Mercury: The Trickster
Colors of the Innermost Planet
This colorful view of Mercury was produced by using images from the color base map imaging campaign during MESSENGER's primary mission. These colors are not what Mercury would look like to the human eye, but rather the colors enhance the chemical, mineralogical, and physical differences between the rocks that make up Mercury's surface.
Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
Contrary to generally accepted astrological lore, I am publishing my first diary at Daily Kos on a Mercury Retrograde.
Good day!
As you can see by Itzl's concerned look, this group gives Kossacks a safe place to check in, a daily diary where we can let people know we are alive, doing OK, and not affected by such things as heat, blizzards, floods, wild fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, power outages, earthquakes, or other such things that could keep us off DKos. It also allows us to find other Kossacks nearby for in-person checks when other methods of communication fail - a buddy system. If you're not here, or anywhere else on DKos, and there are adverse conditions in your area (floods, heatwaves, hurricanes, earthquakes etc.), we and your buddy are going to check up on you. If you are going to be away from your computer for a day or a week, let us know here. We care!
IAN is a great group to join, and a good place to learn to write diaries. Drop one of us a Kosmail and ask to be added to the Itzl Alert Network anytime! We all share the publishing duties, and we welcome everyone who reads IAN to write diaries for the group! Every member is an editor, so anyone can take a turn when they have something to say, photos and music to share, a cause to promote or news!
We do have a diary schedule. But, when you are ready to write that diary, either post in thread or send FloridaSNMOM a Kosmail with the date. If you need someone to fill in, ditto. FloridaSNMOM is here on and off through the day usually from around 9:30 or 10 am eastern to around 11 pm eastern.
Monday:
BadKitties
Tuesday:
ejoanna
Wednesday:
Caedy
Thursday:
art ah zen
Friday:
FloridaSNMOM
Saturday:
Most Awesome Nana
Sunday:
loggersbrat
So what the heck does this mean??
Heh. I had this diary all written and not saved, went to add a photo of Mercury and - poof - the diary disappeared - ah, Mercury, you trickster, you.
Maybe I needed to edit my verbiage and condense it. Every planet in our solar system seems to go retrograde from our viewpoint on Earth. It's pretty easy to understand the Earth lapping the outer planets from Mars out. It's like overtaking a car on the freeway, for a moment the other car appears to go backwards. It's a little harder to visualize with the faster moving planets, Mercury and Venus.
Here's a great animation of how faster moving planets, those closer to the Sun, appear to go retrograde from our viewpoint on Earth. Scroll to the bottom of the page and watch how Venus seems to flip once she is opposite Earth.
Mercury rulership in astrology is closely aligned with the Greek (Hermes) and Roman myths about the god. S/he was a messenger, a patron of thieves, ruled commerce and harvest, communication and was androgynous, quick and agile. In the physical body, Mercury rules the arms and most especially the hands.
I can't tell you the origin of the belief that Mercury retrograde periods have specific dos and don'ts attached to them, just like I can't really tell you why the planets are associated astrologically with Greek/Roman gods and goddesses - I just know the associations seem to work.
In 2015, as in most years, there are three periods of Mercury retrograde:
Jan 21 to Feb 11, 2015
May 19 to Jun 11, 2015
Sep 17 to Oct 09, 2015
Generally accepted Dos for these periods:
Relax, go on vacation
If you're traveling, expect delays, bring a book, double check your reservations, but it's often a great time while traveling as long as you are not on a tight schedule
Reorganize your files, your closets, your cabinets
Write down those fabulous new ideas you have
Act on previous fabulous ideas you haven't gotten around to yet
Dust off that manuscript and rework it
Contact people you haven't seen for awhile
Expect to run into people you haven't seen for awhile
Look for lost items; you may find them
Reassess your communication style - does it serve you?
Back up your computer files
Don't during these time frames:
Sign a contract
Start a new job
Publish (heh)
Make electronic or big ticket purchases
Debut a new show
Take things for granted - do doublecheck all of your communications
Expect things to move quickly or smoothly
Be surprised by delays; do allow extra time for all communications and/or have a backup
Expect people to be on time - they may have run into a long lost friend on the way or gone to the wrong place
Expect timely communications - messages will get lost, people will dial the wrong number
Expect quick mail service - people will address the mail incorrectly
Hopefully, this is a handy tool to help work with the current planetary energies.
Thanks for reading. I won't be around all day today. Will catch up with y'all this evening.