We’ve all had this experience – we hear a new word or see a new, different thing in our world and suddenly it’s everywhere. For example, at an art museum you see a snuff box in the shape of a mongoose. Then you turn on the television and there’s a special on mongooses (mongeese?).  And then someone mentions seeing a mongoose at the zoo.

What does it mean?

For most it’s just a silly coincidence. For the metaphysical minded, there’s a desire to understand what a mongoose might represent in one’s life. According to an Internet search, the mongoose represents a need for courage in the face of fear, adventure, and rebelliousness. That’s a good lesson, but what if there are no mongooses in your environment? Then how do you learn these lessons?

Does a stream of mongooses really mean anything?

If astrology has taught me anything, it’s balance. To this astrologer, every chart has a “theme” and themes that emerge in one’s life are definitely important to notice. Balance is critical because it’s a message to us and at the same time it’s not – it’s just a mongoose crossing the road.

Taking meaning from life but avoiding self-absorption is the key. By assigning every nuance of life a personal impact is self-absorption. The most dangerous area to me is health. Assigning every illness to a flaw in a person’s thinking creates guilt and self-reproach any time there’s a sniffle or sneeze.

While I would agree illness stems from mental and spiritual imbalance, imbalance is how the world functions so balance is a constant effort, not something achieved once with a trophy awarded. So we need to be gentle with ourselves when ill, not reproachful.

Sometimes a mongoose is just a mongoose. Sometimes you just get sick.

Monkeys

And now let’s talk monkeys.  Talking to someone about marketing the other day, I mentioned a time when I and a few others were asked to assess a creative piece that consisted of different animals, including a monkey. In marketing, everyone considers themselves an expert on creative and what will influence others.

Being on the data side of marketing, my response to this inquiry was simply: my opinion doesn’t matter. Personally I find monkeys creepy. But many others find them charming. In a statistical sense my response was “Sample Size = 1.” The sample (me) is too small to generalize to any population outside of myself.

After this marketing chat, I continued with thoughts about monkeys in culture — Curious George, the monkey of children’s literature, and the “monkey mind” of Buddhism. Monkeys are both curiosity and inability to focus.

Maybe I’d blog on it, thought my monkey mind.

Then while having coffee an hour later, there was a song playing that I hadn’t heard in maybe 30 years and probably would have forgotten existed had I never heard it again – Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey by the Beatles.

Take it easy

Take it easy

Everybody’s got something to hide

Except for me and my monkey, yeah

Oh!

Okay, I’ll blog on monkeys. And, yes, I forgot about the “monkey on one’s back.” Thank you John Lennon for the reminder although I don’t believe that’s what your monkey reference is about. If I recall from the late 1970s, this has something to do with a criticism of Yoko Ono.

Mercury

In astrology, Mercury rules how we think, communicate and interact with the environment. Mercury is the messenger of the gods and in your horoscopes the “gods” are the other planets. Mercury is the monkey, both curious and unable to stay on one topic for any length of time. Mercury is the Internet and its hyperlinks that take you from looking up a recipe to the history of Albania. Mercury is the exploring toddler. Mercury moves. Mercury explores.

Into what areas does your Mercury jump around?

Mercury in a cardinal sign (Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn) will have thoughts of relationships, interactions, and new projects. Aries – self; Cancer – family; Libra – partnerships; Capricorn – reputation.

Mercury in a fixed sign (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius) will have focused, obsessive, extreme thoughts. Taurus – assets; Leo – self expression; Scorpio – emotions; Aquarius – innovation.

Mercury in a mutable sign (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces) will have fluid, creative thoughts. Gemini – interesting ideas; Virgo – health/chores; Sagittarius – new experience;  Pisces – bliss or escape.

Monkey Mind

The rise of attention-deficit disorder (ADD) diagnoses seems to correspond with the rise in excessive media. Is ADD an illness or an adaptation?

In 2009 as Pluto was beginning its transit of authoritarian Capricorn, the US Federal Communications Commission regulated that television be digitally broadcast.

Digital Television is an advanced broadcasting technology that has transformed the television viewing experience. DTV enables broadcasters to offer television with better picture and sound quality, and multiple channels of programming. Since June 13, 2009, full-power television stations nationwide have been required to broadcast exclusively in a digital format.

The switch from analog to digital broadcast television is known as the Digital Television Transition. In 1996, Congress authorized the distribution of an additional broadcast channel to every full-power TV station so that each station could launch a digital broadcast channel while simultaneously continuing analog broadcasting.  Later, Congress set June 12, 2009 as the deadline for full power television stations to stop broadcasting analog signals.

An important benefit of the switch to all-digital broadcasting is that parts of the valuable broadcast spectrum have been freed up for public safety communications by groups such as police, fire departments and rescue squads. Also, some of the spectrum has been auctioned to companies that will be able to provide consumers with advanced wireless services, such as wireless broadband.

Our digital world began with the Pluto ingress into Capricorn and by the ingress into Aquarius in 2023, we will have greatly increased interacting with screens rather than interacting with other people.

Screen. Noun. Verb.

The challenge of the monkey mind is harness its curiosity and examine itself and not get lost in the screens, the images that constantly pass before us and lure us to unnecessary reaction. There are many players in the digital world testing reaction, what causes reaction, how we react when triggered.

Mercury is the messenger between the planets in your horoscope and how they talk to each other, what they focus on and how they project their stories onto the screens of existence.

Mercury is known as the “trickster.” He tricks by moving quickly, performing slights of hand and creating illusions. Yet, Mercury can also help us “trick” ourselves. We can use Mercury to examine our own horoscopes to overcome our our own screens, our own illusions, our own stories.