local new age shop can help you pick out a stone and wire wrap it yourself for under $50. Not all small batch cosmetics cost half your pay cheque, and healthy food doesn't need to be from a specialty vegan store. And dear lord, while having teachers can be useful, you do not need to pay someone to give you a special mantra to be able to engage in chanting-based meditation.

Finally, we need to talk about cultural appropriation. I know some people freak out whenever the concept is mentioned, but damn is it relevant in the case of this book. Warrington hops between spiritual traditions willy-nilly, rarely even giving a passing mention of where they come from. She works with modern shamans, goes on spirit quests, and connects with her spirit animals. All of these processes are cultural or religious practices of various people around the world; practices that people still engage in today. Now, I don't want to imply that people are not allowed to explore themselves without worrying about offending people, but cultural appropriation isn't about denying anyone experiences. Cultural appropriation is about power and privilege, something this author seems to have no concept of. There's a serious problem in the world when some random former corporate exec can decide his new job is flying around the world to work for other important, wealthy people by leading them on "spirit quests" that he's reinterpreted to be modern. I bet his services cost a ridiculous sum of money, yet actual shamans in the US struggle to even be able to practice their skills, and they certainly aren't rolling in money or benefiting from a "modern" shaman's bastardization of their culture. If all you are doing is taking from another culture without giving back to said culture, you're doing wrong. Full stop. Sure, talk about helping people all you want, but when you leave the creators of a spiritual practice out of your modern practice, you're just stealing. Crystal healing, herbalism, saging... all of these are living practices. Warrington seems to suggest that she and her Now Age crew (or Numinous, whatever buzz word you want to use) have reinvented stuff that is still practiced. That they've made it better. That's most certainly cultural appropriation, and if you're interested in many of her practices, you will be better off looking at where they came from. Too bad that's basically never addressed in this book...

All in all, Material Girl, Mystical World is a capitalist, hyperconsumer driven version of spiritualism. Though Warrington talks about how it makes her kinder and better, she speaks little to how improving herself does anything for anyone but herself.

[Book Riot Community]

I normally wouldn’t pick up a book like this – but something about the confluence of fashion and dharma and tarot and daily life captured my attention. It’s peppered with hashtags and fun anecdotes, while managing to be spiritual without being flaky. It’s a bit irreverent, which perhaps is its key to success. It’s definitely a book I’ll be returning to more than once. And can we just talk about the bright pink cover? Love.

— Jaime Herndon



from The Best Books We Read In May 2017: https://bookriot.com/2017/06/02/riot-...

[Jaclyn Day · Rating 2 out of 5]

No disrespect to The Numinous (which I read and enjoy), but this book's decently organized--though elementary--content has an unbearably magazine-like tone that feels more vintage Seventeen than it should. Chapter headings like "The Inner Beauty v. Botox Debate" and the watered-down tarot discussion read as infantile and condescending. Marrying spiritual, new-age practices with fashion and beauty is a smart marketing tactic for The Numinous, even if it's not completely sound in execution. But here we see the true risks of that approach laid bare, embarrassingly so, and there are many more worthwhile and meaningful books to pick up before resorting to this one.

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I first heard Ruby Warrington on the Witch Wave podcast and thought she sounded pretty intriguing, so when I saw that my library had this book I figured I'd check it out. I was expecting advice for balancing one's spiritual life with the modern world, but instead I got...whatever this is? The strongest aspects are probably when Ruby discusses her own life, when the book leans more towards memoir than self-help, because to be honest after finishing this book there's no way I would want to learn much from Ruby, spiritually-speaking. The "now age" (this term was driving my crazy by the end of the book) guide aspect of Material Girl, Mystical World was extremely shallow and, at times, downright offensive. Warrington presents other people's statements and ideas about crystal healing, plant medicine, "shamanism" (put in quotes because these shamans are rich white women who wear $900 shoes), meditation, and more as if they are plain facts. There is no questioning whatsoever, or presentation of more substantial resources than some friend of Warrington's who charges obscene amounts for lightwork and chakra alignment.

