Your Shadow and Mercury Retrograde

We all have a shadow, whether we like it or not, it’s what governs our choices, our behaviours and beliefs, our relationship with the self and with others, and it guides the path we walk on this earthly plane, learning the lessons of our karmic soul, albeit unconsciously.

Our patterns create our identity and our reality, and we believe this is who we are until we consciously choose otherwise, and so begins our journey back home to source, to our true and authentic nature and all that we came here to do, to experience and to be.

Yet, there is a hidden communication constantly and consistently taking place inside of us, the thoughts in our head, the somatic experiences of our bodies, our emotional states, and the dialogue of drama that keeps us attached to the cycles of the victim within.

But there are also the threads of sacred communication, that of our soul urging us forward, our dreams and visions showing us the way, and our divine spirit dancing in the moonlight as her inhibitions are stripped away.

This inner communication is ruled by Mercury, the messenger of the gods. In his Yang form he moves between the inner world and the external world, communicating the hidden and the seen, the above and the below, the deeper and higher realms of our being.

However, in our conditioned state of needing to constantly do, achieve, gain and succeed, his energy, our communication stays in the upper part of the body from the solar plexus upwards, never really being given the opportunity to land into the deeper realms of the feminine cauldron.

Until he turns retrograde.

For the past 4-yrs I have been living and learning from the Mercury Retrograde Cycle and it's impact on Shadow Work, as I was born under it’s influence, at home in the 3rd house Aquarius, along with my sun, so for me, these three weeks, three times a year are like music to my soul. A breath of fresh air in a sea of otherwise chaotic communication.

A mercury retrograde cycle lasts approx 3-wks, and before and after this period there is a shadow period of again, approx 3-wks, and it happens 3 times a year.

The three weeks before are a kind of gentle preparation, and when he stations retrograde our journey begins as we retrace our steps back through time and the areas of our lives that are being highlighted by his presence.

At the midpoint, the peak, is like a full moon where everything is illuminated and heightened, before he continues his journey backwards in his final destination on his retrograde voyage, when he stations direct once more, moving forward, re-covering the ground so we can take action to integrate what he has revealed.

In his retrograde cycle, Mercury turns inward from his yin nature and the masculine principles of doing and embraces and embodies the yang and the feminine principles of listening, feeling, sensing and intuiting, and our communication when we allow it, becomes internal, becomes deeper, and more profound.

But in our attachment to chaotic communication where everybody has an opinion, where everybody is right, where everybody needs to be seen, heard and understood, a Mercury Retrograde cycle can be challenging.

Even in the media, Mercury in his retrograde cycle is given ‘bad’ press, a time of chaos and confusion, of communication breaking down, triggers being heightened and sharpened, and the slightest disagreements being blown out of all proportion.

But what we don’t realise is, that if we just give ourselves permission to stay quiet, to not react, and instead to simply listen, the hidden stories being stirred by Mercury can finally be felt, and therefore seen, heard and understood.

In the quiet and the stillness and non-reaction, Mercury can finally fulfil his divine purpose of the sacred messenger, revealing the wounds of the past that are asking to be healed and integrated so we can bring more love, happiness, and contentment into our lives and relationships.

He’s revealing how we are communicating with the self and others through our emotions, our thoughts, our beliefs and behaviours.

He’s showing us the steps we need to take to continue our journey to wholeness, back to source and the loving arms of the Great Cosmic Mother.

And the more we lean into it, the more we are able to embody the lessons Mercury is teaching us about sacred communication.

Communication that begins with the self first and foremost.

Communication that comes from the very depths of our internal world.

When we learn how to communicate from this inner cauldron, our authentic voice shines through because we are choosing to authentically communicate our desires, dreams and visions, our needs and boundaries from a place of power rather than the energy-draining drama.

If you are going through a Mercury Retrograde Cycle, and need some support during this powerful time I invite to book an EmpowerHer Shadow Work Session for Women, to create a radical shift in your life and relationships.