Transcendental Planets.

A New Look at Planetary Symbolism

in Astrocartography & in Transcendental Astrology,

by Robert Couteau.

All text Copyright © 2005 R. Couteau

Transcendental Mercury

Reason is the bound or outward circumference of Energy.
-- William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.

Mercurius is the Logos become world ... [He] truly consists of the most extreme opposites; on the one hand he is undoubtedly akin to the godhead, on the other he is found in sewers.
-- Carl Jung, The Spirit Mercurius.

 

Core meaning:

Mercury's seemingly up-front, matter-of-fact and even at times superficial qualities and correspondences represent merely the surface appearance of an energetic force that is far more complex than is generally recognized. Through the cognitive network symbolized by Mercury the other planetary principles partake in a mutually recognizable form of communication with one another, especially within the crucible of human consciousness. This plexus of interconnecting pathways of communication facilitates and ultimately unites the planetary forces in the microcosmic form of the human psyche.

In its evolution through various planetary stages, the Transcendental energy is channeled through experiences of identity-separation (yang) and -unification (yin). In a similar manner, in alchemical symbolism the final stage of rapport between yin and yang principles is called the coniunctio: a process that proceeds through various stages of "chemical" separatio and unio, culminating in a union of differentiated qualities within the alchemical vessel, i.e., the psyche.

Just as the alchemists were well versed in astrological lore and borrowed freely from astrological principles to enhance their philosophical-allegorical understanding of processes of spiritual transformation, alchemical symbolism has in turn influenced and enhanced our understanding of symbolic planetary processes of energetic transformation. In our present study, the transformation of planetary energies within the human experience is symbolically imagined as one assisted by the mediating force of Mercury.

In alchemical literature, which maintained and further refined astrological thought and tradition, Mercury is often referred to by his Greek appellation, "Hermes," or by the Latin "Mercurius."1 The alchemical retort was sometimes referred to as the vas Hermeticum or vessel of Hermes-Mercury. In the Mercurial Fountain illustrated in the Rosarium philosophorum (1550), the basin of the fountain is adorned with six stars, signifying the other astronomical planets (including Sun and Moon) that were visible to astronomers during the Middle Ages. The planetary principles are thus "contained in Mercurius," whose personification signifies "the unity of the seven planets."2 This alludes to the unifying function of the hermaphroditic Mercury, who also personified the gathering, sorting, and ordering function in the alchemical process of the separation and unification of psychic elements. In alchemy, the latter are usually symbolized as metals which, when separated from their corrupt amalgams or base forms, are then transformed into symbolic "gold." This gold is in fact a philosophical or spiritual gold, representing a kind of enlightened, spiritualized, or individuated consciousness. (Hence Gerhard Dorn, a philosophically oriented alchemist of the sixteenth century, would write: "The gold we seek is not the common gold.") Likewise, the various levels of Logos (spirit) / Eros (soul) dualism are unified through the ordering, sorting, separating, and unifying force inherent in the rational, cognitive qualities symbolized by Hermes-Mercury. The "golden germ" (the potential for higher consciousness) is sealed within the vas Hermeticum and then "heated." As the living vessel of Hermes-Mercurius, the human being contains the potential for a vitalization (heating) and elevation (sublimatio) of consciousness. It is explicitly the vessel of Hermes that serves as the agent of unification and the mediator of the various opposing planetary principles (or metals), which are eventually brought into harmony or rapport.

The alchemical union of antagonistic elements is often referred to with a terminology that is explicitly astrological. Throughout the alchemical literature Mercury plays a central role in combining the opposing principles of solar and lunar consciousness. Just as we have the significant appearance of four key elements in astrological thought (originally: moist, dry, hot and cold; these correspond to water, air, fire and earth) and the seven astronomical bodies which were known to antiquity, Jung writes that the "synthesis of the four [moist, dry, cold, warm] was one of the main preoccupations of alchemy, as was ... the synthesis of the seven." In one alchemical text, Hermes-Mercury speaks to the Sun: "I cause to come out to thee the spirits of thy brethren [the planets], O Sun, and I make them for thee a crown the like of which was never seen; and I cause thee and them to be within me, and I will make thy kingdom vigorous."3 Jung goes on to explain that the above "refers to the synthesis of the planets or metals with the sun."

Here Mercury performs the active (yang) role of causing planetary spirits to "come out" to the Sun (i.e., to appear to and to unite with consciousness). In addition, their unification is metaphorically portrayed as a crown, a symbol of soulful union (yin) and of discriminating spiritual consciousness (yang). The various qualities of the planetary forces are thus united through the intercession of Mercury, and this union results in the generation of special powers, symbolized by a crown. The individuated seeker therefore attains an elevated form of consciousness, i.e., this is an internal, spiritual, and soulful result, rather than a merely material one, as Mercury-Hermes states: "I cause thee and them to be within me." Finally, Mercury enables the "kingdom" (the unique realm of transformed consciousness) to be made "vigorous," i.e., full of life. As with all authentic individuation processes, the result is therefore an immediate one, directly experienced in everyday life.

