Well, everyone, we are finally out of the woods.
Mercury went retrograde for the second time this year on May 29th. Those of us who are aware of the upheavals that can take place during a planet’s retrograde period have been waiting with bated breath, jaws clenched, and gritted teeth for this one to pass.
Like us, the planets have their periods of restfulness. When a planet goes retrograde, this simply means that the planet’s orbit slows down to a creep. So slow, that it appears to be moving backwards in relation to the planets that are still orbiting and rotating at their normal speed. One of the most talked about retrograde periods is that of Mercury, known for being the planet of technology, communication, and transportation. When Mercury goes retrograde we seem inclined to deal with more miscommunications and mishaps than usual; it can be a very high stress time for many of us.
I heard a collective sigh as the weight of this retrograde period was lifted from our shoulders once Mercury stationed direct on June 22nd; but I didn’t want to be too quick to put all that happened during this retrograde period behind me, so I decided to try something a little different during this retrograde shadow period. I set aside time to take inventory and reflect on some of the challenges I faced, and I’ve decided to give any readers out there a brief rundown of my experience.
After reflecting on the clusterf*ck that was this Mercury retrograde in Gemini, the theme I noticed was the importance of staying grounded in myself. There was a lot going on around me, and at times I felt as though I was standing in the eye of the storm, patiently waiting for the chaos to subside. Initially, there didn’t seem to be much that I was affected by directly, but after giving it a little more thought I realized that this had actually been an extremely draining few weeks for me energetically. One thing that has helped me feel present and in-tune with my body (and out of other people’s problems) has been grounding myself both spiritually and physically.
Grounding yourself requires the kind of work and intention that will push you to dig deeper and go a little further than some of the more typical and popularized practices (like meditating with your heart shaped love quartz or burning sage). I’m talking daily (and sometimes twice daily) prayer, energy clearing sessions, meditations, and journaling.
What was unique about this time around was that I definitely found myself using more grounding techniques for my physical body instead of focusing solely on the spiritual stuff. Giving myself massages, moisturizing as much of my body as I can reach, and practicing yoga or stretching assisted in nurturing my body as well as releasing some of the built up tension I had been picking up from my environment.
The tricky thing about being an empath is, sometimes it’s not as simple as feeling other people’s feelings. If you find that you: Suddenly feel off balance, are experiencing more headaches or random aches and pains, are having a hard time falling asleep or staying asleep, feel the need to be alone more than usual, or are having difficulties focusing or completing tasks…you might want to consider that there may be some spirits or energies that have invaded your bubble that have no business being there.
As I look back on this experience, I can understand the importance of a daily routine to keep yourself grounded, especially during retrograde periods. We may have awareness of how to navigate times like this for ourselves, but carrying the energy of our environment or the collective can slow us down and bog our minds if we aren’t being mindful.
Now that we’re finally out of the retrograde and retrograde shadow period, I encourage whoever happens to be reading this to do their own journaling and take inventory of their experiences and energy over the past 6 weeks or so. Make an attempt to unpack and release if you need to. What did this Mercury in retrograde period teach you?
