Words and Stars

Oneiromancy [ oh-nahy-ruh-man-see ]
     noun
divination through dreams.
Oneiromancy is based on Ancient Greek óneiros, “dream,” and manteía, “divination.” 

First, oneiromancy is obviously a misspelling of onomancy. What is onomancy? It’s the study, the divination of Yoko Ono’s neo-Dadaist music and art. Clearly!

Second, a question. Does oneiromancy have anything to do with onanism? I mean, they both start with on and, possibly, overlap with sleep, dreams and beds. Inquiring mind here and shit.

Pluviophile [ ploo-vee-uh-fahyl ]
     noun
a person who enjoys rain and rainy days, and who is fascinated by the sights, sounds, etc., of rain.

I used to be a pluviophile but now that I’m in my occasionally doddering, deaf days, I just find rainy days a touch depressing and definitely nap inspiring.

Extravasate [ ik-strav-uh-seyt ]
     verb
to pour forth lava or the like.

Uh no. This is clearly a mashup of extravagant and devastate, as in:

Donna has a tendency to extravasate pernicious fuckwits who assume she’s a weak, fragile-headed sister just because she’s deaf.

Retrograde
     adjective
moving backward; having a backward motion or direction; retiring or retreating.

I've only heard this word paired with the planet closest to the sun, Mercury. Astronomically speaking, none of our solar system buddies have periods where they actually reverse direction. They all only appear to based on their speed and distance from the earth.

So why is it always Mercury that’s in retrograde? All the planets in our solar system do this. So, what’s the big-ass deal with Mercury?

Mercury goes into retrograde three to four times a year (currently in and will be through May 14th) which isn’t more or less than any of its heliocentric siblings. I’m blaming my lack of full understanding on Darrell Martinie, the Cosmic Muffin.

When I moved to Boston in 1980, Martinie gave the morning astrological report  (he went WAY deeper than mere sun sign blatherings) on WBCN—which was THE hip station to listen to back then.  Martinie’s sign off was “It’s a wise person who rules the stars. It’s a fool who’s ruled by them. Over and out.” That said to me that, while astrology was his bread and butter, he kept it in perspective—not a slave to the airy-fairy star dust.

Astrologically, what does Mercury in retrograde entail?

During Mercury retrograde, things typically do not go as planned: your airline ticket was never valid for travel, the oh-so-important meeting you cannot miss is rescheduled at last minute, your credit card disappears into the dark recesses of your local ATM. Communication, technology, and travel can be particularly chaotic, and it is not at all unusual for items to mysteriously go missing during Mercury retrograde.
~~~
Typically, Mercury retrograde is not the ideal time to launch new ventures or sign with new clients; later, you may come to realize that you did not have all the information needed to make the best decision possible. If you must interview for a job or rent an apartment, your best bet is to return to people, places, and companies you already know and trust. (source)

Do I pay any heed to astrology? About as much as I do to religions. There are some good lessons, helpful tales and fine advice but there’s also an awful lot of crap. Serious caution is advised.