Tuesday, July 18, 2006 | Sun-Mercury Conjunct WHEN I noticed last night that there was the exact Sun-Mercury conjunction I had the feeling it was going to be an interesting day today. I began this morning by finishing up recording my phone lines associated with a new weekly horoscope gig. Then I had to decide if I wanted to go down to the European Commission headquarters for a photo-op (called a VIP Corner) with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who were making a joint statement about needing a bigger peacekeeping force in Lebanon. I was really on the line till the very last moment...I decided to check that out...put on my most formal suit...took a cab across town, and arrived a few minutes early, in fact, on time against all odds. The enrouage arrived...I got my pictures, and took a good look at Annan, who is something of a mysterious character on the world stage. It was all remarkably calm given the situation in the Middle East, but Annan seemed to be carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, nearly holding back tears. From the Reuters story on that event: "It is urgent that the international community acts to make a difference on the ground," Annan said as Israel pounded Lebanon for a seventh day in response to the kidnapping of two soldiers and a barrage of rocket attacks on northern Israel. I stayed for a few additional press events, had coffee and chatted with some of the people I'm getting to know there (I did not get to give Kofi a copy of the 2007 Raphael's Ephemeris, which was my plan if I got close enough to him, but he was in and out pretty quick). Then I took a cab back to my neighborhood, where I stopped into visit a local "sauna" which is really a kind of efficient, professional erotic massage business. But they do actually have a sauna, and I need to use one regularly, by suggestion of my acupuncturist, and I'm friendly with the owner of the establishment...about whom I plan to write an article on what she's been doing there for the past 10 years. So I brought up the possibility of coming in mornings before things get going, which she said she would consider. I also ran into one of my closest friends in Belgium, who works there, and who has a story of her own regarding the work she now does. It was a slow day because of the heat, so it was actually possible to sit for an hour and talk. Even the little fluffy white dog, Daisy, was too hot to growl at anyone, and no customers were showing up. When we were done, I stepped outside, walked a block toward my house, and was met by the scene of a lot of paramedics working on an old guy who had collapsed on the sidewalk, and who was obviously dead, but the paramedics were going at him full tilt. He clearly needed to be left alone. I was sure I had seen the guy around the neighborhood, long white beard and white hair; but the recognition was less visual and more energetic. Nuns stood around holding umbrellas over the scene to protect everyone from the Sun, as the sound of a cardiac resuscitation device kept starting up, doing mechanical CPR. Then it would stop; then it would start again, compressing the guy's frail chest over and over as they inserted IV tubes and started oxygen. I kept looking at the scene thinking, wow, that's where that guy's long life ended, right on that sidewalk, just a moment ago. I am now back home; I plan to go down to a little luncheonette for a salad, come back, and write the August monthly horoscope for Chronogram/Planet Waves. The August edition is the one that covers the Saturn-Neptune opposition (exact) which is at the very end of the month -- how fast it showed up; it was just a moment ago I was studying those charts for Parallel Worlds -- really, eight months ago and now I'm writing the August??? horoscope? Weird, but I have this feeling every time I write August. This time, however, it's the column that sets the tone for how my readers and I approach the Saturn-Neptune opposition, the first of three exact contacts -- which coincidentally takes place on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. I think this covers about all 12 houses of the zodiac in just a few hours. But I really have my mind on that salad.