Ye Gods! – Part I

Another Retrograde Mercury!

by C. H. Wells

If you believe only in what you can see, hear, touch, feel or smell with your five physical senses, you might want to give this column a pass. For those of us who have long-since realized that life is full of mysterious quirks and seemingly inexplicable things, the idea that there might be clues to life’s patterns beneath the surface of ordinary life, is not so incredible.

For the student of astrology, life is built on patterns – eternal, inexorable, and cyclical. As the planets move through the heavens, form relationships to one another, or appear to stop and change direction – correspondingly, the theory goes, we can expect events on Earth to take a similar turn.

In classical mythology, the Roman god Mercury, whom the Greeks called Hermes, was referred to as the “messenger of the gods,” and was considered to be an intermediary between gods and humans. He was, thence, the god of “letters” (in more than one sense), but was also known as the god of “merchants & thieves” [Said in the same mouthful, thank you!]. He was a trickster.

On the day of his birth, one version goes, the precocious lad stole his brother Apollo’s cattle, and, making them reverse themselves [Speaking of moving backwards!] in their tracks, to fool anyone trying to follow them, hid them in a nearby grotto. He then “charmed” a tortoise out of its shell, and, using gut from the stolen cattle, fashioned himself a lyre.

When the furious Apollo finally caught up with him, he stopped playing his newly-invented instrument, batted his ever-so-innocent, little-baby-brother eyes, and said:  “Oh, Apollo! I’m … er … so glad you’re here! Look what I made for you!”

Not only did he get away with it, but Apollo gave young Hermes a gift in return – the caduceus (a winged staff), which still stands as his symbol today, and was said to grant the power to mediate disputes (when he cast the rod between two serpents, they stopped fighting and wound around the rod). Apollo, in his turn, became known not only as a solar god, but as the god of music, poetry and dance. Nice work for your first day of life.

So it is as this “impish” character – though perhaps more like Poe’s Imp of the Perverse  – that we might think of Mercury, during these retrograde phases. While it’s unlikely any of our planets actually cause anything to happen, their movements and changes do, indeed, often correspond with recognizable trends here on Earth. Careful observation should bear this out, and the retrogrades are an excellent time to discover the inexorability of it all … [Note sarcasm.] …

It will be just that day, at the very end of the week, with a horde of juvenile guests expected – imminently – to descend upon your domicile, and with you having not one spare second to lose, when your local grocer – otherwise always well-stocked – runs out of milk. And so, coincidentally (as you find out after driving there through pouring rain and heavy traffic), has the only other major grocer in the territory. Looks like you’re going to have to settle for that other out-of-the-way little shop, where you hate buying foodstuffs because the prices are so ludicrously high … if only they didn’t have that sign on the front door announcing they’ll be back in two weeks from their holiday!

The only consolation, given your by-then-lethal level of aggravation, will be that said holidaying shopkeeper is guaranteed to have a lousy time – having chosen to travel during a retrograde. Gasp! What booking imp arranged that one?!

But can Mercury truly be faulted for contributing to our messed up plans, our miscommunications, our broken contracts or our travel woes? After all, if you, too, were cursed – throughout each and every year – to regularly slow to a crawl, stop, fly backwards for three to three-and-a-half weeks, slow down, stop, and snail forward again, at a tedious pace, before once more hitting your stride and returning to normal function, you might be a tad hard to get along with, too.

Those who are sensitive to the retrogrades will no doubt be aware that we have one currently looming on the horizon, as you’ll have noticed that you’ve already begun tripping over your own feet. The ‘retrograde proper’ starts April 28 and runs through May 22, inclusive. But since Mercury ‘stops’ and ‘slows’ – heading both into and out of the retrograde – then the halo periods, of about three weeks before and a couple of weeks after, should be noted, as well.

On this fly-by, Mercury will be transiting the sign of Taurus (in the tropical zodiac), so things traditionally associated with the sign Taurus, or its ruler, Venus, may be especially vulnerable:  home decor & personal possessions; beauty/beautifying; women’s interests/issues; plants/horticulture; money/banking; personal values, etc.

As well, though each of us experiences these phases every time, in our own way, those with their natal sun in Taurus, its opposite sign, Scorpio, or its two ‘squares,’ Leo and Aquarius, may find they have just cause to feel ever-so-slightly more aggrieved this time.

And don’t forget, as always, that you’re not alone:  we are all going through the retrogrades at the same time, so we all need to be awake and aware, be flexible, have backup plans … and be as forgiving as we can possibly manage under the circumstances!

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Remember:

1. Don’t do anything you can’t undo!
2. When in doubt, don’t!
3. “It’s not my fault – Mercury’s retrograde!”

… C. H. Wells