What Does Mercury Represent in Your Natal Chart? * What is it ... and why is it important?

by Rebecca Brents

In mythology, Mercury was the winged messenger of the Gods.

Your mind -- at work and play

In Astrology, Mercury represents your conscious, rational mind. It tells a lot about your intellectual self; your ability to study, learn, analyze, communicate and work with information.

Mercury depicts your capacity to form ideas and opinions, the way you deal with facts, and the way you process data. It shows the kinds of things that interest you ... and what you do with what you know.

When you consider that the way you think is absolutely crucial to the way you shape and work with reality, Mercury gives vital information about the perspective through which you engage the world. It is literally the symbol for your intellectual view of life.

Where your mind is invested

Its position in the Zodiac on the day you were born is what determines your "Mercury Sign" ... and that, along with your birth time, determines the house in your Natal Chart Mercury occupies.

The house in your Natal Chart tells the area of life where your mind is literally invested ... doing the work it does to support you and helping you understand and work with life.

Essentially, Mercury's sign position tells the qualities and characteristics of your mental self; Mercury's house position tells where and how you use it.

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Bonus Feature

Sciencey Stuff
Fun things to know about
Mercury the planet

* For the time being, Mercury is the smallest planet in our Solar System. If scientists decide to rearrange reality again, that could change. For a while, Pluto was our smallest planet. But it was demoted down to a "dwarf planet" a few years back, so here we are. Mercury is slightly larger than Earth's Moon; Pluto is slightly smaller than our Moon. And that's where things stand now.

* Mercury itself has no moon. (Neither does Venus.) Nor does it have rings, due to its low gravity and lack of atmosphere. Like Earth's Moon, however, Mercury's surface is scarred and pitted with craters from its many collisions with meteors, asteroids & comets throughout its lifetime.

* Mercury has more of these craters & impact scars than any other planet, & since Mercury is not geologically active, it cannot "self-heal" these as other planets can.

* The largest of these impact craters is the Caloris Basin with a diameter over 960 miles. (Any crater larger than 150 miles across is designated as a "basin".) Meanwhile, the craters are named for dead artists, musicians or authors. Dr. Seuss is one of those so honored.

* Mercury's lack of an atmosphere is also why its craters don't erode as they do on other planets. Craters made millions of years ago on Mercury are still visible today. In fact, most of Mercury's craters were made early in the evolution of the solar system by meteorites that hit the surface. Meteorites are the physical rock material left by a meteor that didn't burn up or explode in a collision with a planet.

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* = Premium Members Article

* Mercury -- Ruler of Gemini -- Ruler of Virgo ---> Yellow is a Mercury color! ---> The metaphor for your mind ---> Mercury, quick, intense, lively and highly mobile -- racing its way around the Sun faster than any of the other known planets, is the astrological metaphor which symbolizes an individual's mental and communications skills

From the Blogs, Ezines
and Elsewhere

When Mercury Leads the Sun -- Mercury passes and moves out -- in front of the Sun ---> Yellow is a Mercury color. ---> Racing ahead, out in front like he ought to ---> When Mercury leads the Sun, your intellectual shift moves gradually out of the pensive, reflective, "planning mode" you've occupied for the past several weeks, and you're ready to talk, write, and share ideas openly and freely again with "strangers."

When Mercury Trails the Sun -- Mercury retrograde moves behind the Sun ---> Yellow is a Mercury color. ---> Quiet time ---> In the next few weeks you'll become more contemplative, spend more time in planning and research, quietly consider what you've learned recently ... and what you want to do next with yourself, your life, your interests, and your mind. With Mercury in a trailing position, you will be more observant and less talkative, more intuitive ...

Air Planet / Earth Sign -- Earth Planet / Earth Sign -- The Mercury in Taurus Conundrum ---> Mercury in Taurus is in one way an air planet in an earth sign ... and in another way an earth planet in an earth sign. One way works a little better than the other. Mercury as an air planet -- ruler of Gemini -- is a bit too cerebral and abstract in its approach to reality to suit the tastes of ultra-pragmatic Taurus.

Gemini & Virgo
Mercury rules 'em both

* Born with the Sun in Gemini -- The Gemini Character ---> Gemini likes to have back-up ---> Creatures of the mind ---> Gemini is one of the Zodiac's most intellectual signs. Reading, writing, learning, talking, sharing viewpoints and opinions, gathering facts and data, communicating in all the ways you can imagine is what Gemini is all about. Geminis love words ... and jokes, and puns. They love odd pieces of wisdom like trivia, and word games, and "Twenty Questions," and "Jeopardy."

Horoscopes When the Sun is in Gemini

* Born with the Sun in Virgo -- The Virgo Character ---> Virgo's symbol is the young woman ... the virgin. ---> Virgos devote themselves to work. ---> I will try to keep this brief. I know how Virgos like efficiency. Work and service are their passions. They'll find it -- or at least what they define as it -- even if they have to make it up. A Virgo in his heart of hearts wants to be useful. Virgos can be the most selfless, dedicated, indefatigable workers in the world.

Horoscopes When the Sun is in Virgo

Mercury in Astrology
Light Reading & Open Articles

Mercury
Mercury in General
Quick Notes on Mercury

Mercury in Your Horoscope
Basic Stuff About Mercury

Mercury in Astrology -- Articles Index
Mercury Retrograde Articles Index

  mercury  500 Words or Less  

Photo Credits

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