Surviving and Thriving in Mercury Retrograde | Creating A Meaningful Life

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Mercury Retrograde—it’s that cosmic event we love to blame when things go wrong. But what is it really, and how can we work with it instead of against it?

In this episode of Creating a Meaningful Life, Michelle Cromer and Perla Maldonado uncover the mystery, meaning, and magic behind Mercury Retrograde.

✨ Discover:

  • The ancient history and symbolism of Mercury, the messenger planet
  • Why communication, travel, and technology tend to go haywire during retrograde • How to protect your chi with mindful practices and preparation
  • The hidden gifts of this cycle—reflection, renewal, and reset

💫 Instead of dreading the next retrograde, learn to align with its rhythm and find peace in the pause.

🎧 Listen to more episodes of Creating a Meaningful Life for Feng Shui wisdom, numerology insights, and energy practices that help you live with intention.

Harmonious Tips for a Peaceful Thanksgiving

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Harmonious Tips for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is the kick-off to the holiday season, and it can be stressful, so here are some harmonious tips to help make your Thanksgiving warm and peaceful:

  1. Harmonious seatingHarmonious seating
    The dining room is considered to be the place of wealth in your home, so use it, and bring out your good stuff, your china, crystal, and silver.
  2. Harmonious décor
    If you think your guests might argue, and mine seem to, then invite an even number of people for that balance.
    In Feng Shui, we divide everything in order to balance the yin (dark) and the yang (light). So decorate with soothing earth colors like pumpkin, evergreen, and chocolate. Orange is the element of fire, which encourages conversation. Yellow wakes up the room just like the sun.
  3. Harmonious Food
    Have plenty of food and all of your family’s favorites. In Texas, we have cornbread dressing, sweet potato casserole, broccoli cheese casserole, and yes, that is made with Velveeta cheese, tamales, and of course, lemon Jell-O. I love pie, so I have half of a pie per person, and I normally have around 26 people. Pumpkin, pecan, apple, cherry, sweet potato, buttermilk, coconut cream pie, and chocolate – we have it all. As we are eating, my family and friends take turns and tell everyone the main thing that they are grateful for. After you eat, move your chi and take a walk or play football.

Harmonious Food

I hope all of y’all have a healthy, happy, and prosperous holiday filled with good food, great family, and friends who surround you with love, harmony, joy, and, of course, tons of gratitude.

Are you wearing the best colors for you? Each of us has a power color based on the five elements and the day we were born. Sign up for my email list and provide me with the day, month, and year of your birth, and I will send you your birth element and power color!
Want more tips on creating a meaningful life? Subscribe to my YouTube Channel, Creating a Meaningful Life, and follow for more inspiration!

Feng Shui Your Halloween: Balance Your Chi While You Decorate 

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Did you know your Halloween décor can shift the energy—or Chi—of your home?

👻 In this episode of Creating a Meaningful Life, Michelle Cromer and Perla Maldonado blend ancient Halloween history with the wisdom of Feng Shui to help you decorate with balance and intention.

Discover:

🕯️ The real origins of Halloween (and what apples have to do with it!)

🎃 How to use color, light, and symbols to keep your Chi flowing

🌕 The five Feng Shui elements—Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood—and how to honor them in your Halloween décor

🦉 Why ravens, ghosts, and witches can actually enhance your home’s energy

✨ Learn how to keep your space festive and harmonious this spooky season.

🎧 Listen to more episodes of Creating a Meaningful Life for Feng Shui wisdom, numerology insights, and energy practices that help you live with intention.

Mercury Retrograde: A Cosmic Reset for Reflection and Renewal

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Mercury Retrograde: A Cosmic Reset

Mercury Retrograde. Just hearing those words is enough to make some people panic. Suddenly, the Wi-Fi cuts out, a flight is delayed, or that text you meant for one person ends up with someone else. But what is Mercury Retrograde really—and how can we work with it instead of against it?

A Quick History of Mercury

Mercury is the smallest planet and the closest to the sun, racing through its orbit in just 88 days. In Roman mythology, Mercury was the messenger of the gods, ruling over communication, travel, and commerce.

Several times a year, Mercury appears to move backward in the sky. It’s just an optical illusion, but to ancient astrologers it meant disruption in the very things Mercury governs—communication, travel, and technology. That’s why today, during Mercury Retrograde, we often see mix-ups, delays, and breakdowns in these areas.

