How This Candle From House of Intuition Helped Me Survive Mercury Retrograde

While I can be a bit of a skeptic when it comes to metaphysical and spiritual claims, I groan aloud at the arrival of every Mercury Retrograde.

Maybe it's all just coincidence and confirmation bias, but when the season rolls around, my technology stops working the way I want, I start communicating less effectively and important documents somehow get deleted and I find myself having to start from scratch and scrambling to catch up. This year's first Mercury Retrograde ran from Jan. 13 to Feb. 3, and it was no exception.

So when I heard that House of Intuition, the L.A.-based metaphysical shop, was offering Mercury Retrograde candles specifically for counteracting those woes, I knew I had to try the process myself. The brand was kind enough to send me a candle of my own to burn and manifest with, and here's what I discovered in the process.

The Candle

House of Intuition's latest Mercury Retrograde Magic Candle ($24) was designed specifically for the retrograde running Jan. 14 to Feb. 3. The stunning candle, featuring layers in pearly white, sky blue and navy, also comes with a small crystal on top, as well as one embedded deep within the wax of the candle, to be removed once you've burnt the entire thing. While most people see Mercury Retrograde as a negative time, this candle instead refers to the period as a time for personal growth and development.

My candle didn't arrive until just a few days before the end of retrograde, but with the post-retrograde shadow sticking with us until Feb. 23, that didn't mean it was too late to put it to good use.

(via House of Intuition)

 

The Experience

My candle arrived just a few days before Feb. 3, so before fully getting involved with a ritual involving the candle, I read all of the directions printed directly on it. The candle was made with intention for the  Jan. 13 to Feb. 3 retrograde in Aquarius. According to the candle, this time retrograde in particular "is inviting a needed slow down so you can learn the fastest path to constructing your desired reality."

That means stepping back, taking a deep breath and really taking the time out of your busy day to recognize your achievements and how far you've come. In this busy day and age, it can be easy to forget to do that, so I was glad I had this candle by my side daily for a few days as a helpful reminder. That would allow me to think about aligning my way of life with my way of thinking in order to create the successes I wanted to see. The candle also told me to pay attention to any messages from the universe that might help me understand my true self.

(via House of Intuition)

The candle also came with a nice affirmation for my journaling: "I move with the frequency of my True Self and harness changes to my blessed direction so I may bring prosperity to all that I do."

It also told me how to properly create a ritual around the candle. While it suggested burning the candle all day and night for three to five straight days, I didn't feel comfortable letting it burn while I slept (especially with the warning that excess energy might make the glass around the candle crack or break), so I instead went with the option of lighting and snuffing out—not blowing out—the candle at the same time each day.

First, I plucked a small, round white-green stone—perhaps fluorite or prehnite—from the top of the candle, and then left it in the window to charge in the sun. After that, when I woke each morning, I'd first cleanse my space with incense before setting my intentions and visualizing them through meditation. Then, I'd light the candle.

As it burned each day, I would take time to meditate on the candle while visualizing what I wanted—in part, better communication and fewer electronic struggles. The flickering flame would also remember that during this time I should go easy on myself and take breaks, instead of pushing through, when I was feeling overwhelmed. After all, only by resting and relaxing could I properly reset and manifest my goals. The gentle, powdery floral scent, which seemed to have hints of neroli (one of my favorite fragrances) was another constant reminder. At night, just before bed at the same time each day, I'd snuff out the candle until the morning. I also found that during this period, I had some very interesting and informative dreams—and maybe the lovely smell still wafting in the air helped.

As the week went on, the candle got lower and lower, and I realized that while I usually like to light candles with matches, I could no longer reach down into the long, thin candle to do so with this one. House of Intuition actually has extra-long candle matches ($10) for this very purpose, but I didn't have those, so I had to resort to a long-reach lighter instead. I definitely recommend investing in their candles if you like to keep the experience more organic and intimate with matches.

But even better, I found that my manifestations seemed to be coming true. Things seemed to go more smoothly, and I found my words more easily, while also understanding others better. I didn't accidentally delete anything of value, and my internet didn't go down once.

Burning the candle daily for most of the time I was awake, it took about a week for the entire candle to burn out. From the bottom of the candle, I was able to dig out a larger green stone resembling the aventurine stones I have in my collection. According to the candle, at the end of that process, the stone had been supercharged with my intention. It's since joined my little table of pretty colorful stones that guide me through each day, and I hope it continues to bring me strong communication and further joy through the rest of the retrograde's shadow period.

 

Bottom Line

Maybe it's less the candle, and more of the way I lived much more intentionally during the period it was burning, but the process seemed to do wonders for me and my communications during this period. I just felt more effective, and even though I had to take the time out of my day for the ritual and meditation, I didn't feel more rushed at all. In fact, the opposite was true.

And while the first retrograde of the year is behind us, there are three more on the horizon before the end of the year, from May 11 to June 2, Sep. 11 to Sep. 30 and Dec. 31 to Jan. 12 of next year. If you're curious about the process, I'm sure they'll have candles for those retrograde as well—and they also have a collection of protective and spiritual items designed specifically for retrograde if you can't wait until then.

 

Want to learn more about the planets and their retrogrades? Click HERE for our full guide.