Elsewhere in the alchemical literature we find numerous other examples of the Mercury-Hermes role described as a special process of union. "The `centre' unites the four [elements] and the seven [planets] into one. The unifying agent is the spirit Mercurius." Jung notes that the "idea of Mercury as a peacemaker, the mediator between the warring elements and producer of unity, probably goes back to Ephesians 2:13ff," adding:

Mercurius is conceived as "spiritual blood," on the analogy of the blood of Christ. In Ephesians those who are separated "are brought near in the blood of Christ." He makes the two one and has broken down the dividing wall "in his flesh." Caro (flesh) is a synonym for the prima materia [the elemental material which is fated for alchemical transformation] and hence for Mercurius. The "one" is a "new man." He reconciles the two "in one body," an idea which is figuratively represented in alchemy as the two-headed hermaphrodite. The two have one spirit, in alchemy they have one soul.

The spiritual "blood of Christ" unites "those who are separated." This notion of separation alludes to a one-sided, extreme (yang) form of consciousness: the experience of life as alienating and the experience of the social collective as an aggregate of distinct, separate, unrelated beings (i.e., the nihilistic point of view). The Savior attempts to alter this condition with his blood. He can make "the two one" because he has "broken down the dividing wall `in his flesh'." In other words, he has unified the opposites internally: he is individuated; he is whole.

Like the Savior, Mercurius also contains a cosmic duality; he, like Christ, is conceived of as spiritual / blood [yang / yin]. Here the cold, dry, immaterial spiritual force (yang) is united with the hot, moist force (yin), the latter symbolized by the living blood, which is typically associated with human emotion, feeling, warmth, and even love (i.e., blood is the fluid of the heart).4 Most important, Mercury is imagined as a central container within which opposing planetary forces are brought together: as hermaphrodite, Mercury personifies the conjunction of spirit and soul; of animus and anima; of Sol and Luna. Jung even says that "the circle and the Hermetic vessel are one and the same, with the result that the mandala [a sacred or "magic" circle] ... corresponds to the vessel of transformation." In this sense, Mercury plays a special role in synthesizing planetary forces within the astrological vessel of humanity, i.e., the circle of the zodiac and its idiosyncratic expression in the form of the circular horoscope or "birth chart." Mercurius is "the true hermaphroditic Adam and Microcosm,"5 for in receiving and transmitting the alternating male and female planetary qualities and influences Mercury partakes of the dualistic flow of energetic forces. In the words of the renowned alchemical philosopher, Gerhard Dorn:

Our Mercurius is therefore that same [Microcosm], who contains within him the perfections, virtues, and powers of Sol [in the dual sense of sun and gold], and who goes through the streets [vicos] and houses of all the planets, and in his regeneration has obtained the power of Above and Below, wherefore he is to be likened to their marriage, as is evident from the white [yin/soul]* and the red [yang/spirit]* that are conjoined in him. The sages have affirmed in their wisdom that all creatures are to be brought to one united substance.6

Therefore Mercurius both effects and personifies the union of opposites on a microcosmic, human level. The oppositional tensions of the planets are thus resolved and integrated through the mediation of Mercurial discrimination, analysis, and comprehension: the crucial elements of consciousness that are astrologically symbolized by this planet.
It should be clear, therefore, that the alchemical Mercurius possesses qualities that are synonymous with the astrological Mercury. This is especially so as regards the Mercurial symbols that pertain to the evolution of consciousness. Mercury provides the psyche with the tools of rational comprehension and the means of bridging the tension of psychological and emotional polarities, all of which are personified by the various planetary forms. Through Mercurius, spiritual or solar consciousness can rationally communicate with the lunar or soulful dimension of consciousness. Mercury is imagined (i.e., symbolized) as an agent of unification because through Mercury the needs of one side of existence (e.g., Logos-spirit-yang) are made comprehensible to the other side of existence (e.g., Eros-soul-yin). Mercury piques our curiosity, forms the question, Why?7 and then searches for an answer that may contain the missing integer or key to balancing the dualistic forces inherent in human consciousness.

Mercury also symbolizes fundamental elements and pathways of communication (e.g., the nervous system; the psychic functions promoting cognition, communication, and comprehension). In alchemical terms, this was expressed through the personification of Mercury as a primal unifying agent of chemical properties: a force allowing various "metals" or "chemicals" to enter into rapport with one another. Mercurius was envisioned as standing between Sol and Luna -- the fundamental forms of Logos and Eros -- and providing, through receptive awareness and active transmission of thought, a mediating function that led to continual spiritual and philosophic (i.e., psychic) growth. For the more literally inclined alchemists, this was imagined as a merely chemical interaction, but for the alchemical philosophers the "heavenly marriage"8 was indeed an explicitly internal or philosophical process, yet one that simultaneously attempted to stabilize and transform the various antagonistic "metals" or chemical properties through ritualistic enactments (i.e., the repeated chemical "experiments").

