By Roxana Muise Copyright May1997	DON'T SHOOT THE MESSENGER
MERCURY'S RETROGRADE CYCLE AND YOUR COMPUTER You've all been through the drill... Mercury is retrograde, and clients are calling, demanding to know "What on Earth is going on? My car just died... my phone cuts me off in mid sentence... the bank canceled my account... and what's worse: I can't access my e-mail!" And you sit in front of your computer, scratching your head at the error message on the screen denying you access to your printer. What's an astrologer to do? The trickster is loose again. Deep down inside, we know not to blame the transiting planets, they're just doing their jobs -- reflecting the energies of our collective perspective of the cosmos. But, being human, we lose our reasoning power when our abilities to communicate seem to be compromised. Mercury isn't really a mean-spirited fellow, he just has an ironic sense of humor; and he knows the value of karmic object lessons. For instance, you arrive at the edge of the river, but neglected to notice the "Bridge Out" sign a mile back... The cellular phone doesn't work because you forgot to recharge the batteries... You plan to back up those files at the end of the day, but the hard drive crashed at noon... All of our disasters are results of lack of planning -- or earlier decisions made without advance preparation. The Trickster has his own special way of delivering messages to remind you to pay attention, and special times during the year when he provides us all with a testing ground. And he doesn't have the slightest regard for our sense of timing. BE PREPARED If we live exclusively in the moment, without giving any attention to the larger picture, we become a victim of time. The best thing about astrology is the ephemeris, and its many formats. Planetary cycles are predictable, and volumes are written describing occurrences during prior cycles that give us clues to how those energies find expression in form. The information contained inside allows astrologers to effectively travel forward and backward in time. Mercury's retrograde cycles don't hide; they're right there for everyone to see; and a little advance planning can help us avoid the need for damage control later. Mercury cycles are intimately connected with computer function at a local level, so it behooves anyone relying on computers to be aware of them in advance. THE RETROGRADE SHADOW When I began to study astrology, I read that retrograde cycles began when planets made their retrograde stations, and ended when they turned direct. But that's only the obvious part of the cycle. When a planet gets to its retrograde station, it has already traveled forward over a piece of the zodiac that it will cover twice more -- once in retrograde fashion, and then re-direct. This is the area that I refer to as the retrograde Shadow. In 1974, I began to shade those areas in blue in my ephemeris for the coming year, and then watched what was going on when those dates came up. It was amazing to notice when a planet initially entered the Shadow, how there were hints about issues that became more obvious after the planet turned retrograde. Then, after the planet turned direct, more details surfaced that were not available before. Certainly that part of the zodiac was sensitized with the planet's characteristic energies. I began with Mercury, since it had a more active retrograde life; and Mercury is what I will deal with here. Mercury has three full retrograde Shadows per year, and often a fourth one will overlap into the preceding and/or the following year. Each Shadow process averages 2 months in length, and covers from 8 to 16 degrees of the zodiac. That means that Mercury is in Shadow a total of 7 months each year and Mercury's symbolism will linger in about 48 degrees of the zodiac, sensitizing and being sensitized by the other transiting planets through dynamic aspects. The entire Shadow, especially the stations act as aspects to the planets in your natal and derived charts from the day Mercury enters the Shadow. Actually, Mercury's Shadows (the shortest of them all) overlap portions of all the other planets' Shadows. That sort of fits Mercury's reputation as a communicator, doesn't it? Mercury can be seen as the original networker. MERCURY: GOD OF MANY TALENTS The Roman god Mercury (called Hermes by the Greeks) was the son of Jupiter (Zeus) and Maia. His talent for commerce, shrewdness and persuasive ability from early infancy when he purloined Apollo's herd of cattle, involving himself in the first stock market led to his reputation as The Trickster (patron of hucksters, advertisers, thieves, salesman, politicians and lawyers). He was renowned as a storyteller and a versatile inventor, creator of the lyre, the flute, and several other musical instruments (patron of bards and musicians). He was also a communicator par excellence, and bestowed language on the artificial life form, Pandora (was she an early form of the computer?). Mercury was best-known as the messenger of the gods (mainly for Zeus), and mediator between the Olympians and mortals. Also known as a trusted companion, he accompanied Heracles into Hades, and guided many souls across the river Styx. We might even look