We’re headed into some tricky energy territory over the next several weeks. Between the 10-week Mars Retrograde starting April 17 and 3-week Mercury Retrograde beginning April 28, you will want to become mindful of potential challenges as well as remedies. Knowing about the beneficial energies available during this cycle will help you too. Foresight about these things will help you to soar above troubles that appear along the path.

Intend right now that you will bring your conscious heart-centered self into all things. This includes self-talk, communications with others, time-sensitive projects, and actions to bring your light into the world.

Background on Impacts

In the last couple of years even people not typically impacted by energy cycles are feeling the ups-and-downs. It’s a palpable experience, even for those without a conscious reference point to put things in perspective. This is important to understand as you move through the next several weeks. Many people around you, including perhaps loved ones or coworkers, will be feeling these intense energies. Don’t be surprised if tempers rise more visibly and people voice opinions they usually would keep to themselves. It could get messy, even volatile. Allow for that. Be kind.

Mars: this is a planet of action, initiative, motivation, goals, and self-identity. Planetary cycles of Mars impact everyone. A retrograde can be especially challenging when you are in a hurry to get something important completed or when you are unclear about your overall purpose or direction. There’s a flip side however. These retrograde cycles are really the perfect time to self-assess, looking more deeply at your motivations and notions of success. It’s quite helpful to give yourself a tune-up during this time, asking deeper questions about where you are headed, why you want to go there, and what success will look like when you arrive. A very fruitful process!

Mercury: this is a planet of communications, technology, and messages sent or received. Whatever cycle Mercury is in will impact you daily because your very existence is experienced through your senses and messages coming from a plethora of places and dimensions. Mercury is like your nonstop antenna to self and the world. That antenna operates even during sleep via your dreams. When Mercury goes retrograde, you could feel like your timing is off or slowed. You may miss meetings altogether. Communications you send out may seem to go into a wormhole. Deadlines you set may seem elusive, as though the timing you established has mysteriously moved ahead.

One reason you may feel more effects of these upcoming retrogrades is that we don’t often have Mars and Mercury simultaneously in retrograde. Mars only has that cycle each two years. Experiencing both planets in retrograde, therefore, means extra amounts of intensity.

Tips for Divine Changemakers

Use this upcoming period to ask yourself deeper questions, do inner work, and reevaluate approaches. As you do this, you may invent a new way to do something or discover a simple solution to a problem that has eluded resolution for years!

To move through this cycle with fewer re-dos, approach your tasks slowly and patiently. That’s easier said than done of course, but well worth the effort. If something is not moving, change your irritation into patience by trusting there is a reason for delays. Invite your inner wisdom to help you see beyond the delays, using some of the seemingly wasted time to reassess goals and approaches.

A good question to ask daily: “What am I missing or not seeing that relates to my success?”

Consider that this cycle is a perfect time to expand your view of the identity you hold for yourself. Do this even if you recently had a major life overhaul. We are vast multidimensional beings, and as such, must continually update our energies. This includes the very foundational piece of looking at our self-identity and what motivates us to get up each day and do what we do.

Wesak season: Coming up in May is the annual Wesak season with its abundant blessings and connections with the masters like Kuan Yin and Buddha who set the template for enlightenment. During this auspicious time, humanity is showered with blessings and light infusions from the higher realms. You can tap into this energy at an official Wesak celebration and also on your own with intent. Helpful tools to connect with the Wesak blessings include meditation, sacred sound, and prayerful intentions. Being mindful of this fortunate time of blessings can help you maintain a higher frequency as we move through the retrograde cycles.

Leading up to the official Wesak, the energies will be shifting frequently and it will take increasing spirit connection and skill to adapt to the many twists and turns. Do your best to stay in your heart and walk gently. Trust that you are loved beyond what you could possibly imagine.