No Walls - Heresy or Freedom of Thought?

An astrolger, years ago, name escapes me, once pointed out that "there are no walls in space". We can't argue with that, though I wouldn't argue against Donald Trump demanding one be built at some future point in time! Graham Greene once said, or wrote, "Heresy is another word for freedom of thought." I'm about to commit the heresy of freedom of thought - on one facet of astrology.

Traditional astrology does build theoretical walls in space - both types of astrology are guilty of this. Sidereal astrology, based on the constellations, widely used in India and the East; and tropical astrology, based on the seasons - the system with which we in the west are familiar. In astrologese these theoretical walls are known as 'cusps' - the divisions between the 12 zodiac signs, Aries to Pisces.

When comparing tropical and sidereal versions of a natal chart, I've found that often both can provide a reasonably accurate interpretation, yet there are around 23 degrees difference between the two zodiac systems.

What if, in both versions of the zodiac, the division into 12 signs, passed to us by ancient astrologers is just too detailed and precise to fit real-life, living breathing mortals in the 21st century? Astrologers tend to look on the system handed down to them in much the same way as Americans look on the Constitution : sacred. Perhaps, after the passing of centuries, both could benefit from some updating and adjustment? Ain't gonna happen, of course, in either case, but it's interesting to surmise.

All widely used astrological systems are based on 12 traditional sign divisions: Aries through Pisces, apart from Uranian astrology and Harmonics, both of which ignore signs completely and concentrate only on planets. I've found that there's proof enough that zodiac signs have value, but I do get the feeling that there is much more "wiggle room" between them than is, traditionally, assumed. Most astrologers, even my favourite astrologers, have declared that the cusps are definite borderlines; one is born on one side of these, or on t'other - no wiggle room allowed, no 'bleeding over' of characteristics, no blending.

I've always thought that astrology has to be based upon natural phenomena, but phenomena as yet not understood. People who look on astrology as a mathematical phenomenon, or in the realm of the spiritual or metaphysical, or those who adhere firmly to the system of the ancients, would not find my view tolerable, this I understand and respect. We don't know any answers about astrological methods for sure - we just don't! If some astrologers were to accept that much and remain a tad more open-minded, it would be helpful.

A "blending in" phase between each cusp would result in a more complex system for sure, but one which would follow the rules of nature more nearly. Nature doesn't move, abruptly, from one situation or stage to another, it does so gradually. Even in the case of what seem to us to be abrupt events: earthquakes, hurricanes and such, the causal factors have gradually built up over a period of time, sometimes centuries, sometimes days, but never instantly, as in on/off.

Using a zodiac of 12 signs, any blending-in phase couldn't account for the 23 degrees of difference between tropical and sidereal systems. While keeping in mind that any theoretical walls in space could have some slight degree of flexibility, I've often thought that natal positions of Mercury and Venus ought to be given more prominence in basic astrological interpretation, and not just labelled as "communication style ", and regarding "art and love".

Sun/Moon/ascendant positions are seen by many as the key trio. While not arguing about that trio's importance, I'd add Mercury and Venus. Mercury can never be more than the space of one sign from the Sun's position; Venus never more than the breadth of 2 signs. These two factors very often bring into a personality 'flavours' of signs adjacent to the Sun sign in a natal chart. It's possible that this might account for the fact that, sometimes, both sidereal and tropical astrology can seem to fit a personality - even discounting the ticklish question of cusps and blending-in periods.

I'm in a picky, prickly mood today, one of those moods when, though my belief that there is validity in some parts of astrology still holds, I do not believe everything the text books and teachers propose as being inarguable. Heresy? Dunno - but I don't "expect the Spanish Inquisition". :)

Investigating Mercury, Ruler of Virgo and Gemini.

To write his book, titled simply Astrology, Irish poet and playwright Louis MacNeice must have spent many hours of painstaking research, as befits his own natal Virgo Sun/Mercury/Venus. He cites much material from ancient sources which can serve, in many cases, to clarify how we got to where we are in interpreting the planets and signs. For me, this is part of the fascination of astrology. The Kalendar of Shepherds, from which he quotes below was published in 1507, translated from (I think) a French version of some years earlier.

Here's part of what Louis MacNeice discovered about Mercury.

"The fair planet Mercury", says the Kalendar of Shepherds is "very full and dry of nature and is lord of speech, as the Sun is lord of light......Who is born under Mercury shall be subtle of wit....(that is and always has been Mercury's first characteristic) and shall be very crafty in many sciences....He shall ever follow and resort to them that be of good manners, and shall be fortunate on the sea to use the course of good merchandise."

Mercury is the traditional patron not only of intellectuals but of merchants. He is also the patron planet of transport. The illustration below, borrowed from Astrology shows a French Bank advertisement for travellers' cheques. In both astrology and mythology Mercury is considered to be the patron of commerce and transport.




But the Mercury man, according to the Kalendar, will not have it all his own way.

"He shall be very gracious, and he shall have harm by women, and when he is married, men shall not set so much by him as they did before." All the same, "he will have great love to ladies and gentlewomen, but yet they shall not be masters over him. He will be a very good man of the church or a religious man, and he shall not love to go to a warfare...He shall love well to preach and to speak fair rhetoric language, and to talk of philosophy and geometry."

The Kalendar details other intellectual, artistic and commercial activities and ends:

"He shall be servant to some great lord or else a receiver of his money." (The original god Mercury himself had been something of a lackey on Olympus, always running errands for the greater gods.) "He shall have a high forehead, a long visage, black eyes, and a thin beard. He shall be a great pleader in the law and will meddle with other men's deeds if they do not well and say against it."

There has been general agreement that Mercury stands for the intellect and for most types of communication, whether mental or physical. Not surprisingly, however, he is undependable; astrologers have named him "the chameleon among planets" (compare the adjective "mercurial") and have explained that he is neutral because, in the aspects, he takes color from other planets but does not give color in return. This idea goes back to Ptolemy, who says that Mercury is "generally speaking in nature like whatever of the planets may be associated with him." By Ptolemy's time he was also firmly established as the ruler of two signs, Gemini and Virgo. Astrologer Rupert Gleadow, who called him a "sexless planet", points out that both these signs are "somewhat lacking in emotion".

Mercury can make you a genius; he can also make you a crook. The original god had been both, as is shown by the early Homeric "Hymn to Hermes" in which he is described (in Shelley's translation) as

A schemer subtle beyond all belief;
A shepherd of thin dreams, a cow-stealing,
A night-watching and door-waylaying thief
who yet, while still an infant, went on to invent the lyre, killing a tortoise to use its shell for the purpose.

The planet Mercury, like Venus, owing to its actual nearness to the Sun, is always seen from earth as lying in a sign near the Sun. Consequently Mercury and Venus are comparatively often found in conjunction."

