What Stupid Thing Did I Do During Mercury Retrograde? Shop

by Milky Way Maid

Having written about Mercury retrograde does not keep me from doing stupid stuff while Mercury is in fact moving in retrograde motion.

Witness the fact that I went shopping a bit last Friday, April 15. I knew Mercury was retrograde. I knew that if one goes shopping during a Mercury retrograde, one ought to examine the merchandise pretty carefully for damage and make sure it fits. One cannot count on being able to return the item for a cash refund, you know.
I figure used items fit well into the Mercury retrograde theme, so I go to resale shops. So far, so good, because I find three pairs of shoes at the local Salvation Army store.

And I really needed shoes so I was happy to find anything that fit my wide feet. Maybe I was a bit too happy, because I did not lift the shoes up or flip them over.
Item Number One: One pair looked like it had never been worn. These were the Earth Shoe sandals in a mahogany color. Kind of like huaraches. Very nice, I'll take them.

Item Number Two: Another was a very simple pair of basic loafers. Gotta have some loafers, right? Only $5, worth every penny if they fit. I could get my feet into them at the store, so in the cart they went.

Item Number Three: The third pair was another pair of sandals in split leather or a lookalike, with a little rosette cut out near the toe and a T-strap. They seemed quite roomy in the toes and so I said to myself, hey this is my lucky day, girl. In the cart they went.

Item Number Four: The last item was a leather-look purse or portfolio with a Kathy Lee brand logo. Pretty good shape, a bit dirty but I can clean it up a bit. Will hold a lot and looks very sturdy. At $2.99 this is the steal of the day. And I only found this after about giving up looking for purses in another section of the store. This was hanging with the backpacks and above the luggage.

Now you get three guesses which item or items were the clunkers.

ANSWERS: Over the weekend, I tried to put on the basic loafers and I could not even get my feet into them. What?!? Well, they were obviously unworn so I put them back into a plastic bag and would return them Monday while on some errands. Had to hunt a bit for the receipt, but yes here it is, in the bag it went with the shoes. One of the hallmarks of Mercury retrograde is having to do things over again: go back to the store to make a return, tear out the floor you just did and start over, redo the document that you just lost to the cyber gods, etc.

I stop at the gas station while out on my errands. I am wearing sandals, Item Number Two. I feel kinda funny while standing there pumping gas into the tank, and bend over to examine the sandals. You know what? These are REALLY ventilated. The outer seam where the uppers attach to the base is ripped out from my little toes to the heel section. Wow. When did this happen? Before they were donated to S.A., or when I wore them while doing laundry over the weekend? I will never know. I do not want to make another trip home to put on other shoes, so I could take these back with the loafers.

I decide to tough it out and just take the loafers back for now. I go into the store with the bag and receipt and explain the problem with the loafers to the clerk at the checkout.

She stated that normally they only take clothes as returns, but would take back this pair this time only. I thank her. She asks if I want a store credit or would like to shop a bit today. I tell her I will look around and if I cannot find anything today, I will take the store credit, thanks.

So I wander back to the shoe section and lo and behold, I find a nice pair of white shoes, wide in the toes and properly snug in the heel. These are the kind that are cut low in back and I normally do not look twice at that style. These catch my eye because they look nice and summery and I sure need the toe room. They fit wonderfully well and I gladly take them back to the checkout lady. They are the exact same price as the loafers and so I do not have to cough up more nickels and dimes.

OK, I got an even exchange on the loafers for a nice pair of summer shoes. When I get home, I take off the tan sandals and look at them more closely. I had in mind that maybe these could be reglued by a cobbler or something.

But these are a disaster. Not only have the uppers come apart from the base all along the outer edge, but the soles have deep cracks if you bend them. Both shoes. Made in Spain, if that means anything. The rain in Spain gets your feet wet because the shoes are falling apart.

I decide that well, I did not do too badly. In the end, I got two pairs of shoes and a sturdy purse for a total of about $24. The purse alone was worth that. One pair of shoes in a mall would have cost me at least that much. So I did not cry too much over the lost $6.99 or whatever for the Spanish sandals. Except that I am so broke right now that I cannot easily spare that amount. But mustn't cry over spilt milk. Count myself lucky to find anything at all. Yep, life can be good sometimes. Even under a Mercury retrograde.