upon him as the archetypal catalyst, as he was not affected by his surroundings. The Greeks worshipped him as a way-shower, and asked his divine assistance on many subjects (including sex and fertility). His shrines sometimes took the form that we would describe as the first street signs, marking roads, pointing the way from one city to another and marking boundaries (patron of commerce and trade). He was also revered as a teacher of mysteries (Hermetic), and as Oneicopompus, overseer of the world of dreams. It seems that there was no god who was as versatile and had fingers in as many pies as did Mercury. He was clearly male (phallic symbols for Mercury abound in ancient Greek references), so I wondered about the traditional neutrality of astrological Mercury. His feminine counterpart is Iris, goddess of the rainbow, and another messenger of the gods and goddesses (primarily for Hera). While Iris used as her transportation, the subtle phenomena of the rainbow, Mercury traveled on the wind. Each wore winged sandals (talaria) and carried a staff adorned with the caduceus, which had the power to resolve conflicts. The caduceus later became the symbol of healer (solver of conflicts between the mind and the body). The concept of messenger suggests neutrality, and Mercury's activities remind us of tools more than content, function more than personality, and the map rather than the territory. Mercury's symbolism emphasizes the generic that supports the personal. Mercury, the astrological RNA molecule. GENERATIONS How does all of this relate to the computer. As I have said in previous columns, I view Saturn, Uranus and Mercury as the trio associated most with computers. Now it's time to add another important planet: Jupiter -- making this trio into a quartet. As Mercury is the messenger, his services are not needed unless there's a message to be sent. Let's see how Jupiter fits into the realm of the computer. Just contemplate the following mythological symbolism: Mercury is the interpreter/buffer between his father Jupiter, his grandfather Saturn, and his great-grandfather Uranus -- four generations of powerful, unique, alienated, ego-rich deities. Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus: each was successful in a hostile take-over of paternal authority. Yet, Mercury remained untouched, perhaps too contented with his diverse lifestyle to specialize. Uranus: The primal energy, electronic devices, maverick perspectives, inspired and innovative inventions and the quantum leaps of cutting edge technology. Saturn: The structure and protection of the physical equipment, regularity of repeatable processes, rules of and timing of sequences, the dependability of cause and effect (the computer term GIGO means garbage in - garbage out). Jupiter symbolizes the information entered into the computer, its purpose, and the wisdom (or lack of wisdom) of those contents.Jupiter is the message, without which the computer would be unnecessary. Mercury: The instructions (interpretive language/software) that bring it all together. The carrier for networking and interconnections that join people from great distances at great speed. Mercury's wily ways are an invisible advantage in the workings of the internet. Often, when the lines of communication are very crowded, an e-mail message will take crazy routes to get to its destination. Isn't it interesting that Mercury's two signs are both mutable? And how they are square one other -- Mercury, master of the interaction between sky (air) and earth, messenger between the gods and humanity. So, when Mercury does his Shadow dance, I pay attention, especially when it involves my servant, the computer. THE MERCURY PRESCRIPTION Have you ever noticed that the medical shorthand for prescription and the astrological shorthand for retrograde are both Rx? Dictionaries define the word prescribe in the following ways: To write beforehand To set down or give rules or directions To order or advise a remedy or a course of treatment To claim a right or title through long use or possession To change something from its original purpose by long-time use for another purpose All of these definitions suggest that the retrograde phenomenon is a remedial opportunity. In a metaphorical exercise, take a section of the zodiac that has certain symbolic characteristics, and a add a planet that is either enhanced, strengthened, or challenged while traversing that part of the sign. From our perspective on the Earth, the planet wanders back and forth, and discovers some new ways of dealing with the energies. Maybe it reveals some situations or lessons that have been missed or ignored when it was there last. Dynamic aspects with other transits modify the potential of that process. When it finally leaves the area, everything seems different. The whole experience becomes a part of the planet's process; the area of the zodiac retains some of the flavor of the planet's experience, and its boundaries are sensitive. The zodiac and the planets are all a part of our collective unconscious, and our individual psyches. When the collective (transits) and the individual (natal positions) meet, we can learn a lot. Astrology gives us the advantage of advance knowledge. The Shadow process has three basic parts: 1.The dry run or first trek through the target area. Keywords include pre-cognition, pre-pare (examine present circumstances), pre-view, plan, observe and gather information. 