As for aspects, it is generally considered that Saturn, having such a different and therefore complementary nature, is the best influence on Mercury.

Some of my own thoughts on planet Mercury. As ruler of mental processes, Mercury really does have influence over everything in human life. It travels so fast, no time to make its individual transits felt, but it very frequently touches everything in the charts of all of us. Mercury's journey around the Sun takes 88 days, whereas Saturn's takes over 29 years.

Everything we humans do is initiated in the brain, even what seem like emotional responses, though colored by Moon and the Watery element, actually do begin in the mental realm. As I see it we ought to pay more attention to Mercury in the natal chart - equally as much as to Sun, Moon and ascendant.

Mercury's rulership of Gemini seems obvious - Gemini, the consummate communicator, teacher, the all-round information collector. As ruler of Earthy Virgo, Mercury must be reflected as less abstract, more tangible. Virgo seeks and usually achieves near perfection in just about anything undertaken. Gemini roves around in the world of words and ideas, gathering them together, regurgitating them, sometimes in light-weight haphazard fashion, offering them back to an enthusiasic audience. Virgo is quite capable of doing this too, but with a far greater emphasis on accuracy and presentation, and a serious approach.

Three's a.....Triumvirate

Astrologer Robert Hand, in his book Horoscope Symbols wrote:

Mercury is often underplayed in astrological writing. In part this may be because it is not often an obvious source of difficulty to people. Also, I suspect, people find its symbolism less exciting than that of some other planets. Yet it is a symbol of immense importance. It is connected to the mind, especially the logical and reasoning capabilities, and to all forms of communication.

How we communicate is such a huge part of who we are, it colors the perception of those we meet, it's almost always the first thing others notice about us - it's instant.

I've long felt that Mercury, though such a major factor in our personalities, is overshadowed in popular astrology by natal Moon and ascendant. Nothing works without Mercury, it's the essential ingredient, on duty all the time, whether we're in company or sitting alone, reading, typing, listening, watching. I suspect that a person's Mercury placement often plays a stronger part in how they are perceived by others than their Sun, Moon or even their ascendant; I think astrologers would disagree with me on this!

Venus, though not as "all-purpose" as Mercury, also has a major part in the personality. Venus cannot be more than 48 degrees from the Sun in a natal chart, which means it can lie either in the same zodiac sign as the Sun, in one of the adjoining signs, or just one sign beyond adjoining signs. Sun, Mercury and Venus, the possible combinations of their placement in a natal chart was considered on a website now defunct, by a writer whose name remains, sadly, unknown to me. Some years ago I had copied part of an article from the website to my Word Pad because I found it of interest, and mentioned something I considered didn't get enough emphasis in astrology - the important triumvirate of Sun/Mercury/Venus. Here is part of the article, with illustrations added. If any stray reader knows the name of its author, do please let me know in a comment.

"The Sun is the life force of a horoscope, the conceptual furnace that reaches out and draws us into the warmth it projects. It is our purpose in life, supported by the more immediate need of the Moon. The Moon we know well, yet at the Sun we become.

But there are two planets in particular we look to in astrology that aid the Sun more intimately in many ways – Mercury and Venus. All together, the Sun, Mercury and Venus represent a crucially-important triad in the birth chart. In ancient Rome we would call such a triad a ‘triumvirate’ – a ruling council of three men. The first triumvirate ever included Gnaeus Pompey, a top general, Marcus Crassus, a wealthy citizen and Julius Caesar, an ambitious politician. Together, they ruled Rome until individual, personal ambitions emerged to create problems.

In astrology, Mercury and Venus can never be far from the Sun. It is an astronomical reality that Mercury can never stray more than one sign, either side, away from the same sign the Sun is in. Venus can (but rarely does) jump out of this same boundary to inch itself into even one sign beyond. But they are bound by this reality. Let’s think about what this means, astrologically, this tightness of relationship to each other and apply it to lives lived. As we go along, think about your own chart and how this synthesis applies to your own life.

When all three planets are aligned in the same sign, the same archetype is being pressed into consciousness through our ego and core energy, our mind and our social antennae. There is a unified approach to life, a path and purpose that seems sure and right, whether or not this matches up with reality. For instance, consider the sign Pisces. With all three of these bodies in Pisces, there would be a deep-seated focus on things that can help one transcend – intense creativity, for instance. There is no doubt this theme means something to a Pisces. This is because the Pisces Sun is buttressed by Mercury and Venus. All together, they support a defining structure.

Those who have the Sun, Mercury and Venus in the same sign seem to have a strength of purpose – a focus that doesn’t waver as easily as those who have the three bodies in more than one sign. Certainly, this is not a value judgement. Consider that strength of purpose can also easily turn into willful stubbornness and intractability. It is what one does, natural ability to stay focused that counts. Let’s look at an example.

To review, ‘harmony’ through the Sun, Mercury and Venus in the same sign simply means the same message, the same energy, is being pumped through the core of an individual. How one chooses to respond to this energy and message is what is at stake on an ongoing basis. When one acts with determination and focus, does he or she still retain the strength of will to change gears when necessary and see other possibilities? This is what will determine successful use of these energies.

Outside of harmony, there is discord.

Discord
We might consider the astrological imprint of the Sun and Mercury or Venus in one sign but the third planet in a second sign as an example of discord. For instance, Sun and Mercury in Aries but Venus in Pisces. The Sun and Mercury are symbolizing ‘me first’ kind of energies in this example. There is courage and a willingness to engage the world in a fiery kind of way. Venus, though, as the social antennae, splashes some water on this notion and will react and behave differently than the Sun and Mercury. Of course, only one human being is being discussed here in the long run, and that person needs to assimilate energies that are fundamentally different. Consider Caesar with only the support of one partner. In the case above, only the wealthy Crassus supports him without question but Pompey, the general, does not – at least not with additional work.

Of course, let us realize this can be done, this assimilation of energies that are different. People do it every day – millions who go about their business. Some people may or may not be conscious of the subtle and not-so-subtle energies that pull and prod until we make choices and define who we are in the process. We are calling it ‘discord’ to create an image in our minds of two energies that work together while the third, renegade energy has to negotiate with the others every time a decision needs to be made! In the same example, the ego (Sun) is feeling the swell of Aries pride and the mind (Mercury) races on ahead with it, completely ready to wade into a crowd of people and talk about anything. Meanwhile, the social antennae indicator (Venus) is putting on the brakes. "Well, maybe I’ll just float about in the corner and see if anyone notices me instead." Venus won’t win all the time. But the fact is, it’s a constant mini battle to understand oneself and ones motivations.

Three planets in three different signs I refer to as dissonance.

