ColumnConscious life, hear me roar.

Coming home on a ferry Sunday from Martha’s Vineyard, I pulled out my iPhone and checked emails.

I should have waited until Monday.

A close friend emailed me she’d had the most bizarre weekend ever: running over a stray dildo in a bike lane, a homeless man telling her she’d “dropped her smile” while he pointed at the ground and finally, seeing a guy she’d dated on Match.com while running a half marathon. Thanks to seeing him she’d improved her time trying to run away. There was that.

Another friend had come to the conclusion she was a farmer and a designer and a mother and a whole host of things – wasn’t she? Shouldn’t she be a bee-keeper too?

And what about the straight friend who emailed me early Sunday morning that sure, she’d had a few glasses of wine but, it was for sure, she’d asked a woman out on a date and was planning on following through.

Friends looking for jobs, love, new meaning to life and a restlessness unlike anything I’ve seen in a long time.

What was my status? I’d bought a pin for my jacket on Martha’s Vineyard that read: “The voices in my head don’t like you.”

The cheery driver of our island shuttle bus shouted over the shrill noise coming from a crack in the windshield, “Mercury is in Retrograde until Wednesday!”

Another sign. Later Sunday evening at a concert in Boston, it suddenly occurred to me I was tired of being pushed by hipsters trying to channel David Bowie, who thought they should be closer to the stage than I. So, I decided not to move. To block them from passing as if a backlit Gandalf with staff.

“Is this chick drunk?” I heard one guy say to his female companion.

“No,” I said, turning around, backlit, defiantly staring into his face. “I am not drunk, you asshole, I want to hear the band!”

My husband suggested we move and pulled me by the arm.

Over the years, I’ve had many friends utter the phrase when all seems off in the world, but not until maybe the past two years have I considered planetary disruptions as part of some unsolvable life riddle. That maybe the New Agers I grew up with were right and I should be layering myself in crystals and burning Nag Champa, tattooing prophecies on my arms, reading The Farmer’s Almanac more diligently and meditating on my world energy as armor against planetary strife.

Just so we’re clear here, according to astrally-correct Cafeastrology.com, three, and sometimes four times a year, the planet Mercury does freak out a bit, and appears to be moving backwards in the sky for a period of approximately three weeks. The planet “appears” to do this “simply because the Earth is also orbiting the Sun at a different speed than the other planets.”

The site says thanks to Mercury’s “rulership over such things as speaking, negotiating, buying and selling, listening, formal contracts, documents, travel, the mail and shipping, and so forth,” delays and challenges are more probable with Mercury retrograde.

Which means, three to four times a year, get in fetal position in your closet and hunker down with some bread and water or, do like William Eadon in his vibrant crystal corner.

Continuing on with our investigation, what happens when the full moon is coming right behind Mercury in retrograde, as it is this week? Shouldn’t we all band together and do something like plant a super crop at midnight, weave a magic eco fabric, or build a green home without a plan? I mean, if confusion mixed with peyote-powerful inclinations to challenge and question authority is upon us, maybe there are some inner revelations we could vibrate as a group. We could start a new movement. We would have to tape it, of course, to prove this all happened; certainly there would be some “Oh no you didn’t!” moments but still…we could, at the very least, howl really loud together.

I say we do it.

Between the Lines is a weekly column navigating the sometimes-sharp, sometimes-blurred lines of conscious life and culture between city and country, between inner worlds and outer.

Image: Sweetie187, Williams Crystal Corner, A Selby Film. from the selby on Vimeo.

The post Between the Lines: Mercury in Retrograde appeared first on EcoSalon.

Maybe it’s not the traffic. The reason you hate L.A. so much could be because you’re a Virgo.

Is it any wonder there was looting in the streets of London last week? Mercury has been in retrograde since the beginning of the month, and will continue to reap its rampant fire energy until the 26^th. That means you’re likely to feel insecure, angry, and – in extreme cases – riotous until September.

