March 1, 2006

• Mercury afflicted

  (written earlier today)

  Twice in the last hour or so we have lost phone and internet
  service.  Instead of a dial tone, the phone is issuing the loud
  fast “busy signal” indicating that the system is down.  At least,
  that’s what I think it means.  I have heard that sound a lot when
  I was calling out and encountered busy circuits or some other system
  malfunction.  I’ve never before heard it instead of a dial
  tone.  Usually, if I don’t get a dial tone, I get silence.

  Since that was something new, unfamiliar to me, I thought it wise to
  test the system.  The deal we have with our phone co-op is that
  they are responsible for everything from their facilities to a box on a
  post out in our backyard.  Maintenance of the wiring from that box
  into the house, and inside here, is our responsibility.  When
  something goes wrong, the first step I have to take is to determine
  whether it is in our territory or theirs.  I do that by unplugging
  my phone from the jack in here and plugging it into a jack in that box
  on the post outside.

  The path to that box is a three-to-four-foot depth of ice and packed
  snow that Doug has shoveled off the roof.  I only broke through
  the crusty surface once on the way out there.  I was being
  careful, because there are sharp-edged ice sheets from the roof
  sticking up at odd angles all the way.  Phone in one hand,
  screwdriver to open the box in the other, I was picking my way
  cautiously by habit, not really thinking about that.

  My mind was on other things.  The phrase that popped into it just
  before my foot crashed through the crust, and I dropped the phone to
  catch my balance, was, “Mercury afflicted.”  When I discovered the
  phone/internet malfunction, I had been on my way to Xanga to share some
  observations I’d made today that illustrate the Mercury station and its
  tense, frustrating square aspect to Pluto.

  Slips of the tongue have been frequent today, both around here at home
  and on the radio.  A bumper crop of them came up during a call-in
  interview with a college student who is running for mayor of
  Anchorage.  His political naivete is attributable to his youth, I
  suppose, but he seemed to be having a lot of trouble speaking.  He
  must surely be more intelligent and articulate than he sounded today…
  just MUST.  Maybe he always pronounces “especially” with an x, but
  most of the rest of his vocal/verbal faux pas sounded like mercurian
  garble to me.  The host made the most interesting slip, I
  think.  She referred to the “MunASSipality of Anchorage.”  

  I’m working in Notepad for transfer to xTools when I can get back
  online.  During the time I have been writing this, our computer
  has been trying every few minutes to connect, and telling me there is
  no dial tone.  Once in a while I lift the phone and listen. 
  A few of those times, even the loud insistent beeping stopped and the
  line was silent.  

  Briefly, after I got back inside with the phone and screwdriver, the
  service was up and I logged onto Xanga long enough to read the two
  comments I’d gotten on the entry I posted earlier.  When the
  connection was broken again, and in the time since then, I  have
  felt a helpless feeling that is probably out of proportion to the
  reality.  As great as are my enjoyment and appreciation of the
  access I gain from the phone and internet, I think that the distress I
  feel when I  lose them is even greater.

  There’s some insight into my obsession with communication in my natal
  chart.  Mercury, the communicator, is conjunct Jupiter and the
  asteroid Ceres.  That natal stellium (grouping) is sextile Saturn,
  semi-sextile Pluto and my Moon, square my natal Uranus, semi-square my
  North Lunar Node, and quincunx (150 degrees from) my Fortuna/eclipse
  point conjunction.  The only really clear indication from so many
  and various connections is that communication is important to me.  

  How that importance shakes out is something that changes from moment to
  moment sometimes.  It gets spotlighted when there are powerful
  transiting aspects to it.  This week’s Sun/Moon/Uranus conjunction
  in Pisces is in exact opposition to my natal Virgo Mercury.  

  Tomorrow’s Mercury station (and Mercury’s apparent motion is already so
  slow as to be nearly stationary) is square transiting Pluto, which just
  happens to be in exact conjunction with my Ascendant, which has always
  been square my natal Sun.  This places the Mercury station
  opposite my natal Sun/Chiron conjunction.  I’ve been feeling ill,
  but instead of talking (or writing) about it as I often do, I’ve mostly
  been just moaning, groaning, and crying.  

  My natal Moon/Mars/Midheaven conjunction is quincunx this week’s
  transiting Sun/Moon/Uranus conjunction.  It’s a slight or “weak”
  aspect in general, but that natal stellium, being on that “elevated”
  point and with the Moon also in orb of conjunction with Neptune, has
  enough strength to emphasize even the lesser transiting aspects. 
  I may not be able to pin down and articulate the effects, but they are
  there in the back of my mind and in my dreams.  Prior experience
  suggests that when this moon goes full in a couple of weeks I’ll have
  something to say about this stuff.

  The phone is still out and I’ve been involved with this for a couple of
  hours.  No point dragging it out any further.  I’ll save this
  now (It’s 5:55 PM, my time) and post it when the web comes back up for
  me.

  • 11:29 pm
  • 6 Comments