Dissonance
Again, this is simply a descriptive word to understand symbols that are fundamentally different, all calling out for different needs to be fulfilled. Instead of one voice acting as the lone renegade, we now have three voices all trying to run the show, with the Sun calling out for most of the attention. It is Caesar trying to lead (one’s Sun) without Crassus or Pompey working alongside– of course it can be done, but it demands adjustment. For the person with this sort of dissonance, the adjustment is a lifelong work-in-progress but should be increasingly easier with growing self-awareness.

To review, let us be clear that the idea of dissonance to describe three different themes of expression is merely a different path to potential success. Just as we learned harmony of thought and intent can be a mixed blessing, dissonance between the Sun, Mercury and Venus is no different. Value judgements must be left at the altar of personal choice.

The Last Say
The politics of ancient Rome was a tricky business. As Caesar's military successes aroused Pompey's jealousy, the death of Crassus on top of this pushed history’s first Triumvirate to an end. Pompey and Caesar then set against each other in a bloody civil war. The Sun, Mercury and Venus are a lot like the symbols of the ancient triumvirate in Rome, in many ways. But in our own internal ruling council, we have the last say. We get to determine our own fates, to avoid the chaos competing energies can bring. We have the free will to quash an inner civil war, to realize with grace that reaching the warm light of our Sun is the destination all energies must share.

While on the subject of Mercury and Venus - two other articles of interest, these by Michael R. Meyer: The Four Faces of Mercury and Venus, Morning Star, Evening Star. The articles discuss the cycles of Mercury and Venus in some detail.

Wondering about an astro-culprit...

During the past few weeks I've been struggling, with assistance of our doctor, to get my high blood pressure back in check. It started to spike for no particular reason towards the end of April. New medication has taken its time to become effective, so the intermediate weeks became a wee bit stressful. Things eventually took a turn for the better. I'm hoping that the additional meds have begun to kick-in - the process takes time, it seems.

It's a little spooky to me (though likely not to any proper astrologer) that these problems were happening as transiting Uranus (ruler of my Aquarius Sun) has been conjunct my natal Moon at around 24/25 Aries for a while, and was joined for a spell by transiting Mercury. That "double-dose" might have been the astro-culprit. Mercury has been moving away for a while now, as things have improved. Coincidence? Maybe - maybe not. Uranus will hang around natal Moon for some time yet, including a retrograde phase, prolonging potential for change.

Evidence of equilibrium returning, in the circulation of blood department, inspired a re-hash of a brief piece from a few years ago:-

Something to ponder upon from Ralph Waldo Emerson, poet, essayist, and founder of the Trancendentalist movement in the USA.

He was born on 25 May 1803 at 3:15PM in Boston, Ma. His natal chart is available at Astrodatabank HERE. It's a nicely balanced natal chart element, mode and polarity-wise; it's appropriate that he sensed the equilibrium in nature, as expressed in the following extract.

From CONDUCT OF LIFE by Ralph Waldo Emerson, a collection of lectures first delivered between 1851 and 1852 reiterating Emerson's beliefs about fate, power, wealth, and worship, among other topics.

Beautiful as is the symmetry of any form, if the form can move we seek a more excellent symmetry. The interruption of equilibrium stimulates the eye to desire the restoration of symmetry, and to watch the steps through which it is attained. This is the charm of running water, sea waves, the flight of birds and the locomotion of animals. This is the theory of dancing, to recover continually in changes the lost equilibrium, not by abrupt and angular but by gradual and curving movements....This fact suggests the reason of all mistakes and offence in our own modes. It is necessary in music, when you strike a discord, to let down the ear by an intermediate note or two to the accord again: and many a good experiment, born of good sense and destined to succeed, fails only because it is offensively sudden....To this streaming or flowing belongs the beauty that all circular movement has; as the circulation of waters, the circulation of the blood, the periodical motion of planets, the annual wave of vegetation, the action and reaction of nature; and if we follow it out, this demand in our thought for an ever onward action is the argument for the immortality.

Mercurial Ponderings

I've often wondered why Mercury doesn't "rule" or govern all the Air signs - Gemini, Aquarius and Libra. The Air element is thought to be the most mentally related of the four astrological elements: Earth, Water, Fire and Air.

In an obtuse version of astrological rulerships, Saturn would rule Earth signs: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn. Fire signs - Aries, Leo, Sagittarius - would be ruled by Mars. Water signs - Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces - by Venus. But then, what would be left for Jupiter to do? Jupiter would have to rule over-all, in true Jupiterian expansionist fashion. It would be acceptable for Sun and Moon not to have rulerships, they are different from the planets. The outer planets, Uranus Neptune and Pluto, are too far away to rule anything, they simply make themselves felt in transit.

Everything we humans do is initiated in the brain, even what seem like emotional responses, though colored by Moon and the Watery element, actually do begin in the mental realm. We ought to pay more attention to Mercury in the natal chart, in fact as much attention as is paid to Sun, Moon and ascendant. (My personal opinion).

Planet Mercury, ruler of mental processes, really does have influence over everything in human life. It travels so fast, no time to make its individual transits felt, but it very frequently touches everything in the charts of all of us. Mercury's journey around the Sun takes 88 days, whereas Saturn's takes over 29 years.

Mercury's rulership of Gemini could hardly be more fitting. Gemini is known as the consummate communicator, teacher, the all-round information collector. Mercury's rulership of Virgo initially seems to be a rather strange pairing. Strict, structure-loving Saturn would seem more compatible with perfection-seeking Virgo. However, as ruler of Virgo, another side of Mercury is reflected, a less abstract, more tangible side. Virgo seeks and usually achieves near perfection in just about anything undertaken. Gemini roves around in the world of words and ideas, gathering them together, regurgitating them, sometimes in light-weight easily accessible fashion, offering them to an enthusiastic audience. Virgo is quite capable of doing this too, but with a far greater emphasis on extreme accuracy and careful presentation - a serious, in depth, approach.

Mercurial Mutterings

Over the years I've muttered much about Mercury - a few examples follow:

I feel that Mercury is such a major factor in our personalities, yet it's overshadowed in popular astrology by Sun, Moon and ascendant. Nothing works without Mercury, it's the essential ingredient in almost everything you can think of, it's working all the time. Whether we're sitting alone, reading, typing, listening, watching, Mercury is on duty. When we're in company Mercury is in overdrive. The same cannot be said of Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter - they are around, but dormant in some situations, their territory is more specific.
I think that a person's Mercury placement often plays a stronger part in how they are perceived than their Sun, Moon or even their ascendant. It's definitely my favourite planet.
(From an early post of mine Dec 2006)

Where Mercury is placed in the chart with regard to the chart angles and astrological houses, as well as the zodiac sign, has to be considered, but wherever it is found it should be counted, in my opinion, as a more important factor in the personality of the chart holder than is usually given credit.



