Mercury: The Writer's Friend

by Arlan Wise

We can think of Mercury as the planets’ little brother. He is often seen as less important when talking about the planets since he doesn’t have the power and reputation of the big boys. He is known by many names: Hermes, Thoth, the Lord of holy words, in Norse he is Loki, the Native Americans call him Coyote, He is Raven to the Inuit, and Lugas, (god of trade who gives things back and forth) to the Celts. The Hellenistic astrologers called him “the twinkling one”. Vedic mythology sees him as “the prince”. He is Jung’s puer aeternus, the perpetual youth. He has a quality of agelessness. Mercury wears many hats and has many jobs. He’s the guide between the worlds, the messenger between the gods and men, the lord of commerce, the patron of travelers, and the conductor of dreams. He was instrumental in alchemy and was thought to be able to transform base metals into gold, or transform human experience into a realization of pure consciousness.

In this article, we’ll focus on Mercury as the writer’s friend and examine his role in and his effect upon communication.

Mercury is my final dispositor, as is so with many writers and authors and people who work with words. He rules five planets and two angles in my chart and I’ve gotten to know him well over the years. He sits with me when I write and he loves it when I teach writing workshops for astrologers, as I do at the OPA (Organization for Professional Astrology) retreats and in various places around the country. He always puts his two cents in and helps the aspiring participants with their writing.

In November 2008, I went on a wonderful trip to Tamil Nadu in southern India that was offered through Dennis Harness and Demetra George’s Ancient Oracles tours. Komilla Sutton, the Vedic astrologer, led the group of astrologers, along with Baskar, our cute Mercurial guide who comes from Madurai and speaks Tamil. He acted in Mercury’s role as translator and communicator for us. Baskar is a travel agent, a Mercury job. The trip was centered around visiting the Hindu temples that are dedicated to the planets. When we got to Mercury’s temple, the priests were living archetypes of Mercury – slim, asexual, youthful, beautiful, and willing to instruct us in Mercury’s rituals in their light and airy temple. They wore green lungis since green is Mercury’s color. I felt I was looking at Mercury in manifestation.

The Sanskrit word for Mercury is Budhi – Wisdom. Here is a description of him -

Dressed in green, with a green body, who has four arms, the incarnation of Vishnu, who is a yogi, whose vehicle is a lion with an elephant’s trunk, who carries a sword, shield, and book in his hands, the son of the Moon, with an emerald crest jewel on his head, making the gesture that gives boons, may divine Mercy ever grant us his grace.

Another way to look at Mercury is to think about quicksilver, one of Mercury’s names. Those of us of a certain age can remember the fun of playing with mercury. It used to be inside thermometers, and was often found in science class. It forms a shiny silver puddle which separates, comes together, slithers and coheres. Mercury is a liquid metal. It fits the image of Mercury as shape shifter. It’s also a poison – which adds to Mercury’s complexity.

We can also think of Mercury as the dresser who puts clothes on your thoughts. I got this image from my spiritual teacher Ram Dass. He used it when he started teaching again after his stroke. He said that thoughts are always there in the ether (and it’s true, when you have one of those, “why am I here?” moments, if you go back to where you thought the thought you often remember why you entered the next room and what you want to do there. The thought stays at the location where you thought it and you can rethink it in that place). The thoughts are out there and there’s a room in the brain where the thoughts come in to get dressed into words. Ram Dass said that when one has a stroke that dressing room is damaged and it takes a while to rebuild it. Using that image, we can see Mercury as the dresser for the thoughts. There is an English movie called The Dresser with Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay that is about an aging Shakespearian actor who has a dresser named Norman. He is a lithe agile man who tells stories and feeds the words to Albert Finney’s character. When he says, “I can’t remember the lines”, Norman gives them to him. The author of the play, Ronald Harwood, was channeling Mercury and obviously had help from him in creating this character. Harwood had Mercury in Scorpio disposed by Mars in Virgo which goes back to Mercury. If Mercury is the dresser who helps you clothe your thoughts in words, then the sign he is in gives the description of the kind of outfit he will choose for you to wear.

