Feb

12

Mercury Retrograde and Blackberry

Filed Under Planets, mercury | 4 Comments


Mercury retrograde again! This one is a doozie, with Mercury retrograde in Aquarius, the sign ruling computers and new technology. So many of our communications now are shaped by the on-line world that we may be noticing this retrograde more than most. A few days after Mercury went retrograde (on January 28th) at 23 degrees of Aquarius, internet connections broke down all over Asia. Today (Monday, February 11), as the Sun in Aquarius progressed to that same 23 degrees, the news was reported that Black Berry, one of the largest networks of handheld devices is having a widespread service breakdown.
Though I’m sure Blackberry users aren’t finding this very amusing, those of you who track the astrological weather will likely appreciate a certain irony in this turn of events.

In the spirit of keeping spirits up, I’d like to offer my Wisestars remedies for not just surviving, but thriving during Mercury Retrograde periods. This particular one lasts until February 20th when the planet turns direct, but give it a week or so to get out of it’s “shadow” period to really start forging full speed ahead back towards that old Western Civilization thing…..

(For those of you who may just be joining us on this Mercury in Retrograde track, see below the Survive/Thrive section for my summation of this phenomena)

SURVIVE

Back up your computer

Double check directions and appointment times carefully

Think carefully about word choice
And topic when having difficult
conversations

Slow down and drive more carefully

Read the fine print two or three times
before signing contracts or other important documents

Postpone buying major appliances until
Mercury goes direct

THRIVE

Research new computer equipment or software. Maximize time away from the computer.

Reschedule important meetings and appointments for after the Mercury retrograde period.

Rethink your position and be willing to admit your mistakes and apologize when having difficult conversations. Or try to forgive and forget more readily.

Refrain from rudeness and instead kill other drivers with kindness, or minimize driving and ride your bike and walk

Renegotiate current contracts that you want changed and postpone signing new important documents until Mercury goes direct

Repair and fix items that are broken

Remember: Retrograde starts with “re”, so incorporate “re” activities during retrograde periods.

Some Wisestars Words on the Mercury Retrograde Experience

Mercury, the planet of communication (which includes phones, computers, talking, listening, learning, teaching and also all forms of traveling), goes retrograde four times a year for three weeks each time. During this period, we will often notice that communications go awry, that our phones stop working, that computers freeze and travel plans hit snags. Despite all evidence to the contrary, the Mercury retrograde was not designed to make you suffer.

If you allow it to, Mercury retrograde periods can be a time to slow down and take a little break from the high impact, fast and furious information heavy world we live in. Think of it as a three week vacation from the communication of words and thoughts. This is a time when communication of spirit, body and emotion take precedence. Try saying what you need to with tools besides words, using body or sign language, eye contact and dream messages to communicate your meaning. The more you try to force other types of communications now, the more frustrated you might end up……….

ps the very fine mercury image up there is from Mark Defrates jewelry http://www.markdefrates.com/

Feb

5

Aquarius Eclipse

Filed Under new moon | 1 Comment

New Moon in Aquarius/Solar Eclipse

If ever there was a time to began communicating with aliens, this week would be it. A new moon solar eclipse occurs on Wednesday at 7:44 pm in Aquarius, conjunct Mercury retrograde and Neptune in Aquarius. This could be a perfect set up for weird, wacky communications from unknown origins.

Whether or not you decide to experiment with interplanetary conversations or find that you are receiving dream messages from dead people, or even something more mundane, like your voice mail recording impossible messages, this eclipse promises interesting verbal, written and psychic communications.

Look for the area that the eclipse aspects in your chart (planets and house cusps at or around 16-19 degrees of Aquarius), as you may find that that area of your life takes on a tone conducive to an article in the Weekly World News. Eclipses in general tend to create a fertile breeding ground for surprises, change and the unexpected. They have what we astrologers call a particularly “Uranian” quality. This particular eclipse takes place in the sign that is “ruled” by Uranus: Aquarius, amping up the volume and promising an electrical zing that is guaranteed to shake us up at some level.

Eclipses don’t always manifest on the external plane, and their effects can be hard to measure, as they sometimes are felt up to six months before they are exact, and up to a month or so after. But if you have hot spots in your chart that relate to the eclipse position, and you’ve observed some particularly “Uranian” changes in yourself and your world in the last few months, chances are, the week of this eclipse period will bring some new piece of information to add to the puzzle.