From an October 2009 post: A quote from Robert Hand in his book Horoscope Symbols:

Mercury is often underplayed in astrological writing. In part this may be because it is not often an obvious source of difficulty to people. Also, I suspect, people find its symbolism less exciting than that of some other planets. Yet it is a symbol of immense importance. It is connected to the mind, especially the logical and reasoning capabilities, and to all forms of communication".

How we communicate is such a huge part of who we are, it colours the perception of those we meet, it's almost always the first thing others notice about us - it's instant.


And from January of 2008 (for fun):

Mercury is the planet most involved in communication, so the sign in which it's found in our natal charts could indicate how we'd be most inclined to end e-mails or, trying to be seasonal, Christmas messages to friends and/or lovers, via pen or keyboard.





A few ideas:

Mercury in Aries: Yours in haste, catch you later,

Mercury in Taurus: With much love,

Mercury in Gemini: More chat soon, stay tuned,

Mercury in Cancer: Cuddles, kisses and lots of love,

Mercury in Leo: Signing off with a warm embrace,

Mercury in Virgo: Yours,

Mercury in Libra: Thinking of you with affection,

Mercury in Scorpio: Always be mine alone, as I am yours,

Mercury in Sagittarius: Huge warm hugs,

Mercury in Capricorn: Sending love,

Mercury in Aquarius: Love and peace,

Mercury in Pisces: Wrapping you in tender wishes.


PS - Back in the days when the husband and I used to correspond by e-mail, his usual mode of signing off was (he has Mercury conjunct Saturn in Pisces) : "Yerbasicfred".

Windows on Mercury

As Mercury is about to end its apparent retrograde motion, a few Mercurial thoughts surface ~~~

“Language is the dress of thought” wrote Samuel Johnson back in 18th century England. Languages, national, international, ancient, modern, written, spoken, technical, speciality, and even slang, how they evolved, how they are written, how so much diversity exists - all of this is a constant source of wonder. Accents, side-kicks of language, add an extra layer of fascination. Astrologically all those are said to be "ruled" by planet Mercury. Astrology is a language in itself of course, with its own vocabulary, as capable of confusing the reader or listener as any obscure foreign or ancient language.

More important than language itself is nuance of understanding, or misunderstanding, arising between people, even when using the same language in the same accent - perception. Here's where astrology, as well as life-experience, plays its part. Mercury's natal position is key. As Anais Nin wrote:We don't see things as they are. We see them as we are. I'd paraphrase that and say that we don't always perceive words, phrases and concepts as they are commonly defined, but as we, via our uncommon natal charts perceive them.

Sanderson Beck has this to say on his website Astrology Time Patterns: Mercury:

Mercury and the mind are like a great lens or focus device; it is an instrument we use to focus our awareness. The soul is the true experiencer of the consciousness, but our direction and consequent awareness depends on how and where we focus the mind. The mind is tremendously powerful; how we use it is up to us.

There's a list of interpretations for Mercury in the 12 zodiac signs, and Mercury the 12 houses at the above link.

While chatting with husband about something Mercurial - writing, and finding subjects to write about, he suddenly said, "This window is dirty". Somewhat taken aback by such sudden interest in household cleaning I gawped, jaw dropping.

"No", he grinned, "write about it. Write about those four words".


"Write about a dirty window?"



"Yes. I did it once, a long time ago, to give myself a challenge. Just write whatever comes into your mind on that subject."

"Alright", I said, feeling uninspired, not to mention suspicious as to whether this was a subtle hint for me to get outside and do the necessary to our, admittedly murky, windows.

I scribbled down a few lines on the subject matter as challenged, then demanded to see his efforts, composed some years earlier.

All of this is leading to an astrological point, by the way.

My own answer to the challenge came via natal Mercury in Capricorn; his via Mercury in Pisces. The two, very different, pieces so typified those two zodiac signs that, on reading them in quick succession, I laughed out loud.

To copy both pieces here would tax a passing reader's attention span to the limit. An extract from the lengthy sample written by my husband will suffice, along with my own, very brief, effort in full. The difference will be only too apparent! I had not seen his version until after I'd written my own, by the way.


My response to the challenge (Mercury in Capricorn: economical, factual, practical, with an eye to work and business.)

"This window is dirty!"
"Of course it is. In Oklahoma there are no window cleaners, and I don't do windows! In England, window-cleaning is a profession. Many a would-be entrepreneur started out with just a ladder, a bucket, a cloth and a van. It's an enterprise I would commend to the young unemployed of Oklahoma. There are dirty windows galore, all over the state. Any likely lad, or lass, could be well on their way to their first million dollars within six months, with or without a ladder!"

Extract from the long piece by my husband (Mercury in Pisces: imaginative, creative, dreamy, sensitive.)

"This window is dirty," Chessie says out loud. It is just a diversion though, just a deliberate vacation from her usual mental employment. She had been thinking about other things.

On the other side of the smudgy glass, November is trying its best to perform a pretty sunset upstage from the colorless props on the residential back street. Orange rays strain through the bare gray limbs of the trees that edge a street of forty-year-old two story homes.

Chessie stands, arms tightly folded across her print dress, staring through the window at an empty spot at the curb. Morgan always parks his car in that spot.

She sighs and closes her eyes. When she opens them again she is looking down at the flowerbed in front of the window. "I think I’ll water the flowers," she says, knowing at once that she will not. The unusually mild November weather had encouraged the 'mums and pansies to bloom in abundance. But the watering thought was just another mental vacation from a habitual hard labor of thinking about Morgan.


She shivers a bit. It is warm in her room but looking out at the expiring November day gave her a chill. Her clear-nailed fingers flutter and drum-roll where they clutch her arms just below the short sleeve cuffs of her dress. She turns and walks to a chrome and vinyl chair, which was earlier turned out from the almost-matching dining table. She whirls and sits, knees and ankles together, arms still folded. Again a deep breath, again a long sigh. The ruffle-trimmed bodice of the dress tugs at the high neckline for more slack. Her thumbs flick in unison at the starch-white trim on the sleeves.


"He is an hour late," she says to the rose papered walls of the room, reflecting an exaggerated thought. Actually he is not late at all, she admits behind a pouting lip. "If he cared as much for me as he says, he would have been here long before this," she says, and that seems to make it all sensible. Actually she knows that if he arrived right now he would, in reality, be a bit early. And Morgan would never do that.

She might have felt some reassurance by reminding herself that he was always prompt, but then, he never was. He was always late. He was always really late. She scolds herself again for just accepting his poor punctuality after more than thirty dates, for just acclimating to his sliding schedule. His unfailing tardiness stole a bit of femininity from her. She couldn’t be late herself. No matter how slowly she prepared for one of their dates, she was always ready earlier than Morgan. "I don’t deserve this. I deserve better."

