Saturday, October 22, 2005

Mercury Retrograde

Every four months or so, the planet Mercury, the closest to the sun, goes retrograde, appearing to move backwards through the zodiac. This of course is an illussion. What actually appears to be happenning, in the case of Mercury (as with Venus) is that the planet is beginning to move around to the far side of the sun from the earth. During the period of time when it is beginning to "turn the corner", so to speak, it appears to be not moving at all, or, "stationary". Then, it makes the turn, and creates thus the illussion of reverse movement. Once it clears the far side ofthe sun, it will again appear to be stationary as it begins to move back around to the side on which we are. Then, as it clears that corner, and moves then toward us, it then appears to resume it's forward movement. It is said to be a harbinger of disruption when this occurs, in both travel and communications.

Of course, I can not stress enough that all this is an illussion, caused by the perspective of distance and relative position as regards the earth to the planet. However, that does not negate the potential of the energies of the planets involved in the process, nor our potential for tapping into those energies.

In fact, to those who are so inclined, the specific energies involved here may well be conducive to the use of magic in conducting a specific type of psychic experiment involving the utilization of divination of possible future events. To the uninitiated, this is often falsely referred to as "fortune telling",which is of course innaccurate and misleading.

There are no events which are pre-detemined, or "prophesied". There are, however, events which may be the short term, or the long term, results of the actions we have taken which lead us to those conclusions. They can be changed, however, as well as "predicted". But for any of this to occur there exists the necessity of awareness. And Mercury to be sure can be a vessel for the enhancing of awareness. But how best to take advantage of the energies of the planet, and especially of those energies which exist in abundance during it's retrograde motion, in order to enhance awareness, and psychic potential?

One might ask, if it is all an illussion, what difference does it make? Well, valid as that question is, you have to realize that the movement of the planet is thorugh the zodiac, that same zodiac through which we move. In the case of Mercury, before it turns retrograde, it will begins it's stationary period, for about three or four days, at that part of the zodiac at which we will later arrive, but haven't arrived at yet. That is what is important, as well as the energies of the planet nvolved-and our own.

In the next case, this will be prior to the fourteenth of November, for roughly three days, during which Mercury will be stationary at the tenth degree of Sagittarrius. Then, on the fourteenth, Mercury will begin it's retrograde motion, and will appear to be moving backwards through Sagittarrius, from the tenth degree, to the ninth, the eight, until, finally, sometime late on the 25th of Novemeber, or perhaps early on the 26th of November, it will reach the second degree of Sagittarrius, at which part of the zodiac the Sun will be seen to arive at on the same day. In short, at this point Mercury and the Sun will be in what is called an "inferior conjunction".

But in order to achieve the proper meditative state, it is necessary to begin prior to the fourteenth of November, while Merury is yet stationary. Meditate on the energies of the planet as you seek to empower a crystal, or some other precous or semi-precous stone, magically imbuing it with the energies of the planet in conjunction with your own psychic energies. Standing outside under the light of the planet, if it is yet visible, magically "bathe" the stone with the planets energy, utilzing the power of your visualization to "see" the planets energy enveloping it. If the planet is not visible, it is still possible to psychically attune with the planets energies and accomplish the same task.

Every night following this, meditate on the retrograde motion of the planet, by candlelight, as you meditate by the light of the candle on the crystal or stone, which you will have in effect made a representative surrogate of the planet. Do this every night, until the night in question comes. The ideal would be for you to receive a psychic vision on this date, the 25th or the 26th of November. But what exactly are you going to see?

We have to now backtrack, to the beginning of the retrograde. Remember I said the planet would be starting it's retrograde motion from the tenth degree of Sagitterrius. Well, the Sun itself does not get to that degree of Sagittarrius until the 3rd of December. Therfore, the psychic vision that you receive, on the 25th or the 26th of November, will be one which will pertain to an event that will transpire on the 3rd of December, when the sun reaches the degree of Sagittarrius (10th degree) that Mercury began it's retrograde motion from.

Don't expect, however, to receive some world shatterring news of some event of great national or world importance. Unless you yourself have a strong connection to the inner workings of such an event, you are unilkely to receive such a vision. Not that it is all together impossible, but the more likely potential is that you will receive a psychic vision pertaining to some event likely to transpire in your own prsonal life-however mundane or otherwise that might be- on the 3rd of December.

For the sake of simplicity, the follwing guide should suffice:

You will need:

1. A candle
2.A semi-precous stone

Empower with the energies of the planet and use to meditate on the nights in question. Other tools you might use are incense and essential oil. Use ritually to enhance the meditative state. Lavender is good, as is Sandlewood, which is probably the best and most conducive to meditation.

The pertinant dates areas follows:

November 14th: Mercury begin retrograde motion, and is stationary for a numbe ofdays befor this. Begin a couple of days prior to the 14th.

November 25th-26th-Sun comes into conjunction with Retrograde Mercury in the second degree of Sagittarrius. Psychic impressions should come somewhere during this time, in th eform of a vision or perhaps a psychic dream.

December 3rd: This should be the date on which your psychic dream or vision manifests in reality.

So there you have it. As for the stone you should use, I suggest a quartz crystal, an amethyst, a tigers' eye, a hematite, o a lapis. If you ahve access to a place that sells semi-precous stnes, look them over and fine one that best suits you. You will know it when you see it.

It will take some work and some practice, by the way. It might not work so well thefirst time out, but Mercury goes into Retrograde mtion three times a year. Practice doesn;t make perfect, but it does make you better every time. But it will require patience, and detemination. Hold to your meditation schedule, and stick to a minimum amount of time to devote to the procedure. I would suggest at least an hour, and preferably longer than that.

And keep in mind always what the goal of the meditation is, and the energies you are using to conduct them with. Make up your own chant, if you wish, and if that is conduciveto your own meditations. A rhymed verse, a spell in the words, might be helpful. But put it in your own words. Nothing extravagant, something simple. Something like, "oh Mercury, guide me through this night, and show me what awaits on the other side."

Good luck, and good forecasting. And remember. We make our own destinies. We may have influences for good or ill, true. But knowing is a kind of power, and if you cannot change something bad, at the very least you can be prepared. And maybe you can even take advantge of an opportunity that might unexpectedly come your way, if but ony briefly.