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So, here we go again... we are now in another Mercury Retrograde. If you are interested, even slightly, in astrology you've probably heard this term before, but do you know what it means? There are times when certain planets appear to actually move backwards in motion, this is not actually what is happening, but this is our perception of what is going on and we call this phenomenon a Retrograde. If you happen to own a witches or astrology calender you'll notice that it will sometimes have a little RX symbol next to certain planets marked in your calender. RX is the symbol to let you know that planet is in Retrograde. This is what is happening right now with the planet Mercury and hence the term “Mercury Retrograde.” When a planet goes into retrograde, the things ruled by that planet, are affected for better or for worse. Since Mercury rules communication, travel, electronics, and contracts, these areas in your life might go a bit crazy at this time. It's not something you should be worried about, it's just something you should be aware of. Right now is the time for you to take a laid back approach towards life and relationships. I'm going to go over the common problems that occur in each area during a Mercury Retrograde and how it can affect your spellwork: Communication and Relationships: One of the most common things I get emails over during a Mercury Retrograde are people upset because they just had an argument with their significant other or just had a break up due to a misunderstanding. These are things that are very common during this time. It's so common that I am always waiting for that influx of people getting discouraged by a bad conversation they just had with their target. Since communication is effected, naturally you'll be more likely to say the wrong thing to your loved one or take something he or she said more harshly than you should have. So now more than ever, it is essential to make sure that you refrain from conversations about your relationship or anything that has a chance to get heated. Actually, some of the most mundane things have a chance to end up getting heated right now, so anything big should definitely not be brought up right now. If there is something important that needs to be addressed, stick a pin in it, save it for another time. If that person is really worth it to you, the conversation can wait, otherwise you might start something you really will wish you could take back later. If you find that someone you care for getting upset with you and bringing up the past or other things that are bothering them, this again is a time for you to try and get away from the conversation till a later date if that person really means something to you. Neither of you will get a positive resolution at this moment so it's best to be smart about the situation and dodge the conversation until Mercury goes direct again. Since break ups are common right now, if you happen to be on the receiving end of a break up, try not to let it get you down too much since these things can be fixed, but just be aware they are not going to get fixed right now so trying to talk him or her out of a break up will just dig you deeper into a hole. The deeper you get into that hole the harder it will be for us to try and get you out of it. So respect their wishes at this moment and give them some time to themselves. Giving people you're having conflicts with plenty of space at this moment is one of the best things you can do during a Mercury Retrograde. So even if you miss them and are worried they will forget you or move on from you, keep strong in your resolve to give them time away from you because you are focused on the end result which will make the space you give them worth it. Too many people cause problems for themselves by not taking this advice and if we have to clean up misunderstandings and problems that were caused from you getting into conflicts at this time, it just adds more time and heartache that we will have to deal with later. Travel: Usually they (whoever they are?! lol) advise people to try not to travel during a Mercury Retrograde, but unless you work from home and have hoarded enough groceries to last for about a month, you're going to need to leave the house. Plus, since Mercury Retrogrades come about three to four times a year, it's not realistic nor necessary to hide away from the world. So some things to be aware of when you leave the house is to make sure your car is in good working order, you have enough gas in your car, leave more than enough time to get to your destination since traffic jams seemingly pop out of no where during this time, and pay plenty of attention to what is going on around you while you are driving. Make sure you are not speeding since you're more likely to end up getting a ticket, and keep a eye out for red lights. Basically, do everything you should be doing anyway! ;-) If you are traveling on a plane, make sure you double check the times in which you depart and arrive and make sure you double check your gate numbers. Electronics: This is probably the thing that I always get hit with each Mercury Retrograde. To be fair though, I've never had good luck with electronics anyway. Even right now they've decided to start laying down google fiber in my neighborhood and we've had problems all week with our electricity and internet as a result. I luckily have two phones and two computers so if something goes wrong with one, I've got a backup. Plus there is always a Starbucks I can run to if my internet or electricity has problems. So I've had to come up with back up plans to make sure my emails and updates get done and it has helped reduce stress since I know I'm prepared. So my advice is to just be aware that things can happen to your electronics during this time so make sure you have backups of everything that are important to you. Make sure you've charged your phone just in case you need it if you are out and about and need help from your car breaking down and ensure you double check your alarm clock, and for the love of God (or Goddess!) stay away from social media! You've got communication and electronics tied into one area that is just tempting you to get into trouble! Social media is a cesspool of negative energy when Mercury is in direct motion, so you're just betting against yourself to get on Facebook or any other social media site at this moment. So stay away from these sites or at least give yourself a time limit each day if you HAVE to get on it. Contracts: Just don't sign anything important or life changing if you can get out of it. Don't schedule houses to close during this time, don't sign up for a new phone plan (got burned on that one a couple years back myself), don't plan a marriage to take place during a Mercury Retrograde. Just try to keep important contracts on the back burner till Mercury goes direct again. If you have no choice but to sign a contact, make sure you double and triple read it so that you don't miss anything. If something doesn't feel right, make sure you bring it up before you sign. You'll save yourself a lot of misery if you are proactive in making sure you cover your butt. So these are things you need to watch out for right now. It doesn't mean that it's a bad thing for Mercury to go into retrograde. There are plenty of benefits to a Mercury Retrograde and actually, it gives us some pretty good opportunities when it comes to magick. Here are some good things that will benefit us at this time: The past will pop up and we will have a chance to remember the good times and replay them in our head. This is especially beneficial if you have a love spell being done on someone you had a very good past with. It will be a good time to help remind them of the love you two did share and give them those feelings of joy you once had together. For some people, nostalgia is a huge benefit for relighting the spark that had gone out. So this is a good time to use spellwork to focus on past love and past happiness. Moving on... this is a good time to make the choice to move on from someone who is toxic to you. I've recently used this opportunity to say things that needed to be said to someone who I felt was harmful to me. I was able to remember everything that had been building up and write them down in such a way to make sure she knew how hurtful she had been to me and how upset I was that she decided to take my caring nature and use it against me. I got to say the words that I've needed to say for many years and end the relationship with her on my terms which gave me an amazing sense of relief. So if there is a person or people who are toxic to you, this is a good time to end the relationship with them. Just make sure you are 100% sure you are ready to move on. If so, this is your opportunity to get those psychic vampires out of your life. Since we went over break ups and how they can happen frequently right now, the other side to this coin is actually using a Mercury Retrograde to help break up a couple. If you are waiting out a relationship or have a loved one cheating on you, this is the time to break up that situation or that couple. Misunderstandings are very, very common so we get to use this to our advantage when doing break up spells during this time. Mercury Retrogrades also give us a chance to recover. This is the time to recover from past hurts and to take it easy. Aura cleanses and anything that focus on healing is important right now. Take the time to remember your happy moments in life, give thanks for them, and let go of the things that have caused you pain in your life. Accept apologies you've never been given. Forgive yourself for past mistakes and spend time focusing on you.
