The Mercury Retrograde Blues

A long time ago--um, two years--when this blog was young, I wrote Why I Like Mercury Retrograde. Well, I still do, but right now transiting Mercury in Gemini is inching towards its direct station on Thursday at 9:31 A.M. Central Daylight Time, and I am very, very, very tired of it. Presently, normally speedy Mercury whose average daily motion is about 1 1/4 degrees per day, is barely moving...in normally speedy Gemini. As I write it is at 13:06 Gemini and when it stations direct on Thursday, its position will be 12:59 Gemini, that's a mere 7 minutes of arc in 2 days. And yes, this is an optical illusion; the planets do not really slow down and come to a halt, change direction, and then speed up again. That's a discussion for a technical article on direct and retrograde motion. From a geocentric point of view though, Mercury is barely moving, and I, who am Mercury ruled, having a Virgo Ascendant, feel like I and the world are barely moving. That Saturn, the planet that rules S L O W, that's SLOOOOOOOOW, is in Virgo, to repeat, a Mercury ruled sign, probably isn't helping, but often this is the point during Mercury retrograde when I've had enough.

A friend called me this afternoon to tell me that her car--cars and transportation are ruled by Mercury and Gemini--got STUCK in PARK this morning! Talk about not moving. She is also a Virgo rising. She thought maybe it was the Full Moon. No, no, that's another story. This one is Mercury retrograde...yup, I'm sure of that one. Not that I'm blaming it. Nope we don't blame the planets. As above, so below.

Oh, and my friend? She's not moving either. Remember, she's a Virgo rising too. Her secondary progressed (a technical concept used in astrological forecasting) Mercury is in Pisces and she's presently laid up with an injured foot (ruled by Pisces).

This morning a bird--small birds are ruled by Mercury and Gemini according to Rex Bills--got stuck in my fireplace. Not being eager to have a bird flying around in my living room, I contemplated somehow getting it into a box or spare cage and releasing it on my deck. But the bird was having none of that. While I was thinking it over, it managed to force the glass fireplace doors open and promptly proceeded to fly into the patio door, twice. Now this is a longer story than it should have been and I'm not going to tell you about the part when I hid--briefly, briefly--in the bedroom--with the cat--but in the end it was a simple matter to open the patio door and let the bird fly out. My Quaker Parakeet, Gawain, a loquacious fellow (although not a Gemini unless he's a Gemini rising...I don't know his hatch time) said, "Birdie, that's a birdie." Thanks for clarifying that, little buddy.

I have a history with birds trapped in my house, although it's been years and not where I'm living now. I won't go into the history, but this was definitely a RE-visiting that whole thing kind of an event, so I have no problem seeing it as a Mercury retrograde experience. There were two lessons in it: (1) things aren't always as difficult or as complicated as I think they are; (2) all I need to do is to open a door and let something go free that has been trapped.

I have adult onset asthma. The lungs are ruled by Gemini and the onset coincided with transiting Pluto opposite my natal Mercury at 23 Gemini a few years ago. Pluto opposite Mercury: pressure on the lungs. I have an air (Gemini) purifier in my bedroom to give me relief from pet dander, dust, and pollen while I sleep. Yesterday morning when I woke up the air purifier was off and I wondered if the power had gone off overnight. Upon investigation I discovered that my 18-year-old Siamese must have stepped on the on/off switch of the power strip the air purifier was plugged into. Hmmm. My cat is, as they say, getting "up there," and recently I've been wondering when it's going to be time to help her with her, um, transition. She's been getting a bit wobbly lately. Was this her way of telling me what she thinks of that idea? Her way of saying, "We'll see who gets put to sleep here?" (Note to self: tell the family not to let her in the room if I'm ever on a respirator.)

Mercury rules my Midheaven, and I've spent this Mercury retrograde period doing a lot of serious thinking about career and what to do with my life in general. I've had some ideas, some of which involve writing, ruled by Mercury, and I'm eager to get started on some projects I've thought about and am now waiting for Mercury to go direct to begin them.

Curious though, I decided to review and revisit the Vaughn case with transiting Mercury retrograde at 13 Gemini conjunct the Moon in the event chart of the 911 call. That wasn't a conscious timing decision. I just started thinking about it and pulled out a paper I wrote about it shortly after it happened and decided to post a few excerpts on the blog. I wonder if the full Moon falling within 5 degrees of the Ascendant-Descendant of the 911 call chart will shed any light on the case or bring it back into public awareness. As I mentioned in the post, the Ascendant-Sun of the event chart are tightly conjunct my own natal Mercury in Gemini, and I have followed the case closely although there's been very little news about it for months.

