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    • Mercury Retrograde: What Does it Mean to Me?

      WEEKLY ASTROLOGICAL FORECAST APRIL 25, 2016

      by Maria Shaw

      (Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

      Mercury retrograde gets blamed for a lot things that go wrong in our lives. Does it deserve all the attention? What exactly is a Mercury retrograde?

      For those of you who don't know about this astrological "happening," here's the lowdown in layman's terms: The planet Mercury rules communication, travel, contracts, automobiles, and such. It goes in a retrograde motion—or motion that makes it appear to be going backwards in the night sky—three times a year for approximately three weeks at a time. When Mercury is retrograde, there's usually much confusion. People forget little things. Delays and frustrations abound.

      Astrologers recommend against starting anything new when Mercury goes retrograde. But even if you can't begin new endeavors, you can still put this aspect to good use. You just need to learn to work with the energy of Mercury rather than against it. Let's explore the pros and cons of this cosmic force and how to wait out this period until Mercury goes forward or "direct."

      There's a "wind up" period about two weeks before Mercury goes retrograde. During this time, you should finish business at hand. When Mercury does go retrograde, make sure you have all of your current projects finished.

      I have a few Mercury retrograde stories of my own to share.

      I owned a rental house that I needed to rent ASAP. It was costing me money to leave it vacant, and I was eager to get someone moved in. My Realtor did background checks on all of the rental applicants and found some folks that I thought would be the perfect renters. I knew I should never sign contracts on a retrograde, but was impatient. I didn't want to wait a month to sign a lease when Mercury went direct.

      The couple signed a year's lease, so I kept my fingers crossed. The following month, the rent was late. A few months later, they trashed the place, placed bills illegally in my name, moved out without notice, and filed for bankruptcy.

      Years ago, I wanted to buy a home and made an offer on a house during a Mercury retrograde in June. The offer was declined. I asked for a counter-offer and never heard back. Realtors couldn't find the owners. There was a lot of miscommunication. The sellers had left state to vacation for a few weeks. It took until October to get a response. The response was a "yes&" ... but it only came after re-writing the original offer three times!

      My friend and astrologer Cindy should have known better. She started a new job on the first day Mercury went retrograde. She asked how I felt the job would go. "You won't stay there," I told her. "It's a Mercury retrograde." The next day she broke her thumb and had to quit! This same friend had a lot of nerve tempting fate. She went out and bought a new car on another retrograde. It broke down on the drive home from the dealer's. It stayed parked at the dealership until Mercury went direct, waiting for a part.

      Now, you can't stop your life just because a Mercury retrograde hits. There's always something you can't avoid or put off. But if you have time to plan ahead, do so; you'll save yourself a lot of headaches. Since Mercury also rules travel and trips, it is not a good time to travel unless you have backup plans in place. Expect delays, double-check accommodations, and check everything.

      One year I booked a cruise for my husband's birthday. It wasn't a Mercury retrograde when I booked the trip, but the ship was set to sail during one. We went to the airport to fly to out, and the gate agent told us our trip was canceled. The ship had caught on fire! We drove to Canada instead for a quick getaway. Our trip was cut short when relatives called and told us to hurry home; there had been an emergency in the family!

      Sometimes, even when you plan ahead, Mercury retrogrades can get the best of you! Once my friends and I were heading to the airport to catch a flight. I told Sherry to meet me at my house a half hour earlier than usual so we wouldn't be late. She left her house early, but missed the turn to my road and went thirty minutes out of her way! Once she picked me up and we made it to the freeway, there was a six-mile traffic back-up due to road construction. We made it through that, but because we started late we ended up in Detroit's morning rush hour traffic and were delayed again. I was doing ninety miles an hour to get to the airport, and it looked like we'd actually make the flight. Then the tire on my car blew! Luckily someone stopped to help, but we were about seven minutes late getting to the gate and had to take a later flight. Three hours later, we boarded a plane scheduled to leave on time. A worker had left some machinery sitting in front of our plane while he went to lunch. No one could locate him and our flight was stuck until he came back!

      What Not To Do During Mercury Retrograde
      DON'T:

      • Start anything new
      • Make important decisions
      • Buy computers, appliances, TVs, radios, etc.
      • Travel without back-up plans
      • Sign contracts
      • Buy a car
      • Negotiate a contract
      • File a lawsuit
      • Start a new job
      • Begin a new class
      • Go on a "first" date
      • Expect things to move quickly
      • Take anything for granted

      WHAT TO EXPECT

      • Angrier people
      • Crazy drivers
      • More accidents
      • Miscommunication
      • Quarrels
      • Computer problems and breakdowns
      • Delays
      • More mistakes
      • Slow mail
      • Games of phone tag
      • Wrong directions
      • Missed appointments
      • Dead cell phone batteries

      What's Mercury Retrograde Good For?
      If you know when Mercury retrograde hits—which is about every three months—you can work with, rather than against, its energy. Remember there's a "re" in retrograde. These weeks are good for re-doing just about anything.

