Mercury - Planet of Communication

In Mythology, Mercury or Hermes served as a messenger to the gods. He was responsible for the spreading of news and was known for his intelligence, wit and charm. As such Mercury in our natal chart shows us how we communicate with others, and how we think and rationalize. Mercury is associated with the signs Gemini and Virgo.

Mercury in Aires

Aires in Mercury gives you a quick and intelligent intellect. You can have a rather aggressive and argumentative attitude, someone who likes to stir things up and cause controversy for the mere sake of doing it.

You think well on your feet and are likely to be rather innovative in your thinking. Deep methodical analysis of data is not your forte, you want to make a decision and move on to the next challenge. Decisive and a straight shooter, you have little patience for others that like to take their time in reaching a decision.

Although witty and charming when you want to be, you can be very intolerant of others and may need to guard against coming off as being too arrogant.

Mercury in Taurus

Mercury in Taurus is practical and often conservative in its thinking. You are likely to be good with money and in managing resources in general. You are one of these people that tends to learn more from doing than from academic study. Taurus in Mercury is renowned for their plain common sense attitude.

You may take a long time to come to a decision as you are not the sort to just say things off the cuff. Anything worthy of your attention is likely to be examined from all sides and deeply pondered before you commit yourself to an opinion.

Once your mind is made up there is little anyone can do to sway you or change your mind. Mercury in Taurus can be downright stubborn on occasions too, refusing to listen to reason even after they have discovered that the decision that they reached is wrong.

Mercury in Gemini

Mercury in Gemini is quick and intelligent. Your conversational style is articulate and witty. You are intensely interested in everything, insatiably curious and a dabbler in all things.

Naturally quick at picking things up and learning new skills, your main problem will be keeping your attention on a subject long enough to truly excel at it. You are likely to be have a natural aptitude for language and mathematics.

You are a reasoned logical thinker, and may at times need to remember to take the emotional side into account as well, as not everything is purely dependent on logic alone. Your need to experience all you can learn may lead to frazzled nerves and it would do you good to learn to relax and take time out a little more.

Mercury in Cancer

Mercury in Cancer is a very intuitive and emotional placement. You are very sympathetic to others and make a great listener. Your ability to empathize with others though may lead you to suffer unnecessarily, as you tend to take on other peoples problems as if they were your own. You need to realise that your sympathy and concern are what your friends need, not for you to take on the burden for them.

Your family and friends are exceptionally important to you and for your feeling of well-being. You are loyal, patriotic and are likely to have an innate love and respect of history. You have a very good memory and tend to learn best by example.

Mercury in Leo

Mercury in Leo is a strong minded and opinionated thinker. You are likely to have a dramatic flair about you in both written and oral speech that makes others pay attention to you. You have natural leadership skills and this shows through in the way that you express yourself and handle problems.

You have a far reaching and humanistic approach to problems, able to mediate between groups when necessary. Others usually respect you and you find this rather gratifying.

The tendency here can be to sometimes look at problems in too general terms and not concentrate on the individual logistics. There may be a tendency towards arrogance if you are not challenged in any way. You may even fall into a trap of intellectual laziness if you are not stimulated enough by differing opinions.

Mercury in Virgo

Mercury in Virgo is analytical and logical. You are a person that needs order in your life to function at your optimum. Disorder and chaos not only distract but seem to effect your equilibrium.

Your need to check and double check that things are exactly as they should be can sometimes be misinterpreted as a lack of confidence. You are the type of person that always gives 100% of your effort. To you, this also means ensuring that no measure has been overlooked and no detail omitted.

You are likely to be involved in a career where this precision and attention to detail is needed and rewarded.

Mercury in Libra

Mercury in Libra is well balanced and works best in harmonious environments. Unnecessary friction or aggressiveness will offend Libra and they are likely to avoid contact if at all possible. Unless their sense of fairness is offended they are unlikely to cause any scenes, preferring to retire than deal with an inharmonious atmosphere.

Diplomatic and charming, Libra rarely has any trouble finding friends to share their social time with. You make an excellent friend or companion, taking a genuine interest in others and offering a sympathetic shoulder to cry on when necessary.

Making decisions can almost be the death of Libra at times though, as their innate need to weigh and balance all the pros and cons of a argument can be so frustrating and lengthy.

Mercury in Scorpio

Mercury in Scorpio is intense and secretive. This placement tends to make people skeptical and curious to get to the bottom of things, to find out the real truth of the matter.

Intuitive and often able to discern the weakness of others, you can be rather a scary person to come across let alone anger. You innate curiosity and ability to "read" other people makes you a natural investigator or detective. You are often entrusted with other peoples secrets, as they instinctively know that you can keep information to yourself.

Your manner can at times be rather abrupt, you have no time for fools. If you chose, your words can be used as weapons against others. If you feel it is not diplomatic to state what you truly feel you will remain silent, rather than compromise your integrity. However, often your silence is as frightening to others as if you had said what you thought.

Mercury in Sagittarius

Mercury in Sagittarius is out-going and lively. You are a natural story-teller and are not above "improving" the truth if it increases the dramatic effect. You have wide and varied interests and are likely to be fascinated with foreign cultures as well as philosophy and religion.

There can at times be a tendency to form opinions before all the facts are in and you are prone to saying exactly what is on your mind at the time, and damn the consequences. This is rarely if ever done in malice though, as Sagittarius' aim is to get at the truth - to explore and discover all that there is.

You enjoy study for the sake of the knowledge it brings you and the only real difficulty you are likely to find here is that there is so much for you to learn and discover. You may feel you are spoiled for choice and find it hard to settle on one or two subjects at a time.

Mercury in Capricorn

Mercury in Capricorn is reserved and rather cautious. You weigh your words before saying anything, aware of the impact that they can make. You are not overly friendly with others not already within in your social circle.

You have an excellent memory and are extremely diligent when applying yourself to a task. Planning and organization are your forte and anything you undertake, you do well and meticulously. You can at times be quite resistant to change as you have an inbreed love of tradition and order. You probably feel that often change is effected simply for the sake of change.

Although you may not be as quick as others to pick up new skills, once attained, you hone them well. This placement can sometimes indicate someone who feels the need to vindicate themselves in the eyes of others. There may be a tendency to feel that others do not fully appreciate your mental capabilities.

Mercury in Aquarius

Mercury in Aquarius is avant-garde and insightful. New ideas excite you and you are likely to get hunches and intuitive flashes at times. Innovative and daring you are likely to be considered eccentric and "out there".

Although you are witty and outgoing, you can at times come across as being a little impersonal. You have high ideals and are not a social snob, accepting people for what they are, not their status or title. You are a good judge of character and are adept at seeing through to the core of a person.

Progressive and at times revolutionary, you can be rather unsettling for more conservative types to be around. You have a natural talent for writing and speech that you should exploit.

Mercury in Pisces

Mercury in Pisces is intuitive and often artistic. You have a good imagination, the only problem being that at times you may prefer to dabble in your daydreams than deal with day to day life.

This sign is often psychic in some ways and you tend to do best when you follow your hunches. Beauty and art are sure to move you profoundly in some way and if you have no flair yourself, you are likely to be a great admirer of others' talent.

Easily hurt, you can become moody and reclusive when you feel that someone has done you wrong. You are also trusting and a little naive at times, preferring to see the good in others even at your own expense at times. You need to watch that you are not taken in by every sob story you hear or by opportunistic con artist.

Lynda Filer lives in sunny Brisbane, Australia and is the owner and webmaster of Astrological Knowledge (http://www.astrologicalknowledge.com) and Scullywag Design and Hosting (http://www.scullywag.com).