Let’s see what the signs tell us about Mercury’s outfits.

Mercury in Aries puts on his gym shorts and running shoes and off he goes. He’s fast and a quick study and is impatient with people who use too many words. He understands what they mean before they finish speaking. He likes clothes with zippers not buttons and prefers slip on shoes. His alter ego is a fireman rushing into a burning building and he likes to dress in the uniforms of those who do daring things like policeman, tight rope walkers, and emergency personnel.

Some examples: Hans Christian Anderson, the writer of short tales about brave people. Yip Harburg who wrote the music for The Wizard of OZ, songs about traveling to a new land over the rainbow. Vladimir Nabakov who was daring in writing about a taboo subject in Lolita. Rick Levine, a man of many words and short dailies.

Mercury in Taurus wears velvet, silk, and elegant clothing. He likes clothes that are pleasing to touch. He smells of fragrance. He hums a tune while he combs his hair in a stylish fashion.

Examples: Walt Whitman, who wrote sensuous, earthy poetry. In pictures of him he is dressed well, quite dapper. He wrote an elegy for Lincoln after the assassination that can be read as a love poem. Cole Porter, who wrote lyrics of love and romance (You’d be so easy to love, True love, Let’s fall in love). Bernie Taupin, who writes Elton John’s songs of nostalgic romanticism.

Mercury in Gemini needs a track suit with pockets for his iphone, ipad, and google glasses. He wears running shoes with wings on them as well as having wings on his hat. He loves his Beanie hat with the propeller on the top. He is a multitasker and the epitome of curiosity.

Examples: Herman Hesse, George Orwell, Bill Styron, William Yeats.

Mercury in Cancer wears an apron over comfortable house clothes. He wears sweat pants, and cardigan sweaters. He prefers slippers on his feet. He likes to dress in traditional, native clothing.

Examples – George Bernard Shaw, Ian McEwan who are both very English and wrote about their country. Aldous Huxley, who wrote about his home in the future in Brave New World and his ideal home in Island. Salman Rushdie who won an award for Midnight’s Children, a novel about his homeland and the birth of India-Pakistan.

Mercury in Leo loves to dress up and be seen in flashy costumes. He likes bright and showy party clothes with style and sometimes lots of bling. He wears gold. He wears ruby slippers and shiny shoes.

Examples – Ernest Hemingway, J K Rowling

Mercury in Virgo wears work clothes, either his grey flannel suit or overalls. He wears Oxfords or Work boots. He likes his clothes to be practical, clean, and to last a long time.

Examples – HP Lovecraft, Mary Shelley, Patrick Walker, Me.

Mercury in Libra is stylish. His outfits match and he pays attention to the latest fashions. He wears nothing that is too daring or offensive. He is always neat and presentable with a good haircut.

Examples – Agatha Christie, Stephen King, F Scott Fitzgerald.

Mercury in Scorpio loves his black cape, mask, whip, and leather boots. He wears a surgeon’s outfit. You’ll see him in Sherlock Holmes hat and trench coat. He wears miner’s clothes with a headlamp so he can see into dark places.

Examples – Eminem, Kurt Vonnegut, Oscar Wilde, Robert Blaschke.

Mercury in Sagittarius loves his hiking and his riding boots. He prefers outdoors clothes so that he can hop on a horse or motorcycle at a moment’s notice. He carries a bow and arrow. When he is in a library he puts on his scholars’ robes.

Examples – Woody Allen, Margaret Atwood, Robert Bly (iron man in woods), Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Christopher Renstrom.

Mercury in Capricorn has a well-tailored executive’s suit. He wears tuxedos and other formal clothes. He has wing tip shoes. He is up to date on the latest expensive fashions.

Examples – Stephen Forrest, Sybil Leek, Marion March, many technical astrologers, Charles Dickens, Henry Miller

Mercury in Aquarius is found wearing tie dye T-shirts. None of his clothing matches. He has tattoos, loves electric blue and neon colors, and has wild hair. He looks like he is from another planet.

Examples – Edie Custer, Jack Kerouac, Bob Marley, Anais Nin, Gertrude Stein, Virginia Woolf.

