Don’t Fear The REaper!

Those of you who read my essays know that unlike the fear mongers who tell you to somehow avoid living your life during a Mercury REtrograde, I always advise that it's more about Be Aware than Beware. Communications are difficult at the best of times, appliances and vehicles and devices are always doing weird things, one should ALWAYS be careful about signing Contract and Agreements. I've also likened retrograde planets in a chart to horses running a race and then deciding to run back to the gate, so everyone and especially the backward moving horses (REtrograde planets) has to be VERY CAREFUL. People with retrograde planets are cautious and circumspect and don't want to screw up because they get their karma LIKE THAT! Now on to this Mercury REtrograde, occurring on the 28th degree of the sex-power-magic sign of Scorpio. Mercury in astrology represents our logical mind, our "monkey" mind as the Zensters call it. Our Mercury monkey mind is always making connections, naming things as a way to understand things, using logic to calm the scared child within us that sees clearly that life is chaos and it takes daily efforts of Herculean strength to put food on one's table and a roof over one's head and the lights on (unless you are suffering from the insufferable idiocy of California's government and power companies.) So when Mercury is direct we are more likely to think "outwardly" and about the moment and the near future and make plans and schedules and lists and do our chores (especially if you have a cat or a dog!) and be pretty focused on them. We take things a step at a time. Today Mercury is going to be Stationary REtrograde so expect a day when you feel outside of time but not necessarily in a bad way. The reason I say this and that this REtrograde has the potential to be ultimately beneficial, even though it is definitely going to be INTENSE! is that Venus (love, beauty, how we attract, what we think is beautiful and true) is EXACTLY conjunct Mercury today and tomorrow and I've seen that be a good thing in my forty years plus of studying astrology (take that, instant instagram astro experts! ;-)) And PLEASE NOTE: Mercury conjunct Venus is the best aspect for negotiations of all kinds. Mercury going Stationary REtrograde in Scorpio conjunct Venus in Scorpio on Halloween?!?!?! Are you kidding me? It’s totally “Don’t Fear The REaper,” a song I like a lot by Blue Oyster Cult. Our minds are going to be inwardly directed and we're going to make mistakes because we're thinking INTENSELY about inner-directed things and the past and, let's face it, about sex, death and whether or not there's a rock n roll band and/or a place called Heaven. No one knows for sure. No one. I expect this REtrograde to be filled with things breaking but then either coming back to life (Scorpio is about resurrection) or the breaking leading to some strangely positive outcome you couldn’t have foreseen, miscommunications that send everyone scurrying around like rodents but then a surprisingly beneficial result occurs. Even contracts signed during this time might have a hidden benefit to you and have you rocking back on your heels like the rich guy on the Bank Error In Your Favor! card in the Monopoly game. I mean, if you want to fear the reaper, I mean the Mercury REtrograde, go right ahead. I was born with Mercury REtrograde and I have six other planets REtrograde, so there! I’m Retrograde Man! So if you think REtrogrades are “bad” or “unlucky” or “difficult,” well maybe they are for you but although I had what I consider to be an unenjoyable early life, I have been on the upward trail since meeting my beyond words wonderful and talented wife Amy Zerner on October 23rd, 1974(!) and I am one of the luckiest men ever to walk this planet.