Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Mercury in Retrograde: Malarkey or The Real McCoy?

Google the word "Mercury" and you'll get a variety of hits. You'll get:



A dime



A car



A rocket (which was developed right here in Huntsville by the way)



A deceased rock star named Freddie


And a planet


And the planet is the subject of today's blog.

At the beginning of each month, the Playfriends all scurry to their favorite astrology website and look at their horoscopes. Then we jump for joy or gripe and moan, depending on what the stars have in store for us. Mine said October would be a romantic month for me and that as a couple we'd talk about some new goals. It's a good month to form a serious business collaboration. And some endeavor of enormous personal importance will come to fruition. I'm supposed to have the financial Midas touch and it will lead to a TERRIFIC November financially. Yeah! Especially since Christmas is just around the corner.

And then at the end, she mentions that Mercury will begin to retrograde on October 28, so watch out. Make sure everything's in order before that.

So just what the heck is Mercury in retrograde?

First, Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. Second, when a planet goes retrograde, it appears to stop and reverse the direction of its orbit. It's an optical illusion and it lasts for about 24 days before the planet appears to stop again and resume its normal direction.


The planet Mercury takes its name from the Roman god Mercury, who had winged sandals and a winged hat so he could travel quickly. Mercury orbits the sun more quickly than any other planet, hence its name. He was the god of communications, commerce, and everyday routines.


The planet Mercury, according to most astrologers, rules thinking and perception, processing and delivering information and all methods of communication, commerce and transportation.


And when it goes retrograde, astrologers believe it will screw up all of the above.


Oh fun!

Not!

So what's a person to do?

Astrologers advise that you remain flexible. Have a backup plan. Have two. Take a couple deep breaths. Be prepared to punt. Buy a bottle of tequila. Ask your physician for a temporary supply of Xanax. And remember it will all be over in about three weeks. Well, they didn't really suggest the tequila and Xanax.


I never knew a thing about Mercury and retrograde until a year or so ago and so far I've muddled along just fine. Of course, my monitor failure a few years ago could have been a victim of the retrograde. My car accidents could have been too. Not selling a particular story might be attributed to it. Who knows?

At any rate, many folks believe quite deeply in astrology while others view it as a form of cheap entertainment.

So that's Mercury in retrograde in a nutshell. Is it a bunch of malarkey or the real McCoy? Do you believe? Don't believe? Don't really care? Do you have an interesting retrograde story to share?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've heard of Mercury in Retrograde, but until this morning I had no idea what it meant. This is quite fascinating. Dunno that I buy into the whole astrology thing, but as the moon moves the tides, I can't imagine that a planet spinning in the opposite direction doesn't have some sort of bizarre side effect.

Just my .02...

Angel said...

Well, considering the last time Mercury was in retrograde I had to get a whole new computer system....

Angel

Katherine Bone said...

Once again, I say 'huh?' While I believe things happen for a reason and I can buy into some of the stuff that astrology charts forecast, I can't see how something that happens in space can affect me here on earth unless the sun implodes and the universe goes completely dark or a mega-sized astroid is hurtling towards earth. LOL.

Things happen because they do. We've all heard the saying, bad things happen in 3's, bad things happen to good people. That kind of thing happens any time. Are there other bad planet alignments that cause havic on our lives that I've yet to learn about?

I do believe we are tied to the universe, our environment, nature... I used to check my horiscope when I was younger and I went to a palm reader once when I was 16. Neither of these told me anything prevelent to my life however, and the palm reader told me something horrible was about to happen to my father's health. I was scared for years afterward. (It was untrue, BTW.)

So here's my concern. If we live our lives in fear of what a planet is doing, how the stars are aligned on specific days, what a fortune teller foresees, we allow circumstances control over our lives. Is life not our choice? Do we not make decisions based on prior choices/circumstances? Granted psychics, fortune tellers, and astrology charts may guide us to make the right decisions, dare we give these things power over us?

A few questions to throw out into the chasm of space. Help me understand, oh wise ones!

Kathy

Problem Child said...

Astrology has been around for so long, I have to believe there's *something* to it--I'm just not sure what.

I'm not going to avoid things just because Mercury is in retrograde, but I do back up my computer, stuff like that. Murphy's Law kicks in during retrograde, so better safe than sorry.

My horoscope for this month is better than last months'--thank goodness. I couldn't handle another month like that so soon.

Unknown said...

I believe there's a scientific explanation for everything.

Also, knowledge is power. It's good to be aware and prepared for changes that we know will affect us. Don't have to let it overwhelm our days, but being prepared is a good thing.

I never connected Mercury in Retrograde with much, but that's probably because I wasn't paying attention.

I think it actually could be the domino effect, and I'd buy that the change of the flow of energy that must result from something like this, can change things in the universe, even if it is subtle by the time the effects reach us.

Coincidentally (or not so coincidentally), I just told hubby the other day that I was having trouble concentrating on simple things the last few days.

On second thought...Are we sure Mercury doesn't hover in retrograde all year round???

;)

Mistress Regina said...

Have you ever visited Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh? They have a beautiful statue of Mercury.

You blospot is interesting. I do, though, have to make a point of not writing too many comments. It is an interesting paradox in that the majority of my visitors, based on email, are a bit too shy to comment publicly. Among other things.

Have a glorious week.