My Mercury Retrograde Moment

All About the Shocking Social Media Impersonator Who Came Into My Life During Mercury Retrograde

Recently, I was the victim of a shocking social media scam that has left me upset, saddened, and confused. I am going through a few challenging astrological transits right now, so I have been expecting problems, but I was still caught off guard by the intensity of this scam.

Before I describe the details of this social media issue, let me tell you about a few of the cosmic conditions that were impacting my astrological chart at the time. 

Mercury Stations Retrograde: A Time for Technology and Communication Challenges

On April 21, Mercury had just stationed retrograde. When a planet stations retrograde, it appears to stop moving forward. After the planet appears to be stationary (unmoving), it will begin to move backward. 

In Vedic astrology, a retrograde planet is called “vakri.” This means that the retrograde planet’s nature can become twisted, confusing, ambiguous, or crooked. It can be associated with mishaps or interruptions. On the other hand, a stationary planet is very strong and auspicious in a birth chart, but in transiting charts, it can indicate triggers for important events, either for “good or bad.”

Mercury’s retrograde cycle and particularly the time around the retrograde station can point to something “crooked” happening, especially when Mercury aspects an important point in a natal chart, as in my case. Additionally, when Mercury stationed retrograde, it was transiting with Uranus (shocks), and transiting in the shadowy eclipse axis (deceptive events).

Mercury himself was the Olympian god of thievery and trickery known as Hermes. Mercury is currently transiting in Aries (the sign of war), and is exchanging signs with his enemy, the warrior Mars who is transiting in Gemini. This means that at this time and in the coming three weeks, fraudsters are out in full force.

Mercury also symbolizes technology and communication. So, when Mercury stations retrograde, we can expect to experience challenges related to these areas. In particular, those who communicate by deception (scammers) may create problems. In addition, scammers may use social media and other types of technology to perform their scams. 

Mercury Transiting Over My Sixth House of Conflicts and Attacks

On the day that the impersonator came into my life, Mercury was moving over 21 degrees of Aries. As I have a Scorpio ascendant, Aries is in my Sixth House. 

In Vedic astrology, the Sixth House represents enemies, conflict, and attacks. So, Mercury's movement over this house indicated a potential attacker who would try to harm me. 

In my birth chart, Mercury is located in the Third House. This house rules communication, marketing, and social media. Transiting Mercury was exactly squaring my natal Mercury. This is a 90-degree aspect that signifies stress and tension.

A Difficult Solar Eclipse Cycle

On top of this, my chart ruler Mars was also in a vulnerable position. In my birth chart, Mars is also located in the Sixth House of battles and conflict. This planet was exactly activated by the recent Rahu solar eclipse (I wrote about the eclipse in a previous article you can access here).

This Rahu eclipse activation of my chart ruler Mars can indicate attacks by literal or figurative “snakes.” In this case, it was an attack by a bad actor/scammer.

Preparing for an Issue

Knowing all this in advance, I had anticipated the possibility of some sort of communication breakdown or attack, and I had prepared as well as one can. I even warned my readers in one of my recent Substack articles that if they have any significant chart points at 21 degrees of Aries, Libra, Capricorn, or Cancer, the Mercury retrograde station could “point to some problems that need to be addressed…”

The Snake-Like Scammer Attacks!

Now that I have set the stage for you, let me describe the scam.

On the morning of April 21, I woke up to a deluge of direct messages and emails from my friends and followers letting me know that a scammer was impersonating me on Instagram. 

This person created an Instagram account using my name, images, and biography. They were contacting my friends and followers and asking them to book readings. I feel so grateful that my friends and followers took the time to let me know about this issue, but I am distressed that someone would use my name to try and defraud others.

I am working to get this impersonator account taken down. In the meantime, understand that I will NEVER direct message you on Instagram (or any other social media) and ask you to book a reading with me. Please ignore this scammer, and report and block them if you get a chance. 

Understanding the Scam

My real account is "@astralharmony" (one "L") and the scammer is "@astrallharmony" (two "LLs"). 

You can recognize the scammer account because it has only about 25 posts up, and I have over 600 posts. Also, my account has saved "Stories under my bio (including one about the scammer called "Alert"), and the impersonator account does not have any saved Stories. In addition, if you look at my real account, you will see that my posts regularly receive over 50 likes, while the scammer only gets one or two likes on each image. 

If you would like to follow me on Instagram, this is my one and only account:

astralharmony

A post shared by Juliana Haynes Swanson (@astralharmony)

A Time for Caution and Care

As this above description indicates, scammers, technological issues, and miscommunication become more likely when Mercury is retrograde, and especially around stationary retrograde periods. Since this astrological period is especially difficult for my own birth chart, I have been hit hard right now. 

However, I would suggest that everyone use extra caution and care during this time. If you receive a message on social media that looks odd or unusual, please examine it carefully!  It is also important to understand that impersonator accounts are very common on social media, particularly among astrologers. Be especially careful if someone is asking you to send them money or share your personal information with them.

Have any of you been dealing with scammers or technology issues in recent days? Let me know if you are experiencing any problems in this Mercury retrograde cycle!

And thank you for being here, with love, light, and peace to all my dear readers.

I desire neither earthly kingdom, nor even freedom from birth and death.
I desire only the deliverance from grief of all those afflicted by misery.
Oh Lord, lead us from the unreal to the real; from darkness to light; from death to immortality.
May there be peace in celestial regions.
May there be peace on earth.
May the waters be appeasing.
May herbs be wholesome and may trees and plants bring peace to all.
May all beneficent beings bring peace to us. May your wisdom spread peace all through the world.
May all things be a source of peace to all and to me.
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti (Peace, Peace, Peace). (M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence)