Take a look at this little trickster as you have never seen it before! Right from Ancient Greece to the computer age. Assess for yourself whether it fair to say that Mercury indeed represents 'Miscommunication'. Are we conscious about how we use it everyday ... ?

The son of Maia the coy daughter of Atlas, and Zeus, the father of gods and men, Hermes was conceived in secret during one of Zeus' many clandestine affairs. (1)

Hermes was active and precocious from the outset. Born at midday in the deep cavern in Mount Cyllene where his mother resided, he immediately set about inventing the celestial-sounding lyre from a tortoise shell. By nightfall that same day he was already bored with his toy and so ventured forth into the meadows where he proceeded to steal fifty of Apollo's best cattle and subsequently hide them in a high ceilinged cave near the Alpheios River. Craftily he erased the trail he had made, retraced his steps home, donned his swaddling clothes and climbed back into his crib. His mother spying the infant god entering the cave, prophesied "trouble you are going to be to the gods and men".

Apollo in the meantime, upon discovering the theft of his cattle, had found an old man who had seen Hermes do the dastardly deed and who described an infant chasing the cattle away. Apollo knew that an infant son had recently been born to Zeus and he headed for the cave of Maia where he confronted Hermes. The adorable infant god blinked his eyes and knit his brow in disbelief. "Do I look like a hardened cattle thief?" he asked, "I was born but yesterday, tender are my tiny feet and rough the earth out yonder." Hermes was so charming that Apollo threw back his head and guffawed with laughter but nonetheless dragged Hermes to seek an audience with Zeus.

The gods present at this hearing were enthralled by Hermes and by his cunning and crafty ways. He was ordered to show Apollo where his cattle were being held and he proceeded to explain away the slaughter of two of the cattle as a sacrifice to the twelve gods of Mount Olympus. When Apollo queried who the twelfth god was, as there were only eleven, Hermes promptly said "yours truly".

And herein lies the essence of Mercury, friend or foe.

Ruler of the 3rd (Gemini) and the 6th (Virgo), Mercury is Lord of many facets of our lives ranging from communication, siblings, short/ routine journeys, illness, small animals and our parents' siblings to body parts such as the arms, shoulders, hands, lower belly, bowels and intestines. Mercury is never more than 27 degrees from the Sun and for this reason is seldom visible to the naked eye. It seems fitting that he then rules the airy triplicity by night. Mercury assumes the gender of the planet to which he is joined, and be it joined to good planets, he is good and joined to bad, he is thus bad. (2).

When well placed, Mercury can represent strong intellect, outstanding communication skills, a native, adept and skilled with his hands, a good orator, a sharp wit and the ability to be an outstanding merchant or trader. When ill placed we are given a cunning and shrewd individual prone to telling lies, a boaster and slanderer, a cheat, an idiot, a gossip and someone who is easily perverted by others or other ideas.

We need to look at our charts to see where Mercury is placed and which houses he rules in the natal chart. We then need to engage in some soul searching to determine which side of this androgynous planet we are manifesting. Are we using his strength in communications, the ease of language and matters of the air element to their full potential and benefit or are we employing the more sleazy side of Mercury that cannot accept criticism nor take responsibility for misdeeds? Do we have a healthy attitude to our physical wellbeing or are we neglectful or over zealous in that area?

Are we using our hands and arms to their full advantage to caress another human being, stroke a keyboard to produce beautiful prose or a poignant letter that will uplift the recipient, to paint a beautiful picture that will bring joy to the beholder, to employ precise surgical skills in order to save a life, or are we using these same hands and arms to take belongings that are not rightfully ours, to strike another human being in an act of anger or aggression or to destroy that which we touch? Are we shouldering burdens that are rightfully ours and not passing the buck in a victim mind-set that places those burdens on the shoulders of others who do not rightfully deserve them as it is not their cross to bear? Are we supporting others by shouldering their loads at times when their strength fails them?

Are our bowels and intestines assimilating the nutrients that we ingest in order to feed and nurture our cells so that we can be of collective service and then eliminating what we do not need or are things getting "stuck", unable to be excreted, thus forcing us into a state of toxicity, attached to matter that has long passed its sell by date? Do we know when to let go of archaic ideas that no longer serve us and to give birth to new ones?

The recent Mercury retrograde caused me to take an in depth look at the effects this planet has on my own life. My computer received a virus that embedded itself in the registry, which then made it unable to shut down or switch off. It was stuck. What was I not "shutting down" or what was I "stuck in" and still allocating attention to, when I should have possibly discarded it ages ago? Most of my communication went awry with mixed messages being received. Trucks were driving into shop fronts, cars were breaking down, traffic appeared worse than normal and general mayhem existed in my circle that was related to this trickster planet. I was witness to the behaviour of a Gemini colleague who manifested all of the dark traits of Mercury in one sitting - he was argumentative to the point that no one could insert a word as there were no pauses in his monologue, the blatant telling of lies and the inability to take responsibility even when caught cheating and being dishonest. This person is normally able to "talk" his way out of situations but with Mercury retrograde this ingrained response that he displayed was not as well received as it normally was by others. I experienced people to be more critical of others over this period and logic and reasoning appeared to be obscure. People were succumbing to winter viruses on a larger scale than normal, commencing with sore throats.

Mercury is often underplayed in astrological writing, yet it is a symbol of immense importance. The first lies in the function it serves and the second the mechanism by which it operates. (3) Mercury assists me in understanding you and vice versa as we communicate. Without communication we would remain two separate entities and life would be so much poorer for it. Without you I have no reference to me and thus can set no boundaries nor break through any barriers. The manner in which we communicate and transfer data is the mechanism that Mercury governs. Whether we choose to use touch (hands) or language written and verbal, we require this mechanism in order to communicate. We communicate via our art, which requires either our hands or our minds to be engaged or through dance where movement is the tool, another Mercurial aspect. Mercury is the process of all of the above, how we get from point A to point B while communicating and how effectively we use the tools at our disposal.

Mercury thus seen is no lightweight planet and it is a planet that therefore shoulders a tremendous amount of responsibility both socially and personally. How we use Mercury is not be taken lightly, we can start wars or make peace, we can heal or maim, we can improve our lot and that of others by elevating our consciousness through communicating or we can sink ourselves and those around us into depression or a quagmire of despair. If Mercury rules the mind and health, surely mental health is then of grave importance? Mercury is most definitely both friend and foe but I feel that the clue to Mercury lies in its neutral status. It is what it is, neither good nor bad. The decision is ours as to which side of the planet/s it is attached to we choose to manifest. If the situation requires a "female" Mercurial response do we then provide a "male one?" Seen from this perspective Mercury is not to be underestimated as even in its infantile and childlike state it can wreak havoc.

So, what did you do with your Mercury today?

References:

1. Hercules and other legends of gods and heroes - Donald Richardson
2. Christian Astrology - William Lilly
3. Horoscope Symbols - Robert Hand