Thomas Canfield
I have never before accepted the Shadow theory regarding Mercury Retrograde. This Shadow theory claims that the effects of a Mercury Retrograde can be felt from the period when Mercury reaches the point where the retrograde was going to end, and the Shadow period after it goes direct can be felt until Mercury reaches the point of when it turned retrograde. For example, in the last Mercury Retrograde, Mercury started going retrograde on July 18 at 15 Leo. It went retrograde until it reached 4 Leo. At the beginning of July, Mercury was at 4 Leo before the retrograde started. According to the Shadow theory, Mercury Retrograde started at the beginning of July at 4 Leo. Mercury Retrograde is typified by miscommunication, lack of planning, and delays. Most Astrologers tend to watch out for the periods of Mercury Retrograde. However, it seems that the Shadow period can sneak up on people, and ACS suffered from such a major upheaval. In early July, there was no expectation of problems. That all changed on Thursday, July 10, when Mercury was at 12 Leo, slowing down as the retrograde was supposed to begin. I had run an order that morning, but in the afternoon when I tried to run an order, I found the ACS system was not working. I contacted Molly, and she told me she had shut down the main computer because she was moving it to her new home. I knew that she had been planning to move, but she had not told me where or when. She promised the ACS computer would be running again by the beginning of next week.
The computer guys did not show up at her house until the following Wednesday. Once they had hooked up the computer, I found I could not log into it. Molly had them come back on Friday, but they could do nothing more than check the internet connection. I still could not log in to the computer. Molly decided to send the computer back to New Hampshire, and it was taken to the home of our bookkeeper, Jill. She contacted a tech guy who set up the computer. With his help, I was able to log in the following weekend. When I got into the computer, I found all of the ACS programs had disappeared, and on the desktop there were files I had deleted five years earlier.
Jill kept trying to contact tech guys who might be able to help with the computer. The main person of interest was Dave Drew who had worked on the computer years ago. Unfortunately, he had gone on vacation. I was left to deal with the customers, and explained that the computer was down and we did not know when it would be fixed. Most of the customers were very understanding, and they were willing to wait on their orders until the computer was fixed. Only a handful of customers wanted a refund. When customers wanted an update, I was able to tell them of the latest delays and difficulties of Mercury Retrograde.
Dave Drew did not look at the computer until Mercury had turned direct, but it was in the Shadow period of returning to 15 Leo which would end on August 23. It was on August 23 that I got the word that the motherboard in the ACS computer was fried. This meant we would not be able to run ACS programs on that machine. With this news coming at the end of the Shadow period, it looked like ACS would be out of business. This fit a disturbing image I had considered with the Uranian Dial. When ACS was incorporated, the Sun was at Zero Aries, which is a powerful point on the Uranian Dial, sometimes marking a world event. Opposite the Aries point was 15 of a Fixed Sign on the Dial, and Mercury was returning to 15 Leo. DId this mean an opposition or ending for ACS?
Fortunately, I was able to think of one other plan. The one person we should have contacted was Rique Pottenger, who had gone into retirement about six years earlier. However, we had tried calling Rique years ago about programming matters, and he would not return our calls. I sent an e-mail to his sister, Maritha Pottenger, and she contacted Rique for us. He was willing to help us solve our problem. After conferring with Molly, Rique promised to provide a new computer for us, and he would enter the ACS software. He was going to program the computer, and later ship the computer to Molly’s new home. I would be able to login and run the backed-up orders. Rique finally got the computer working so we could run charts on Sept. 7. That was the day when there was a Lunar Eclipse, which is a good time for breaking curses. It seemed like the curse of Mercury Retrograde was ended as we ran the chart orders that had backed up. Just after the Lunar Eclipse, Venus was at 15 Leo, the starting point of Mercury Retrograde. At this point, we were able to restore the good will with our customers by getting out long-awaited charts and reports.
So, as Mercury moves beyond the Shadow period, it is a relief to be able to get back to work, and feel assured that a new computer will keep us in business for years longer. It was a summer full of crises, miscommunication, and painful waiting. We will be sure to watch out for the next Mercury Retrograde, and pay special attention to the Shadow periods. Who knows what evil lurks in Mercury Retrograde? The Shadow knows!