As a part of our Friday Nights, Saturday Mornings feature, we're talking to some of our favorite boss ladies about their weekends, their way. How do they relax, recharge and refuel? As we all know, life shouldn't be all about work. It's what we do beyond business and career that help keep us motivated and able to dominate for the week ahead.
Meet newly married Denequa Williams Clarke - founder of Lit Brooklyn - a luxury fragrance company specializing in candles. Here's how Denequa finds balance on the weekends.
Photo by Joe Chea
Denequa’s biggest challenge running LIT Brooklyn:
"I don't think you'll ever find a balance in anything. It's more about finding harmony in your personal and professional life. Sometimes asking for help and being vulnerable enough to ask for help can also be tough."
The perfect way to spend a Friday Night:
"I love a glass of wine and catching up on TV. Right now I'm watching This Is Us and starting from season one of Game of Thrones. I also enjoy hanging out with my friends."
Courtesy of Denequa Williams Clarke
How Denequa powers up on Saturday Mornings:
"I always start my mornings with prayer. How you start your day goes to show how your day and the rest of the week will go. Then, I drink a cup of tea and check my emails. I've been starting to exercise at least for 20-25 minutes. Working out in the mornings and helps me refuel myself for the rest of the day."
The ideal way to spend a Girls' Night:
"I like to catch up with stuff that's going on with us personally that has nothing to do with work. As millennials and entrepreneurs, it's so easy to get caught up in our work life. Sometimes we forget to ask our friends how their personal life is going."
Photo by @dadouchic
Why finding balance is important:
"We only have one life to live. We are multifaceted beings that are great at doing numerous things. When you only focus on doing one thing, you're neglecting other parts of yourself who make you who you are. Finding time for everything you love is super important. We're more than just what we do as entrepreneurs. We have other things going for us and other things that make us smile and our hearts flutter. Relationships are also important. I often hear a lot of my friends who are entrepreneurs say that something suffers - whether it's the person you're in a relationship with or friendships. You should find time for everything."
How Denequa likes to recharge:
"How I like to recharge is to look on vacation planning sites and find a cheap flight or getaway. I love the sun, beach, and water. It might be because I'm a Pisces but something about going away and coming back fuels your creativity. That's how your business flourishes. The more ideas you come up with, the more innovative your business becomes. Your business will feel it. If you're not creatively fueled, your business is going to suffer. I believe that wholeheartedly."
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Virgo is an earth sign that teaches us that our mind is our gift and our compassion is what serves. Virgo is a helpful hand in the storm, yet, this maiden’s approach can sometimes have a harsh delivery under challenging circumstances. Mercury in Virgo is especially meticulous, and with this Mercury retrograde occurring here, it’s easy to get overwhelmed or turn to over-criticism towards self or others.
Communication should be handled with some extra patience and grace, plans should be looked over thoroughly before execution, and it’s best to handle anything of permanence for another time. As you move through this Mercury retro amid Virgo Season, do as the Virgos do: your best. Mercury goes direct on September 15th, and through the inner awakening this transit has brought, by the end of it, the growth is clear.
What Mercury Retrograde Has In Store For Each Zodiac Sign
ARIES
Aries, Mercury retrograde for you will be all about approaching your health and daily routines in a new way. Mercury will be retrograde in an area of your chart having to do with work, well-being, habits, daily life, and attention to detail. This is a good time to learn a new skill, develop your talents, and work passionately on something that inspires you. Your everyday routine, working environment, or schedule may be experiencing some challenges or delays, and being flexible is key to making it through this time.
Once Mercury goes direct on September 15th, you are going to start seeing more improvements at work, forward movement with projects, and overall more balance with your peers and within your everyday life. This Mercury retrograde is here to help you find new ways to de-stress, refocus your intentions, and create a better strategy.
TAURUS
This Mercury retrograde for you, Taurus, is a journey of the heart. Mercury will be going retrograde in your 5th house of romance, creativity, passion, self-expression, and happiness over the next few weeks, and you are finding your voice. Any limitations you have been feeling creatively and romantically come up at this time to be reviewed, healed, and addressed. You may be feeling less optimistic than usual during this transit, and your guidance at this time is to start with doing the small things that make you happy and then go from there.
During this time, you are reviewing where the happiness is in your life and if you’ve been prioritizing this enough for yourself. Once Mercury goes direct, you will have a better understanding of what lights you up inside and how you want to show up in the world, making it easier to be in those spaces.
GEMINI
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This Mercury retrograde is a good time to get back to the basics, Gemini. You are taking a look at your foundations and taking note of where you want to continue to grow your roots in life. Your emotional well-being and stability are the priority right now as you redevelop your safe spaces and focus on your inner world.
Some misunderstandings with family or close loved ones may arise, but you are getting a clear view of how you’ve been feeling when it comes to the past, your roots, emotional patternings, and what’s going on internally. This is a good time to declutter, create space, finish a home project, or bring peace into the home. This Mercury retrograde for you is about regrouping and gaining stronger foundations.