When Mercury goes retrograde—about three to four times each year—expect some bumpsWhat to Expect

When Mercury goes retrograde—about three to four times each year—expect some bumps:

  • Misunderstandings in texts, emails, or conversations
  • Computer crashes or phone glitches
  • Travel delays and last-minute changes
  • General confusion, like the universe’s wires are crossed

It’s easy to feel frustrated, but Mercury Retrograde doesn’t have to spell disaster.

How to Prepare

A little awareness goes a long way. Here are some simple ways to keep your chi steady:

  1. Back up your computer and phone.
  2. Double-check travel arrangements.
  3. Take a moment to slow down and reread texts or emails before sending.
  4. If possible, avoid signing major contracts until Mercury moves forward again.

The Gift of RetrogradeThe Gift of Retrograde

Here’s the part people often miss: Mercury Retrograde is also a gift. It’s an invitation to pause. To reflect, renew, and reset before leaping into the next season.

This is the perfect time to:

  • Revisit unfinished projects
  • Reconnect with old friends
  • Rewrite or refine your goals
  • Rest and recharge

Instead of resisting, lean in. Mercury Retrograde is less about chaos and more about clarity.

The next time Mercury Retrograde rolls around, don’t panic—prepare. Back up your data, breathe through the delays, and use the time to reflect and realign. Because sometimes, moving forward begins with a backward step.

Curious about the deeper history of Mercury and more soulful ways to navigate retrograde? Listen to our latest podcast episode of Creating a Meaningful Life.

 

 

Are you wearing the best colors for you? Each of us has a power color based on the five elements and the day we were born. Sign up for my email list and provide me with the day, month, and year of your birth, and I will send you your birth element and power color!
Want more tips on creating a meaningful life? Subscribe to my podcast, Creating a Meaningful Life, and follow for more inspiration!

 

Feng Shui Your Halloween: 5 Simple Tips to Keep Your Chi in Balance

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Feng Shui Your Halloween

Several of y’all have asked me whether the changes you make when you decorate for Halloween affect the Feng Shui or Chi adjustments that you have already made to your homes.

This is a time of year when everything is decked out in orange and black or covered with witches and ghosts.

This is a time of year when everything is decked out in orange and black or covered with witches and ghosts. However, there is no need to be concerned about ruining the chi of a home if you follow a few simple decorating guidelines for balancing the five elements. The five elements in Feng Shui are used to describe the colors, shapes, and materials attributes around you. The five elements are fire, earth, metal, water, and wood.

Here are five simple Halloween decorating tips that will help you keep the five elements in balance and the chi flowing:

4. Ghosts: Halloween is one time when ghosts are considered positive feng shui
  1. Black: Black is the water element color which represents the flow of energy. For example, I hang a big witch from a tree, and she is dressed in black. The wind moves her, and she looks as if she is flying so she really moves the chi around my front yard.
  2. Ghosts: Halloween is one time when ghosts are considered positive feng shui because they add so much fun to the night. Mine are white, representing the metal element, and they sit proudly in my front yard like little soldiers greeting all my little trick-or-treaters.
  3. This is a time of year when everything is decked out in orange and black or covered with witches and ghosts. Orange: It’s natural to use lots of orange color for Halloween decorations, but it’s also good feng shui. Orange is the fire element color in feng shui so use lots of orange decorations to promote conversation and communication. I like to put a huge orange pumpkin by my front door.
  4. Lighting: Lighting is a major tool in feng shui and for Halloween, this could be as simple as hanging up lights or keeping your porch light on. Jack-o-lanterns with candles in them are a good source of lighting. You can always use lanterns or luminarias to light the way for all the trick-or-treaters. I hang bit orange witch hats by my front door lighting the way to me and the candy. I put the witches’ hats over three witches holding their wooden broomsticks representing the wood element.
  5. Animal Symbols: Animal symbols like owls, bats and ravens are good feng shui symbols for Halloween.Animal symbols like owls, bats, and ravens are good feng shui symbols for Halloween. Display these animals by your front door or place them in windows as a token of welcome. Ravens are mysterious and powerful symbols because their deep black color and macabre presence represent mystery and power. I put a black raven in a candy cane wreath on my front door which represents the earth element.

Wishing y’all a night of fright, the pale moonlight! I hope your Halloween is a scream!

Are you wearing the best colors for you? Each of us has a power color based on the five elements and the day we were born. Sign up for my email list and provide me with the day, month, and year of your birth, and I will send you your birth element and power color!
Want more tips on creating a meaningful life? Subscribe to my podcast, Creating a Meaningful Life, and follow for more inspiration!

Michelle Cromer