Economic Forecast for the Christmas Shopping Season

Having spent several years tracking the behavior of Christmas shoppers by the timing of Mercury stations, retrogrades and direct motion, I find that all that history is not applicable to the upcoming Christmas shopping season. Mercury is not retrograde any part of the holiday season proper; in fact, the last retrograde was Sept. 25 thru Oct. 15, ending right about the time all heck broke loose in the stock market.

Nevertheless, I will plunge onward with a stab at the behavior of shoppers this holiday season by looking at the flavors, so to speak, of the personal planets during these last few weeks of the year.

Let’s start with Mercury. Mercury is not getting any boost from a direct station during this time frame, as I mentioned above. It entered serious and spiritual Scorpio on Nov. 5, and then quickly enters happy-go-lucky Sagittarius on Nov. 24. This puts shoppers in a more optimistic mood in time for the kickoff of the official holiday shopping season. Sag is a free spender, but is also notorious for buying multiples of something, so stores that offer two for one or buy X number and get one free should do well with that.

Sag rules publishing -- so books sales should do reasonably well -- and law, religion and higher education. Perhaps grandparents will chip in something to their grandchildrens’ college funds rather than spend it on something that is disposable.

Venus and Jupiter, the two benefics, will be in serious-minded Capricorn (Venus from Nov. 13 till Dec. 8 when it slips into Aquarius). These two planets also be accompanied by the asteroid Juno, the wife or she-who-must-be-obeyed. Jupiter trines Saturn (plus asteroid Ceres) in earth sign Virgo and Vesta in the other earth sign Taurus (at least till Dec. 6). This earth trinity focuses on the practical, the durable, and on what you can produce yourself. Some may choose to exchange home-made gifts (Cappy and Taurus) or services/lessons (Virgo)with each other. Others may keep an eye to hard goods and supplies for making one’s own whatever, or things needed to start a sideline that brings in a second income stream.

An example: a plow attachment for one’s pickup truck so one can solicit local contracts to clear parking lots. Another example: spouting one’s own herbs in containers on the windowsill, to save on expensive store-bought seasoning. One might also turn a hand to making at least some of one’s own clothing or doing your own repairs, so that could mean buying your first sewing machine and lessons. More men may elect to change their own car’s oil and other basic maintenance rather than go in to the shop for everything.

Another note to keep in mind as you read the reports on how merchants are doing -- my thoughts are that shoppers will tend to cling to old reliable merchants that have been around awhile because of this heavy Capricorn and earth-sign influence. So stores like JC Penney, or even Sears and Abercrombie & Fitch, could see more shoppers who want to know that the store will still be there after Dec. 26 to accept exchanges. (I mention Penney’s because Bill Meridian mentioned that chain as due for an upswing over the next six months in a recent column.)

Vesta in Taurus trine Ceres in Virgo also will keep the accent on putting out a bountiful spread for holiday dinners. Taurus always likes to feed people anyway, and Virgo will bring healthful versions of old favorites, with less fat, omitting the GMO ingredients, and substituting organic as much as possible.

When Venus enters altruistic Aquarius on Dec. 6, the public may turn more to charitable giving than to spending still more on “stuff”. And families may schedule more group activities like attending city tree-lighting ceremonies or helping out with food banks. Aquarius may also give a late kick on sales of electronic items such as computers, printers, phones and software.

Mars enters the season in Scorpio. Mars in this position is quite the vulture shopper, as I call them. They shop where there are distressed sellers, and so those stores such as Mervyns that are liquidating their inventory in holiday sales before closing will be quite popular. Mars will enter Sagittarius on Nov. 17, where it will later be joined by Mercury. These two planets in the stock-up sign Sag will have a ball clearing out the shelves of vendors who offer deals on multiples -- the aforementioned “buy two, get one free” kind of thing.

Again, I do not see any burst of pent-up shopping desire, or any even necessarily any insistence on mark-downs. But the emphasis is on getting value for one’s dollar and buying items that will be used for a while. I see less buying of electronics gadgets and silly stuff, except for that rather late spike when Venus enters Aquarius. Vendors like Best Buy and Radio Shack will not be too pleased with that, and will have to work very hard to get shoppers attention in the immediate post-Thanksgiving week.

Best wishes for a happy holiday season, and I hope that your dreams have not all been shelved for another year.