Mercury, the bugger we love to love and love to hate. It’s an ambiguous relationship, as ambiguous as Silver Toes his self, err her self. Whatever. You love your computer right? Maybe you hate it today? See my point? When everything’s going smoothly and it works we love, love, love Mercury. Like a fickle lover we’ve grown comfortable with, we take he/she/it for granted. We just don’t think about how grand it is to have email (that works!), a cell phone, a land line, internet service and the post man…who always delivers. Ooh, but when things get retrograde crazy girl, it’s like that cell phone T.V. commercial. You know the one where the daughter calls mom from Vegas.
Mom: ‘What are you doing in Vegas, honey? You wouldn’t do anything silly like get married would you?’
The call drops.
Mom: panics.
Mom: jumps to conclusions.
‘Honey, are you there? Honey, you’re not getting married are you?’
Mom: at her wits end.
‘Honey, don’t make the same mistake your father and I made!’
We can only wonder if dad overheard that untimely comment. Perhaps daughter is hearing this for the first time, too (OMG, my parent’s marriage is a sham!) That’s how Mercury retrograde is…Oh, the havoc, the heartache, the communication meltdowns he/she/it can wreak. Let’s take a step back and take a breather…

Mercury is going retrograde in Cancer for 3 weeks. Jumping to conclusions is probably not a good idea. You’ll have more than one chance too – guaranteed. When your boyfriend doesn’t call, it’ll be easy to launch into insecurities…even though he’s very reliable, generally. Give these Mercury retrograde moments the benefit of the doubt – your doubt. Doubt that the inconsiderate slight was actually intended. Chances are it was something unanticipated. Cancer is a touchy-feely sign, very sensitive. Because both the Moon and Mercury relate directly to memory, memories will surface easily, especially heart memories. Steven Forrest, a teacher of mine, likened the Moon to the memory written on your heart. The heart doesn’t record details, it records feelings…your first kiss, prom night, your grandma’s funeral. You remember what you were wearing that day, your sweetie’s name or the most amazing Amazing Grace you’ve ever heard, because it left a heart impression. The heart has fuzzy logic, the details aren’t important – it’s the feeling that counts. Whereas Mercury memory is akin to your computer’s Random Access Memory, the place you store bits of information temporarily. Mercury information is uncommitted and temporary – random because it has no physical location, and can be retrieved quickly. According to wikipedia, RAM is short, reliable and consistent. Like a conversation.

So what happens when head and heart slow down? The fuzziest of logic. You may have to bypass RAM altogether and go straight for the psychic gist of things. Feeling sensitivity is strong – your feelers are attuned to the heart content, not the words. Hence, incredible subjectivity and overreaction overrule logic– especially where family and home are concerned.

Prepare to repeat conversations at least twice, probably three times, as a rule of thumb. Prepare to revisit heart memories at least twice, probably three times, as a rule of thumb. Do I repeat myself? How annoying.

Here are a few tips to avoid repeating the same thing twice (also called a mistake).

Accept no job. It’s not the right time. It will turn out differently than you expected.
Sign no contracts – unless you’ve already decided to do so, prior to this third week of June.
Double check your plane tickets, travel plans. Arrive early. Delays are likely.
Don’t fight the cancellations, double booked plans, and random no-shows. It’s all apart of the cosmic plan.
Basically, don’t start anything new, especially if you’re in the information business.
Don’t move house – unless you’ve taken care of everything prior to this time.
Don’t ride on empty. Fill your gas tank. If your car has an arthritic knee, don’t ask it to run a marathon.
Don’t sell your prized possession on a whim. Actually, don’t take any unreasonable risks. You’ll regret it later.

Go forth boldly in these things:
Anything beginning with “re-“: remember, re-pot a plant, resell your used clothes, return to a place you love, remodel your kitchen… With one exception: it’s likely not a good time to return to an old love relationship, especially if it was broken to begin with.
Visit with old friends, relatives, reunions. Yay!
Dream often and deeply, take care of old business, finish up projects you’ve already begun.
Talk it out in therapy. Cancer loves therapy, so it’s a fab time to dig into your root cellar and deeply re-hash and emote for a final good-riddance (it’s also the sign of “endings”).
Don’t push the river. Really. What’s the point in that? Go to the beach instead. Cancer energy needs sea-space, solitude, reflective down time. Keep expectations on yourself and others reasonable, easy. Expect change. Who’s really in control here, anyhow?
Give your computer a break when it acts up. Step outside.

Remember, we love Mercury because he’s the mastermind of communication and transportation, the genie inside the computer, the telephone, subway, highway, mail system and the piece of gossip (or information) that lands on our ear at exactly the right moment. Remember, don’t kill the messenger. He/she/it needs a summer vacation, too.

Thank Mercury for Mercury.