Mercury Retroshade-The Pre-shadow of Mercury Retrograde #241

Mercury Retrograde happens 3-4 times a year and has quite the reputation for cleansing and disruption. The two weeks before this big event is when the energy starts to shift.  If you are paying attention during this two week sneak peek, there are lots of hints about the energy to come and areas of your life that are in for a big shift. 

In this episode, we'll unpack what the Pre-shadow period of Mercury Retrograde is and how to decipher the clues that she is leaving you.  When you are paying attention to the themes of your Mercury Retroshade you can lean into the changes, welcome the energy, and find wisdom in the messages.

About Christina Wooten, Sedona Medium:

Want to take more aligned action in your life?  Want to understand the energies at play each month, so you can flow with Divine Timing?  Join the Inner Circle to get access to Monthly Readings with Christina and the Energetic Calendar!

Christina Wooten helps you access the wisdom and support of the Spirit World to elevate your life.
She is a Certified Psychic Medium and Reiki Master Teacher.  Christina is the owner of Sedona Medium and co-host of Modern Life and Spirit podcast.

She offers Psychic Medium Readings, Soul Readings, Past Life Regressions, and teaches how you can start communicating and receiving messages from your Spirit Guides - through her program.
Learn more about her offerings here

Transcript

Unknown: 1:11

Steve, welcome to the Modern Life and Spirit podcast, where we explore spiritual topics relevant to today's world. Your hosts, certified psychic medium Christina Wooten and Reiki master teacher Robert Wooten, break down how to work with spirit to create more positive growth in your life. Consider this podcast your go to spiritual resource for navigating the modern world. Hey

