Friday, October 12, 2007

Shooting The Messenger: Who's Afraid Of Mercury Retrograde?

One sure sign for me that a client has had a little exposure to astrology is when they mention, with just a hint of fear in their voices, that Mercury is retrograde.

Frankly, I'm not all that concerned. Yes, Mercury is important -- I'm using mine to write this, and you're using yours to read this, right now! -- but I've found that blaming Mercury retrograde for just about anything is a case of (Mercury pun!) "shooting the messenger."

At most, I've found that Mercury going retrograde is just a matter of the straw that breaks the camel's back. Or the wrong word that sets off the brawl that had been building for months. Or the cheque being lost in the mail that should have paid the power bill three months ago. Or, in my case... waiting until today to install the new Vedic software I bought months ago that now, mysteriously, doesn't speak either English or Windows.

Other than that, though... no worries. As far as current transits going on, I'm much more worked up over the Mercury/Venus/Mars/Saturn/South Node pileup around 5-9 degrees of Cancer/Virgo/Scorpio. You know that's gonna make for some serious action for someone.

Besides, if Mercury retrograde is so lousy, why are so many smart people born with it... and why are so many dumbasses born with Mercury direct?

Boy, Mercury, shootin' through every degree...



2 comments:

Nathan Kibler said...

I recently read in The Mountain Astrologer [#99 Oct/November 2001], an article by Hank Friedman explaining differences between Vedic and Western astrology. He states, "when Vedic astrologers looked at planets in retrograde, they saw that these planets were then at their brightest. Therefore, according to the Vedic interpretation, retrograde planets are at the peak of their strength." He goes on to site the example of actress Joan Crawford, with a retrograde Mars in Libra, whose "ruthlessness, drive, and willpower are legendary." I agree with this idea and posit it is this intensity that leads people to react negatively to retrograde motion.

Matthew The Astrologer said...

I'm in agreement... enough so that I'm going to delay my entry on the subject for a few days, just so it doesn't look like it was your idea. ;)