Mercury (Buddha)
Significations: intellect, thinking, speech, the mind; dhatu, mula and jiva (metals, vegetation and living beings).
Chief characteristics: knowledge, erudition, friendliness.
Karakatvas: intellect, education, the Vedas, the Puranas, mathematics, scientific education, speech, the gift of eloquence, wit, laughter, the sense of smell, good abilities, business and trade, publishing, printing, teaching, office workers, accountancy, friends, uncles and aunts on the mother’s side, elder kinsmen, nephews, adopted children, flowers, pearls, oysters, black magic, temples, a squint.
Rajo-guna, the element of earth, the caste of servants
Friends: the Sun, Venus
Enemies: the Moon
Neutral planets: Saturn, Mars, Jupiter
Signs ruled: Gemini, Virgo
Mulatrikona: 15-20° of Virgo
Point of exaltation: 15° of Virgo
Point of debilitation: 15° of Pisces
Gender: an asexual planet
Direction: north
Stones: emerald, onyx. (A stone weighing 5 carats should be worn in a silver setting on the index or ring finger)
Colours: green, brown, pastel tones
Lucky numbers: 5, 14 and 23
Deity: Vishnu, Lord Narayana
Bija mantra: Om bram brim brom se budhaye namah (19000 times in 21 days)
Objects of donation: ivory, sugar, flowers and cloth of green colour, mung dal, camphor, turpentine. (To be donated on Wednesday, during the two hours before sunset.)
Outward signs: a large and well-built body, polite speech, irritability, sickliness, a good sense of humour.
Parts of the body: the skin, the nervous system, the hips, the anus. Pitta, Kapha and Vata doshas.
Illnesses: diseases of the vocal cords and the nasopharynx, problems in the area of the neck, diseases of the brain, mental disorders, nervous breakdowns, high fever, sweating, itching, abscesses, vitiligo, fractures, typhus, dizziness, stammering, impotence, diseases of the eyes, poisonings, poor digestion, haemorrhoids, problems with the stomach, intestines or liver.
Significations: intellect, thinking, speech, the mind; dhatu, mula and jiva (metals, vegetation and living beings).
Chief characteristics: knowledge, erudition, friendliness.
Kinds of activity and professions: trade, business, commerce, crafts, accountancy, auditing, clerical work, an office employee, law, a judge, pedagogy, teaching, haulage, a driver, a traveller, the post, communications, journalism, a writer, a copyist, publishing, a librarian, the mass media, advertising, communication technologies, mathematics, programming, astrology, an adviser, a jeweller, a tantrik.
The ruler of the nakshatra in which Mercury is placed, and the corresponding qualities and ailments:
The Sun — neuralgia;
The Moon — a developed imagination, anxiety;
Mars — headaches, a clouding of the mind;
Mercury — self-assured, a powerful intellect;
Jupiter — an enviable store of vital forces;
Venus — leucoderma;
Saturn — mental disorders;
Rahu — timidity, an inferiority complex;
Ketu — a clouding of the reason.
The state of health
- A conjunction of Mercury with the owner of the 6th house in the Lagna may make a person taciturn or mute.
- The placement of an afflicted Mercury together with the Moon in the 3rd or 11th house leads to diseases of the ears.
- A connection of Mercury with the 7th house causes nervous exhaustion.
- When Mercury is afflicted, diseases of the lungs arise.
Mercury in the houses of the horoscope
Mercury in the 1st house (it receives directional strength): excessive mental activity; may chatter and argue a great deal, observant, witty, beautiful and correct speech. Such a placement tells negatively on the significations of the houses that Mercury rules: for example, Mercury as lord of the 3rd house in the Lagna has a bad effect on the length of life of brothers and sisters.
Mercury in the 2nd house: talkative, may earn with the help of his communicative abilities.
Mercury in the 3rd house: a pleasant voice, cheerfulness, beautiful handwriting, shyness, loves to travel.
Mercury in the 4th house: good health, achievements in study, frequent changes of residence.
Mercury in the 5th house: creative thinking; an independent but narrowly directed intellect; organisational abilities; enjoys respect, is well known. A good placement for the intellect, but it has a bad effect on offspring.
