How Mercury Retrograde Affected Our Politics

            I visited an old friend in Kansas City recently, and while we were chatting about a lot of different topics, we got around to politics and how dirty they have become.  Bill, who is a dyed-in-the-wool, card carrying Democrat, said he thought that our politics all changed when the Supreme Court "gave" George W Bush the election in 2000.

            Well, I respect Bill, and he has at least ten years on me, so I cannot pull seniority on him.  I shut my mouth and swallowed my response, but it was a game changer for the rest of our conversation.      

            We were under a full moon at the time.  It got me thinking about all the troubles we have when the moon is full.  Oh, you don’t believe all that astrology stuff?  Well, I can positively state that there is a very good reason for all the superstition surrounding the full moon.  In my many years in the airline industry, there were always strange happenings when the moon was full. 

            My airline, American, even had a reference page in the computer titled simply “Moons” where all the dates of full moons were listed.  It was common knowledge among ground service people, pilots and flight attendants that when the moon was full there were bound to be some odd things happening.  Customers were more apt to complain, delays were more prominent, baggage was more likely to get misrouted or lost and communications were less reliable, mainly in the form of computer outages. 

            When I worked at the ticket counter—we actually had a staff of people at the counter in those days instead of those machines you encounter nowadays—we always knew that a full moon was imminent, even if it wasn’t visible due to cloud cover.  The behavior of some of our passengers was weird during those times, especially those who were “white knuckle flyers.”  Customers were more demanding and argumentative.  Voices were raised in situations where people normally would be rational and patient.  And there were always problems with reservations being dropped or cancelled for no apparent reason. 

            In that same AA informational page labeled “Moons” there is also reference to another event that seems to screw up communication and travel.  The reference is to times when the planet Mercury is Retrograde.  Three times a year Mercury appears to be moving backwards for periods of about two weeks.  When the planet appears to go forward again, it is said to be Mercury Direct.  It has to do with the fact that the Mercurial year—its trip around the Sun—is 88 days long, while ours is 365 days.  All of the planets exhibit the retrograde effect, but only Mercury does it that often.  Think of two trains on parallel tracks going in the same direction at different speeds.  As the faster train passes the slower one, the slower train appears to be going backwards with respect to the faster one.  Well, that is what the planetary retrograde effect is.  When Mercury is Retrograde it has an effect on activity here on the Earth similar to that of a full moon, or even worse. 

            I didn’t give you this astronomy/astrology lesson for nothing.  While I was doing my research for the column I came across a Web site that gave me a whole new outlook on what went wrong in the Presidential Election of 2000.  We all know there are dozens of theories out there, but this one could be the grand prizewinner.  The real problem with the 2000 election was that we had Mercury retrograde and it was exactly at the end of its cycle (the worst time) on November 7, 2000.  In other words, the election outcome was in the stars—or in this case, the planets.

  

Here is the page I found on the phenomenon.  Note that it hasn’t been updated since it was written on November 9, 2000, but it was pretty accurate in its prediction even then.  You have to agree that it seems to be pretty logical, at least as much so as some of those conspiracy theories we heard—and continue to hear thirteen years later— on both sides.  And if you cannot find some humor in what you are about to read then you are hopelessly lost and really need to “get a life.”  However, it isn’t my fault if it makes you angry; blame it on a full moon Mercury Retrograde . 

 

ELECTION DAY 2000--YES, MERCURY WAS RETROGRADE!

by Rose Murray

(Nov. 9, 2000)A member of the media phoned me today to ask if I thought that the phenomena of Mercury Retrograde on Election Day 2000 contributed to the ballot confusion, the premature media announcements and retractions, and all the recounts that ensued. He was working on a news story that examined that question.

Well, it all couldn't sound more like Mercury Retrograde. Here's why.

                        The planet Mercury moves in apparent retrograde (or backward) motion for a period of several weeks about three times each year. During these periods, Mercury, known as the "messenger of the gods" in classical mythology, often delivers mixed-up messages.

Because Mercury is temporarily moving backward in its orbit (seen from the Earth's perspective), its retrograde influence often spells confusion and the necessity for repeating things a second time. Glitches seem to develop in all types of communication and transportation. Many people don't start a project under Mercury Retrograde, not if they want it to run smoothly.

Well, Mercury turned retrograde on October 18, 2000, at 15 degrees of Scorpio. It slowed way down (making its influence even stronger) to turn direct at 29 degrees of Libra on Nov. 7, 2000--Election Day-- U.S.A.

