3 Easy Candle Rituals To Perform During Mercury Retrograde That Will Help Keep Drama Out Of Your Life

Mercury retrograde is here again, ready to mess with your summer plans, summer flings, and summer headspace. Sigh. Mercury retrograde summer 2019 kicked off in the fiery and attention-hungry sign of Leo on July 7, and will be backspinning its way back into sensitive, highly-emotional Cancer through July 31. With passionate, always-expressive Leo and moody, sentimental Cancer as the signs-on-duty for this particular retrograde, we can be sure that we'll be feeling the backspin emotionally in addition to the communication, scheduling, and tech snags that come along with a typical Mercury Rx transit.

"This second Mercury retrograde of the year (the third is in November) is a time to proceed with caution," wrote astrologer Pam Ciampi in Llewellyn's 2019 Daily Planetary Guide. "To make things even more confusing, Mercury will be in two different signs during this retrograde. It will spend the first part of the retrograde in fiery Leo and the remainder in emotional Cancer."

Mercury retrograding through Cancer and Leo certainly adds some uniqueness to this summer's big Rx transit, but all Mercury retrograde periods come with some typical baggage. Because Mercury rules over things like communication, our tech devices, schedules and timing, and getting from place to place, we're likely to see slow-downs and roadblocks in those particular ares of our lives. Miscommunications are hard to avoid, travel delays are likely, and tech breakdowns? Let's just say you'll want to keep that protective cover on your phone.

"This is a good time to go back over the last few months to review and evaluate your successes or failures and make any necessary adjustments," Ciampi continued. Embracing the energy of the retrograde (and the concurrent eclipse season that's here alongside it!) can make riding the retro-wave so much easier. And using some Mercury retrograde summer 2019 candle rituals is a fun, spiritual, and symbolic way to do that.

Working with candle magic during this particular retrograde feels really appropriate. Firstly, Mercury is beginning its retrograde in Leo, which is a fixed fire sign (meaning it falls right in the middle of a season — in this case, summer). Leo's sun season also begins in the middle of this retrograde, bringing us an added dose of fire energy. Lastly, we're in the middle of summer, so aligning with the warmth and energy of a candle magic ritual's flame is going to help sync us up and ground us.

Check out the following three candle rituals designed to help you embrace the vibes of summer 2019's Mercury retrograde and stay grounded amidst the chaos of this season's wild astrology rollercoaster.

Self-Confidence Candle Ritual For Mercury Rx In Leo

OK, so as mentioned, this summer's Mercury retrograde has kicked off in Leo. This theatrical sign has a major penchant for drama, so you can bet the retrograde energy isn't overlooking that. The following ritual is adapted from a lovely Leo-themed candle ritual created by Laura Bolt for Horoscope.com. While it was originally designed for the Leo new moon at the end of July, it's been adapted below to use during the portion of the retrograde that Mercury will spend in Leo — which is between July 6 and July 19.

What you'll need: 1 yellow candle; 1 palo santo stick; a fire safe bowl or incense burner; a pen or marker.

What to do: This ritual is all about harnessing the warm, fire energy of Leo (and preparing for the upcoming Leo sun season, which will begin amidst this Mercury retrograde transit!), which is exactly why we're working with a yellow candle. Yellow is the color of our solar plexus chakra, which is all about self-expression and confidence — both very Leo themes that can help us navigate this retrograde with grace and self-assuredness.

Begin the ritual by lighting your candle, aligning yourself with the warming qualities of the flame and the bright confidence of the yellow candle's color symbolism. As you focus on the flickering flame, which mirrors the fire energy of the sun (Leo's ruling planet), start thinking through words that come to mind when you think of your best qualities and the things about yourself that you're most confident about. Perhaps some words that come to mind are "hardworking," "funny," "loyal" — don't be shy.

With Mercury retrograding through Leo, we might feel our confidence taking a hit and getting a bit shaken since so many things will feel beyond our control. Let this portion of the ritual help you to overcome that and get in touch with yourself.

Once you've harnessed that self-love and have some good qualities of yours swirling through your mind, grab your palo santo stick and a writing utensil. "On a stick of Palo Santo, use a marker to write down the a couple of the qualities you listed that mean the most to you, and best represent how you want to represent yourself this season," advised Bolt on Horoscope.com.

Light the palo santo and allow it to smolder with a nice, strong stream of smoke. Moving clockwise around the crown of your head or your auric field, cleanse yourself with the stick. Envision the smoke imbuing you with the qualities written on the wood, grounding you in your identity. Now, move clockwise through your ritual space, your room, and even the perimeter of your home with the palo santo. This will be a much-welcome cleanse to shake up the retrograde energy that you're sure to be feeling.