Christina Wooten: 1:39

there Kinderd spirits. Welcome to Modern Life and Spirit podcast. This is Christina Wooten, certified psychic medium at Sedona medium.com Welcome to our episode today. We have lots to talk about. I'm excited about breaking down what the pre shadow period of Mercury Retrograde is all about. But first, did you guys see the Pink Moon rising? I saw it last night. It was amazing. It came just over the reddish mountains. This like full, hot pink, powerful moon, almost full. It was incredible gorgeous. And it had this amazing contrast, because there was still a little bit of orange sunset, and it was that against the reddish mountains. It was absolutely breathtaking. And I watched it for the longest time, just in gratitude and awe that these beautiful things are happening in the world, what an amazing world we live in. And honestly, I would have missed it if someone had not called me and said, Hey, go outside and check out the moon. So if you are one of those people who call or text and say, go outside and look at the moon. Thank you. Thank you for being that person, because I would have completely missed that amazing opportunity that's still kind of staying with me today, that beauty and gratitude and appreciation. It's little moments like that where someone just reminds you to look up, to notice, to pause, that really do help us to reconnect with the rhythm and the flow of the universe and the things that are around us. And in a way, that's exactly what Mercury Retrograde is inviting us to do. It moves through our year with an interesting rhythm, and part of our journey is really aligning with that rhythm so that we can develop and continue our growth. If you've only heard dramatic warnings and travel or tech horror stories about Mercury Retrograde, you might be surprised to hear me say that I actually really look forward to Mercury retrograde. Now that has not always been the case, but now I really do, and that shift came when I began to really understand that it has a deeper purpose that is serving us, especially the feminine healing energy that comes through when we are willing to be open and listen to what those messages are. In fact, if you haven't already, I highly recommend for you to go back to Episode 30, thriving in Mercury Retrograde, where I share the intuitive messages that spirit gave me that completely changed my relationship with that cycle and with the next Mercury Retrograde approaching really soon, on July 17. You might be wondering, why bring it up now? Because we're nearly a month away, right? This seems a little bit early for us to be talking about it, but right before Mercury Retrograde, there is a pre shadow period that begins two weeks before Mercury goes into retrograde, officially, and I'm recording this in June 2025 and our next pre shadow period is June 29 through July 16, 2025 so we are steadily approaching this energy right now. It'll be here in just a couple of weeks during the pre shadow period, Mercury appears to start to slow down before it stations fully retrograde. So you start to see these little wobbles, little waves of precursor energy start to show up during the pre shadow period. And when we understand that and we use that energy properly and we reflect on it, it can really help you to see the patterns that are coming up, to see their messages, so that when you do enter the retrograde period itself, you are more open to the transformation that is being offered to you, we can always go deeper when we are conscious, when we are intentional, we are allowing and encouraging the healing to take place. But that comes with awareness. We can be conscious when we are more aware. So that's what paying attention, learning what to look for in the pre shadow of mercury. Retrograde is all about, and that's what we're going to be talking about today. So you can think of the pre shadow period as like the energetic preview before the main feature. So this is when Mercury begins its slowing down process. It starts to cross the degrees that it's going to retrograde over later. And this is when the themes and sometimes the issues of that period for you start to emerge. So it's kind of like the universe starts, like highlighting the text that you're going to be studying, or needing to learn a little bit more about where the transformation is trying to come from in your life. So some of the common things that you might see during this time as that energy starts to slow down is we see the beginnings of those tech issues start to bubble up, which are a lot of times people's first clue of, uh oh, is something going on? What's happening? Let me check the calendar and see, are we actually in the retrograde or not, so it can be a nice little warning sign of all right, it's time. Here we go. Pay attention. Miscommunications can start to build up or brew, but it's usually small minute, just little glitches here and there, nothing that has a major consequence. You might start to have recurring thoughts about things begin to surface or come up, or you might be thinking a lot about some unresolved decisions that maybe you kind of put on the back burner, or thought you would deal with a little bit later. But now it starts to come back up to the surface again, and you're thinking, Oh, I really need to get back to decision making. What am I going to do about this particular topic? Now you also may notice feeling like you're second guessing plans. You start to notice that little wobble within yourself where you're second guessing things. You're second guessing the way that you were going to undertake something, the plans that you had, or maybe you start to ask yourself lots of questions, because you're feeling a little bit uncertain, whereas previously you were thinking, Oh, I've got this taken care of. This will mean no big deal. And suddenly you start to as it gets closer, feel a little bit uncomfortable, feel a little less secure, feel more and more uncertain about things. You might start to feel a little bit wobbly about a direction that you have been taking. So this may be something that you have already instituted, a decision that you've