dadsnook2000
The SUN and MERCURY are a fitting focus to start the Planet Series" Sun & Planets off with. We all hear about the various planets being discussed, yet those that are most discussed seem to be Saturn, Venus and Mars with the other planets playing second fiddle. When pressed, many early-studies students of astrology can give you some idea of Neptune or Pluto, but ask about Mercury and the conversation often slows to a crawl.
I submit that Mercury is not well understood. Perhaps we can learn from each other here about Mercury through our discussions, reading and considerations -- all of which are "Mercury words." In mythology, Mercury was the messenger of the Gods and was supposed to know much. Yet, a messenger only knows what he is told to pass on, he often doesn't know the reasons behind the message. This gives us an important clue about Mercury. Mercury was also a traveller of great speed and was exposed to many different people, cultures, and forms of communication. These give us more clues about Mercury. Finally, for this part of my discussion, lets look at the planetary glyph assigned by the ancients to Mercury -- it has all three elements: the circle, cresent and cross representing the spirit, sould and earthly life. This suggests that Mercury is associated with all three elements.
In astronomical terms, Mercury is close to the Sun and does not wander more than 28 degrees or so from the Sun as it quickly circles that central point of our solar system. Of course, Mercury doesn't proceed thru the zodiac in a straight line -- in a given year Mercury will turn retrograde three times and then end up more or less covering the same span of zodiac as the Sun in a given year. So, in effect, Mercury does act like a messenger, stopping here, pausing or moving back over ground already covered, then moving forward again -- only to stop, pause, retread his steps, then rush off to another point of interest. So, we can say (as a broad statement) that Mercury doesn't cover more than three or four signs without pausing to re-cover part of its passage -- then it moves forward again.
Mercury cannot assimilate, in terms of its orbital behavior, more than four signs before it has to pause and reconsider. The "signs", of course, represent the shared, collective experience of us all. In this sense, signs are quite unlike houses which are personal experiences. So, we can summarize this point by saying, "Mercury gathers worldly, shared information (external data and knowledge) and then pauses to review-reconsider-revisit portions of this gathering-travel-experience."
Given that last statement in quotes, and assuming that there are no counter views, this suggests that Mercury has an "inner" function that might noy yet have been discussed. What is this internal function? Some astrological books don't really talk about this, some do.
Internally, Mercury takes its information and categorizes it, plunking it into little pigeon-holes for later retrieval. Mercury has to tag this information and establish ways to remember it thru associative processes. Its these linking functions that shape the way Mercury, our minds, work. Whereas the Moon gives us automatic, habitual responses that fuel, emotionally, the needs and initial interactions we have with others -- we need to think about how Mercury fits into this process.
Mercury sees. Mercury hears. Mercury takes information and perception into our minds, into our storage system, into the network of our associative processes. How we perceive what we see, how we understand what we hear, how we choose to link and associate one piece of information with another piece of information determines our overall thought, thinking, memory processes. And these inner, fresh experiences feed into and retrieve the older memories of feelings and memories, and together seem to shape the way we TRIGGER emotional feelings.
That is a profound concept. It is not an original concept, I believe that others have expressed it many times and in better ways. But, this is very important to remember about Mercury. Mercury is a partner with the Moon in the way we gather and store and recall and reuse our experiences and our knowledge. Does Mercury drive the Moon, does the Moon drive Mercury, are they really one or are they a duality or seperate by somewhat interactive forces that both impinge upon a portion of what each of us is?
If Moon and Mercury play some form of role together as well as seperately, then how does Mercury interact with the Sun?
The Sun "integrates." Jeff Mayo of the Faculty of Astrological Sudies in London said this over and over again. The Sun "integrates." The Sun draws out the energies symbolized by the planets, the Sun infuses and focuses those functions. The Sun doesn't have those particular functions but it can energize them and bring them out in us. So for Mercury, how does the Sun work? I'll try to address this question in different ways in following threads.
