Tag Archives: Mercury Retrograde

Mercury Retrograde and Recounts

Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein is the force behind the election recounts in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.  Born on May 14, 1950, she has Mercury retrograde!  So a REcount is in her astrological blood. jill_stein_by_gage_skidmore

People with Mercury retrograde in their birth charts do seem to do better when it recurs, most notably at retrograde-like projects like re-doing votes already tabulated.  Stein seems to be getting more attention and media coverage now than she did when she ran for president.  She raised millions of dollars in an extremely short time to pay for the recounts.

Harvard educated Stein was a practicing physician for many years.  One of her research interests is toxins, and she has particularly studied Mercury contamination!  She wants to REmove Mercury from the environment.  (I once had a dentist with Mercury retrograde who removed the Mercury fillings from people’s teeth – you can’t make this stuff up.)

Jill Stein’s Mercury is closely conjunct her Sun, with both in Taurus, so she is committed to her views.  Her intellect, thoughts and opinions are part of her identity.  The Sun and Mercury trining Mars and a possible Aries Moon make her a natural activist.  Stein also has Uranus Out of Bounds in declination, which seems like appropriate symbolism for a nonconformist, a reformer and someone who, at least in this case, may behave in an unexpected manner.

Hillary Clinton has Mercury exactly stationery turning retrograde and her campaign is providing some support toward a recount, although commentators don’t expect the results of the presidential election to change.  As of this writing, a Federal judge has stopped the recount in Michigan.

Roque De La Fuente, born on 10/10/54, who requested a recount in Nevada, was born with Mercury slowing down and well into the shadow of its retrograde period.

When We Got It Right

Astrologers have brooded enough about their mis-calls of the 2016 election.  Let’s remember some highlights – 11/7/00 and Bush v. Gore.  The country didn’t know who the winner was, but most astrologers did, and funnily enough, it had been a fairly easy call.  A stationary Mercury square Neptune, among other considerations, informed many.  Startup Stock Photos

Here are a few of the many correct astrological forecasts from 2000 – at times scarily accurate.  (Some of these astrologers have unfortunately passed in recent years.)

Arch Crawford, New York, NY, financial newsletter 10/2/00:  “This day will not go as expected.  Something really strange and unusual will make this day remarkable.”

Jacob Schwartz, Glenside, PA, New Visions magazine 10/00:  “Will the next President receive a majority of the popular vote of the voting citizens of the U.S.?  No.  The election will be so close that both major party candidates will be able to claim a victory of sorts!”

Kim Rogers-Gallagher, Bradenton, FL, American Astrology “Tomorrow’s News” November issue:  “Tuesday evening looks a bit confusing… something’s been overlooked, stalled or delayed.  It’s going to be tough to tell the results until very late that evening.”

Jim Shawvan, San Diego, StarIQ.com 11/6/00:  “uncertainty may develop as the count goes on.  The election may be so close in some states that it may be several days before the actual Electoral College votes can be tallied with accuracy.”

Maxine Fiel, New York, Liz Smith column, Newsday:  “What seems like a runaway winter could end up the loser.  The winner might not be decided after the polls close.”

Photo courtesy of pexels.com

The Retrograde Diaries – Episode 17

Mercury stationed and went retrograde this week, and I’ve already experienced the typical mix-ups, mishaps and confusion it so often brings. Minor annoyances, yes, but they do add up.

I was first in line at the greengrocer, but my cashier turned to help out her colleague. After five minutes, a third line opened up, so I switched. As I walked across the floor, another woman purposely ran in front of me to get to the register first! When she did, she gave me a wide grin, very pleased with her success. Mercury retrograde’s sense of displacement seemed to work better for her than for me.

I wanted to copy a few pages from a library book when I returned it. However the machine was turned off and no librarian was at the desk. I spent several minutes and finally found the button to turn it on, then waited at least five minutes for it to warm up. I wasn’t sure it was working – why was it turned off? I was impatient to leave and didn’t want to wade through the many instructions necessary to make a simple copy. Remember when it was simple? But Mercury retrograde can make things appear more complicated.

A bird pooped on my jacket and I didn’t notice it until I got home and it was dry. I did get it off. But Mercury retrograde may also relate to hitting an unintended target since accuracy is a Mercurial trait.

I sat on my glasses and went to the optician for a repair. I ended up going back a second and even a third time. Each time a different technician was there, though no one seemed to have the skills to do this task properly. Repair should be an appropriate Mercury retrograde “re” word, but this shop is under new management and does not appear to do a good job. Or is it just Mercury retrograde?

I needed to send an item by Federal Express and called to be sure I had the proper instructions. The representative was so generic in his response, I thought he was a machine! I embarrassed myself by telling it that I wanted a real person. He assured me he was human, but his response was still so glib and general, I wasn’t convinced I had the correct information and needed to call again.

