Almost everyone has heard of palm readings and tarot cards (which another B+C writer recently had read for the first time), but when it comes to the general public, little more is known about the rest of the New Age practices found within intuitive exploration.
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Having exhausted my enthusiasm for regular run-of-the mill readings, I decided to see what else was out there — and Ruby Room in Chicago seemed the perfect place to look.
Far from the cramped, dark beaded room you might imagine or even recall from films such as Ghost, this overall wellness center provides everything from typical salon services such as haircuts and colors to colon hydrotherapy (that’s for another article!), to a barrage of what the company refers to as “healing services” — bingo.
With several options to choose from, I couldn’t pick just one, instead opting for a sampling of several of the center’s alternative wellness treatments: auratherapy, intuitive reading and energy Healing — whoa.
The day of my appointment, I was running late (thanks, Chicago traffic), so I arrived rather flustered and discombobulated — not a good look for my energy, which was just waiting to give me away.
Luckily, my healer Gladys was extremely accommodating and understanding, putting me right at ease.
She got to work at once with the auratherapy, determining which of the center’s own line of flower and gem essences ($32 each) would best be able to align any out-of-whack chakras I might be experiencing, through the healing powers of their specific gems. For example, should your root chakra be misaligned (the chakra that helps you to stay grounded), you might try a spritz of “b grounded.” Gladys had me select a card from a deck that would resonate with me and recommended a spray based on my pick — b creative: “The perfect essence for strengthening your relationships and connecting to your physical environment.” I let the pure cinnamon bark wash over me, and before I could determine whether my aura felt any different, it was onto the next step — the aura machine.
Essentially a computer that is connected to a heat hand sensor, I was instructed to place my palm onto the sensor to quite literally pick up energy from my fingertips, revealing insight into my auras and current state of energy.
Mine showed a very distinct line above the head — a sign that I’m often in my head and have strong mental activity occurring (True).
It also showed some imbalances in several of my chakras — where some were large, others were small — a sign, Gladys said, that something within may be slightly off.
Luckily, she seemed to have just the fix — a stone or two from the center’s crystal bar. She began shopping the wares to find a stone that would resonate with me; one that my energy would naturally respond to when placed into the palm of my hand.
Though it took several tries before she found the right one for me (angelite, which aids in spiritual-based connection), the machine did seem to register a change when I held the stone, shrinking oversized chakras and seeing small ones grow.
From there, it was onto the intuitive tarot reading. Gladys led me upstairs to the center’s healing hub, which was all large, open spaces and sounds of the sea. Despite the surroundings, I was admittedly a little apprehensive — what if the reading revealed something I didn’t like?
After cutting the deck three times, my first round of cards revealed a rather confusing lot, so Gladys asked her guides to give her some more insight into what they were trying to tell us. I was asked to focus on a specific question this time, but not before opening myself up to a memory which brought me joy, which Gladys helped me access through a series of questions.
Truth be told, once all was said and done, it felt much more like a therapy session than a reading — I found myself readily sharing details from my happy time and revisiting the memory with a powerful mix of joy and sorrow that it was over.
She reminded me that the memory was mine to access anytime that I wanted, whenever I felt stressed, angry or sad, and that it would always be there to return to.
Then, she drew my cards again, the second lot of which made far more sense with relation to my current life state — in fact, they were rather shockingly accurate. She again led me through a series of questions that saw us analyzing what the cards might mean (told you it was like therapy). While she gave some sage advice on how to proceed thereafter, much of the reading simply revealed truths I already knew for myself deep down, yet hadn’t addressed in my waking life.
Last but not least, it was onto the energy healing.
I was feeling a little weary after so much activity, so the spa-like bed with its heating pad and warm blankets was a welcome comfort. For the next 20 or so minutes, Gladys performed a mixture of auratherapy and light touches to areas such as my head and abdomen, meant to redirect energy into chakras that needed it most.
She mentioned that the energy in my kidney felt slightly bent, a sign of frustration, so she did some work on that area in particular to get things back in line.
By the end of the session, I can honestly say I was feeling far more relaxed and clear than I had all week. While I can’t attribute the feeling to any one treatment — was it the gem essences? The gem itself? Gladys’s healing touch? — I knew that I had come to the right place.
(Photos via Ruby Room)
