Now would be a good time to pipe in that Twilight Zone music.

Since March 17th is a few days behind us... well, the whole period from February 24 - March 17th... I'm ready to share a little bit about where my head − and life! − have been.

And that is because Mercury has been in retrograde. What? LOL. Okay, according to Merriam Webster, retrograde is:

a (1) : having or being motion in a direction contrary to that of the general motion of similar bodies and especially east to west among the stars (2) : having or being a direction of rotation or revolution that is clockwise as viewed from the north pole of the sky or a planet <a retrograde orbit>  

b (1) : moving, occurring, or performed in a backward direction (2) : occurring or performed in a direction opposite to the normal or forward direction of conduction or flow — compare anterograde 1

2: tending toward or resulting in a worse or previous state

So when Mercury is in retrograde, it actually looks as though the planet is moving backwards in the sky! Just an illusion of course, but for Geminis, like me, the effects can be intense...

First of all, astrologers teach that Mercury is the planet in charge of both communication and transportation. It's actually considered a messenger of sorts − kind of hip and reasonable. But when it is in retrograde, odd things happen. Communication between people can get really mixed up, misunderstandings prevail, texts disappear, calls go dead, computers slow or crash, and life in general gets a little weird... Basically, things go awry. (Still listening to the Twilight Zone music?)

I honestly had 3 weeks of odd moments and all I could think was... Mercury is in retrograde! One day, I was literally sweeping the kitchen; my son had managed to decorate the floor with twigs and outdoor treasures. This, of course, after I primed the door. After making an impressive nature pile all ready to be lifted and disposed of, my door blew open (huh??), and created enough breeze to re-establish free flowing debris across the kitchen floor... with a few pieces stuck to my newly primed door, of course. Ahhhhhhhhh!

That's just one example of having to attempt a simple task over again. Kind of like Gina in retrograde. My sleep was totally off, I was having conversations that felt like I was trying to communicate from Mercury (through a bull horn!), and I won't even get into the weird cell phone behavior. LOL.

I find it very funny that we can blame poor old Mercury when life goes awry. But... it did help me to feel better. Life is often filled with uncanny coincidences and moments that may feel less than productive, but I guess they all provide a rich tapestry of thought, analysis, that feeling of being connected to something really grand, and some good old fashioned laughter.

And whether Mercury is clearly traveling forward... or temporarily rocking an illusion of backward motion... I will be watching and waiting for some magic.

Did Mercury in retrograde affect anyone else? Share your experiences (come on, we want to know!). :)