“I think we risk becoming the best informed society that has ever died of ignorance.” – Ruben Blades, singer/songwriter/actor/activist
Yesterday, July 21st, retrograde Mercury conjoined the Sun close to the Earth. This event is known as Cazimi, a Medieval term meaning in this case that Mercury is in the heart of the Sun. It is at this point that Mercury becomes re-energized and begins a new cycle.
There are 3-4 Mercury cycles per year. The last cycle began on March 14th in Pisces. This one takes place at 28 degrees of Cancer. The next cycle begins in Scorpio on Halloween. All Mercury cycles this year occur in water signs, an opportunity to integrate our minds with our emotions.
Think back to March. Where were you then? What were you doing? Did you start a new project or have a new insight? And how did it evolve?
Unless you are an astrologer, you are probably unaware of Mercury retrograde until things go askew. This usually happens in the realm of communication, whether it involves access to the Internet, or the very devices we use to communicate. It could mean misunderstandings or missed messages. You have probably heard someone chalk up the snafu to Mercury Retrograde.
Mercury turned retrograde on July 7th. Since then he has been retracing his path back toward the Sun. As he approaches, the residue of the former cycle is burned off making room for new ideas and insights, new projects and interests. You have an opportunity to track the Mercury cycle now and see how this tiny planet operates in your own psyche.
Mercury is the messenger and when he is Cazimi he is gathering up Sol’s wisdom and fire in order to light up our minds. Pay attention to what new ideas enter your sphere at this time. They may pop up in meditation, or on a podcast, or a news item. Watch what lights you up, what sparks curiosity, or excitement, or challenges your beliefs. Mercury is trying to awaken you to possible paths of new growth and awareness.
The last Mercury cycle set me off in a totally new direction. It was during the Cazimi that I heard a whisper in my meditation, “Why don’t you start a blog?” At first I dismissed it, but it was a good idea for me and so it hung around and kept whispering until I took it seriously. In less than three weeks I had a website and was posting.
Because that cycle began with an event, I was able to track Mercury through its entire cycle. As that cycle wound down, two new themes appeared. The first was the realization that I needed to heal the wounded feminine energy within myself. The second theme was the Mueller Report.
I have avoided politics so far because it is such a sensitive subject and I am much more interested in what unites us, in what we have in common as human beings and how we can deal with the stress of this transition time, than in debating party politics. I had tried to listen to the Mueller Report offered free on Audible, but I found it so boring and frustrating, with large sections redacted and the initials of organizations repeated over and over until my nerves were frayed.
I wanted to know what was in that report so that I would be more informed when the House of Representatives interviews Mueller this Wednesday. I was lucky to discover Lawfare. One of the podcasts on its site, entitled The Report, is a summary of the Mueller Report, published in cooperation with the Brookings Institution, a non-partisan think tank established in Washington DC in 1916. The report is divided into two parts each of which is about a half-hour long. Part one focuses on Russia and its intent to sow discord among the American people by planting false information. I was stunned by the extent of this highly organized attack on our Democracy.
Russia’s IRA, or Internet Research Agency, employs around 9000 people whose job is to infiltrate our social media. They flooded Facebook and Twitter, assuming American identities, creating fake groups that lured Republican loyalists with false claims about Hillary Clinton. They spread fear and resentment toward Muslims. They planted lies that became memes, even though there was no basis of fact. They arranged rallies disguised as reputable GOP organizations as well as counter-rallies and protests under the guise of Democratic sponsorship, just to set us at each other. An old tactic: divide and conquer.
The IRA is funded by a close friend of Putin’s and operates under his direction. It has been at work since 2015 with the sole intent of undermining our electoral process and thus our Democracy. Remember the story I told you about Eris, the instigator of the Trojan War? This is Eris at work in our politics. Fake news is the golden apple and we are all squabbling about who is the fairest. The Russian government is waging an “Information War” against the United States that is every bit as dangerous to our security as the Cold War threat of nuclear holocaust.
One of the main Mercury themes over the past four years has been “fake news.” How can we begin to heal the chasm between our political parties when we don’t even have the facts. I hope you will click on the above link and listen to the podcast. I truly believe that part of good citizenship involves willingness to seek the truth and to be fully informed before heading to the polls.
Many of us remember the Cold War and the anxiety we all felt that at any moment we could be disintegrated by a nuclear bomb. We were on “Red” alert, watching for any signs of Communist infiltration, ideas, propaganda. We were united in our fear and loathing of the USSR and passionate about protecting our Democracy.
While I don’t advocate fear and loathing, I do want to sound the alarm. We are being played by Putin. He perhaps is the Anti-Christ we have been warned about. And he is not just working to weaken and destabilize our nation, he is at work all around the world. Authoritarian governments are rising up at alarming rates. How do we defend ourselves against an Authoritarian Hegemony? By becoming informed.
We have all been victimized by the discord amplified by Russian hacks. We cannot let Putin win. We cannot let our country succumb to totalitarian rule, because if we fall, there will be a true domino effect. We have been the leader of the free world. We have been the hope of millions. We cannot lose our precious Democracy.
Use this new Mercury cycle to seek the truth. Get informed. When you hear some scandalous gossip or outrageous claim go to FactCheck.org and get the facts. If the claim is false, spread the word. Knowledge is power; propaganda is disempowering us. This is how we fight for the freedom our ancestors were willing to die for.
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