Planetary Remediation - Mercury
Mercury
Mercury represents your ability to assimilate and disseminate information through language. Mercury curates, collates, translates and analyzes the symbols, images, sounds and gestures that we use to convey meaning and organize the complex realm of thought into neat packets of data. Mercury is at its core how we interface with the world around us, and thus plays a crucial role in hand-eye coordination. All manner of exchanges fall under the auspices of Mercury, from the exchange of ideas by means of written or verbal communication to the exchange of goods or services by way of currency or barter.
If you haven’t done so already, you may want to read Building a Better Birth Chart - A Practical Guide to Planetary Remediation before diving into this material.
The Healthy Mercury
When Mercury is functioning optimally thoughts are communicated easily and clearly to others. The mind is organized and there is both willingness and strong capacity for thinking things through with consistent, logical thought processes. There is little difficulty in making one’s self understood and understanding others, as thoughts and words that match connect and flow in an uninterrupted stream. Communication can be easily adapted to fit a wide spectrum of contexts and it is relatively easy to become fluent in multiple languages. Hand-eye coordinating is sufficient to suit the tasks which the individual partakes in.
The Excessive Mercury
When Mercury is overly powerful, communication can become too “wordy” and convoluted with unnecessary flourishes and clever word-play. These individuals will often suffer from verbal diarrhea as thoughts are communicated impulsively and with little regard for social context. There is a strong tendency to over-analyze and think things to death, often in ways that others find exhausting and which usually results in making a subject more complicated then it needs to be. These individuals, while usually quite coordinated, are often fidgety and restless and have a hard time sitting still.
Identifying an Excessive Mercury
Mercury is naturally very powerful in Gemini and generally quite strong in Air signs. Mercury is similarly potent in Virgo and quite comfortable in earth signs, but the cold and dry nature of the element of Earth has a more of a balancing and moderating effect. That being said, Mercury is the most adaptable of all the planets and has a capacity to become strong under a wide variety of conditions and is generally less encumbered by a lack of compatibility with a given sign or element. The element of fire will tend to bring out many of Mercury’s excessive qualities, though typically with less clarity and precision then it would have when in one of its major dignities. Additionally, Mercury will be most prone to excess when also in several of the following conditions…
In one of its minor dignities such as bound or Decan.
In mutual reception with another planet, especially with an applying aspect.
When received by an aspect with the planet ruling it’s sign, especially when the aspect is applying.
Rising before the Sun in the morning. (In earlier degrees then the Sun by zodiacal order)
Ruling the 1st or 10th house (Virgo, Gemini or Sagittarius rising)
On one of the four angles of the chart, especially the ASC or MC.
In the 1st or 10th house.
Rules over several planets in Gemini and/or Virgo.
Is conjunct, or sharing a sign with the north node.
Mercury is especially susceptible to the influence of other planets by aspect or conjunction. Mars will tend to stimulate Mercury and potentially push it tword excess, though with an effect similar to Mercury in a fire sign. Uranus will have a strong energizing influence on Mercury, adding a frenetic and irregular kind of excess. The Moon, while a generally cooling planet, will add strength to Mercury when applying to it by aspect, especially when the Moon is waxing.
The Under-strength Mercury
When Mercury is in a particularly weak condition in a birth chart the individual will tend to struggle with finding words to communicate their thoughts effectively. Its not that the mind is weak or inactive, but there is difficulty in or unwillingness to process and convert larger thoughts into an organized transmissible format. There can be a tendency to avoid thinking about particularly intellectually laborious or complex subjects. If excess Mercury suffers from verbal diarrhea, the experience of a low-strength Mercury might be described as verbal constipation. Words tend to get backed-up as unprocessed thoughts clog the mental pipeline. These individuals can be quite clumsy and will tend to struggle with tasks that require fine motor skills.
Identifying the Under-strength Mercury
Mercury is said to be in detriment in Sagittarius and in Fall in Pisces. While Mercury in these signs will tend to entail some of the symptoms of being under-strength, Mercury’s challenges will usually be more complex then simply lacking in strength unless other factors further sap it of strength. The element of water is overall the least comfortable for Mercury, but will not necessarily make Mercury inherently weak. Mercury might be considered under-strength if several of the following conditions apply…
Peregrine, or not in any of its major or minor dignities.