2.The retro path is a view from another perspective if you are willing to examine it. Keywords include re-view, re-evaluate, re-pair, and re-move obstacles, like outmoded attitudes. 3.The well-worn, redirect path (de ja vu with new input). Keywords include re-direct, re-collect, accept and integrate new ideas, and prepare to re-initiate. It's especially important to preview any dynamic aspects from other transiting planets to the Mercury stations; they offer clues of support or challenge to Mercury's process. Next, mark the zodiacal degrees of the Mercury Shadows in your own and/or your computer's chart. Then you can see how to apply this information to your own life. Lastly, set up a list of personal and conceptual keywords for the Shadow period. LET'S GET PERSONAL Some of the tasks that you can set up as Mercury Shadow activities: 1.Clean your office. 2.Back up everything. Copies of your autoexec.bat and config.sys files on a prepared boot disk should be stored in a safe place. Format extra back-up disks, and keep them handy. 3.Optimize your hard drive. Over time, files get fragmented, which makes them vulnerable to power interruptions, which in turn makes your computer work harder and slower. 4.Buy and install an anti-virus program. Viruses can be transmitted by modem (e-mail or files downloaded from the internet, or by floppy disks. Scan EVERY disk that you use before you transfer its data into your computer. Computer viruses have even been known to hide on commercial diskettes. If you use a modem a lot, it's good insurance to subscribe to an anti-virus service. Hundreds of new computer viruses are unleashed each week. The more measures that are taken to defeat them, the more sophisticated they become. 5.Set up a time for learning the operation of programs you need to use most frequently. Remember to send in the registration. 6.Familiarize yourself with the possibilities of the next Mercury Shadow. 7.Set up a computer log. List your hardware and software, with dates of installation, passwords, length of technical service or warrantees, registration numbers, telephone numbers and business hours, location of disks and manuals. List your boot set-up information, BIOS configuration, Create a calendar schedule for computer support activities. 8.Compile a glossary of computer terms, such as: BIOS: Basic Input/Output System, pronounced "by-oss". Basic instructions to your computer on how to begin its functions. Usually stored in a chip and addressed (along with additional software instructions) when you turn the computer on. 9.Update your address, e-mail, or Christmas list. 10.Make a wish list of software and hardware upgrades, and research them to see what you REALLY need. 11.Surf the web, or join a chat group or an internet list. 12.Write letters to editors, Members of Congress, and columnists (they really want your input). By looking ahead and viewing the transits in a broad perspective, you can avoid becoming a victim of time. Mercury provides riddles and clues to challenge you to answer life's puzzles, but he's not to blame when you fail to decipher them. So, whatever you do, don't shoot the messenger -- anticipate his next visit -- research him well and show him that you appreciate him, and he'll share with you his bag of tricks. Bibliography: Adkins, Lesley & Roy A., Dictionary of Roman Religion; Facts On File, Inc., NY, 1996 Boyer, Carl B., Rainbow, The: From Myth to Mathematics; Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ 1987 Jordan, Michael, Encyclopedia of Gods: Over 2,500 Deities of the World; Facts On File, Inc., NY, 1993 Morford, Mark P.O. and Lenardon, Robert J., Classical Mythology (5th Edition); Longman Publishers, NY 1995 Murray, Alexander S., Who's Who in Mythology: A Classic Guide to the Ancient World; Crescent Books, Dist. By Crown Publishers, NY, 1988 Schwab, Gustav, Gods & Heroes: Myths and Epics of Ancient Greece; PantheonBooks, NY 1974 Roxana Muise is a second generation astrologer and a third generation metaphysician. A former ISAR President, she is currently the Archives Director. She earned her B.Sc. with honors in Health Science at California State University in 1981, and worked for several semesters on a masters degree in Computers in Education. She was co-founder and director of SWAC from 1974 to 1985, a founding board member of UAC in 1986, and is a founding trustee of Kepler College. Roxana is author of A-YEAR-AT-A-GLANCE, the 45 Degree Graphic Ephemeris, The Fourth Sign, a contributing author in Astrology for Women: Roles and Relationships, and numerous articles. This column is based on the IBM TM Personal Computer (PC) format using the Microsoft TM Disk Operating System (MS DOS) version 6.0 or Windows 3.11, but are not based on any particular applications unless specified.  The author addresses popular reader questions in the column.  Roxana Muise may be contacted at:  roxanamuise@roxanamuise.com or  KOSMOS International ISAR PO Box 38613  Los Angeles, CA 90038-0613  Editing addendum 4/20/97