It’s here again, folks! Mercury Retrograde is on the way. And there’s no deny that more than a few of you are already moaning and groaning and preparing to hide under the covers for the next few weeks.

I get it, I do. Mercury Retrograde is one of the trickiest times for many of us. Travel, plans, finances, technology, communication…it’s like everything manages to get screwed one way or another during this inevitable three week period that happens at least three times a year.

I’ve talked before about how a lot of this is also perception. We hear so much “OHSHITNO” kind of talk about Mercury Retrograde each time it’s preparing to start that we have it almost ingrained in our brains to hate or fear this event when it happens.

Mercury Retrograde doesn’t have to me the bane of your existence. {And when I said that it made me think of Bane from Batman which made me want to put in a Bane meme…fuck it, here it is…}

The truth is Mercury Retrograde presents an opportunity to make positive changes that we might not be so open to normally. This is a time when things that are really in need of change come to the surface and can’t be avoided. It’s also a great time for looking back on things in our recent past and seeing what we need to change to move forward.

 

During Mercury Retrograde the planet of communication and tech appears through an optical illusion to be moving backward. That “retro” movement is part of what moves our forward motion into either a standstill or sends us backward a bit. But this can be a positive thing!

 

Look for the opportunity to reflect on the past and use it as a chance for seeking clarity where you weren’t able to find it at the moment.

 

Hindsight is 20/20, right? You’ll be amazed at some of the things you can find when you use this time for that deep reflection. But it needs to be deep and go beyond the surface thoughts of “hmmmm…what could I do differently next time.”

This is a great time for divination, journaling, journeying, and magick to seek clarity on your past to make the future smooth sailing.

Also, consider the signs that the Universe and the Divine may be trying to send to you during Mercury Retrograde. Just because something breaks or stops working, or when plans completely fall apart, don’t just say “Well, dammit, Mercury Retrograde. Thanks a million!” Instead, ask yourself “Is there more to this? Is there a lesson to be learned here?”

 

I have a perfect example of this from my life this year.

Every Mercury Retrograde this year, including during the pre-shadow this time around, my website for the Cosmic Wisdom Academy has gone down. And not just a little down, down hard! This time, the third time this year, I had to completely wipe the domain clean and start all over and restore everything from scratch. Something had gotten infected with malware and despite finding the exploit and cleaning everything up, because it kept happening, my hosting company refused to reactive the site until I did this complete wipe because there was a very high chance that any files, images, or backups could be infected.

For two days I sat looking at this thing, thinking about this is the third Mercury Retrograde this year and the third time this has happened. There’s more to it than a bit of bad tech luck. And the truth is that for a few months now I’ve been considering that I wouldn’t run this program again. After doing a very soft relaunch of a modified version of it and not having it go anywhere, I hear the message loud and clear: “This is not the work you’re supposed to be doing. Stop.” So I did/am.

 

This is an opportunity from Mercury Retrograde and not a shitty website issue. It’s an opportunity to ask myself really to dig into what I really want to do rather than what I’ve been doing that isn’t working. And I’ve gladly taken that cue to start making big changes.

When you find yourself facing these kinds of things this time around do the same. Ask yourself what more this may be asking you to do. What reflection do you need to do and what chances can you make?

 

Chaos is just an opportunity to see all the pieces of the puzzle scattered about so you can start putting things back together in a new way.

 

This particular Mercury Retrograde will happen in the sign of Virgo just a few days before a solar eclipse that will also be in Virgo.

Virgo is an Earth sign, so we’re looking at issues of stability and practicality. Virgo specifically has us looking at productivity, how we get things done, what our routines are like and how efficient they are, and just how well our daily routines and personal lifestyles are supporting us and our purpose.

This is going to be a retrograde period idea for changing your work and lifestyle habits, to look at what you’ve been doing in the past, recognize what hasn’t worked well, and prepare to make changes for the future. This will be an especially good time for adding new practices and skills to our lives rather than just bringing back past habits. If you’ve wanted to try a new type of exercise or a new organization plan or a new eating plan, this is the time to implement it. Anything that will increase your health, energy, and productivity from what it has been will be a positive move during this next month.

 

My “Chill The Fuck Out, Mercury Retrograde” Spell Bag

Each Mercury Retrograde I like to give a little magickal somethin’-somethin’ to help you work through the challenges ahead. This month I have a little magickal spell bag to share. It’s made of herbs and stones intended counter some of the potential negative effects of this retrograde. 

I recommend making this bag and then carrying it with you in your pocket while you’re traveling, even if that’s just your commute to work, or keep it at your desk or workspace where your computer and other techy stuff is.

You’ll Need: 

• a square of cloth or a pre-sewn spell bag in orange or gold
• white or silver ribbon if using raw cloth
• A pinch of each of the following dried herbs:
  Anise for luck
  Bay Leaf for protection
  Salt to deflect negativity
  Black Pepper to keep unwanted people and gossip away
  Rosemary to help keep you peaceful
• One of the following crystals for keeping a cool head {cleansed in advance}
  fluorite, smoky quartz, chrysocolla
• One of the following crystals for staying grounded in the here and now {cleansed in advance}
  tiger’s eye, bloodstone, black tourmaline

Take all your items and one by one put them in the bag or in the center of the cloth. With each one gently blow on it and tell it what you’re using it for. For instance, while holding your Anise, breathe on it and say, “I awaken your powers of luck,” and then place it in your bag. Do this for all the herbs and the crystals.

When you’re done, tie the bag and hold it in your hands for a moment, visualizing and feeling all the different energies mixing together in the bag. See the bag begin to transmit a beautiful bright orange light that surrounds your hands and begins to rise up your arms, up your shoulders, up over your head, and then back down again over the rest of your body. Feel yourself connecting to the energy.

When you feel ready, say a final blessing over your bag. Use your own words and express your own wishes for this Retrograde. You can always say something simple like “When I have you wish me may you grant me peace of mind, the ability to accept what is in the here and now, and protection from letting the chaos carry me away.”

You can use an oil to dress the bag if you’d like. I like to do this to add a little boost of energy to the bag’s collective spirit as I use it. You can use Mercury magickal blend oil or you can use an essential oil like Sweet Orange or Almond oil. Just add a single dab to each side of the bag.

To charge up your bag if you feel it’s getting dull, hold it and do the visualization again, speaking to the bag and “waking it up” to remind it of why you’re working with it.

 

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