already made, and that can start to bring up some self doubt and some confusion and some uncertainty, and maybe bring things to halt if you feel like you're not fully resolved or not fully committed to that direction that you had already started to institute. So you're going to start to see these little like things popping up, okay, here and there, and the pre shadows purpose is really just giving you a hint at this is where we're transforming. This is where we are making the big change. Now, the pre shadow period and the Mercury Retrograde period are always here to help us and to serve us, as we learned in Episode 30. You can think of it in a way, like a job review that you get about once a quarter, so where you're reflecting on your mission, the things that you are doing to bring that energy forward and how you are accomplishing it, if that is working for you, gives you a chance to really review and reflect and process so that you can continue your journey, moving forward in a way that's really in alignment. If we did not have that review process, we could be wasting our energy. We could be moving in directions that aren't taking us in a way that feels right, truly for us, and if we don't slow down, if we don't pause, we don't really have the chance to do that inner work to check in and make sure that our evolving consciousness is still keeping up with the things that we are instituting because we're constantly growing, we need this constant review process to help us revise and check back in from our New states of consciousness as we continue our growth, especially if you have been in a really strong spiritual growth pattern over the last few years, you may have noticed this, how valuable this time can be for you. So when this period comes up, it's going to start revealing the themes of the retrograde period for you. It's a little bit like a subtle sample. It makes me think a little bit about that feeling that you get when you are getting in to a roller coaster. And then the very, very beginning, the cars start moving up the track, going up the steep hill, just really slowly, it's pulling you up and up and up and up and up. And then you stop for just a minute before. Where it really lets loose, and then you're like, full steam ahead and you're going forward. So that is what is happening here. So as you enter that pre shadow period, you want to be paying attention. You want to see what is coming up around you and also within you. Because these are the hints. A lot of times, people's focus is on what's outwardly happening in their lives, in the Mercury Retrograde, until they're really learn how to use that energy, and not only are they focusing on what's happening in their external manifestations, but really start to look at what is being inspired inside of themselves, and what does that mean for their journey forward? The beautiful thing is that the light of healing and truth is entering your life in these areas that are popping up, and this is where you're going to experience some transformation during the retrograde period itself. So during the pre shadow period, there's some things that you can ask yourself to really get some hints and some clues about what might be coming up for you. So you want to think about what patterns or themes are showing up again and again. Are you feeling the call, or are you being asked to slow down and revisit something. So what keeps coming back up for you, even if it's something that you thought you had resolved or you had completed, if you start to feel that uncertainty come up, that self doubt coming up, that may be something that is really calling for you to revisit so that you can get more in alignment. Something's out of alignment there. Where are you feeling doubt and uncertainty in general? Is there an area of your life you just begin to notice that you're feeling a little bit more uncomfortable or reactive in your life? Start to look at that. What conversations keep circling back? So what questions are other people asking you or what emails are people sending you right now? What are some of the themes that you are seeing in your friendship conversations, but also in just the other conversations that are happening around you? What are influential people in your life talking to you about something that kind of sticks with you? So maybe you heard a podcast, or maybe you, like, watched a YouTube video, and something really stuck out for you in that and for whatever reason, you haven't been able to fully let go of it, you're just processing it, or feel like I've only scratched the surface of this, something deeper is happening here that can be really, really helpful, because it's a wonderful thing for you to explore during the Mercury Retrograde itself is what feels incomplete? Where can you get more knowledge, more information, more understanding? This is a great time to get more clarity around that. And then the last question, I would say, is, what's feeling uncomfortable or restrictive in your life right now, that can be important insight about where you need to break free, whether that's breaking free mentally, where you're expanding your mind, expanding some of your definitions, letting go of limiting beliefs, or whether it is in some way, creating more concrete steps towards freedom in your life. So asking yourself some of those questions helps you to highlight or understand what may be coming up for you in this period. Now, because this is a two week process, the pre shadow period, you're going to start to see some of that coming up in the very first week of the pre shadow period, but you should be able to identify more or answer more of these questions as you move into the beginning of the second week, because all of that information at this point is being laid out for you already. It's not going to be a surprise. The areas that you're feeling uncomfortable, where you're having more self doubt, where you are finding yourself kind of circling back because it feels unresolved, you're starting to notice certain themes those will be coming up within that very first week. So you don't need to have gone all the way through the whole