The Magi


If you want to hide something, put it in plain sight.



Who doesn't know the story of the Three Wise Men? How they followed the Star of Bethlehem? And the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrhh? Most people accept a folk version of the tale that portrays the three visitors as kings. One of the more popular of these has a dark skinned man as a king from Africa, a yellow skinned man as a king from Asia and a brown skinned man as a king from India. You’ve seen their statuettes at many a nativity scene. Another source of your knowledge about these gentlemen may come from the carol, “We Three Kings”. Many simply refer to the Gospel of Matthew. Whatever version you choose there are some commonalities to all of them. First, these were men who were highly respected in their home communities, be they wise men or kings. Second, they brought gifts. Third, the guidance system for their trip had an astronomical basis. The first two of these are not a problem as far as explaining the story and there are many cultural variations as we know. One of these explanations heads toward the actual truth when it acknowledges that the original Greek word first used to describe the visitors, translated in English, is Magi. There is no question as to what a Greek or Hebrew historian in early A.D. was referring to with this word – a Zoroastrian priest and Zoroastrian priests were astrologers - the acknowledged best astrologers of the day with an international reputation. This was a time when astrology was highly regarded as a science and astrologers were treated as royalty. 



So why does this get lost in translation? We get astrologer/priests following a star but that's about as far as the truth of the story gets. Periodically we get taken on an astronomical wild goose chase by stories that claim to finally identify the star of Bethlehem. These are sadly, indicative of astrology's decline in modern culture. Following a star? Any astrologer worth their salt knows what the Magi were looking at and why. That would be the subject of an entire book. Suffice it to say that they were going to an area that their calculations were telling them to search in at a particular time. That they were “following a star” could be a poetic description of their work, it's true, and yes, their calculations were astronomical ones of actual objects. But they were not following one particular star that “shone” brighter in the heavens. That is such a gross oversimplification of astrology that it can hardly be compared to the real thing. And what about the biblical reference to the “dream” they had “warning” them to not go back through Herod's territory? Again, any good astrologer would have done what is called an election chart for the start of the journey which would have told them everything about the trip including the possibility of death through a monarch's deceit and how to avoid it. To the unenlightened it might appear the astrologer received some vision from their calculations that “spoke” a warning.



Good students of history know that astrology’s present standing in the community is not from things being merely lost in translation. It is largely due to Christianity's suppression and persecution of Zoroastrian devotees and its long historical relationship and antipathy with magic which continues to this day. Heretics are kept away from the fold and their heresies are shunned. At least they left them as Kings.


Retrograde Mercury

Retrograde Mercury

Mercury is retrograde from December 8 - December 26! Sound the alarm! Your “astrological” friend has said “don't do anything until Mercury goes direct!” So what do you do? Does it depend on how much you “believe” in astrology? Perhaps you have benefited from some astrological insights and you are wondering how this retrograde Mercury fits into the scheme of things. Your unease with some of the advice you have heard is well-founded. The phenomenon known as retrograde Mercury is one of the most well-known and most misunderstood events in all of astrology–to newcomers and skeptics alike. Astronomers know what it is, of course, but give it no meaning. In one sense they are right. That would be the sense that is needed to balance much of the misunderstanding one encounters when hearing about the effects of a retrograde Mercury from what could best be called “superstitious” astrologers.

There are two fundamental concepts critical to understanding how a retrograde Mercury “works”. The first concept is the astronomical understanding of retrograde motion. The second is what ‘backwards’ means. An astronomical understanding of retrograde motion can be had by asking any astronomer or looking up online “planetary retrograde motion". Here is a link to a site that explains it and shows it in animation very clearly: The important thing to understand is that it is an apparent motion. Mercury is not actually going backwards. It only looks that way. It's an optical illusion, folks. Things of a mercurial nature are not going to start going backwards in your world. But here's the tricky part. (You didn't think you were going to have an understanding of a Mercury phenomena without it getting tricky did you? Mercury, the Trickster?)) This is the optical illusion part. Things can look like they are going backwards. It can seem like you are starting over. Sometimes you have to take a step backward to take a step forward. Your individual level of awareness and acceptance of these kinds of things largely determines your experience of a retrograde Mercury. And of course now we're talking about Mercury in your individual chart, aren't we? What is your awareness of the role of intellect in your life? Is it a servant or a dictator? How comfortable are you with reflection? With looking back? With powerlessness? Powerlessness is anathema to the intellect because you can't think your way out of it. Letting go of one's attachment to mercurial things is a lifetime spiritual discipline. Everybody just has the opportunity to get more practice when Mercury is retrograde!

For more clarification of the backwards concept let's look from an indigenous point of view. Amongst the Native American tribes from the Plains of North America, the Lakhota have an understanding of what they call ‘heyoka'. Again, I would invite you to research on your own for a fuller, more complete understanding of heyoka as there is not enough room in this short article to do it justice. Suffice it to say that the heyoka medicine man/woman literally did things backwards. He/she reminded the people to not take themselves too seriously, to remember to laugh and to remember to take time to heal. How long has it been since you've done that? A retrograde Mercury can give you more opportunities.

Another piece of the puzzle is the understanding of Mercury in the United States chart. American's relationship to intellect is a love/hate one. Too much of it and you are labeled a nerd and considered out of touch with the “real” world or a snob or worse yet, a liberal! Too little of it and you're a boob or a loser. Yet, Americans are obsessed with thinking that they can think their way out of any problem. American media is saturated with Mercury's most famous, dishonorable trait – lying. Waking up to an enlightened relationship with intellect can be most difficult if you have grown up immersed in American culture.

Having said all this, if I had a client come to me over the next few weeks while Mercury is retrograde and asked me if they should sign some important legal documents that would be binding for a long time I would advise them to wait. I was taught and have since confirmed that during the retrograde Mercury one does not have all of the information necessary to make an informed, wise decision and that it is best to wait until Mercury goes direct rather than make a decision you will regret later when the information you don't have comes in. The short version–you'll change your mind and regret that you didn't wait. Depending on the nature of what's involved and your relationship to it this can be anything from a mere inconvenience to a major life obstacle. Does that mean everything is put on hold while Mercury is retrograde? Of course not. Life can only be lived forwards but taking a step back can be a good thing.