When I lost my butterfly bush, I thought I wouldn’t be able to attract birds anymore.

While someone may legitimately ask, “So the %&$# what?” it matters to me.

Birds are wonderful messengers. They are born to the work. Their traversing both earth and the heavens put them in a perfect position to bring us our bits and pieces of truth, and they’ve long been looked to as such, in many belief systems throughout history.

When I’ve been too emotionally wound up, Grackles have come to point it out. Robins show up to remind me, when I’m ready to focus on new growth. Cardinals and Woodpeckers and crows and hummingbirds, even a few owls have all come to visit me, each bearing their own insight and suggestions to offer.

After my former bird haven was no more, the husband suggested we attract some birds to the upstairs window, outside our office. I had never considered we’d be able to do that, But we decided we’d like that a lot, so we set about being open to inspiration about doing it.

And now? We’ve got a glorious parade of bird visitors all day, every day, just about 3 or 4 feet from where I sit and write these words. They eat and sing and look in the window and watch us, as we look out the window and watch them.

And I’m furiously happy about this.

I could have stayed mad, that my fabulous, bird-friendly bush was gone. But that felt awful. Instead, I found a lot more peace and comfort, focusing on what I did want. I wanted more birds. And that’s why I got more birds.

The difference here is exactly where you are choosing to spend your energy. A lot like the week we’ve got coming up.

This week begins in a Mercury retrograde (and it was making itself felt early this go-’round),  so expect blasts from the past along with glitches and delays. Skills that increase your odds for having a good time include flexibility, padding your schedule to allow for hiccups, and soothing yourself emotionally to keep grounded and connected as much as possible. Keeping your emotional tone on track allows you to more easily sidestep aggravations and remain a naturally happy camper.

Monday, Queen of Pentacles: Welcome, Mercury Retrograde! Anything you can do to smooth the way, do. Add some “comfort room” wiggle into your schedule. During this retro–which I’m expecting to be widely felt as I felt it coming in stronger and earlier than normal–it’s best to give yourself extra breathing room and not so much a good idea to push the envelope or try to slide in at the last minute. Plan ahead, yo. Great day for a good dinner, for yourself and/or others. Take care of yourself, practical matters, finishing your list and getting geared up for the week ahead.

Tuesday, Four of Pentacles rx: Coming across to me as potential for nervousness or anxiety if you’re prone. In terms of the situations in your life, I would expect some snigs and snags but not major issues. A moderate or small amount of conflict. So don’t overreact. Delays, snags, whatever you would expect during Mercury rx. Understand there may be postponements. Keep the anxiety at bay by getting quiet and plugging in before taking action. It might FEEL like a big deal at the time, but I’m not seeing it will play out that way long term. It really IS okay.

Wednesday, Knight of Pentacles rx: Again, I want to say expect snags or hiccups. Being OCD about how things go this week will pretty much drive you insane. So if you tend to be especially fussy or particular, relax your standards here. The Knight of Pentacles reversed often shows a certain obsessiveness and over-attention to details, a rigidity. I see the potential for that and it’s not really where you want to go. So take it as it comes and stay flexible. Another thing that’s really helpful, is realizing, NOT EVERYBODY IS YOU. Just because you see something a certain way, a well-considered conclusion? This doesn’t equate to anyone disagreeing being confused, broken or a bad person. Be open to diversity of all kinds, including thoughts, feelings, priorities and values. Appreciate the beauty in all.

Thursday, Lovers rx: Not a bad card even inverted. In general, most are in a good space and wanting to be happy and get along. With the Mercury Rx irritations, there may be little hiccups in the day’s flow. So stay focused on the bigger picture. Many times you can shift from annoyed to at peace if you broaden perspective.

Friday, Five of Cups: Ugh! Not my favorite card. Day feels kind of heavy, morose, sad. Like sitting around thinking of what you’re missing–or who you’re missing–over the holiday. Not out-and-out intense pain, but a general sadness poking at people. To deal with it, make yourself a safe, supportive environment. I’m seeing someone snugging up on the couch with a big blanket and bowl of popcorn to watch a favorite movie. Whether you do something like that or not, ask yourself, “What do I enjoy? What makes me happy?” Do that. Find your happy space and go there!

Saturday, The Hanged Man: First, hold the faith, keep the faith, have the faith, be the faith. In terms of activity, the Hanged Man always tells us to sit, be still and quiet. Which is funny, because his energy is not actually inactive. But his action is internal, energetic. It’s connecting to source first, so whatever action follows later is inspired. Inspired action has real impact. Not busywork, do something to feel better, it’s plugged in, inspired activity. That’s where you get real leverage.

Sunday, Two of Swords Rx. Merry Christmas! In terms of the forecast, this card is saying to me, “Not your choice.” If the question is how someone else lives, what someone else things, who is unhappy, what life choices are being made, who is hopping on what drama train? NOT your choice. Not yours to figure out, untangle, untease, solve or otherwise remedy. Not your problem to solve. NOT your choice. This idea may bother you, but once you take this message to heart, it can be an incredible gift. If you can just love and wish well, without trying to fix, without tossing out your energy toward a whole lot of ends that will never give you joy, you’ll be much better off. Respond to what you want to respond to, and ignore the rest. Get on with your life! So all told, it’s a very empowering stance. Keep this in mind over family visits. Don’t worry about anything, just focus on your own choices and you’ll be much happier.

Overview/Advice, Eight of Cups Rx: Sometimes, the idea of saying “I don’t care about that anymorem” doesn’t automatically mean you’ve left it behind. During the course of the week, especially with Merc Rx, I’m expecting some emotional residue. Lots of reminders of the past, which we also see around the holidays. Think emotional echos. There’s not a lot to specifically do. Understand, it’s there. If you don’t want something to be a big part of your experience, you must focus your attention elsewhere. Mentally rewrite stories. We get so interested in being objective and factual and real, we end up rehashing the same vibration over and over and it turns it up. Change the context, details or perspective to better support you. As you change your story, how you feel changes and as how you feel changes, what you live changes.

Affirmation: Trust. Isn’t that a beautiful message? Trust that you’re okay. Trust that you’re where you need to be and everything is working out for you. Trust that it’s all okay in the bigger picture. People get bothered so much, and so much of the time the issues really aren’t that big of a deal. Life itself is a transitory experience. We’re here for a short time before going back to nonphysical reality. So there is really no way to “get this wrong” since we’re here to create our now and participate in the grand dance of consciousness. That’s worth so much more than who voted for the one you didn’t like or whatever. Plug in to what matters! Being kind, loving, happy? That’s what matters. Most everything else is optional.

Are you keeping that emotional residue to a minimum?

Hope you have a lovely, awesome holiday. Be well!

This week’s forecast features the Tarot Nova Mini and Angel Answers divination deck.

Still running the 2017 Year-Ahead Zodiac Special and been getting great feedback, so check it out if you’re so inclined.