THE PLANET MERCURY IN RETROGRADE?

In the last few weeks alone there have been a number of situations that just haven't seemed right.

First, South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson had his "you lie" outburst during President Obama's health care reform pitch to Congress, which was seen as strange to both Democrats and Republicans alike.
Then tennis phenom Serena Williams had her foulmouthed rant while playing at the U.S. Open, something we've never seen her do. And most recently, Kanye West transformed into the most hated man in music after stealing country singer Taylor Swift's acceptance speech moment. Not to mention all the random fights, brawls between sports teams, town hall meetings, relationships gone awry( and I may add town hall meeting and the Freedom Works attacks on the president) It lead us to ask the question, what the heck is going really on?

ESSENCE.com talked to astro-numerologist Lloyd Strayhorn to find some answers. He explained why we're ruled by Mercury in retrograde and reveals what we should all keep in mind during this time.What does Mercury in retrograde mean?

It means that the normal course of communication has slowed down. Mercury rules the planet of communication. When it's in retrograde, you're left with mis-communications and misunderstandings. Computers go on the blink and start running slower. If you buy a car, it's not luck that made you pick the worst car on the lot.

Think of it this way—when the local and express trains are traveling side-by-side at that same rate and speed and the local starts to slow down to make it into the next stop, those sitting on the express train look out to see what appears to be the local train moving backwards.

Mercury in retrograde takes place four times this year, which is a rarity. It usually only happens three times a year. It started on the west coast on September 6 at 9:45 P.M. and on the east coast on September 7 at 12:45 A.M. It will end on September 29 at 9:14 A.M. The next one will take place on December 26 at 9:38 A.M., and it will end on January 15, 2010, at 11:52 A.M.

I wouldn't sign any contracts. People usually want to revise or cancel what they've signed during this time. This is when you'll see a lot of people having arguments, like one person is serious but the other is just joking and vice-versa.

Also, lets say you have a very important contact and you're writing down the telephone number. The last four digits might be 1,2,3,4 but you've written down 1,2,4, 3. When you're dealing with important clients or friends, it might seem silly, but ask them to read it back.

If you have an appointment that normally takes you 20 minutes to get to, while we're in retrograde you should definitely add an extra 15 minutes on top of that just in case there's a glitch along the way.

Yes, there are exceptions. If you've been negotiating a deal since April or May and now it's ready to be signed off, go ahead and follow through. That will be fine. But you should not get up tomorrow and say while Mercury is in retrograde that you're going to sign a contract because things are likely to go foul. It's not the best time to start anything new.


It is possible that the recent events involving Kanye West, Serena Williams, Joe Wilson and others are a result of this phenomenon. Mercury is all retrograde here. Interestingly enough, Kanye West is a Gemini born on June 8. Beyoncé is a Virgo. Gemini is ruled by the planet of Mercury as is Virgo. My advice to them both going forward—be careful about what you say.

People need to use this time to learn about patience. Not only being patient but in finding ways to approach things with a more open mind rather than just assume. I say again, this is not the time to assume. We need to communicate openly and not be so reactionary.

More misunderstandings take place when Mercury in retrograde than any other time. Once we're out of it, people won't even know why they've been fighting.