Mercury : intellect and communication
See Planetary Rulerships.
- Element : Earth (cold and dry, although the Air element is directly involved)
- Polarity : Neutral
- Harmonic or complementary Planets (excluding Aspects) :
Jupiter – Uranus - Cycle duration : 357 days (Zodiac), about 88 days (Sun)
- Symbolizing aspect : Semi-sextile
- Corresponding life age : 10 to 18 years old (Teenagehood)
- Physiology : nervous system (electricity), brain
- Mercury travels about 1 degree a day; the planet never deviates more than 28 degrees from the Sun.
- Mercury is in retrograde 23 days in about 3 loops a year.
Mercury in Astronomy
At the same time the smallest planet in the solar system, but the closest to the Sun with the fastest cycle, its surface resembles to our Moon but darker.
Its orbit is excentric and very chaotic, but its rotation on itself is slow.
Without atmosphere, the planet Mercury has been bombarded, leaving traces of craters on its surface. Its temperature is high on average -more than 750°F / 400°C- because of its proximity to the Sun, but its dark side is much colder.
In its composition, its proportion of iron is surprisingly very high. Moreover Mercury has a weak magnetic field.
Its revolution around the Sun is very fast (88 days).
See: Mercury on Wikipedia
Mercury, astrological planet
Mercury, as the 1st planet in the solar system after the Sun is the first step of the fundamental solar energy differentiation, the expression of will, self-assertion by the intellect, it’s the primitive electrical nerve impulse.
As its 2 Rulerships suggests, there are 2 Mercury :
- Gemini Mercury very eclectic, sociable, eloquent, intuitive, creative, flexible…
- Virgo Mercury more analytical, perfectionist, organized, rigorous, determined, hardworking…
As an inner planet in Earth’s orbit, Mercury is a planet of the Individuation as are Venus and the Moon. Therefore, Mercury with its mental connects in priority the venusian functions (attractiveness, feelings and emotions, affectivity) and the lunar functions (unconscious, intimate inner world of the ego, psyche, traditional roots, daily vital environment, material possessiveness and conservatism).
Its primary mission is to make the individual aware of his ipseity through the accentuation of dualities, the binary distinction of differences, the discernment of one’s environment, thus leading to the discrimination, to the selection, understanding what is “Me”, what is “the Other”.
To carry out this function, Mercury develops reasoning, intelligence and mental leading to subjectivity, it promotes curiosity, fast flexibility as well as exchanges and communications : Mercury has verb mastery, the Logos, leading to the objective spiritual development.
Later, by opening up to the collective, Mercury will establish communication with all other planetary functions of the social planets (Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) and the transpersonal planets (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto).
Mercury prepares the ground for Jupiter. It is the intelligence and relationship functions of Mercury that lay the foundation for Jupiter’s sociability and expansion, which first enable the connection to our environment and then lead to the social integration of the individual, to his individual solar evolution and realization, and later to his spiritual realization.
It is indeed the mental function of Mercury that in part guides the advancement of consciousness in its transpersonal journey.
Mercury is the lower octave of Uranus, Mercury provides the foundation for Uranus, a strong or weak Mercury will impact the way of living the revolutions and freedom brought by the planet Uranus.
Mercury symbolically represents all means of communication, writing, speeches, studies, memorization… It manages and represents all relationships with customers, neighbors, brothers and sisters, cousins, friends.
The professions favored by Mercury touch on literature, publishing, journalism, advertising, commerce, lawyers, thieves…
Mercury also represents transport, short trips, in the “exchange” mode… more generally, “it is movement”.
Mercury in your Birth Chart indicates your intellect properties (the mind and intelligence), your sense of exchange and communication.
It indicates your reasoning skills, your understanding and learning facilities.
Mercury in signs indicates the archetype of consciousness that will color your ways of thinking, doing, speaking, sharing, teaching, the character that will imprint your exchanges…
Note that some astrologers attribute the exaltation of the planet to the sign of Aquarius in addition to that of Virgo.
Mercury in houses indicates the sector of human activity where this mentality, this curiosity, the faculties of analysis and pedagogy are found.
