Mercury the cosmic messenger and eternal actor
Learning Astrology
Mercury has some special talents to share with us. He has the gifts of youthful living and business acumen. He leads the way in searching for understanding in the most curious of places, without fear pulling him back into the safe haven of what he is familiar with. Mercury is liberated from limiting belief systems, and so he is always able to gel with or imitate whoever he is in contact with. Mercury ignites us to ask ‘why’ ‘when’ and ‘how’. Once the answers are gained, Mercury does not brood over the same questions but is off satisfying any other novel interests with curiosity.
Mercury with his adaptable persona and curiosity, was once believed to be associated with a god, the god Thoth in Egyptian history.
Other cultures across the world have also affiliated Mercury to a god, such as the Greek Hermes, Roman Mercury, Norse Odin and the Indian Budha.
Mercury has links to an interesting mythology. Mercury was thought to be mischievous and yet was still trusted as a messenger of the Gods. The gods linked to Mercury were blessed with skills of commerce, trade and business. The success Mercury has in commerce is due to his ability to be versatile.
What adds some spice to Mercury is that this planet is not particularly male or female, as the gender of this planet is fluid. Yes, Mercury can be more male or female. It all depends on which planet Mercury associates with. If it is Venus or Moon, Mercury becomes more feminine and takes on qualities of either Venus or the Moon. If Mercury is associated with Mars, Sun, Jupiter or Saturn well then, he becomes more masculine and imitates one of those specific planets. So, we already begin to see the skills of being a great actor affiliated to Mercury. When Mercury is not influenced and he is alone, then Mercury is neutral, and perhaps asexual.
Mercury is not happy and comfortable in every zodiac sign. Mercury is uncomfortable in Pisces and Cancer. However, Mercury is feeling alive and agile in own sign of Gemini, and feels like a Hollywood star at the academy awards ceremony in the sign of Virgo. By looking at a birth chart we can begin to see how well Mercury is influenced. Mercury tends to imitate the planets close-by, as Mercury is the cosmic actor or court jester. Mercury in your personal birth chart reflects your unique cognition and communication style. Mercury in astrology is intimately linked to the senses, thinking and managerial skills.
For now, we shall refer to Mercury as male. Mercury is a fast-moving planet, and is faster than Mars. It takes Mercury about one year to rotate around the zodiac. Mercury finds the humdrum of routine and doing repetitive tasks quite monotonous. Once he is in any given sign, he gets bored, sooner rather than later, and he is ready to explore and do business in another sign. Mercury likes to quickly learn something and then to hop onto trying something new. This is great to get an overall perception of things but it never allows Mercury to develop any deep substance within himself.
So, let’s use the example of becoming a doctor. Mercury would want to do a crash course and claim to know it all already. He would probably spend some months studying briefly and touching on all the different aspects of medicine. Yet it is accepted that to get roots into the medical field you need to dedicate at least five years into the theoretical phase, followed by at least two years doing the practical phase under supervision. Often careers of journalism, healing, acting, something in the arts, being a rep, being a trader, traveling and being a jack of all trades in the office suit Mercury perfectly. These types of careers allow Mercury to be versatile, adaptable and flexible. Mercury loves keeping things light and flowing.
All the planets in astrology are given symbols. The symbol for Mercury is a cross with a circle above it, topped with an upright crescent above the circle. This planet loves talking and partaking in anything to do with communication. Of all the planets, this one is a chatter box of note. A weak Mercury can begin to act like a thief and in fact would make an excellent thief as he is clever and quick! He can be a smooth talker to get himself out of any sticky situation too. A strong Mercury will put his talents to other uses. Mercury is far from stupid, and he loves numbers, writing and teaching. So often teachers, accountants, bookkeepers, astrologers and writers have a well-developed Mercury. Mercury is fond of the news and hearing pieces of information and bits of gossip, which all get put in his pocket for a rainy day.
As Mercury loves to be on the move, he is in no rush to buy a house and settle down. He is okay to move around often. He adores traveling, for that is one of the best ways to learn quickly about other cultures and places. Mercury gives a sense of youthful curiosity to anyone. He is this perpetual student, happy to be living wherever life may be tickling his inquisitive nature. He is more prepared to learn any new skill and have the ability to adapt to a wide variety of job vacancies. All this travelling about, and pursuit for more snippets of information led by a curious mind, can be quite tiring for other planets to watch.
In medical astrology Mercury has some rulership over the cognitive mind, and the senses as well as the skin. Wherever Mercury is in your chart, may indicate which sensory organ supports your learning and assimilation of information most beneficially. It is helpful to give anyone with a problematic Mercury, some guidance on rest, eating healthy foods and doing something simple like yoga. Yoga incorporates breathing and harmonizing the mental and physical. Mercury, when supported, learns to assimilate knowledge. Mercury is linked to how quickly we speak, and how we speak. Highly strung people more than likely need some therapy to sooth their frazzled and overworked Mercurian energy.
Mercury has his attributes. They just are a little more versatile than the attributes of the other planets. The energy of Mercury is great to cultivate in order to remain open minded and willing to learn. Often as we age, we lose the gifts of Mercury and become more stubborn and rigid, while forgetting the curiosity which was the inspiration of our younger selves. When you are curious about why the flowers smile, or why the clouds are presenting a screen play in the sky, it makes life more inspiring. Curiosity feeds inspiration. Inspiration unlocks the imagination to create more opportunities for success in places unexplored and unthought of before. Mercury is not held back by limiting, rigid and dogmatic belief systems. This makes Mercury a wonderful friend, as he approaches life with curiosity and interest, rather than wanting to convince another that his way is the only way.
Mercury is the bearer of news, and one can always be sure the news is going to change. Talking of change, to harness your Mercurian energy read about a culture you have no knowledge of, travel to a town you have not visited before, try a new style of cooking or learn a new skill. Instead of being a bystander and watching the news, become a happy news story with your friends and family. Encourage conversations to engulf topics which inspire hope and good will. Journal, write your story (or type it). When you are older, become a story teller to your children, grandchildren or be a story teller at frail care centres.
Embracing Mercury development is to harness your power to communicate. Feed your senses more inspiring news. Allow your voice to bring more smiles, with flowery worded compliments to others (including strangers). With all the news being truly dire and depressing most times, support your Mercury to bring a sparkle to the eyes with your power to communicate. Mercury has mythological roots at being mischievous, as told by the other planets, yet Mercury can twist that story in a beat. You have a part to play in the cosmos, and by learning to master communication through Mercury, you have the power to change the story of the cosmos.
By
Anastacia Sampson
D.N. Med. BA(Hons) Psych
Images sourced from Pinterest.