Remain committed to the goals you have set for the New Year. Day by day restate them silently so that they become embedded in your psyche, so that they become a part of you. Changing yourself and your life is really just a matter of substituting one habitual behavior for another. You already know how capable you are of habitual behavior so switching to something new is not a problem. Keep your heart attuned to this new plan for change too, along with your mental prowess, for ultimately it is the prowess of the heart that will determine the final outcome of your endeavors. If your heart is in alignment with your resolve then all will be well.
The shadow of Mercury in retrograde hovers over this current holiday season, between December 13, 2023 and January 1, 2024. Mercury is the planet of communication, hence miscommunications, poor communications, confused messages and misunderstandings in relationships are likely.
These events can cause frustration, anxiety and brain fog that can also disrupt communications within the self. On the first day of this current Mercury retrograde, I had three clients oversleep and nearly miss their appointments! Don’t take it personally, it’s in the stars!
During a Mercury retrograde, the technological instruments of communication, like cell phones, computers and printers, can also experience disruptions and breakdowns. In fact, all technological instruments and physical objects are vulnerable to breakdown.
The trickster quality of Mercury in retrograde counsels one to exercise caution and prudence when making important decisions, or entering into contracts, during this period. In effect, Mercury retrograde disrupts the homeostasis of habitual or planned life with objective occurrences that can, on a dime, create a traffic jam that precludes a coveted gathering.
The best guidance is to recognize the objective nature of the energetic impact of this astrological event; meaning, don’t be so quick to blame or take things personally, and surrender with patience to all things. They will ultimately pass.
If it’s not the time to greatly accomplish things outwardly, or in relationship, it is however the perfect opportunity to go inward and examine the thoughts, feelings and memories that are triggered by association to outer mishaps.
The other morning, I pulled the Tarot card of Ruin, the 10 of Swords. This card highlights mental states of despair, helplessness and hopelessness. It easily projects itself into matter and can generate first chakra fears of financial or relational collapse.
Guidance is to reflect upon old fears of ruin lurking in the shadow, which may be associatively activated by this current Mercury retrograde. From this reflective place of recapitulation, the opportunity presents itself to fully release and deactivate the energetic impact of old fears. This is the growth opportunity offered in a time of Mercury retrograde, which is particularly well-timed, as we clean house and prepare for New Life in the New Year.
New life is indeed the chaos of creation. Chaos is creative energy taking form in a new pattern of life. The I Ching represents this birthing process as the third hexagram, Difficulty at the Beginning. Amidst thunder and rain, the air is filled with teeming, chaotic profusion, as new life struggles to break through the earth’s surface.
Old life, where we’ve lived, has been dominated by repetitive, habitual patterns of behavior. When people set intentions for the New Year they conceive the intent for change in new, uncharted patterns of living.
The time of Mercury retrograde disrupts the trance of familiar life, as the ground is prepared to nurture new life. Creative energy is freed from stuck places during Mercury retrograde, as it gathers around and prepares to serve new creative intentions.
Many a myth depicts this struggle for new life. The Titan god of time, Cronus, ate his children at birth to secure his continued rule. The subconscious mind is like Cronus, as it rules our lifetime with established archetypal patterns of behavior that can snuff out the spark of our new, conscious intentions.
It was the trickery of Rhea, Cronus’ wife, who gave her husband a rock wrapped in swaddling clothes to eat, instead of baby Zeus, that brought the change that gave birth to the rule of the Olympian gods.
For humans, the employment of trickery that will break through to new life consists in maintaining the faith of unbending intent, as suggestions are repeated to the subconscious mind that will eventually supplant the rule of habitual patterns.
When we light a candle on New Year’s Eve, we ignite the light of consciousness and affirm our intentions to expand beyond the dominance of purely instinctive reactions to life.
With the support of Mercury retrograde energy this year, already jarring us from the trance of the predictable, we are empowered to take life creatively in a whole new direction. May that be a direction that serves the greater good of all.
New beginnings mark the passage of time but also the passage of human inclinations, desires, and promises. To hold oneself to a promise of change is a noble thought but to act upon it is a challenge that over the passage of time may prove impossible. Far better to make no strict promises but to live every day in the moment, learning to stay aware of what is important and what isn’t, to act instead of promise, to do rather than say, to be alive in each breath as much as possible. Rather than mark a beginning, mark an ever-evolving moment in time.
The New Year of Intent has barely begun. Remember your healing intent and stay upon its steady path of change. It’s so easy to forget and yet so necessary to change, for change is the agent of transformation. Envision yourself each day transformed. See yourself as you dream of being. Tell yourself each day, “I am that,” and walk onward in the direction of change. No matter how many times you forget, change is always ready to meet you once again and guide you along. Take the hand of change and travel on another day with your healing intent firmly in mind.
A symbolic day in time and space, the first day of a new year suggests new beginnings, new life, new pacts, new directions. Begin anew with a positive intent to be more kind and loving first of all, to self and other, to be open to what may come, all the possibilities that are possible, all the changes that will present. Take each day calmly and with patience, asking the self to remain as committed to a new way of life each day forth as you are on this first day. Let love always be your guide as you travel your path of heart toward your innocence and your highest self. Happy New Year!
Sending you all love and best wishes for a wonderful New Year,
