Metaphysics
The Myths Of Mercury Retrograde
As a practicing psychic, I have on many occasions spoken to clients who were concerned about the planet Mercury going retrograde. They typically fear that this recurring planetary event might wreak havoc in their lives. While astrologers agree that it can at times be a more challenging time, many of the fears about retrogrades are often unfounded, and based on myth and misinformation. Its potential effect on our daily lives can actually be highly positive and beneficial.
Reputable astrologers quite rightly point out that by truly understanding Mercury Retrograde and how to manage its influence in our life, we can actually turn it into a positive experience, rather than a negative one. For my part, should you have been worried about the Mercury Retrograde in the past, I hope to ease at least some of your concerns here, as to what role this phenomenon can, and cannot play in your daily life.
The Spinning Backwards Myth
The most prevalent myth about Mercury Retrograde is that the planet is ‘spinning backwards’ at this time. The truth of the matter, as any astronomer would tell you, is that Mercury is not actually moving backwards during a retrograde. It only appears to be receding.
The planet Mercury is closer to the Sun than any other planet and therefore circles around it in as little 88 days. The Earth, on the other hand, takes much longer, i.e. a whole year to complete this trip. During a retrograde, Mercury appears to slow down, while Earth seems to move at a faster rate. This creates an optical illusion in the heavens which makes it seem that Mercury is spinning backwards in its orbit. However, Mercury is merely moving more slowly around the Sun, compared to planet Earth.
One can liken this to Mercury being a race car on the inside track, while Earth is on the outside of the track and overtaking Mercury. While doing so, as Earth appears to go faster, it would seem that the Mercury is slowing down or, in fact, going backwards, even though this is not the case.
The Healing Power Of Movement
In my earliest years of life, I was severely shy, fearful of anyone I didn’t know, and acutely anxious of being separated from my mother. Any time we were out, or in the presence of others, I clung to her tightly and hid in silence behind her.
My mom soon received many recommendations to enroll me in dance lessons, to help me come out of my shell. She did, and I emerged. That was my first experience of the healing power of movement.
It continued into my ‘terribly turbulent’ teens, during which ballet became my only safe haven and sanctuary. In the ballet studio I could pour out every feeling. From the barre to the stage, every move was an opportunity to express what I needed to release, and to find the solace I needed.
A decade later, I found myself bedridden with chronic fatigue. Yet, visions of ballet spontaneously continued to dance across the screen of my mind’s eye – almost every moment of every day. I could feel the movement in my body, even though my body was unable to move. I know now it was a premonition of a life-changing return to dance, that ultimately remedied my illness and opened the way to reveal my gift of intuitive healing dance.
The power of movement is a beautiful thing. It can literally shift, shape, and reform energy. Energy itself comes in many forms and functions. Emotion, if you think about it, is energy in motion: e-motion. Everything, including you and I, are an emanation of energy from the Absolute Truth and Personality of Godhead.
The Alcohol Demon
The physical damage caused by alcohol abuse is common knowledge. The long-term effects of alcohol consumption on the liver, pancreas, kidneys, heart, esophagus, and the lining of the stomach can be devastating. And those of us who have shared our lives with alcoholics, know of the damage it can do to relationships, children, families and careers.
But how often do we consider the spiritual implications of alcohol abuse? What really happens to the soul or spirit when we consume alcohol?
Some alcohol-related statistics are quite alarming. For example, it is said that some 700,000 people are in treatment for alcohol abuse every day. And did you know that about 40% of all auto accidents are alcohol-related? It is also estimated that 18 million Americans deal with alcohol-related health problems, and there are an estimated 10 million alcoholics just in this country.
Doing some research, I found an article in the The Costa Rica News titled, The Spiritual Consequences of Alcohol Consumption. The article explains that the English word alcohol originates from the Arabic al-kuhl, which means “body eating spirit.” It is also the origin for the English word ghoul. According to Middle Eastern folklore, a ghoul is an evil demon believed to eat human bodies.
In his book, The Mystery of the Golden Flower, the Gnostic author, Samael Aun Weor writes that alcohol “is in fact a demon or a malefic spirit when it possesses a human being; it is clear and easily demonstrable in its effects from drunkenness, to delirium tremors and madness with forms of paralysis and other hereditary defects passed down through descendants.”
Thank Goodness, It’s Friday The 13th!
Superstition is a highly personal matter. For example, the number 13 was my Father’s favorite number. It represented good luck for him. My dad was a highly intuitive man, always trusting his inner guidance when making important choices and decision. Things always seemed to work out well, whenever he paid close attention to his gut feelings.