Mercury in the 6th house: lazy, harsh, well-to-do, takes an interest in questions of health; a poor memory, a weak nervous system. Such a placement has a negative effect on the uncle on the mother’s side.
Mercury in the 7th house: attaches great importance to intellectual affinity with the partner; not the best placement for sexual activity.
Mercury in the 8th house: takes an interest in psychology, mysticism and sex, has good mathematical abilities. Longevity, popularity, prosperity. A poor orator, afraid of speaking in public. Problems with sexuality.
Mercury in the 9th house: takes an interest in religion, psychology, politics and the culture of other countries, performs noble deeds; study abroad.
Mercury in the 10th house: academic achievements opening up broad career prospects. Success in a profession or in business, fame and honour in society.
Mercury in the 11th house: an intellectual, noble, well-to-do, engages in humanitarian and social questions.
Mercury in the 12th house: clairvoyant, a poet, magnanimous, always glad to help others, passive. An excellent placement for research and for work behind the scenes.
With Ascendants in the dual signs, all the kendras are ruled by beneficent planets — Jupiter and Mercury. Given that these planets additionally acquire the statuses of Badhakesha and Maraka, they suffer most of all from Kendradhipati dosha. Jupiter for the Lagna of Virgo and Gemini, and Mercury for the Ascendant in Pisces and Sagittarius, produce the effects of Kendradhipati, Badhaka and Maraka and become extremely dangerous. If they are badly placed, debilitated or deprived of strength (through combustion, defeat in planetary war or poor Shadbala figures), the consequences may be fatal.
Mercury in the signs of the Zodiac
Aries: takes decisions quickly, impatient, pays attention to detail. A duplicitous nature, an arguer, has a weakness for games of chance; a restless mind. Suffers from haemorrhoids. Mercury in conjunction with Mars in the 6th house gives skin rash and wounds during its own period or in the dasha of Mars. Such a combination makes a person malicious, cunning and calculating.
Taurus: thinks slowly, takes a long time to get going before acting, is calculating, far-sighted and practical, with an enviable power of concentration. If Jupiter is joined with Mercury, a Dhana yoga is formed; its effects, however, are reduced to nothing under the influence of Mars.
Gemini: a many-sided intellect, logical thinking, wit, wisdom, solves problems effectively.
Cancer: a tenacious memory, sensuality, the makings of a diplomat, inclined to heed the opinion of those around him.
Leo: purposeful, takes in information slowly, forms and changes opinions, knows how to sell ideas, a wanderer, henpecked.
Virgo (the sign of its exaltation): an analytical cast of mind, rational thinking, too fastidious about details, educated, noble, sociable.
Libra: a positive view of the world, a sharp and penetrating mind; weighs all the pros and cons before drawing conclusions; takes balanced decisions. A good placement for business planning. In conjunction with the Moon it forms a Raja yoga, and gives pleasant and correct speech and a passion for music.
Scorpio: good intuition, sharp-tongued, secretive, an intriguer. Suffers from constipation.
Sagittarius: a philosophical mind, a passion for science, courageous but rash actions, an inclination to fanaticism.
Capricorn: thinks practically and systematically, an enormous power of concentration, thorough in work, resourceful in his affairs, prefers tried ideas and means. A favourable placement for Mercury.
Aquarius: an inventive mind, humanistic views, immorality, pride, a modest financial position.
Pisces (the sign of its fall): an extremely sensitive mind, artistic inclinations. Noble, holds to moral principles, non-religious; a chaste wife.
Observations regarding Mercury
- An aspect of the 6th or 8th lord to Mercury may cause a tumour in the area of the armpits.
- The placement of Mercury’s dispositor in the 6th, 8th or 12th house creates obstacles in the course of study.
- Mercury in the 1st, 4th or 10th house in its own sign makes a person very tactful. Such a person may, however, be insincere.
- Mercury in the 6th house in the sign of Virgo promises wealth acquired thanks to the help of cousins.
- Because of Mercury in conjunction with the lord of the 6th house, problems with the heart may arise.