Whether you actually buy into planetary politics (we’re reserving judgment), the cosmos are a fun and convenient foil for a range of bad behavior and bum luck.

Your astrocartography, on the other hand, is something that should be taken very, very seriously. That’s right, your astrocartography, a.k.a. locational astrology, meaning you are where you live. That’s what the experts say, anyway. And you, my dear Leo, could very well be living in the wrong ZIP code.

Pack your bags. Here’s where you should be living according to your star sign.

Aries (March 21 – April 19)
Pioneering by nature, you like the idea of being there first. If you’re not there already, you should be living in one of the next big boom towns, which are Austin, Texas, Raleigh, North Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee.

Taurus (April 20 – May 20)
You’re a nature chick at heart who gravitates towards grass, trees and pretty, healthy things. Portland, Oregon is a natural place for you, though Asheville, North Carolina (voted best place for yoga, food and foliage), is prominent on your horizon.

Gemini (May 21 – June 20)
You deal in extremes, as such Detroit is your astrological homeland. There has been a lot of speculation about the future of Detroit, either exceedingly optimistic or doomsday rapture-esque. Two things are for sure: you don’t do gray, and neither does Motor City. Welcome home.

Cancer (June 21 – July 22)
You like to maintain a tight network of family and friends around you at all times. Walla Walla, Washington is known for its onions, wine and busy bodies. We kid. Walla Walla is one of the friendliest places on earth, but that doesn’t mean it’s annoying. It just means you’ll have someone to talk to.

Leo (July 23 – August 22)
Leos are very outgoing people, and very outgoing people tend to converse well in the language of sports. You’re either a sports fanatic or hang out with people that are. Listen to that battle cry calling you home. It’s Pittsburgh, the City of Champions.

Virgo (August 23 – September 22)
You’re kind of bookish, aren’t you? What you crave is a good café in close proximity to your literary icons. You don’t mind freezing your butt off, or tolerating baseball season. As long as you can say, “Emerson was here.” Dear Virgo, get thee to Boston.

Libra (September 23 – October 22)
You’re a natural balance-seeker. Live up high, away from it all in a place like Bishop, California or Breckenridge, Colorado located 9,603 feet above sea level on the western slope of the Continental Divide.

Scorpio (October 23 – November 21)
You’re pretty intense, but plenty of exes have told you that by now. Try living near water. It will soothe your tumultuous nature. Your cities are Seattle, Minneapolis, and San Francisco.

Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21)
Adventure is your game. You need a locale that is near hiking trails. Better yet, anywhere you can go white water rafting or jump off something high. Vegas, baby. National Geographic voted it a top adventure city because just beyond Sin City is a backcountry playground.

Capricorn (December 22 – January 19)
You want to be in the heart of it all – as downtown as possible. Los Angeles is for you. Though synonymous with sprawl, traffic, and fake boobs, you will be pleasantly surprised to discover something real. The density of downtown, its superlative public transit system, plus galleries and designers galore make Downtown L.A. an ideal stomping ground for you Capricorns.

Aquarius (January 20 – February 18)
It might not sound exciting, but you crave privacy and comfort. Suburbia is for you, my friend. Routinely ranked as the most livable suburbs in the United States, consider Columbia, Maryland, Eden Prairie, Minnesota or Ames, Iowa. You’re not lame for loving the ‘burbs.

Pisces (February 19 – March 20)
You’re not likely to go totally “off the grid” since community engagement is your thing. What you need is a good commune, an intentional community where they don’t even drink Kool-Aid because it’s bad. Try Sewanee Creek, Tennesee.

Such a move could bode well for your wallet, love life, karma, alignment, and planetary sanity. Next time, instead of blaming Mercury’s movements for your wistfulness and borderline-despair, start with something more concrete that you can control: your area code.

Images: Curbed; Classic Country Land; Apple Wood Manor; After 5 Detroit; Mother Earth News; Breckenridge Real Estate; Twin Cities Real Estate; Sewanee Creek

The post The 20 Best & Worst Cities for Your Astrological Sign appeared first on EcoSalon.