Astro Update - Issue #4

Welcome to Llewellyn’s Astro Update newsletter. I’m Sharon Leah, and as this eventful year careens to a close, I’m reminded of a scene in the movie The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. It’s the scene when the Grinch rides his sled down the mountain toward Whoville so he can steal all the Christmas presents in town. The Grinch was up to no good, and we may feel he's sledded into our lives when the upcoming Mercury retrograde period—November 30 to December 20—begins to apply.

The retrograde period we're entering actually starts with Mercury’s retrograde “shadow period” on November 12, 2004. That's when Mercury-related problems began cropping up. The effects of Mercury retrograde will dissipate gradually, and end on January 7, 2005, after another "shadow period." But the difficult days, dubbed "Mercury storms" by astrologer Jim Shawvan, are the days when Mercury is moving very slowly around each of its stations. In Shawvan's experience, a rise in Mercury-related "snafus" coincides with periods when Mercury travels less than 40 minutes of arc per day.

To summarize:
- Mercury shadow begins November 12 and ends when Mercury turns retrograde November 30
- Mercury storm occurs November 25 to December 4, and again December 16 to 24
- Mercury shadow begins December 19–20 (depending on our time zone) and ends January 7

Optimists would tell us to seek the good in this potentially difficult time, and that’s not bad advice. It comes to mind that we’re being given time to rethink, re-evaluate, re-align, redo, or remove thoughts and actions from our lives that are no longer working well.

Mercury will turn retrograde in Sagittarius, the sign associated with “perception,” “beliefs,” and “ideals.” The essence of Sagittarius has much to do with freedom of expression and opening the mind to new thoughts and to new situations. What patterns of thought are we locked into that may need revisiting and revising?

Venus will travel through Sagittarius between December 16, 2004 and January 9, 2005. Perhaps her presence there is will remind us to extend generosity and peaceful intentions to people with whom we disagree.

Mars will be in Sagittarius from December 26, 2004 to February 6, 2005. Mars is known as the “warrior” of the zodiac. At their best, warriors protect people, especially the weaker members of their family or society. To be strong warriors for all people, we need to have a healthy respect for all people and direct our force constructively.

Going back to The Grinch Who Stole Christmas: it was little Cindy Lou who made friends with the Grinch. She decided to think differently about the Grinch, to befriend him, and invite him to join in Whoville’s holiday festivities. Can we extend the same generosity to others in the upcoming year?