When Mercury turns retrograde....

Have you heard people complaining about their computers breaking down? Systems crashing? Internet connection slowing down? Cars not starting? These are some of the blessings of Mercury Retrograde. The planet of information, communication, and transportation turned retrograde on March 30th pushing us to slow down, revise, reconsider, recondition, review, repair, and many others "re's."

As I was coming back from work yesterday, I couldn't help but notice a big truck that had a sign on the back saying "snap on", this truck was moving at normal speed - not too fast or too slow. I was on a three lane street and the cars on the other two lanes were moving slower than the truck but there were times it seemed as they moved faster and I kept thinking... should I change lanes? Should I try to pass the snap on truck? But somehow a message came to me, this is it! This is how Mercury Retrograde feels like. You are still moving but everything is slowing down and you feel stuck. Like in the Hangman card in the Tarot deck, you are suspended, tied, hanging, and any attempt to keep up with your fast pace will end up in frustration and disappointment. That is the reason why I decided to continue driving behind the snap on truck and surrender to the pace so I will not literally snap.

Transportation has been another area where I had to breath deeply and just let go or I would be pushing the river. Yesterday morning, my husband's car got vandalized and the people who did it stole a part of the car so he could not drive it until we fix it... yes, keep spare parts because cars may unexpectedly break down or just disappear! Now we had one car to move around but I was in for another surprise! Yesterday morning, as I wake up running because I overslept and I was late for my appointment, I look at the panel in my own car and there was it, the light was on, the tire was having a problem!!!! My first reaction was to think that these people had tampered with my car as well and made me very angry. Even though I had other plans, all my schedule was modified to be able to fix my car that now turned out to have a nail in the tire and it could not be fixed so I had to buy another tire and spend three hours waiting for my car to get fixed.

Delays are a big part of Mercury's Retrograde cycle and I had experienced a fair share so far. We have only experienced these energies for ten days and have another 14 days to go. If you wonder how to deal with these energies that are all around us and are unavoidable, here are some tips:

1. Use this time to re-evaluate the course of your life - are you where you want to be? Like in the song from Nine Inch Nails "Right where you Belong"

"What if you could look right through the cracks, Would you find yourself?
Find yourself afraid to see?
And if you look at your reflection,
Is it all you want to be?"

This is the time to look through the cracks. Things slow down so we can take the time to reconsider, to redraw the board and set a new course if we have derailed from the path.

2. Surrender to the energies around - don't push the river, just flow with it. If you fight the energies, you will only be wasting your own energies. Instead, just practice patience and compassion, let go of the need to control things, to keep up with the fast pace when everything feels as if against you or blocking you.

3. Be aware of the energies and avoid signing contracts, making agreements, making decisions on partnerships because there is a high chance you will have to redo it after Mercury turns direct or you may find yourself seeing something you did not see before.

4. Be prepared for delays in transportation - if you are traveling, just bear in mind there could be canceled flights, delays, and blockages.

5. Be prepared for misunderstandings and problems in communication. Yes! You meant to say one thing but she understood another thing... this is the time to choose your words carefully or just enjoy the silence and avoid serious communication.

Remember, Mercury Retrograde can be a blessing in disguise for our time where we are tied to technology and fast pace living. Now is the time to enjoy Nature, relax, rethink, take advantage of the breathing time and prepare for when it turns direct. If you are wondering where it will turn direct, mark your calendars, there will be a party on April 24th when the God of communication, information and transformation turns direct.

Blessings )0(