And with that quiet admission, that small thought, back in a corner studio in her mind a new version of her world begins to form. Like a drop of raw umber watercolor falling soundlessly on wet handmade paper, the thought spreads indiscriminately in all directions. Slowly, surely, softly the color spreads, claiming the gentle texture of the paper, integrating with the fibers, the earthy color blending with the white expanse" (There's a lot more).

Conclusion: astrology will shine through even the murkiest of windows!

Three Important Pieces (of an astrological portrait)

Sun, Mercury and Venus, their relative positions within a natal chart, I've rattled on about this more than once in the past, but not recently. I've often thought that enough attention isn't given to the "triumvirate" of Sun/Mercury/Venus. While perhaps not as important as that other astro trio Sun/Moon/Ascendant, there's a certain significance in the way that secondary group is configured. A limited, but varied, number of positions exist in which these planets can appear in a natal chart.

Because the orbits of Mercury and Venus lie within Earth's orbit, Mercury can never be more than 28 zodiacal degrees from the Sun (either in the same sign as the Sun or one sign before or after it); Venus can never be more than 48 degrees from Sun (in the same sign, or up to two signs before/after).

In my own chart, for instance, Sun is in Aquarius, Mercury is in Capricorn and Venus is in Sagittarius. In my husband's Sun is Aries, Mercury Pisces, Venus in Taurus. Some of my husband's immediate family have Sun, Mercury and Venus all in the same sign. As I see it, quite a large part of anyone's personality is defined by this mix of up to 3 consecutive zodiac signs - one quarter of the zodiac. This must produce definable groups. One could look on each group's similarities as a melody being played, while Moon, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn play solo improvisations. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto retain the bass beat, aka a generational flavour. The melody, though, is what's most memorable for listeners and the player, therefore very important.

Pondering this, and using my own chart as example, would Aquarius Sun with Mercury and Venus both in Aquarius come over as more truly Aquarian than I do? I think so, somewhat - even if ascendant were in a conflicting sign. Would a Sun Aquarian with both Mercury and Venus in Capricorn be less restless, prone to travel than me? Probably. How about an Aquarius Sun with Mercury and Venus in Pisces? Different animal altogether I'd say; more overtly mystic, dreamy, less organised.

When searching for information in years past I found a good article on this very topic on a website now long defunct. The website was lifepathastrology.com. I failed to keep a note of the author's name for which I apologise profusely. The article follows:

"The Sun is the life force of a horoscope, the conceptual furnace that reaches out and draws us into the warmth it projects. It is our purpose in life, supported by the more immediate need of the Moon. The Moon we know well, yet at the Sun we become. But there are two planets in particular we look to in astrology that aid the Sun more intimately in many ways – Mercury and Venus. All together, the Sun, Mercury and Venus represent a crucially-important triad in the birth chart. In ancient Rome we would call such a triad a ‘triumvirate’ – a ruling council of three men. The first triumvirate ever included Pompey, a top general, Crassus, a wealthy citizen and Julius Caesar, ambitious politician. Together, they ruled Rome until individual, personal ambitions emerged to create problems.

In astrology, Mercury and Venus can never be far from the Sun. It is an astronomical reality that Mercury can never stray more than one sign, either side, away from the same sign the Sun is in. Venus can (but rarely does) jump out of this same boundary to inch itself into even one sign beyond. But they are bound by this reality. Let’s think about what this means, astrologically, this tightness of relationship to each other and apply it to lives lived. As we go along, think about your own chart and how this synthesis applies to your own life.

When all three planets are aligned in the same sign, the same archetype is being pressed into consciousness through our ego and core energy, our mind and our social antennae. There is a unified approach to life, a path and purpose that seems sure and right, whether or not this matches up with reality. For instance, consider the sign Pisces. With all three of these bodies in Pisces, there would be a deep-seated focus on things that can help one transcend – intense creativity, for instance. There is no doubt this theme means something to a Pisces. This is because the Pisces Sun is buttressed by Mercury and Venus. All together, they support a defining structure.

Those who have the Sun, Mercury and Venus in the same sign seem to have a strength of purpose – a focus that doesn’t waver as easily as those who have the three bodies in more than one sign. Certainly, this is not a value judgement. Consider that strength of purpose can also easily turn into willful stubbornness and intractability. It is what one does actual ability to stay focused that counts. Let’s look at an example.

To review, ‘harmony’ through the Sun, Mercury and Venus in the same sign simply means the same message, the same energy, is being pumped through the core of an individual. How one chooses to respond to this energy and message is what is at stake on an ongoing basis. When one acts with determination and focus, does he or she still retain the strength of will to change gears when necessary and see other possibilities? This is what will determine successful use of these energies.

Discord
Outside of harmony, there is discord. We might consider the astrological imprint of the Sun and Mercury or Venus in one sign but the third planet in a second sign as an example of discord. For instance, Sun and Mercury in Aries but Venus in Pisces. The Sun and Mercury are symbolizing ‘me first’ kind of energies in this example. There is courage and a willingness to engage the world in a fiery kind of way. Venus, though, as the social antennae, splashes some water on this notion and will react and behave differently than the Sun and Mercury. Of course, only one human being is being discussed here in the long run, and that person needs to assimilate energies that are fundamentally different. Consider Caesar with only the support of one partner. In the case above, only the wealthy Crassus supports him without question but Pompey, the general, does not – at least not with additional work.

Of course, let us realize this can be done, this assimilation of energies that are different. People do it every day – millions who go about their business. Some people may or may not be conscious of the subtle and not-so-subtle energies that pull and prod until we make choices and define who we are in the process. We are calling it ‘discord’ to create an image in our minds of two energies that work together while the third, renegade energy has to negotiate with the others every time a decision needs to be made! In the same example, the ego (Sun) is feeling the swell of Aries pride and the mind (Mercury) races on ahead with it, completely ready to wade into a crowd of people and talk about anything. Meanwhile, the social antennae indicator (Venus) is putting on the brakes. "Well, maybe I’ll just float about in the corner and see if anyone notices me instead." Venus won’t win all the time. But the fact is, it’s a constant mini battle to understand oneself and ones motivations.

Dissonance
(This applies to my own configuration, as above)
Three planets in three different signs I refer to as dissonance. Again, this is simply a descriptive word to understand symbols that are fundamentally different, all calling out for different needs to be fulfilled. Instead of one voice acting as the lone renegade, we now have three voices all trying to run the show, with the Sun calling out for most of the attention. It is Caesar trying to lead (one’s Sun) without Crassus or Pompey working alongside– of course it can be done, but it demands adjustment. For the person with this sort of dissonance, the adjustment is a lifelong work-in-progress but should be increasingly easier with growing self-awareness.
To review, let us be clear that the idea of dissonance to describe three different themes of expression is merely a different path to potential success. Just as we learned harmony of thought and intent can be a mixed blessing, dissonance between the Sun, Mercury and Venus is no different. Value judgements must be left at the altar of personal choice.

