As much as Mercury Retrograde makes me nervous to badly things write—I mean...write things badly—I wanted to get Earth signs to our readers. My project was simple: did the pandemic and its resulting global lockdowns make it more difficult for some of the twelve signs of the zodiac? Or were some folks better-equipped to handle the conditions of isolation and separation than others?

I found that fire sign folks adjusted pretty quickly—such is responsive/adaptive nature of Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius, particularly in an emergency. But after talking to a lot of earth sign folks, I found many adapted readily, particularly as the rules (social distancing, wearing a mask, limiting excursions) became more clear.

Earth sign folks are the organizers. These folks ensure friends and family members are secure and taken care of; the sudden need for masks, plus coping with shortages of toilet paper and hand sanitizer, shortages didn't faze them as much as it did to others. When I reached out, through various social media groups, I learned that the earth signs adapted very quickly to the conditions of isolation. Planning ahead came easily to them, and if there's one trait all three earth signs shared during this time, it's that keeping a healthy diet and maintaining a healthy weight was really difficult.

My view is that Jupiter's transit through Capricorn during the past year helped the other two earth signs as well in terms of adjustment and making the most of opportunities. The horticultural equivalent might be taking a cutting from a plant and growing it into a tree! (Please note that I'm still working on articles about how the Air and Water signs coped, so if you are a Gemini, Libra, Aquarius, Cancer, Scorpio, or a Pisces, please reach out to me at sallycragin@verizon.net).

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
Those born under the sign of the bull are generally self-possessed, and good at planning. Taurus is ruled by Venus, the sign of love, friendship, and beauty. Taureans definitely enjoyed posting photos of their sour-dough starter. Some were able to have a sense of humor about their situation: "As could be expected of a Taurus, I lost all control of my eating and gained about 30 lbs," says Tesa of Pennsylvania. Taurus also likes a lot of consistency in their lives, but the lockdown took its toll. Jennifer B of Pennsylvania coped well with the conditions at first, but then found her mood fluctuating downward.

"I lost weight at first and then put it back on," she says. "I've experienced more anxiety and lately I rarely leave or want to leave the house while being sick of my own four walls." For her, the most difficult period was November, 2020, which coincided with a solar opposition. (We all have this opposition six months after our birthday, which is our Solar Return. The sun is as far from our birthday month as it can get.)

VIRGO (August 23-September 22)
The sign that is the best at organizing, evaluating, and analyzing was caught short when the restrictions of COVID set in. Suddenly their tight schedule was blown open, leaving Virgo plenty of time. Time for planning and coping? Absolutely—but also for worrying!

Brenda, of California, reported that her first response to the COVID conditions was to watch all the news and become "obsessed with dying. I was watching the news daily and the numbers were going up so quickly, that I convinced myself I would somehow become another statistic."

But, Virgo is often the most flexible earth sign—ruled by Mercury, Virgo folks usually can find workarounds. Brenda and her family began a tradition of nightly dinners for their adult children, which helped everyone cope. Her husband "would invent some fabulous meal choosing from the $600 worth of meat and veggies from Costco he purchased weeky! I think we had enough food to bunker down for a year!"

For Patrick of Massachusetts, working remotely became at first a blessing, and then a curse. As a middle-manager in an IT firm, he was used to troubleshooting for colleagues in the office, but "having to fix their problems remotely was even more frustrating."

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 19)
Our third earth sign is one that, as they used to say about Timex watches, "takes a licking and keeps on ticking." Ruled by Saturn, the planet of responsibility, limitations, and tenacity, Capricorns often make preparing for the worst so that they're not disappointed their personal philosophy.

Not surprisingly, I found that Capricorns I spoke to were less freaked, frizzled, and fazed by the conditions of COVID. In fact, many immediately took the situation very seriously, and were among the first to start making masks. Nancy, of Leominster MA, started the "Squiggly Line" mask company after Amy, another Capricorn friend, taught her to sew.

"Even though I worked through the pandemic, I knew that I would need something to do at night," she says since her social life and community theatre activity came to a complete stop. "It was a bonus that I actually did something helpful. The name of the company also came from my day-long, outdoors and socially distanced, sewing lesson on my back patio. I simply couldn't sew a straight line."

True to Capricorn form, Nancy kept sewing and got better at it. Before long, she visited a local coffee shop, Strong Style Coffee in Fitchburg, Mass. The owner had turned the once-bustling hot spot filled with live music into a little boutique for local artists.

"When she saw my mask and found out that I made it, she said she would be happy to sell them for me. So I made a batch of 25 and dropped them off, and they have been selling like crazy ever since." Nancy is active on social media, and the photos she posted on Facebook prompted "a ton of orders." She's mailed them all over the US and Canada.

The success of her business comes from her adroitness at picking out material. "Anything with animals will sell the best, and tie dye is big, too."

For those of us who struggled to adjust to the changed conditions of life "as we knew it," earth signs get it down. "As it says on my business card, I'll keep sewing until this madness is over," she says.

For Holly of New Mexico, COVID actually came at a convenient time for her career. "I'm loving the freedom as my job of 21 years as a massage therapist at a particular spa was axed with the COVID." She found that having more time for "outdoor activities without the burden of having to go to work" was a big blessing.

For Lisa Rae of Melbourne, Australia, "it was a mixed bag. I had been super burnt out and quite sick immediately preceding the pandemic." She found the process of the lockdown made her "very anxious, and it was weird not having to dress up and look good. It was as if none of it mattered." She took a leave from her job, and then "life slowed right down and I really enjoyed that."

Conclusion:
In 2021, with Jupiter now in Aquarius, Taurus is facing reversals or obstructions in terms of the following subjects: "usual" good luck, losing weight, and returns on investment, as well as a possible rise in gullibility, or reduction in skepticism. Bulls: be bearish on "the sure thing." Virgo gets a Mars return in August through mid-September. This means huge opportunities for leadership, getting what you want (which means deciding what you want, LOL), and possible irritability at others who do not share your insight, foresight, and ability to plan. Capricorn has had two big years of transition˜whether that has meant home remodeling, struggling with a health issue, or needing to learn to "live with less." The good news is that this year, you're not in the crosshairs of adverse planetary movement. And the better news is that July through mid-September is an excellent period for expanding on improvements that came your way (or were hard-fought) in the past two years.