Mercury Retrograde

I was reading Sacred Suzie’s latest blog post about cleansing crystals and making holy water, you can scroll down to the bottom of the page and there is a link to her blog. In her post she mentioned that Mercury went retrograde a little while ago. I had not realized this. So I went to look around for the exact date when it went retrograde. I found that Mercury went retrograde on Wednesday, the 24th. It will go direct on October 15th.

When people talk about Mercury going retrograde, they mean that the planet Mercury appears to be moving backwards. It isn’t, but it looks that way. Mercury rules communication so there are usually a lot of miscommunications during a Mercury retrograde. There are three or four a year, and they last about three weeks.

I know from personal experience that during Mercury retrograde there can be problems. Last year during one my mom broke her grandmother’s bread bowl. It was precious to my family, and she felt horrible about the accident. Just on Thursday, the day after this retrograde began, my mom started to have communication problems with her boss at work about overtime and her check. I am having some problems communicating with my parents, when I usually don’t. I can look forward to three weeks of this mess.

It’s not all bad though. Mercury retrograde gives us some time to catch up with ourselves, and look back at things we’ve done. It seems that way to me. I don’t know if it’s just because of the retrograde, but I’ve been having some serious déjà vu lately. I also had a reoccurring dream two nights ago that I seem to have just every now and then. Some people believe that during Mercury retrograde it is best to avoid making set plans. This means you should probably hold off on planning that vacation until the retrograde is over.

Make the most of this retrograde. Go over some of your old writings, think over an old problem in a new light, or just sit and be open to whatever ideas happen to flow through your mind. I plan on doing all three. We have three weeks to use, and I will hopefully have time to use them.

Meditation

Meditation is a good skill to learn. If you can meditate then you have a very effective way to relax yourself. Meditation is not just a way to relax though. You can meditate on an idea and it will help you decide what you believe is right or wrong. You can meditate to learn information about yourself. Some people meditate to learn what their spirit guide is.

I have not mastered meditation. I want to, and it is something I am working on. I suffer from the age old problem of the second you are trying to clear your mind a million thoughts pop up. xD There are a lot of people who have the same problem.

I find that if I have something to focus on it is easier to meditate. Some people listen to relaxing music. I like to sit and stare at a candle flame, or the smoke from incense. Those two work well for me. I also find that deep breaths help in the beginning. Take a few deep breaths, then just slow down and concentrate on your breathing.

You do not need to sit like Buddha in order to meditate. I do sometimes sit cross legged on the floor, just because I feel comfortable that way. Other times I want to sit on the couch, or on my bed. I risk falling asleep if I am really comfortable, but if I’m too tired I won’t usually try to meditate anyway.

There are guided meditations out there in books and on the internet. They can help you with various things, depending on what the guided meditation is for. Most of the ones I have seen take you to a place, like a garden, and help you learn something. Others are just for relaxing, or for fun. The problem I have with these is if you don’t record yourself saying them, you need to get someone else to read them to you. I don’t want anyone around watching me try to meditate. xP

I cannot suggest any books or websites to help learn meditation. Despite it being a skill you learn, there really is no way to ‘teach’ it. Different methods work for different people. I would suggest talking to people to see what works for them.


Sorry for the lack of posts. I just wrote this tonight, and I am tired. It’s been a busy week. I’ve been distracted with Oh My Gods! comics, Brisingr, and lots of homework. I babysit as well. I am doing that all day tomorrow. Not to mention this weekend is homecoming! It’s a small school, we don’t have very good sports teams, and all the games have been rained out, but I am going to the dance Saturday night. Wish me luck! I don’t usually go to dances, and I have a cold. =P

Oh My Gods!

So I am now hopelessly addicted to the Oh My Gods! comics. I just started reading them two days ago, so I'm only on #471. I should be done soon. xD

http://ohmygods.co.uk/strips/2002-03-07

Since I'm not going to school tomorrow, (my 4H group is doing some volunteer work in the NH Building at the Big E) I'm in no danger if I procrastinate on my homework! =D Lucky for me I know how to balance my work and play.

I still have not finished that Astral Travel book. I got distracted with the new Christopher Paolini book. It's the third in the series, and there is now apparently going to be a fourth! If it didn't say so in the back of the book I wouldn't believe it. We were all told it would be a trilogy. Anyway... it's called Brisingr and I will review it when I'm done.

Happy Mabon!

For those who may not know what Mabon is, (I am still technically trying to help newcomers xP) it is the day of the Autumn Equinox. Today there is equal time of light and dark. For me, it is a day to celebrate the turning of the Wheel of The Year. After today the days will be a little shorter, and the nights a little longer.

I did not think I would be able to do much to celebrate today, because I don't usually get to do much. The rest of my family is not Pagan, so we don't have a big meal or do other things I would love to do. The day was in my favor though, because my mom, out of no where, decided to make corn chowder! We had some corn on the cob that she used to make it. Corn on the cob = I had corn husks! So, I got to do something I have been wanting to do since I was little. I got to make a corn husk doll. Then, while procrastinating on my homework, I was browsing some other blogs. I was really looking for ideas of what to write for this Mabon post, but what I found was an idea of what I can bake for Mabon instead! I made apple crisp. It was good. In our haste to eat it while it was hot we cut two pieces out before I could take a picture. So now I have a picture of the crisp in the pan, and on my plate with some vanilla ice cream.

Just about my whole family was in the mood for Autumn things. My mom with the corn chowder, me with the corn husk dolls and apple crisp, and then my sister who decided to make a scare crow! I have no clue why it's dressed for winter. She does have to spend all night outside, so maybe it's a good thing!

I hope everyone has (or had) a good Mabon! I know mine was better than I expected. =)