Lacking an aspect or other form of reception with its domicile lord.
Ruling the sixth or twelfth house (Cancer, Libra, Aries or Capricorn rising).
In the sixth, twelfth or eighth house, especially when not in a degree based aspect with the MC, a planet in the tenth or to a somewhat lesser degree the fourth house.
Conjunct or sharing a sign with the south node.
Aspects with Saturn will slow mercury down and sometimes create delays and challenges around the development of mercurial qualities. While Saturn’s concentrating and narrowing effect on Mercury can often be very positive it will reduce the overall energy-level. Venus will tend to cool-down and relax Mercury, especially when in an evening star phase (in later degrees then the Sun by zodiacal order). While generally favorable for many reasons, Venus will nonetheless tend to slightly lower the energy level of Mercury which can feed into weakening an already under-strength Mercury. Neptune’s overall effect on Mercury is to diffuse and nullify many of Mercury’s natural significations. While Mercury-Neptune connections will usually require more clarifying then strengthening, the symptoms as far as Mercurial topics are concerned will lean strongly in the direction of the under-strength variety.
Remediating Mercury
Like most planets in a birth chart, you are going to want to pair some cleaning and tuning along with any strengthening or mellowing practices. If Mercury is peregrine but unaffiliated by hard aspects from Mars, Saturn or Neptune, direct in motion and does not rule the 12th, 6th or 8th houses then you will likely benefit from straightforward strengthening practices with minimal negative side-effects.
Giving Mercury ‘the Juice’
Charity - Volunteering or donating time or money to organizations and causes associated with the type of people Mercury signifies is an excellent way to start giving Mercury a boost. These might include scientific research institutes, think tanks, literacy programs, online databases like Wikipedia, libraries, bloggers and writers.
Colors - Unlike others planets which tend to favor one or two solid colors, Mercury is most appeased by the mixing of multiple colors, or colors of an ambiguous nature. Wearing multi-colored articles of clothing or those featuring patterns like plaid or argyle on the day of Mercury - Wednesday - will serve well to pay homage to and stimulate the Mercurial sphere of life.
Gemstones - Wearing jewelry with stones or other materials that are associated with Mercury (especially on Wednesday) is a reliable and relatively low input way to give your Mercury some juice. These include Agates of all kinds (particularly those with green hues), Amazonite, Opel, Chrysocolla, Kyanite, Topaz, Glass, Tin, Bronze and of course Mercury (do not wear Mercury or allow it to contact your skin in any way.) Mercury is also quite fond of coinage. If you are especially creative you might consider incorporating some coins into a piece of wearable jewelry or Mercurial talisman.
Activities/Hobbies - Video games can be great for hand-eye coordination, word games like scrabble, join a book club, singing lessons or learn a musical instrument (great for Venus as well), knitting or sewing. Most hobbies have a Mercurial element to them since Mercury enjoys novelty, engaging in many different activities and generally keeping busy.
Diet - Bread and grains, tongue or brain meats, pungent green vegetable such as broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts or asparagus. Mercury favors meals composed of a mixture of many items, such as a stir fry or casserole.
The Intuitive Approach
Mercury, as with any muscle, gets stronger when your exercise it. Here are some of the ways to get Mercury nice and buff that are easy to integrate into your normal activities. All the better if you can do them on Wednesdays.
Read - Mercury deals in all manner of transmitting information from one mind to another. One way we like to do this is through combinations of shapes that represent sounds which when stringed together form more complex sounds that serve as access points for specific clusters of experiential data. Sometimes we string so many of these sound symbols together that we have to assemble them in lines and stack them on top of each other until they fill dozens or even hundreds of sheets of paper which we bind together and share with people to look at and interpret. Engaging in this activity is one of the most accessible ways to get Mercury off the couch and onto the exercise bike.
