Mercury retrograde

I’ve always held a guarded belief in astrology, the influence of the planets and stars on our lives. 

Mercury, for example, rules intelligence, mind, memory, and all types of communication from talking and texting to writing. It also rules commerce, computers, telephones, transportation, and, um, air travel.  Mercury in particular can have a weird effect on all of us for several three-week spans during the year.  During these intervals, the fleet-footed red planet uncharacteristically slows down and appears to stop and move backwards, in a kind of cosmic optical illusion called Mercury retrograde.

During Mercury retrograde, communications and travel of all kinds go kerflooey.  Misunderstandings and arguments run rampant.  Communications in general fail.  If you don’t know ahead of time about Mercury retrograde, you wonder why your computer has gone on the fritz, your cell phone isn’t working properly, and everything in general seems to be going wrong.  Simple.  It’s the great Murphy’s Law of the universe: Mercury has gone retrograde. 

Mercury is retrograde this October, from the 4^th through the 25^th. Right now, in other words.



Larry Schwimmer of the Huffington Post regularly writes a column about the Top 10 Things Not to Do When Mercury Is Retrograde.  Among them:

Don't Accept or Start a Job. If you do, you may regret it. I had one client disregard that advice. She accepted a new job and by the time she started the month after, when Mercury went direct, the company had changed her job so much that it no longer resembled the one that she had accepted. Her reporting relationship had also totally shifted from the great guy she was going to work for to the loudmouth, chauvinistic boss from hell! During Mercury retrograde, things are not what they seem to be.

What makes this Larry Schwimmer dude so smart?  I ask you, why should people have to check with Mercury before starting or stopping a job? Note that October 4^th was the first day of the rest of my life, at which point I began a retirement during which I planned to freelance for my former employer.  Note, too, that I planned obsessively and scrupulously for a new email address and access to the company's systems, to go into effect October 4^th.  Right.  Neither the new email address nor the systems access works.

We leave on our world travels today.  What would wiseguy Larry Schwimmer say?

Avoid Traveling A Lot. If you can't put certain trips on hold, just be aware that you can expect an unusual amount of last-minute flight cancellations, meeting postponements and long transportation delays. Allow extra time when traveling; make sure your bags are very secure. Take extra precautions, because during this time they may be more likely to be lost or stolen. Re-confirm your reservations, appointments and addresses for your meetings, as delays and cancellations can be expected.

Bill doesn’t believe in Mercury retrograde.  As usual, I’m trying to remain optimistic. Hey, the passports and visas came back, didn't they?