The influence of Mercury in goodness, passion and ignorance
The general characteristics of Mercury in Vedic astrology
Mercury symbolises speech, communication and trade; it rules education, writing, counting and purposeful reflection. As the swiftest of the planets, it gives the ability to absorb knowledge quickly, and also the knack of adapting quickly to different people and circumstances, and ease of self-expression.
Mercury is intellectual and nervous energy in its active manifestations. Therefore, from the placement of Mercury in a natal chart one can judge a person’s intellectual abilities, his ability to set goals, and the state of his nervous system. Mercury is responsible for the respiratory and nervous systems, for speech, education and the mind.
Mercury is the smallest planet of our solar system, distinguished by quick reactions, a changeable character, quick-wittedness and restlessness.
Mercury’s chief name is Budha. This Sanskrit word denotes intellect and is connected with the concept of «buddhi» — the capacity to make correct judgements, which allows one to distinguish the real from the illusory (when this capacity is fully awakened, a person becomes «enlightened» — a Buddha).
Mercury rules the intellect through learning, instruction and observation. Mercury has a superficial nature; it gives inconstancy, duplicity, frequent changes of connections and an independent disposition. It is asexual, neutral, cold and moist.
Mercury gives a youthful appearance. It has been noticed that people engaged in intellectual work look young. If it is weakened, this may give «intellectual greed». Such a person is constantly learning something, but does not apply the knowledge obtained in practice, or studies it very superficially.
The day is Wednesday, the colour green. The metal is mercury or silver, the stone the green emerald, the direction north.
Mercury is responsible for the following professions: writers, teachers, orators, businessmen, sculptors, astrologers, astronomers, scholars, and people who possess the secrets of mantras and yantras. In our time it is difficult without a strong Mercury to become a good financial analyst, lecturer, mathematician, accountant, auditor, journalist, trader or PR specialist.
In the medical respect it is responsible for the nervous system, the solar plexus, the arms, the mouth, the tongue, the skin and the hair. The mercurial diseases are mental illnesses, neuroses, neuralgia, impotence, deafness, problems with the eyes, asthma, dizziness, arrhythmia and worms.
If a person has both Mercury and the Moon afflicted, he will lag behind in intellectual and mental development.
Mercury in ignorance
A person with Mercury in ignorance is characterised by chaotic activity of mind and body; he is very nervous and fussy, and by his senseless chatter and pointless activity he brings suffering to others. Or, on the contrary, he is in a befogged state of consciousness, sluggish and apathetic, and has problems with setting goals.
For example, you have gone to the computer to check your mail for the fifth time in an hour, as though your life depended on receiving a letter. Mercury gives intellect, and one of its chief qualities is purposefulness in action, the ability to set a goal and attain it. If you have no goal in life, you are bringing your Mercury into ignorance.
A person with Mercury in ignorance finds it very hard to concentrate; he is inclined to «skim the surface», talks too much, constantly condemns others, gossips, criticises and insults, shows cunning and duplicity, has a poor memory and problems in controlling his feelings. Life teaches such people nothing. They are given certain lessons, and in response, on the contrary, only aggression comes from them.
A weak, afflicted Mercury often gives strong nervous tics. Schizophrenia is Mercury (and the Moon) in ignorance. People who in past lives lived with Mercury in ignorance are born with congenital nervous and psychotherapeutic problems. If they do not work on themselves, then sooner or later their nervous system breaks down.
But simply by cultivating sattva one can be rid of mental illnesses. In the modern world the symptoms of such illnesses are temporarily suppressed with the help of chemical preparations, but this only sinks a person still deeper into ignorance.
Mercury in passion
Mercury in passion also gives cunning, but such people are very sly, capable of the most refined deceit, and always know how to approach the right person and to talk to him in such a way as to build the situation to their own advantage. This often produces clever, talented swindlers.
Mercury is the planet of adaptability, and therefore such people adjust very easily to a situation, both in the good sense and in the bad. People with Mercury in passion are know-alls; they are constantly reading something, gathering superficial knowledge in order to shine with their erudition. For such a person everything external and superficial matters.