pre shadow period in order to be able to answer these questions by week one, you ought to be pretty deep in that information. And because mercury has a lot to do with communication, how we are communicating in the world, this is connected strongly with our throat chakra. It's also our throat chakra is very connected as well with how we are communicating and living authentically in the world, so our outsides matching our insides. So what we truly hold important in our values? Are we living that and expressing that, or are we compromising that in some way, or are we living in a way that's ex. Affected, because we just haven't taken that big leap or taken the big risk so that we could live truly in our highest level of alignment. So thinking about what kind of things also are coming up around your feelings of imposter syndrome, is there a sense of I'm being inauthentic in some way, in the values and how I'm expressing those outwardly in the world. So maybe you are working in a high powered position, a high powered job, but inwardly, you keep watching all these YouTube videos about tiny house living or the homestead or the animal rescue that you've always wanted to start and you just keep finding yourself, Oh, wow. This would be wonderful. This would be great. But every day you get up anyway, and you go to work and go do the thing that is expected of you, or that you feel like has a stronger sense of security. That would be an example of what I'm talking about, where our insides aren't necessarily matching our outsides. So think about what may be left unsaid in relationships or things that you need to communicate out in the world. You're probably going to do that either intentionally or in a messy way during Mercury retrograde. So sometimes it just kind of comes out during this period. And you know, that is what it is we have to deal with the consequences of that when that happens, and also, where are we needing to align ourselves energetically and authentically? So one thing that you can do if you really want to tap into your intuition is just start with a little bit of a meditation prompt. You can light a candle, just create a little bit of a sacred atmosphere. So you know, like, Okay, I'm diving within. I'm going within for the answers here and ask yourself to meditate on, what is mercury trying to help me revisit or realign? And just sit with that question. Like, allow it to be in your heart. Allow your mind to take a back seat, because the mind will try and jump in and answer that be like, oh, you know what? I know your problem. Let me tell you what your problem is. You know, this, this and this, and this and this. You're not great at this, or you haven't done this very well. Blah, blah, blah. Our mind can be very critical and loves to jump on the bandwagon about what we need to fix. You know, what we need to realign? You know, it can take over that and turn that into a very disempowering sort of question. So, you know, if you get a disempowering answer that you know that's coming from your critical mind and not from your true spirit and from the messages that you're receiving. So really holding it in your heart, what is mercury trying to help me revisit or realign, and then pay attention to the things that do come forward for you, whether that is images that you might see or flashes, maybe you just have a feeling or an impression that comes back. Maybe use your mind starts to wander to an area of life, and as you kind of bring yourself back, you realize that that area of life seems to be holding some power for you, or some direction for you. And also, of course, if you're having a reading sometime around the Mercury Retrograde period, definitely ask, What do I need to be aware of during this pre shadow period, or during the Mercury Retrograde itself? Because this can really give you some big insight again, because the more that we have awareness, the more we can be intentional, the more that we can open ourselves to true transformation and not resist and not be in the fear when we know that the circumstances within and outside of ourselves are helping us and bringing us to greater growth. We're not as resistant, we're not as scared of it. I mean, sure we're always going to be fearful of change, because fear really guards the door of transformation. In order for us to be able to move forward, we have to resolve ourselves and find peace with the fear that is guarding the door to that transformation itself. So that's going to be there, but we can move through that more easily when we know that this change is truly coming from the higher realms that are helping us, helping us to grow. Now you also want to consider how you can help yourself to prepare for the full retrograde during the pre shadow period. So we know things are a little bit wobbly right now, but they're about to really, really slow down into a big halt once it officially stations retrograde. So this is an important time to really, like, slow down in your communication, double check your messages, reread things, if something has like a high emotional content to it, reread it, process it, maybe give yourself permission to respond slowly and more intentionally. So maybe you're used to responding to people really quickly, shooting an email back to them, but giving yourself the gift. Gift of time to process, especially if something is a little bit heavier emotionally, and you want to really be present with what it is that they've brought forward for you, knowing that you might be missing a few things because we're in this kind of cloudier period, a Mercury Retrograde, where we're really withdrawn and we're really kind of doing the within type of work. It takes a little bit more muscle, if you will, brain muscle to process, to receive and to understand some of the things that are being shared. So slow down. It's okay if you get back to that email the next day, versus immediately feeling the need to respond, you will probably respond much more purposefully, intentionally and meaningfully to that person. And honestly, people would much rather feel truly heard than they would you just rush into a response and be very