the eighth house can be a hard place for a tender, soft baby moon to grow up in. living here means being at the gates of grief, shame, and power more often than many may ever understand. eighth house moons reside at an intersection of uncovering scarcity and generating reciprocity. it can be difficult for the emotionally generous or resourcefully available to ask for, or even consider themselves worthy of deep, intentional care. I have gathered some ways those who care for beloved eighth house moons can show love.
finesse your deep listening skills: being able to be on the receiving end of nonjudgemental, undivided listening that softens the edges of concern around “taking up too much space” can be an enormous gift to the eighth house moon. the intentional offering of attention and reassurance could be an uncomfortable stretch that brings much needed relief from the weight eighth house moons often carry alone.
complete acts of care, resource, or support without being requested: receiving without the effort of clarifying needs so a request can be made may not always be available to eighth house moons, but can be a more than welcome and long overdue experience of reprieve. eighth house moons often feel as if their needs are invisible to them, often because of the solidification of internalized shame and rejection. initiating support without being asked through investing into noticing when and where support is needed is a rainbow in a storm.
play around with asking the right questions: when it is not clear what is needed or responsibility has already been undertaken without expectation of support, being asked may come as a surprise to the eighth house moon. an answer may not be at the ready. becoming creative and specific with how the eighth house moon is asked about their needs could be a restful place to land.
observation: eighth house moons may not always able to feel safe and comfortable in the visibility of their emotional worlds. a depth of presence and listening (skills of observation) can support the eighth house moon in receiving feedback, increasing their emotional availability, and self-understanding. it is important to remain sincere and unassuming, as eighth house moons do not appreciate consuming bullshit. keeping attentions energetically clean and clear will always be appreciated.
gratitude and reciprocity: there is so much invisible emotional, spiritual, and material investment that occurs in the eighth house. the work of this place is not easy, and the eighth house moon is directly involved in creating pathways from pain to power for themselves and others. they do this whether they are acknowledged for it or not. take the time to honor their inner and outer work, to celebrate their victories, and shower them in gratitude for their contributions, especially the ones they offer when no one is looking.
how to show love to mercury retrograde people
how to show love to mercury retrograde people: white text on red roses
babies don’t stop being born during Mercury retrograde! that means about three times a year people are being born during Mercury’s underground process. while I’m not here for increasing any hype of frustration (boring!) about retrograde planets, there are distinctions between a planet that’s direct and one that’s not. so how do we honor those living in that distinction?
here are some ways to show love to the Mercury retrograde people in your life:
wait for response. give them more time than you think one should need to process, make up their own mind, and participate. Mercury retrograde operates on the juiciness of retrospection, introspection, and room for readjustments. rushing isn’t cool anymore and never has been for them.
support their backlines, sidelines, and behind the scenes vantage points. not everybody’s brightest contribution comes from being IN the main-streams of communities, projects, work, etc. Mercury retrograde people are so fucking good at absorbing information and circling back later with things everyone else missed.
don’t press them for information, responses, or formulaic forms of engagement. just like transiting Mercury retrograde, loving someone with natal Mercury retrograde is an opportunity to reconfigure our attachments to linearity, manage our expectations of speed, and drop the one-dimensional assumptions.
be willing to feel a little out of their loop sometimes. generosity of time and space allows them to locate themselves and emerge able to inform you. this builds trust. dissonance can happen when they’re expected to proactively assess their every move or operate “ahead of time”.
Mercury retrograde people are skilled at what we’re all invited to practice during these times: reviewing, reflecting, recalibrating, and reorienting. let them be. this may cause more “delays” aka periods of deep integration before forward movement than we’re conditioned to be comfortable with. but are we nonlinear, multidimensional, uncontainable beings or nah?
sending time-warping love to all my fellow babes born during Mercury retrograde! Mercury is currently retrograde in aquarius (January 30-February 20) so send this to your lovers & friends, let them know how to be in new paradigm praxis with you! oxo
to find out if you have Mercury retro in your natal chart look for a little RX symbol next to Mercury on your fave chart generator app/site. you can also book an email reading just to ask me about your Mercury placement and how you can show & receive love there.