MERCURY RETROGRADE Murphy's Law as defined in the cosmos

Sometimes, stuff just happens. If you're concerned that the cosmos has it in for you, check the table below to see if Mercury might have been retrograde.

Retrograde Mercury is the most commonly known astrological signature for Murphy's Law ("If something can go wrong, it will"), and is one of the first features intermediate astrology students learn about. Say it to a seasoned astrologer and you'll likely get an amused smile and some delightful stories about how things can get quite unexpectedly unhinged.

Computers crash, software develops unexpected glitches, traffic jams ensue, telephone service snarls up, letters get lost on the mail, machinery breaks down, new projects fail. Ah, yes, the trickster Mercury is up to his old pranks again. In fact, at least three times a year for about three weeks each time Mercury has his way with us.

First let's look at what Mercury retrograde is, and then look at what can be done about it.

Those of a keen astronomical bent actually watch the planets each night as they travel through the zodiac. Mercury, which is only visible just before sunrise or just after sunset travels in a forward direction most of the time.

But three or four times a year, if you care to watch carefully, it appears to turn around and go backwards for about three weeks! Now Mercury really isn't going backwards. It's just an optical illusion based on the relative speeds and orbits of the Earth and Mercury around the Sun.

Here's an easy example. Think of riding in a fast car on an expressway which is passing a slower-moving car. The slower moving car appears to be moving backward, but it isn't really. It's just the relative speed and direction of the two cars gives that illusion. Retrograde Mercury is similar to that.

The apparent backward motion of Mercury is called retrograde, and it has been known and studied in western astrology for thousands of years.

In general the effect of Mercury retrograde is annoyance. Little things get snarled up and a low-grade frustration emerges. Anything involving communications, verbal activity, technology, short trips and journeys, primary education, and siblings can be affected.

While Mercury retrograde usually is in the minor irritant category, every now and then a colossal screw-up can take place.

Consider the Bush-Gore 2000 American presidential election in Florida. Now there's a classic colossal screw-up. For reasons best known to the Americans, they chose to have their 2000 presidential election on the day when Mercury retrograde energy peaked, called stationary direct. Oh, my goodness. In the end, after weeks of wrangling and legal battles, George W. Bush was declared the winner. History now records what a mess he made of virtually everything he did, a classic Mercury retrograde presidency.

FWIW, astrologers, too, learned much from that election. For instance, prior to the Florida election I had always thought a dimpled Chad was a good-looking man.

With only a small amount foresight here are the precautions you can take to prevent colossal screw-ups in your life during the next Mercury retrograde:

• If at all possible, avoid signing legal documents.
• If at all possible, finish projects which involve communication before the retrograde.
• If at all possible, avoid closing big deals during the retrograde
• If at all possible, avoid launching new projects during the retrograde
• If at all possible, avoid scheduling meetings to make a big decision
• Allow extra time when travelling
• Backup your hard drive before the retrograde
• If at all possible, avoid installing new computer software during the retrograde
• Do needed repairs on machinery before the retrograde
• Do not hold an election during the retrograde

This is not to say Mercury retrograde is always a bad thing. Far from it. It is actually an ideal time to do some other things, like:

• Do the follow-ups on a project already started
• Wrapup or complete a project already started
• Research a new project thoroughly
• Catch up on paperwork
• Hold an information-sharing meeting
• Enjoy someone's wacky sense of humour

To find out how Mercury retrograde might affect you personally usually requires a fair knowledge of astrology (which could take months or years to learn) or a visit to your friendly local astrologer who can check the unique placements in your natal chart and guide you appropriately.

Check the table below for the next few times when Mercury will be retrograde. Note that the retrograde is particularly strong at the very beginning and the very end. These beginning and ending points are called stations by astrologers.

All dates and times are GMT, Greenwich Mean Time, so you will have to do a conversion to your local time zone. A conversion table for standard time zones is listed below as well.

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Upcoming Mercury retrogrades

Begins:     (stationary retrograde)	Ends:     (stationary direct)
Friday, October 12, 2007 3:54 a.m. GMT	Thursday, November 1, 2007 10:53 p.m. GMT
Monday, January 28, 2008 8:25 p.m. GMT	Tuesday, February 19, 2008 2:53 a.m. GMT
Monday, May 26, 2008 3:43 p.m. GMT	Thursday, June 19, 2008 2:28 p.m. GMT
Wednesday, September 24, 2008 7:11 a.m. GMT	Wednesday, October 15, 2008 8:01 p.m. GMT
Sunday, January 11, 2009 4:37 p.m. GMT	Sunday, February 1, 2009 7:05 a.m. GMT
Thursday, May 7, 2009 4:56 a.m. GMT	Sunday, May 31, 2009 1:18 a.m. GMT
Monday, September 7, 2009 4:40 a.m. GMT	Tuesday, September 29, 2009 1:08 p.m. GMT
Saturday, December 26, 2009 2:32 p.m. GMT	Friday, January 15, 2010 4:47 p.m. GMT
Sunday, April 18, 2010 4:01 a.m. GMT	Tuesday, May 11, 2010 10:23 p.m. GMT
Friday, August 20, 2010 7:53 p.m. GMT	Sunday, September 12, 2010 11:04 p.m. GMT
Saturday, December 10, 2010 11:58 a.m. GMT	Thursday, December 30, 2010 7:16 a.m. GMT

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You will have to convert the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) listings above to your local time. Check the listing below for your time zone, and you can convert the beginning and end of Mercury retrograde to your local time. The listings below are in standard time and do not take into account daylight time, which is still irregular in some places. If you are unsure about the time zone conversion, then Click here for the GMT website which can give you today's date, exact current time, and time zone (including daylight time) for your locality.

Western Hemisphere: Brazil Zone 2 subtract 3 hours Newfoundland Standard Time subtract 3 1/2 hours Atlantic Standard Time subtract 4 hours Eastern Standard Time subtract 5 hours Central Standard Time subtract 6 hours Mountain Standard Time subtract 7 hours Pacific Standard Time subtract 8 hours Yukon Standard Time subtract 9 hours Alaska-Hawaii Std Time subtract 10 hours Hawaiian Standard Time subtract 10-1/2 hours Bering Standard Time subtract 11 hours

Europe,   Africa,   Asia,  & Pacifica:    Greenwich Time (UK) Add 0 hours Central European Time Add 1 hours Eastern European Time Add 2 hours Baghdad Time Add 3 hours Iran Time Add 3 1/2 hours USSR Zone 3 Add 4 hours USSR Zone 4 Add 5 hours Indian Time Add 5 1/2 hours USSR Zone 5 Add 6 hours North Sumatra Time Add 6 1/2 hours USSR Zone 6 Add 7 hours Java Time Add 7 1/2 hours Australian Western ST Add 8 hours Moluccas Time Add 8 1/2 hours Japan Standard Time Add 9 hours Australian Central ST Add 9 1/2 hours Australian Eastern ST Add 10 hours USSR Zone 10 Add 11 hours New Zealand Time Add 11 1/2 hours New Zealand Standard Add 12 hours

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