I turned my back on the A-list... and the future was crystal clear
As a showbiz writer she hung out with stars and partied all night – until burnout hit. Here Alexandra Wenman explains how her life took off in a very different direction
It was 2am and Alexandra Wenman was exhausted. The showbiz journalist had attended two glitzy events that night, a film premiere and an awards ceremony, and had chatted to a host of stars including Alan Carr, Erin O’Connor and Jo Wood.
“I was back at my desk five hours later,” says Alexandra, 43, who lives in North London. “Far from being glamorous, my job was so draining that my eyelashes fell out, I didn’t eat properly and had no social life.”
For four years, Alexandra worked as a showbiz journalist for a top women’s magazine. A typical day saw her in the office for over 11 hours before changing in the toilets and mingling at events with the likes of presenter Dermot O’Leary and model Alexa Chung.
“I was feeling run down so I started to explore alternative health treatments like reiki and crystals,” says Alexandra. “I was desperate to boost my energy levels and reduce stress – and it worked.”
Discovering the power of complementary healing didn’t scare Alexandra because she already had an interest in the spiritual world. As a child, she saw faces and angelic lights in her bedroom.
“I’ve always been able to connect with energy,” she adds. “From a young age, I’ve picked up on people’s feelings. It probably made me a better journalist because I instinctively knew when to approach people for a chat and when not to.”
Her spiritual gifts were encouraged by her mother, a nurse, and her father, a doctor. Alexandra’s mother comes from a long line of psychics.
“When I was 12 I bought my first two crystals, a rose quartz and an amethyst, from a hippy shop,” says Alexandra. “I carried the stones with me everywhere.
“I was bullied at school but once I had the crystals, the bullying calmed down. I felt the stones protected me.”
No one taught Alexandra how to work with crystals, instead she learnt to sit with a stone in her hand and meditate for guidance.
“Crystals emit vibrations and produce waves of positive energy. For example, pink tourmaline opens the heart and promotes love while orange selenite boosts creativity.”
It was while she was working as a journalist that Alexandra started to use crystals to see if they helped with her health issues. She took to carrying black obsidian – the favourite stone of crystal fan Victoria Beckham – in her handbag, to absorb negative energy and stop her feeling drained.
“By 2008 I was leading a double life,” she says. “By day, I was working as a gossip journalist but at night I had started my formal training in angelic reiki and crystal healing.
“Two years later I left my job and landed the role of editor at a spiritual magazine. But I still had connections in showbusiness, and now my client list includes stars from film, television and music.”
Alexandra has been working full time with crystals for eight years since leaving journalism behind and has discovered celebrities have their own unique problems. For example, a few years ago, a film actress came to her for guidance regarding love.
“The actress was so wellknown that men were afraid to approach her and she was really lonely,” says Alexandra. “I rebalanced her energy by placing a green malachite and a pink amethyst over her heart – both promote self-love.
“I also suggested she take a bath with two rose quartz crystals, the love stone, three times a week to attract romance. The woman had a date within weeks and went on to fall in love.”
Alexandra says crystals can help with a variety of issues.
“During the last break in lockdown, I saw a guitar player in a rock band who was suffering from chronic pain in his wrist. I gave him a red-black blood stone, a powerful healing crystal, to put in the case of his favourite guitar.
“He said his pain disappeared overnight,” says Alexandra.
Archangel Fire Oracle by Alexandra Wenman (Findhorn Press, £19.99) is available to pre-order now. Visit alexandrawenman.com
Crystals emit vibrations and can be used to help in a variety of situations