So that's my Mercury retrograde report. If you, like me, have the Mercury Retrograde Blues--or blahs--it's almost over.

Peace to you--Doreen

The Vaughn Family Murders

BACKGROUND

One year ago, early in the morning on Thursday, June 14, 2007, the local police in Channahon, Illinois, located in Will County, discovered four bodies in a Ford Expedition SUV on a cell tower service road near Interstate Highway 55 after responding to a 911 call. Kimberly Vaughn, 34, had been shot once in the head. Vaughn’s three children, Abigayle, 12, Cassandra, 11, and son Blake, 8, had each been shot twice. A wounded and bleeding, but ambulatory Christopher Vaughn, 32, husband and father of the deceased, had flagged down the passerby who made the 911 call. Allegedly, Vaughn initially told varying stories about what transpired. In one version, Vaughn pulled off the interstate because his wife was ill, got out to adjust the luggage rack, discovered he was bleeding and went for help. In this version, he claims he heard no gun shots. In another version, his wife shot at him as he was about to re-enter the vehicle and he fled. In others, he remained on the scene as his wife shot their children and then herself. Since Vaughn was treated at a hospital and released the same day, his wounds were apparently minor. He was subsequently questioned on at least three different occasions by the Illinois State Police who took over the investigation, but initially Vaughn was not identified as a suspect. However, at 7 a.m., on Saturday, June 23, Christopher Vaughn was arrested and taken into custody at a funeral home in St. Charles, Missouri as private funeral services for his wife and children were about to begin. He was charged with eight counts of first degree murder in the deaths of his wife and children and was held in a Missouri jail while awaiting extradition to Illinois. (Four counts were subsequently dropped and he was charged with four counts of shooting each person with the "intent to kill.")

On July 3, 2007, he was brought back to Illinois and jailed in Joliet, the seat of Will County, where he has remained in custody as the State of Illinois and Vaughn's attorneys prepare for trial.

The time of 5:25 a.m. has been variously described as the time that the passerby picked up Mr. Vaughn, the time of the 911 call made by the passerby, and the time that the first officers arrived on the scene and discovered the four bodies inside the vehicle. In any case, I am exploring the event itself using the data June 14, 2007, 5:25 a.m. CDT, Channahon, Illinois.

THE EVENT CHART

With Gemini rising, the event is about communication, and it began with a series of communications. First, Christopher Vaughn flagged down a motorist on the frontage road. Then the motorist made the 911 call, and the first responders discovered the vehicle with the bodies inside and realized that a crime had occurred which would have to be investigated and for which data would have to be gathered. Very quickly it became a breaking news story throughout northern Illinois. The Gemini Ascendant also describes the setting for the event, a vehicle, near a cell tower, not far from an interstate highway, all ruled by Gemini. That the event, the communication, the news story, and the investigation are about a family is shown three ways: (1) the ruler of the Ascendant, Mercury, is in Cancer; (2) Mercury is the intercepted ruler of the 4^th house; and, (3) the Sun, which is conjunct the Ascendant within 15’ of orb, rules the cusp of the 4^th house. Cancer and the 4^th house, of course, both rule families. Furthermore, the Moon, which rules Cancer, is rising 10 degrees ahead of the Ascendant, out of orb of a conjunction to the Ascendant perhaps, but it still stands out.

The event has 23:16 Gemini rising and the Sun which is tightly conjunct the Ascendant is at 23:01 Gemini. The synastry between the victims’ untimed charts (which I may discuss in a later article), the chart of the State of Illinois, and the event, just using the event’s Ascendant-Sun conjunction is striking.

The chart of the State of Illinois (December 3, 1818, 12:00 pm, Washington, D.C.) has a stellium of five planets and one asteroid in Sagittarius which includes Uranus at 20 Sagittarius, Mercury at 23:57 Sagittarius, Neptune at 26 Sagittarius, and Vesta at 28 Sagittarius. All of these are within range of opposing the event’s Ascendant-Sun but Mercury opposes it within minutes.

