I know we get worried when we see Mercury retrograde coming up; it does seem to affect phones, computers and vehicles, as well as communication in the work world and in our relationships. It creates challenges and malfunctions, and brings lessons. How can we weather these periods of time better, and even use them to our advantage?
1. Accept that the lessons coming will help you to improve your life, your relationships, and the overall quality of your spiritual path. As with most lessons in life they come up for a specific reason. Telephones down? Maybe you need to let go of, or find a different way to handle, that communication. Think twice about the thing you are “unable” to do due to the “malfunction.” Is there a lesson in that for you?
2. Be grateful for the lessons! Embracing your lessons will do much to soften how hard they “hit” you. Think of a child who cries and suffers before going to a new school, only to find a wonderful new teacher and a wonderful friend, or more! Know that whenever you look deeply into how to be a better person, and take action, your self esteem goes up, and so does your personal happiness!
3. Be aware of when retrogrades are coming. You can seek that information from many online astrology sources; it’s in the back of my daytime calendar. Check your day timer. By becoming aware of when they happen, you can be more careful to avoid misunderstandings, have back up plans for transportation, travel, or any kind of communications. Being more aware lets you plan ahead for problems instead of being surprised by them.
4. Honor these days as divine lessons. I light a red candle on my altar every single day of Mercury retrograde. As I light it in the morning I ask to be guided in my lessons, and to have the courage to keep my eyes open to my own words and behaviors in order to become a better person.
5. Set the timing for upcoming events around these dates and remember the “ripple effect.” Once the direction of the planet “appears” to change, it’s much like a motorboat going past you on a river. There are ripples and a series of wakes that will also take you up and down—allow three days on either side!
I actually look forward to retrograde periods now as times when the divine lessons become clearer to me, and easier to see—and because of my perception of gratitude and preparation, I do not stress, or have drama, over things that don’t go “as planned,” which is a real triumph for a Virgo! Here are some upcoming dates for 2011—let’s see if you can change your experience:
March 30th 4:48PM EST – April 23rd 6:04AM EST
August 2nd 11:50PM EST – August 26th 6:03PM EST
November 24th 2:19AM EST – December 13th 8:43PM EST
4 thoughts on “Survive and Thrive During Mercury Retrograde”
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Hi guys, the discussion has been very initresetng thank you. I think a lot of the fear Carrie mentions (and Eric raises as well) stems from a fear of abandonment. We often enter into relationships out of loneliness in an attempt to find the missing piece and when we find each other, we develop a massive reliance (some might say over reliance ) on them to the point where we won’t allow the other to develop and grow as a person, and so we end up with the push and pull of control issues. Of course, that’s usually because we ourselves are afraid to grow and develop we’d rather have a crutch than learn to stand on our own two feet. This results in what we might call the race to the bottom rather than to the top. Usually the weaker person needs the stronger person, and the stronger person feels duty-bound to support and protect the weaker person. What happens then is that the weaker person remains weak, and the stronger person is undermined (their sense of duty is constantly palyed on, and they are made to feel guilty if they attempt to pay any attention to themselves or their own needs) until they too become weak the weaker person’s strength only comes through the dominance of the other. Eventually of course, the stronger person seeks to leave (one can only hold their breath for so long), and trouble ensues.How does one find their way out of this relationship model? I think the best thing to do (and that of course is incredibly difficult to do!) is to not enter into a relationship under those conditions. To wait until individuals are strong enough to be self-supporting units having a strong and supportive community around us helps. It’s a lonely trek sometimes sexually frustrating, because strong people need company too usually the company of the another strong person but all too often, the strong ones are out tied up in these destructive relationships, living out their sense of duty .Until of course it all becomes too much and they being to understand that they ALSO have a duty to themselves.The law has a provision when it comes to contract law and negotiations that the parties enter the negotiation with clean hands and I think (as relationships are also negotiations), that would be a good rule of thumb for determining whether a person is fit to have a relationship with (and also, are WE fit to be in a relationship? Are we strong? Can we give it the requisite energy?).The pressure ( marketing ) on us from society (obsessed with reproduction) to couple off, marry, produce children is huge, but one must resist that pressure. The single life when one os negotiating trauma or familial or childhood issues is a good thing we give ourselves time to work through things and heal. And does anyone actually NEED more trauma? Because relationships where a power imbalance exists are traumatic. We need to arrive at the point where we say no , where we understand that charity (that is LOVE), does indeed begin at home that is, with us as the individual. If we can’t love ourselves (and demonstrate that we love ourselves for example, by not enetering into situations where we will be harmed), then we don’t have enough love to give anyone else. Love is unlike anything else you have to have a full belly of it yourself before you can actually give any away you can’t share it if you haven’t got it!Community, friends these sorts of loving relationships help us become strong, and then and only then can we enter into that other sort of relationship the one that involves true intimacy as individually strong people (and whether that be with one person, or more is a matter for the individuals involved) with clean hands .Cheers,Indrani
This retrograde has been a nightmare for me. I lent my car to someone who inadvertanly blew the motor in the car, I was denied admission to college by the smallest of g.p.a averages, and denied financial aid for another college. My own sister filed a restraining order against me and I was homeless, oy!
Hi Yemaya,
I enjoyed your article it is so helpful to read up on different ways to handle Mercury Retrograde, too often this can bring such challenging times to many of us.
Blessings and Big Hugs!
Jacqueline x9472