The special relationship between Sun and Mercury in alchemy is also of significance for our own purely astrological purposes, as the rational functions and faculties (Mercury) in mankind are directly related to the ego's ability (Sun) to process its information and
____________________
* My brackets.


to organize and build an effectively ordered ego-complex structure. In an apt metaphor expressed through astronomical fact, Mercury is "the planet closest to the Sun."*9 Gathering, sorting, ordering, processing; seeking, receiving, and reordering information in all forms, Mercury also directs the singular focus of the ego upon each detail -- one at a time -- whether in the process of transmitting that information (e.g., giving a lecture) or receiving it (e.g., listening raptly to a speaker). Without this essential Mercurial function self-identity (Sun) would experience great difficulty in either comprehending or expressing itself in an orderly, rational manner, or in focusing attentively on the orderly absorption of information. Without a properly functioning Mercury the ego-complex might become overwhelmed by details that could neither be sorted through nor processed effectively. Without Mercury's discriminating ability to sort through and present data ego-expression becomes subject to a void of Mercury: a kind of babbling incoherence of "scatter"-brained inconsistency.

Mercurius is the agent provoking the first stage of unification between the yin and yang planetary forces: in alchemy this is expressed as the marriage of Sol (spirit) and Luna (soul). "As the little star near the sun, he [Mercurius] is the child of sun and moon,"10 i.e., the consciousness born of their union. Mercury also provides the means of creating additional unifications of Logos-yang / Eros-yin planetary pairings, expressed through the latter stages of Mars-Venus; Saturn-Jupiter; and Pluto-Neptune. The alchemists thus conceived of Mercurius as the "spiritus vegetativus, a living spirit, whose nature it is to run through all the houses of the planets, i.e., the entire Zodiac." According to Jung, "We could just as well say through the entire horoscope" or "through all the characterological components of the personality." In this archetypal "Journey through the Planetary Houses"11, Mercury corresponds to a cognitive function that attempts a comprehensive intellectual and experiential synthesis of planetary energies. Mercury's rapid transit of the natal chart -- often provoking a restless seeking and questioning -- further portrays this dynamic, daily influence of Mercury.

Reflecting Mercury's ability to bridge the distinctive masculine and feminine energies of the planets, the alchemical Mercurius is "fittingly called `duplex', both active and passive. The `ascending', active part of him is called Sol, and it is only through this that the passive part can be perceived.** The passive part therefore bears the name of Luna, because she borrows her light from the sun." Mercury's hermaphroditic nature empowers
____________________

* The astronomical proximity of Mercury to the Sun serves to emphasize, metaphorically speaking, Mercury's importance in a properly functioning ego-structure (Sun). Mercury's only significant aspect to the Sun is the conjunction (as it is never more than 28 degrees from the Sun).
** Just as, in the I Ching, yin is characterized as the "perfect complement of the creative -- the complement, not the opposite, for the Receptive does not combat the Creative but completes it."



the solar identity, lending it the cognitive ability to comprehend Luna, as "it is only through this that the passive part [Moon] can be perceived" or made conscious.12 For "Luna secretes the dew or sap of life. `This Luna is the sap of the water of life, which is hidden in Mercurius'."13 Within the unifying mediator of Mercurius there exists a deep-seated, bilateral capacity to experience, to grasp, and to comprehend the seemingly oppositional planetary energies. Mercurius thus contains both Sol and Luna; the red and the white; or the yang / yin dualism expressed in the I Ching. Through their marriage in the Mercurial waters of receptive yin awareness and active yang analytical explication a new creative consciousness emerges: the alchemical unio mentalis [mental union]. Mercurius is therefore "both masculine and feminine and at the same time the child born of their union."14

Particularly when symbolized as quicksilver, Mercurius represents a particularly adaptable and changeable energy: one with a peculiar ability to shift into a variety of planetary guises and shapes, "mimicking" as well as "animating" or "quickening" the planetary forces by traveling through their realms. This is symbolized by the peregrinus microcosmus or "wandering microcosm": the image of Mercury partaking in a voyage or "odyssey in search of wholeness."15 (Astrologically this is achieved by Mercury's Transcendental "couplings" with the other planets; by natal aspects; or by dynamic, transiting aspects.) In its communication with and comprehension of the other planetary forms Mercury partakes of their qualities in its "grasping" of their complex energy forms.

Mercury also symbolizes the human being as a thinking, questioning, and comprehending creature: a seeker of spiritual truth (yang); of union based on empathic understanding (yin); and of understanding enhanced by the "unifying / force of language" (yin-Eros / yang-Logos). As an animating force that "moves" or quickens the planetary energies by means of its relentless, restless pursuit and transmission of truth, Mercury stimulates the exchange of planetary energy and directs the flow of information gleaned from each celestial reality or planetary form of consciousness. Again, through its "freewheeling" interaction between each planetary stage of yin and yang energy manifestation, Mercury partakes of an energetic dualism, which is in turn expressed by its hermaphroditic nature. The felt awareness (Eros-soul) and rational, intellectual grasp (Logos-spirit) of the various planetary energies (especially as experienced within the microcosm of the human being) is the immediate result of Mercury's quest to obtain a truth partaking of multiple realities by adapting to each of them: absorbing, mimicking, and qualifying their natures; and creating the formal means of expressing their realities, through sign, symbol, language, schemata, diagram, blueprint, pedagogy, apprenticeship, skill, etc.

