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Feeling Retro?
Glitches -- technological, postal and telephonic -- have leapt high above the surface of my "lifestream" in the last couple of weeks. I've spent an inordinate number of hours on the phone with folks who wildly outrank me in the techie world, and whose patience I bless even as I struggle to grasp their guidance. I even managed to render the landline in my home toneless unless it is plugged directly into the modem. (All the phone outlets just shrug their little plastic shoulders.) The list goes on, but the night that I couldn't get a DVD to play in my laptop -- well, then it was just time to laugh.
So I ask you, how has your glitch quota been the last two weeks? Miscommunications aplenty? Getting things from point A to point B met with delays? How's your relationship with your computer been? Start something simple, something ordinary, only to have it become a project? Things going on the fritz without the courtesy of giving you a good reason? |
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Let's Talk About Mercury Retrograde!
Three to four times a year, the planet Mercury, which is associated with all forms of communication, appears to move backward from the viewpoint of earth. Just as a horse, running alongside the road at a slower speed than your car, appears to move backward in the seconds when you overtake it. It's an illusion, but in our perceptual experience, it's real. There are technical explanations if you're interested, but it's the experiential that matters when Mercury "goes retrograde." Which it did on January 11th, and it will remain so until February 2nd.
You may wonder if as an astrologer, I go "looking for retrograde trouble," that is, expecting glitches to abound in these time periods -- and thus, finding them everywhere. But here's an admission I probably shouldn't put in print: while most astrologers mark the retrogrades on their calendars, I don't usually track them. I let them find me. Usually someone tells or asks me. Or I ask myself when my brain hurts from computer talk, my phone is sitting in the hall so its umbilical cord can reach the modem, I can't get Little Black Book to play in my laptop ... and the reading I sent my client in Florida a week ago hasn't managed to plop itself into her mailbox!
But take heart! There's much to appreciate about retrogrades once you know how to work with them -- and once you understand what they're for. |
1. You are not doomed to three weeks of abject frustration when Mercury dances backward. Many things go smoothly in a retrograde. There is simply a higher percentage of possibility that they won't and if you know that, you can participate in the process, thereby reducing both the percentage and your frustration.
2. Retrogrades do not affect us the same way each time. I've gone through a few retrogrades without knowing they were in effect. Or knowing, but being only mildly affected while others around me wailed at frequent intervals. How you are affected depends on where the retro is taking place. If it's sitting in a sign that is minimized in your chart, it may wink and move on. But if it's in a sign that you're hot-wired to, it will find you early and camp out. (Which is what happened to me this month.)
3. There are simple things you can do to ease the effects of the retrograde:
+ When traveling across the city or the country, allow more time than you ordinarily would. And proceed with greater awareness.
+ When traveling anywhere, especially by computer, opt to polish your patience. (You've been meaning to do that anyway, right?) An attitudinal shift in a retrograde time is a worthy ally.
+ Be particularly conscious of your communication. Re-read, review, reconsider before dashing off by mouse or mouth.
+ If you can, avoid signing a legal document or making a major purchase that involves electronic or communication equipment. Frequently, there will be a "re-do" aspect to these things under a retrograde. Papers get lost, the notary leaves work early, there's a delay in filing the documents or ... that new computer just doesn't work right. Ugh. If you can't avoid, then make "double check" your Mercury Rx prescription.
+ Laugh! Mercury is a trickster by nature and sometimes being a good sport is the best response to a practical joke. Even a cosmic one.
4. The Retrogrades come bearing gifts. For all their seeming liabilities, a retrograde, when used well, does offer nice prizes. Because it carries an inward, reflective nature, it's the perfect time to "RE!" Retreat. Repair. Recreate. Reorganize. Relax. Refocus. Reconcile. "Re" et al. Outer circumstances and issues often have trouble resolving in the climate of a retrograde, so if you can, delay them. But the inner word is more open, porous and available at this time. Unfinished personal matters, home-based projects and inward focus: all deserve your attention and will reap satisfying rewards.
Retrograde Dates for the Year
If you want to be "in the know" for 2009's retrogrades, here they are:
Retrograde Direct
May 7 May 31
Sept 7 Sept 29
Dec 26 Jan 15, 2010
But perhaps you'd prefer to take an experimental approach, ignoring the dates and seeing if you can detect retrogrades. Let me know what you find out! |
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A Special Offer!
New clients who sign up for a birth chart reading betweem Jan. 20 and Feb. 19, 2009 will receive a 25% discount (see my website for a full reading description and client testimonials). For more information, or to set up a reading, e-mail maridel@evolvingjourney.com. | |
