In 2020, during the hush of the pandemic, I created a book called RIDDLE MOON — a collection of poems drawn from my dream diaries, gathered gently over several years, beginning in 2017.

I’ve always been a vivid dreamer. Early on, one of my therapists suggested I start keeping a dream journal. It became a deeply nourishing morning ritual — and it continues to this day. Each morning, I sit quietly with a cup of green tea or an herbal infusion, and open my beloved journal, always from a small bookshop in Bologna that binds their own notebooks with handmade paper. The texture of the paper, the stillness of the hour, the slow unwinding of dream images — all of it feels like entering another kind of reality.

These dream fragments and early-morning writings became the heart of RIDDLE MOON. The book is both a record and a reflection, an offering from the liminal space between sleep and waking. It holds symbols, sensations, riddles, and quiet revelations.

Alongside the poems, the book contains a series of paintings and photographs I made during those same years. Most of the artworks are abstract — they move with feeling rather than form — and they accompany the reader on a journey. A journey of emotion, of mystery, of atmosphere. Just as the poems emerge from the dreamworld, the images speak in their own symbolic language.

The book was designed by one of my closest friends, Chiara — a gifted artist and designer. We chose a paper with varying tones of white to give the paintings their full expression, letting their subtle hues and textures emerge softly from the page. The cover is made of recycled paper created from lavender waste — it has a muted, indigo tone, and feels just right in the hands. The title isn’t on the front, but on the back. On the front, there’s only a central sigil I drew, holding the book’s initials.

Inside, Chiara added tiny moon phases beside each page number. As you leaf through the book, you’re met with the slow rhythm of the lunar cycle, quietly turning in the margins.

I often encourage people to open the book at random, as you would a card or an oracle. RIDDLE MOON isn’t meant to be read in a linear way. It’s a book to wander through.

Here are the opening words:

Dedicated to the sea

at night

where the moon

sees herself.

This was a period in my life when I was doing deep inner work — especially around healing the wounded feminine within. A lifelong journey, really. I see now how this thread of wounding, remembering, and reclamation moves throughout the book. That’s part of why I chose the title RIDDLE MOON — to honor the mystery and intuition of the feminine, the dream world, the cyclical and the sacred. The moon doesn’t give answers. She offers presence, emotion, subtle light. She asks to be felt, not solved.

RIDDLE MOON was a labor of love — made slowly, by hand, in collaboration with dear friends and deeper forces. I’m grateful to finally share it beyond my own circle.

~ You can order your copy here:

https://nalini-ruha.com/shop/riddle-moon-book

In the coming weeks, I’ll also share the story behind my other book, Let the Hate Kill You, and the path that led to its birth.

 Until then, thank you for dreaming with me.