      DO:

      • Re-apply for a job
      • Re-do hair color
      • Re-write your resume
      • Review your bank account
      • Renew a loan
      • Repair your car
      • Re-contact past clients
      • Research

      Catch up on all of the tasks you set aside, and also have a game-plan in place for when Mercury goes direct.

      The Mercury retrograde is also a time to reflect on what you've accomplished and where you want to redirect your energies. There's that "re" again! We all need time to review and decide if we're taking the right road. These days give us the opportunity to do so.

      We can't stop our lives every time a retrograde hits. So what can you do when you don't have a choice?

      • Read and re-read contracts. Have someone else look them over, too.
      • Check your travel plans several times.
      • If you need to, ask questions over and over during negotiations.
      • ail packages and letters early. Check the zip codes.
      • Fill your gas tank.
      • Don't check your luggage if you're flying. Carry on everything if possible.
      • If you are making purchases, keep your sales receipt and know the store's return policy.
      • Keep your cell phone battery charged.
      • Watch your driving.

      There are people who never seem to be affected during Mercury retrogrades. Chances are they were born during one! Millions of people are. How do these weeks affect them? Well, Mercury retrograde babies thrive. Things appear easier for them and run smoothly. They get the new job, start building the new house, and travel to fun-filled destinations. If you're one of these people, you'll have the edge on everyone else! How do you find out? Your astrology chart will indicate if Mercury was retrograde when you were born.

      Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2004. All rights reserved.

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    • Double Vision: Beautiful Glowing Face Appears During Pregnancy
      wishfulthinking

      I’d like to ask a question for my mother. Recently, we were talking about paranormal phenomena and spiritual matters. My mother is very practical in her thinking, and she said that she doesn’t believe in ghosts and entities and such. Despite this, she mentioned that when she was pregnant with my older sister, she used to see a beautiful glowing face. It was the face of a man, and she would see this both when her eyes were closed and when they were open. After she had my sister, the face went away and she hasn’t seen it since. She says it was not disturbing, and despite her beliefs, while she was seeing it she never thought the experience to be odd. What do you think this was?

       – N.

      Astrea:

      During pregnancy, many women are more tuned in to other worlds and incarnations. This apparition was someone your mother had known before. It could even have been her daughter appearing to her as she had looked when they were together in another lifetime.

      I’ve had long and interesting conversations with the spirits of babies while they were growing in the womb before being born in this life. My goddaughter even picked out her own name, and though she wasn’t named that by her foolish parents, she insists to this day on being called by that name. She knew who she was long before she came into this incarnation, and she also knew who she wanted to become.

      Of course, a lot of that leaves us at birth, and we lose even more when we cease being babies and learn to communicate with the people who surround us in the here and now. Language blocks a lot of our other world memories, and that can’t be avoided.

      Every old soul changes from one sex to another and chooses different life circumstances for different lifetimes. It’s highly likely that the old soul that became this daughter chose to be a girl before she was born into this lifetime.

      We are all mother/father/sister/ brother/lover/friend to the many people we incarnate with lifetime after lifetime. Our gender changes for some lives and stays the same for others.

      While our relationships to one another can and often do change from one life to the next, our karmic family or Ka-Tet remains intact.

      As long as your mother and sister keep feeling each other with their hearts and minds, they’ll be together forever in some way, and keep reincarnating into each others’ experience. The apparition she saw during that pregnancy was a sign of this unbreakable bond.

      I’m sure your mom senses a different sort of connection with this first child. I wouldn’t be surprised if they often experienced telepathy, such as knowing when one of them is down or in trouble, or when one is calling on the phone.

      *****

      Susyn:

      The incident your mother experienced when she was pregnant is more common than many people think. When a woman is with child, all of her senses blossom. This is especially true with a first pregnancy.

      This hones the mother’s intuition, which will be vital when the new baby comes into the world. This keen intuition enables her to tune in to the well-being of her first child as well as any future babies she may have. This might explain why your mother only recalls having an experience of this type once, when she was pregnant with your sister.

      Everyone has spirit guides and guardian angels that are assigned to watch over and protect them. This is true both prior to our births and after. I have no doubt that spirit your mother saw is connected to your older sister, though I feel this spirit watches over your mother too.

      It’s possible that the entity was someone she knew in this lifetime, though it’s more likely this was someone from another life.

      It’s important to note that this experience wasn’t distressing. The fact that this seemed totally natural to her suggests it was designed to be heartwarming confirmation that everything would be okay. Once your mother gave birth to your sister, there was no need for the spirit to show himself again.

      Neither you nor your mother need to worry that it might have been an entity of a negative nature. If that were the case, your mother wouldn’t have been so matter of fact about it, and wouldn’t have felt so good at the time. When a negative spirit is near, you don’t have to see it to be able to tell if it’s of a light or dark nature.

      You don’t mention if you are a mother yourself yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you have the same sort of experience your mother did when you are pregnant.

      Oftentimes intuitive gifts are passed down from one generation to the next. You can also develop these abilities on your own at any time you want through prayer, meditation and the study of metaphysical subjects that interest you.

      I hope this helps answer your question. Thanks so much for writing!

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