intentional with your words. Sometimes I'll reread something, especially if I know if there's an emotional charge to something, I'll reread it a few times, kind of like listening through different filters to just make sure that I'm communicating my heart in a situation versus communicating too much with my head in your preparations. Also think about doing a few extra things like running backup on your computer. We know that technical problems really come up around Mercury Retrograde, because mercury is very responsible for those types of advancements. So backing up your files, backing up your computer, backing up your phone, back up your contacts, back up your photos and your videos that you have on your phone that are special to you, you just never know when that's going in the water or something happens to it, so be extra careful about doing backup during this time, even if you're working on presentations and so forth, just maybe halfway through, make sure you're always saving it more so than you would normally, because you'll find that that will usually save you when something crashes or something happens and you don't want to have to start all over. So doing behavioral modifications like that can be very helpful clarify your travel or contracts. So make sure that you're reading through the fine print that you're double checking your rental car, you're double checking the airport and your timing and making sure that you have all of the things that you need laid out and everything is nice and confirmed, so that all of that is very clear for you, and then revisit anything that you feel like you've kind of left half finished, if there's a way for you to wrap it up before Mercury officially goes retrograde. Get it done. Wrap it up. Make sure that you know your heart's in it and you're doing what needs to be done, right. But if you can wrap it up before this time, that gives you a lot of extra energy to really focus on the things that are coming up during this period. If you are resolving some of the extras and the half finished stuff, you can be really present with what is trying to come through. So just think of the pre shadow period as it's time to get your house in order. Things are happening. They're happening, you know, literally, they're happening. Energetically, they are hinting at what is coming forward for you in this healing and transformation during the Mercury Retrograde, and our job is to become more open to that, recognizing with curiosity. Okay, I'm seeing these patterns. I'm seeing these themes. Let me explore that actively and intentionally as we move through this period, and just remember that the universe isn't out to get you, that Mercury retrograde and its pre shadow is just a chance to realign, to re evaluate, to fully open up your awareness outside of our normal kind of limited just moving forward perspective, one thing you can do knowing that this isn't the time to, like, push forward and just make things happen. And you know that's not going to work so well during Mercury Retrograde, it's more this reflective time we have to pause. It's more of a struggle to get things launched and moving and so forth. So this is a time to just process. It's a great time for you to learn more. It's a great time for you to revisit the books that you have on your shelf that you haven't had a chance to read or finish reading. That's a great thing for you to do during Mercury retrograde. Build up your knowledge, build up the level of growth that you have available to you. Tap into those resources. That's very helpful during the mercury retrograde. And, of course, setting up, you know, self care practices can be really nice during this period. So if you know that you're the kind of person that gets a little anxious and gets a little stressed, or you get very overwhelmed during these times, you're just feeling kind of more jittery because. Sensitive to the energies that are at play, or you're feeling a lot of other people's stress. Set yourself up for some self care, you know, grab a new nail polish that you might like, a new favorite incense that you might love. Set up a massage session. Sign up for a new yoga class, that sort of thing. But set yourself up with some positive things that you can look forward to, so that you're not like dreading or feeling stressed and anxious during this period, that you're recognizing that this is a transformative time, and I'm also going to do that with alignment to joy and play and curiosity and sensitivity as well. Now if you want to stay connected with these cycles like Mercury Retrograde, the pre shadow and post shadow periods, the full moons, new moons, and slow down and get more conscious and aware of the energy all around you, I just invite you. I would, I would miss this opportunity to invite you to join the inner circle at Sedona medium.com, forward slash, inner circle, and you can get access to the energetic calendar for the year that integrates directly into your digital calendar so that you won't miss any of the important dates. To become more conscious and more aware. It's going to tell you when these moon cycles are shifting and changing. It's going to let you know when Mercury Retrograde is coming, so it's when you look at your calendar, you see it there, as well as helpful information about how to navigate that and with intuitive messages, plus you're going to get exclusive access to the monthly reading, so you can get spirits advice about the energy every month and just it's a great opportunity to live in more harmony With the energies that are available for us fully in a resourced way. That's at Sedona medium.com, forward slash inner circle. And of course, we have other things that are happening. We have the in person Reiki classes that are coming up soon. And we also have the online intuitive heart circle that is starting in just a week or so, I'd love to see you there at Sedona medium.com forward slash intuitive heart circle. All right, everyone, thanks so much for joining me. I look forward to our time together next week. Many blessings. The

Robert Wooten: 28:25

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