When Mercury in Retrograde Motion Becomes Code for Shirking Personal Responsibility

If you know anything about astrology, you know that on Wednesday, January 21st (at 9:54 AM, CST) Mercury went Retrograde.

Unfortunately, only people who don’t know anything about astrology and don’t WANT to know anything about astrology get to write about it for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. It’s all part of owner Glen Taylor’s “new” ignorant n’ intolerant approach to journalism. Why bother to study or research any topic the way journalists did in the old days when you can just write a smart-ass little article and stick it in the Variety section?

Remember, people usually don’t like what they don’t understand. So any writer who doesn’t WANT to understand astrology is already primed to debunk it. And deride it. That seems to be another part of this “new journalism”: make fun of whatever you don’t understand, then trash the people who do get it. Then too, for additional job security, make sure you criticize astrology in a way that somehow accommodates the new owner’s conservative agenda.

This year’s chosen skeptic really nailed down his assignment. Not only did Jeff Strickler refuse to research and explain (or clarify) the basics of astrology, he twisted Mercury retrograde into another example of how we refuse to take responsibility for our own actions. Formerly a reviewer of film and TV, Strickler now hangs on to his job as assistant feature editor in the Variety section. Perfect! So he had no qualms about pasting together a sarcastic filler called “Repeat after us: ‘It’s not my fault’.

In it, Strickler perpetuates the mistaken notion that being aware of a celestial event like Mercury retrograde automatically means believing in “ a cosmic version of a get-out-of-jail-free card.”

“We can use it as a coverall excuse for everything,” he writes, “from burning dinner to forgetting a spouse’s birthday.”

He even asserts “…according to many astrologers, it also makes things go wrong. Lots and lots of things.”

“Many astrologers?” If Strickler had actually bothered to talk to just one local astrologer, he never would have written such an article.

No respectable astrologer would have ever told him that Mercury retrograde makes things go wrong. No respectable astrologer would have insisted that a direct cause and effect exists between us and the heavenly bodies above us. A reputable astrologer — one with credibility and reliability — would have reminded him that “the stars impel, they do not compel.”

With astrology, as in most Eastern philosophy and thought, there is no conclusive cause and effect like there is in Western philosophy. With astrology, there are only tendencies for various things to occur — strong probabilities rather than inflexible certainties. Think of it as the difference between a fluctuating weather report an undisputed military directive.

Then think of astrology more as a tornado watch instead of a warning.

With a tornado warning, a tornado is definitely on the ground and moving, its existence confirmed by authorities.

With a tornado watch, however, there is no tornado — yet. Maybe there will be one, maybe there won’t. A watch indicates various conditions are favorable for a tornado to actually form. So watch out. Be aware. Be prepared to move to a place of safety. Stay tuned to your radio or TV for the latest developments. Be mindful.

A similar response of awareness and mindfulness can prove quite helpful when Mercury goes retrograde.

No, astrologers aren’t saying that Mercury retrograde definitely means lots and lots of bad things are going to go wrong. They’re saying that during this retrograde period there’s a greater probability that things traditionally governed by Mercury could go haywire. So what does Mercury rule? Communications and travel of all kinds, that’s what.

That means a greater chance of mechanical problems, computer glitches, travel snafus, lost luggage and mail, miscommunications of all shapes and sizes. Nothing definitive, just a greater likelihood that such malfunctions could occur during this time.

But like a meteorologist’s forecast, nothing is absolute. Nothing is guaranteed. Incidentally, I’ve never heard of weather forecasters with their scientific backgrounds, Doppler radar, and glaringly incorrect weather reports being castigated the way a lot of astrologers are…Let’s stop bashing astrology and start examining it more closely for a change.

Rather than waste any more time on Strickler’s misguided mini-article, I urge curious readers to check out astrologers who provide interesting, accurate information on their life’s work.

First, go to AstrologyZone.com and see why Susan Miller’s webpage of monthly horoscopes has been going strong for 20 years. Her writing is personal, yet universally informative. She not only gives uncannily accurate forecasts, she shows why different planetary aspects help her make such predictions.

Then pick up a copy of Debbi Kempton-Smith’s book, Secrets from a Stargazer’s Notebook: Making Astrology Work for You. This astrologer not only simplifies and clarifies the complexity of the zodiac, she makes you laugh with her examples and analogies. Ironically, she came to Minneapolis several years ago on a media blitz and made some amazingly accurate predictions about the restaurant scene in the Twin Cities. I remember because I read the interview in the newspaper years ago…when journalists who worked there understood how journalism was supposed to work.

By the way, Mercury will go direct on Wednesday, February 11th, at 8:57 AM, CST.