Sometimes the cosmos doesn't play fair and the Tuesday, November 6th is one of those times. Does the date November 6th ring a bell with you? That's right. The first day of the November Mercury Retrograde is also Election Day in the United States. Don't worry, I’m not getting political here. You get enough of that everywhere else. Still, a Mercury Retrograde that starts on an election day does make you think about hanging chads and mechanical voting machines going haywire, doesn't it?
Mercury Retrograde occurs three to four times a year. When we pass the planet Mercury in our orbit, it causes the optical illusion that Mercury is moving backwards in the sky. (See my blog; “Mercury Retrograde, Tarot and You” for a complete survival guide) During a Mercury Retrograde period, systems and machinery that normally run smoothly tend to snag. A few web astrologers have cautioned against the election process becoming tangled this year, however most agree, as do I, that we should simply envision everything running smoothly and all votes being counted correctly. Let’s hear it for collective consciousness.
November’s Retrograde may start a little rougher than most of them do for several reasons. Last week, we experienced a particularly potent full moon that left many of us with our energy fields ragged at the edges. There was also the usual dimensional seepage during All Hallows Eve. Plus, we’ve got some cosmic stumbling blocks going on froms Saturn move in with Scorpio (Saturn is a taskmaster). Let’s also remember that we have a swiftly approaching Winter Solstice season that’s said to be one for the record books in terms of human experience and growth potential. In short, we need to clear the energetic wreckage from the end of October before we tackle November’s Retrograde.
It’s not unusual for you to have the sensation of being rushed from one thing to another right now. The end of the year always winds up for a fevered pitch. Here are a few suggestions to help you ground yourself before you get swept into the frantic current of year end revels that start in just a little more than two weeks.
Spend time freeing yourself from distractions. Clean your physical space. Box up items you won’t be needing for a while and tuck them away. If you have too much of anything, give it away or donate it. Clean you mirrors, light fixtures and candle holders in preparation for the coming holiday season. The holiday seasons are all about gratitude and the celebration of light returning to the world. Free your home’s reflective surfaces of dust and clutter. This will brighten the glow from your Thanksgiving and Holiday candles when it comes time to light them, as well as help you symbolically settle in to enjoy the last two months of the year.
Performing simple, routine household tasks and making plans for Thanksgiving (if you happen to celebrate it) helps you re-establish your natural rhythm. Meditate and surround yourself with some of your favorite books and music. Use your sage smudge or white candles liberally. Don’t have any? Get some. One of my teachers has a glorious meditation room filled with crystals and white tea candles. The lighting effect is remarkably subtile, even with all the crystals. And it’s such a treat to be asked to join her there for meditations.
If you are making plans for Thanksgiving (November 22nd in America) that include travel, don’t forget to make allowances for Mercury Retrograde-style hassles. Remember to review your travel itinerary, recheck your accommodations and plan to arrive at the airport, train station or bus terminal earlier than is recommended. If traveling by car, have your tires, oil and water checked out well before your travel date and start out for your destination a little earlier to avoid traffic. Again, the key to successfully navigating Mercury Retrograde is revise, review, recheck, revisit and redesign your plans. Re-words.
Take a couple of hours this Sunday and Monday to unplug the election countdown. Do a little soul searching as in the Major Arcana’s #9, The Hermit. He goes inside himself to seek his truth. He lights his own path with the insights he’s gain from his introspection. Rest and renew your mind as in the Four of Swords. Seek to balance your inner and outer worlds as depicted in #14, Temperance, #17, Star and Minor Arcana’s 2 of Pentacles.
Pull all of these cards from your favorite deck and add #8, Strength.
Sit in a comfortable position where you normally either meditate, or read cards. Aline the cards in any manner that feels right to you. Study each of them - their design, their symbolism. Contemplate their range of meanings. Close your eyes and envision yourself walking in a forest or by the sea - your choice. As you walk you will meet each of the figures depicted in the cards. The order in which you meet them is also your choice. Angel, Hermit, Knight in Repose (another ‘R’ word!), Star; there’s no wrong order. Visit with them. They will give you information during this meditation that will help you integrate your worlds.
Now you’re set to head into a successful month. Later this week I’ll be posting about the astrological implications we have coming up for the month. In the meantime, relax and ease into November 2012.
LADY ORACLE
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