 by Sissy Blue Millie chose a position at the end of the long oval table, and spread her accounting papers out in front of her. She looked at her watch and sighed. This was not the right time for such an important meeting. Kitty fell into a chair beside her and threw her sales reports on the table. "I’ve been working all morning on these reports, and I really hope I get a chance to present some new ideas that I’ve been thinking about." Fat chance, Millie thought, glancing at her watch again. It’s almost time. Allen from the Shipping Department, and Patrick from Supplies were talking together as they sat down at the table. "I just know it’ll work," Allen said. "This concept could really speed up our Shipping Department." "It would really help my department also, " Patrick said. "It would cut down on the supply expense." John from Manufacturing was excited as he pulled up a chair next to Millie. "Guess what?" "What?" Millie responded. "I figured out a way to increase our production without adding any expense," John said. "In fact, it will save a lot of money." Millie buried her head in her hands and peeked at her papers through her fingers. We have to bring things back into balance, she thought. The way the CEO has been spending money, we’ll be bankrupt soon. Unknown to her comrades, she had been studying Astrology at night and on the weekends, and she had learned a lot about timing. There was a period of time when it was better to take a nap than to make major decisions, and that was when the Moon was Void. The time frame between the Moon’s last aspect to a major planet and the entrance into a new sign was called Void-of-Course. On her home computer, she had calculated the Void Moon and studied the results carefully. This meeting is going to be a disaster! She thought. Bob, the CEO, breezed into the room and rushed toward the head of the table. "Good afternoon!" he called to everyone. He threw his briefcase on the table and snapped it open. "We have a lot to discuss, so let’s get right to it." All the department managers leaned forward, each one anxious to get their chance to present their ideas. The secretary opened the door and interrupted Bob before he could get the meeting started. "You have an important overseas call," she said. "All right," he answered, "I’ll take it in my office." He hurried out the door. Millie looked at her watch. Allen shuffled his papers. Patrick scribbled on a piece of paper. John stared into space. Kitty looked bored. Bob was gone a long time, well into the Void period. When he returned, he seemed distracted. "Anything wrong, Boss?" Allen asked. "Uh,—no—uh—where were we?" Bob glanced around the room. Patrick shrugged his shoulders. "We weren’t anywhere yet." John looked numb. "Huh?" Kitty yawned. Bob said, "Kitty, give us your report on sales." Kitty opened her eyes wide. "O.K." She stared at the papers in front of her. "Well, I was thinking—that—well, maybe—if we had—or—" Bob stared at her. "Had what?" "Had—a little—well—" "You’re not making sense, Kitty," Bob accused. He turned to Allen. "Let me hear these new ideas you have about shipping." Allen shuffled papers again. "Yes. I found that if we brought boxes from Chicago, I mean, different boxes than we’ve had, and we could get some of this strange new adhesive tape from Boston, with funny labels—." "Wait," Bob held his hand up. "Are you saying the adhesive tape has funny labels?" "Uh, no, I didn’t mean that, I meant the funny labels we can get from Phoenix." Bob challenged, "Are they cartoon labels?" "No, I don’t mean funny Ha-Ha, I mean—" "Never mind," Bob interrupted. "Millie, how about you? Can you make sense?" Millie stood and in a soft low voice, began to slowly talk about plus and minus numbers that no one could understand, even her. Her monotone went on for several minutes, until she looked around and saw that everyone was asleep. She sat down quietly and laid her head on the table. She could hear Bob snoring into his open briefcase, which echoed across the room. Time ticked away, as the group breathed deeply, letting their minds take a much needed rest. The Moon entered the sign of Gemini, and a moment later, the cell phone in Bob’s pocket rang sharply, startling everyone awake. Allen suddenly shuffled his papers. Patrick hastily scribbled on a notepad. John and Kitty shifted in their chairs. Bob sat up and juggled his phone, punching several wrong buttons, effectively cutting off the calling party. "I guess I spaced out for a minute. Where were we?" Allen jumped up. "I wanted to present a new concept I had for shipping." Patrick interrupted, "His ideas are great! They will save a lot of supplies." "I wanted to talk about some new advertising slogans that will help sales," Kitty said. "Wait! One at a time!" Bob said. Millie smiled as she looked at her watch. In the following months, the new ideas saved the company, and eventually, Millie explained to Bob about the Void Moon. At first, he was skeptical, but one day he overheard Allen and Patrick snickering about him snoring into his open briefcase, and he never again scheduled meetings during a Void Moon. Maybe the Universe has a way of looking out for us when the Moon goes Void, even through we might be uninitiated, unaware, and sleepy. (Editorial Note: Indeed, we here on Earth are guided by the Moon in our daily lives. Check it out. —Maya) Sissy Blue, a former Astrological Counselor, now lives and writes in Arizona. She can be reached at sissyblueaz@yahoo.com. |