Mercury Retrograde Shadow Phase Chanukah 2022

Although I only recently started observing Jewish holidays, I typically don't do anything particularly special on these Holidays besides pray a lot and focus on absorbing the extra energy that becomes available on these Holy days. What made Chanukah extra special this year was that I was able to share it with my 6 year old step daughter who never experienced the Holiday of Chanukah (or any Jewish Holiday for that matter) ever before! Until around 6 months ago my step daughter lived with her devoutly Catholic grandmother. And my step daughter's mother, when she was alive (she passed away in May of this year), may she rest in peace, was not religious at all. Apparently she was completely against religion, especially Catholicism. However my step daughter and her biological mother and her grandmother did all celebrate Christmas together! Never Chanukah though! From what I've been told my step daughter's mother hated Jews! (Supposedly she also talked badly about Indians and Armenian men and probably a whole bunch of other people as well). So the real irony is... Now her daughter is observing Shabbat with me every Friday night through Saturday night... and she just celebrated Chanukah with me for the first time ever... and loved it! Well, what's not to love? 8 days of presents! You can't beat that!

I would've never thought that I would have any inclination to attend Jewish events... I do not enjoy being around crowds of people... and I especially do not enjoy being around religious crowds of people or Jewish crowds of people for that matter. Even if Jews are supposedly my people? In reality, I don't think Jews (in particular) are my people. I think my people are actually spiritually conscious awakened enlightened high vibrational loving people! My people are also cats, squirrels, bumble bees and humming birds... and spirits! Most of my people are not really people at all! I prefer the company of G-ds! lol But back to the topic at hand! Being around groups of Jews celebrating Holidays has never quite been my thing... However, for my step daughter's sake I took her to two children's Chanukah events! And she had an absolute blast!

The first event was at a public library. We arrived a little late but we still made it in time for my step daughter to design her own menorah with paint and stickers... and she glued on little metal candle holders. She loved it! She loves arts and crafts! Then the Rabbi (I think he was a Rabbi?) demonstrated how to make olive oil for menorahs that burn oil. Then a lady who worked for the Jewish organization read a children's Chanukah book to all the children... and finally all the children decorated donuts with powered sugar, sprinkles and chocolate! The adults were given jelly donuts as well! My step daughter was so happy! It was her lucky day! She had been asking me for donuts for the past week or so... She was so excited because she knew that she was getting a donut that evening! I ate a donut as well! My first donut in years!

On the first night of Chanukah my step daughter watched me recite the Chanukah prayers and light the Chanukah candles for the first time ever. While she was watching I decided to engage in a mystical Chanukah meditation that I read about in a book called "The Kabbalah of Hanukkah" by Baal Kadmon. I wasn't sure what to expect... but all of sudden as I'm envisioning Hebrew letters in the candle's flame and pronouncing the name of G-d spelled out by the Hebrew letters, my shamash candle, the one I was holding, let out a loud crackling sound and a big spark of light flickered from the candle. It looked like a fire cracker for a second! My step daughter yelled out "What was that?" I told her that my Kabbalistic meditation made that happen! It was a very magical moment!

At this point I mentioned that we should listen to some Chanukah music. My step daughter wanted to listen to the dreidel song. She heard the song in school and was addicted to singing it ever since. Her father announced that we should listen to the South Park version of the song. So we turned on the South Park version, which is very funny by the way, and we were spinning dreidels and dancing around and laughing hysterically. What an awesome first night of Chanukah! My step daughter received two gifts that night! One was a children's book about Chanukah and the 2nd gift was an LOL doll stationary set! My step daughter was very happy. I read the book to her and than she played with her LOL stationary set. She wanted me to play with her so I drew some pictures with her.

On the 2nd night of Chanukah, my step daughter and I attended a Candle Lighting Chanukah Festival! As soon as we arrived it was time to say the Holiday prayers and light the candles on the enormous Chanukah menorah that they had on display. Perfect timing! There was live music, food (more jelly & chocolate filled donuts), hot dogs, potato latkes (they ran out of them when we got there though), a balloon artist and a BMX bike show! My step daughter didn't want to leave! I ate another jelly donut! I had also been eating chocolate gelt when my step daughter wasn't looking (I knew these jelly donuts and chocolate coins would eventually catch up to me though! My stomach is too sensitive for junk.)

The 3rd night of Chanukah is when things got a bit weird... I took a long two hour drive to nowhere... I was trying to take my step daughter to another Chanukah event at a Synagogue on the other side of town, but there was tremendous traffic... and something didn't feel right. We got lost and when we finally got to the synagogue the guy who worked there said there was no event! So we drove back home! I was actually relieved! I was exhausted. When we got back home there was a gift waiting for my step daughter in the mailbox. One of my close relatives and his wife sent my step daughter a beautiful American Girl Doll and a bunch of accessories including a camping tent for the doll. My step daughter was ecstatic. As she was opening her gift her nose started to run like crazy and my nose started to run too. It appeared that we were both getting sick! All the good Chanukah energy had shifted to weirdness all of a sudden! I wasn't sure if the doll came with some weird energy, a curse or what? I actually wrote about this relative sending cursed gifts in a previous article. But I won't go into all of that right now. In summary, nothing was the same after that gift arrived. The rest of the week was filled with strange mishaps, arguments, a migraine (from eating all the junk I ate) and a car accident!

Finally Chanukah ended! My step daughter wasn't even home to light the last set of candles! So be it! A few days later my car's new battery needed a jump start again after which I backed my car right into another car and damaged my trunk door! Finally my friend/ mentor figured out what was happening! Mercury had been in the Shadow of Retrograde the entire week! Wow! That explains a lot! And now as I publish this article today on Wednesday, December 28th, 2022, I am just finding out that Mercury Retrograde has gone direct today! Although I am reading online that it goes direct tomorrow! Well, regardless... guess what folks? It's Mercury Retrograde Season again! All I can say is Oy Vey! Take it easy my friends! You're not going crazy! You're not cursed! It's just Mercury Retrograde!

Jennie H is a Reiki Master Energy Healer, Co-Founder of Self Saviorz Society California Non-Profit 501(c)(3), Poet, Author and Entertainer with goals to help raise the vibration and consciousness of humanity!