Your Guide to Navigating Mercury Retrograde Holidays

Witchy + Astro advice for navigating this Holiday Week in the Stars (11.25.22-12.1.25)

As we head into the week of the ultimate colonizer holiday, also known as Thanksgiving, I want to equip us all with astro insight and some practical magickal practices to navigate the week ahead. Whether you're traveling, spending time with family, or heading into spaces filled with humans you're nervous to share space with, I got you.

First of all, Mercury is OFFICIALLY retrograde on Monday, November 25th. There WILL be delays in your travels. Just know it. Plan for it. Give yourself an extra hour. If you don't need it, yay, you get extra time to dive into that book you've had no time to crack open.

Let me share a real-time example of Mercury's chaos: As I'm writing this, I'm sitting in an airport where the power just went out and TSA completely shut down. We stood in line for 30 minutes, our flight got delayed, and now I'm trapped listening to two white men gushing about D.O.G.E (Department of Government Efficiency, the made-up position Drump created for his sugar daddy, Elon) and how great it will be to have a "businessman" back in office. This is a recipe for crashing out if there ever was one.

BUT, I prepared for this moment. And here are my tips for your own preparation.

In general when I travel, I like to veil, or cover my head, to protect my energy. I have my super queer and witchy Spotify playlists and podcasts already downloaded. I knew there were going to be delays and potentially draining conversations about politics. So, I prepared. And I offer you the same reminder to protect your peace and pack your spiritual toolkit.

Here's what's in my travel toolkit for surviving Mercury retrograde holiday chaos:

1. Head covering aka veiling (seriously y'all, the energetic difference is REAL). This can be a baseball hat, beanie, scarf or even just a hoodie. As you put it on, take a moment to close your eyes and visualize a giant rose at the crown of your head, creating a protective boundary around your entire aura. 🌹

2. A grounding or protective crystal in your carryon/purse/pocket (black tourmaline is my go-to for travel protection)

3. Downloaded playlists that are purely vibes (make sure they're available offline!)

4. Headphones - both for your bangin' playlist AND as a signal that you're not available for random political discourse

5. Some lavender spray (or your fav herbal ally) to utilize when you feel that tension creeping in

6. A portable charger for your phone

7. Lots of box breathing (4 breaths in, hold, 4 breaths out, hold. Repeat a few times and feel the anxiety leave your body.)

And here's my favorite meditation for when shit gets real: The Exploding Rose Technique 🌹💥

You can honestly run through this meditation for anything that is disturbing your peace. Simply close your eyes and imagine a giant rose. Whatever is getting to you - the MAGA bros on the plane next to you, your distant relative at Thanksgiving, or Gma watching Fox News - put it in the center of the rose. Now imagine cartoon TNT dynamite and throw it at the rose. You can even make ka-blow noises aloud or in your head as you do this. Watch the rose explode and the energy return to sender. Never fails to completely change your vibes.