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Mercury in Astrology
"Mercury has the best appearance, is witty, fond of jokes and
laughter, and is learned. He takes upon himself
the nature and constitution of the planets with
which he is associated." Parashari 3.26.
Mercury is the great messenger of the Gods. He is the planet
which represents speech, communication and
commerce on all levels. In his lower function he
organizes and articulates material resources. On
a higher level he connects us with our inner
capacities, the powers of the mind. As Jupiter
generally represents the higher or abstract
mind, Mercury indicates the lower or concrete
mind, the intellect or informational mentality.
However, Mercury is not limited to this.
He also shows the higher mind in its discriminating ability
and connects us with the Divine Word or word of
truth. Mercury governs names. On a lower level
these are the outer appearances of title and
personality which are illusory. On a higher
level they are the names of God which connect us
to the true reality of things.
Mercury governs writing, education, calculation, thought.
Mercury is the fastest moving of the planets and
so is indicative of quick comprehension,
facility, ease and plasticity in expression.
Mercury provides for the quick correlation of
ideas, the fast interchange of information or of
things of value. He is mental and nervous energy
in its articulate activity. He shows our
intellectual powers and the degree of mental
development in life.
Mercury is a child and indicates the state of childhood
generally, particularly in the period between
infancy and adolescence. Afflictions to Mercury
may mean health problems in childhood, troubles
in the home life or difficulty at school. The
mind and nervous system, as well as the lungs
may suffer.
As a planet of commerce, Mercury represents trade, or
articles of trade, including money. Though not
in himself a planet of wealth, he is helpful in
both acquiring it and keeping it, as he helps us
organize it. He is necessary whenever there is
to be an exchange or ideas or commodities.
He sees the value of open markets and free communication and
is not restricted by boundaries of race, nation,
caste or belief, but he can be attached to his
own opinion, his calculations and his own gains
and losses. Mercury breaks down barriers between
people and reveals a common humanity and common
human needs. As such, he possesses a certain
compassion and sense of equality based not so
much upon sentiment as upon objectivity and
practicality.
Afflicted he is similarly willing to exploit everyone, though
he will often improve their outer condition to
some degree in the process. Mercury is an
important factor for determining our vocation,
as that is what we do in life to communicate
with others, our interchange with society.
Mercury shows how we appear and how we function in the
network of transactions that makes up the world
of things and ideas. In this regard, his
representation of our education or training in
life comes into play. He is the child that is
the father of the man.
Mercury is the most mutable of the planets. As such he easily
takes upon himself the nature of the other
planets with which he is associated, for good or
for ill. He may value communication and public
opinion more than truth, and become dependent on
and defensive of whatever is the strongest
environmental influence. He is the mind which
has no real nature of its own but reflects
whatever it considers to be the reality, which
may be no more than the impressions of the
senses.
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