The Last Say
The politics of ancient Rome was a tricky business. As Caesar's military successes aroused Pompey's jealousy, the death of Crassus on top of this pushed history’s first Triumvirate to an end. Pompey and Caesar then set against each other in a bloody civil war.
The Sun, Mercury and Venus are a lot like the symbols of the ancient triumvirate in Rome, in many ways. But in our own internal ruling council, we have the last say. We get to determine our own fates, to avoid the chaos competing energies can bring. We have the free will to quash an inner civil war, to realize with grace that reaching the warm light of our Sun is the destination all energies must share."

While on the subject of Mercury and Venus, here are two more articles of interest, these by Michael R. Meyer: "The Four Faces of Mercury" and "Venus, Morning Star, Evening Star" by Michael R. Meyer. The articles discuss the cycles of Mercury and Venus in some detail.

Dis-ease by Any Other Name

During internet wanderings related to genealogical matters I came across a Glossary of Archaic Medical Terms, Diseases and Causes of Death, which is, no doubt, used by those family history detectives who have discovered a death certificate of one of their forebears bearing what seems, to 21st century eyes, a very peculiar cause of death. I've extracted a few of the more colourful terms from the long list presented. There are images of actual entries of these on a death certificate at the website.

Covent Garden Ague
Venereal disease: The Ladybird disease. He broke his shins against Covent Garden rails, he caught the disease. [Grose1823].

Covent, or Convent Garden, vulgarly called Common Garden. Anciently, the garden belonging to a dissolved monastery; now famous for being the chief market in London for fruit, flowers, and herbs. The theatres are situated near it. In its environs are many brothels, and, not long ago, the lodgings of the second order of ladies of easy virtue were either there, or in the purieus of Drury lane.


King's Evil
Morbus Regis. A scrofulous disease, the curing of which was formerly attributed to the king of England, from the time of Edward the Confessor. This practice was called touching for the evil. [Hoblyn1855].

An old, but not yet obsolete, name given to the scrofula, which in the popular estimation was deemed capable of cure by the royal touch. The practice of "touching" for the scrofula, or " King's Evil," was confined amongst the nations of Europe to the two Royal Houses of England and France. As the monarchs of both these countries owned the exclusive right of being anointed with the pure chrism, and not with the ordinary sacred oil, it has been surmised that the common belief in the sanctity of the chrism was in some manner inseparably connected with faith in the healing powers of the royal touch. [Britannica1911].


Scrofula, a tubercular infection of the throat lymph glands; also sometimes syphilis. The name originated in the time of Edward the Confessor, with the belief that the disease could be cured by the touch of the king of England. [Webster1913].


Rising of the Lights
The Croup (in some parts of England).
An old popular term for pleurisy. A vulgar name for croup. [Appleton1904].


Autumn / Autumnal Fever
Autumnal Fever generally assumes a bilious aspect. Those of the intermittent kind are much more obstinate than when they appear in the spring. [Dunglison1868].
A fever that prevails largely in autumn, such as typhoid, typhomalarial, and malarial fevers. [Appleton1904].


Illuminating Gas Poisoning
Toxic asphyxiation due to the displacement of oxygen from oxyhemoglobin by carbon monoxide. [Medical Dictionary Online].

Illuminating gas: was a synthetic mixture of hydrogen and hydrocarbon gases produced by destructive distillation (pyrolysis) of bituminous coal or peat. It was used for gas lighting, as it produces a much brighter light than natural gas or water gas. Although also sometimes called coal gas, it should not be confused with water gas or syngas, which are made from anthracite coal or coke plus water, and chemically quite different. Illuminating gas was much less toxic than these other forms of coal gas, but less could be produced from a given quantity of coal.
Illuminating gas consists mainly of methane, ethylene and hydrogen. The experiments with distilling coal were described by John Clayton in 1684. George Dixon's pilot plant exploded in 1760, setting back the production of illuminating gas a few years. The first commercial application was in a Manchester cotton mill in 1806. In 1901, studies of the defoliant effect of leaking gas pipes lead to the discovery that ethylene is a plant hormone. [AllExperts Encyclopedia].

And, as Carl Jung wrote, “The gods have become our diseases” - so there's

Saturnism Lead Poisoning

and

Mercurial Tremors Workers in mercury, such as water-gilders, looking-glass makers, and the makers of barometers and thermometers, are apt to suffer from a peculiar form of shaking palsy, known as the trembles, or mercurial tremor. This disease affects most frequently those who are exposed to mercurial fumes. The victim is affected with tremors when an endeavor is made to exert the muscles, so that he is unable, for instance, to convey a glass of water to the lips steadily, and when he walks he breaks into a dancing trot. The treatment consists in removal from the mercurial atmosphere, baths, fresh air, and the administration of iron and other tonics. [Britanica1911]

Hmm - So Saturn and Mercury get name checks; Venus, of course is the root of Venereal, which does seem unfair, Plutonic might be nearer the mark, but Pluto hadn't been discovered when venereal disease was first named sometime around the 15th century. Jupiter and Mars, as far as I can see, didn't lend their names, or characteristics, to any disease.

SIMPLICITIES ~ WRITING

A topic ripe for tackling while Sun glides through Gemini is: writing. Good writing is an art, a craft and a skill. I do not pretend to be an authority, nor can I claim anything more than a modest level of competence in stringing the odd blog post together, and that'd be on a good day - but I do recognise good advice.

Simplicity and economy are key to good wrting. Astrologically those attributes relate to....let's see....Virgo, Capricorn, Saturn, with Mercury, the writer's planet overall. My natal Mercury is in Capricorn, I'm relying on that as credential enough for holding forth on this topic.

In a favourite book The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White, the Strunkian half of that duo had this to say:

"Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all sentences short or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell."

Strunk was born 0n 1 July 1869 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Natal Mercury was in last degree of Gemini (its sign of rulership) and, what pleased me most, a Yod linking Cancer Sun and Jupiter Taurus by sextile then by two quincunx aspects to Saturn - putting economical Saturn at the business end of the Yod, symbolically channeling energies of his Sun and Jupiter through economical Saturn.

Another book, picked up secondhand recently, The Miracle of Language(1991) by Richard Lederer, has further advice on simplicity/economy in writing in a chapter titled The Case for Short Words :

When you speak and write, there is no law that says you have to use big words. Short words are as good as long ones, and short, old words - like sun and grass and home - are best of all. A lot of small words, more than you might think, can meet your needs with a strength, grace and charm that large words do not have.

