"I would do away with the Education, the Commerce department and -- let's see -- I can't. The third one, I can't. Sorry. Oops" Rick Perry, Governor
Many readers have asked to be warned when Mercury goes retrograde. They want to avoid the kind of mental mistake that cost Governor Perry his presidential nomination.
So, in this two-part series we'll discuss the cosmic "trickster," known as Mercury retrograde and prepare how to best navigate successful through the next 3 weeks. In this article, we'll discuss the problems that you'll likely experience when the planet Mercury goes retrograde from February 23 to March 17. In article number two we'll discuss "How to Use It For Positive Results."
Keep in mind that Astrology is based on a simple understanding that all the planets in the sky exert their own unique influence on each of us, and the world we live in. If you're a skeptic, just pay attention to your life experiences over the next three weeks.
Let's discuss how the planet Mercury will have an influence on you. Mercury rules your intelligence, mind, memory and, all types of communication ranging from talking and texting to writing. It also rules your self-expression and communication style. In a more public sense, it rules commerce, computers, telephones, transportation and air travel. How Mercury functions in your birth chart explains a great deal about how you formulate ideas and how you share them. It indicates how you make sense of the everyday world you live in. During these three weeks called Mercury retrograde, your mental faculties are not functioning well
When Mercury goes retrograde (three times this year), communications of all types go "haywire!" Under this planetary influence, you'll experience misunderstandings and communication failures like you've never seen. Here is just a sampling of some of the things that may go wrong in your life at this time: For example, no matter how well you and your spouse normally communicate, you will find yourself misspeaking, saying the wrong thing and having disagreements you don't normally have.
At work, even though you are sure that you've explained yourself clearly to the other person, they do the opposite of what you said; and they are sure they followed your instructions. Your fail-proof computer crashes, or software programs suddenly develop "glitches." You experience equipment and mechanical breakdowns of all types. You'll hearken back to the time you heard your car's engine make that funny noise, causing you to say: "I should have my mechanic check that out." Well, during Mercury retrograde, that is when your car will suddenly not work and you'll wish you had paid a visit to the mechanic.
The monthly check that is automatically generated by your bank and sent out doesn't arrive, and neither does that merchandise you ordered online. Since Mercury rules transportation, equipment is unreliable; so it's not an ideal time to buy a car because it may be a "lemon." In fact, it's a bad time to buy anything because you may eventually find out that it was "too big or too small," or it just didn't fit right and you'll need to return it. You can expect an unusual amount of last-minute flight cancellations, meeting postponements and long transportation delays.
It is a horrible time for negotiating contracts or making decisions; and if you "close the sale" during Mercury retrograde, suddenly, a few days later the client may call back to tell you that he's changed his mind.
Whatever you do -- it is not a good idea to accept a job during Mercury retrograde. 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 Is the Problem?
These sorts of problems arise during Mercury retrograde because all of sudden, normal communication becomes unreliable, filled with misinformation where important data is missing or misunderstood. The passage of information from one person to the other seems to be unintentionally cloudy, confused or unclear in some way. After all, Mercury does rule the mind, mental clarity, talking, self-expression and overall communication. During the Retrograde period, a person's intellectual, communication and mental processes are less acute. They become careless, mistake-prone and forgetful.
This explains why your actions and decisions during the retrograde often fail or seem "sabotaged." Or you may find that they will have to be re-done, re-structured or adjusted in some way when the retrograde period ends and Mercury goes direct.
Here are a few examples of "public" disasters and mistakes that occurred during past Mercury retrograde periods:
Governor Rick Perry made a bad decision when he declared his presidential candidacy during Mercury retrograde. He preceded, repeatedly, to miscommunicate -- "sticking his foot in his mouth," many times, gaffe after gaffe. Despite starting out briefly as the front-runner, eventually dropping out of the Republican primary race totally defeated because of his verbal mistakes.
United Passengers Revolt After Being Stranded for three days in China United Airlines Flight 87 from Shanghai, China, to New Jersey should have taken just 13 hours instead of three days. The flight was canceled twice because of maintenance on the Boeing 777, and a third delay came because the flight crew had been on duty too long.
Cop Shoots Man Dead... At "Wrong Address" -- A story in The Huffington Post confirms that Police in Florida fatally shot an innocent man over the weekend after they mistook him for an attempted murder suspect.
Knight Capital Loses $440 Million Trading Loss From Trading Glitch -- Knight Capital Group, a major brokerage, said it lost $440 million in a trading glitch that rattled the stock market and renewed concerns over computerized trading on Wall Street. Knight pinned the technological malfunction on newly installed software that sent "numerous erroneous orders" into the stock market on Wednesday.
Police lose keys to Wembley Stadium -- Police guarding Wembley Stadium, where Olympic football matches are being played, revealed Monday that they have lost a set of keys to the venue. Officers searching the stadium in London, ahead of the start of the Olympic Games, misplaced the keys prompting an investigation by Scotland Yard, but organizers insisted that security has not been compromised.
The Best Advice: Wait until Mercury goes direct to make important decisions. When that happens clearer communication will return and necessary information will be more positively conveyed. Once again, important data can again be relied on and you'll see matters with 20/20 vision. Also, by waiting until Mercury is direct, you will possess important information that you did not know while Mercury was retrograde.
This new knowledge will help ensure you're making a correct decision. If you heed this cautionary advice, you'll have less frustration, fewer mistakes and disappointing failures during these three weeks. Best of all, you'll be in a better position to make your efforts successful starting March 17, 2013 when Mercury goes direct.
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Larry Schwimmer is President of Astrodecision.com, a San Francisco-based consulting company. The firm uses astrological analysis to counsel individual and corporate clients on picking the "best dates" to make successful decisions of all types: personal, marketing, financial, and political. The firm currently advises a diverse client base that includes Politicians, Presidents of major corporations and a MLB Baseball Team. Schwimmer, an internationally known Astrologer (with a FORTUNE 500 M&A background) has been a practicing Astrologer for 35 years. Visit his website: www.astrodecision.com