In Aspect and in transits (see Mercury in transit), Mercury being neutral, it is easily colored with the hues of the other planets, in some cases reinforcing its functions, but in others it can go the other way around. The effects of the transits can go from excess nervousness, to a dispersion, or an exacerbated or on the contrary ankylosed alertness of spirit…
Mercury is the Sun’s auxiliary with Venus, it supports the process of Individuation that it initiates at the mental and intellectual level, where Venus acts on feelings and emotions.
Mercury retrograde tends to express himself under the colors according to its second sign of rulership, Virgo.
Mercury retrograde in Birth Chart means a certain interiorization of the mental functions of the planet that can indicate different delays or slowdowns, especially of learning, the native needs analysis and reflection before integration and utilisation of the new knowledge and of the “classical” Mercurial function.
This native has less self-confidence, he is contemplative, slower and calm, more secretive, less expansive and very reserved about his feelings in public, his reflection takes precedence over his expression. His nature pushes him to individualism, even to a certain isolation and marginality.
Often in a state of dizziness towards the outside world, this native has a memory very focused on subtle and subjective feelings (neglected by Mercury direct expressing the Sun, this Mercury is as if tinted by the Moon).
If the native Mercury retrograde activates the deep mental, the self analysis can turn to a deep self-criticism to the point of devaluation.
Watch for its direct motion resumption in Progression.
In transit, the Retrograde motion of Mercury often indicates a period of reflection or study, an intellectual maturation, a return of attention on a recent subject (or a correction), a deepening in a domain of the theme (study the Birth Chart, Houses concerned, other transits…), or even any form of frustration or delay in communication, transportation or other fields of Mercury… we must be patient and not focus on frustrations.
Mercury Retrograde often resonates with native Mercury.
Reasoning, logical and analytical skills are more internalized and therefore less available for everyday events, so it is advisable to avoid making firm commitments on important decisions (signing a contract or making a long-term commitment).
A Retrogradation is an integral part of the cycle, as such, and in the perspective of a humanistic astrology that I defend, it must be used in one way or another, more than dreaded (as too often in traditional astrology).
Mercury’s retrograde motions occur several times a year, so they have an important impact in our daily evolution, read my article How to live Mercury retrograde on a daily basis.
Mercury’s cycle
Mercury -like Venus- being a planet inside the Earth’s orbit, its cycle and retrograde motion are analyzed from an astrological point of view in a specific way. The retrograde motions meaning of the superior planets -exterior after Mars- are different.
Mercury is in retrograde about 3 times per year, one distinguishes 4 phases in this process (without going into the details of the station phases, entry into retrograde motion and resumption of the direct motion) :
- Mercury is behind the Sun in the Zodiac (example, Mercury in Taurus, Sun in Gemini), it is called “Mercury Prometheus”, the morning star, it gives values like stained by Uranus : autonomous, a pioneering, avant-garde and visionary mind, a thirst for knowledge, open-minded, open to the future and modernity, intuitive, creative, rebellious.
- Inferior conjunction
- When Mercury is in front of the Sun in the Zodiac (example, Sun in Pisces, Mercury in Aries), it is called “Mercury Epimetheus”, the evening star, it gives values like toned by the Moon : sense of cohesion, adaptability, sense of daily experiences, conservatism, search for security, nostalgia, as well as the extroversion of a lunar increasing phase, then the introversion of a lunar decreasing phase, from subjectivity to objectivity…
This Mercury symbolically emancipates itself from the Sun. - Superior conjunction
If you are particularly interested in this aspect of Mercury’s cycle, I recommend the book “The Astrological Aspects – A process-Oriented approach” by Dane Rudhyar.
Mercurian personality traits
A native whose Chart will be strongly marked by Mercury will have communicative qualities, a quick mind, a sense of opportunism, a good adaptability and resourcefulness, the gift of acting… and a tendency to put reason before feelings (Venus).
Negative Mercury : nervousness, agitation, dispersion, lying, cheating, concealing, abuse, dishonesty…
Character traits found in Gemini and Virgo (their Domiciles).
In the circle of life, Mercury represents the age of teenagehood from about 10 to 18 years old, the period of study and learning, curiosity, discovery… The time to enjoy life, to discover one’s environment and to create friendly relationships.
Mercury in mythology is inspired by the Hermes God, (the messenger of the Gods, the caduceus), see Hermes on Wikipedia