Lightsome Living

What does it mean when Mercury goes Retrograde?

Technically it means that as it moves slower than the earth around the Sun, it appears as if Mercury is going backwards.

In Astrology, the multiple retrograde events reflect the dance of Mercury expressing in either its Gemini or Virgo rulership.

When moving direct, Mercury expresses more like Gemini, gathering information through conversation, connection and curiosity.

When Retrograde it’s taking that info and digesting it, internalizing and analyzing all the information gathered.

Especially in this day and age of information overload, Mercury Retrograde becomes a reprieve from the external and an invitation to the internal. Time to slow down and process what has actually been learned and gathered.

If you fight it, you might come across more struggle than is needed. So plan accordingly. 🤓

Because Mercury will be Retrograding in the Earth Signs of Capricorn, Ta**us, and Virgo, you will want to take that analyzing and introspective energy into releasing/healing your connection with the structures in your life, the way you use your resources and if they truly reflect your values, and if your daily work is a reflection of what you truly desire to build and achieve in this life.

Mark your calendars for Mercury Retrograde 2023! It’s gonna be good!

Save and Share if you found this helpful! 🙏😊

Over the last 50+ years, astrology has become less and less esoteric and more and more psychological mixed with self awareness and personal development.

With so much information at our fingertips there is no reason you can’t learn to synthesize your own birth chart to help you see the path before you that honors your unique gifts and talents that the world needs from you!

In my experience it’s the mix of knowledge + intuition that can help to get a clear view of what the stars are validating for you.

My job often becomes helping connect the dots between what you are experiencing and the energy behind it and providing tools to help you move through that space with patience and confidence. This is my sweet spot and something I love to help you explore for your own growth and personal development!

Do you view astrology as esoteric or as a something with deeper insight and personal value?

For those that consider themselves empathic, how many of you also have some kind of autoimmune condition or family history?

I’ve been on this journey for a good while now, trying to piece together my story and it’s roots. I’ve seen how I’ve had weak boundaries in a variety of ways and this has lead to an internal confusion of what emotion is mine and what is not.

The older I get the better I am at observing the energy around me, but not absorbing it.

Meditation has taught me so much about observing my thoughts. Energy work has shown me the consequences of absorbing energy.

So a personal mantra for me has become this:

Observe, don’t absorb.

I can say this with great confidence now because my experience has informed my belief that I am not responsible for the emotions others carry. It doesn’t help them and it greatly hurts me to try and take that in as a futile attempt to comfort and console them.

I can observe it around me and flowing through me even, without it absorbing into my systems and impacting me in unhealthy ways.

This is part of why I believe I have had to learn through my autoimmune journey to have healthier boundaries of all I am picking up around me.

The emotion and energy around us is information. It doesn’t need to infiltrate and set up camp and throw of our own flow and ways of being.

What are some of your tips for empaths? Share them in the comments below!

Call me the rebel… I’m not buying everyone’s hype.

Moving to the beat of my own drum I guess.

This isn’t the time to start new goals, as much as it’s the time to review your goals and dreams and how you’ve made progress with them.

Capricorn season is sorta like the last quarter moon of each month. Review, finish up, get rid of and prepare for a brand new season like you would a New Moon.

Look over the last 3 seasons of the year (Spring, Summer, Fall) and decide what is left to do to meet your prior goals and if a pivot needs to happen.

During the next month of Aquarius, well, that’s when you might break out of the mold and tap into your inner genius as it relates to your goals of the past and future.

During the month of Pisces start looking at your beliefs. What do you need believe to achieve your new found goals, path, and purpose? What kind of faith do you need to embrace to move forward by letting go?

Then when the Fire month of Aries (March/April) hits… then run! 🏃‍♀️ 🏃‍♂️ 🏃 and do all the Fire things that creates new life!

Don’t feel you have to do what the world markets and marketing want you to do.

Don’t buy the planner.

Don’t get a gym membership.

Don’t change your diet.

Hold on. Be still. Observe yourself. Plan and prep, but don’t fall into doing things just because everyone else is.

Listen to and follow your own rhythm… and you might find it wants to align more to nature than to the modern world.

Be you. It’s a beautiful thing.

There is no normal.

There are routines and habits and beliefs, but there is no normal.

And I’m so glad for that.

I love seeing the beauty of each individual person as I read their birth chart, or get to tap into their energy systems in a session.

The goal isn’t to be normal. The goal is to know who you are, all the shiny spots and the rusty ones too. Then allow the beauty of God’s love for you, His creation, help you love it all too.

