How’s that retrograde treating ya?

Thank God for astrology–at least I know there will soon be an end to the shitshow that is Mars retrograde with a side of Mercury retrograde. This time I decided to keep a record of whatever happened during the retrogrades (primarily the Mars Rx), just for fun. So here’s how my retrograde has been going so far:

• I started a new (awesome) job, and within my first week the payroll got bungled such that people didn’t get the full amount they were owed. But it wasn’t one single mistake, it was several different ones that each only affected certain groups. So one group didn’t get paid for mileage; one group got paid, but at the wrong rate; one group got paid correctly but didn’t get paid half their stipend…and so on. No one could figure out how this constellation of errors happened.
• Right after I was hired, one fiscal year ended and the new one began. Somehow, one program was overspent at the end of the year, and so far no one can figure out where the money went (but see below).
• Someone backed into my car. At least the damage was minimal.
• I was significantly overcharged at a store and didn’t discover it until after I got home. So I had to go back–not a huge deal, but it’s like 25 miles each way so a fair bit of gas was used.
• I got hit in the head, surprisingly hard, by a falling curtain rod. It hurt for days.
• My TV stopped working. It took over a month to get the situation fixed, and now it’s not working again.
• I hit the exact same quarter-sized spot on my right hand three times in three days. There was blood. Fortunately not much.
• I got really flustered and messed up at my sucky job and got in trouble.
• I also got put on probation at my sucky job for calling off more than three times in 90 days. Three of the four times were during Mars retrograde. Two were migraines right at the beginning of Mars Rx.
• And I cannot seem to get to this job on time no matter how hard I try, though usually it’s not a problem.
• I honest-to-God shat myself at work. It was completely out of the blue and very sudden.
• The electronic payroll/timesheet system went down at my good job.
• A coworker’s computer stopped working.
• A volunteer didn’t receive her stipend because she had provided the wrong account number for direct deposit; but even though we figured out the problem and got the correct account number, somehow nobody bothered to issue the payment owed. So the poor woman was down to her last $4 before we finally got it rectified. (But, interestingly, she told me that as she went to the store with her $4 to buy some milk and bread, a man–a stranger to her–came up and started talking to her about religion. As he left he handed her $100. Which is just so…Mercurial. That whole story smells like Trickster. I love it.)
• I had a medical procedure before Mars/Merc Rx, but keep getting billed in error because some paperwork got screwed up.
• My boyfriend’s brakes went out.
• Boyfriend has been sick almost the entirety of Mars Rx.
• Boyfriend didn’t receive his last paycheck due to some kind of family bereavement or emergency on his boss’ part. Mars Rx, and its buddy the South Node, have been riding right over boyfriend’s natal Venus and North Node.
• Today, as Mars moves back into Capricorn, we discovered that a bunch of people got paid twice, for at least one pay period, but almost certainly two and very possibly three. Worse yet, some were paid out of the wrong fund (and we are talking federal grant money where every penny has to be documented and justified). Possibly worse than that, some people got paid out of yet another wrong fund (a matching fund), and that probably depleted the matching fund. Remember we are only four weeks into the new fiscal year. So now we may have an explanation for the overspend that happened last time Mars Rx was in Cap, that I referred to in the first item in this list. The error was no one person’s fault, it happened because several people all did their jobs correctly but each was missing some crucial piece of information that would have allowed them to avoid this. All this comes before a monitoring visit where all T’s must be crossed and I’s dotted. My boss, a strong woman, actually broke down and cried. On the plus side, I caught the error, which I think is a prelude to Mercury going direct next week (yay).

So what can we learn from this (besides that I am an oversharer)?

Some thoughts… The payment issues at work came to light as Mars Rx was in Capricorn. Funnily enough, my (good) job is very Capricornian/Aquarian–a nonprofit, community-based organization dedicated to helping low-income people, which deals a lot with volunteers, senior citizens, and housing (also young children). I almost wonder if there was something about Mars Rx crossing back and forth over the Capricorn/Aquarius threshold? I didn’t keep that detailed a record of the timing, alas. Looking at the matter from the point of view of the organization, the payroll issues are less about money (although that’s still a problem) and more about a breakdown in our ability to perform our responsibilities, both to our volunteers (staff pay has not been affected) and to the government as our main funding source. Responsibilities are a very Saturnian thing, and thus fit well with Capricorn and Aquarius.

From what I can tell, Mercury Rx seems to have affected me in the usual domains of commerce, transportation, and technology (especially communications- and money-related technologies). As far as I can tell, it hasn’t hit me any harder than usual, though it is conjunct my natal Mars, which I might have thought would produce more sparks.

Mars Rx, on the other hand, has affected my body, in the form of minor injuries and, er, issues of the digestive tract. (Now that I think of it, my digestion has actually been really awful during this period. That is no doubt related to the fact that my diet has suffered due to my being super busy–which seems very Mars Rx–but there has just been a general lack of vitality which is definitely very Mars Rx.) While in Aquarius, Mars Rx (and South Node) have been opposing my natal Mars, so blah health and low energy isn’t exactly surprising. (Also the eclipses have been aspecting my Mars.) The bf seems to also be feeling Mars Rx primarily as bodily affliction. Marx Rx is happening in my 11th/12th houses (by whole signs), or my 11th (by quadrants), which is perhaps fitting given that a lot of the problems that have arisen for me or around me have been in the context of my new job, which is very 11th-housey.

I have had no adverse affects (knock wood) in my relationship, friendships, family relations, housing, or neighbors. I have not had any conflicts to speak of. Although we’ve had money problems at work, my own finances have (again, knock wood) not been affected negatively–in fact they are in better shape than they have been in years. My intuitive abilities are not as sharp as usual, but not so dull that it has been a problem. My sucky job has always been sucky, that’s not due to the current transit, but that is overshadowed by the new job which I love. My creative juices have started flowing again now that I have no time to express them, and that’s very exciting for me.

Anyway, I thought that might be useful–if only for a good laugh at my expense–as a concrete example of how this transit is playing out.