Mercury and its "higher octave," Uranus, signify two very different yet closely related aspects of being. The restlessness of Mercury is in essence a dynamic search for those elements that create the multiple facets -- and yet the union -- of consciousness (i.e., "thought forms"), while the unexpected reversals and shocking destabilizations of form expressed through Uranus are the outward manifestations of a search for a higher order: a more complex equilibrium and expression of consciousness (i.e., the reformation of thought). The restlessness of Mercurial energy (seeking to comprehend itself) and the Uranian tendency to restructure energy forms (the self-regulation of psychic energy through the dynamic reversal of its own extreme forms of expression) denote the transhuman origin and qualities of both these planetary energy complexes. A "thought" which suddenly appears "out of the blue" (Mercury's color) partakes of a transpersonal pattern, form, and origin. Likewise, the Uranian intuitions that appear "out of nowhere" (the immaterial nature of Uranian energy) are clear expressions of this suprarational, transpersonal consciousness. In this sense, both Uranus and Mercury -- whose astrological symbols or "glyphs" are shaped like antennas -- are the planetary "receptors" of higher states of awareness: receptors that are capable of expressing the most subtle expressions of spirit and soul.

Utilizing ancient traditions of astrology and occult wisdom, the alchemists invoked the spirit Mercurius as a unifying and mediating agent in their quest to render form to such philosophic speculation. Furthermore, Jung states that the "union of alchemical opposites formed a `correspondence' to the unio mentalis that took place simultaneously in the mind of man, and not only in man but in God."16 Here Mercury's especial mental role is suggested. In the simultaneous mental union experienced by both God and man, we also find the "mental correspondence" of Mercury directly linked to the Divine realm (human cognition based on a transpersonal, archetypal, or divine pattern; Mercury as a receptor that "steps down" the energy of the various planetary forms of consciousness). Here Jung is referring to the writings of the philosophical alchemist Gerhard Dorn, who states: "We conclude that meditative philosophy consists in the overcoming of the body [the base instincts and unconscious nature] by mental union [unio mentalis] ... [and] that He may be one in All."17 According to Jung, "The goal of the [alchemical] procedure is the unio mentalis, the attainment of full knowledge of the heights and depths of one's own character."18 Jung further theorized that the "unio mentalis, the interior oneness which today we call individuation, he [Dorn] conceived as a psychic equilibrium of opposites `in the overcoming of the body', a state of equanimity transcending the body's affectivity and instinctuality. The spirit (animus), which is to unite with the soul, he called a "spiracle" [spiraculum] of eternal life', a sort of `window into eternity' (Leibniz), whereas the soul is an organ of the spirit and the body an instrument of the soul."19 This final occult goal, the union of opposites upon a newfound or higher level of conscious awareness, is a process that is realized in quite a special manner through the intercession of the hermaphroditic or unifying effect of Mercurius. Mercury is therefore conceived as "many-sided, changeable"; "the `twin', made of `two natures', or `two substances'"; "the `giant of twofold substance'"; the "winged and wingless" dragon; the "spirit and soul of the bodies"; composed of elements that are both "dry and earthy" and "moist and viscous"; "passive" and "active"; and even "good and evil." Through the "united double nature"20 of his hermaphroditic nature, "Mercurius duplex" presages the final goal: the mysterious union of opposites, the mysterium coniunctionis.

As a special force in uniting opposing principles and as a symbol of their presence in the dualistic tendencies in human consciousness, Mercury -- by standing in between and uniting -- forms a triune structural dynamic and is often symbolized as such. Hermes-Mercurius is referred to as "All and Thrice One" (omnia solus et ter unus); "triple in name, one in essence" (triplex in nomine, unus in esse); the "three-headed Mercurius" or "three-headed Hermes" (Hermes tricephalus); the "union of three" (triunus); the triune "Mercurial Fountain" (fons Mercurialis); "a three-headed snake" (serpens Mercurialis); and "triple natured -- masculine, feminine, and divine."21 This triune form alludes to Mercury's unique role in astrological processes of separation (e.g., into two complementary, planetary pairs, such as Mars and Venus) and unification (e.g., psychic integration of the principles symbolized by Mars and Venus). Interpreted psychologically, Mercury helps us to integrate and to unite disparate planetary forms (e.g., Sun and Moon; Neptune and Pluto) through means of various life experiences involving rational, analytical discrimination (Logos-yang) and suprarational, experiential, feeling-toned relationship (Eros-yin).

Improper manifestation of the energy:

Alchemical lore also warns of another, darker aspect of Mercurius. Besides its role as spiritual unifier, Mercurius duplex is also conceived as duplicitous; shifty; wily; poisonous ("a spreading poison that has brought death to many"); "a child of chaos"; 22 "many sided, changeable, and deceitful"; "inconstant"; "good and evil"; "dark and light"; "visible and invisible"; "coarse and fine"; and related (through Saturn) to the devil. Practically speaking, Mercury takes on the qualities of the planets that it serves to link, and in its close union with the various planetary principles, Mercury may become contaminated or inflated with either of the yin or yang planetary energies. The "darkness" or "coarseness" of one side of its duality indicates that one of the functions of Mercury has now become partially obscured and is operating only unconsciously.