The actual shift occurred at 9:20 p.m. EST, 6:20 p.m. PST. The events of that day and those that ensued were typical of retrograde Mercury at its worst. People made mistakes. Both the media and the candidates announced and retracted, announced and retracted. Ballots were said to be confusing. The vote from the state of Florida had to be recounted. Citizens from Palm Beach County encountered confusing ballots, many of which were punched twice and had to be rejected.

Anyone with planets at the sensitive points in the zodiac where Mercury made its station retrograde--15 degrees of Scorpio--and the degree where it made its station direct--29 degrees of Libra--would have been particularly affected. But countries, states and cities also have horoscopes, as I pointed out in my book, Moving to Success: The Astrology of Location, (Llewellyn, 1999). Their charts are usually based on their incorporation or founding dates.

Well, guess what! When I looked up the horoscope of West Palm Beach, Florida, I discovered why all eyes were on that city that day. No wonder they were demanding a recount because of a confusing ballot and numerous other problems. Mercury made its backward trip right over almost half of their planets. It went retrograde on the planet Uranus in their chart at 15 Scorpio, promising many reversals and surprises ahead. It continued back over the community's Sun and Venus, and ended up directly on West Palm Beach's Saturn. Saturn in its chart, symbolic of restrictions and hardships, is at 29 Libra-- the very degree of the very sign where Mercury sat on Election Day--2000.

How long will all this last before we know whom our new President will be? Well, the Mercury retrograde period is not really over until Mercury goes forward to 15 degrees Scorpio, where it went retrograde. That will be around November 23/24, 2000, on the Thanksgiving Holidays. Hopefully, the confusion, recounts, and inclusion of absentee ballots may begin to be finalized by then, and we'll all have something to be thankful for. 

            I'll let you draw your own conclusions, but I cannot close out the column without also letting you read the poem I wrote shortly after the recounts—three in all—were finally stopped by order of the SCOTUS.  You might not recognize all the players after all these years, but I did try to include every one of them. You may also notice that the poem is written in the meter of a famous poem that is recited at that same time of year, "The Visit From St Nicholas."  That was intentional.

           

                  Ode to Election 2000

©2000 By Harold Kline

T’was the night of election and all through the nation

The voters were gathered with an air of elation.

We had all cast our ballots for the ones we held dear

In hopes that the end of campaign ads was near…

When Decision 2000 was over and done.

We thought that we knew who had lost and who won.

The popular vote belonged to Al Gore

But maybe Bush won, we don’t know anymore.

The early returns down in Florida made

Mr. Gore pure grade O.J., and Bush Gatorade.

But Dan Rather called early and had to use tact.

He did a 180 and called a retract.

Then Gore's team saw victory within their reach

If only they spread some dissent in Palm Beach.

So they called up their voters to sow seeds of doubt.

Soon old fogies called Wexler to scream and to shout.

The Seniors for Gore thought that all of their plannin'

Might have been sabotaged, they had picked Pat Buchanan.

Or their chads might have dimpled or hung by a thread.

They cried, "We don't want Pat, we'd rather be dead!"

It was close, so the votes were then counted once more,

But still there were not quite enough to please Gore.

Jesse Jackson, Christopher and Bill Daley joined forces

As the Democrats sent in their major league horses.

Up Baker and Racicot to scare them away,

On Daschle and Gephardt to help save the day.

When, what to our wondering eyes should appear

But Bob Dole. (dysfunctional loser, we hear)

Then the lawyers got started, an offense to mount,

And the hue and cry was to start a hand count.

Soon the courts got involved and the cases grew rife

While the nation was watching the candidates strife.

The counts were made legal with Kate Harris's approval,

Though some people were calling for her swift removal.

The State Supreme Court tried to keep the race open,

Which, of course, kept the folks down in Palm Beach a'hopin'.

The nine Supreme Judges then joined in the fray,

Overruled everyone, took their ballots away.

Said to keep counting votes would be likened to sin,

That Bush won three times, Gore should throw the towel in.

The Dems are dejected ‘cause Bush was “selected”.

Repubs back the College, claim that’s who they follege.

(Ha!  I slipped some Ogden Nash in there.)

Now half say that Gore won, and half say, "No, Bush!"

But no matter who's right there will be a big push

To get Sunshine State punch ballots off the table

Or make it a colony, if we are able.