Besides focusing strictly on the upper class approach to spirituality (almost all the examples of spiritual workers that Warrington presents are former fashion industry people/jewelry designers/magazine editors), this book is an almost laughably bad primer on cultural appropriation. Few words are spared for bipoc who originated and still practice many of the spiritual practices that Warrington addresses; from Hindu and Buddhism inspired teachings (running an online magazine is her dharma, you know) to indigenous plant medicine (she's sure to mention that women should be careful that Peruvian shamans don't sexually assault them during a trip) to the idea that this woman thinks it's okay for her lead meditations to identify one's spirit animals, I was appalled at the privilege present in this book. There are even random statements that just erase people of color all together; in the tarot section, Ruby maligns the Rider Waite Smith deck (she just calls it Rider Waite) because it was designed by men, wholly ignoring the fact that the artist of the deck was a black woman.

Despite all these negative aspects, if you still want to read this book, here's a little summary of what it covers and you can decide from there:
- a shallow reading and understanding of the tarot
- advice to just do your birth chart already so you can be friends with your mom
- why you should stop drinking even if you just drink like a glass of wine to unwind (because you can just meditate, duh)
- meditation is good for you
- a boring review of Burning Man
- the author saying "woo-woo" every four sentences because she's constantly worried that people might think that she's weird
- 90's teen magazine-style quizzes to figure out if you're dating your soul mate or your twin flame (???)

Basically, if you're thinking of picking up this book because you're interested in spirituality and mysticism, I would advise against it. There are other, much deeper books on the subject, and writers who put more thought, care, and experience into their work. Even though I came into this book liking Ruby and thinking the Numinous was pretty cool, I walk away from it thinking that so much of the spiritual world is actually pretty toxic, commercialized, and rife with cultural appropriation.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started off innocent enough, and I liked it more than I thought I would at the beginning. For that reason only, it gets two stars instead of one. I’m feeling very far removed from my spiritual side right now, and I thought this would help me get back to it. However, there are so many issues that it’s hard to know where to begin. Not once does Ruby address the cultural appropriation of all the practices she dabbles in. Not once does she talk about the myriad problems with the crystals trade and how unethically most of them are sourced. She even mentions Audrey Kitching’s crystal business, which has been exposed for being fraudulent.
With all this navel-gazing and self-exploration, I was surprised at how much Ruby ties herself in knots trying to justify her choice not to become a mother. She looks everywhere for external validation of this choice she tells us she is completely okay with.
Also, she goes to great lengths to justify getting Botox. I couldn’t ignore the irony of telling the reader which “clean” beauty companies to look into in the same chapter where she talks about literally getting botulism injected into her face (Botox is the most toxic poison known to science). She also tells us she feels okay about it because nature made it, so it’s technically natural! Lol! This kind of scientifically illiterate bullshit is why people like Gwyneth Paltrow make millions off women pursuing “wellness.”
If you’re looking to connect to your spiritual side, look elsewhere.

[Kia · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book frustrated me so much. I really did enjoy parts of it and like some of the insights the author gave into the "Now Age," but it seemed like every time I hit a stride where I was enjoying the commentary and soaking up the content, she would say something so ridiculously privileged and out of touch with reality that I had to step away. The premise is interesting and probably why I forced myself to finish it, but it is a little too heavy on the "material girl," side. She just seems completely clueless about things going on in the world outside of her inner circle of fabulous, well-to-do mystical friends - and if she isn't, (aside from comments supporting a sort of mystic connection to feminism) she does a horrible job of showing it. I'm not sure what was more annoying, the constant name-dropping or the blissfully ignorant bouts of cultural appropriation.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this book. It was exactly what I needed in my life. I know there's something I meant to do whether its helping others or just learning how to create more self care in my life. This book was a modern view on everything you need to know about becoming more in tune with yourself. It wasn't hard to understand at all, and includes helpful insight to meditation, crystals, astrology and other types of healing. I've already recommended it to multiple people and can't wait to read it again.