A country’s, state’s, or city’s Mercury includes its attitudes towards its youth and this case involves the murders of three children. With the Illinois Mercury so closely conjunct the event’s 7^th cusp and the Illinois Sun at 11 Sagittarius opposite the event’s Moon at 13 Gemini, it appears that the State of Illinois, as represented by various agencies within its criminal justice system, is going to take this case very personally. With the Illinois Pluto (death, crime, murder) square the Illinois Mercury in Sagittarius (laws), there’s the natal potential that the murder of a child or children could become a prominent, significant, or pivotal legal case. Currently, the State of Illinois has a moratorium on carrying out the death penalty, but prosecutors can still pursue it in sentencing and they are, in fact, doing so in this case. Perhaps this case will play a major role in the future of that issue.

There is more interesting synastry between the event and the charts of the victims and the State of Illinois but even looking only at the synastry involving the event’s Ascendant-Sun conjunction, it appears that this case may ultimately loom larger in the reputation of the legal system of the State of Illinois than anyone can currently envision considering that four of the six planets in the state’s Sagittarius stellium are in its 10^th house.

My own natal Mercury is at 23:04 Gemini, conjunct the event's Ascendant-Sun within minutes. Although I used to, I rarely follow crime stories closely anymore, but this one has captured my curiosity, interest, and concern.

Looking at the 3rd house because the ideas of communication, conveying and collecting data and information, travel, and news are so prominent, we see Venus and Saturn in Leo. Venus rules the 5th house, children. Children are involved; children in a vehicle, 3rd house. Venus also rules the 12th house, secrecy, things behind the scenes. The story, 3rd house, of an event that took place in secret is being exposed and communicated. Saturn rules the 8th house, death, and is in Leo in the 3rd. The event involves the deaths of children.

The most prominent planet in the chart is the Sun which is conjunct the Ascendant within minutes. Again, the Sun rules both the 3^rd and 4^th houses reinforcing the idea that this event is a story, 3^rd house, about a family, 4^th house. The Sun also represents the male principle and potentially the father principle, at the very least it is a masculine planet. It was a man, Christopher Vaughn, the husband of Kimberly Vaughn and the father of the deceased children who brought the crime to the attention of the authorities. Thus, the Sun in the event chart may very well represent him since it was he who emerged from the crime scene almost exactly at sunrise to call attention to a shocking and brutal crime. Or, perhaps the fact that the Sun, which is so closely conjunct the Ascendant, rules the 4^th supports the Illinois State Police spokesman’s statement at the first press conference about the case that the perpetrator was from the family and that there were no outsiders or unknown persons involved. As far as the public knows, Christopher Vaughn has been the only suspect from the beginning. Does the Sun represent Christopher Vaughn? Does it represent the perpetrator?

Please, please note:

I want to be absolutely clear that although Christopher Vaughn has been charged with these murders, he is innocent until proven guilty. Although I am using astrology to examine the event, I have no intention of drawing any conclusions as to his guilt or innocence.

To continue...that a brutal crime occurred that wiped out nearly an entire family (and devastated the extended family) is shown by Pluto, death, crime, brutality, opposite the Sun, the ruler of the 4th. The crime scene was described as horrific even to seasoned investigators. The Will County State's Attorney, James Glasgow, stated in a press conference that everyone who has worked on the case has been scarred by it. That it was shocking is shown by Uranus square the Sun, Moon, and the Ascendant/Descendant axis.

As noted above concerning the synastry, all of the Sagittarius planets of the State of Illinois are clustered around the Descendant with the Illinois Mercury right on it, opposite the event's Sun. This synastry strongly suggests that the 7th house in this chart represents the State of Illinois as a legal and investigative entity, which advocates on the behalf of victims, and which includes the state police, the entire team of investigators and forensic analysts, the state's attorney, everyone, in fact, you has been and continues to be involved in gathering and analyzing evidence, and who are working to determine the truth and bringing the perpetrator to justice.