In the West most people have Mercury under the influence of the guna of passion, which is characterised by a greedy craving for information: one must manage to read this book, and that one, and that other one over there… «Every time I go to a bookshop I buy ten books; I have already read so much esoteric literature…» A person reads and reads, and his life gets worse and worse. Such a narcotic dependence on information upsets the nervous system.
Knowledge that we do not apply in our life destroys the subtle body and very often leads gradually to ignorance. Remember that many saints read one or two books in their life and attained perfection. There is no need at all to read twenty or thirty books a year if you do not assimilate them and work them through.
Of course, in modern society all information is very accessible, and we can commune with great masters by means of books and audio lectures. But do not overdo it. Take one subject and work it through first, go through it several times, and only then move on to the next. Many people, having received heavy blows of fate, decide: that is it, now I shall become spiritual and all my problems will be solved — and they begin to devour spiritual books and to attend a multitude of lectures and courses. But all their knowledge is very superficial, and in the end they are often disappointed in the information they have «swallowed» so quickly. When a person fusses about too much, Mercury sinks into passion and does not give good results.
When the guna of passion penetrates the intellect, people are often inclined to hold to some definite and fairly narrow doctrine. In the main they set themselves material goals, goals in passion — to attain wealth and fame.
People with Mercury in passion are gossips and writers of anonymous letters, and gossip takes away a great deal of nervous energy. In criticising someone, we take on his negative qualities and his bad karma.
Usually people with Mercury in passion sooner or later come to nervous exhaustion from excessive mental activity, even if the person is not physically active. They are very impulsive. Their intellect works very fast and strives to calculate everything, even when it is not necessary. It is as though a little computer were permanently switched on in their head. Many successful small traders have Mercury in passion.
People with Mercury in passion are very fond of studying what will help them to manipulate other people and to attain a high material position and fame. Their mind and body are so active that at times they even find it hard to sit in a motionless posture; their life is full of fuss. They are characterised by venality, by over-clever speech, by an orthodox adherence to some world view (even when there are facts refuting that conception), by a closedness to everything new, by enormous pride on account of their intellect, and by an unwillingness and inability to see the Higher Intelligence behind everything. What matters to such a person is not the truth, but the chance to sell his «knowledge» at a higher price. His intellect is immersed in the external, and the inner state of people and things, the essence of what is happening, he cannot see — and often does not want to. Such a person readily hangs labels and hands out nicknames, is inclined to issue mental definitions and various classifications quickly, and after that considers the job done and the cognition of the object finished.
Mercury in ignorance, and to a lesser degree in passion, leads to the following illnesses: feeble-mindedness, all kinds of mental problems, neuroses, neuralgia, impotence, deafness, problems with the eyes, asthma, dizziness, arrhythmia and worms. And indeed we owe the overwhelming majority of illnesses precisely to it. Not for nothing does the popular saying have it that all illnesses come from the nerves.
An afflicted Mercury, however, by no means always denotes a low level of mental ability. It can do harm in another way: for example, by causing defects of speech, disorders of the nervous system or neuroses. Other planets (Jupiter, for example) may endow a person with an outstanding mind, yet without a strong Mercury it will be hard for him to demonstrate his intellectual merits, especially in written form. Mercury determines our self-expression.
An unfavourably placed Mercury gives slyness, cunning, deceit, excessive activity of body and mind, and a sense of being a know-all. Such people may take pleasure in denunciations, slander and the writing of anonymous letters.
Mercury in goodness
Mercury in goodness gives profound thinking, the ability to embrace and see the picture as a whole, the ability to define clearly the goal of one’s life and the knowledge of how to reach it. A person with Mercury in goodness has a goal for the year and for five years and, naturally, knows his purpose, his chief task in life. Mercury makes a person ask himself: «And why am I doing this, what sense is there in it?», and do only what is truly important and necessary.
People with Mercury in goodness have unsurpassed logic. Lord Chaitanya, an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, came to Earth in India five hundred years ago, and it is held that with His coming a golden age began. While still at school He would take any subject and could prove whatever He wished. He proved to great pandits (scholars, experts) and brahmins the absurdity of their arguments, and then, using those same arguments, He calmly demolished what He had just said Himself. By this He wished to show that the comprehension of the Absolute truth on the basis of logic alone is impossible.
