Rich started a deck renovation project under Mercury Retrograde. He got a whole team of friends over to help him. Every time they began work, it turned out they had forgotten to buy something critical. He must have run out to the hardware store ten times, while the work slowed down. Rich's estimate of one weekend to finish the project turned out to be a miscalculation. He and one friend finished it about a month later (after Mercury went direct). Nothing bad happened. The deck looks great. Astrologically, things just would have run smoother if the project was begun at a more auspicious time.
Mercury goes retrograde three times a year for about twenty days. From our perspective it appears that the planet stops in its orbit and begins to go backward for a few weeks before it changes direction once again to forward motion. This is an 'optical illusion' having to with our viewpoint on Earth and the relative motion of the planets circling the Sun.
Symbolically, according to astrologers, Mercury Retrograde is a time when things ruled by that planet go backwards. Mercury rules communication, transportation, and the function of the everyday mind -- short-term memory and logical thinking in particular.
Some people, like me, are born at a time when Mercury is Retrograde. So I have a whole lifetime of Mercury Retrograde. I'm used to walking out of the house, getting in the car and realizing that I've forgotten the letter I'm supposed to mail or the book I'm supposed to be taking back to the library. So I "retrograde" back to the house and then back to the car. My coping strategy is every time I leave the house and get in the car is take a moment to think before I drive off.
For the general population, the three weeks of Mercury Retrograde is a time when paperwork is lost or fine print misread, communications are disrupted and messages missed, plus delays in commuting. This is at its strongest a few days on either side of the date Mercury goes retrograde or direct.
Upcoming 1998 - 1999 Mercury Retrogrades:
November 21, 1998 - December 11, 1998
March 10, 1999 - April 2, 1999
July 12, 1999 - August 5, 1999
November 4, 1999 - November 24, 1999
Coping strategies for Mercury Retrograde times is just to stay highly organized. Use that magic want, the pen, writing everything down: the lists of things to do, appointments in the appointment book, phone messages, and journal. Question your telephone message takers closely. I would find names and phone numbers scrawled on the tiniest pieces of paper weeks after they were called in mixed into piles of other papers. God bless voice mail.
The July Mercury Retrograde falls during many folks vacation time. Coping strategy: Double check all reservations. Double check directions and take a map.
We left on vacation on a Mercury Retrograde. We were supposed to meet a friend for lunch. My husband, the designated driver and vacation planner, forgot there was an hour lost in the time zone change and there were more miles to our goal than he pictured in his mind. Fortunately, our friend also understands astrology and I clued her into the Mercury Retrograde. Our strategy was using the car phone so that she didn't leave for our rendezvous until I called her from five minutes away. Otherwise she'd have been sitting in a restaurant for two hours waiting for us mighty peeved.
Before this same vacation we researched the hotels and found one we thought would be perfect for us and the kids. They advertised an indoor and outdoor pool. It sounded like a real resort. When we got there, the room was fine, but the pools turned out to be postage stamp size. Worse, they were crowded with kids from a family reunion taking place the same time we were at that hotel. Instead of the recreational swim, we spent the evening with the kids watching old comedy movies on TV (reruns is such a good Mercury Retrograde word) and playing cards. Flexibility of mind and a positive attitude can help any aspect.
Try to avoid making major purchases under Mercury Retrograde. If you must buy, make sure you get the best warranty and put it someplace you're absolutely certain you know where it is. And when you go to return it, just shrug your shoulders and smile. One time, Rich bought a used car on the day that Mercury went retrograde and it had so many problems that by the time Mercury went direct he gave up and sold it.
For the November/December '98 & '99 Mercury Retrogrades note: Holiday shopping will be much easier if done before or after Mercury Retrograde because this cycle tends toward running to lots of stores without much accomplished. Coping strategy: make lists of where you're going and what you're buying. Then phone first to make sure they have what you want and the store is still in business.
More Mercury Retrograde tips:
1. It's generally not a good time for signing contracts and starting new projects.
2. Be careful of what you say. Those are the most likely times you'll put your foot in your mouth. Any argument started at the point where Mercury goes retrograde will tend to continue to be debated those three weeks until mercury is direct.
3. Insure important mail and/or ask for a return receipt.
Mercury Retrograde isn't all bad. It can be great for research projects, or studying material you'll need when Mercury turns direct. It's good for catching up on recreational reading, writing to old friends and clearing out your email inbox. It's perfect for contemplative time and retreats.
And some people are such good problem-solvers that they thrive and shine during Mercury Retrograde. As Rudyard Kipling said, "If you can keep your head, when others around you are losing theirs ...."
(c) 1998 Marcia M. Sacks