Big words can make the way dark for those who read what you write and hear what you say. Small words cast their clear light on big things - night and day, love and hate, war and peace, life and death. Big words at times seem strange to the eye and the ear and the mind and the heart. Small words are the ones we seem to have known from the time we were born, like the hearth fire that warms the home.

Short words are bright like sparks that glow in the night, prompt like the dawn that greets the day, sharp like the blade of a knife, hot like salt tears that scald the cheek, quick like moths that flit from flame to flame, and terse like the dart and sting of a bee.

Here is a sound rule: Use small, old words where you can. If a long word says just what you want to say, do not fear to use it. But know that our tongue is rich in crisp, brisk, swift, short words..........

The title of this chapter and four paragraphs that you have just read are wrought entirely of words of one syllable.........

Keeping this post economically brief, a last note to highlight first lines of some well-known novels, illustrating how brevity can pay dividends :

Call me Ishmael. —Herman Melville, Moby-Dick (1851).

Elmer Gantry was drunk. —Sinclair Lewis, Elmer Gantry (1927).

It was a pleasure to burn. —Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 (1953).

It was love at first sight. —Joseph Heller, Catch-22 (1961).

All this happened, more or less. —Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five (1969).

A screaming comes across the sky. —Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow (1973).

It was like so, but wasn't. —Richard Powers, Galatea 2.2 (1995).

"It's Only Words.....and words are all I have..."

Words.

Words, astrologically, are province of planet Mercury. My natal Mercury is in Capricorn. Most of the time I try to be fairly disciplined in writing style, down to earth, not given to poetic paragraphs or vicious verbiage. I am not a verbal painter.


Capricorn isn't as pernickety as Virgo when it comes to perfection in the wordsmithing department, but Mercuy in Capricorn stands next in line as stickler for verbal accuracy.

Oddly enough, though, split infinitives don't bother me, inaccurate punctuation, as long as there is some, doesn't bother me nor does bad spelling, as long as the word is recognisable. This partial laissez-faire attitude must come from my Aquarius Sun, I guess....or maybe from Venus in easy-going Sagittarius.

Some inaccuracies or sloppy usage do constantly irritate this Capricorn Mercury. For instance:

Over-used words, these especially prevalent in the USA. I realise this is one result of a national craving for for bigger and better - hyperbole at its worst! Even so, synonyms are easily available:

amazing
awesome
incredible
hilarious
I'm excited to.....

As C.S. Lewis said

Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.

Words/expressions over-used by journalists and pundits which could well be either not understood at all, or misunderstood by readers and listeners:

bloviate
dog whistle issue
hot button issue
kool-aid drinker
wedge issue
let me be clear..... (President Obama says this - a lot - and he is never, ever clear!)

But then, even from the best of 'em:

If we can boondoggle ourselves out of this depression, that word is going to be enshrined in the hearts of the American people for years to come.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

Words pronounced wrongly (to my English ear)

I say sublime - they (or some of them) say "subleem"
I say (when speaking of a gown style with high waist) empire - they say "ompeer"


Inaccurate use of words: - everyday online one can encounter:

affect and effect muddled and used incorrectly. Affect is a verb, effect is a noun.

Correct preposition to use with different is FROM; different to, or different than are incorrect.

Worse, worst, and use, used....I'm not sure how these strange mistakes come about, but certain writers who ought to know better don't seem to realise that worst is the superlative of worse; and that, for instance, "she used to play the piano" is correct, "she use to play the piano" makes no sense at all.

"Would of", "should of" instead of the correct: would have or would've; should have or should've. Tsk - this one is BAD!

"Very Unique" ...if something is unique, it's unique, one of a kind - it cannot be "very unique".


Writing, stringing words together, in a comprehensible way, is a discipline and a craft; stringing them together in an inspirational, beautiful or poetic way is an art. My quibbles in this post relate to the first stage, the discipline and craft of ensuring that words can be properly understood. Perhaps I'm too demanding though? On the topic of writing in general a favourite quote, from a writer I've long admired: S.J. Perelman (1904 - 1979) puts it this way:

"If, at the close of business each evening, I myself can understand what I've written, I feel the day hasn't been totally wasted."

LANGUAGE, PERCEPTION and MERCURY (& Ms Merkel's declaration).

“Language is the dress of thought” wrote Samuel Johnson back in 18th century England. Languages, national, international, ancient, modern, written, spoken, technical, speciality, and even slang, how they evolved, how they are written, how so much diversity exists - all of this is a constant source of wonder. Accents, side-kicks of language, add an extra layer of fascination.

All these, in astrology, are ruled by planet Mercury. Astrology is a language in itself of course, with its own vocabulary capable of confusing "outsiders", as well as the occasional "insider". The computer and the internet have their own technical language, better known as "jargon", which confused me no end when I began writing this blog, even though I'd been using a computer for years.


More important than language itself, or accents, is nuance of understanding or misunderstanding arising between people, even when using the same language in the same accent.

Perception.

Here's where astrology, as well as life-experience, plays its part, with particular emphasis on Mercury's natal position. As Anais Nin wrote:We don't see things as they are. We see them as we are. I'd paraphrase that and say that we don't always perceive words, phrases and concepts as they are commonly defined, but as we are, via our uncommon natal charts.

Sanderson Beck has this to say on his website Astrology Time Patterns: Mercury:

Mercury and the mind are like a great lens or focus device; it is an instrument we use to focus our awareness. The soul is the true experiencer of the consciousness, but our direction and consequent awareness depends on how and where we focus the mind. The mind is tremendously powerful; how we use it is up to us.

There's a list of interpretations for Mercury in the 12 zodiac signs, and Mercury the 12 houses at the above link.

Just this week the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel had something to say about language, and the learning of it by immigrants to her country. For anyone intending to spend their lives in a country where the language spoken isn't that they learned as a child, it would seem to be a "given" that they'd do everything possible to learn the native language fairly soon - for ease of everyday requirements: shopping, education, news etc. Some language transitions, though, will be easier to manage than others. I suspect that Turkish to German (the one Ms Merkel referred to) might pose more difficulties than some others. Turkish President Abdullah Gul, went too far in my opinion - in a weekend interview, when urging the Turkish community in Germany to master the language he stated: "That is why I tell them at every opportunity that they should learn German, and speak it fluently and without an accent." Without an accent!? That is a tall order, almost impossible for a person not born in Germany to comply with!

Being a comparative newcomer to the USA (6 years this month) I still sound like a foreigner here. My accent hasn't changed, as far as I'm aware, nor will it, and to my mind nor should it. Good thing I didn't marry a German then!