We have to remember that Mercury doesn't reach a point of opposition or of trine or of square to the Sun like other planets might. Mercury has a special relationship that we have to take time to examine. Dave.
I submit that Mercury is not well understood. Perhaps we can learn from each other here about Mercury through our discussions, reading and considerations -- all of which are "Mercury words." In mythology, Mercury was the messenger of the Gods and was supposed to know much. Yet, a messenger only knows what he is told to pass on, he often doesn't know the reasons behind the message. This gives us an important clue about Mercury. Mercury was also a traveller of great speed and was exposed to many different people, cultures, and forms of communication. These give us more clues about Mercury. Finally, for this part of my discussion, lets look at the planetary glyph assigned by the ancients to Mercury -- it has all three elements: the circle, cresent and cross representing the spirit, sould and earthly life. This suggests that Mercury is associated with all three elements.
In astronomical terms, Mercury is close to the Sun and does not wander more than 28 degrees or so from the Sun as it quickly circles that central point of our solar system. Of course, Mercury doesn't proceed thru the zodiac in a straight line -- in a given year Mercury will turn retrograde three times and then end up more or less covering the same span of zodiac as the Sun in a given year. So, in effect, Mercury does act like a messenger, stopping here, pausing or moving back over ground already covered, then moving forward again -- only to stop, pause, retread his steps, then rush off to another point of interest. So, we can say (as a broad statement) that Mercury doesn't cover more than three or four signs without pausing to re-cover part of its passage -- then it moves forward again.
Mercury cannot assimilate, in terms of its orbital behavior, more than four signs before it has to pause and reconsider. The "signs", of course, represent the shared, collective experience of us all. In this sense, signs are quite unlike houses which are personal experiences. So, we can summarize this point by saying, "Mercury gathers worldly, shared information (external data and knowledge) and then pauses to review-reconsider-revisit portions of this gathering-travel-experience."
Given that last statement in quotes, and assuming that there are no counter views, this suggests that Mercury has an "inner" function that might noy yet have been discussed. What is this internal function? Some astrological books don't really talk about this, some do.
Internally, Mercury takes its information and categorizes it, plunking it into little pigeon-holes for later retrieval. Mercury has to tag this information and establish ways to remember it thru associative processes. Its these linking functions that shape the way Mercury, our minds, work. Whereas the Moon gives us automatic, habitual responses that fuel, emotionally, the needs and initial interactions we have with others -- we need to think about how Mercury fits into this process.
Mercury sees. Mercury hears. Mercury takes information and perception into our minds, into our storage system, into the network of our associative processes. How we perceive what we see, how we understand what we hear, how we choose to link and associate one piece of information with another piece of information determines our overall thought, thinking, memory processes. And these inner, fresh experiences feed into and retrieve the older memories of feelings and memories, and together seem to shape the way we TRIGGER emotional feelings.
That is a profound concept. It is not an original concept, I believe that others have expressed it many times and in better ways. But, this is very important to remember about Mercury. Mercury is a partner with the Moon in the way we gather and store and recall and reuse our experiences and our knowledge. Does Mercury drive the Moon, does the Moon drive Mercury, are they really one or are they a duality or seperate by somewhat interactive forces that both impinge upon a portion of what each of us is?
If Moon and Mercury play some form of role together as well as seperately, then how does Mercury interact with the Sun?
The Sun "integrates." Jeff Mayo of the Faculty of Astrological Sudies in London said this over and over again. The Sun "integrates." The Sun draws out the energies symbolized by the planets, the Sun infuses and focuses those functions. The Sun doesn't have those particular functions but it can energize them and bring them out in us. So for Mercury, how does the Sun work? I'll try to address this question in different ways in following threads.
We have to remember that Mercury doesn't reach a point of opposition or of trine or of square to the Sun like other planets might. Mercury has a special relationship that we have to take time to examine. Dave.