I’m certainly not an astrologer but I will say that the more I know about the planets, the more I think this universe and our connected energy is freaking awesome!
Last week I wrote this instagram post about this new season and the part astrology plays in it. Today, I thought I would elaborate on my post – because if you are like me, connecting your life to what’s going on in the universe is both fun and makes SO. MUCH. SENSE!
Mercury is in retrograde right now, and you’ve likely noticed that pop social media has a lot to say about it.
For those of you that are unclear on what all these retrograde postings mean, the literal meaning of this astrological phenomenon is this:
When a planet is in Retrograde, sometimes the other planets appear to be traveling backward through the zodiac; this is an illusion. We call this illusion retrograde motion. Mercury’s retrograde periods are believed to cause our plans to go awry and chaotic energy to take over. They happen 3 times a year and last for about three weeks.
There’s a lot of trending talk about mercury being in retrograde, mostly negative. Personally, I’m not buying it!
Do I believe that our energy and personal ups and downs also ebb and flow with the universe as a whole? Absolutely.
But I do not believe that the universe is out to get you and screw with your life 3 times a year for 3 weeks – totaling 9 weeks a year. That, in my opinion, is crazy talk.
Classically retrograde is believed to be a bad time or a period of bad luck around entering agreements or contracts, communication and technology, as well as any type of booking or planning. When I see this list I think of high-action, hustle, over planning behavior – and, to be honest they are all personal traits I work hard to let go of year round.
Over planning and attachment to any outcome doesn’t always serve my highest good. I’ve learned that the hard way many times – much before I began to explore astrology or our connection to the universe.
So, personally, I think it’s awesome that there are periods in the year that energetically guide you to go within, slow down and re-evaluate!
Retrograde brings a time to go quiet. We have a natural urge let go of things and people that are not working for our highest good, clean out our homes and closets – both literally and figuratively, revisit old business plans, and also old friends who bring light to our lives.
To me, none of these things are bad at all!
I choose to look at retrograde as a time to redirect what’s not working and be open to anything. For me it’s a time of connecting with people on the same path as I am, releasing expectations around goals or people that aren’t serving my highest good, and taking a lot of quiet time to reflect, go within and just be open to what’s next without forcing anything.
Today is also the official first day of autumn. Fall equinox, traditionally is a great place for new beginnings to launch in your life. We instinctually are ready to shed the carefree chaos of summer and we have that childhood back-to-school gene engraved in us. Craving routine is natural this time of year.
The new season brings excitement and energy of new beginnings. It’s a great time to simply re-envision your future with a calm and focused energy.
Retrograde is here until October 9 and fall is officially upon us; so here are 5 things I’m doing to feel light and happy, yet grounded and balanced. Feel free to do the same, or I’d love to hear what you’re doing to embrace this season in the comments below.
- Consciously connect with friends who bring the light.
This is a huge one for me. Sometimes we tend to play small around the people we love because it makes us feel like we can better connect with them. Allowing negative talk around money, downplaying the loving relationship in your life, or not sharing your successes helps no one! Be the lighthouse and people who are meant to catch up to your level energetically will, or they will fall away. Hard to accept (I really struggle with this) – but it’s truly part of life. A major way to get out of your own way and find the light is to plan activities with people who bring it out of you!
This week I went to meditation class with a group of friends who bring inspiration and happiness to my life. I’m also regularly hanging out and taking classes with girls from my yoga/pilates studio. Best of all I’m having a weekly life planning session with my fiancé where we talk goals, future, business, wedding, life – all things happy!
These things all take bit of planning outside of your day-to-day habits – but the effort is worth the reward. - Organize and purge your space (and life).
Fall is a great time to clean out closets and junk drawers and donate or get rid of what you no longer need. This can also be applied to jobs, relationships and goals that aren’t serving you. Stop holding on and let go!
Another thing is to clean your workspace daily. Whether you work from home, in an office or are a stay at home parent – make sure you start each day with a clean and organized space. If you arrive or wake up and it’s messy – clean it before doing anything. Trust me it really curbs the crazy for me during retrograde. Purge and organize are go-to tools for me!
- It’s a great time to do a cleanse.
I just reset my body with a much needed post-summer chaos cleanse. I felt like a new woman after. Something as simple as cutting out gluten, sugar and dairy while choosing to eat whole and natural foods can really clear your mind and reboot your energy in this period of craving balance and routine. - Refocus, Envision …and LET GO!
This is a wonderful time to refocus and revisit goals and dreams. There is nothing better than being excited about a goal! It’s fun, refreshing and recharging to your focus and motivation.
However, there is an art to goal setting I’ve learned over the past few years that has really helped many of my dreams come true. (Also some not to come true, and that is fine by me!)
Letting go.
Funny enough this was the theme of my first meditation class this week. A beautiful reminder that as fun as it is to envision your life a certain way – planning with expectations is asking for a life of pain and misery!
Envisioning and letting go allows the thing of your highest good to actualize without the agony of trying to control every detail and being disappointed. I’ve lived both ways and the latter is the way to go. Trust me. I literally could write a novel on how this practice has transformed my life in every way. Another day, another blog. - Gratitude.
I truly spend hours a day being thankful. In my mind mostly. It keeps me from being fearful, helps me to quickly change natural negative thoughts and reminds me of how lucky I am instead of focusing on what’s not going right.
Change any negative thought or circumstance into a simple ‘thank you’ for the positive, even if it’s a hard lesson that’s redirecting you to a better path.
Just be thankful. All day. For everything.
