.authored by something.of.substance.
.small, red and retro(grade).
There are people who strongly believe in astrology; I am not one of them. I allow myself a passing fascination with thinking about my personality or life path as it relates to planetary movement. Then, I all but dismiss it. It’s not that I disdain the horoscope section of the newspaper or refuse to get my birth chart done so I know that my sun sign is Capricorn (Scorpio rising, Pisces moon) or never look up the sun sign of my partner to see if we’re compatible (apparently, I do best with Taurus, Scorpio, or Pisces). Attempting to guesstimate future possibilities through the observance of celestial alignment can be an interesting pastime, albeit a futile one. Futile for me, at least.
I have a hard time believing because none of what is predicted for me has ever come to pass. I’ve been told that even though I am a Capricorn (my birthday is January 13th), I don’t exhibit many Capricorn traits and so my horoscope could be incorrect. This confuses me. Shouldn’t a prediction based solely upon the motion and sequencing of hunks of rock and fire hold true for anyone born “under” that sign- whether they act like it or not? I’ve been told I don’t have enough faith in the cosmos. Faith is hard to hold on to when its vehicle repeatedly fails its own predictions.
You can imagine, then, my somewhat incredulous reaction when I was invited to a “Mercury in Retrograde” party during my fourth year of college. I should preface this story by saying that I knew many interesting people in college. Knowing interesting people leads to invites to interesting events, such as this. The party was advertised to be held on the sloping hill behind one of the most outlying dorms on campus on the night before Mercury was set to enter Retrograde. Before I can advance any further with this story, I suppose I should explain what the hell I’m talking about.
The term “Mercury in Retrograde” refers to an astrological phenomenon which happens three times a year for three weeks at a time. Astronomically, the planet Mercury (the small, red one closest to the sun) and Earth orbit the sun in such a manner that Mercury looks as though it stops mid-orbit (Station) and then starts orbiting backwards (Retrograde). Of course, reverse orbits don’t really happen and so Mercury is never really traveling backwards around the sun. This year, the periods of Retrograde for Mercury are May 27th – June 19th, September 24th – October 15th and January 11th, 2009- February 1st, 2009. According to these dates, we are currently in this funky planetary period and have been for a week.
Knowing that a planet appears to be rotating in a backwards fashion, but isn’t, doesn’t seem like much of a reason for a party; I concur. However, it is the astrological implications for this period that are, honestly, no reason for celebration. Playing on the fact that this time looks like a reversal in planetary movement, many astrologers consider the period when Mercury is in Retrograde to be the time for a “reversal in thought energy”. It is a time when the mind turns inward.
The planet Mercury is thought to rule over various types of communication: writing, speaking, studying, business, travel, and mental processes. Accordingly, during periods of Retrograde, you will probably notice changes in yourself and the in way you interact with others. For example, during this time computers often crash for no reason, e-mails get delayed or lost, a conversation you have with a significant other will be misinterpreted and misunderstood, travel plans need to be monitored so that they aren’t changed without notice, you will feel at a loss for new thoughts, and business deals fall through. You can protect yourself from these potential crises by backing up or making extra copies of your work, double-checking received messages and letters and planning your own trips while allowing extra time in your itinerary for mistakes.
.this book says: "don't buy me!".
Astrologers all seem to agree, though, that there are two areas which will not work out during this time no matter what you use as a preventative measure. First, do not buy books. This might sound ridiculous, but the purchase of reading materials, especially for educational purposes, combines commerce, communication and studying- three of the areas Mercury presides over. If you decide to buy textbooks over an internet site such as (but not limited to) half.com or amazon.com, your transaction may appear to go smoothly: you will find what you need (or close enough to it) for a good price, your card will be debited, your books will be shipped… Nope. Wait. You will find what you need. Your card will be debited. You will receive an e-mail several days later letting you know your books won’t ship for another six weeks. Sorry.
Book purchases aren’t the only area to suffer while Mercury is in Retrograde. Communication ceases to a near halt. This could have strong implications for the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates during this period. For those candidates who do not know their platforms well-enough, questions will be confusing and their subsequent answers even more baffling. In other communication heavy fields, writers will be having a difficult time producing anything new (I know I am!), advertising companies won’t be as creative and anyone responsible for producing dialogue (from scripts to speeches) will rehash old material. Astrologers further claim that business contracts brokered and marriages officiated during this time will not last. That’s a fairly harsh view, but when the mind turns inward, it is best to engage with oneself. Use these two remaining weeks as a period of solitude and reflection and for doing the one thing backwards Mercury is good for: addressing old and unfinished business.
Take this time to reexamine some old, unfinished work. Perhaps you have a novel or screenplay growing copious amounts of mold in a drawer. Maybe there is an old friend who deserves a visit. Certainly there is a lingering issue (or stack of bills) you have been refusing to address. Or, could there be an old flame who you’ve been thinking of too often as of late? This is the best time to work on the old novel, visit the long-lost friend, sort the bills, and call up the old flame. Use this period to advance old pursuits or tie-up lingering loose ends. Give yourself extra time and space to be introverted. Expect things from your past to return in different forms and require addressing in a different manner. Slow down and go with the flow.
As for the party I was invited to attend, “go with the flow” was definitely not the sub-theme. Instead, the invite asked us all to make bad decisions in the presence of others since good communication would fly out the window for the next three weeks. I went, briefly, to the Retrograde party on the hill. While there, I got the distinct feeling that because Mercury hadn’t actually entered Retrograde at that time, the Public Safety officers wouldn’t have such a hard time figuring out why a couple hundred people were hanging out on a darkened slope with plastic trash cans (carrying the evening’s beverage selections). Sure enough, I was right. Not long after I left, did I get to perch on the porch of the aforementioned dorm and witness the spectacle of communication breakdown as cops yelled for students to halt all the while those students scattered in every direction, hauling garbage cans and themselves into the surrounding woods. Maybe if the party had happened while Mercury was in Retrograde, it could have gone on long enough for bad decisions to take place. As it stood, however, the only bad decision was throwing a shin-dig based around the idea that the universe will make you introverted- tomorrow.