Talk - It might seem obvious but talking is the very essence of what Mercury signifies, and doing more of it will naturally make you better at it over time. A cursory google search for studies done on how many words people speak in an average day produce a wide range of results, anywhere from 4000 to over 30000. It can reasonably be deduced from the variability of the results in theses studies that the amount of words a person speaks in an average day will likely depend on a large number of factors, many of which likely dependent on how much a given person’s life demands words from them. But regardless of where you fall on the spectrum, creating more opportunities to talk will get you moving in the right direction. In my own experience, I know from transcription software that the average 2 hour podcast episode I do contains about 50,000 words. While I’m not usually the only one speaking I know from how I feel after recording that it is much more then I usually say on most days. But I also know that it has become easier, more natural and less exhausting the longer I have been podcasting. Which leads me to the next activity…
Start a Podcast - For all the reasons already stated, starting a podcast is a fun and exciting way to get your Mercury on the weight bench.
Listen to a Podcast - While not as potent as more active measures, listening to people talk and processing the things they say requires some Mercury muscle. We’ll call it equivocal to a brisk walk. You can do a little Mercury remediation and learn more about astrology by listening to Astrology Hotline.
Write - Writing, like talking and reading, is deeply entrenched in the Mercurial sphere of existence. But anyone who has written anything knows that it is rather more involved then talking. If talking puts Mercury in the weight room, writing makes Mercury do burpees.
Math - Math is a language, and as a result falls under the dominion of Mercury. Do some.
Trade - Nearly everyone does some trading on a daily basis, even if it is just paying for the gas in your car or trading hours of your time for a wage. Introducing some new ways to trade in your life can be a fun and easy way to boost Mercury. You can start collecting playing cards and trading them with friends, trade cryptocurrencies or options in the stock market, or do some simulated trading in any number of video games.
Toning Down an Excessive Mercury
Doing less Mercury can be tricky. If you can, turn off your phone or at least notifications on Wednesdays. Avoid social media, take some time away from technology and spend some time in the peace and quiet of nature. A walk in a park just observing the world around you without thinking too much about what you see can go a long way toward chilling Mercury out. Meditation goes without saying. Fasting on the day of Mercury without other remedial measures is a very effective way to cool Mercury off.
Cleaning and Clarifying Mercury
In most cases, you will want to incorporate some clarifying practices into your Mercurial work. How much work you do with Mercury will depend on how important of a role Mercury plays in your life and birth chart, as well as how problematic your Mercurial issues are. Design a practice for yourself centered on the day of the Mercury and commit to it for anywhere from 2-3 weeks to 3-6 months. Try keeping a journal about what comes up for you, and reflect on it as you continue your practice.
Fasting - Fasting is a challenging but highly effective approach to cleaning and clarifying Mercury. If you have more complicated Mercurial issues, make a practice of fasting on Wednesdays for a period of time. Fasting effectively clears the fog around the specific life issues related to Mercury so you can more clearly identify patterns that need to be adjusted.
Feasting - If you are trying to clean-up your Mercury, you don’t want to starve it out with too much fasting. If you fast for 2-3 Wednesdays in a row and feel that the Mercurial sphere of your life has settled to a degree that you have gained clarity on some of its issues, plan a feast of Mercurial foods on Wednesday along with your other Mercurial practices.
Meditation - Meditating on the topics of the Mercury is great general practice and should absolutely be incorporated if you are doing a planetary fast. 10-15 minutes is enough, ideally on Wednesday or during the hour of the Mercury.
Propitiatory methods - Before meditating, create a small simple ritual around reciting a petition to Mercury. You can recite the Orphic Hymn to the Mercury, or design your own petition if you prefer. It doesn’t have to be especially poetic, the idea is just to tell Mercury how quick and clever they are, acknowledge the things Mercury represents, why those things rock and ask Mercury to bestow their gifts of wit and dexterity upon you.
Professional Therapy - This one will appear in the clean-up section of all the Planets, and not because I get a commission if you book with a therapist through my link, but because I honestly can’t imagine what my life would be like without the years I spent therapy. You may need to try several therapists to find a good fit, but it is one of the best things you can do for yourself.
These practices are based on various Modern, Ancient and Vedic astrological source material, as well as some of my own intuitive conclusions and experience. However, I must give credit to Austin Coppock and his course on planetary remediation which informs much of the remedial framework outlined in this series. If you would like to learn more about planetary remediation, I can not recommend this course highly enough.
