Welcome! Mercury in astrology is the symbol of communications and transportation. The aspects with Mercury specify the nature of communication and thinking. And when Mercury doesn’t make any Ptolemaic aspects (like conjunction, sextile, square, trine or opposition) your Mercury is prominent and ‘calling’. Read what that means here.
Mercury is the planet of communications, transportation and moving around. Mercury is also the planet of information. Whenever you use your voice, write or sing, Mercury is the symbol of what you are doing. Mercury’s aspects inform us about lying, too. Let’s start there.
ABOUT HOW MERCURY LIES
It takes longer to tell a lie, than to speak the truth. That is what British scientist discovered. As Mercury is the symbol of messages and information, and Saturn is the symbol of time, I started thinking about Mercury-Saturn’s effect and all combinations that influence the way that people communicate. It is a long story:)
There are several ways of lying. You can simple not give any info, you can lie as a habit and you can twist the facts. Here are a few ideas about Mercury’s aspects and the effects, with examples.
MERCURY-SATURN
To start with slow answers, I know persons who speak the truth very very slowly, mostly because of a desire to be as accurate as can be. They are not lying, then. Most of them are specialized educated persons who are aware of the impact of what they say or of the responsibility that they have as an official spokesman. That is why they are careful and that is why they like to limit themselves to established facts only. It is the Mercury-Saturn-effect with a lot of ‘uh’s’ between the words:) Of course, Mercury-Saturn CAN be an aspect that reflects lying. Saturn happens (…) to be the symbol of time…and of restrictions. You just don’t tell it all, sometimes because it is not official, or allowed or decent. Examples are Al Gore (Mercury inconjunct Saturn) and Lance Armstrong (Mercury square Saturn). It is amazing how many politicians have a combination of Mercury-Saturn and Mercury-Plluto aspects or a midpoint combination of Mercury, Saturn and Pluto. It mirrors how cautious and strategic they communicate:).
Read more about Mercury-Saturn on this blog Astropost!
Science and Mercury-Saturn (on Astropost)
Mercury-Saturn, just thinking… (on Astropost)
MOON-MERCURY
Moon-Mercury lies are the lies you tell because they are being expected in your group. You simply adept your story to the public. The Moon-Mercury lies are the every day, common lies. The way you behave shows that you are lying when you have a Moon-Mercury (= emotions-brains) conflict in your chart. Sometimes it is very obvious. Then you shake your head saying yes, for example.
Only in serious case there might be a habit (Moon) of lying (Mercury). For example, Joran van der Sloot is known for his incredible changing stories and if he was born in the morning, his Moon is opposition Jupiter and inconjunct Mercury. Or what about the case of Josef Frizl? This man has Moon square Mercury (and Mercury at Aries Point).
MERCURY-MARS
Mercury-Mars is speaking too fast and too soon, sometimes it lead to stutter and sharp words in discussion. People who work with words often have this aspect in their natal chart: words are being used Mercury-Mars is about information used as a weapon: and of course you only select the sharpest and fastest ones.
Example of Mercury-Mars and Mercury-Uranus aspect:
Chart of Samuel Huntington
MERCURY-JUPITER
Mercury-Jupiter’s effect is that the message is exaggerated in order to convince the other. Big mouths, big words and sometimes great ideas are born with Mercury-Jupiter contacts in the sky. The other side is that the receivers of information tend to notice that too many words are being use to convince them. The vocabulary is large, always. Take for example Barack Obama, who is a great speacher. He has Mercury opposition Jupiter(1).Read also about Joran van der Sloot’s Mercury-Jupiter and think of Fred Phelps’ Mercury inconjunct Jupiter.
MERCURY-URANUS
Mercury-Uranus’ effect is ‘hectic’ as the combination means ‘information on impulse’ (re: Mars-Uranus for acting on impulse) and provocative information (just a little different from what the others think). Uranus is the planet of change and Mercury of info, so lies of the Mercury-Uranus-kind are quick lies and often communication techniques like changing subject when it comes to telling the truth or at worst by twisting words and facts to end up with a completely different story. With the planet of inventions linked to the planet of words, you can make your own vocabulary, too. Sarah Palin has Mercury quintile Uranus: to creatively invent words…like ‘refudiating’.
Prominent Mercury’s and Uranus are in the charts of David Cern`, artistand Hitler.