This may occur within the birth chart when Mercury is overwhelmed by a hyperactive planet. In its contact with Saturn, for example, Mercury may "serve" Saturn by promulgating the rigidifying forces of emotional constraint and the fear of change. "Understanding" may suddenly shift into "excluding" other viewpoints, perspectives, or emotional realities that would lend greater expansiveness or wholeness to the soul (the latter soul-qualities corresponding to Saturn's yin equivalent, Jupiter). Mercury, in its rigid adherence to Saturnian principles (structure, order, discipline, the "laws of limitation," and the utilization of those laws in effecting achievements), excludes other realities by forcefully promulgating its belief in the already analyzed, sorted, and categorized details that constitute the established Saturnian point of view. The Jupiterian impulse to expand beyond the established borders of reality and in so doing to expand the collective frontiers of the soul is here usurped by an exclusive belief in the limits of the "already known": the logically deducible, fixed, material realms of Saturn. In defending this rigid Saturn position, the Mercurial "light of reason" is now transformed into a dark, obscuring cloud: an obscurant form of opaque absolutism.

By adhering to or becoming contaminated with the Jupiterian impulse, the wandering curiosity of Mercury may expand far beyond its ability to maintain focus, following instead an endlessly widening, tangential trail through a morass of ideas and concepts which all seem linked in some maddeningly inflated and endless fashion. This may lead to a fixation on Jupiterian "facts" -- such as a detailed knowledge of philosophical, religious, ethical, or other forms of the "codified wisdom of the ages" -- all without a truly in-depth, soulful awareness of the real meaning of personally experienced soul wisdom.23 In merging with Mars, Mercury may lead to such forceful, opinionated expressions and heated exchanges with others that the "separation and differentiation of identity" enacted by Mars is now excessively extolled, with the result that it backfires and causes alienation, separation, and misunderstandings with others.

Overactive and one-sided contacts with yin planets such as Venus may lead to compulsive communications regarding romantic obsessions; or opinionated interchanges or beliefs regarding aesthetic concerns. Instead of intimately felt and expressed soul-exchanges with others, the idea of love or a fixed belief in the nature of love (viewing romance in a hyperrational manner) may block anything more than a mere surface exchange concerning the experience of intimacy. Similarly, with Mercury's contamination with Neptune, opinions and ideas concerning the nature of mystical soul-union override the deeper goal of the personal soul merging with the transpersonal soul through the dissolution and diffusion of consciousness. Mercury, by becoming fixed or contaminated with Neptune, may offer the native the ability to communicate about the ordinarily vague, obscure, or indefinite nature of the Neptunian experience with a greater amount of clarity and conciseness, yet an overriding belief in the form and plasticity of the word (or in some other graphic notation, such as the symbol) may override the actual purpose, goal, and essence of Neptunian soul evolution: the merging with and dissolution into the anima mundi or world soul.

With Pluto, the overly willful expression of opinion; the intense, dictatorial delivery of unsettling idea; or the deep-seated analytical ability to unmask and comprehend the nature of any essence and then to use that knowledge to reshape and transform that essential nature lends the Mercury-Pluto psychic contamination a particularly terrifying power. In applying a singular, relentless Plutonian will to one's narrowly defined analysis of a person or a thing (e.g., a myopic view of how a person or thing should be transformed and regenerated and a concern over the "hold" one will have on the transformed person, place or thing) the Mercury-Pluto contaminated native is, in fact, obstructing his own depth-transformation potential by adhering too strongly to a belief in the analytical, logical, conceptually derived expression of change and metamorphosis.

In every one-sided Mercury/planet contamination the word or rational form obscures the essential wisdom it attempts to articulate. In the effort to express its triune structural nature Mercury has grasped too tightly, too energetically upon one planetary principle to the detriment of the opposing planetary principle. The latter then falls into the darkness of the unconscious (the unrealized, unvitalized part of life) and may later emerge only under special conditions -- and only the enlightened awareness and assistance of consciousness can redeem it. In all the Mercury-planet contaminations described above the philosophical Mercury (mercurius philosophicus) or spiritual Mercury (Mercurius non vulgaris) is bogged down by the common or crude Mercury (mercurius vulgaris; mercurius crudus). Instead of lending fluency of expression to such seemingly inexpressible experiences of spirit and soul, Mercury becomes overly attached (earthbound or "concretized") to some aspect of the form of communication itself, whether that be the manner of expression (e.g., Plutonian willfulness of ideas; Jupiterian splendor; Venusian diplomacy; Martian aggression) or simply the words, symbols or language systems that are now overvalued and that serve to substitute for the very realities they are meant to convey. Rather than the word serving to clarify, enhance, or trigger the evolution of soul- and self-identity, the word substitutes its own value for the numinous essence that it is seeking to express through rational form. In pairing Mercury with the various planetary bodies we therefore find either their appropriate or their distorted expression.