A person with Mercury in sattva uses knowledge calmly and sets everything out logically and systematically. His speech is very consistent and systematic. Not for nothing does the popular saying have it: «He who thinks clearly speaks clearly». Such people always see the essence, the meaning. Of course, if a person uses his abilities to attain egoistic goals, then that is already Mercury in passion.
Mercury in goodness gives abilities in analysis and helps one to learn from other people’s mistakes. Such people practically never make mistakes of their own — they have already read a book somewhere, seen or heard something, asked someone’s advice, and understood exactly how one should not act.
Such people assimilate knowledge very easily. It may seem that they do not do so as quickly as people with Mercury in passion, but they grasp everything for a long time, think quite clearly and understand everything far more deeply. They are characterised by a broad outlook and at the same time by a great depth of understanding of many things.
They also have an unsurpassed sense of humour, and the humour itself is in sattva: it is not connected with sex or with mocking anyone. In the main they laugh at themselves.
Note that practically all intellectuals have a very good sense of humour. If you do not know how to joke, then you still lack the energy of Mercury. Try to listen to the humour of intellectuals. Zadornov, for example, has very good humour, largely in goodness. In the most ordinary case he can find much that is funny, interesting and instructive.
Try to treat life with humour, look for a reason to laugh in everything. Life is, after all, a rather amusing thing, and God is the chief humorist of all. If you learn to joke kindly, often laughing at yourselves, such humour will help you in your spiritual development.
In one of the groups to which I taught astrology there was a woman with an afflicted Moon, and she was constantly worrying about the various placements of the planets in her chart. One day a very intellectual student, who has worked for many years as a doctor in Israel, turned to her and said: «Do not worry so; this chart of yours is only for one life, in the next life there will be another one.»
Psychologists carried out research in two groups of roughly equal intellectual level. In both groups the lectures were given by very good teachers, but in one the material was presented with humour and in the other without; and as a result the first group assimilated the material three or four times faster and far more deeply than the second. A playful, emotional presentation of material is very effective — what is heard in this way stays in the memory far longer than dry information alone. Whatever you are studying (or if you are yourself teaching someone), add humour to the process and to your life. There is no need to deliver spiritual lectures with a wedge-shaped expression on your face. Remember — some of the most intellectual people in history were jesters.
When you are studying something, try to sit facing north (it is also very good to look to the north-east), because that is the direction of Mercury. I carried out research in my groups and came to the conclusion that a group facing north during lessons assimilates the material three times faster and remembers it far better. When a person’s gaze is directed to the north, his Mercury becomes highly activated. But sleeping with one’s head to the north is extremely undesirable.
Try to develop your intellect and, first and foremost, to study precisely the Higher knowledge. A person begins to grow old when he stops learning, when he ceases to be open and to comprehend the new. Note that people who hold to orthodox views and consider that they have already come to know everything often look far older than they really are. They have a very heavy and closed energy.
Therefore, if you do not want to have the energy of old men, always be open to knowledge and never say that your opinion and the information you possess are the final truth. The Universe is constantly changing, and the chief purpose of the soul is self-development. We must grow constantly. Every day something new happens. Even the system of spiritual values is constantly renewed — it is not some settled, frozen formation.
Mercury in sattva gives very strong control over the mind and the feelings. First of all it allows one to control the tongue, and if a person can control his tongue, he can control anything at all, including his own destiny.
Control of the tongue means undefiled speech and food. A person who does not control his tongue chatters needlessly, eats his fill at night and eats anything at all, by which he can easily spoil his karma. It is very important to control the feelings. With the help of a spiritualised intellect in sattva you can control the mind and the feelings.
Mercury in goodness also gives inner independence from any external circumstances and good adaptability. Such a person adapts to any conditions without difficulty, enters a new collective easily and is able to find contact with anyone at all; but, unlike the person with Mercury in passion, he is not seeking any benefit for himself in doing so. He is comfortable in any weather, in any society, in any place. He accepts everyone and everything with love and respect.
When the intellect is in goodness, a person builds harmonious relations with those around him thanks to his respect for them, to the absence of egoism and of the wish to assert himself, to a courteous attitude, and to the ability to listen to and hear his interlocutor.
