Mercury

Look for the Mercury symbol on your birth chart to discover the sign and house position. Then, read about each of the Mercury signs. Since Mercury travels close to the Sun, it will be either in the same sign or in the one before or after on the Zodiac.Early astronomers noted this planet's speed and elusiveness. In Greek myths, Mercury was Hermes, the winged messenger god and in Roman times, he was portrayed as a trickster. The planet's movements are said to influence communication here below. Mercury rules the signs of the intellect Gemini and Virgo.

A few times per year Mercury slows down in its orbit around the Sun, creating an illusion of backward movement. Imagine being in the “way back” of a station wagon, watching another car on the highway. If the car is going slower, it’ll appear to be going backwards, when actually it’s going forward. The retrograde of a planet is this kind of optical illusion.

When Mercury is in retrograde, communication can seem to slow down, misfire or go haywire with missed calls and technological snafus. This is why there’s a warning against signing contracts or starting a project during Mercury retrograde.

If you see an "R" next to a planet in your birth chart that means it was in retrograde when you were born. Someone with Mercury retrograde may have a reflective or introverted mind. You might want to mull things over more than most before drawing a conclusion. Depending on which sign your Mercury is in this could give you an interest in the past and a powerful memory.intelligence, language, communication, memory, expression, the mind

Mercury concerns the mind, and your sign and house position influences the mysterious way you put it all together up there. It determines how you make sense of your world, formulate ideas and share them with others. Your speech patterns, communication style, sense of humor, quickness of thought – all these are flavored by the position of your Mercury.

Which element your Mercury is in is a good starting point for understanding your particular type of intelligence. Mercury is at home in the air signs, which lean toward rational and logical thinking. In fire signs, Mercury is quick, instinctive and inspirational, water signs give the mind an intuitive and emotional filter, while Mercury in the earth signs tends to be pragmatic and concrete.

In Greek mythology, Mercury as Hermes, messenger of the gods, has one foot in the physical world and another in the realm of the unseen. Likewise, your Mercury crosses mental boundaries into the mysteries of the imagination and the memories of the past. In the fertile landscape of the mind, your Mercury harvests and interprets your personal experience of life.

Knowing your Mercury sign can help you understand and maximize your imaginative potential. It may reveal why you aren’t always on the same wavelength with others, and offer clues to sharing your unique gifts of expression. The aspects your Mercury makes with other planets may explain quirks in your manner of speaking, such as being defensive, chatty, eloquent, emotional, etc. Since the mind can be its own house of mirrors, this also can show a mind drawn to illusions or to playing games with others.

In the infinite variety of life, Mercury determines your fascinations, what kinds of puzzles you’ll want to work out, where you’d like to focus your mind power. Mercury’s influence on how you think can steer your career path, since you’ll likely be drawn to areas in which your mind thrives and excels.

In relationships of all kinds, frictions and confusion can arise when Mercury clashes. For example, an earth sign Mercury may an raise eyebrow at the air sign whose abstract notions seem out of this world. But put two air signs together, and speech resumes at the speed of light. Knowing the tone and timbre of a person’s Mercury can sometimes bridge the gap of understanding.