We’re only in the first week of the retrograde – I’m sure there’s more to come!

The Retrograde Diaries — Episode 5

Is it Episode 5 already? Or only Episode 4? Actually, it’s probably Episode 100+, I just haven’t written them all down yet.

I continue to feel the stress and strain of Mercury retrograde. The current one may be more confusing with Mercury also squaring Neptune. Here are a few of my typically mixed-up Mercury retrograde experiences of the past few weeks.

I went to see the eye doctor. The receptionist was speaking on a headphone and I couldn’t tell if she was talking to me or the person on the phone. Our conversation was a typical Mercury retrograde communications challenge:

She: Can I have your referral?
Me: I don’t need a referral with this insurance.
She: Let me see your Medicaid card then.
Me: It’s not Medicaid. I have a regular Obamacare policy. You should have it in your system.
She: We need your referral.
Me: I don’t need a referral with this policy. Last time it went through with no problem. (Of course, the last time – no Mercury retrograde!)
She: Well, we have to have it to protect ourselves. Who is your primary care physician?
Me: I don’t have one right now.

More questions seemed to follow, but I soon realized she was again talking to her mouthpiece phone and not to me. I sat back down. A little while later she called me again as she couldn’t find me in the system. Then she realized that my insurance had my middle initial but they did not. Why this should be such a problem, I don’t know.

The receptionist was updating her database, which is a good Mercury retrograde task, but she was also speaking too loud since she had the headphones on. She was very pro-active and continued to loudly call out to other patients, apparently having difficulty verifying their insurance as well. One had to confirm her address and birthday. Another her birth place.

There were no problems with my appointment and everything went smoothly. Until I made a follow-up appointment and the receptionist warned that next time I really MUST bring a referral!

Get It?

I woke up and turned on the radio. The BBC was interviewing some foreign English speakers and I couldn’t understand a word. I changed the station and found a preachy Sunday sermon that put me back to sleep. I’m suddenly getting all kinds of calls from survey-takers and recorded marketers. I recently wrote some checks that bounced.

Of course, these kinds of things could happen any time. But why all of them at once? And why now? This month, Mercury squares Neptune, turns retrograde, then squares Neptune again. This is an astrological influence well beyond your typical Mercury retrograde mishaps and misunderstandings. And it’ll repeat itself all over again when Mercury turns direct in June and squares Neptune once again.

But now that we’re aware of it, we can try really hard to be sure we understand exactly what’s going on. Mercury is in Gemini, so logic should prevail. Neptune is in Pisces, so our intuition can be strong, too. It’s the point where they intersect that creates blind spots.

Repeat back what someone told you, just in case. Double check the e-mail recipients before clicking “send.” Print out the directions – don’t assume you’ll remember them. And write down your dreams – they’ll make more sense later on!

Rangel and Retro

Congressman Charlie Rangel appears to have once again won the primary election for his Harlem seat against Adriano Espaillat. If this seems like a déjà vu, it’s because the contest was run under Mercury retrograde – and the two candidates had already faced each other two years ago with similar results. We’ve gotten a re-run.

Rangel has told reporters and his wife that this is the last time he’ll run. At 84, perhaps he’s winding down. But with his track record as well as Mercury retrograde at the time of his statement, I wonder if he’ll reconsider when his term is up again in two more years.

Despite ethics scandals in recent years and changes in his district that now make for a Hispanic majority, Rangel, first elected in 1971, has won a 23rd term in the House by a small margin. Born on June 11, 1930, Rangel’s Mercury and Mars are in fixed sign Taurus. Once focused on an idea he has tremendous staying power. Since Mars also trines his Saturn in Capricorn he also has the ability to direct much of his energy (Mars) into productively achieving his goals (Saturn).

Retrograde and Void of Course

Mercury retrograde is a time for review, revisions and rethinking. Al H. Morrison felt that the Void of Course Moon was best used for routine activities and feeding your soul. The combination of the two may at times result in petty annoyances and some delay or frustration in day-to-day life. It’s generally not a good time to initiate new projects.

I once received a call from a magazine I’d never worked for to write a feature. The editor discussed what they wanted, I agreed, and she said they were definitely going ahead. She’d get back to me regarding the length of the article and deadline. I was skeptical since I knew that not only was Mercury retrograde but the Moon was also Void of Course that day. Mercury retrograde can create miscommunications and people easily change their minds. And the Void of Course Moon is not promising for beginning new ventures. Not only did the editor not call me back as promised, but I was never even able to reach her!

But life goes on and we must continue through these wacky times. (For his part, Al H. Morrison would often sleep during the VOC Moon – at any time of the day or night.)

