Leslie McGuirk - The Power of Mercury: Understanding Mercury Retrograde and Unlocking the Astrological Secrets of Communication

To my mom, Marie McGuirk

WHEN I WAS NINETEEN, MY MOTHER SENT ME TO AN astrologer in Greenwich Village. This astrologer was, surprisingly, the daughter of an elegant older couple who lived in our WASP-y hometown of Bronxville, New York. Astrology was definitely not part of the culture of Bronxville. At that time in my life, I knew nothing about astrology. It seemed mystical and esoteric at best and at worst, made-up nonsense. I was skeptical about seeing this woman and assumed she was a fortune-teller; quite frankly, I was surprised that my mother wanted me to see her. But my mother knew this astrologers parents, a refined older couple we used to see at church every Sunday. My mom had heard this astrologer give a talk at a womens luncheon in town. She found her to be highly intelligent and persuasiveand it didnt hurt, in my mothers view, that she came from an upper-crust Bronxville family. Like many nineteen-year-olds, I was a little lost, and my mom figured a session with this astrologer might provide some direction.

When I arrived for my astrological reading, an attractive and wholesome-looking woman in her forties greeted me at the door of her small apartment. She sat me across from her at a small wooden table. On this table was a piece of paper with a big circle divided into twelve sections. Inside this circle were hand-drawn symbols that looked like hieroglyphics, along with lots of numbers with degree symbols next to them. The astrologer explained that this circle, or astrological wheel, was my natal charta map of the planets, the sun, and the moon at the date and time I was born, relative to the location of my birthplace. Everything was marked off with precise geometric measurements. She explained that this map of the heavens was a blueprint for my souls journey. She said she would read my chart: interpret it to help me gain insight into my inner workings, which would help me make better choices for my life path. She also emphatically stated that I had free will. It was up to me to make my life a brilliant one. According to my natal chart, I would be well compensated (if I made correct choices) for some of the anguish I might have to experience in life. She told me I was a bit of a stimulation junkie, where my brain was so overactive that I could easily turn down the wrong path and get involved with drugs or alcohol to quiet my overly stimulated mind. Or I could use my creative talents to become an artist and writer, and bring a lot of healing and joy to the world. Then she told me, Most people are born with a wristwatch on their arm, but you were born carrying Big Ben. You will either use this intense power for tremendous good or you could implode and be very self-destructive.

She was right. I was intense. My family and friends could attest to that. My mother used to tell me all the time that I had more energy than my two sisters combined. My intensity always seemed to be a negative quality, but this astrologer made it seem as if it was a creative blessing. In my heart I always knew that I was creative, but a series of cruel grade-school teachers made me think otherwise. A pivotal moment occurred at age seven, when I drew a picture of a little boy at the beach and gave him a belly button. I started laughing because I thought it was funny. The teacher came to the back of the room and saw the belly button and proceeded to grab my arm and yank me to the front of the room, where she announced to the class that she didnt want to see any of us drawing belly buttons again. In that moment, my joy in creating art was snuffed out, and I became hesitant to draw anything. As the years went on, I continued to doubt my creativity. In art classes, I made clouds purple and was told they had to be white, and was warned about putting red and green together because they clash. At home I would draw, but at school it never felt safe to creatively express myself.

Now here I was at age nineteen, sitting in a tiny New York City apartment with a total stranger, who seemed to know that I had squashed my creative energy and was terrified to express it. I had just transferred schools from an elite but very traditional liberal arts college to the decidedly unconventional Sarah Lawrence College, a shift about which I was very nervous. I had been proud to get into the elite school, but trauma after trauma followed me there. I was miserable and knew that I couldnt go back. It was my mom who suggested I try Sarah Lawrence, which was conveniently located in Bronxvillemy hometown. The thought of living at home and going to Sarah Lawrence was not appealing at all. Why would I want to go to that artsy-fartsy school? I asked her, and added, Weird people go there! I didnt think of myself as the creative type at all. When I told the astrologer I had recently switched schools to Sarah Lawrence, she practically levitated with joy. Her exact words were What a stroke of luck from the gods, because at Sarah Lawrence they will encourage your creativity.

Other than required art classes in grade school and high school, I had never taken any real classes in art or writing in my life. Here I was being told that not only was Sarah Lawrence a great fit, but I had to get busy immediately in the creative arts because I was destined to be an artist and writer. The astrologer said, You dont have a minute to waste. You are getting a late start, but you can do it.

Hearing that was deeply powerful. The astrologer had such intense convictions and tremendous belief in my abilities. I wanted the type of life this astrologer envisioned for me. She described the possibilities on my horizon, including international travel, fame and fortune, meeting interesting creative people, and success in the publishing world. That singular reading came to inform all the choices that followed. I did go to Sarah Lawrence and found it to be incredibly inspiring. It was there that I learned how to think and express myself. Surrounded by wisdom keepers of the time, like Grace Paley and my fiction writing teacher, Allan Gurganus, I blossomed. For the first time in my life, I felt like there was something special inside of me that needed to be expressed. Because of the astrologer, I developed confidence in myself and my abilities and sought out the path of an artist and creator.

Heeding the astrologers advice would be the single most important decision I made. She redirected my life in that one ninety-minute session. I believe she saved me from a lot of difficult times. I am not sure how long it would have taken me to find my way if I had not met her. I say this because now that I know how to read astrology charts, I can see what she saw when she met me at nineteen. My astrology chart shows a person with great abilities but also quite a few difficulties to overcome. Some people have a wide path to travel, and they can afford to make a few mistakes along the way. However, in my case, the path that would lead to my highest good was supernarrow. If I got off that path, it could be difficult. For all of us, when we do what we are meant to do, our lives are easier. Astrology has the amazing capacity to indicate where the places of flow are indicated.

After my reading, I wanted to learn everything about astrology. A stranger had been able to deliver so much accurate personal information, and I needed to know how she did it. More than coincidence was involved in her reading of my natal chart. She was able to make connections and bring clarity to my life that would have been difficult to uncover in any conventional way (this was the early 80s, after all, long before the dawn of the Google era). It was clear to me that there was some sort of machinery at work inside the astrological wheel.