Communication is Key

Mercury has been retrograde (again) since August 20th and goes direct on September 12th. For those who aren’t familiar with a Mercury Retrograde, it’s an astrological term referring to when Mercury (the planet that rules communication, transfer of information and all things mechanical) looks as though it’s moving backwards because of the difference in orbit speeds of Mercury and Earth. It retrogrades three to four times a year, during which time you can bet that emails will be lost, you’ll have misunderstandings with your friends or loved ones, computers will crash, flat tires abound, appointments will be rescheduled and other general pains in the ass will occur.

On the other hand, there are some really great things that can happen during Mercury Retrograde periods. For instance, friends or family members from the past may come back into your life. You may finally find the time to clean the garage. You may finish that play that you started writing two years ago. You may even be able to find closure on a painful or challenging event that has been plaguing you for Godknowshowlong.

Those who follow astrology generally believe that the Universe wants the best for us and that every moment of joy and pain happens for a specific reason, pushing us to evolve and change as individuals and as a species. Therefore, it’s generally agreed that even the most difficult periods of our lives are there to move us forward in our journey towards completing our Life's purpose.

This particular MercRetro started with a bang and hit me and those around me pretty hard. Everything was going haywire, confusion was in the air, and I really just didn’t have the energy to deal with it all. I truly wanted to hop in the car and drive away... but, knowing MercRetro, my car would've broken down in the middle of nowhere. However, now that we are approaching the end, I am looking back over the last three weeks and realizing how much I have learned about communication; how I communicate, how others communicate, and the nature of communication in general.

The main thing I learned is this: We are all entirely responsible for what we say and for the information that we use to inform what we say.

Examples of mass communication events that have occurred during this MercRetro:
- Glenn Beck’s August 28th rally in DC: Confusion abounds regarding the actual number of attendees.
- The Vanity Fair expose on Sarah Palin: Both sides accuse the other of creating false information in the story.
- The international uproar regarding Pastor Terry Jones’ promise to burn Qurans on 9/11.
- BP comes forth with information on who is “really” to blame for the oil spill in the Gulf.

All of these news stories ask the same question: How do we accurately communicate the information we receive and what are the consequences of doing so?

For example, the pastor who wants to burn the Quran has become an international news story. What is the effect of this information on the world? Making it a top news story certainly does bring it to our nation’s attention and confronts us with the Islamic hatred that seems to permeate our national conversation lately (burning mosques in Tennessee, protesting the Islamic community center near Ground Zero). This could be a good thing in the fact that it makes us examine our fear of the Other as a country.

However, it could be a bad thing because the behavior of a few citizens can affect the image of the millions who do not share their beliefs and could further damage the efforts of many trying to mend the strained relationship between America and the Islamic world. The information is there, right in our faces- but what do we do with it?

I have faced this question on a smaller level, as well. A number of happenings in the recent weeks has forced me to learn to communicate in a clear and professional manner while keeping my usually effusive emotions at bay. The result has been very gratifying- I see calm examinations of conflicts and misunderstandings starting to occur where there would normally be tense disagreements and possible emotional outbursts. I see decisions and agreements be made within a group while making my individual boundaries and standards known. I am growing more confident with every exchange and have learned that, by taking the extra time to ask questions and examine the information at hand before acting on my initial responses, I am avoiding much of the confusion and misunderstandings that normally follow me through a retrograde period.

So, I have found the silver lining in an otherwise cloudy time. What about you? How have your efforts in communication been affected by Mercury Retrograde? I’m curious. Comment or email me with thoughts... and hang in there.