When Mercury is psychologically unintegrated, the traditional astrological literature warns of a scatter-brained, mentally unfocused native; one who is often at a loss to rationally ascertain his or her place in the larger scheme of things. Such a native is said to have difficulty in making decisions; forming realistic, critical judgments; communicating clearly and objectively; utilizing powers of rational discrimination; comprehending elaborate concepts; retaining facts, details and figures; or making logical, simple deductions. For such a native two essential ingredients are often lacking in enhancing the Mercury function in consciousness:

First, conditions in the external world, such as a lack of educational opportunities, may have retarded or extinguished the native's belief or interest in such Mercurial qualities as intellectual pursuits, curiosity, or clarity of communication with others. Second, this, in turn, may lead to a lack of belief in the need to explore, interact, reflect, absorb, comprehend, communicate, concentrate, or plan in an orderly, rational manner. This type of reaction may force Mercury to operate solely on an unconscious or duplicitous level. Mercurius duplex then becomes duplicitous or diabolical: this is the trickster aspect of Mercury that reveals itself through an inner shiftiness and underhanded unconsciousness. Usually, this indicates that one "hand" of Mercury is overgrasping or overidentified with one of the yin or yang planetary principles, to the detriment of the other side. Instead of properly functioning as a mediator between the two and forming, upon a higher level, a transcendent union (as reflected in his hermaphroditic nature), here Mercury is truly duplicitous rather than merely duplex, i.e., he is overidentified with one aspect of consciousness at the expense of another. For example, when the native is overidentified with the yin side of the equation then the consciously expressed thoughts or rational processes are overly focused upon typically yin matters, e.g., Venusian interpersonal receptivity; soulful relaxation; luxuriance; feeling-toned harmony with another and its intimate expression; aesthetic harmony, etc. The yang-oriented thoughts, reflections, and meditations (symbolized by Sun, Mars, Saturn, or Pluto) are then trapped and remain operating primarily in an unconscious form. The need to redeem this one-sided or partially unconscious Mercury function is expressed in the alchemical notion of the "Freeing of Mercury,"24 exemplified in the Grimm fairy tale, "The Spirit in a Bottle," the story of Mercurius hermetically sealed in a glass bottle.

If Mercury remains psychologically unintegrated and is no longer capable of functioning as a mediator between planetary energies then the native may experience difficulty in finding his "Logos": a form, language, or means of communicating with clarity. "Yang thought" will then become obscured and may be revealed only through dreams, unexpressed longings, the "subtext" or subliminal meaning behind "surface" communications, or the involuntary acting out of the unconscious self (e.g., hysterical expressions). This means that the yang thoughts of the native are, in essence, out of his control and may only be expressed through such unconscious forms as snide remarks; double entendres; body "language"; etc. Therefore, the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing and in between stands Mercury, who says one thing but is secretly thinking another. He may achieve his unconsciously thought-out goal by expressing himself in "half-thought" imaginings and "unthinking" remarks (e.g., insults). For the native who is unaware of his or her "duplex," situations that just seem to "figure themselves out" or to reach "untoward conclusions" (i.e., the inability to consciously plan and to reach a proper conclusion) all without the conscious participation of the person in question.

When Mercury's powers of rational comprehension and logical deduction have fallen this far into the realm of a diabolic unconsciousness25 a further problem arises in the native's ability to believe in the self-regulating nature of the Mercurial energy. For a native so far removed from the ability to tune in to his own thoughts the fear is that "the wheel will have to be reinvented all over again": that thinking itself must be invented from scratch. The human thought process is, however, largely autonomous and self-willed: we receive thoughts (generated as they are through a largely unconscious process) just as much as we can be said to create them. Yet instead of thus generating or channeling thought in this quasi-conscious manner the native may despair that he will have to work through every word, every detail, every aspect of communication and rationalization in order to effectively utilize and master the Mercury complex. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth, as "channeling Mercury" into the conscious realm is far different from controlling each and every one of his frenetic movements. Indeed, for each of the planetary principles -- for every human function, in other words -- there is a process of conscious effort and will combined with a largely autonomous, instinctive or intuitive level of functioning which proceeds along by itself, directed here and there by consciousness, yet certainly not invented by consciousness or created from scratch. We may seek to formulate a thought and in the process of properly listening (being mentally receptive), a thought coalesces in a manner that is partially consciously directed but which is also largely autonomous, involuntary and instinctive: channeled from another dimly perceived part of ourselves.
And the same holds true no matter which planet is "unintegrated": the native needs to engender a belief in the autonomous reality of the planetary energy (or psychic function) involved (e.g., the "reality" of love [Venus]; the expansive quality of the "philosophical mind" [Jupiter], etc.). In addition, one must engender a receptivity to the internal presence of the energy in question, and this requires developing an appropriately introverted attitude. Lastly, besides generating a belief in these energetic patterns and potentials, one must engender a positivistic point of view regarding the utilization of such energies. Since the unintegrated energy is largely blocked from conscious expression this means that it has probably been experienced only in its negative -- or absentee -- form. The beneficial effect of redeemed planetary energy is often the last thing to be expected or imagined by the native, who cannot properly conceive the positive benefits such an energy functioning in the conscious rather than unconscious realm may bring, (i.e., things pushed into the unconscious are often viewed in a negative light.)