Mercury in Pisces wears a swimsuit and mismatched socks, gauzy scarves, flowing robes, and holds a magic wand.

Examples – Maya Angelou, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Erica Jong, Victor Hugo, Dane Rudhyar.

Now let’s mix in the planets. Mercury adapts to the energy of the planet that he is near. He can do this because he is a shape shifter.

In Greek mythology, Mercury, called Hermes, is the little brother of Apollo, the Sun god. Mercury is tethered to the Sun and can only move 28 degrees away. When we find him in the same sign as the Sun he is saying “I think it, therefore it’s true”. One’s thinking is subjective with a strong identification with oneself. Mercury combined with the Sun writes autobiographies and opinion pieces. His work is original. When Mercury is running before the Sun, he gathers information and gives us time to think before acting. When he follows the Sun, action precedes thinking and there is rationalization. When Mercury is in a sign before or after the Sun’s sign he has some objectivity and distance from the ego.

Mercury combined with Moon is reflective, sensitive. The Moon is Mercury’s mother, or father in the Vedic system where Moon is masculine. Both are planets that have to do with memory and influence one to write about home and family and use the emotions of the past.

Mercury combined with Venus gives artistry to one’s words. He puts his thoughts in a pretty package. He writes beautiful descriptions of nature. He writes love stories and romance novels.

Mercury plus Mars gives impulsive, provocative, and persuasive writing. He likes to stir up controversy. He writes books about war and emergencies. He can write on science. He will be a whistle blower. He prefers to be a journalist rather than a novelist. He loves investigative journalism where he can stir up trouble by telling the truth. He is a prolific writer who writes quickly.

Mercury combined with Jupiter writes travel guides and stories about foreign countries. He is adept at writing spiritual literature and philosophical works. He uses many words and can write long books. He may be too verbose tending towards verbal diarrhea. He needs to find a good editor.
Mercury and Saturn is a good combination for a writer. It gives the concentration that is necessary to finish and edit a piece of writing. They are friends and work well together. The writing is precise clear, realistic, and accurate. They love to do research and write about history, finances, and business.

Mercury and Uranus send the mind to the outer edges and come up with some strange ideas. This combination gives originality and ingenuity. They create exciting, upsetting writings. They can indicate a genius, an innovative person who thinks in new ways. People with this combination write science fiction, utopian and dystopian stories. The work is thrilling and always pushes against the outer edge of accepted thinking.

Mercury melded with Neptune writes poetry. They use intuition to produce fables and works of fantasy. They love to write inspiring spiritual words. They write stories about romance and glamour. They think nothing of bending the truth.

Mercury combined with Pluto gives a mind that is penetrating, investigative, often interested in medical subjects. They write detective novels, horror stories, psychological thrillers and murder mysteries. They will write transformative literature.

Mercury with the Nodes. These people are born to write and communicate. Mercury walks with you thorough life. He is the guide to your destiny.
Mercury and Chiron find the words that heal self and others. They write about alternative methods of health and healing, often going back to once used but forgotten methods. The words they use may hurt and process of writing can be uncomfortable as it heals.

Let’s look at a few charts and examine Mercury’s role. (I am a western astrologer and show the charts in western tropical astrology using Koch houses.)

STEPHEN KING September 21, 1947 1:30 am EDT Portland, Maine

Stephen King writes thrillers, mysteries, and fantasy books. He is very popular. His Mercury is in Libra, just inside the fourth house cusp, and is conjunct Neptune. This gives him imagination, fantasy, and an ability to think “what if….”. He takes ordinary life and turns it around to show how it might have been if something unusual took place. This is his Mercury in Libra seeing the other side. Mercury rules his third house of writing and communication. His Sun is in Mercury ruled Virgo in the third house.

Mercury is in a sextile aspect to the Moon, the ruler of the chart. King sets his books in his home state of Maine. He writes about families. It is also sextile the Saturn-Pluto combination which bring out the dark side of his mind. He writes of the things that one fears. The connection to Saturn helps him be a hard worker, gives him the ability to keep going and produce a large body of work. He is able to write non–fiction and has written one of the best books on how to be a good writer called On Writing.