Once you've performed the cleanse, set your still-lit palo santo stick in a fire safe bowl or incense burner and allow it to continue smoldering. Allow your yellow candle to burn down as well, if possible. Close the ritual with a sun salutation.

Water Meditation Candle Ritual For Mercury Rx In Cancer

Mercury already traveled through the entirety of Cancer's territory this year during its retrograde pre-shadow period — but retrograding Mercury will enter Cancer yet again on July 19, and will travel backward through the sign until it goes direct again on July 31. Mercury retrograde in Cancer moves us out of fire sign territory and into the depth of a water sign — so the following practice embraces that elemental energy as part of the ritual. It's inspired by a beautiful Cancer moon ritual created by The Hoodwitch, and can help you get in touch with yourself and your emotions amidst the intensity of this retrograde in Cancer.

What you'll need: 1 small white chime spell candle; crystals for cleansing and/or soothing emotions (clear quartz, rose quartz, selenite, or aquamarine are good options); essential oils, dried or fresh herbs, or incense of eucalyptus, rosemary, or jasmine (optional); a warm bath.

What to do: Begin your ritual by drawing a warm bath for yourself and setting up your ritual tools either on a small, accessible table next to the bath, or on the rim of your tum (if it's spacious and leaves enough room to safely set a burning candle). If working with essential oils or actual eucalyptus or rosemary leaves/ jasmine flowers, feel free to sprinkle a few drops, leaves, or buds into your bathwater (using precaution with the essential oils, of course, as some people have skin sensitivities to undiluted oils). If working with incense, light that next to the tub to cleanse the energy and enhance your ritual space aromatherapy-wise.

Light the white candle next to your bath. Allow yourself to feel the warmth of the water on your skin as you meditate on the heat of the flame, synergizing these two opposing elements into one singular warmth.

Now you may begin your meditation. "Breathe in the sign of Cancer and place it into your heart center," instructed The Hoodwitch. "Visualize the color green surrounding you, breathe that color into your heart and allow it to fill you with expansive nurturing, and all inclusive love."

Now take your working crystal and hold it in your hand as you focus on the white candle's flame. Say aloud the following quote, as shared by The Hoodwitch, as you draw energy from the candle and channel it into your crystal:

I honor my tender emotional nature, my sensitivity, and ask that those energies be lifted up to their highest possible expression within me. —K. Johannsen.

Once finished with the ritual, you may set your crystal next to you as you soak or bring it into the bathwater with you. (Only place a crystal in the bath if you've check that it's a water-safe crystal — for example, most quartz is OK to place in water, but selenite is not. Do your research!) Allow your candle to burn, and drain the bath once the candle is complete.

Grounding Mercury Rx Eclipse Season Candle Ritual

It just so happens that this summer's Mercury retrograde kicked itself off right smack in the middle of eclipse season — wedged between the July's solar eclipse and new moon, and the lunar eclipse and full moon. Eclipse energy is chaotic. This is not the time for manifestation rituals, but rather, it's a good time to ground yourself (because eclipses + retrogrades = all of us feeling pretty down). The following candle ritual is based on a gentle and grounding eclipse season ritual created by spiritual guide and author Rose Cole.

What you'll need: 1 candle (color of your choice); your journal or a piece of paper and a pen

What to do: Get comfortable at your altar space and light your candle. "Envision Divine light pouring down from the center of the Universe into your crown chakra, filling your body with every color of the rainbow," wrote Cole on her site. "Then see a root extending from your base or feet, burrowing down deep into the Earth. When the root reaches the center of the Earth, see the energy turning around and come back to your body, bringing with it every color of green, and the anchoring, grounding energy of the Earth." While we may feel shaky and unstable during this retrograde and among the eclipses, this meditation should help you gain your footing.

Now, we will use the journal free writing portion of this ritual to clear your mind. Ask yourself, as advised by Cole, "What is irritating or annoying me in my life right now? What needs to shift?" While now isn't going to be the best time to take action, it's absolutely an ideal time to reflect on where you're at in life. Are you happy with your current path? If not, why not? And what could change that? Allow yourself to write without stopping on these topics. Write for at least a full page.

Now, consider the following question, as advised by Cole: "What is newly beginning in my life?" Again, while retrogrades aren't the time to embrace new beginnings, you should be aware of any seedlings in your life that feel like they're in the midst of emerging. Don't forget those things, as you'll want to revisit them once Mercury goes direct again at the end of July.

"Take several deep breaths and meditate on the flame of the candle, envisioning the new beginnings already unfolding in your life," instructed Cole. Once you've integrated the fateful lessons brought to you by the eclipses and are able to gain some post-retrograde clarity and energy, you'll be fully clear-minded and ready to charge forward on the new beginnings at hand.