If you are having a particularly difficult time right now, here are a few things you can do:
Mercury Retrograde Survival Spell:
You'll need: A blue candle (the color ruled by Mercury in Retrograde) A pin or another sharp object to carve a symbol into the candle Oil (lemon grass or a oil specifically blended for the Mercury Retrograde) Yellow Ribbon (the color of Mercury while it's direct)
Gather all your materials and find a nice spot where you are able to do your spell with out distraction from noises or people. This is a good one to do in the morning to help set your day on the right path, but if you are unable to do that, it's ok to do it when it is dark as well. It is ok for you to have pets in the room as long as they are quiet and let you work peacefully. Carve the Mercury symbol into your candle and anoint it with your oil.
Take the ribbon and tie it around the candle. This symbolizes you setting Mercury's energy forward into direct motion since you are wrapping a blue candle (color of Mercury being in retrograde) with a yellow (color of Mercury being direct) ribbon. So this step is important.
Pictured below is an example of what your candle should look like at this point. If you are using a pilar candle, carve your symbol into the side.
Light your candle and say your spell: “Mercury, please hear my plea set things forward in motion the way they ought to be. I need relief, right away Please help me make it though the day. With these words, it's up to you. Go on and show me what you can do.” After you are done saying your spell at least once (you can also say it several times as a chant if you want to since it does help build energy to chant it, but that is again personal preference), you can keep the candle burning while you focus on the flame and your intention till the candle burns out completely (in this case, use a chime candle or tea light, otherwise you'll be at this for hours! Lol) or you can snuff out your candle and save it to re-do the spell each morning or night till you are done with the candle. To keep the spell going, just light it each morning or night, re-anoint with oil, and say your spell. Mercury Retrograde Survival Talisman:
Another thing that you can do is carry a Mercury Retrograde Talisman with you.
Gather your supplies:
Find a rock that is flat and small enough to fit into your pocket or use one of the glass pebbles I like to use as rune stones.
Yellow and silver paint
Paintbrushes
Clear spray paint
Lemon grass or Mercury Retrograde Oil
Paint your rock or pebble fully with yellow paint (the color of Mercury going direct) and use silver paint to paint the Mercury symbol on it. Seal it with a clear coat of spray paint to ensure it doesn't rub off, once fully dry, you will anoint it with lemongrass oil, or Mercury Retrograde oil while setting your intention for this talisman (which is to help you get through the Mercury Retrograde) and focusing on moving a little yellow ball of energy from your body into the talisman. Keep your talisman with you where ever you go to help offer protection from the ill effects of Mercury in Retrograde.
These are the supplies needed for your talisman:
Life Spirits Mercury Retrograde Survival Spell: If you don't feel up to casting your own spell, or want us to add additional energy to help you out, I always have the Mercury Retrograde Survival Spell listed in our Limited Special Spells category. We have a lot more options available to us since we have a pretty extensive witches cupboard so have a pretty awesome spell we can do for you if you feel you need one done up. So that is another option you have at your disposal during this time. I also offer free positive energy boosts and sometimes will offer a group Aura Cleanse for free if I feel it's been a particularly difficult Mercury Retrograde for people. So those are always things to keep a eye out for since I want to make sure I have you guys covered during what can be a very frustrating time for all of us. I hope I gave you guys a pretty good synopsis on what a Mercury Retrograde is and how it can affect you and your spellwork plus a few options to help you all get through it without too much damage. I'm sure I'll have some editing (please let me know if you see something I need to fix) that I'll need to do and things to add to this later on, but I've gotten so many emails already this week and will be giving everyone a link to this since their issues are directly related to the Mercury Retrograde. I knew putting this up right now would help some of you who are struggling. Please make sure that if you still have any questions for me about the Mercury Retrograde, to email me at robinlifespirits@gmail.com and I will get to you as soon as I can to help out.