Down hill

Oh, I should have known. That exhilirated, euphoric feeling that comes after finishing a project on a deadline and looking into one's knitting basket with a confidence that oozes "I think I can" whilst mulling over knitting gift holiday lists and ....then....you realize you still live with other people. You forgive the kids. Let's face it - teenagers are SUPPOSED to act like teenagers. Seven year olds frequently forget normal coping and communication skills and revert to their not-too-distant days of temper tantrums and terrible numbers ranging from 2-4. Ten year olds will get quiet and withdrawn, forcing you to spend hours trying to 'gently' poke and prod to determine if something is really wrong or not. Moms know these things and love them anyway. Okay, maybe love is not the word you use when you are intervening in such chaos and silliness, but you know it is that. No reason to abandon hope and forget your holiday knitting responsibilities. I mean, after all, the llamas have finally forged some dominance over the sheep and the getting out thing has calmed down. Also, there are no more runaway, overly fertile angora bunnies being brought in from the barn for you to nurse. Okay, okay, so your car is dead, again, and this is really the last as you have no ambition to spend thousands of dollars on a 300,000+ mile volvo but - this happens to everyone. What also happens to over 70% of Americans is divorce and I am embracing the understanding of 'why'. Won't say more there because once you get me going, I might never shut up. Still, there's lots to be happy for (healthy kids, laughter, a new kitten in the family) and much to divert our attentions from our otherwise favorite hobby - self-pity (winter is coming, fool, get prepared!) Still, funk is a mild word for the 'feeling' I am feeling.
It's a cheap shot to blame it on one of your favorite people so I won't. But, I will say that I greatly missed my monthly dose of my favorite astrologer/knitter/crazy woman - Crazy Aunt Purl this month. Instead, in a state of madness, I looked in the paper, then online, then in one of my tutti fruiti holistic journals. I began to feel sweat bead on my forehead when they all concurred 'take some time to rest on Oct. 28th'. Who the fghj are they kidding? i had a poncho to knit and three costumes to make and tricks and treats to pull off by myself because my 'partner' was challenged to take out the trash, much less all this complicated stuff. I missed that taking a rest day and now I know I was born to suffer. See, the dimwitted like myself might have studied ahead to know that our blessed universe is experiencing a 'retrograde' of mercury. I won't get too spooky on you, here, but will say that the difference is a planet rotating FORWARD (read here, going the right direction) and a planet stopping this rightness to move BACKWARD (read here, what the f.lll is happening to me?). Good news for self-torture - this lovely period of astral shite spraying will end, well, around DECEMBER 5TH. Not a long time, really, if you aren't awake for most of it. You can read all about it here but, for the busy or just plain lazy (I'm not trying to talk only to me but sometimes it may be better that way) here's the gist of it:
When Mercury is retrograde, everyone's thinking is more introspective and we tend to think about issues and concerns which relate to the sign involved. With Mercury retrograde in Scorpio, people with this sign prominent in their charts will be especially prone to such introspection. There is little choice but to reconsider our personal views and opinions about life. We receive, however, an opportunity to gain insight into our own ego.

Mercury retro in Scorpio inclines to a sharp, sarcastic tongue. People generally tend to be bold and stubborn, headstrong and difficult to get along with. Knowledge and information is equated with power and secrecy. Confusion arises over secret matters that come to light and misguided information deriving from those who cling stubbornly to their opinions. Mysticism and the occult are in the news, scarily so! People are more quarrelsome, skeptical and cynical, hanging on to opposing views and often sarcastic to others. Sexual advances and sexually coloured statements are more likely to be misconstrued.

The emotional influence of Scorpio sharpens our instincts, but makes us less sympathetic. Secrets will come to light, often to the discomfort of those concerned. It is not a good time for surgery.

All areas of communication are affected, especially in matters related to hidden things, sexual encounters, passionate commitments, jealousy, investigations and the occult. This period brings travel snafus and missed appointments of all kinds. Documents can go astray. Be sure to carry a diary and refer to it often.