Then you are more able to provide a compassionate space for others to learn the same thing for themselves.

There are times for questions and there are times for answers.

Now isn’t the time for answers.

Information, that is meant to provoke questions, is right now swirling in the air like a wind storm.

I want the storm to calm, but when I look at the stars, I see that this isn’t going to happen anytime soon.

In Astrology the Moon Nodal Axis (south node to north node) help indicate a current lesson cycle we are in. The south node is in Sagittarius right now and the north node is in Gemini.

As I’ve reflected on this 18 month nodal cycle, I am seeing more and more that the information chaos storm we are in the middle of is what will help prepare the environment for more clarity and answers in 9 years time, when the nodes switch and the south node is in Gemini and the North node is in Sagittarius.

Be ok with your questions... but more importantly, be ok with the fact that the answers might not come for a long while yet.

Questions are what help us seek more truth.

Is it unnerving to feel as if we are in the midst of a never ending war of words? Yes, it can be. Yet, the energy of the moment is allowing for you to tap into your own Gemini nature and let the curiosity expose more and more... and more.... questions on all different kinds of levels.

With the Trine and Square aspects also in play with significant planets... in the Aquarius air sign as well, be careful about who you consider “authorities”, or “popular opinions” and chatter.

One of the pitfalls of a Trine aspect is staying in a old rut because it is easier than the work to move out of that old groove.

With the Squaring of the nodes to the Sun and Venus in Pisces, be aware that it could be easy to fall into illusions that make your ego nature want to stay the same and admire yourself all the more for not doing the work of asking more questions.

Remember... resign yourself to the fact that this is the Question 🙋‍♀️ time... answers won’t come for quite a while... and that’s ok.

There are beautiful patterns all around us and one that gets a lot of attention is the cycle of the moon within a 28 day period.

From new moon to first quarter to full to last quarter and back to new moon.

There is an annual cycle as well, as the moon moves through the signs and seasons in a year.

Today @ 9:59pm MT it will be the exact conjunction of the Sun and Moon to create a New Moon. The first one of 2021!

On April 4th @ 4:02am the Moon will be in Capricorn again while the Sun is in Aries, creating the 90° Square Aspect that is we would call a First Quarter.

On June 24 @ 12:38pm the Sun will have moved into Cancer and the Moon will oppose it 180° in Capricorn again for a Full Moon effect.

Then on October 12 @ 9:23pm the Moon will be in Capricorn again at a 90° angle to the Sun in Libra, creating the Last Quarter effect.

Then on January 2, 2022 @ 11:33am the Sun and the Moon will come back to exact alignment for the first New Moon of the new year.

What does this mean? Well, that the goals you put in place that relate to the energy of Capricorn will have a full cycle of flow, tension, hesitation, opposition and stress as the moon makes its way back to the beginning of a its Capricorn New Moon in a new year.

What can you do?

Well, with any New Moon/conjunction energy, you are presented with the opportunity to be still & in the darkness of the sky, release and prepare for rebirth, specifically in relation to all that is associated with Capricorn.

•career
•reputation
•responsibilities
•traditions
•ethics
•economics
•leadership
•example
•maturity
•pragmatism
•ambitions
•authority
•legacy
•etc.

So NOW is the time to make goals for this area of your life. Start putting your plan into action!

Each months New Moon in a different sign will help you set New Intentions in the energy of a new sign, so don’t feel obligated to address all areas of life at once. The sun and the moon will guide you along, all year long.

Make note of the dates above in a phone reminder to review where you are at in relation to the process you are making with the intentions you put in place now!

Have you ever seen the rings of a tree? How they grow so slowly, just one ring a year leaving its legacy to how that year impacted the tree as a whole. When we look at a tree, we just see the outer results of so many years of consistent growth displayed inside it.

Each year we get to decide what the ring will look like by what we choose to focus on.

When the sun is in Capricorn it really is the perfect time to consider new goals but especially from the perspective of are my goals in alignment with my higher purpose? Am I living in a way that leaves a legacy?

When looking at your birth chart there are 3 key things to look for that will show where you will leave a legacy.

1. Find where Saturn is on your birth chart or solar return
2. Find where Capricorn is and what planets are in its influence.
3. Find the sign cusping your 10th house and the planets in it too.

All of that can help you find confirmation/validation that what your goals and choices are will help build out the legacy you will leave on the earth.

If you would like help finding how you go about building your legacy, message me for a simple career and legacy chart reading.you must know your exact birth time for the most detail.

I don’t think I’m the only one who feels some level of 2020 PTSD and emotional whiplash!

