JUNE THEME: COZYING UP TO THE BEAST
by Simone Butler

"I like to think (and the sooner the better!) of a cybernetic meadow where mammals and computers live together in mutually programming harmony…where we are free of our labors and joined back to nature, and all watched over by machines of loving grace." ---Richard Brautigan*

I recently attempted to install a high-speed modem. Easy as pie, I was told. Yet hours later, after much wailing and gnashing of teeth, no progress had been made. This was the latest in a series of cybernetic meltdowns--you don't even want to know about the wrongly diagnosed, extremely costly cpu fan crisis, or the CD burner fiasco that preceded it. My computer had become a monster, threatening to swallow me up.

Many of us dread dealing with unpredictable technological devices, from cell phones to search engines. Still others are in thrall to these forces. I recently read about an author who obsessively punches the "refresh" button on her Blackberry many times a day to tally her book sales on Amazon.com. And, we're all aware of the mind-boggling proliferation of sleazy or mind-numbing Internet sites.

Technology is a masculine, purely mental force that must be tempered by the feminine qualities of intuition and heart. Integrating the two is the challenge we face this month. The Sun is now in the analytical air sign of Gemini, speeding up our minds along with our schedules. And, innovative but aloof Uranus is the star player in June, standing motionless as it prepares to turn retrograde in Pisces on the 23rd. Also an airy, mental force, Uranus governs the realms of logic, independence and technology. During this retrograde, through Nov. 24, we seek our freedom within. This doesn't mean isolation--in fact, just the opposite. True freedom goes hand in hand with self-assurance--the feeling of being vitally connected to the web of humans and nature, rather than cut off and alone. Reaching out to friends and groups is especially important now.

Mercury, planet of communication, will also be retrograde from June 15 to July 9, in the sensitive sign of Cancer. As always with "Merky Turkey," as my friend Kiva calls this thrice-yearly retrograde, it's a time when the logical mind goes on holiday and we get to rely on our intuitive guidance. Mechanical objects often go on the fritz, plans fall through, and it's easy to misunderstand one another. Yet we can also plumb the depths of our own psyches and figure out answers to long-standing problems. This is particularly true with Mercury retrograde in Cancer, a water sign associated with the past.

Mental planets Mercury and Uranus plunging backward in water signs represent a call to find and honor the emotions behind our habitual thinking and actions, especially as they relate to technology. We may experience emotional upset over technological difficulties or disruptive societal changes this month. On May 22 we reached the midpoint of the "Fifth Day" of the Mayan Calendar, which symbolizes the balance of our inner masculine (logic) and feminine (intuition). If you're "in the flow" and focused on a higher purpose, you've found the balance point within the spinning top of your life. If, on the other hand, your top is spinning out of control, it's time to refocus and find the center point within.

Above all, don't let technology make you crazy. The answer, for me, was to stop trying to handle this stuff on my own and reach out for help. Thanks to a techie pal, my Internet service is now up to speed. At least until the next breakdown, I'll be strolling through the cybernetic meadow alongside my mechanical counterparts, dreaming of the day when we all join as one.

"All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace," from The Pill vs. the Springhill Mine Disaster by Richard Brautigan, 1968.

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