Transcendental potential:

Relocation to the Transcendental Mercury line may offer the native certain opportunities -- often in the form of synchronistic or seemingly fated encounters -- in which the Mercurial function is offered a formal means of expression. This may occur through encounters with people who have evolved the Mercury principle within themselves to such a degree that Mercury is no longer viewed simply for its "unattractive" or "unconscious" aspects (the "dark," "coarse," "poisonous" aspects of Mercurius), as these are eclipsed by the perception of a more positive and creative form of expression. For instance, a person with an unintegrated Mercury who is not verbally oriented may, under this location, experience language as a tool that may be utilized and tailored to suit his or her needs in furthering relationships with other people, rather than as something that leads to experiences of intellectual intimidation, alienation, or separation. In cases that involve relocation to a foreign country, learning a new language will become a practical necessity that triggers such underutilized mental functions and results in a re-experiencing of these fundamental Mercury qualities,* such as clarity of communication, paying proper attention to details, and the comprehension and formulation of new ideas and concepts.

Under this location the ability to rely upon the autonomous, instinctive expression of Mercury within the psyche is also enhanced. When this is coupled with positive external experiences, such as encounters with those who personify the creative aspects of Mercury (e.g., personally meaningful and relaxed communication instead of impersonal, irrelevant, intimidating discourse), then the more sophisticated forms of cognitive functioning are offered a greater chance of expressing themselves. Mercury as mercurius philosophicus may then manifest as the curious seeker who, through developing formal means of receiving and transmitting knowledge, furthers the evolution of others through the grasping and promulgation of eternal truths and ideas. Here Mercurius is once again functioning as a mediating agent between the Eros-yin and Logos-yang energetic dimensions, communicating to each their mutual needs and articulating their dual realities in a manner furthering growth and enhancing comprehension. When functioning properly, Mercury lends form to the unknown and helps to shape the otherwise elusive language of human cognition and consciousness.

The possibility of actualizing the creative, philosophical aspect of Mercury under a Transcendental relocation is exemplified by the prolific, visionary writings of Jules Verne [with Secondary Transcendental Uranus]; the highly accomplished literary achievements of William Butler Yeats; the direct and simple clarity of the novelist Jack London; and the "prodigal genius" who gave intellectual form to an eclectic variety of ideas; Nikola Tesla. In each of these examples, Primary Transcendental Mercury found a significant formal expression in the world-at-large. Under the Transcendental Mercury location, instead of haphazard, disjointed, or undirected expressions of Mercury energy, we find Mercury coalescing into forms that communicate knowledge, enhance comprehension, and further the quest for greater understanding through the quickening of human curiosity, deduction, reasoning, logic, and rational insight.

Personalities with Primary Transcendental Mercury:

Catherine the Great ([with equally underaspected Uranus] Empress of Russia remembered for her "educational" reforms, "eclectic intellectual prowess," and notable "intelligence, curiosity, and wit," who "frequently corresponded" with leading French "intellectuals" and established "literary reviews" in Russia); Claudette Colbert (actress born in Paris under the line of her Primary Mercury; remembered for her "charismatic / voice" [Secondary Neptune / Primary Mercury] and for acting in "smart" roles in which she easily "matched wits" with Hollywood's leading men); Peggy Fleming ([with equally underaspected Venus] ice figure-skater acknowledged for her "skillful / grace" [Mercury / Venus] and the personification of "beauty / in motion," who won her first gold medal in France, directly under her Primary Mercury line); Francisco Franco (Spanish dictator whose Primary Mercury line was positioned over North Africa, where he commanded the Spanish Foreign Legion and from where he later launched his insurgent attack on Spain);
____________________

* We should note, however, that "foreign languages" are traditionally assigned to the rulership of Neptune, as the initial experience of encountering a new language is indeed "foreign": dreamlike, otherworldly, strange.

Grace Kelly ([with equally underaspected Jupiter and Uranus] actress who traveled to the European locale of her Mercury line -- over the principality of Monaco -- where she assumed her final role, as Princess Grace of Monaco); Jack London (prolific author of numerous Klondike tales such as Call of the Wild and White Fang, whose Primary Mercury line passed precisely over the Klondike in its vertical, Transcendental Midheaven position); Jackie Robinson (African-American athlete who relocated to his Primary Mercury line early in life, where he "attended school" and "learned the skills" necessary to participate in a "variety" of athletic sports [with Secondary Transcendental Mars]; who later "educated" professional baseball fans about racism by becoming the first African American to play in the major leagues); Bertrand Russell (noted Welsh "intellectual" known for his "eclectic, prolific writings" and "advanced analytical skills"); Nikola Tesla (obsessive "intellectual" who once suffered a nervous breakdown in an attempt to read the complete works of Voltaire; known as the foremost "intellectual / of electricity" [Primary Mercury / Secondary Uranus], who immigrated to the United States and constructed a laboratory in New York City, in close proximity to his Primary Mercury line); Jules Verne (whose "prolific writing" is filled with prophetic insights [with Secondary Uranus] that anticipate in "literary form" the scientific discoveries of the future); Queen Victoria (whose "overly detailed concern" with the "efficient handling" of the daily business of the monarchy was said to interfere with the theatrical displays of royalty required of her; whose "careful scrutiny of facts and details" led critics to say that she had "drill eyes" and that she "insisted on consultation even over trivial details"; who faithfully kept a dairy from 1832 to 1901, compiled in 122 notebook volumes; and whose "prolific correspondence" comprised more than a dozen published volumes); Kaiser Wilhelm II (the last emperor of Germany, who was born in Potsdam, Germany, near his Primary Mercury line, and who was noted for his imperialistic "speeches"; William Butler Yeats (Nobel prize winning "writer" born in Sandymount, Ireland, almost precisely under his Primary Mercury line).