I’ve been trying to find the word for how I feel about wrapping up 2020 and entering 2021 and the word that came to mind was apprehensive.

There has been so many moments and experiences that have impacted all of us. I can imagine many of us feel in some way hesitation about what’s still to come in 2021.

So here’s what I’m doing and maybe it will help you too.

Use Tamer on your belly every single day! It will help integrate, process and digest all the thoughts feelings and experiences that haven’t been uncovered yet but where brought on by 2020.

Then, use Thinker on your forehead and neck to help with the information/stimulation overload so that you can focus on what really is most important!!

These moments like the new year are times of fresh starts, new beginnings, different goals and clear intentions.

I love using natures gifts to help me use my body as part of the healing and daily living experience we all face.

Which oil do you think you need more of as you wrap up 2020?

🤔 Thinker?
😋Tamer?

Let me know in the comments!

#2020

Sometimes I ask myself this question. And I imagine others asking it as well.

Why astrology?

Isn’t that some new age thing?
Isn’t that for people who don’t believe in God?
Isn’t that for superstitious people?
Isn’t that just horoscopes?

What other reasons have you heard?

As someone with a firm belief in a Heavenly Father, in Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost, astrology has become a gift for me to see myself through Heaven’s eyes. It has helped validate things about me that have been told me in spiritual blessings and strengths profiling, things I knew about myself but doubted or didn’t understand.

3 years ago I was struggling to feel any kind of self confidence or self worth. I remember the the night I happened across You Say the song by Lauren Daigle and I cried myself to sleep with it on repeat wondering ‘what does He see in me, because I felt so broken.’

Astrology became a tool I feel He brought me to say... ‘I’ve seen you since before you were born. I know you Tamarah. Trust me.’

For me, astrology has increased my faith in God. It has show over and over his profound love for me along with the deep love He has for all of His children on this planet.

It’s also helped me see things that I never saw before but were always there. Things that allowed me to more consciously choose how to embrace and live my life from a place of empowered choice over reactive habits.

Our experiences, our personalities, our tendencies all present opportunities for us to use our power to choose how we will respond and what we will create more of.

We all life under the influence of the heavens every day, studying the cycles of the heavens helps me be more consciously aware of the choices and opportunities for growth before me. You can’t appreciate, change or improve what you don’t choose to see.

Why astrology?
Simply put: astrology is for those who want to be seen and to see.

What do you want to learn or understand more about regarding astrology?

3 years ago Thanksgiving broke me in unexpected ways. By all appearances it was a year of highs in a new home with new adventures and accomplishments. But as we all know, that can change suddenly.

The day before, we went to our 18 week pregnancy checkup and for the 4th time in 10 years, was presented with no heartbeat for our baby, who we all felt would be a girl.

We came home to tell our children that Thanksgiving would be a bit different this year. It felt a lot more somber. I cherished the quiet time with our kids in anticipation of the events of the following day.

Black Friday wasn’t about shopping for us, it was about checking into the hospital and going through all the motions of delivering a baby we would never get to take home.

This loss broke my heart. I literally felt the crack. Maybe it was because I had experienced multiple spiritual witnesses that she was waiting and ready to come to our family. She was ready for the adventure and I was hesitant. Every pregnancy was an act of faith in God, my body, and my heart’s capacity

We named her Mira Grace. Her name reminds me to Look for the Grace in my trials.

I’m now able to say I’m grateful for such trials.

I’m grateful for the way every loss has cemented my faith that there is life in the womb and after death. How could you not see that when holding an 18 week old body.

I’m grateful for the ways it has changed me, my life path and focus after each loss.

I’m grateful for my living children who openly talk about their 5 siblings in Heaven.

I’m grateful especially for Jeff. I have seen marriages break under the weight of grief and I’m thankful that we found strength and comfort in each other. He is the most precious gift I have ever received from a loving Father in Heaven. He is my perfect partner and a healing balm for me in so many ways.

I am thankful for life. I am thankful for death. I am thankful for hope. I am thankful for the ability to smile and laugh again.

Today I will again, for a loving Father in Heaven who sees me, knows me, and has provided the way, through His Son, that death has no victory, where His grace is sufficient, and Joy cometh in the morning. @ South Jordan, Utah

Dear Tobin,

I am thankful for you.

It’s been one of those mom days where I happen to be extra tired and you extra energetic. Getting you to sit still is like trying to keep a honey bee from a flower. You challenge me to be a better mom at nearly every turn. There is no way I am getting off easy in this parenting thing with you as the youngest. I want you to know that even on the rough days, I fiercely love you.