[Madeline Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Look, this book isn’t going to change anyone’s life. It’s a fluffy, fun book about reading your natal chart, the right and wrong way to approach yoga, having your cards read, intro to crystals, etc. I dabble in the “mystical world” so I didn’t have any revolutionary realizations. However, it would offer a good introduction to those getting started. I did relate to Ruby a lot in her unending honesty about how her own ego gets in the way of her journey and how she buys expensive clothes, drinks, does drugs and isn’t perfect like some ‘self-help’ gurus lead you to believe they are. But damn, does her ego shine through in this book. I didn’t *not* enjoy it, but I wasn’t terribly inspired, and struggled through once I hit about halfway. The last chapter about Burning Man was god awful, just put the book down there.

[Gabrielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imagine you had a spiritual advisor who was a quick-witted fashion writer that spoke like one of your girlfriends who had just read "Eat, Pray, Love" and won't stop talking about yoga.

Yeah.

I can't deny how much I enjoyed this book, but I came away feeling like I had indulged in a guilty pleasure rather than truly made progress in my spiritual life.

There is a certain kind of person (like myself) who will find this a ton of fun and short and sweet like a fruity little cocktail, and then there are others who'd rather have something stronger and more to-the-point when it comes to self-help books.

It's a cute romp through the world of "LA mysticism," which fascinates me, and I will for certain be checking out Warrington's website, The Numinous.

[Callie Hass · Rating 2 out of 5]

As someone smack dab in the middle of my own "now age" awakening, I was super excited to dive into it's bible. While Ruby is a good writer and she covers all the hot topics, I mostly felt bored, not excited or inspired as I'd hoped. If you had zero experience with concepts like astrology, tarot, crystals, meditation and ayahuasca, I think her approach would probably be a bit too "mystical world" to be readily accessible. On the other hand, I found her justification for her botox way too "material girl." By the end of the book I was just ready for it to be over. I have a pretty good foundation in the topics she covered and I didn't really feel like I learned anything new.

[Andee Marley · Rating 5 out of 5]

All.There.Is.Is.Loved.It

[Zahra · Rating 2 out of 5]

a bit dense and i wish there was more input from those who have been practicing spirituality for centuries but overall some chapters were enjoyable.

[Slaa!!! · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun, informative read! I really enjoy Ruby's stories and "narration," if you will. She's just really likable which is why I wanted the book in the first place. I will say that after about 75% I got a little bored and put it down for a while. It felt like it was going on for a long time, chapter after chapter about different topics but all kind of the same. BUT. I think if someone's really a newbie, they will find this all really helpful and fascinating. I enjoyed how each chapter featured different people knowledgable on that topic (and many people whose work I already like and follow!) And while it would be a good way for newbies to find topics that interest them and things that they can look into more, it worked in sort of the opposite way for me, where I would read about something and decide that, hey... This doesn't really suit me so much and that's okay! I don't have to be into something just because it's common or popular among the spiritual crowd. It was a way for me to learn more about myself and my interests. (For example, both astrology and tarot feel a bit too complicated and sciencey for my sensibilities, and there's no way in hell I'm ever going to Burning Man or taking any mind altering substances, even in the name of growth and journeying, thank you VERY much). So! Do recommend!

[Kacie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciate the therapeutic experiences Ruby had aggregating “Now Age” practices in her life. At the same time, it seems her story is highly watered down by ego-juice in attempts to reach the egos rather than souls of contemporary readers. I would have enjoyed the book more deeply had she explored solely her relationship and knowledge of astrology rather than dabbling in and abbreviating handfuls of spiritual philosophies, concepts and rituals.

