The Eclipse Giveth and Mercury Taketh Away

August was the most disruptive month. After a juicy June and a chock-ful-a-fun July, August cowered into silent oblivion like an old photograph faded from too much handling. The June eclipses, 3 in one month to be precise, heralded sweet unexpected beginnings. To find someone who not only matches you but reflects back the things you love most about yourself is truly the most precious of gifts. July transported the momentum on a wave of salty fun - the ocean is not enough!

Then August hit and dammit if the month didn't move slower than the Garden State Parkway on a Friday night. A fact I'm blaming entirely on the August 2nd Mercury Retrograde. This one in Virgo the planet of service and hard work. The power of this bad boy turned working hard into hardly working.

Some indications of Mercury Retrograde: snarl-ups in technology - both my cell phones died mysteriously. Computer crashes (both of my laptops suffered the blue screen of death kiss). Loss of Data: Lost a key document moments before having to present it to senior execs. Physical snafus: a game changing case of tennis elbow bringing my bi-weekly tennis fests to a halt. Let me tell you for a girl with 4 planets in Sagittarius (one being Mars!) the loss of a physical outlet is devastating. So much aggressive energy and no way to channel it. More retrograde shenanigans; Dropped phone calls. Lost texts. Bumpy relationships: baffling and sad endings.

Things didn't improve when Mercury stationed direct on August 26. The face of my fancy Swiss timepiece shattered precisely at 6:00 pm when Mercury went direct. Time slowed down even further? Even worse, time stood still. Then Irene shimmied up the East Coast, dumped 18 inches of water in my basement, took out my hot water heater, washing machine and 500 square feet of hardwood flooring. Oh, and my karaoke machine. Really?

While the water dries at the slow coaxing of 8 fans and a dehumidifier, the storm leaves vestiges of drama. My dog ventures outdoors gingerly. The near fatal encounter with a plunging tree branch has taught him a fear he's never known. Gangs of indoor mosquitoes roam my basement seeking bare limbs to lustily suck. Mold slithers beneath my floorboards and creeps up the perfect cinnamon walls. I can feel it. My throat is coated and sore from too many late nights wading through still basement waters bestowing upon me the vocal undulations of a phone sex operator. Imagine Brenda Vacarro talking to Marge Simpson. I make crank calls just for the fun of it.

But the retrograde always accomplishes its work. What old patterns can I release? What old wounds am I ready to heal? We go deep, fearlessly deep for a 4 Sag girl is always a warrior. Illumination isn't always pretty or easy. Loss and regret abound.

I'll say this - next retrograde I'm hiding in a cave in the mountains. Oh and buying a generator.

Super Tuesday Eclipse

My pricking thumbs this morning knew something was in the air, and it wasn't the Giants victory parade. As voters in 24 states (New Jersey included) head to the polls on behalf of both parties, certainly a big event but only when I consulted the calendar did I realize the enormity of today. Mardi Gras. Fat Tuesday, on which Catholics and New Orlean natives gorge in excess before the penitent rite of Ash Wednesday.

Not only is the morrow Ash Wednesday and might predict the future of the USA politically, but it heralds the first Eclipse of 2008, in which the new moon and Chiron converge in Aquarius.

Simone Butler of Mooncircles says:

Chiron lances personal, social and political wounds, releasing whatever has been repressed. We can see this at work in the fight between the front-running Democratic presidential candidates. How perfectly Aquarian is it that two “underdogs” — a white Scorpio woman and a black Leo man — would square off against each other in 22 key primaries on February 5, just hours before the New Moon/Chiron convergence in Aquarius? Mudslinging notwithstanding, it shows how far our society has come.

Indeed. Even in the last election I never would have dreamed a female AND a person of African descent as the front-runners for president. Unfortunately to many, this pairing seems to cross each out, implying that both candidates are both equally, negatively handicapped.

However, as this eclipse reminds us that we are all one, perhaps unity might pervade. And dare I predict a dream ticket will emerge heralding the first female president with the first black vice president?

It's all in the dreaming.

Thank God it's August

Don't know about you but July was a brutal month. Found out my finance might be deported. Had to postpone our wedding. My car was stolen. Lost a good chunk of change to an ex-friend. My mother was diagnosed advanced with rheumatoid arthritis of the lungs. Experienced the crazy energy of 7/7/07. Experienced the transcendant but disturbing energy from Fire the Grid on 7/17. Did I mention having to postpone my wedding?

Come August and yes, hotter days, but hopefully calmer energy. Good news for those Sagittarians out there. Jupiter goes direct after 4 months of retrograde action. Venus has been retrograde in Virgo of all places, Ick! But goes direct on the 8th so all those misunderstandings between you and your beloved should begin to iron themselves out. Expect a lunar eclipse on the 28th to highlight any emotional issues on your radar. And everyone, can we have a little less drama?