I love your enthusiasm for EVERYTHING! I love your questions and curiosity. I love your witty remarks and your uncanny ability to pick up on words. I love your mischievous grin and twinkle in your eye.

It’s hard to be mad at you and I often have to turn my face away to laugh when reminding you to stop jumping off the furniture or getting socks and shoes on before running outside in the cold or wait for me to help you with something just a bit too grown up for you. You get away with more than I ever let your siblings get away with, because you’ve warn me down. Some things are important, most things aren’t. You keep showing me that.

You are a gift to our family. You help all of us to chill out and stop being so serious about everything. I hope I can become a bit more like you.

I love you, all ways.

Mom
@ South Jordan, Utah

Water is a sign of life!

When astronomers look for life on other planets, they know that it’s water that signals the possibility of life.

In 24 hours the Sun will shift from Scorpio to Sagittarius, a water sign to a fire sign. In anticipation of the shift, it’s made me reflect on how grateful I am for water.

Something easily taken for granted, but so necessary.

I’ve been emotionally all over the place this month, and though I don’t always understand the roots of the emotions, I’m grateful for tears that flow, because if nature is a reflection of life, it is water that encourages something new to grow.

So all the tears are both cleansing and life giving and we need that, more than we think.

Sometimes, we think because we are emotional, we are not in control. But control isn’t the point. Isn’t life about feeling the spectrum of emotion and being grateful for its variety?

Tears are expressed in both Joy and Pain. Frustration and Elation. Awe and Despair.

I’m grateful for water in the earth, on the earth, in the sky, in the heavens, in my body, in my cells, in my eyes....

Water is a sign that I’m alive.

💧

Have you ever considered your astrology from the perspective of your dominant elements? I am strongest in my Air and Fire, but this month.... I have felt all the water!

It’s persistence has eroded things from my soul that I thought I needed to exist. And I have learned that I can live without them.

My “water” has become polluted at times with the emotions I don’t let go for fear of what I would be without them.

It has purified my heart with tears like never ending waterfalls.

Water is powerful. It will flow where it will and there is nothing you can do to hold it back from transforming you.

It will come from the sky. It will rise from the earth. It will overtake the rivers edge. Let the water flow and carry you to new places.

On this Scorpio New Moon, set an intention for where you want the waters to take you for the next 12 months, so that by next November, you know yourself better than ever before because you have let the water reveal your beauty.

“When love awakens in your life, in the night of your heart, it is like the dawn breaking within you. Where before there was anonymity, now there is intimacy; where before there was fear, now there is courage; where before in your life there was awkwardness, now there is a rhythm of grace and gracefulness; where before you used to be jagged, now you are elegant and in rhythm with your self. When love awakens in your life, it is like a rebirth, a new beginning.”
― John O'Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

Part of the gift of Scorpio is this ⬆️kind of transformation that can open you to know your soul’s worth and deeperpurpose. The sting of the Scorpion might hurt, but it isn’t meant to keep you down only to help you find what needs transforming so you can be reborn.

What is stinging right now? Take a closer look at the wound because it’s time to learn from it.

♏️

Do you get words stuck in your throat? Or emotions that ball up in a painful lump and can’t seem to find release? Or pain when you sing or talk?

My throat/voice has had all these things and more. As someone whose struggled with thyroid problems for probably longer than my diagnosis 13 years ago, it’s been part of my personal journey to find the contributing factors to the disharmony that has been there for so long.

Those with strong Libra energy have a tendency to create harmony. They sense the dissonance, maybe more easily than others, and want to bring it back to balance and harmony.

About a month ago, I had someone do some body work/therapy with me and a memory came to mind. It was random and I didn’t initially understand why it related to the intention I had at the appointment.

In my memory, I was in 7th or 8th grade and was chatting with a group of my friends. I said to one of them “I just don’t understand you.” It was an honest response, no intended malice, and my friend was deeply hurt by it and I was left wondering, “wait... what did I do wrong?”
I think this moment deeply impacted me because I had just created the dissonance. I, who was known as the peacemaker and one who got along with everyone, created dis-harmony.
In that moment, I locked down my throat. Singing, something I loved to do, started to become physically painful for me. It’s like I was trying so hard to control my voice so I wouldn’t hurt others with it, that I ended up hurting myself the most.

You see, that was the belief I began to hold on to... if I speak honestly, I could hurt someone. And with my identity being tied to being liked by everyone, I couldn’t handle the challenge to my ego.