MARION MARCH Feb 10 1923 3:46 am CET Numberg Germany

Marion March was a German-American astrologer who began her studies in 1966 and was a top professional by 1970. She co-authored, with Joan McEvers, the best-selling six volume series entitled “The Only Way To Learn Astrology,”

Along with Neil Michelson and others, Marion was one of the instigators in establishing the United Astrology Congress lovingly known as UAC ‘86. She was an internationally known and respected lecturer and teacher who received many awards. Her honors include the PAI Award, the Aquarius Workshops Award, the Regulus Award, which she won twice, and her listing in “Who’s Who Among Women” in 1985.

Her Mercury is at 29 degrees of Capricorn, retrograde, and in the second house. It is connected to Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn by a square aspect. Saturn sits in the tenth house of public notice and made sure that all she said and wrote underwent scrutiny and editing. Her books are practical and instructive. Mercury rules the ninth house of language and Marion wrote her books in English, which is not her native language. Mercury also rules the seventh house indicating the successful writing partnership she had with Joan McEvers.

JOAN QUIGLEY April 10, 1927 4:17 pm CST Kansas City, MO

We know of Joan Quigley because she was Ronald and Nancy Reagan’s astrologer and advised him while he was president. She wrote Astrology for Adults, Astrology for parents of children and teenagers, and a non-fiction book about a mining disaster called The Day the Earth Caved in. Her book What Does Joan Say was written in response to Nancy Reagan denying that she had even spoken to Joan Quigley. She said that Mrs. Reagan had lied and Joan wanted to tell the truth of the matter. Supposedly Ronald Reagan would ask Nancy “What does Joan say?” when he was unsure of what to do or when to do it.

Joan has Mercury in Pisces sitting on the Descendant. It is conjunct one ruler, Jupiter, and inconjunct the other, Neptune. Mercury is in a sextile to Venus. He is also square to a tenth house Mars in Gemini. Perhaps she had a conflict in what to write about. It is in an out of sign conjunction to Uranus. Mercury is the ruler of her chart and also of the tenth house. Note that her tenth house Pluto is conjunct the USA Sun and shows that she was a silent but powerful influence for the country’s wellbeing.

BEPIN BEHARI February 8 1925 11:25 am BDOT Chapra, India

Bepin Behari was a well-known and much loved Jyotishi. Here is his chart in the western tropical mode. He wrote many books on various topics of Vedic astrology, including Myths and Symbols of Vedic Astrology, Solve your Problems Astrologically, Astrological Biographies, to name a few. He spent the first part of his life working as an economist. His Mercury Is in Aquarius conjunct Venus. It sits high in the chart, almost on the Midheaven. It is square Mars in Taurus in the twelfth house of spirituality. It is in a wide opposition the Moon, the ruler of the third house of writing.

If you want to see how you and your clients communicate in writing, how they write and what they write, look at these factors in the charts - Mercury, his sign, the costume so to speak, his placement, which house is he influencing, the third house of the chart, the dressing room, the ruler of the third house. Examine all aspects to Mercury from other planets, and the aspects to the ruler of third house. This gives you the information you need when looking at Mercury as the writer’s friend.

Image sources:
Running shoe: Image by StockSnap from Pixabay
Models: Image by Bernadette V from Pixabay
Charts provided by the author

Published at: ivcconference.com/constellation-news/, 2018.

Author:
Arlan Wise has worked as a professional consulting astrologer since 1978. She has been on the Board of Directors of OPA since 1994, serving two terms as president. She is currently OPA’s Director of Publications and an editor of OPA’s journal, The Career Astrologer. Arlan was instrumental in setting up OPA’s Astrologer’s Retreats, a unique conference experience. Arlan gives writing workshops for astrologers at OPA retreats and conferences. She edits and reviews astrology books. She is a facilitator of OPA’s certification program. She lectured at UAC 2012 and is on the faculty for UAC 2018.
Website: www.arlanwise.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arlan.wise

© 2017/19 - Arlan Wise - Constellation News

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