7 posts tagged “mercury retrograde”

What’s been known and written about Mercury retrograde?

Don’t start new jobs or sign contracts in a retrograde if you can help it. Those started won’t go as expected, presented or promised. A year later, they won’t look as they did going in.

There’ll be hiccups, unexpected twists and turns, abrupt changes, irritants like dust  that doesn't dissipate. “Later if not sooner, something will go amiss, never quite right itself despite the efforts” -- those very words written by yours truly in a Mercury retro post a year ago.

My (current) hotel job was started in a retrograde. (Given my druthers, I'd have delayed ...) Hmmm, let’s review:

1. I was promised 32 to 40 hours a week going in. I was getting 24 hours. Every week I’d go begging and pleading for more hours to make ends meet. The matter finally got “righted” -- I get 30. It’s not the 40 I was promised but it’s not 24 either.

2. A cook leaves abruptly for a better job offer. And it's the cook training me. A week in and green, I'm heaved into the pool and am the “head” evening cook to boot.

3. A paycheck goes missing and no one seems able to locate it. Not a large sum. Still, a hassle.

4. They hire a new cook. And that’s not going well. Not going well at all. Matter of fact, I’m exploring a variety of resolutions, including looking for part-time job so to reduce my hours at the hotel (read: clear my life of his presence).  

5. The job that up until a week ago brought enjoyment, peace and contented autonomy is now a source of strife, discord and stress. Where even a week ago I looked forward to each work day and returned home refreshed, now I don't and return home exhausted. I'm too old for the issues and immaturities of 20-year-old hotshot man. {Note to self: Mercury retro is about the past returning; in this sense, it has.} I don't need the stress and burden, not now; there's plenty on my plate as is.

Unexpected twists and turns. Hiccups. Things not quite righting themselves despite the efforts ...

I've been at this job how long? {rises to check calendar} ... four weeks, exactly as of yesterday. That's a pretty hefty list of Mercury retrograde beams already.

Hey, didn't I already start a new job, last Saturday? Nooope!

Yesterday began my real job. Which is to say that the weekend buffet gig and job yesterday have only the employer in common. They sent me to an out-of-town location only to help with the  Mother's Day buffet.

So yesterday was Day One (hey, wasn't I writing that like three days ago?!) at the local hotel and on the schedule I'll be on from here on out. Nuthin' like back-to-back fresh job starts to keep things, what, interesting, hectic, lively, entertaining to all but me?

Man, it really been like starting two jobs in three days! Different set-ups, different sites, schedules, responsibilities, staff and flow. Most obvious is that the buffet gig was mornings and with people. My "real" job is evenings and working alone. This I did not want; in fact, there's a number of elements about this job that are the opposite of what I'd been praying for, visualizing and affirming during the nine months of looking. It's distressing and troubling but that's a posting better saved for another day if at all.

So Day One, here we are again. Wasn't a bad day; definitely didn't start with the same glow, flow and ease of the false Day One (at the buffet), I'm gonna call it. How do I put it. On several occasions I restrained the urge to leave; that would've been dumb. There was a moment when I ducked into the restroom to cry and splash cold water on my face. Then I bucked up and reapproached the problem with a creative solution.

Mercury retrograde. (For anyone who's interested, the planet reversed course for its three-week period last Thursday.)

Go with the reverse flows, says a retrograding Mercury. Things don't occur as they normally would (and you learned that fo' real with the driving job). Miscommunications and misunderstandings and crossed wires are common; emotions run high and on edge; things and people are out of sync and wacky. It's hard to relax in the haywire but try.}

Whereas after the buffet gig I felt energized (when separating out the effects of a radical sleep shift) and eager to blog the news, after yesterday, I feel hesitant, apprehensive. Again, not that things went badly (it ain't loathsome warehouse job with the dick of a boss!) ... just, not in ease.

Then in my contemplations earlier, the connection struck. There's something very familiar in the essence and whole of this job ... like old territory ... that profound sense of "been here, done that and I've moved on so how the heck did I end up here again?"

Then the synapses fired and with it the cosmic connection. Among other things, Mercury retrograde (which began Thursday past for anyone interested) is about the past. It's common for former issues to reappear as the planet routes its backward journey.

These can be of emotions, thought and action. Unfinished business presents itself. People of the past reappear, in actuality, thought or dreamtime. Merc retro is about the re: re-doing, re-thinking, revisiting, re-negotiating, re-vamping, re-structuring. It's not about launching new endeavors (if done, they'll come with certain challenges that otherwise wouldn't be present). Retro is about matters with former connections and tasks undone. This isn't a bad period, if you know or learn (as I did, from experience) how to flow with the upward stream. It offers a constructive opportunity to clean out cupboards and closets, to tend to matters you've set aside, procrastinated on, failed to do or overlooked. It's the time to go over old stuff and right it, one of repairs, redoing and reappearances.