The book serves as a way to assert that she can be who she is whilst also being spiritual, and you can too. Unfortunately it took too many hashtags and parenthetical puns to get there. My hope is Ruby keeps refining her own practice and writing, then eventually could gift readers with a guide for diving into and navigating the complexities of astrology- the topic that spoke to her heart most profoundly.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall it’s a pretty interesting book. I think if you are in your mid thirties and wealthy you could truly try all the things she recommends.

[Suzanna3 · Rating 4 out of 5]

ruby i think we could be awesome friends dm me on Twitter

[rockerduh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I see lots of harsh reviews of this and I don’t get it. I loved it and I loved listening to the author narrate it. Have several friend new and old to the “spiritual game” reading it now.

[Ivonne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Siempre he sido fan de The Numinous, su estética y mensajes me parecen muy para este tiempo, pero esperaba mucho más del libro de su creadora. No me tomen a mal, Material Girl, Mystical World es un buen libro para principiantes en las cuestiones esotéricas pero creo que simplifica muchos temas a cosas de estilo de vida o modas, quitándoles la seriedad o profundidad con las que deben ser consideradas. Una vez uno lee el libro, queda con cierto sinsabor, pero igual, funciona para simples curiosos pero no cuenta toda la historia. Reduce muchos temas, por ejemplo, el Tarot, a técnicas que cualquiera puede usar y no es así. Son herramientas que requieren estudio y cierta disposición. A veces pienso que la fe ciega de la autora hace que los temas pierdan profundidad y eso me parece triste.
Igual, el libro también es una reducción del website y un resumen de los temas que se pueden encontrar allí desarrollados. Creo que esto me hizo perder un poco la fe en la seriedad de The Numinous, reduciéndola a un grupo de mujeres que prueban y prueban cosas simplemente por buscar seguridad ontológica y la verdad, siendo muy purista en estos temas que he estudiado desde adolescente y de los cuales he leído de todo: se nota la superficialidad.
Léalo bajo su propio riesgo, pero personalmente, consideré la compra de este libro, un gasto de dinero. Oh well, las maravillas de la literatura "esotérica".

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, there were some good nuggets in this book, and I’m glad that I read it, if for no other reason than my new understanding of how to read my birth chart.

That said, this book felt part spiritual text and part memoir of a life in the world of fashion, which at times didn’t quite reconcile for me. I like a book that says a girl can covet perfectly manicured nails and still engage with her spiritual path, but sometimes this felt a bit too out of touch with what the average income and lifestyle can accomodate.

I recommend Material Girl, Mystical World if you’re interested in learning more about the various ways people try to connect to their higher selves in our modern world, with the caveat that the tone is sometimes a bit out of touch with how the average person lives. Extra recommend if you, unlike me, enjoy the world of fashion magazines and Sex and the City vibes.

My full review appears on my blog, Your Book Friend.

[Corinna Fabre · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book and while I did think it was a great primer to a world I want to know more about, I was really disappointed that it glossed over some issues - to the point of sounding tone deaf.

The example that sticks out most in my mind is in the chapter "Your Period as Sacred Goddess Code." While I'm 100% here for reclaiming the menstrual cycle as a natural and powerful thing, the way the "Red Tent" was written about felt really blind to the very real issue of girls around the world being kept away in sheds/homes....tents. It could have been done in a way that integrated and addressed both issues but, instead, it came off as so incredibly privileged.

It was other things like that that ultimately left me feeling discouraged and saddened by the end of the book. I appreciate it's intent. I enjoyed the topics it covered. Just was hoping for more.

[Book Lover · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like the author almost did something here, and then slightly missed the mark every chapter. I think part of my problem was the author’s approach to relatability—the tone and commentary at times made me question if I could trust her judgment and sources.

Read this one if you’re looking for a brief overview of LOTS of different healing/spiritual activities and practices, but not if you’re looking for in-depth explanations/learning. For example, I am now interested in my birth chart, but this book taught me absolutely nothing about it except that I might be interested in learning more.

