Buckle Up!... Mercury Retrograde Is Around The Corner

Buckle up your seat belts... both actual and mental... Mercury retrograde begins on Monday. I'm terribly afraid that this one is going to be a doozy. I've been feeling the effects of it for weeks... and I'm not the only one. This is known as the "shadow phase" and can be felt for up to 3 weeks before and after the actual retrograde period. I'll bet if you think about it you've felt it too.

If you don't know already... Mercury retrograde effects all things having to do with communication and transportation and anything to do with machinery and mechanics.... which means computer issues... things getting lost in the mail... or just in translation and understanding.... telephone issues... bills getting lost... vehicle issues... being late for appointments... weakened concentration.... beware of signing contracts... read them carefully more than once..... watch other drivers on the road more carefully etc.

This retrograde period falls into Libra for the first half which is not so bad.... but it will have more of an effect on those with Libra strongly in their charts.... which is me.... I'm a Scorpio with Libra Rising and the Libra in me often outweighs the Scorpio and the Scorpio in me gets very frustrated with the Libra... it's very conflicting. But back to MR.... Libra is the sign of balance, love, beauty, introspection, money and art. So the first half doesn't sound so bad and could even bring some welcomed changes for the good (but don't let your guard down!lol).

On September 18 batton down the hatches... Mercury moves back into Virgo which is the sign of anal retentivenesss....lol.... seriously.... it's the sign of health, employment, perfectionism, daily life, routine, analysis and critical ability... and is Mercury's own sign of transportation and communication. So as you see this is where the trouble will probably lie..... like a double whammy.

This retrograde period lasts from September 7 until September 29th.... with the shadow period being from August 18 through October 18. Fortunately Mercury goes back into Libra on October 10. So to break it down Mercury turns retrograde in Libra while the Sun is in Virgo on Sept. 7, but retrogrades into Virgo at the Virgo New Moon on Sep. 18 while the Sun of course is still in Virgo. The Sun moves into Libra at the Equinox on Sep. 22 while Mercury is still in Virgo, but Mercury heads back to join the Sun in Libra on Oct. 10.

Rob Tillett from Astrology.com sums it up like this....
"It is not exactly wise to make important decisions while Mercury is retrograde, since it is likely that such decisions will be clouded by misinformation, poor communication and careless thinking. Mercury is all about mental clarity and the power of the mind, so when Mercury is retrograde these intellectual characteristics tend to be less acute than usual, as the critical faculties are dimmed. Make sure you pay attention to the small print!"
http://www.astrologycom.com/mercret.html

So be aware... be alert... and be careful! Hopefully we'll all get through this with minimal damage and upset :)

A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~

I Won A Galileoscope!!! Thank You Bob!!!

Oh Wow! I'm so excited that I won an awesome Galileoscope from Bob over at Black Holes and Astrostuff. Last month his daughter got married and he decided to celebrate the occasion by giving away 3 of these wonderful scopes. This was not a sponsored giveway... this was a very sweet, unique and generous way of celebrating a beautiful family event. I am so honored to be one of the recipients of this wonderful gift.

Our family will put this to great use for years to come. My son Jordan will be excited about this.... he used to love to go outside with his telescope and gaze into the night sky... and take photos of the moon. He used his Christmas money one year to buy a huge telescope that he used for this. I'm remembering the freezing cold winter nights when he dragged me outside with him to stand out there and freeze my fingers and toes off to look at stars and planets. And even though I about froze to death we had a great time... it was wonderful quality time and great memories for us to share. His telescope is broken now so he will be excited to have a scope again. He took some great pics through his old one so I'm sure he'll do the same with this one as well. Here are two of his pics... he took them by holding the camera up to the eye piece of the telescope... isn't that amazing that a kid did this??!! He was about 14 or 15 at the time.










It will also be put to great use as lil Steffie gets older... since we'll be homeschooling her I'm sure we'll spend many hours exploring the night sky as she begins her Astronomy and Astrology lessons... of course that's years down the road... in the mean time she can enjoy just looking for fun :)

Thank you so much Bob... for this wonderful gift! My family will put it to great use... your generosity is very much appreciated!!!

A LilEnchanted,
~LaShan~

Mercury Retrograde

Well beginning tomorrow Mercury once again goes retrograde. If you don't know what this means or how it affects you... here's the scoop.

When a planet goes retrograde that means it appears to be moving backwards through the zodiac. This mercury retrograde will last from May 7 - May 31. This typically happens 3 times per year... however this year will have 4 Mercury retrogrades. When this happens it effects communication, transportation and events over which we seem to have little or no control. The effects of retrograde begin to be felt a few days before the actual reverse movement begins while the planet appears stationary.... and continues for several days afterwards while the planet again appears stationary before returning to a direct movement. Keep in mind that the planet is not actually moving in reverse... it just appears that way from our perspective in the solar system.

Mercury retrograde causes personal misunderstandings..... disrupted, flawed or misunderstood communications.... break downs and mishaps with phones, computers, cars (any mode of communication or transportation). It's not wise to make important decisions at this time because they will most likely be clouded by misinformation or miscommunication. This mercury retrograde occurs with Mercury in the sign of Gemini which is also a sign of communication and the mind as well.... so thinking will be more introspective... and communication will probably be even more affected. I really dread Mercury retrograde... it can wreak such havoc. So be mindful that you may be misunderstood.... or misunderstand communications more so at this time... and be more careful while you are driving... if there is something you've been meaning to fix on your car that could be dangerous now is the time to get it looked at just to be on the safe side.... and be more mindful of what others are doing on the road.

For more detailed information on Mercury retrograde... and this one in particular you can visit http://www.astrologycom.com/mercret.html.... there is a lot of info there.

So every one buckle up.... and let's all get through this as unscathed as possible!

~A Lil Enchanted~