Getting to Know Mercury in Astrology

Astrology is a vast subject, but the doorway in is straightforward. Once you cross the threshold, it can be like walking through the wardrobe from our world into Narnia, which makes astrology a rather amazing spiritual tool if you are willing to plumb its depths, either on your own or with the guidance of a professional astrologer. Come explore this subject with me. I want to show you how beautifully complex the subject is and how useful it can be in many different ways in your life journey.

This article is the third in a series that looks at the many points that make up your chart when cast by a professional astrologer. The astrology chart is a two-dimensional representation of the layout of the solar system when you took your first breath, and each astronomical point relates to an aspect of consciousness. Not only are you so much more than your Sun sign, but each point, including the Sun, is packed with an immense amount of information that you can only get with a fully rendered chart. This article looks at the planet Mercury.

Most people do not know any other points in their chart outside of their Sun sign.  Each major point in our solar system is represented in an astrological chart. Before the telescope, the chart consisted of points visible to the naked eye: the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn (the big 7). With telescopes, we added: Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto (to make up the big 10). Then we found Chiron, and a host of asteroids beginning with but not limited to Juno, Pallas Athene, Ceres, and Vesta. We are going to look at all these points and many more in this ongoing monthly series.

What Does Mercury Represent in Your Astrology Chart?

Mercury is the planet whose orbit is closest to the Sun, and it represents how we communicate, think, express our thoughts, and interpret others. Its placement shows us how we naturally communicate and how we tend to receive information and interpret our interactions with the people and the world around us. One of the most telling challenges with another person or obvious connections will show up in the comparison of one person’s Mercury with that of another person.

• Getting to Know Jupiter in Astrology

When people consult with me about their relationship, whether it is parent and child, siblings, or romantic, it is Mercury’s placement that I look at second. The Moon is actually first for me, then Mercury, then the Sun. Where Mercury is and how it aligns with another person will determine how they communicate with each other and whether that communication will be very much alike (in the same sign or element and near the same degree), challenging (in signs that have elements to do not easily mix, like fire to water or earth), or not really connected at all. Mercury is really a gender-neutral point, capable of being masculine or feminine. Traditionally it rules both Gemini (a masculine sign) and Virgo (a feminine sign), and the 3^rd and 6^th Houses respectively.

• The Moon in Astrology: Giving and Receiving Love

I was born with my Mercury in Aries. It shares the same sign as my Sun (and Venus, Chiron, North Node, Vulcan, Eris, and Saturn). There are many excellent books written about Mercury in astrology, and one of my favorites is an out-of-print publication by Lois M Rodden entitled The Mercury Method of Chart Comparison published by Graphic Arts Press in 1973. There is no ISBN number for this book, but copies can be found through an Amazon reseller, Alibris books, or another used book online retailer. This book provides short interpretations for Mercury to Mercury alignments at the beginning of the book as well as Mercury to other points (Sun through Pluto) in the remainder of the book. Like many books written in different eras, this one has some deterministic language we would avoid today, so it is a good primer text that requires some filtering on the part of the reader.

The Meaning of Your Mercury is in the Details

My Mercury is at 10 degrees 55 minutes of Aries between Venus at 5 degrees and Eris at 11 degrees.  My Mercury is in the 2^nd Decan Decan of Aries (each sign is divided by 10 degrees into Decans that shape the flavor of that point by degree position). The first decan of Aries is Aries/Aries, the second is Aries/Leo, and the third decan is Aries/Sagittarius.  I have an Aries/Leo Mercury. In short, I prefer to communicate directly and with some “flair” or a bit of the “sense of the dramatic”. I respond well to people who are direct; blunt people do not offend me, but crass ones do.

• The Mysterious Origins of Astrology

Marc Edmund Jones, working with Elsie Wheeler, determined special meanings for each degree of the Zodiac called the Sabian Symbols. My Mercury is between the 10^th and 11^th degree, thus the 11^th Sabian Symbol for Aries, which is interpreted as “the president of the country”, suggesting that my Mercury prefers to communicate “with authority”. The keyword assigned to this degree is idealization and the positive expression is communicating and believing in “eternal values”. Negatively this placement can lead to bombast.

With Mercury in Aries, I prefer to “charge ahead” with my thinking, and have, on more than one occasion, been known to read the instructions after I have tried to put something together. I am very comfortable figuring out many problems at the moment and adjusting my thinking “on the fly”. For many years I taught at the University level and still enjoy doing presentations where I start with a basic framework and then organically present through interactions with the audience.

Where Does your Mercury Reside?

Finally, with an exact birth time, we can determine which house or “domicile” your Mercury resides in.  In the case of my chart, my Mercury is my 6^th House of Service.  The 2^nd, 6^th, and 10^th Houses are earth domiciles and relate to how we get our needs met with our resources (2^nd), what skills we need to work successfully in the world (6^th), and how we need to produce over time to be prosperous in a career (10^th).  With my Mercury in Aries in the 6^th House, my “way of communicating manifests through my independent and heroic quest for and attraction to maverick and individualist service to others.” (Astrology Unlocked, page 91).  I use my independent thinking and forthright communication as a skill in my day-to-day work and I enjoy working one-on-one with people in a maverick way.  Spiritual advising is a great practice for my communication style.

If you want to know about YOUR Mercury, really know, then you need to get your chart cast and either do the study to learn about all the different pieces of information that make your Mercury unique or pay a professional to help you really learn what it means to have the Mercury you have. Once you dig deep into your Mercury, by sign and house, you will want to know the depth of all your other points. With that in mind, please join me next month to learn about Venus.