MERCURY, Virgo & Gemini.

Before the Sun passes out of zodiac sign Virgo and into Libra next week, a look at Mercury, Virgo's ruling planet - a ruler shared by Gemini.

I'm using recently acquired book, (published 1964) Astrology by Louis MacNeice. MacNeice was not an astrologer, but a poet and scholar of the classics. More about him in a previous post HERE.



To write Astrology MacNeice must have spent many hours of painstaking research, as befits his own Virgo Sun/Mercury/Venus. He cites much material from older sources, some ancient. The book can in no way be seen as "a fluff piece", it serves, in many cases, to clarify how we got to where we are in interpreting the planets and signs.
The Kalendar of Shepherds, from which he quotes below was published in 1507, translated from (I think) a French version of some years earlier. The illustration, right, comes from the Kalendar. I'm not sure whether it relates to Virgo, but the partially obscured glyph at the top resembles a Virgo glyph, and the corn in the field is cut and awaits stacking, so time of year is right for Virgo.

Here's part of what Louis MacNeice discovered about Mercury.

"The fair planet Mercury", says the Kalendar of Shepherds is "very full and dry of nature and is lord of speech, as the Sun is lord of light......Who is born under Mercury shall be subtle of wit....(that is and always has been Mercury's first characteristic) and shall be very crafty in many sciences......He shall ever follow and resort to them that be of good manners, and shall be fortunate on the sea to use the course of good merchandise."

Mercury is the traditional patron not only of intellectuals but of merchants. He is also the patron planet of transport.

But the Mercury man, according to the Kalendar, will not have it all his own way. "He shall be very gracious, and he shall have harm by women, and when he is married, men shall not set so much by him as they did before." All the same, "he will have great love to ladies and gentlewomen, but yet they shall not be masters over him. He will be a very good man of the church or a religious man, and he shall not love to go to a warfare.....He shall love well to preach and to speak fair rhetoric language, and to talk of philosophy and geometry."

The Kalendar details other intellectual, artistic and commercial activities and ends: "He shall be servant to some great lord or else a receiver of his money." (The original god Mercury himself had been something of a lackey on Olympus, always running errands for the greater gods.) "He shall have a high forehead, a long visage, black eyes, and a thin beard. He shall be a great pleader in the law and will meddle with other men's deeds if they do not well and say against it."

There has been general agreement that Mercury stands for the intellect and for most types of communication, whether mental or physical. Not surprisingly, however, he is undependable; astrologers have named him "the chameleon among planets" (compare the adjective "mercurial") and have explained that he is neutral because, in the aspects, he takes color from other planets but does not give color in return. This idea goes back to Ptolemy, who says that Mercury is "generally speaking in nature like whatever of the planets may be associatedwith him." By Ptolemy's time he was also firmly established as the ruler of two signs, Gemini and Virgo. Rupert Gleadow, who calls him a "sexless planet", points out that both these signs are "somewhat lacking in emotion".

Mercury can make you a genius; he can also make you a crook. The original god had been both, as is shown by the early Homeric "Hymn to Hermes" in which he is described (in Shelley's translation) as


A schemer subtle beyond all belief;
A shepherd of thin dreams, a cow-stealing,
A night-watching and door-waylaying thief
who yet, while still an infant, went on to invent the lyre, killing a tortoise to use its shell for the purpose.
(Left: Carving shows Hermes making the lyre).





..................The planet Mercury, like Venus, owing to its actual nearness to the Sun, is always seen from earth as lying in a sign near the Sun. Consequently Mercury and Venus are comparatively often found in conjunction. In spite of the frequency of such conjunctions an 18th century English astrologer, Ebenezer Sibly, used one of them (retrospectively) to explain the French Revolution: "The active position of Venus and Mercury, conjoined, denotes much restlessness and instability in the councils of France, which seem distracted by the arbitrary will of the Gallic Queen, here represented by Venus, upheld and assisted by light, volatile, time-serving men, pre-noted by Mercury."..........................

As for aspects, it is generally considered that Saturn, having such a different and therefore complementary nature, is the best influence on Mercury.

(Illustration below from Astrology, showing a French Bank advertisement for travellers' cheques. In both astrology and mythology Mercury is considered to be the patron of commerce and transport: thus the two roles here symbolised by the god are equally typical of the planet.)

MERCURY CHIT-CHAT

If the dreaded Bloggers' Block strikes I often reach for a book and open it at random. This time I pulled out my copy of Robert Hand's "Horoscope Symbols", a book I'd recommend to anyone who hasn't come across it yet, by the way. I opened it and my eyes were drawn to these words:

"Mercury is often underplayed in astrological writing. In part this may be because it is not often an obvious source of difficulty to people. Also, I suspect, people find its symbolism less exciting than that of some other planets. Yet it is a symbol of immense importance. It is connected to the mind, especially the logical and reasoning capabilities, and to all forms of communication".

That is something I've noticed. Mercury is almost taken for granted. I've always thought it should be included along with Sun/Moon/rising sign when producing a rapid pencil sketch of any personality.

How we communicate is such a huge part of who we are, it colours the perception of those we meet, it's almost always the first thing others notice about us - it's instant.

Because of its position Mercury can only ever be in the same sign as the Sun or in one of the adjacent signs (previous or following). In many natal charts Sun and Mercury are in the same sign, which simply adds to the Sunsignliness (made that word up) of the native, but where Mercury is in a different sign from the Sun, the properties of Mercury's sign can often be sensed first: Mercury governs communication and communication is instant.

I've noticed this in a few people I've known well, whose charts I've been able to investigate. My husband, Sun Aries, Leo Moon and ascendant has Mercury in Pisces - he comes across initially as very quiet and thoughtful, certainly nothing like outgoing Aries/Leo. My mother, with Sun in Libra and Mercury in Scorpio definitely could come across as rather sharp and biting, not at all tactful and diplomatic as Libra is usually perceived.

My own Mercury in Capricorn reflects my father's, we were both Aquarius Sun with Capricorn Mercury. I can't, of course, say how I come across to others, but my father had a definite Capricorn feel, until you knew him better. I suspect I might be the same. Still, I like this combination because it unites Aquarius's ancient and modern rulers, Uranus and Saturn. That has to be beneficial, I reckon. It's only when Sun is in the adjacent signs of Aquarius or Capricorn that this uniting of ancient and modern rulers can happen. Scorpio has Mars and Pluto, ancient and modern rulers, but Aries and Scorpio are too far apart to house both Sun and Mercury. Pisces has Jupiter and Neptune as ancient and modern rulers, but Sagittarius and Pisces are too far apart for Sun to be in one and Mercury in t'other.

Sigh. I hope my desktop PC gets well soon because, somehow, this laptop inclines me to waffe.