MERCURY-NEPTUNE
Sometimes people with a prominent Mercury-Neptune combination in their charts become the victim of false information or others simply don’t believe what they are saying because it sounds like if the person is inventing it (thinking too long, known for having a fantasy etc….). When you have to invent stories because you are an author, this aspect can be a blessing, but in real life it is not easy. For an example, see the charts of Gerard and Guillaume Depardieu. BTW, Brad Pitt (actor) has Mercury sextile Neptune, tightly.
More about Mercury-Neptune on this blog Astropost:
about the Friedman case.
Re: Mercury’s role in transportation: read about the delay of a cruise ship that was due to depart with Mercury in aspect with Neptune, both on a prominent spot in the chart of the moment of departure.
http://astropost.blogspot.com/2010/08/mercury-opposition-neptune-and-planning.html
MERCURY-PLUTO
Mercury-Pluto’s effect is that in order to impress the audience facts are being manipulated (for the stronger effect), a sort of communication strategy that makes the receiver of the message feel uneasy. Often the information is ‘inside’ information, by an expert or a politician. In few cases this aspect reflects the possibility of the power of words and knowledge (dangerous information). Example?
The author of James Bond…, Ian Fleming, who was the personal assistent of the Director of Naval Intelligence of the Royal Navy in World War II. He was telling ‘strong stories’ with inside information.
COMBINATIONS OF ASPECTS WITH MERCURY
Combinations of aspects or midpoint combinations with Mercury alter the interpretation or give us more insight. Take for example the late Dutch prince Bernhard with Mercury conjunct Pluto and inconjunct Uranus for very strong and controversial (political) opinions. This combination also reflected his traffic accidents. Sometimes he just wanted to be too fast.
(1) Barack Obama’s Mercury is related to more objects in the chart, by major and minor aspects: a septile with Mars, opposition with Jupiter, half semi square with Uranus. This combination can be interpreted as the combination of an inventive (Jupiter-Uranus) debater (Mercury-Mars
MERCURY IN ACTION
1. passing messages
6th January 2007 STANISLAV WIELGUS Stanislav Wielgus is the archbishop to be of the Polish city of Warshaw. He was born 23rd April 1939 with Sun in Taurus and Moon in Gemini. Saturn was (possibly peregrine) oriental and Mercury was peregrine (not aspected). That shows that he is first of all a conservative (and maybe a person who is very carefull and easily scared). It also point at the importance of communication and passing through messages (Gemini and Mercury!). That is exactly what he did. He was a spy for the communist government and was rewarded for that.
2. telling tales
20th December 2006 DAVID IRVING David Irving, Hollocaust denier, has been released out of prison today. He was in the Astromarkt news before (see the message in Italic) and in fact there is still Transit Pluto sesquisquare Uranus (radical change) going on in his chart. Venus today makes a trine to the natal Uranus but the transit Sun is inconjunct Pluto. Note that both Neptune and Pluto in his birth chart are peregrine, Pluto close to oppositon with Aries Point. Neptune and Pluto were involved at the time of the judgement and they are still active today. Probably these planets are crucial and/or prominent in his chart. Today (note: that was 20 Feb 2006) David Irving got 3 years jail for denying the holocaust for years, although today he said he believed millions of Jews died in the days of the Nazis. Too late, apparently. He is born 24th of March 1938, but I do not know his hour of birth. Sun, Venus, Mercury and Saturn are in Aries, squaring the Moon. Mars, ruler of the stellium in Aries, conjuncts Uranus: that makes a rebel. A creative fire-and-earth combination with Mercury inconjunct Neptune: fantasy and/or being blind for facts or fraude. Pluto has no other aspect than a trine with the Nodes: seeking challenges and influence (with success – trine). Today progressed Saturn conjuncts Venus (Lady of Justice?). Transit Neptune semisquare Sun for disappointment. Transit Pluto sesquiquadrate Uranus (a radical change).
3. writing and mental illness
Maarten Biesheuvel is a Dutch autor. He will get the P.C. Hooft prize (with 60.000 euro in cash) for his total works. He has been suffering from severe depressions all his life and spent time in a psychiatric hospital. He has a strong Moon in Cancer, afflicted by Mars, Saturn and Pluto. There must be a strong destructive need in his soul. In his progressions Sun, Venus and Mars are afficted by Saturn and Pluto (again or still). But there was a creative solution for the Saturn and Pluto afflictions: Saturn and Pluto are in a quintile aspect! Mercury in his chart is oriental (conjunct Uranus) and on Aries Point with Sun/Saturn, Sun/Pluto and Sun/Mars. His mental state AND his communication skills were pronounced this way.