A lot of this book also felt like cultural appropriation, and I couldn’t tell where the author was crossing lines or if she even understood that she was doing this. A bit icky.

[Britt Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wouldn't exactly call this a "Guide." The author attempts to provide an overview of every new age concept from ayuhausca to astrology, and ultimately it's too much information to pack into tiny chapters. I do love the author's voice and perspective, finding her relate-able, but trying to do too much at once. Each chapter could've been a whole separate book, and this just left me curious and feeling like I need to go read mountains of other texts to actually understand what she so briefly describes.

[Megan Bettis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a crash course in all things mystical - from a modern and approachable angle. Take what speaks to you, leave what doesn’t. Reading this book took me almost a month, but only because I became sidetracked doing additional research on subjects that interested me. Highly recommended!

[Catherine Sinclair · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me a month to carefully read the book, although I would say that 2 weeks would be enough for a native Brit English speaker. If you don’t happen to be the latter, then be prepared (like me) to resort to dictionary/internet while reading because of the abundance of slang, insider language (what the heck does molly mean? I actually had to look it up :) and Anglo-Saxon cultural references.

Slight language difficulties aside, here are a few thoughts about what I got out of this book. I noticed that there are many nasty reviews around, accusing the book of being self-absorbed, superficial, elitist, culturally limited, vapid, hard-selling and such. All of which is true, but I think some people dived into this book with too many expectations. It’s NOT a scholarly book about the history and cultural significance of all « spiritual » practices that exist/ed across the globe and time, i.e. meditation, yoga, astrology, tarot, breathwork, psychedelics, etc. It’s NOT a deep explanation of the techniques of the aforementioned practices either. It is, instead, a contemporary story of a Brit woman’s path and exploration of the « mysterious », written in a vivid and humorous way, with some dose of seriousness and wisdom sprinkled here and there.

If nothing else, it’s a book that invites (mainly) the female reader into her space of empowerment and authenticity, whether it be in her relationships (romantic or not, including with other women), the way she dresses, the way she does her beauty, and experiences her period. Add to this some awareness through meditation, stretching through yoga, tears through breathwork and self-knowledge through astrology and tarot.

Overall, it’s not a life-changing read, but it’s nice to follow the author’s adventures and reflections, while developing empathy because we can relate to SOME of her struggles and conclusions.

HOWEVER, I do want to address several quite annoying/weak/blind spots of the book. First of all, the « raising of consciousness » buzz has an American-British accent here, meaning that the author’s perspective on any of the practices above and the whole « now age » concept is limited to two countries, out of 193. It’s also pretty white upper-class, and all the expensive « shamans », « energy healers », and « psychics » are more akin to celebrities and entrepreneurs than, I would say, accredited therapists. And most importantly, the (almost) total lack of critical thinking when it comes to mantra-based transcendental mediation, astrology (the author openly states that she doesn’t care how it « works »), crystals, cosmic consciousness, 6th dimension and the like. The TM is an expensive scam, and “mantras” are chosen arbitrarily, its founder was initially a clerk who made this whole movement up (not without stories of big money and sexual abuse), just watch the movie-investigation called “David wants to fly”; the crystal ”healing” is said to work (in this book) under some dubious physical “laws” of symmetry; astrology has been debunked since the 90s (read Dean’s books on statistical tests), and Tarot is basically you telling yourself stories about your life, with no need for “divine entities”. Since the book is supposed to be an invitation to explore the “mystical” side of life, I think it’s worthwhile introducing the reader to at least a minimal level of sceptical inquiry, so that he/she doesn’t spend the rest of his/her life in the land of unicorns and Aquariuses.

Thanks for the work and sharing anyway!