Now, back to the job. Signs and intuition tell me this job, by its nature, will draw forth for re-examination important and intimate life matters and decisions on my private plate. Uncanny how familiar the job feels (no relation to the actual work). Too often people associate familiar with positive, when in truth it's a comfort zone, one that impedes growth and change. I'm guilty of this myself in certain areas of my life because I can be stubborn and way overly independent for my own good.

That's it. Today I did a thoughts free flow and the door to public access just shut, signaling time to sign out. Today starts my weekend. Due to the whacked-out schedule of radically shifting from nights to mornings then back to nights in a matter of days and the start of not one but two jobs (!!!), life's unbalanced and I've missed the time, space and energy to write my book. My destiny beckons and for that fact the characters. So on this dandy afternoon of hit-and-miss sunshine, I'm gonna keep the music rolling, pour a shot of rye whiskey and get back to what I came to earth to do. So toodles, all.

Head’s up! Mercury’s about to retrograde again ... from this Monday, May 26, to June 19.

There’s been in the past interest in or unfamiliarity with Mercury retrograde. So to better serve humankind -- yes, you -- here’s a synopsis, part of which I blatantly lifted from astrologyweekly because I’m too lazy to write it myself. Okay, I lie. I’m not lazy. I just like how the author nailed it.

Mercury rules the mental processes, studying, communication, travel, business operations.

When the planet reverses direction -- retrogrades -- these processes also reverse direction, turning inward. It’s a time to rethink and redo, not begin anew.

Mercury retrograde causes delays, hiccups, stormy waters in the areas it rules.

Computers can act funky. Travels become headache-y; accidents and close calls increase..

Communications are misunderstood. Folks feel misheard or unable to express themselves clearly. It’s a time of fuzzy thinking, fuzzy logic.

Major purchases made under a Mecury retro will result in woes later. For example, the purchase may not work quite right, there'll be some weird quirk with it, or will need repairs or see too many visits at the shop.

I know a fellow who bought a car during a Mercury retro. I waited for stuff to happen. It did. Within a week, the car was in the shop for an accident that he caused. Then again a couple months later. So it's not necessarily that the purchase itself is a lemon but that buying during a Merc-retro imbues it and/or the user with headache dust.

Buying a house, also not the best idea. It will need repairs. Or present problems unforeseen at the time. If you move during a Mecury-retro, expect to move again sooner than later because something in the situation won't work out.

New projects began under an M-R come to premature endings or mitigated success. Example: Not a favorable time to birth a blog, it won't take off and you may close up shop earlier than later. Not a time suited for becoming engaged or wedded, holding elections, inking large deals or making significant decisions.

Finding people from your past returning, or likewise reaching out to them, however, is fine, indeed is typical M-R in action because it brings the past into the present for review, redoing, completion.

Ditto for signing contracts and starting new jobs. Don't if you can help it. Boy I learned this one the hard way! Later if not sooner, something will go amiss, never quite right itself despite the efforts.

So what is Mercury retro good for, you ask?

Redo, rethink, research, review.

To quote astrologyweekly:

You may want to read again a book you particularly liked, a subject you studied before, meet and discuss with old friends you haven't met for a long time, travel to places you've already been to before.

This is an excellent time to work on old projects that never got to be finished. So, think about the things you started and never finalized.

Double-check your agenda, call your business partners to confirm that everything goes as planned, have everything ready before the deadline and leave some extra time for unexpected events. Make copies of your important files and documents, save your work more often.

Go on vacation or at least slow down the pace of your projects. You will find that going slowly during the Mercury retrograde period will spare you many efforts of redoing the same action that wasn't performed right the first time.

By the way, Mercury will be retrograding in Gemini, from approximately 21 degrees back down to 12 before it resumes direct next month.

Because Mercury rules Gemini, I’d expect an intensification of Merc-retro stuff -- communications going more awry or astray than usual under M-R , tongues sharper, numbers askew, flare-ups and arguments more tempting, understandings more difficult to achieve. The coinciding of Merc-ret and Memorial Day holiday on Monday should make for some, um, interesting traveling on the roads, like fender-benders, inattention, poor driving.

Vacations? Yeah, great idea! Soon's the time to go sit on a mountain top. Or the beach, with  no one around for miles save the waiter who keeps bringing you Long Island iced teas to keep the chill on.

From May 26 to June 17, think chill.

Long Island iced tea

We're back in business! If you're in a rush to sign the loan for that new house or purchase that new computer, hold off till tomorrow. Mercury resumes its direct motion tonight at 9:57 (East Coast time). You calculate for your time zone.