Recently, I arrived at my destination early during Mercury retrograde with the VOC Moon. My Metrocard needed refilling, and I thought that I’d accomplish this routine task. The first vending machine was providing no receipts, so I moved on to the next. The second machine informed me that my Metrocard was expiring – Did I want to replace it? I said Yes. I got the card and it gave me a receipt but I was confused. Did they charge me $1 for replacement? It was not clear. I continued to refill my card and the machine requested my zip code. However the keypad would not work and the transaction was aborted.

I moved on to the third machine, which unfortunately was only providing single trip transactions, something I’d never encountered before. I turned to the fourth and final machine, which by this time had several people waiting in line. I’d now be late if I waited, so I left.

I’d gotten a new card, but had been unable to complete my intended task. As Morrison had said, the VOC Moon can take us in unintended directions, with false starts and error. Mercury retrograde revealed machines needing repair and a confusing situation. I’d have to complete things at a later date. Sometimes even routine tasks don’t fare so well under these influences!

The Retrograde Diaries

I was reminded this morning that the effect of Mercury retrograde begins before the exact retrograde phase you see in your ephemeris. It starts when Mercury slows down before moving backward. Mercury retrograde can make us change our minds, change our plans and may create miscommunications or failed functioning. Get ready for the next three weeks!

We woke up to heavy snow – 6 to 8” projected – which they had predicted the day before to begin in the afternoon and total only 2-3”. Yes, the highly respected and well-paid weather forecasters had been incorrect once again. I realized that my appointment would cancel due to weather. I looked at my phone and he had already called — I had just not heard the ring. At that moment he called again. I also had to reschedule my mother’s doctor’s appointment for the next day, the one she had postponed from the previous month.

My husband, who had a severe toothache the morning before (a recurrence of a long-ago issue), had felt much better and hoped to avoid a visit to the dentist. But early this morning it began again. When he called the dentist’s office, they, too, had had a cancellation and told him he could come right in. (Sometimes Mercury retrograde does work in our favor!)

I went to the store. At checkout, there was a delay. The lady ahead of me needed to wait for the manager to complete her transaction. The only cashier had to sign onto another register to help me. This machine, she advised, would not take credit cards. But she also had trouble signing on. She then found that the scanner would not work. By this time the manager was through (and the other customer needed to return later to pick-up her order). We went back to the first register and things proceeded smoothly from there. Mechanical mishegoss is a hallmark of Mercury retrograde, as are incomplete transactions.

I returned home and soon found the elevator repairman at my door. It became obvious that he had only a remedial command of English. However he communicated the following: “Your husband… eight… oil…” Yes! I understood. He’d come back. A few weeks before there had been an oil delivery – eight jugs were left with my husband since the super had gone home (how could I forget them in my hallway?). I sent the repairman to the super and he understood. Sometimes we come back to a previous project after Mercury turns retro, and we may have to work harder at communicating.

This encounter also reflects Venus retrograde (just turning direct yesterday, but still felt since it, too, is moving more slowly than usual as it changes direction). While I don’t have much of a relationship with the elevator repairman, he appears once a month to check things out. I’d considered him rude in the past, but now I had gotten to know him better and realized that he just did not understand the language. Both my mind and my feelings had changed. Watch for these types of things this week as Venus begins to pick up speed and Mercury continues slowing down – a bit of a double whammy.

Mercury Retrograde — Oops!

Mercury turned retrograde on October 21, 2013 and will continue through November 10, making for a time when mistakes are revealed and there’s a need to review, revise and re-do.  Little errors in thinking and communication challenge us in a bigger way.  I’d already attempted to clean up my computer registry and ended up having to re-load MS Office.  Why?  What possessed me?  You know the answer. 

Yesterday, due to subway signal problems at Church Avenue and traffic with the bus, a trip downtown that usually takes less than 40 minutes took me over twice as long.  And the poor folks at Obamacare realized, too late, that their system could take another six weeks to cure.  (Their problems started with Healthcare.gov going live on October 1, when Mercury had already slowed and was moving only about a degree a day.  I guess it’s obvious that no one in the administration cares about astrology.)

People who have Mercury retrograde in their own birth charts seem to do better during these periods, which usually occur about three times a year.  I knew a cable engineer with Mercury retrograde who knew exactly what to do when more subscribers had issues at this time.  He was in his element.  Jeffrey Zients, the management consultant called in to fix the Healthcare.gov problems, was born on November 12 or 15, 1966 according to public records.  Thank goodness he has Mercury retrograde!  He has the mental perspective to be able to turn things around.

I once had a holistic dentist who specialized in removing old Mercury fillings.  He had Mercury retrograde in his birth chart and put it to good use – with an almost literal expression of this placement!