I inherited his liking for the number 13. I guess you could say it is in my DNA. If given the choice of a number between one and twenty, I will always choose 13. My second choice is the number 3.
Like many people, I also love Fridays. It signals the end of the work week for many, and the start of the weekend. We generally seem to just be in better mood on a Friday. And while some people get the superstitious ‘heebie-jeebies’ about a Friday falling on the 13th day of a month, I absolutely love it. Yes indeed, thank goodness it’s Friday the 13th!
You either love Friday the 13th, or fear it. There is not much middle ground in these matters. Every Friday the 13th is a great day for me. I wake up and put my feet firmly on the floor, feeling I’m lucky and grateful to be alive. Friday the 13th for me is like finding a four-leaf clover. It brings me good luck. Truth be told, I even feel more energized on a Friday the 13th, especially when it falls on a Full Moon.
Our Loved Ones In The Realm Next Door
Someone very close to me recently had an unusual near-death experience. It was a profound event she says she will never forget, and it reminded me of the fact that our loved ones are always around us, whether we believe it, or not.
My dear friend had to go into the hospital for an iron infusion. She was severely deficient and the iron supplements she had been taking, weren’t doing the trick. Not looking forward to the procedure, and having been told that she could have an adverse reaction to the infusion, she was not at all excited to go to the emergency room.
Soon after they started the infusion, she passed out! But this was more than just her fainting. While she was in this altered state of consciousness, she had repeated encounters with both her deceased parents. She felt their warm embrace comforting her and telling her all was going to be okay, and not to worry.
“We are both with you, we love you and we are here protecting you,” they told her. “It is not your time, you still have things you have to do and people around you who love you, and care a lot about you, and need you.”
The experience was quite traumatic for my friend. She came to twice, and then passed out again. Three times in total. Being that she is over 70, and considered very weak for her age, the medical staff were concerned for her safety. Thankfully, all went well in the end. Today she feels much stronger and has more energy, as her blood was build back up thanks to the iron infusion. But she says she doesn’t think she will be getting such an infusion again anytime soon!
In The Grace Of Divine Time
Several bald eagles flew in above me this morning, as I drove along a peaceful country road, which I travel several times a week. For the past month or so, I’ve been seeing these eagles roost in one particular area along my route.
I usually see them poised in stillness upon the bare branches of the winter trees. But today, most of my sightings were of them circling in flight overhead, crossing back and forth over the road.
Sometimes they appeared to be pursuing their prey, other times leading their young, or simply enjoying the freedom of gliding through the sky beneath the beautiful morning sun. This occurred in several places along my journey, spanning a range of miles beyond the one roost and eagle family I’ve been witnessing.
Before, during, and after my way was bedazzled with this abundance of bald eagle beauty, my thoughts had been steeped in the topic of time. I sensed the eagles crossed my path to affirm and guide me in my contemplation of eternal time.
I also sensed they came as signs of a shift in my life. They were reminding me that what has been waiting in my life – energy that has been paused, stuck or still, resting, gathering, or incubating – is beginning to move on the horizon of visibility, and gradually gaining momentum.
When I arrived home, waiting in my mailbox was a pamphlet with the printed words: The Times Are Racing. Well, message received loud and clear! It’s time to express my appreciation of time.
The Power Of Your Totems
Those of us who are metaphysically inclined often believe in the power of carrying a sacred object, symbolic item, or ‘totem.’ The totem is worn or kept on one’s person for various purposes, including healing, protection, guidance, or support.
This spiritual practice is known as Totemism. It is a system of belief in which humans are said to have a mystical relationship or kinship with a spirit-being, such as an animal, plant or symbolic object.
Believing in the power of a ‘totem helper’ gives one the kind of spiritual self-confidence that can make the difference between success and failure. Actually, I wear on my person a medicine bag in the Native American tradition, which contains various totems or ‘alliances’ I have found in nature.
Some of them were gifted to me, because they resonated with my energetic frequency and “wanted to be with me,” as friends and fellow metaphysicians have stated through the years. It is our custom to save special things of this nature for gifting to each other, especially at sacred times of the year, such as when we celebrate the solstices.
Right now, I am surrounded by all of these charming personal offerings. There are the great horned owl feathers that were gifted to me, for example. I used it to make a prayer stick, that I now make use of during meditation, and sometimes also as an altar piece. In the tradition of Totemism, I consider it to be part of a living being, which is the altar. Indeed, every altar has its own ‘being-ness,’ the same as any other sacred deity.