Upcoming Events

I will be doing readings in New Orleans in person the end of July through August 7th. Call ahead of time for an appointment 810-631-6887. After the 28th of July call 504-522-8449 (office number in French Quarter)

This weekend we will be in Midland, MI for a Customer Appreciation Day! Admission is $5 and readings are reduced 3 for $20. 11a.m. to 6p.m. at the Midland Hampton Inn, off Eastman Road and US 10 Charee, Jackie, Amy, Cindy, Brenda, Kat and other readers will be here!

Minneapolis/St Paul in August!

We do have a new location for our Minneapolis/St Paul Psychic Fun Fair and Goddess Gathering......it is a 2 day event August 12 & 13, Saturday and Sunday 10a.m. to 5p.m./11a.m. to 5p.m. at Body, Mind and Soul Healing Center in Roseville, MN, located about 20 minutes from the Mall of America. There will be workshops and classes running all day for both days relating to metaphysical and holistic healing topics. There will be a variety of vendors as well. Admission is $10 per day or $15 for a 2 day pass. Readings are optional with mediums flying in from all over the country and some coming in from the local area. I have a few openings left for private reading in a private room. Please book ahead by calling 810-631-6887.

We have just added; Port Austin, MI October 7th - Psychic Fun Fair; the Garfield Inn. 10a.m. to 5p.m. with Ghost tours following. More details to come.

Nice Letters We Get

Hi Maria, I wanted you to know the pink rose quartz love stone you gave me worked! I had a dream on Monday of me walking and searching in a big city, and I turned a corner and there he (my romantic interest was)... sitting on a bench. The color of the blouse I had on was pink too. On Wednesday, in real life... he showed up at my door! I was able to express my love for him finally.... After almost 3 yrs. of knowing each other. Thank you! M. from Saginaw, MI

Dear M:

The rose quartz stone is great for drawing love to you and healing a broken heart. I have heard many stories over the years from clients who have had similar experiences. I, too, had a wonderful experience with wearing rose quartz and helping me bring love back into my life in the early 1990's. Most recently I wore a rose quartz necklace one day, just because it matched an outfit. I was not thinking of the energy/healing powers it possessed. That day, I felt so much happiness (for no specific reason) I was in a great mood and filled with this sense of happiness that in unexplainable. Basically, I was in a great mood! When I took the rose quartz off in the afternoon, I noticed a few hours later, my mood was not as high....not bad, but just not as "high"! So the rose quartz is good for love, self love, drawing love to you as well as creating a wonderful sense of peace and well being.

For you StarScopers, reading this, many of you have brought rose quartz from our fairs or over the phone, go find that piece and use it! It really works. If you would like to own one, call me at 810-631-6887 or visit us in Midland, MI at the fair this weekend and pick out your piece!

Cruise News

We are still taking limited calls for Maria Shaw's Conscious Living cruise to Italy and France this October, If you have been considering joining us, please contact Clay Thomas at ClayRolfs@yahoo.com. Availability is very limited but Clay says there could be a few cabins open. The last two cruises were sold out and we could not accommodate everyone so please don't miss out if you are considering! We always have a blast and everyone becomes fast friends. These cruises have helped me make friends with our speaker, readers and clients who live around the country and now many of them are working at our national fairs.

Mercury Retrograde
The Llewellyn Journal
Date: 2006-07-10 By: Maria Shaw

The dreaded Mercury Retrograde period will soon be upon us. Rather than dwelling on the problems associated with this three week period we all experience about several times a year, lets look at how a Mercury Retrograde can benefit us. But first, for those of you who have no idea what this astrological term means, here's my basic definition:

The planet Mercury rules communication, travel, contracts, automobiles, and the written word. It goes in a retrograde motion or backwards three times a year for approximately three weeks at a time. When Mercury is retrograde, there's a lot of confusion. People forget things. There are delays and frustrations. You should never start anything new when Mercury goes retrograde. But you can still put this astrological aspect to good use. Later, I will discuss how you can use this time period and work with the energy of Mercury rather than against it. There is usually a "wind up" period two weeks before Mercury goes retrograde. This is a time to finalize and finish things. When the retrograde day arrives, you should have all of your projects put to bed that are important. Now, you can't stop your life just because a Mercury Retrograde rolls around. There's things you can't possibly avoid or put off. But if you do have time to plan ahead, you can save yourself a lot of frustration and time by doing so.

