So, I saw on Friday that Mercury is in retrograde from 9/6/09 – 9/29/09 (or 9/7/09 – 9/30/09, according to another site). My initial reaction: “Well, no sh*t. That was obvious without looking it up.”
Some exerpts from an article on Astrology Zone that I found interesting:
At several points throughout the year most of us will be bombarded with the maddening effects of Mercury in retrograde. Mercury is a planet which governs all transportation and communication issues. Mercury is not an emotional planet, but rather a highly objective, truth-seeking one. It rules intelligence, education and truth. When it is in retrograde, some of its power is held back.
When Mercury starts turning in an apparent backward motion, we will start to feel the effects of this event days or even as far as two weeks earlier. When the planet normalizes we will see the tempo of events pick up in our lives as the planet becomes “stationary” and then speeds forward.
Gemini and Virgo are signs ruled by Mercury, so if you are one of those born during those months, you will be complaining especially loudly. . .
I’m a Gemini, and I’d never given any thought to Virgo also being ruled by Mercury, but I have to laugh, because my rising sign is Virgo. I wonder if that makes me even more apt to feel the effects of Mercury Retrograde.
What happens when Mercury retrogrades? You miss appointments, your computer equipment crashes, checks get lost, you find the car you just purchased during Mercury retrograde is a lemon. . . All machinery and things with moving parts–such as computers, VCRs, camera equipment, garbage disposals, and so forth, will reveal any weak links now. It is critical that you back up your data system and be more careful and vigilant than ever. Projects will demand more time and money than anticipated this month. . .
Things get lost when Mercury messes us up. Take NOTHING for granted. . .
. . . try not to start new things. If you have to start a job during a Mercury retrograde period know that the nature of the job is likely to change dramatically over time. Perhaps the person you report to will leave, or your responsibilities will be very different from what you thought they would be. Or your company won’t be ready to take you on, and you won’t have much to do until things are reorganized. But remember, if this was a position that you tried for in the past, then you’ve got the vibes working for you rather than against you.
The first clue that Mercury might be retrograde was the number of misunderstood communications with the wedding last weekend.
Then, there is my VCR situation of late. It began days ago, when my one-dollar-yard-sale VCR that I bought when my older one stopped working began to eat tapes. I managed to get the tapes out (it ate two before I was convinced it wasn’t a one-time fluke) and I wound the pulled-out and wrinkled tape back into the cartridge with a fork (hey, I was eating dinner at the time and it was handy), but of course I realized I shouldn’t use that VCR anymore. Then the fun began. Someone Special loaned me her VCR, and when I hooked it up, I couldn’t get the picture to stop rolling and messing up (or at times, going completely blank). This was both while watching the TV through the VCR and while watching a tape. We concluded that something must be wrong with that VCR and I called Mom and Dad to ask if I could borrow theirs until I can get a new one. (Money is always so tight that even a VCR purchase is a big deal that has to be planned for.)
Well, I got Mom and Dad’s VCR home Thursday night and tried to hook it up (the same exact way I had it hooked up the last time I borrowed it, mind you) and I couldn’t tune in any channels with it.
I’m going to cut this story short and leave out the part about the huge temper flareups I went through that night, and jump right to the part about how I lost my pliers. I had them, and then I couldn’t find them, and whatever happened in between was a blur. I needed them in order to disconnect what I’d done and try it again with different cables, so I wasted . . . gosh, it must have been close to an hour but it felt like two . . . doing nothing but going in circles, looking for the stupid pliers. They turned up back against the wall, under a table, where I’d evidently flung them in frustration. Ok, so, pliers located, I went to work. And still couldn’t get it right. I was on the phone with Someone Special when I said something to the effect of, “Well, I’ll try using those red, yellow, and white plugs instead, but I need my flashlight to see where they plug in. Crap. Where’s my flashlight? I just had it . . .” I still laugh as I remember SS saying, “Oh, no. No, no no.” (She was laughing, too.)
It didn’t matter. I found the flashlight, but nothing I tried got the VCR working. I gave up, finally, and went to bed.
Friday morning, I went in to work, put coffee and water into the coffee maker, flipped the switch, and nothing happened. *Sigh*
Remembering how, Thursday, Boss was having trouble with his cell phone, his computer, his email (no matter what computer he was on) and something else (I don’t remember what, now), and Mom telling me about how, when she was baking last weekend, both her can opener and her timer broke within minutes of one another, it dawned on me that our friend Mercury was likely in retrograde, so I looked it up. And it is.
But it isn’t all bad. There are some positive aspects, as well.
More exerpts from the Astrology Zone article:
Why would the Universe give us Mercury retrograde? Because to move forward it is sometimes necessary to backtrack and reconfigure our paths in life. It is important to reconsider, repair, reflect, and reconnect. Mercury forces us to slow down and fix what’s broken, and in so doing, rethink things. It also gives us time to get to projects we have put on the back-burner.
Some activities are lucky or actually improve when Mercury retrogrades. You are likely to bump into old friends that you haven’t seen in years. Adopted children tend to find their birth parents during Mercury retrograde periods, or people locate their long lost siblings. Prosecutors often find clues to crimes that had previously remained unsolved for years. (Although sometimes the reverse is true–there is a greater danger, or example, that police can bungle evidence during a Mercury retrograde period, for clear thinking doesn’t come easy for any of us then.) Mail that went astray weeks or even years ago shows up during Mercury retrograde. Some things that were lost reappear.
