30 August 2016 – Astro-Weather: Mercury slips into retrograde, in its ruling sign of Virgo, starting today 8:04am (Good Morning!) & goes till September 22.

The constellations Ursa Major the Great Bear & Cassiopeia the Queen lie on opposite sides of the North Celestial Pole, so they pivot around the North Star Polaris throughout the course of the night & the year. In late August & early September, these two constellations appear equally high as darkness falls. You can find Ursa Major & the Big Dipper, above the northwestern horizon. Cassiopeia’s familiar W-shape, which currently lies on its side, appears the same height above the northeastern horizon. As the night progresses, Cassiopeia climbs above Polaris while the Big Dipper swings below it.

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“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” ~Mark Twain

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

 526 – Deathday of King Theoderic the Great, “People- king of the Ostrogoths

1574 –Ram Das becomes the Fourth Sikh Master

1645 – Native American & the Dutch made a peace treaty at New Amsterdam, later known as New York

1797 – Birthday of Mary Shelley

1914 – World War I: Germans defeat the Russians in the Battle of Tannenberg

 1918 – Fanni Kaplan shoots & seriously injures Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin. This, along with the assassination of Bolshevik senior official Moisei Uritsky days earlier, prompts the decree for Red Terror

1945 – The Allied Control Council, governing Germany after World War II, comes into being

1974 – A Belgrade–Dortmund express train derails at the main train station in Zagreb killing 153 passengers

1974 – A powerful bomb explodes at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries headquarters in Marunouchi, Tokyo, Japan. 80 are killed, 378 are injured.

1981 – President Mohammad-Ali Rajai & Prime Minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar of Iran are assassinated in a bombing committed by the People’s Mujahedin of Iran

1991 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Azerbaijan declares independence from Soviet Union

1995 – Bosnian War: NATO launches Operation Deliberate Force against Bosnian Serb forces

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My POD (Poem Of the Day)

~Out of the shadow box

Into Freedom Pax

~hag

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During this time, Mercury is taking a pause, so we can take a breath, before the upcoming Solar & Lunar Eclipses, helping us bring truth to the surface.

Mercury rules over communication – when in retrograde – this messenger of the gods challenges us to go within, to pay attention to the smaller details.

What are we missing? What are we skimming over? What are we not listening to?

Wherever we need to pay attention, wherever we need to be more open & honest with ourselves, wherever we need to express ourselves, can be highlighted by this upcoming Mercury retrograde.

As Mercury travels through Virgo he will also have some companions along the way, including Jupiter & Venus. Both of these planets will give an optimistic & quixotic feel to this Mercury retrograde, & will be helping us to tap deeper into our heart thinking.

This Mercury Retrograde is particularly thoughtful around the various aspects of love. Mercury will also be helping us to align with, & communicate with, others & with ourselves.

Mercury has information that needs to be delivered before the energy of the Solar Eclipse can be fully embraced. This information is buried deep within our souls, & it won’t be until Mercury goes direct again that we will truly understand.

Emotions & feelings may bubble to the surface, old thoughts may filter back in & old belief systems & thinking may be up for review.

Essentially, this Mercury retrograde is going to be helping us to clear out our closets & remove all the thoughts & feelings that hold us back from seeing the true reality that is revealed at Michaelmas time.

This Mercury retrograde is gentle on its own, but coupled with the two eclipses, it is going to play a very significant role.

Retrogrades & eclipses often get a bad rap, but as long as we are paying attention to our inner-voice, as long as we are following the signs from the Universe, these powerful cosmic/earthly events  can actually be a very potent time of healing.

When Mercury shifts into retrograde, it forces us to become better & more effective communicators, & allows us to dig deep within to express ourselves & our truth.

Mercury will start going direct on September 22, but won’t officially be back to usual speed & stamina until October 6^th, 2016.

To help cope with this retrograde cycle, it is best to avoid starting anything new. Instead, it is the perfect time to pay attention to what’s already around you, to the Universe & to what your heart-mind, soul & body are communicating…

Keep on dancing in the stillness

Blessings & Peace ~Hazel Archer Ginsberg