This is Hermes at all of a day old stealing the cattle of Apollo in one of those don't do as I do, do as I say moments so typical of the Greek deities, even though Hermes came to be viewed as the patron of thieves. He was not celebrating the Equinox, I'm sure, though it can be seen as such. I thought it was appropriate to post this due to the nature of how he attempted to avoid detection-by walking backwards in what turned out to be a lame attempt to lure Apollo in the opposite direction. The only thing missing from the scenario was Hermes hiding under a blanket in the middle of the room and thinking there was no possible way Apollo could see him when he, in fact, found him pretty quickly. I would imagine the presence of the cattle might have settled it.
I mention this because, as Hermes was traditionally associated with the planet Mercury by many (the Roman god Mercury certainly was, but be advised that not all the Roman priest hierarchy agreed that Hermes and Mercury were identical), this might have been a myth intended to explain the purpose behind the frequent retrograde motions of the planet. This is especially noteworthy as there are four such retrograde periods this year-there is generally but three.
Could this signify an unusual type of financial or other reversal at the end of the year. We'll see.