There seems to be interest in what Mercury retrograde's about. I stumbled across this list at crystallinks, which sums it up in short (and I do mean short):

Medical or Dental: Diagnosis made could be wrong, appointments cancelled.

Business: Problems with contracts, meetings, merges, paperwork, etc.

Telecommunication: Phones, satellites, computer systems and related

Travel: Lost luggage, flight delays, vehicle problems, getting lost even with a GPS system

Decisions: Change or you feel indecisive

Relationships, friendships and partnerships: Changes made and reviewed

*   *
What to do during M-R? Redo, revisit, revamp. Mercury traveling backward is your signal to do likewise.

Review your work, documents -- carefully if you're gonna miss something -- misread, misinterpret, misunderstand -- it's the time you're likely, so being extra aware and attentive is the ticket.

Speaking of tickets, don't buy any big-ticket items. Electrical appliances, automobiles, computers will tend to act funky, if not immediately, then down the road.

When you travel, in planes, trains or automobiles, factor in extra time for delays,  heavier traffic, detours and reroutings. Mercury retro doesn't advance your cause, remember, but rather slows it down, inviting you to pause and redo, rethink and revisit issues and situations.

'Member, tonight the ball rolls forward again ... and you can sign on the dotted line without signing up for a host of headaches.

the winged messenger

Waking up without jackhammers at my head is still a novel experience.

I refer of course to horrible road noise at my former digs that went on and on and on and on and on and on and on. Much like that sentence. No wonder I was a total wreck.

Speaking of wrecks, one of my coworkers, the most immature of the bunch -- and yes that matters, as you'll learn shortly -- just bought a new used car.

My immediate response, sealed behind zipped lips, was he's gonna wreck it ... (a) his immaturity and (b) never purchase a car during Mercury retrograde. Major purchases, especially of those in the transportation family, are big no-nos. It's an invitation to things going wrong, mishaps, headaches, accidents.

So I gave him and his new car a month, max.

Three days later it was in the shop. Wrecked but fixable. He's unhurt and the accident was his fault. Fortunately for him he'd started the insurance.

Still. Maybe I should hire myself out as a fortune-teller as well as a house-cleaner.

Speaking of cleaning, two private gig opportunities have crossed my path this past week.

These are in addition to the one gig I do once a month for a tenant I really like in a building I adore. I'm not looking for extra work on top of my 8-hour day but better-paid work that I can do during the work day, off my employer's clock. They're perfectly OK with that because they're the coolest people this side of the continent.

The two potential gigs are for tenants, who approached either me or my employer about a good housekeeper. My employer describes me as one of the best they've ever had. High praises indeed. Like movie directors/writers Ethan or Joel Coen saying, "You write a good script."

Anyhow, because I don't know either of these two tenants well, I ran them by my employer. Because I do not need any more grief from people in my life, even if the pay is better. Because the perceptiveness and assessment of character by my employers are superb, far exceeding most people's, and I trust it fully. Which is a pretty powerful statement actually.

Their read:

Take the gig for Tenant A.

Don't take Tenant B ... described by my boss as "a nice bitch," with which I entirely concur in my time spent with her. Red flags flying high on this one but will check it out and proceed with caution.

In both cases, no decisive action will be taken until after Mercury returns direct tomorrow.

Because you know what happens when cars are bought and decisions made during a Mercury retrograde? Wrecks happen {glances at coworker}, havoc ensues. And lord knows I loathe being just another statistic on Mercury's timepiece or for that fact any other ledger ...

Ack!! What's wrong with my mind!?! Every time I go write something, to blog, even on a seemingly simple subject, I get all tongue-tied! I don't mean the words don't come. They come out but they sound stupid, discombobulated, as if they're traveling five roads at once.

Must be Mercury retrograde that's got me all befuddled. I take a look and notice it's in Aquarius. That would explain it, somewhat. Aquarius is an air sign. Not only could that cause some electrical storms in the brain but I haven't got a single planet in an air sign. So it's a double whammy. A trip through fantasy land without the drugs. A trip, period.

Hopefully within this day I can write something that doesn't come across as stupid, flakey, scattered and, well, Aquarian, in the negative sense. Even my typing sucks, with way more typos than is typical.

Please, Mercury, may I have my brain back!!?!

"Not until Feb. 19" is the reply.

Jeez, I feel like a mental invalid. Without the Jell-O and nurses arriving every hour to check my blood pressure and the sterile white walls and crisp white linens. On the upside, I don't have the hospital bill.

I'm keeping sharp, jaded eye on the new job. I'm discerning the validity of the astrological adage that new projects begun under a Mercury retrograde are riddled with headaches and annoyances, and remain so even after the trickster turns direct.

Score following my first day as solo driver: Me: 1. Mercury: 1.5.

