Mercury Retrograde....What Can I Do to Ease the Blow?

In the words of Comedian George Carlin, "SLOW DOWN!" That's right. Retrograde is about allowing yourself adequate time to step back and reflect vs making hasty decisions or assumptions which could be financially and emotionally costly. Mercury Retrograde is known to hiccup communication, scheduling, transportation and encourage more judgement than compassion. 

• Release the need for control.
• Pause, breathe and think before you speak. Be very clear with your communication.
• Do not take things so personally.
• Be sure to leave extra time for travel.
• Be sure to confirm appointment, dates, plans and meetings.
• Double check emails before they are sent, let that be for spelling or with whom you are sending it to.
• During retrograde it's best to review contracts vs signing them. 
• The past loves to pay visits during this time, such as with ex's. It could be an opportunity to tie up loose ends, so do be open to the silver lining moments.
• Do not be surprised if your electronics act funny, so be sure to back up your storage. 
• Take the time to reconnect with your roots, walk down memory lane and even if you wish, reflect on how far you have come. It could be a great reminder and celebration. 

May this time of reflection and steady pace fill you with amazing insights and clear direction. 

I Need to Cut Down Healthy Trees in My Yard, is that Bad Feng Shui?

I recently met with my Feng Shui client from Massachusetts. I have been working with her family for three years and for this particular visit she was interested in landscape re-design with feng shui. Long story short, my client told me they were in process of removing 10 healthy trees. When I heard that, my heart sunk. 

Living the lifestyle of feng shui promotes a harmonious interaction with nature. When you already have the beautiful support, protection and various other benefits tree spirits (yes we believe even trees have spirits) provide us with. Ideally, you aspire to keep them around, while of course being practical in regard to how close the trees are growing near your home and so on. 

So what do we do in Feng Shui to honor the trees that are slated to be cut down? In BTB Feng Shui you combine the 'prayer of forgiveness' with offerings before and after the removal of those trees. 

1. Before any cutting happens, approach the site where the tree or trees are to be cut down and recite: “please forgive me, I love you and I let go. We need to make these changes for the protection and betterment of our home, family and land. We appreciate your spirit (s) and give thanks to your sacrifice."

If you have 5 - 10 or more trees being removed, approach the one nearest the front of the line and recite the prayer and provide the offerings. Science has proven trees do in fact communicate, informing each other when things are good and when in danger. Combine that fact with feng shui (tree spirits) and you have a fascinating perspective of the world around you. To read more check out TED talk by Suzanne Simard: How trees talk to each other

2. After saying the prayer on the same day, provide offerings to the tree's spirit. Commonly used could be Native American Tobacco or White Sage. It could be burned allowing the smoke to embellish the tree or take the dry Tobacco or Sage and place it by the tree. For those familiar with the BTB 'feeding the hungry ghost cure,' that too could be added and is usually the main offering. 

3. After the tree has been removed and the stump ground up, approach the areas and again, you could recite the prayer of forgiveness, “please forgive me, I love you and I let go. We need to make these changes for the protection and betterment of our home, family and land. We appreciate your spirit (s) and give thanks to your sacrifice." If you would like to re-apply the offerings, you could. 

If anything, be respectful and mindful of the tree spirits and let them know you are sorry for their removal and thankful for the energy they have and continue to provide for you and your family.