With the Sun on the Ascendant opposite Pluto in Sagittarius in the 7th house, conjunct the 7th cusp, and opposite the Ascendant-Sun within a 4 1/2 degree orb, it looks like there is a team, a collective group of investigators, opposite an individual. Sagittarius rules teams and would, of course, rule a legal team. With the 7th house Pluto opposite the Sun, there is a great deal of pressure and focus on the one suspect in the case, Christopher Vaughn, and not only does Pluto in the event chart oppose the Sun, the natal Pluto of the State of Illinois at 23:21 Pisces squares the Ascendant-Sun of the event. That's a lot of pressure and focus by the state on the event itself and on the one individual they have arrested and charged. And there is an obsession, Pluto, with the truth, Sagittarius. With this event occurring so late in Pluto's transit through Sagittarius, I cannot help but wonder what its repercussions will be with Pluto in Capricorn. Could this be one of those events that creates a bridge from the end of one sign to the beginning of the next as the Simpson case did from Scorpio to Sagittarius? This case has not received much national attention so far. Vaughn is not a celebrity as was Simpson, and in the national news and to some extent locally, this news story was quickly eclipsed by that of the pregnant woman who was murdered in Ohio around the same time. Since it was announced in October, 2007, that the State was seeking the death penalty, there has been very little news about this case, and I do not believe that a trial date has been established yet. However, with the synastry involving the Sagittarius planets of the State of Illinois, I still think it will eventually take on considerable significance at least within the state.

to be continued

Peace to you--Doreen

Note: My source for nearly all the facts in this post is news articles in the Chicago Tribune.

What Happened When I Started That Job during Mercury Retrograde

Back in January I wrote a post when I was about to start a job during Mercury retrograde, in my 6th house no less, which rules jobs, skills, and the things we do on a daily basis, our routines. Now it's time to tell you how that all worked out. I'm especially motivated to do so because I've noticed that several people have come to this blog over the past two weeks since Mercury has been retrograde in Gemini by Googling some variation on the theme of starting a job during Mercury retrograde.

What happened is quite simply that the job I started back in late January/early February while Mercury was retrograde in Aquarius in my 6th house did not work out. Since I've mentioned where the job was I won't go into excruciating detail, but the job wasn't right for me, and I wasn't right for the job. It was no one's fault, and I'm not upset or mad about it nor is the employer although I was very frustrated at the time. I didn't get very much work (and it wasn't up to me to generate it). I did not care for the setting, and I never really felt like I belonged there. Another person could take the same job and be perfectly happy. It just wasn't a good fit, and it never felt right. There was even a glitch in the payroll system--again no one's fault really--and it took weeks for me to get my first check, and nothing like that has ever happened to me before.

I was very disappointed and at first I kept thinking it would work out if I'd be patient and let the kinks work out. With Mercury conjunct Mars in Gemini I can be anything but patient and can easily be tempted to jump ship, but my tenacious, loyal Cancer Sun and intense Scorpio Moon like to see things through and usually prevail. But the whole thing didn't feel right and I quit in March and was much relieved when I did.

This post is by no means intended to be advice concerning starting a job during Mercury retrograde. In general, I would advise avoiding it if at all possible, but I can think of scenarios in which it would make sense. In this case, I didn't originally intend to start the job during Mercury retrograde. I interviewed for it in December and originally intended to begin in early January while Mercury was direct. When my mother died I delayed my start date and by the time things got going Mercury retrograde was on top of me.

All told, it was an important experience. It really made me step back and re-think I what I really want to be doing with myself work and career-wise. Mercury rules my Virgo Ascendant and my Gemini Midheaven and is in Gemini in my 10th house conjunct my Midheaven and Mars. So, Mercury in my chart has a great deal to do with the essential Doreen and with my Ascendant and Midheaven ruler in the 10th along with Sun, Mars, and Uranus, the essential Doreen has a great deal to do with career and work.

Since quitting the job, I've been busy, but mostly doing things behind the scenes, a little massage here and there, a little Reiki teaching, a little astrology, and a LOT of thinking things over. (Note to astrologers: I've had Mercury retrograde in my solar return for the last two years and my tertiary progressed Mercury has been retrograde for a little over a year now, so I'm up to my eyebrows in Mercury retrograde.)