Since Mercury also rules travel and trips, it is not a good time to travel unless you have backup plans. Expect delays, and double-check accommodations beforehand.

I booked a cruise for my husband's birthday. It wasn't a Mercury Retrograde when I booked the trip, but the ship was set to sail during one of these times. When we arrived at the airport to fly out, the gate agent told us our cruise was canceled. The ship had caught on fire! So we drove to Quebec instead to make use of our time off. Our trip was cut short when relatives called and told us to come back home; there had been a death in the family!

Sometimes, even when you plan ahead, Mercury Retrogrades can get the best of you. My friends and I planned to drive together to the airport to catch a flight. I told Sherry to be at my house a half hour earlier than usual so we wouldn't be late. She left her house early but missed the turn to my road and went thirty minutes out of her way! Once she picked me up we made it to the freeway, there was a six mile traffic back-up due to road construction. We made it through that. However, because we started late, we ended up in the morning rush hour and delayed again. I was speeding to get to the airport and it looked like we'd actually make the flight. Then the tire on my car blew! Luckily someone stopped to help but we were about seven minutes late getting to the gate and had to take a later flight. Three hours later, we boarded a plane scheduled to leave on time. However, a worker had left some machinery in front of our plane and went to lunch. No one could locate him and our flight was stuck until he came back....a half hour later!

So, what can you do on a Mercury Retrograde?

This is one of the best times of the year to re-do things. You get a second chance to make things right, restart a project or complete something, you've been working on for a while. Think of any word that has an "re" in front of it. That's what Mercury Retrograde is good for....re-doing just about anything.

If you didn't get a job offer a few months back, now the perfect time to re-apply for that job. It's a perfect time to redo your resume too and reconnect old clients or people who could help you on a job search. Because Mercury also rules cars; now would be the time to take you car in for a repair or renegotiate your car loan for a better interest rate.

This is also a perfect time to catch up on all of the mundane work and tasks you set aside that you didn't have time for in the previous weeks. It's also a great period to review or revise a game plan so that when Mercury goes direct; you can move forward with an idea.

A Mercury Retrograde is also used to reflect on what you've accomplished thus far and where you what to redirect your energies. There are those ‘re" words again! We all need time to review and decide if we're on the right path. These weeks give us the opportunity to do just that.

Most of us can't take three weeks off or stop or even postpone commitments and projects. So here's a list of some things you can do if you absolutely cannot work around the Mercury Retrograde.

Check your travel plans several times and bring a book to read at the airport

Mail packages and letters early. Check the zip codes

Double check everything twice for mistakes

Don't check luggage when you're flying. Carry on everything if you can

If you are making big purchases, keep your sales receipt and know the store's return policy

Keep your cell phone battery charged

And most importantly, let everyone know that there is a Mercury retrograde so if anything goes wrong, you're not to blame...its that darn planet Mercury!

The Mercury Retrograde dates for 2006 are:

July 4 - July 29
October 28 - November 18

Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd.
Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd. grants permission to use this article as originally posted at:
The Llewellyn Journal -- www.llewellynjournal.com
P.O. Box 64383
St. Paul, MN 55164-0383

And finally.....

Be sure to tune into my radio show on WIOG.102.5FM this Sunday 7p.m. est. If you are out side of the Mid-Michigan listening area; go to WIOG.com as we stream live on the Internet. You can call in for a free reading...1-877-330-WIOG. My producer/co-host Swifty will take your name and birthday. Keep trying because the lines are usually jammed but we have had callers get in from Las Vegas and NYC who manage to get on the air frequently. Persistence pays off!

Enjoy your summer! Maria