- For a person with the Lagna in Aries or Cancer, Mercury in the 3rd house will give a good and high-quality education.
- A person with the Ascendant in Sagittarius and Mercury in Virgo may expect professional success and marriage to a worthy and well-to-do partner.
- A conjunction of Mercury with the owner of the 4th or 9th house indicates the pursuit of astrology.
- The placement of Mercury in the 8th in the sign of Virgo promises renown, success and recognition.
- When Mercury is joined with one of the lunar nodes in the 6th, 8th or 12th house, nervous diseases arise.
- The placement of Mercury and Jupiter in a kendra from each other promises success in the profession of journalist or writer.
- If Mercury is close to the Sun and ahead of it in degrees, the person’s financial condition will be quite modest. This combination also speaks of learning.
- If Mercury is behind the Sun in degrees but stays at a minimal distance, the person will have a good education, good fortune and a life of luxury, but rather ordinary mental abilities.
- A person with a strong and undamaged Mercury is able to concentrate deeply during study or work.
- With an accumulation of planets in the signs of Mercury, family circumstances may create hindrances in the course of study.
- A person may expect brilliant academic successes if the lord of the 5th house is well placed in a sign of Mercury.
- A person with Mercury in the 3rd house has beautiful handwriting.
- A natal Moon in a nakshatra of Mercury forms a Gandamula dosha.
- Mercury in the 1st, 2nd, 10th or 11th house indicates the possibility of earning well by managing the finances of transport or trading organisations, educational institutes and neurological hospitals. Mercury is the planet of transport and of mechanical engineering.
Mercury and the other planets
If the Sun is joined with Mercury [in one house of the horoscope] — the person will be skilful, quick-witted, well known and happy; the Moon with Mercury makes a person courteous in speech, skilled in interpretation and translation, well known and popular; when Mars is joined with Mercury, the person will be a trader in roots, herbs, fruits and the like, in oils and in counterfeit goods, and will also be versed in hand-to-hand combat; when Mercury is joined with Jupiter, they produce a person who constantly performs on the stage; when it is joined with Venus, the person will love music, dance, the art of oratory and the defence of lands and assemblies. Mercury with Saturn makes a person a rogue inclined to disobedience… In the same way one should obtain the results of a combination of more than two planets. (Varahamihira — «Brihat Jataka», 14.1-5)
Commentary: The last sentence implies that accumulations of planets should be interpreted by combining the interpretations of the pairs of planets. For example, in interpreting a conjunction of the Sun, Venus and Mercury one should use the interpretations of the Sun and Venus, of the Sun and Mercury, and of Venus and Mercury. Attention should also be paid to the relative strength of each particular planet
Mercury and Jupiter
- A passion for music and the theatre.
- Wide reading, weak eyesight and hearing.
- If in the 6th, 8th or 12th house, it indicates friendliness, decency and renown.
Mercury and Venus
- Eloquence, expressive speech and writing.
- A decline of strength, an unpleasant wife. Placement in the 1st, 5th or 9th house, however, grants an enormous fortune, a good name and fame.
- In the Lagna of a woman’s chart it makes her very beautiful and beloved.
- The person is educated and possesses aesthetic taste and interests.
- In the 8th house it may cause death in sleep.
Mercury and Saturn
- Untruthful, disobedient, nervous, with an inferiority complex, a pessimist.
- The results are usually unfavourable, except for placement in the 1st, 9th or 10th houses, where this conjunction gives a good spouse, money, faithful friends and sons.
- For a woman with such a combination in the 7th house, the husband may suffer from impotence.
Mercury and Rahu
A conjunction in the Lagna makes a person suspicious, excessively cautious and wary of deceit. Such a person may himself be a skilful swindler.
Mercury and Ketu
Tires quickly from mental work. The combination Mercury + Moon + Ketu endows one with good intuition.
The nature of Mercury for the different Ascendants
| Aries | malefic | Leo | malefic | Sagittarius | benefic |
| Taurus | benefic | Virgo | benefic | Capricorn | benefic |
| Gemini | benefic | Libra | benefic | Aquarius | malefic |
| Cancer | malefic | Scorpio | malefic | Pisces | benefic |