During THIS Mercury retrograde--in my 10th HOUSE--a few interesting things have happened. Among them, the VERY day Mercury stationed retrograde--just shy of my natal Mercury, someone told me about a job that had opened up that on the surface I seem ideally suited for--it for me and I for it. I knew immediately it wasn't a good fit, although for less than obvious reasons, but I could have really rationalized (air sign/Gemini word) myself into pursuing it. I no sooner put it out of my mind and ANOTHER person suggested I look into it and I found myself feeling a teeny bit tempted, but not right is not right. Presently, transiting Saturn is my 12th house, and I'm reorganizing myself and my life on a lot of levels behind the scenes. Saturn is in Virgo, i.e., ruled by Mercury, and every time one of these things pops up, I keep remembering something Elsa said (not so coincidentally before that Mercury retrograde back in January) about "never letting anyone rush your game." It really spoke to me because I am so Mercury-ruled and have Mercury conjunct Mars in Gemini, an impulsive, restless, and impatient combination, and what with Saturn in Virgo in my 12th shoring up my own natal Saturn in Virgo as well as my secondary progressed Sun, it has become my mantra over the last few months. "I don't let anyone rush my game...I don't let anyone rush my game..." It's like I'm cooking something in a big soup pot on the back burner that simply needs to simmer for hours and hours and I can't rush it. It'll be done when it's done.

Peace to you--Doreen

Northern Illinois University's Stellium in Cancer

When I wrote in my last post about Northern Illinois University as my "nourishing mother," I had not yet located the data for the founding of NIU. According to the Wikipedia article on NIU, it was founded on May 22, 1895 in DeKalb, Illinois. Lacking a time, I cast a Noon chart.

There are a lot of things to look at here, and because I'm still processing this event emotionally, I'm not really of a mind to be analytical right now.

However, I'm struck by the synastry between NIU's chart and my own. It's not surprising at all that I, a Cancer, would tap into the "nourishing mother" aspect of the words Alma Mater. We all filter our experiences through our own lenses, and Cancer the sign of mothering, nurturing, and nourishing is one of my lenses. In addition, my own mother died recently at the age of 95. I blogged about that last month and will again. And yesterday, Valentine's Day, was the birthday of my oldest child who died 16 years ago at the age of 22. Thus, mothering and grief are presently strong themes in my life. Well actually, mothering and grief is a theme of my life.

And here it is again. My natal Sun is at 13:17 Cancer. NIU has a 3-planet stellium in Cancer: Jupiter, Venus, and Mars, all conjunct my natal Sun. NIU's Jupiter, Venus, and Mars conjunction represents a capacity to be generous, warm, nurturing, and motherly. (Note: I am not going to give an integrated interpretation here. Saturn in Scorpio opposite the Taurus Moon is another message.) With NIU's Cancer planets conjunct my own natal Sun, it is no wonder that I felt taken care of by that university's education and that it empowered me as a mother in my own right. And it is also no wonder that I identify with NIU AS a grieving mother, or that I perceive NIU, an entity with three planets in Cancer, as a grieving mother right now.

The energies in our own natal charts interact with the energies of everyone and everything we come in contact with: people, places, schools, corporations, organizations. Different people can experience other entities be they people, places, or groups in different ways. My experiences at NIU were almost all good, and here I can see why with its Jupiter, Venus, and Mars in Cancer all conjunct my Cancer Sun. If that all sounds too touchie-feelie to have anything to do with education, consider that Venus in my own chart rules my 9th house, higher education, and Jupiter rules higher education in general. NIU has four planets in Gemini: Sun, Mercury, Neptune, and Pluto; I have Mercury, the ruler of my Virgo Ascendant, Mars, and Midheaven all in Gemini. I enjoyed my time there soaking up knowledge and indulging my eclectic curiosity. NIU's Saturn and Uranus widely straddle my Scorpio Moon, giving me a foundation on the one hand while kicking me out of the nest and into my future with the other. The kicker is NIU's Nodal axis which sits exactly--within 1' of arc--on my Ascendant/Descendant axis, which many would consider a karmic connection. What's intriguing about that is that the coming Saturn-Uranus opposition in Virgo-Pisces is going to be right there, on NIU's Nodes (and my Ascendant-Descendant).

After yesterday's tragedy, Northern Illinois University will never again be the same, and it has a long and difficult road of recovery ahead. NIU's Chiron at 03 Libra squares its Jupiter at 07 Cancer. That's a natal potential for that generous, nurturing, protective nature to incur a huge wound and with transiting Pluto, i.e., Pluto in the sky at 00:33 Capricorn at the time of the shooting beginning to square NIU's Chiron, that wound was inflicted. I believe, however, if NIU draws on the positive qualities of the sign of Cancer, a sign of healing, compassion, survival, deep feeling and sensitivity, and protection, that it will heal, and in fact be utterly transformed as Pluto in Capricorn opposes those Cancer planets during the next few years.

Peace to you--Doreen