* * *

Keynote phrases for Mercury:

·The animating energy behind all forms of communication.
·Mercury is traditionally considered hermaphroditic and contains qualities that derive from both active (yang) and receptive (yin) energy patterns. Mercury unites these respective yin / yang forces, especially in the role of transmitting (yang) and receiving (yin) information.
·Cognitive abilities and functions determining both everyday communication skills and more advanced intellectual abilities.
·Intellectual, rather than philosophic (Jupiter) or divinely intuited (Uranus) communication.
·The ability to learn, develop, and hone skills.
·Education, especially elementary education.
·The "automatic pilot" aspect of cognitive experience involved in the performance of tasks that rely upon the smooth functioning of previously learned motor skills.
·Physiological structures in the brain and nervous system that facilitate communication.
·The ability to adapt to new forms of expression, behavior, or ways of being.
·In Indian astrology Mercury corresponds to "matters pertaining to learning."26
·The yang and yin energies experienced as reception, comprehension, and expression of information; as facilitating communication; and as comprehension of self- and soul experience.

1. The Romans identified the Hermes with Mercury. See Jung, "Mercurius and Hermes," Alchemical Studies, pp. 230-234.
2. Jung, The Practice of Psychotherapy, p. 204.
3. Kitab al-'ilm al-muktasab, edited and translated by Eric J. Holmyard, as reproduced by Jung in Mysterium Coniunctionis, p. 9.
4. With the symbolism of the alchemical "heating" of the emotional foundations of the soul a similar meaning is at work: the "turning on" and "turning up" of the emotions, until they are sublimated and unified with the spirit.
5. Gerhard Dorn, "Congeries Paracelsicae chemicae," Theatrum Chemicum, vol. 1, p. 578, as cited by Jung in Mysterium Coniunctionis, p. 16.
6. Ibid.
7. Alan Oken says of Gemini, the sign ruled by Mercury: "Gemini's character is essentially that of the child who always asks `Why?'" As Above, So Below, p. 109.
8. See Jung, Mysterium Coniunctionis, p. 5, n. 4: "Senior says: `I joined the two luminaries in marriage and it became as water having two lights' (De chemia, p. 15 f.)," and p. 4: "The opposites and their symbols are so common in the texts that it is superfluous to cite evidence from the sources ... Very often the masculine-feminine opposition is personified as King and Queen ... or as servus (slave) or vir rubeus (red man) and mulier candida (white woman); in the "Visio Arislei" they appear as ... the King's son and daughter." In a footnote, Jung adds: "The archetype of the heavenly marriage plays a great role here."
9. Regarding aspects traditionally deemed significant, such as the conjunction (0), semisextile (30), semisquare (45), sextile (60), etc. Technically, any angle of separation between planets forms an aspect or degree, but relatively few of these celestial degrees of separation are considered to be of major significance in the life of the native. (See appendix B.)
10. Jung, Alchemical Studies, "The Relation of Mercurius to Astrology and the Doctrine of the Archons," pp. 225-226.
11. Jung, Mysterium Coniunctionis pp. 224-235.
12. Ibid., p. 97.
13. Ibid., p. 131.
14. Ibid., p. 459, n. 16.
15. Jung, Psychology and Alchemy, commenting on an illustration of the "Grand Peregrination," from Maier's Viatorium: "Two eagles fly round the earth in opposite directions, indicating that it is an odyssey in search for wholeness." F. 97, facing p. 201.
16. Jung, Mysterium Coniunctionis, pp. 470-471 ("in the mind of man" = my italics).
17. Gerhard Dorn, "Philosophia meditativa," Theatrum Chemicum, vol. 1, p. 456, as reproduced by Jung in Mysterium Coniunctionis, p. 465.
18. Jung, Mysterium Coniunctionis, p. 474.
19. Ibid., pp. 470-471.
20. Jung, The Practice of Psychotherapy, p. 218.
21. Ibid., p. 216.
22. Jung, Alchemical Studies, "The Relation of Mercurius to Astrology and the Doctrine of the Archons," p. 228.
23. The notion of Mercury as an agent of unification positioned between the collectively oriented energies of the Jupiter-Saturn pairing is intuitively described in alchemical texts: "Another aspect of the dual nature of Mercurius is his characterization as senex and puer." As a unifying force standing between the primal pair of Sun and Moon, "Mercurius is also designated with the Gnostic name `Father-Mother'." Ibid., "The Dual Nature of Mercurius," p. 220, 220, n. 39.
24. Ibid., "The Problem of Freeing Mercury," pp. 202-203.
25. Ibid. See "The Relation of Mercurius to Astrology and the Doctrine of the Archons," p. 228.
26. Dreyer, Indian Astrology, p. 90.

 

Additional Mercury quotes:

All things follow from the Word.

Seekers of wisdom first
need sound intelligence.

... we need the Word
to keep things known in common ... (Heraclitus)

---

 

Updated: 4 October 2004