First, however, some background:
Recently my friend was expressing great concern about the upcoming movement of mercury into retrograde. I decided to find out more about it, so i asked her. She promptly emailed me this description:
Mercury will go retrograde from September 24 to October 15 - you will start to feel life slow down much sooner, however, from the full moon, September 15, onward. If you are planning to make a big life initiation - to sign a lease, buy a house, accept or start new job, or buy an expensive item, for example - you will need to act as early as possible in September to keep from becoming entangled in the coming Mercury retrograde web.
If you are not familiar with Mercury in retrograde, here's a brief explanation. Mercury is the planet of communication, commerce, transportation, negotiation, perception, and thinking. When Mercury retrogrades, the planet begins to operate in a weaker state, causing all the areas ruled by Mercury to suffer. We become forgetful, and we send out confusing messages or misunderstand others' messages sent to us. Mercury rules all objective thinking - the very thing the world relies on to spin properly - so it is one aspect that affects everyone of every sign in the same way.
It is never wise to sign a contract when Mercury is retrograde because later it would only have to be renegotiated. In a slightly different manifestation, you may alternatively find that the promise of that contract would not be fulfilled. Similarly, shopping for pricy items is never advised during these phases, but especially not for electronics or for any machines with moving parts. Wait until October 18 or beyond to plan your actions or shopping.
It was immediately clear to me that my friend had not written this and i was a little bit surprised she had sent it to me because 1) my friend is very conscious and critical of gender biases and gendered language and 2) this description of mercury in retrograde clearly asserts a preference for male-gendered characteristics such as objectivity and strength over female-gendered characteristics such as "weakness," emotion, and non-linearality (yes, i just made up that word). This was my response to her:
Wow, i can't believe that a critical person like you would so readily accept all the male gendering of what constitutes ("Mercury rules all objective thinking - the very thing the world relies on to spin properly") a properly spinning world.
Mercury in retrograde sounds like a time for the feminine (re: subjective) to come out and play.
In a follow-up conversation i told her that i didn't think she should be so afraid of mercury being in retrograde, but on the other hand, she should celebrate it and embrace it. I didn't think much else of it until the last few days.
Yes, i've felt a little out of kilter the last week or so. I can't quite seem to catch up, i was an hour late for a meeting last week because i mixed up times in my head, and today i walked into my marxist econ class ten minutes late wondering why everyone was sitting at their desks so actively writing when usually the class consists almost exclusively of lecture. My prof beckoned me to the front of the classroom where he handed me the midterm. It wasn't until that point that I remembered that yes, we did in fact, have a midterm in class today. Needless to say, since i spent the 2 hrs. before class riding my mtn. bike rather than studying, or even glancing at my syllabus (where it is plainly announced that there will be a midterm on Sept. 30), i don't think i did too well. Come to think about it, the day i was an hour late for the meeting i was also riding my bike because i had tried to squeeze in a bike ride between teaching and the meeting, but miscalculated the hours.
Anyway, this is all to say, maybe there is something to Mercury and retrograde, so dear friend (you know who you are), you better be nice to me.
And as long as i'm thinking about metaphysical stuff, let me add a word about karma, or more accurately my recent experience wherein i thought karma would bless me with a sure victory, but instead i was left sprinting my guts out just to do better than last place.
Last saturday was the Harvest Moon Crit, the last road race of the year. I debated making the hour drive up to Ogden for a 45 minute race, but in the end decided to go. I made my way up to the race, found a parking spot in the crowded parking lot (the crit is part of the larger Harvest Moon festival, so parking is sparce). As i was in the parking lot getting all my stuff together an older man came up and started to ask me a little bit about bike racing. I answered his questions and he wished me luck, but before he left, he told me i seemed like a nice guy and wondered if i had any money i could give him for the train fare. I hadn't had any cash all week, but when i was buying gatorade at the convenience store, i inadvertently hit the "cashback" button when i was running my debit card and ended up getting $5 back. i pulled out my wallet and took out the $5 and gave it to him. He thanked me, then winked at me and said, "Win!!, Win out there today!!"
"Wow," i thought as he walked away. Maybe he was one of the three nephites. Maybe he was prophesying my great victory at this, the last race of the season, a season during which victory has eluded me. Maybe this was a karmic test, and i was generous, and now would be rewarded generously with strength, savy, and energy. And so i made my way to race registration, got my number, and started to warm-up with visions of grandeur and victory in my head.
Needless to say, the race sucked. I did lousy, raced stupid, wasn't feeling strong, and ended up sprinting the last lap, not for first place, but to not be last place.
oh well, so much for Karma.