It begins well. A 2 p.m. start. Me like. One hiccup. The dispatcher errs in thinking I've requested July 4 off instead of the 5th. Merc retro or her being overwhelmed with tasks? Some of each? Score .5 for Mercury.

First ride cancels. No biggie, happens all the time. Moves my first pickup to 5 p.m. Good. Plenty of time to map out the day's routes. Invaluable time, I must add. My sense of direction is proportional to familiarity with landmarks. And that familiarity is zero, or close to, in my areas of dispatch. Mapquest and I are soul mates.

First pickup is Lucas. Cool. I remember him from my training. He's a cheerful lad through his severe speech impediments (and more) who can brighten anyone's day.

Though I've been to the facility once, I still stumble. Par for the course. Have to stop and get directions from a mini-market clerk whose non-native English is heavily accented. Fortunately my ear honed for other languages captures the gist. His gestures, of a polite nature, help too.

I arrive on the button. Pickup is successful. Wheelchair strap-downs, also first time soloing, successful.

Drop off, not so much. I drive right past the place. From behind he's gesturing with his disabled waving hand and articulating in baby speak "back there." I get him home. And while exiting make mental note of a large tan plastic mailbox as the landmark next time.

Next pickup across town is riddled with headaches due to a buried address. I know this neighborhood but I can't find the fucking address! Doesn't help that it's allegedly on a busy road with commuters hurrying to get home.

I call the client. No answer. Duh. Running late now, I turn in at a gas station. The clerk thinks it might be that building over there because he's certain it's not that one. 

He proves right. I get there and finally spot the address, small and written onto a marker the size of a fucking headstone! No wonder nobody can find it! -- as the client assures when I do finally arrive 15 minutes late. Only after driving around a mouse maze for an excuse of a parking lot in search of the elusive Building C, apartment 32 and asking two people separately for assistance. They don't know. Argh!

I get Arlene in. Fortunately we're traveling against the commute, which is one mile-upon-mile snake of a parking lot. Damn. I shudder knowing one day that's gonna be me with a client who needs to get to an appointment but not today.  Despite the late start, I get her to her destination on the dime and without nudging the sound barrier.

Some two hours to kill before the 9:30 p.m. pickup. My temp digs are too far to make a layover worthwhile so I get to the area and drive around just to familiarize myself with landmarks and streets whose numbering system is without rhyme or reason. Pull out a map and locate a park -- not without driving past the turnoff street once. (I'm to blame, not Merc-R.)

Stretch my legs, circle the duck pond a couple times. No Merc retro incidences there, i.e., no attacks from mama ducks protecting their little ones. I sit on a dock by the smelly pond and record Mercury annoyances in a notebook for that sole purpose.

Coming up on the final 9:30 p.m. pickup. Stop for a cuppa bad coffee at the mini-mart and get panhandled by a kid. Same gas station where I got panhandled amongst the pumps last time by some teens. People panhandle, it's a fact of life. But c'mon guys, can ya keep it away from market storefronts and gas stations? I just wanna get in and get out. I'm not without compassion but it gets annoying. So please leave me be. Or get a job.

Final dropoff goes without a hitch, thanks in part to the speech-competent client who can help direct since the street names are rendered invisible in the dark.

Just need to fuel up then I should be home free about 10:30 p.m. That's me speaking. Mercury retro had other plans.

I get to the Arco, our sole fuel provider, no problem. Insert gas card. Fine. Punch in numbers. Fine. Fuel up. Should take about $40 in fuel. It comes to a dead stop at $12. And will take no more. Damn.

I try and try again to add fuel. The debit card won't budge. Maybe the fuel tank needed only four gallons? After a day of driving, I don't think so. But what I can do. I take off en route to the office, of course missing the unfamiliar and poorly marked on-ramp in the dark. Extended circular driving remedies that.

As I drive back to the office, I eye the gas gauge. Only half a tank. Not good. The morning driver's not gonna like that, neither the office gals who have clearly instructed that vehicles are to be returned with full tanks.

Well, I ain't gonna go all the way back to that Arco! I'll detour to one closer to the office and in my old 'hood. I arrive to find all the pumps roped off with yellow tape. Figures. Hi hi Merc retro!

I've no choice now but to return to the former Arco alllll the way south of town. I arrive and attempt to refuel. Company card declined. Try again. Declined. What the?!? Two clerks attempt assistance to avail. "Talk to your bank," one advises curtly. It's not my card, I explain. Nothing now I can do but return the van with a tank half full and note of explanation.

OK, Mercury retro. I see you. You can retire now. My day is over.

Tally:

Me: 1. For getting lost and turned around. Par for the course.

Mercury: 1.5. For the dispatcher's scheduling snafu and throwing a wrench into the gas card and fueling.

Unaffiliated hiccups: Addresses not visible because of poor design or darkness.