November 2, 2019
Usually I don’t have any problems when Mercury goes retrograde about three times a year. I even look forward to it because I find it gives me a sudden urge to tidy and organize things around my home, and I never pay attention to which zodiac sign it happens to be in. After all, my specialty is card readings, not astrology.
Nevertheless, Mercury being the planet of communication in all its forms, in a retrograde cycle, it can be a real troublemaker. Suddenly you can experience misunderstandings with others, or find yourself going in the wrong direction, or heaven forbid, especially if you order things online, find that your parcel has been misplaced or lost.
Just to give you an example, in its last retrograde cycle, last July, Mercury happened to be in the sign of Leo, which is where my Mercury is in my natal chart. So naturally I was particularly hit. In my case I lost a lot of money booking a nonrefundable airline ticket on a budget site from an airline I really didn’t want to use… and just to be safe, ended up not using. (I don’t regret this decision of not going on that trip.)
Now just when I thought I could breathe again, here comes a new retrograde Mercury… in Scorpio. Since my natal Mercury is in the sign of Leo, I should be fine, right? Um… no. Because my Mercury is in the Eighth House in my natal chart, and the Eighth House is the traditional house of Scorpio, I’m hit again! I was too smart (haha) to buy another airline ticket this time, but a couple of weeks ago, in the “preparatory” stage of the cycle, I made an international purchase online.
At first all was good. It’s a trackable item, and everything was smooth until it arrived in Canada on October 31, the official start of the retrograde cycle. Then everything went haywire with two major screw-ups from Canada Post. To this day, nobody knows for sure where that parcel is. It’s somewhere “in processing”, but where, nobody knows.
I decided to ask the cards what happened to my parcel. I’m too afraid to ask whether I’ll get it soon or not. So the cards only confirm what I already know, but it’s still interesting to see that.
Cards used: Yves Reynaud’s restitution of the Jacques Burdel 1813 Marseille Tarot which can be purchased on his website, if you’re interested.
Three card reading, with one or more additional card, if necessary.
I used only the major trumps and got The Emperor (IIII), the Hanged Man (XII) and the Star (XVII).
Because the Emperor is looking at an empty space, I decided to add another card to see what he’s looking at, and I got Judgment (XX).
OK, so it seems pretty clear to me. The Stars (XVII) may have had something to do with this, but if you look at that figure on the Star card, she’s pouring everything into a stream of water. Then we have the Hanged Man (XII) who’s just stuck there, unable to move. Then finally you have the Emperor (IIII), with his foot keeping his shield in place.
Even though the three main cards were placed from left to right, the interpretation needs to be from the most logical place. In this case, from right to left. (Even the Hanged Man’s foot is pointing in that direction.)
So what’s happened to my package, at least so far? Once it arrived in Canada, it literally got dumped in the mail stream (Star, XVII) and got stuck (Hanged Man, XII) or caught in some process. It’s still there. Canada Post (the Emperor, IIII), is literally sitting on it like the shield in the Emperor card.
As for the Judgment card (XX), I’d love to believe that Canada Post will call me soon to let me know the parcel is found, but for now I think this card may just refer to the two calls I’ve made to their customer service department and the ticket that was opened to find out where the parcel is.
Like Mercury retrograde, even the cards are looking in the “wrong” direction. I hope I don’t have to wait for the cycle to end before I finally get my parcel. Still, it would be better than not getting it at all… 😳
Update: Normally my story would have ended there.
So, four hours later, I already have an update on this story! I have my parcel!! 😍
I have to tell you that for the past two years at least at least I have believed in spirit guides. For me it’s just that little nudge that often pushes you in a direction you were not consciously going, and where you often end up making kinder choices, for instance. Some people call it intuition; some call it their guardian angels; I call them spirit guides and I invoke them every day in my daily meditation.
Anyway today, after doing some groceries, and feeling dejected about the missing parcel, I found myself walking past the post office where my parcel should have gone in the first place, and I thought, why not ask them if they received something anyway… My tracking number only showed the same messy notifications I had already seen online, but then the nice woman who works there said, “Would you like me to look at the parcels we’ve received so far?” And just as she was about to enter the back room, she turned and looked behind the door instead, and there was the parcel!
So this story does have a happy ending, in spite of Mercury retrograde. That Judgment card with its angel blowing a trumpet could have been my spirit guides “resuscitating” the parcel from wherever it had been left. It’s November 2, after all. An apt ending for the traditional “Day of the Dead”! 😏