People with Mercury in goodness never argue with anyone (this, incidentally, is also given by a sattvic Jupiter). Calm always emanates from such people; they are able to consider any arguments without losing their inner balance. If the opponent’s intellect is in ignorance and he argues furiously and shouts, then of course it is better to get away from such a person as quickly as possible so as not to take on ignorant energy; but if a person argues in passion, one should hold the intellect in goodness and calmly follow the opponent’s speech, see his weak points and oppose him methodically, relying on facts and logic. But if you see that the person is too emotionally excited and you are not managing to calm him with your energy, it is better not to discuss anything with him at all. This is a very important skill for consulting, for conducting negotiations and so on.
Mercury in goodness gives acceptance of other people, a strong nervous system and a pacified mind. When such people set out the essence of a question, they do so very calmly and logically, explaining point by point, and moreover they speak very attractively, interestingly and with humour. If they become leaders, they lead in a very orderly, methodical and systematic way, without complicating anything.
First and foremost Mercury in goodness is a spiritualised intelligence, thanks to which a person can attain the highest goal and change his life. It is an intelligence able to distinguish «sat» from «asat» — the eternal from the transient — for the chief purpose of the intelligence is to analyse and to separate, to see distinctions. A person with Mercury in goodness has a great capacity for discrimination: he resolves to go towards God and accepts on his path everything that is favourable for the development of Unconditional love and service, rejecting all that is unfavourable. If a person has a strong intelligence, he can easily change his destiny and sees the essence of everything clearly. It is a great blessing and a serious attainment to bring Mercury into sattva-guna — it gives the understanding that everything that happens to us is a lesson, and that everyone we meet in life is our Teacher. And all these lessons and Teachers are sent to us in order to teach us to love unconditionally and to accept love, and to understand that only Divine love can be the final goal of life.
A favourably placed Mercury endows people with a kind disposition and the capacity for harmonious communication. It lends flexibility of mind, a sense of humour and a certain playfulness.
A strong Mercury gives quick-wittedness, wit, imagination, a good memory, a refined intellect, logic, erudition, prudence, oratorical and mathematical abilities, a capacity for occultism, and eloquence. If Venus is strong as well, this gives a person a subtle humour. A strong Mercury also gives neatness.
An example: one student of our courses graduated with distinction from the faculty of economics in Jerusalem and worked at the largest and most prosperous financial company in Israel. She earned a great deal, but the work also demanded great analytical and mathematical abilities. She made charts for all her colleagues and discovered that most of them had Mercury in exaltation (its strongest placement) in their birth chart.
She herself likewise had Mercury in exaltation and as the strongest planet in her chart.
On the other hand, if Mercury is weak, this does not at all mean that the person will be of low intellectual ability. In my humble experience, it means that the person will be very fussy, unable to concentrate and to set clear goals in life. As a rule it is hard for such a person to attain stability and lasting prosperity in commerce, for Mercury is also the God of trade. I have never seen a businessman of high level with a weakened Mercury. They all have clear goals for many years ahead, are pacified, and speak in a very considered way and, as a rule, briefly.
For example, I recently had an orthodox Jew at a consultation. Judging by his chart, by the placement of Jupiter, he has already followed an orthodox spiritual path for several lives, and yet he has an afflicted Mercury. He is talking all the time, his body is constantly making some unconscious movements, and his life resembles a fussy stream constantly changing direction. He cannot set goals and does not even understand why it is necessary to do so. In his youth he engaged in commerce, but even when he achieved success, after a while he went bankrupt. In religion the external attributes and rituals are what matter to him. He has many serious illnesses because of a very weakened nervous system.
A summary of the influence of Mercury
The influence of Mercury in ignorance is characterised by the following qualities of character and patterns of behaviour: a complete inability to concentrate, senseless activity (of body and mind) and indeed the complete senselessness of everything that is done, a total absence of control over mind and feelings, constant condemnation of others, and in a coarse form at that, cunning, a poor memory, an unwillingness to learn and to comprehend anything new, a complete absence of a sense of humour or else «black» humour connected with the sufferings of other people. An inability to draw lessons from past events and, moreover, a total blaming of everyone else for one’s own problems. Of such people it is said: «Life has taught them nothing at all.» If they do not work on themselves, then sooner or later their nervous system breaks down. People who in past lives lived with Mercury in ignorance are born with congenital nervous and psychotherapeutic problems.
