LUNAR CALENDAR
July 30th – new moon
August 2nd – Mercury goes retrograde
13th – Full moon – finish something
26th – Mercury goes direct
28th – New moon – start a new project
The flip side of Mercury Retrogrades
Usually Mercury retrogrades are considered difficult because as the planet appears to halt and then appears to be going backwards in the sky. We expect communications to break down as well as our lawnmowers, cars and other appliances. Contracts and deals made need to be renegotiated or revisited. This three week period is often slow and stagnant for sales and progress in general. This time, many of us are welcoming a chance to take a break and catch a breath. That hectic pace so many of us have been living and working in will hopefully become more manageable. This is a time to reevaluate, revise, reflect, revisit and relax. This is a time to catch up with people from the past, clean up the messes that have been sitting around or ones we may have made recently in our haste or just do things we’ve been meaning to do for a long time. Just be sure to double-check the details.
Chinese significance of ANIMALS/INSECTS/CRITTERS
- Bat – lucky, happiness and longevity
- Bear – bravery and strength
- Bee – industry and thrift
- Butterfly – joy, summer, Chinese Cupid
- Cat – protector, wards off evil spirits
- Cicada – happiness and eternal youth, immortality and resurrection
- Crane – longevity
- Cricket – summer, courage
- Crow – the sun, filial piety
- Deer – long life, immortality
- Dog – fidelity, Khan Hsiang-Tao says “the dog is a creature that keeps watch and is skillful in its selection of men; it will keep away from anyone who is not what he should be.”
- Donkey – stupidity
- Dove – long life
- Dragon-fly – summer, instability and weakness
- Hare – longevity
- Leopard – bravery and martial ferocity
- Lion – valor and energy
- Magpie – bird of joy , good omen
- Mosquito – wickedness and rebellion ” A multitude of evilly disposed people will stir up strife, just like a crowd of mosquitoes can make a noise like thunder” said Chung Shang-Wang.
- Peacock – beauty and dignity
- Owl – considered an evil bird , young eat the mother
- Praying Mantis – greedy and tenacious, headstrong
- Toad/frog – three legged one is especially money making, auspicious and conducive to good fortune
Source: Chinese Symbolism and Art Motifs by C. A. S Williams