[Kelsey Colvard · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Take what resonates with you, and leave behind what does not,” is some of the best spiritual advice I have come across on my journey in the “mystical world,” as Warrington refers to it, and I think it applies to this book. In “Material Girl, Mystical World,” Warrington provides a good introduction to basic astrology and tarot, before tackling the deeper topics of spirituality. The section on Love, Sex, and Relationships was my favorite, and the one I would encourage others to read. In it, she talks about the importance of learning to love yourself through self-knowledge, self-acceptance, and self-forgiveness in a very real and relatable way. She speaks candidly and honestly about her life and her path to spirituality, which does come from her current position of privilege (if you will), as an upper-to-middle class white woman. But that is who she is, and she is honest and vulnerable with her readers about her life experiences and her own thoughts, insecurities, and flaws, so I can’t fault her much for that. While her methods to enlightenment may be unattainable to most, her message still stands as a good and important one. However, this does lead to the book itself having some flaws, including a failure to address the issues of cultural appropriation and white-washing of certain spiritual practices, as well as a disapproving tone when it comes to modern medicine. In terms of the first two, they have just recently become hot topics, so I can only hope she has learned from her past mistakes. In regards to her take on modern medicine, I wouldn’t take medical advice from a from a former fashion editor, but maybe that’s just me. As long as you can recognize and be aware of those issues, I still feel like the book is a good introduction to spirituality without being full on hippie woo-woo.

[Leslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I so badly wanted to love this book. The first 50% of the book contained a great collection of introductory information for the material girl in a mystical world...as did most of the book over all. As most of the reviews suggest - there’s a lot of appropriation throughout the book with one very cringeworthy description of how she views her naturally curly hair (as a white woman) that I couldn’t get past. I would be embarrassed to recommend this book to my POC friends to have them get to that part of the book where she likens hair beauty to straight hair vs. curly hair...even going on to call it “a product of white supremacy”. Cringe!

I also wish there was more discussion around the female experience of our cycles - being an experience, yes. But not THE experience of being female. There are other women who don’t experience periods outside of older women and those who’ve had hysterectomies. I would’ve loved to see more trans-inclusionary language. I don’t think she meant anything by this oversight. There’s just more education she perhaps could’ve benefitted from.

I can’t help but think what a great book this could’ve been had there been more POC and LGBTQAPI+ folks that were invited to take part in the writing and editing of it - rather than it be from an autobiographical stand point of one white woman.

[Abbie Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I think I enjoyed this book. There were parts form nearly every chapter that I’ve found useful or beneficial and have continued to think about since finishing the book. However, the cultural appropriation is RIFE in this book, as well as masses of white, middle/upper class privilege that comes off more than a little nauseating. Also, the endless name dropping. We get it, you’ve interviewed a few people and been given a bunch of free stuff.

I’m glad I heard a decent chunk of what was in this book, however, that’s mostly due to my relative newness to this kind of content so the bare basics on astrology and tarot were interesting to me. Perhaps not to someone more knowledgable.

I listened to this on audible which may have been a mistake (though I doubt I’d have finished the book if I’d read it any other way). The majority of the value for me came from lists of resources and suggestions which I can’t easily come back to like I could with a paperback. Also, British accent with American phrases/words really upsets my English soul.

[Arianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an avid self help and spiritual book reader, it’s rare that I find anything new when I read these sorts of books. What I have been enjoying about this genre lately as well as in this book in particular is the voice, the personality of the author.

I would definitely recommend this as a sort of intro into the spiritual (or the numinous as the author put it) for the fashionistas in our lives. She touches on astrology, yoga, tarot, meditation, plant medicine, etc. all with anecdotes about her own life and spiritual growth as a former fashion editor and current spiritual lifestyle writer.

I wouldn’t recommend this for long time spiritual seekers unless they’re looking to relate to a spiritual, yet still materially focused author. I think it’s a great step forward that we can stop judging each other for still working and striving for success whilst having a spiritual focus.

I enjoyed it, even though I didn’t glean any new information from it. She has a had an interesting life and it was a fun, light intro book into spiritual practices.