{"id":22224,"date":"2015-09-21T05:55:48","date_gmt":"2015-09-21T09:55:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=22224"},"modified":"2015-09-20T20:46:53","modified_gmt":"2015-09-21T00:46:53","slug":"mercury-is-in-retrograde","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/09\/mercury-is-in-retrograde\/","title":{"rendered":"Mercury is in retrograde!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Until October 9, an optical illusion due to the rotation of the Earth will make it look like the planet Mercury is moving backwards.\u00a0 That\u2019s, literally, a bad sign in the world of astrology.\u00a0 Mercury is said to govern communications, and it\u2019s happening in the constellation Libra, which has to do with relationships, partnerships, and diplomacy.<\/p>\n

So lots of people are worried about this.\u00a0 And using it as an explanation for cellphone crashes, relationship breakdowns, and bad contracts.<\/p>\n

After the jump, a link to two articles in the New York Post by one journalist who ridicules some of his \u201csmart friends\u201d who believe in this and another journalist who defends his belief.<\/p>\n

Question:\u00a0 Why DO smart people actually believe in astrology?<\/p>\n

From Tim Donnelly, Why smart people actually believe Mercury retrograde ruins lives | New York Post<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

If you spilled a whiskey all over your computer or signed a lease for a bedbug-filled apartment, relax! It\u2019s probably not your fault; it\u2019s probably Mercury retrograde.<\/p>\n

The astrological phenomenon, which started Thursday and goes until Oct. 9, is the hottest scapegoat in town, the juice cleanse of the cosmos, if you will.<\/p>\n

According to astrological hucksters (and the flocks who follow them), the three periods each year when Mercury appears to be moving backward are total pandemonium, a time when the stars are liable to wreak havoc on technical devices, morning commutes and official documents.<\/p>\n

[Keep reading. . .]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

From and Robert Rorke, But I\u2019m a Believer!\u00a0 New York Post<\/a>:<\/p>\n

When astrologers say Mercury is going retrograde, people react as if the Ebola virus has been let into the solar system, and with good reason.<\/p>\n

In astrological lore, Mercury is the planet that rules communications of all sorts. When the planet goes \u201cbackward,\u201d problems in that area usually arise.<\/p>\n

Some may brush it off as pseudoscience, but I\u2019ve found it to be true in my own life. I first took an interest in astrology ten years ago when I noticed things going amiss when Mercury was in retrograde.<\/p>\n

Phone calls went unreturned, appointments were missed and schedules seemed to always be changing at the last minute.<\/p>\n

Mercury goes retrograde three times a year, and the current period is in Libra, the sign that rules relationships, partnerships and diplomacy. During this time, it\u2019s common to hear from old friends and contacts you haven\u2019t spoken to in ages.<\/p>\n

[Keep reading. . .]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Until October 9, an optical illusion due to the rotation of the Earth will make it look like the planet Mercury is moving backwards.\u00a0 That\u2019s, literally, a bad sign in the world of astrology.\u00a0 Mercury is said to govern communications, and it\u2019s happening in the constellation Libra, which has to do with relationships, partnerships, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[4050],"class_list":["post-22224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-religions","tag-astrology"],"yoast_head":"\nMercury is in retrograde!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Until October 9, an optical illusion due to the rotation of the Earth will make it look like the planet Mercury is moving backwards.\u00a0 That's, literally, a\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/09\/mercury-is-in-retrograde\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mercury is in retrograde!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Until October 9, an optical illusion due to the rotation of the Earth will make it look like the planet Mercury is moving backwards.\u00a0 That's, literally, a\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/09\/mercury-is-in-retrograde\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cranach\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-09-21T09:55:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-09-21T00:46:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/09\/mercury-is-in-retrograde\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/09\/mercury-is-in-retrograde\/\",\"name\":\"Mercury is in retrograde!\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-09-21T09:55:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-09-21T00:46:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\"},\"description\":\"Until October 9, an optical illusion due to the rotation of the Earth will make it look like the planet Mercury is moving backwards.\u00a0 That's, literally, a\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/09\/mercury-is-in-retrograde\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/09\/mercury-is-in-retrograde\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/09\/mercury-is-in-retrograde\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mercury is in retrograde!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\",\"name\":\"Cranach\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\",\"name\":\"Gene Veith\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gene Veith\"},\"description\":\"Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a writer and retired literature professor, serving as Provost Emeritus at Patrick Henry College. 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