Mercury in passion: slyness, a wish to hear and to pass on gossip, especially with a sexual tinge, an ability to establish relations with «useful» people, a striving to appear a know-all, a constant hunger for information, a great wish to study whatever will help one to manipulate other people and to attain a high material position and fame, great activity of mind and body, fussiness, venality, over-clever speech, an orthodox adherence to some world view, a closedness to everything new, enormous pride on account of one’s intellect. An unwillingness and inability to see the Higher Intelligence behind everything, an unwillingness to see the true essence and the inner state of people and things.
Mercury in goodness: unsurpassed logic, the most profound analytical abilities, an ability to learn from other people’s mistakes and from very brief instructions, an ability to grasp the essence quickly. An ability to explain complex things briefly and in simple, very accessible language, and to find a common language with everyone. An openness to new knowledge, an ability to set goals clearly and to attain them regardless of circumstances, a quick adaptation to various circumstances of life and to various people. An ability to control one’s feelings and mind. A subtle sense of humour and an ability to joke kindly about oneself. Common sense. A strong wish to know the Absolute Truth and to study the Higher knowledge. The understanding that everything that happens to us is a lesson, and that everyone we meet in life is our Teacher. The understanding that only Divine love can be the final goal of life.
Methods of harmonising the influence of Mercury
The influence of Mercury is strengthened when we study or analyse something. The best of all is the study of the legacy of enlightened Masters, and to a lesser degree the study of ancient Indian astrology and of foreign languages, especially Hebrew and Sanskrit.
Mercury is also strengthened when we set goals and live in accordance with them; and conversely, a senseless, fussy life destroys the favourable influence of Mercury.
The favourable influence of Mercury is strengthened many times over if we develop eloquence and oratorical abilities. Sometimes it is said of someone that he is so clever, only he cannot express it. But even many modern psychologists have come to the conclusion that the more clearly a person thinks, the more clearly he speaks. Therefore, if an intellectual develops his oratorical abilities, his intellect will be greatly strengthened.
Mercury is also strengthened if a person knows how to listen and uses his speech consciously. Silence strengthens Mercury many times over, and therefore, as a rule, sages know how to be silent. How can one tell a sage from an idiot? — by his speech, by how and what each of them says.
To strengthen Mercury it is useful to develop a subtle humour and to learn to turn any tragedy into a comedy. Motionless meditations are very good: for example, sit with a straight spine and do not move, follow the breath and/or repeat mantras or prayers.
Another variant of meditation: sit up straight and, at the level of the bridge of the nose, at a distance of two metres, place a black dot the size of a small coin (it may be a small icon). You must look at it without the slightest movement of the pupils. If the eyes grow tired, they may be closed. Ten minutes of such practice daily quickly brings Mercury into a considerably more harmonious state.
The favourable influence of Mercury ceases when a person leads a disordered sexual life. By and large practically any sexual contact weakens Mercury, especially with one’s own sex or any kind of perversion. Mercury manifests through the upper energy centres, first of all through the 5th chakra, whereas sexual life transfers the energy to the lower centres. Whatever the makers of the sexual revolution may say, the scientific data indicate that the earlier an adolescent begins sexual life, the longer and stronger his depressions, the weaker his immunity and the more modest his successes in study. If an adolescent is brought to me for a consultation who used to study well and was a good son (or daughter), but suddenly study «is not going well», interest in it is lost and the child becomes aggressive — there is a 95 % chance that the «child» has begun sexual life or else is actively masturbating, having become addicted to pornography.
To strengthen Mercury, Indian astrologers advise:
• to donate regularly to children’s homes and to help poor students;
• to care for tulasi (a sacred, healing plant known in Europe under the name of Brahmi), especially on Wednesdays;
• to feed cows with green leaves on Wednesdays;
• to keep an image or figurine of the Buddha or of Vishnu in the northern part of the home.
If a person follows the path of Buddhism or Vaishnavism (the worship of Vishnu), then his Mercury is strengthened.
The mantra to Mercury: Om Namo Bhagavate Budhadevaya.
From the course of study on Mercury
The signs of Mercury are Gemini and Virgo. In Pisces it falls.
