Murphy's Law and Mercury Retrogrades

Murphy's Law: "If anything can go wrong, it will."

Murphy's Law was named after Capt. Edward A. Murphy, an air-force engineer who was reported to have cursed a technician under him who always committed mistakes. Referring to this man Murphy uttered, "If there is any way to do it wrong, he'll find it." This statement became very popular as it was since the universally observed.


Murphy's Law becomes more meaningful when used in conjunction with astrology, as recurring planetary factors will supply the "time" element- giving us an idea "when" things will likely go wrong.

Here is the paraphrased Murphy's Law with an astrological slant:
"If everything can go wrong, more often than not - it will go wrong during Mercury retrograde time periods."

Mercury Retrograde recurs three times a year and the last time this occurred was from July 4 to July 28. A few days before this period is called the shadow of the retrograde wherein some of its effects can already be felt. Reviewing the last three weeks of July would be a good way of understanding how the knowledge of Mercury Retrograde can be useful to us especially in scheduling important activities in the future.

If you know that something may go wrong and you are warned about it - you actually have a choice. It does not necessarily have to go wrong - you can choose to avoid it.

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The Unexpected Happen During Mercury Retrogrades

Even the technical and scientifically advanced NASA succumbed to the Mercury retrograde effect. The launching of space shuttle Discovery, which was originally schedule on July 1 (within the so-called shadow of Mercury retrograde) was delayed due to something unexpected - thunderstorms. After several tries Discovery finally lifted off to space on July 4.

Activities Launched During Mercury Retrogrades Often Fail

On July 5, North Korea test-fired its missiles, apparently to show the world it's military might. Among those tested is the Taepodong-2, Nokor's new long-range missile which was designed to hit the United States. However, in a true Mercury Retrograde fashion, Taepodong 2 crashed just 42 seconds after takeoff.


There is Confusion During Mercury Retrograde

What happened in Mexico looks like a retrograde effect to me. The Presidential election was held on July 2 (within the so-called shadow of Mercury retrograde) but days after both parties declared victory causing a confusion and even uncertainty among the Mexicans. The officials announced Felipe Calderon as the winner on the following week (Mercury retrograde period). However, trouble is far from over as the left-leaning candidate Lopez Obrador vowed to challenged the election results from the Federal tribunal to the Supreme Court and even in the streets.

Talks and Treaties Break Down During Mercury Retrogrades

The most common effect of Mercury retrograde is misunderstanding which can happen in any setting from the most simple matter (such as giving instruction to someone) to those that are complex and have far-reaching effects (such as talks between world leaders). The rule of thumb here is that the more important an activity is the more you should not schedule it during Mercury retrograde periods.

Take the case of the World Trade Organization's Doha Round. This meeting was considered a once-in-a-generation chance to boost growth and ease poverty in the world. The talks bogged down on July 24 and some participants believed that it would take years before it will be revived. There are many reasons why it was not successful but as our modified Murphy's Law stated- if something can go wrong in WTO negotiations, it could go wrong when scheduled during a Mercury retrograde period.  Even if there are positive aspects Jupiter trine Venus and Moon conjunct Mercury, that didn't help Mercury retrograde prevailed. 

There are 52-weeks in a year wherein important negotiations can be scheduled. Mercury turns retrograde for just about 3 weeks every 4 months. If important trade negotiations and treaties between nations were scheduled when there is no retrograde the chances of reaching an agreement would be greater. Unfortunately, WTO has a habit of picking Mercury retrograde period as dates for World Trade talks. The WTO negotiation in Cancun Mexico, which was held in September 2003 also failed to achieve its purpose- not surprisingly it was held during a Mercury Retrograde period.

More recently, we saw the Mercury Retrograde effect in the efforts of the West lead by US Secretary of State Condaleeza Rice to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. The peace efforts were unsuccessful. Interestingly, this tension in the Middle-east got worse during this last Mercury Retrograde.

The Purpose of Mercury Retrogrades

Mercury Retrograde periods serve a purpose -it's like the nighttime as opposed to daytime. During the day we go about our daily activities, we make decisions and start new activities. During nighttime, as we go to sleep, we review what has transpired in the day.  We re-think whether one has made correct decisions and eventually relax and fall asleep. Some people who cannot consciously review the day do so in their dreams. Mercury Retrogrades are like that - it was not meant to be the time for scheduling important activities.