Now is also a good time to dress old wounds, clean up relationships or to simply bury the hatchet. Some people have great breakthroughs in psychotherapy during a Mercury retrograde period. For salesman, it is a positive time to backtrack over previous contacts rather than call on new ones. It is a perfect time to schedule work on projects that you haven’t had time to do and you’ve let pile up. Bring your resume or portfolio up to date, and clean out your closets. Take time to paint the house. Clear your decks.
I also really enjoyed an article by Ron Archer, that looks at Mercury Retrograde from a mindfulness perspective. I’m quoting the entire text of the article because all of it applies to some of what is on my mind lately:
“The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.” -Thich Nhat Hanh
It’s Saturday morning and I just completed my “weekly review.” For those not familiar with the popular “Getting Things Done” book and methodolgy, the weekly review is part of an overall system for managing projects and tasks.
David Allen, who created this system, also practices karate. At the beginning of the book David uses a phrase from martial arts: “mind like water.” He says to imagine throwing a pebble into a still pond. The water ripples appropriately to the weight and mass of the pebble, and then returns to calm. David advocates his GTD system so that we too can have a mind like water- calm, responding to inputs appropriately- not overreacting or underreacting- and then returning to a state of calm. It’s really about developing a state of mindfulness.
Wikipedia defines mindfulness as:
Mindfulness is calm awareness of one’s body functions, feelings, content of consciousness, or consciousness itself. Mindfulness plays a central role in the teaching of the Buddha where it is affirmed that “correct” or “right” mindfulness is the critical factor in the path to liberation and subsequent enlightenment.In astrology the planet Mercury is a symbol for our mind, ideas, and communication and learning styles. Mercury is never more than 28 degrees away from the Sun, symbolizng how closely our mind relfects our true inner selves.
About thee times a year the universe gives us the opportunity to become more mindful when Mercury turns retrograde. This means that from our perspective on Earth Mercury appears to move backwards. This is only an optical illusion caused by where the two planets are in their yearly orbits.
The effects of this phenomena include minor mishaps with communication, transportation, and paperwork- all things that are under Mercury’s domain. For example, losing your keys, dealing with a computer crash, or misreading important contracts are more likely during the retrograde periods.
All of these annoyances are really symptoms of a mind that’s moving too fast and in too many directions. When Mercury turns retrograde it’s time to do all of the “re-” words: reconsider, review, rehearse, and remind. It’s a time to revisit where we’ve been, realign with our goals, and recommit to what’s important.
The phrase “a mind that’s moving too fast and in too many directions” makes me think of ADD. It’s funny, because I was wondering the other day if people with ADD tend to feel the effects of Mercury Retrograde particularly strongly. I love the “mind like water” concept. I’m going to do some more reading on that.
Mercury will be retrograde from September 7, 2009 to September 30, 2009. During that time it will move from 6 degrees Libra back to 21 degrees Virgo, where it was in mid-August. Think back (re-member!) to mid-August. It’s time to review what was happening then, re-engage with something that was left unfinished, and revitalize it.
Moving from Libra back into Virgo describes a period when our focus will return from socializing back to working; from compromising back to discerning; from expressing back to analyzing. Virgo energy wants to plan, order, and schedule. With Mercury moving back to this sign it’s time for us to look for things in our life that need to be replanned, reordered, and rescheduled.
During the rerograde period Mercury will make a couple of stressful contacts to other planets. On September 17th Mercury will be challenged by Pluto. On this day we may be forced to face some news or facts that we’d rather avoid. Chances are it’s something that we avoided back in August and now we have to reconsider it. Around the 23rd Mercury will join up with Saturn and oppose Uranus. We’ll have to decide whether to cling to the past or accept a new idea, plan, or proposition. No need to rush into making your choice; Mercury will pass back over this spot in early October after it begins moving direct again.
The lesson of Mercury retrograde is to simply be more mindful- stop and think. Don’t be afraid to sign a contract; read it twice and make sure you understand what it contains. Don’t worry about losing your keys; look where you’re putting them. Don’t fret about a computer crash; back up your computer now.
Mercury retrograde periods are good times for doing lots of things that require you to go back over something. For example, editing a paper or manuscript, cleaning out files and closets, renewing subscriptions, licenses or registrations, or reconnecting with old friends. Give yourself permission over the next three weeks to slow down, clean up loose ends, and develop a mind like water. Namaste‘
I’ve blogged before about my clutter problem, and this weekend I actually made the first chunk of noticable progress that I’ve made in months. It felt great, to finally make the shift from being overwhelmed by it to actually digging in and making a difference I can see. Because doing this represents so much more to me than simply cleaning up a mess, it sort of represents a life-changing turning point, something I’ve experienced several of, lately. I plan to be blogging some more about that in the next day or two, but my goal is to have dug myself out from under by mid-October. Starting this during this particular time may be even better timing than I’d realized.
And an update: Last night, I tried one more time to get Mom and Dad’s VCR to pull in the cable signal because I was really tired of not being able to record my soap, and I discovered that if I tipped it slightly, the signal came in. If I laid it flat, it lost it again. Tipped: good. Flat: bad. So, for now, it’s sitting in a box where it can remain tipped until Dad and I have a chance to open it up and tighten whatever is loose. Problem temproarily solved. Someone Special said on chat this morning: “Sometimes things don’t work the way they are…so you have to tilt…shift…change perspective…” Kinda profound.
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Photo Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
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