I'm not sure if you have ever heard of the "Mercury Retrograde" periods that occur each year, but I think I may finally have a somewhat reasonable explanation for why my life has been so crazy lately. First, let me explain the science for those of you that have never heard of the phenomenon. So a few times each year, the planet Mercury appears to track backwards in the sky from our position on earth. It is not actually going backwards, but it's the same concept as when you are at a stop on the road next to a car, and when you start to move forward, the other car appears to move backwards. This happens with all planets at some point, but astrologists and "regular" earthlings make a bigger deal out of Mercury's retrograde period because of how it supposedly affects us. In astrology, Mercury rules decision making, travel, thinking, and communications (among other things, but those are the biggies). So when it goes retrograde, everything related to these allegedly goes haywire. I kept hearing my boss talk about it and assumed it was what my husband likes to refer to as "a bunch of hippie crap", but for the sake of finding any reasoning behind the chaos of late, I looked into it.

Every site I explored pretty much summed up the same things. Periods of retrograde have been known to show an increase in computer and phone problems, glitches in travel plans, frustrations and arguments among couples (as well as friends and strangers), and regrets or issues with purchases, contracts and commitments. In 2011, we have already experienced two retrograde periods; one in March/April, and one in August. And November 23^rd through December 13^th is the last period of this year. Eureka!! After reading this, I immediately began blaming every problem on Mercury: Of course I can't get to the gym! My car is in the shop being repaired (actually true) thanks to Mercury. And no wonder I can't commit fully to eating healthier! Silly Mercury is wreaking havoc on my decision making abilities. Beyond that, the stress of retrograde related activities may have certainly caused me to slip in other areas of life.

In all seriousness, whether or not I believe that these problems are in any way related to a planetary motion, there is no denying that the past several weeks have been unbelievably difficult. There has been problem and after problem including the complete frying of my work computer, household electrical malfunctions, car troubles for my whole family, and extra personal tensions and frustrations arising to top it all off. One website I found talked about how people during a retrograde just walk around like zombies, confused, annoyed, and extra irritable. Now that's laying a lot of blame on one measly little planet, but hey, if it takes a little pressure off of me than so be it. I'm sitting here imagining Mercury sucking all the computers, phones, cars, and positive energy off of the earth, sending them through some sort of sadistic spin cycle, and then spitting them back at us all sloppy and torn. Come December 14^th, though, everything will be shiny and new again. Right?