It is the only planet that is exalted in its own sign — in the first 15 degrees of Virgo.
Mercury is responsible for the 5th chakra — Vishuddha. This energy centre is in the lower part of the throat and is connected, first and foremost, with speech.
In numerology the number of Mercury is 5.
All who were born on the 5th, 14th or 23rd are under the influence of Mercury and are usually quite intellectual and communicative and fond of company.
The number five is a standard for describing the most important characteristics of the macrocosm and the microcosm. A fivefold division of the world is known; there are 5 elements of the universe, 5 classes of animals, 5 sense organs in man, 5 internal organs, 5 passions.
Cases from astrological practice connected with Mercury
I have some very good acquaintances — a married couple. For many years they could not conceive a child; the wife had an ectopic pregnancy and has problems with her skin and with gynaecology. She has Mercury in fall in the house responsible for gynaecology, and he has it in the house responsible for children and digestion. In other respects their charts are very strong — they are talented people, and the wife is a leader who has run spiritual organisations (the lord of the house of the personality, the Sun, is in her house of religion and fortune). But a weak Mercury makes them fuss endlessly; they always have a thousand ideas succeeding one another, and they are unable to fix on any one of them.
I advised them to outline one clear plan and to move along it, and told them which books to read and what way of life to lead. I gave them mantras that neutralise the unfavourable influence of Mercury. But, as my experience shows, if a person’s planet is strong and favourably placed, then he takes to its mantra very easily and recites it as though he had been doing so all his life (and just as easily leads a harmonious way of life in the matters for which that planet is responsible). Mantras for neutralising a weakened planet, however, are very hard for people to recite.
These spouses are fairly fanatical adherents of one religion. I explained to them for a long time that one of the most important points in spiritual advancement is the ability to live in reality, here and now. «You pray and recite mantras, but you live aimlessly and are often inattentive and cannot concentrate. If you pay attention, you will see that you are very rarely in reality; your mind is constantly rushing about, now in the past, now in the future,» I said. They began to work on themselves, the process of inner purification got under way, and a slow improvement began. They also took up the cleansing of the body in accordance with their physical constitution.
Unfortunately I have not seen them for about a year and a half and do not know how they are getting on. But the conclusion is clear: these people have an enormous potential, but because of their problems with purposefulness, their constant rushing about and their excessive number of contacts, they overload themselves on the energy level. They read first one kind of literature, then another; they constantly watch spiritual seminars one after the other; they return from one pilgrimage and at once begin dreaming of the next; and in essence, amid all the fuss, they do not manage to live their own life. I know that they did not take my words seriously enough because some of the things I said contradicted their religious dogmas. I know that the woman had another unsuccessful pregnancy, another journey to the holy places of India, another complete change of outward activity and place of residence. It is always very hard for me to hear this — for they have the very greatest potential and could have become healers of world renown, spiritual leaders, and simply happy parents.
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The second example is a strong Mercury. Several years ago I gave a consultation to the director of a network of factories in Kazakhstan. His Mercury — the lord of the house of the personality — is in exaltation in the fourth house, responsible for the mother and for real estate, and aspects the house of career; and moreover it is drawn into several royal conjunctions (raja yogas). In the house of the mother there are several more strong planets. I said at once: «From childhood you received support from your mother; your mother is very intellectual and holds a high position,» and he confirmed this. His mother held a high post in the government and was a very clever woman, and he inherited her best qualities. An exalted Mercury often gives people an excellent intellect and an academic degree.
As a rule Mercury is strong in major businessmen. This man instantly calculates the prospects of a business; it is as though he had a computer in his head. He runs his enterprises quite successfully and instantly «calculates» a person or an idea logically. I advised him on a few things concerning his irritability, caused by the aspect of Mars on Mercury and capable of causing illnesses.
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I have two friends — both major businessmen, owners of enormous corporations; both have a strong Mercury placed in the very best houses, the fifth or the ninth, and it endows them with wisdom. They read profound spiritual books and can talk on philosophical subjects, and at the same time they do not fly off into the clouds — they are very successful in business and know clearly what they want in life (Mercury is responsible for purposefulness).
from Rami Blekt’s book «How to come to terms with the Universe, or On the influence of the planets on a person’s destiny and health»
Source: Sudarshana.Ru