Shadows, Shadow Play

Toying with a simple pen and ink depiction, I was trying to convey the messages of Mercury in its apparent retrograde pattern, and what that means, how it plays out, and what the future holds by way of looking at the past.

The timing is what interests me. The messages have largely been familiar, and while my earliest teachers talked about how “Mercury in retrograde is bad,” I’ve grown to understand it is a natural time, and can be useful.

The image, I started with a simple line drawing of the alchemical glyph for Mercury, the symbol I associate with the planet. It looks like a Venus — or female — symbol with a little set of horns sprouting from the head. It is supposed to be a winged helmet, associated with Hermes, the messenger of the gods, later known as Mercury. Although somewhat distanced, Loki is similar in form and function. Personally, I like the character Puck from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream as a mercurial fellow. That symbol, though, a simple line drawing, small circles, stick coming out the bottom, a cross bar, then, the little ears on the top, again symbolic of Hermes’ winged helmet. Mercury had wings on his sandals.

“Fly monkeys, fly!”

Sorry, wrong mythos. Anyway, the glyph? Venus with little antenna, for communications.

Shadows, Shadow Play

June 13, Mercury arrived at 16° Cancer. Mercury crawls up to 26° Cancer, turning retrograde on 6/29. Mercury retrogrades back to 16° Cancer on 7/23, staying at 16° until 7/28. Mercury doesn’t arrive back at 26° Cancer until 8/24 (coincidental with the Sun going into Virgo).

Shadows, Shadow Play

I’ve got a pepper plant thriving with my abuse, overwatering, drought, too much attention, no care, and similar inconsistent behaviors. It’s about two feet tall, and the shade in the direct sun is negligible, but as the afternoon light dips lower on the horizon? That plant can cast a shadow up to a few feet long if only for a short time. The shadow is ephemeral yet still exists. It can appear longer, taller than the object causing the shadow itself. The shadow of Mercury can extend well beyond the known limits of the actual, observed retrograde. This Mercury in Retrograde?

the Portable Mercury Retrograde

Atlanta

Up before the dawn, gone with the wind, dawn breaking over a sultry September airport departure made me remember going to the Austin airport half-dressed. Shoulder bag with a laptop, signage, and so forth, then, my customary suitcase. With mixed mirth and mild merriment, there was a time — or two — I would arrive at the tony and tawny new Austin airport with boots and socks in hand, single bag slung over my shoulder, and, more than one January morning, the studs for my tux shirt and cuff links, still in my carry-on luggage, waiting to fully dress until after I made it through security screening.

No reason to dress twice.

It’s the odd travelogue memory that surfaces, years spent commuting across the greater Southwest, bouncing from town to town, journeyman astrologer — from Austin.

Atlanta

Pretty sure I’ve connected through Atlanta a time or two. This was for a season-ending series of home games for the Braves versus the Reds. Braves already clinched a playoff spot shutting out the Astros in Houston which calls into question the Astros management itself. I was reading a baseball book about the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field, a personal favorite.

“and as sportscaster Red Barber once said, baseball is dull only to dull minds.” Page 16¹

First glance, Atlanta looks a lot like Houston, felt like it, too, hot, sticky, tall pine trees. The Lyft driver acknowledged that the Atlanta drivers sound a lot like native Texas drivers, too. One hint of precipitation, and they all start sliding off into the ditches. “My first winter here, they got ice and snow, and they can’t drive? All of a sudden — man, that’s crazy.”

Atlanta

Garden and Gun Club (no membership required) I’ve seen links, posts, and there’s a media feed I looked at, briefly, same name. Thought it was some kind of magazine (like) periodical, but that was probably just a media outreach, same name. But the restaurant itself was plush, stately, elegant. So for lunch, one morning, just seemed like the thing to do, try a completely different kind of dining. I mean, most of what is around a ball park is ball park food. It was advertised as “Lobster sliders,” sounded good, but looked, to me, just like a Boston Lobster roll. Good, no question, nice cool chunks of lobster claw. Delicious, and we can pretend, healthy. The other crowning achievement was a deviled egg with crystallized oysters on top. I might have the name wrong, but I think it was called crystallized oysters, and that was a pair of minuscule fried oysters, topping a truffled deviled egg, served lengthwise.

Atlanta

Perhaps one of the best T-shirts I saw? Remember, it’s Atlanta during the faux-fall, a mom-like person escorting daughter-like person, and the mom’s shirt? “I only raise ballers,” with an image of a baseball. The kid? A Cincinnati Reds striped jersey, instead of a player’s name across the back? “Reds head.”

Atlanta

The way something is described on TV, the showmanship about certain baseball cuisine? Doesn’t add up when I’m standing in the concourse at the ballpark itself. Last spring, in Boston’s Fenway, the ballpark franks lived up to a new standard. Not even sure what happened, maybe I just got lucky with the left field gate, under the stands, just past the third base line. Surpassed my most recent experience in Chicago, for sure. After a tour of the food courts at Atlanta’s Battery, it was clear that some of the promised products weren’t nearly as appealing, not in real life. However, to be fair, the $50 “Tomahawk” steak (thing) was up to $125, and really too pricey for my tastes in ball park food. I settled for a normal “Braves,” or “Los Bravos” hot dog: foot long, with onions, chili, cheese, on top, the bare ends of the dog itself sticking out at their individual terminus points. It was a meal unto itself. Good enough. A splurge, last minute deal? There’s a section called “The Chop House,” and it’s a restaurant at the end of right field. Frequent home run blasts land either in, or on top of, the Chop House. Food: marginally better than the concourse concessions. Fans and staff? 100%! Part of that was a fried chicken sandwich dressed with peaches, pickles, and hot sauce. Turned out to be surprisingly delicious and no items I would place together. Remarkably refreshing. “Food’s way better.”

Atlanta

Headed to the Atlanta Airport, early morning ride and all, another Austin airport memory surfaced, about the shuttle shuffle,. Think this is mentioned in part in an older horoscope, too. Or the old weblog? Gone are the days when a large Bowie Knife, think Roman short sword, long gone are the days when that was acceptable in carry-on luggage. 9:00 AM shuttle to West Texas, Saturday morning. Got the airport around 7:30, flying on a frequent flyer free ticket. Did not have the requisite piece of paper that proved the flight was free, and had to catch a cab home, fetch the ticket, and then get back the airport. Didn’t have time to check my bag, just threw the suitcase on the security belt, ran through the metal detector, collected the laptop and suitcase, and hustled to the gate. Get to the hotel, might’ve been couch-surfing, but I found a flat, folding knife, my usual carry, in the bottom of the suitcase. Just an accident, and one I won’t repeat. I am much more careful with the increased security these days.

Atlanta

•Boston by day — Fenway •Wrigleyville — Wrigley Field •Dallas at night — Ranger Stadium

1. A nice little place on the north side. Will, George F. NY: Crown, 2015. ↩