Well... I’ve been doing a lot of work on this. Recently some awesome biofield tuning (tuning forks) on my voice. Bringing energy back, replacing old beliefs. Recentering my identity so I could let go of the old beliefs. And today I had the smallest glimpse of what it could feel like again to sing without pain.
And it brought me to tears.
The dissonance helps find the harmony! I have a lot of work to still do, but I’m hopeful to hear my voice float without pain. At least for today.

This year in my healing journey from our 5 pregnancy losses, I am doing something different. I’m being a little more open and vocal. Not really for you all, but for me. Because I need to give this a voice. I need it to be public, even if no one hears, that’s ok. This is where I am at this year, and it might look different next year.
I never really considered our miscarriages as real trauma. Trauma was something that happened to other people. More serious things. But it was traumatic. This year I am seeing that, and claiming it as a part of how it impacted me and my physical body. I minimized our miscarriages in a lot of ways, because that’s sorta what our world does...
Death is uncomfortable for nearly everyone. We don’t know what to say, how to respond, how to give ourselves permission to grieve and allow others the space for their grief.
We are scared of the dark. And death, grief and loss can be a really dark place.
I want to bring just a little more light to the darkness by sharing the flickering candles representing the babies we had with us for their short time.
After our first loss at 20 weeks, I would go on to have 7 more pregnancies. I had to learn that each day was a gift to carry my baby. No matter how long... if it was 8 weeks to full term. It was one of my greatest acts of faith, every day. To let fear, worry or anxiety rule me, would have taken away the miracle and joy of each life, and the moment to be with them. I wasn’t perfect everyday, but I learned a bit more about what it’s like to live in the moment.
With my childbearing years behind me, it’s a different view. I must still have the faith to let the feelings come in their waves, and continue living. I have 5 children in Heaven, and I know I will get to hold each of them. I have 5 children here. And I love seeing them grow. There have been precious moments when I have felt all 10 of them together. ❤️
We all heal differently. But, we can all be in the process of healing if we allow ourselves to be ok with the dark. It’s stillness and quiet are fitting to honor the depth of emotion one feels in grief, loss, grief and disappointment. @ South Jordan, Utah

It usually went like this:
20 weeks OB/GYN appointment.
No heartbeat
Shock & denial
Tears
Admitted to hospital
Cervix prepared
Pitocin (the devils drug)
Epidural
Baby & placenta
Hemorrhaging
D&C
Tears and photos
Send baby off to autopsy
Empty arms
Home
Tears
Hug my living children
Sleep
Milk comes in
Maternity clothes go away
Want help and also silence and solitude
Try to still live when my world had just stopped.

Repeat x4, and the last one at 9 weeks at home.

Today is the delivery day of our little Evan Riley Bartmess delivered around 20 weeks October 14th, 2009

I wish I knew where they buried him. The hospital never told me what they did with his ashes and I can’t find records.

It’s such an emotional experience every time, it’s like you need a miscarriage doula to help you through that process. I tried to be brave. I tried to pretend that I could handle this, each time. I wish I would have just let myself fall apart. Each time it happened again, you’d think it would be easier, but it wasn’t, in fact it compounded. It was traumatic each time... and I’m only just now coming to grips with that trauma.

Jeff - I love you for being my safe place each time.

I’m so grateful for the loving, and most likely, grieving hands, that knit this little hat for our baby boys head. I would love to thank them personally someday for the gift that reminds me of a memory with the baby I carried, not long enough.

Where are all you Libras! This is something you will want to pay attention to especially if you were born when Saturn was in transiting Libra when you were born. (Years: varying times 1950-53, 1980-83, 2009-12)

Your kidneys are extra important to your overall health, especially for a strong Libra energy, more so than others. The signs of Leo and Scorpio also have Influence on kidney health, so if your Sun, Moon, Rising sign or Saturn are in either of the 3 signs, these tips will be a good thing to consider!

The kidneys balance the fluids and help excrete the toxins of the body. In a days time they filter around 37.5 GALLONS of your blood to keep you healthy! To keep them extra healthy it’s recommended we drink around 88oz of water daily. That’s 11 cups!

A simple way to do this is by using lemon oil, just 1-2 drops in your water. Another super helper to the body balance needed for Kidneys are the added support of doTerra’s Life Long Vitality - a combo of minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and healthy fats. They add a gentle and what I consider vital support to keeping the kidneys functioning in their natural healthy way!

Lemon oil is a easy go to for water flavor and internal use, but do you have another favorite citrus flavor? Let me know in the comments!