CANCER
This Mercury retrograde for you is about overcoming previous communication challenges, getting the answers you have been looking for, and seeing what has been blocking you from feeling heard, Cancer. Miscommunications with others are likely, but they will be creating a breakthrough for honesty and transparency overall and, in turn, build your connections.
This Mercury retrograde transit is requiring more patience than most, and short travels, contracts, transportation, and emails should all be looked over a few times. You could feel like your natural flow in the day is hindered more than usual during this time, and you are reworking your daily systems and prioritizing what is really worth your energy right now. Prioritize what matters, and follow the sparks of inspiration right now.
LEO
Mercury retrograde is here, and for you, it’s affecting an area of your life, having to do with income, finances, value systems, and self-confidence, Leo. This is a good time to plan financially for your future and to avoid making any unnecessary or extravagant purchases if possible, as you may change your mind about them later.
Some unexpected occurrences may be happening within your financial world at this time. However, you are getting the opportunity to create a new beneficial system for yourself here in the long term. You are overall focusing more on the giving and receiving in your life during this time and finding your balance here, Leo.
VIRGO
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This Mercury retrograde cycle will be in your sign and in your 1st house of self. Over the next few weeks, you will be reflecting on the personal changes you have gone through over the last year, both mentally and physically, and how you see yourself now. This transit for you is a time to honor your growth and development and focus on seeing yourself in a new, more favorable, and accepting light.
A lot of different aspects of your life will be influenced during this Mercury retrograde since it’s occurring in your 1st house at the very top of your chart, but it’s overall about being consistent with your personal growth journey and about getting your ducks in a row. You will be leaving this retrograde feeling an overall greater self-confidence and like your path ahead is clearer with fewer obstacles, Virgo.
LIBRA
Over the next few weeks, Mercury retrograde will be transiting your house of endings, culminations, the subconscious mind, and healing. While Mercury moves through this area of your chart, your past may be coming up for you a lot now. However, this is not a pass to entertain it. The past seems to come up more for you now than it has been, so you can re-examine some lessons you may have missed there and give yourself another opportunity to heal, forgive, and let go.
For you, self-care, rest, and emotional rejuvenation should be the priority, and you are overall getting the space to regroup. Remember that you don’t necessarily need to isolate yourself to find yourself and maintain your balance in life, Libra.
SCORPIO
Scorpio, Mercury retrograde will be moving through your 11th house of friendship, community, hopes, and dreams. This Mercury retrograde is allowing you to re-think some of your long-term goals to see if they still resonate for you now. You are finding your place in the world during this time and are aligning with your happiness and aspirations.
There could be some miscommunication within friendships and social networks, however, as you redefine how you want to use your voice and who you want to connect with in the process. Past goals, future goals, and the progress of them all come up for review, and you are opening yourself up to the possibilities of your life and what intentions you want to manifest.
SAGITTARIUS
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Mercury retrograde is here, and for you, Sagittarius it is influencing your career, professional life, and reputation. How you are feeling about your goals, your achievements, and where you are in regards to your career take focus during this time, and you are re-examining your path here. Know the support will come, as it always does, but there is something to understand about showing up for yourself regardless of who is standing behind you.
Your guidance for this transit is to honor your skills and talents, be willing to learn more and continue to believe you are worthy of blessings and recognition. Feelings of not being understood or appreciated for the work you are doing can come up for you during this time, and you are seeking some stability and assurance in your career right now.
CAPRICORN
Capricorn, this Mercury retrograde will be occurring in your 9th house of adventure, travel, education, and spirituality, and there is a sense of needing some more downtime to reflect and understand what your inner world has been telling you during this time. Plans change, paths detour, and you are reviewing your belief systems with a closer eye right now.
Overall, over the next few weeks, you will be searching for a new way forward and gaining the bigger picture. Through the experiences you’ve encountered so far this year, a new perspective has been born, and you are looking at your truths right now. This Mercury retrograde is showing you how important it is to have faith in yourself and your life.
AQUARIUS
Over the next few weeks, Aquarius, Mercury retrograde will be moving through your 8th house of intimacy, shared finances, rebirth, and all things taboo. Mercury will be bringing the focus on where your energy- especially financial energy, has been spent. and if it’s benefiting you and your self-empowerment in life. You are going through a time of transformation and transition, and you are addressing where this change has been needed. It’s about asking for what you need within your close partnerships, commitments, and within your financial world; and knowing that you deserve just that.
Once Mercury goes direct on September 15th, you are going to feel more clarity and empowerment in your life, and like you have overall cleared the way for more blessings to enter, both financially and emotionally.
PISCES
Mercury retrograde will be moving through your 7th house of love, partnership, beauty, and finances, and there could be some miscommunication within your partnerships at times during this transit, Pisces. Your relationships are a mirror to you right now, and it can be difficult to see some emotional patterning or habits that are straining your one-on-one connections rather than strengthening them.
It’s time to let the past go in love and redefine what your heart wants now. Overall, the relationships that are meant for you will only grow further into a deeper commitment and understanding through this transit; and those that aren’t will make it clearer to you that this is the case. Choose your battles wisely, and focus on love.
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