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On December 10th 2010 a phenomenon known as 'mercury retrograde' starts. It continues until December 29th. This is a time where, from our position on Earth, Mercury appears to be moving backwards on its path across the sky.

Personally I have found that this can cause problems so I'm just giving you a heads up. Whether you believe in astrological influences or not, it's worth making a note.

Mercury is a planet relating to communication and when it's in retrograde this is where there are problems. Computers, the internet and phones will go funky, emails won't arrive, travel arrangements will go pear-shaped and miscommunications can occur.

Now I used to ignore all of this thinking that it wouldn't affect me if I didn't acknowledge it. Unfortunately that didn't work so I had to learn to go with the natural flow of things and be more understanding of it.

How? Well. allow more time for journeys, jobs and projects. Save computer backups regularly (mercury retrograde can often see us having to do the same work more than once), clarify points of discussion and instruction with others to avoid misunderstandings and miscommunication. Write down instructions or have them emailed to you(if your email is working).

Sometimes mercury retrograde causes our perception or interpretation of an event or conversation to be skewed so don't rush into an arguement, seek clarity first until you understand the situation or facts fully.

Being more in the moment and focussing more fully on what you're doing will help greatly, and could in fact be the very lesson to take from this time. Along with being slow to judge, react or jump to conclusions which are all positive traits that we could do well to adopt and take forward on a daily basis as mercury begins to move forward again.

Use this time also to reorganise, reassess and reflect on your life and prepare for the year ahead.

And for those of you thinking that you've already noticed some of mercury's little tricks lately you'd be right. The affects of mercury retrograde started around the 22nd November and will continue in what's known as its 'post-retrograde shadow' until about the 18th January 2011, albeit with a lessening degree of influence.

There are loads of astrology sites and blogs which go into loads more detail if you want find out more. For now, tread carefully, be observant and take your time. Go with the flow of the universe and learn its lessons along the way.

Bright Blessings
Helen
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