4. mistaking communications
2 November 2006 , JOHN KERRY
John Kerry was in the news for making the wrong kind of joke about American soldiers in Irak, with a Sun transit square Pluto and sesquisquare Saturn and Uranus square to both Natal and progressed Mars. That wrong joke is not really surprising. He has Mercury square Neptune oriental, making it easy to say (Mercury) the wrong (Neptune) things. He also has Mars in Gemini, retrograde. When afflicted this position tends towards brutality and rudeness. He shares this position of Mars in Gemini with Tony Blair and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
5. transportation
11th October 2006
CORY LIDLE
The plane crash on 11th October 2006 happened to NY pitcher Cory Lidle (born 22nd March 1972 Hollywood) with the present position of Neptune on the ascendant of the moment of the accident, afflicting Venus (planet of fun and love) and semi square his natal Sun. Of coursse an hour of birth would give us more information and the ascendant in cases of accidents is of the utmost importance. We do not know the ascendant now. It was in a succesfull year for him as the progressed Sun trines Jupiter and offers opportunities for travelling and growth. At the same time the Sun was biquintile Pluto. This is a succes combination. Transit Neptune semi square the Sun however debiliates and confuses. Neptune on the ascendant of the moment of the crash tells us about the confusion the accident caused. Indications of accidents in his natal chart without hour of birth: - Mars/Neptune (energy missing) combined with Mercury (transport and communication), Saturn (for failure) and Uranus for accident and aviation. - Mercury opposed to Uranus and semi square Saturn can be read as avant garde transportation that is blocked. – Mars conjunct Saturn and trine Pluto is for a winner in a hard sport. But Mars conjunct Saturn also indicates the chance of being damaged and wounded. - Pluto oriental opposed to Saturn/Node: dying together. (a hard confrontation in a group)
Twitter is a typical product of Mercury. Mercury is the planet of birds, talking, speaking, words, communications, messages, blogging, transportation and…twitter. Especially when Mercury is ‘calling’ (that is: not making major aspects in sign or orb 5 degrees) people want to talk just for the sake of talking, write just for the sake of writing and twitter just for the sake of twitter. A ‘calling’ Mercury makes it difficult to be silent or count to 10 before opening the mouth.
Examples? General McChrystal; Oriana Fallaci; someone I know who keeps you on the phone for hours, talking about nothing special…and I suppose a lot of twittering folks on Twitter.
It is not bad when your Mercury is calling. It is just that you need to send messages and inform the world about your ideas. It is just bad when you twitter or say the things that your bosses (or worse: the authorities) don’t like to hear. This week a reporter joked on Twitter about a singer and he was fired because his job was to report about the singer on a contest. He had progressed Sun inconjunct Pholus to illustrate the lost (of a job) because of shooting his own foot or biting the hand that fed him. But could he have counted to 10? He had Mercury calling! sort of a drive to tell the world what you think, like bloggers do:)
Mercury ‘ calling’ can be very helpful in sales. It is also perfect for a writer. The words won’t fail you! Mercury ‘ calling’ is a prominent Mercury and one of the astrological tools for succes in communications. Mercury ‘ calling’ is about communicating,somehow, anyhow. Mercury calling is to be preferred over Mercury-Uranus afflictions (that is when you keep joking or saying the wrong, offending or shocking things in the wrong context and in the wrong place, like Berlusconi does, or when nobody understands your irony). Nevertheless, Mercury can call you to be the messenger whose head is chopped off. That is when you say what nobody wants to hear, just like with a Mercury-Uranus affliction.
HOW ABOUT YOUR MERCURY?
If your Mercury is ‘ calling’, don’t answer until you counted to 10 and write things down, read it, think it over and decide wether or not to tell the world about it. Just hum or whistle if you have to make noise:). And when you do the talking, say political correct and social things. It will be hard, but when your chart shows hard times it might be better to fight your first impulse and consider more profitable ways to use your talents (writing, singing or selling:)… Sounds easy, but try to repeat this whit your mouth shut!!@$!