Mercury by 17th-century Flemish sculptor Artus Quellinus, identified by his hat, drawstring purse, caduceus, winged sandals, cock (rooster), and goat (Source:Wikipedia)

Mercury by 17th-century Flemish sculptor Artus Quellinus, identified by his hat, drawstring purse, caduceus, winged sandals, cock (rooster), and goat (Source:Wikipedia)

Mercury, the messenger of the gods.  In Roman times, Mercury was regarded as the god of merchandise, merchants, and commerce.  He is often depicted as holding a purse to signify his rulership over profits.  Today Mercury is regarded as the thinking faculty, and rules all types of communications, information, inquiry, and investigation.

In a personal natal chart Mercury indicates

  • The reasoning mind
  • Communication, conversation, writing
  • Assimilation of information from the environment
  • Analysis and discrimination
  • Concentration and focus
  • Respiratory system, nervous system

How will we define Mercury as used in astrology for business?  Remember, there are three different options in the business use of astrology. 

  1. The first is reading a person’s standard natal chart from the point of view of business.  What does your chart say about you as a business person?  What are your strengths and weaknesses as applied to your professional life?
  2. The second is reading the chart of a business itself.  It is fairly easy to find the date of incorporation of publicly held businesses, and many small business owners can say the date they first opened their doors or made their first sale.
  3. The third option is to view the vocations that have been found to be good expressions of certain planetary energies.

Mercury in a Businessperson’s Chart

Let’s look at Mercury in a businessperson’s chart.  Extrapolating meaning from the personal definitions, we can say that Mercury in a businessperson’s chart describes their conscious thinking and intellect, how shrewd they are.  It also describes their conversation style and their aptitude for spoken and written communications.  It can describe their facility with information technology and analytical tools.  As the general ruler of commerce, Mercury can describe the person’s approach to business, and their natural facility in purchasing, sales, and negotiating.

Mercury in the Chart of a Business

When we look at Mercury in the chart of a business, we take the essential meanings of Mercury in a personal chart and combine them with the meanings of Mercury in a mundane chart.  A business is an entity in that it has a birth, a life cycle, and an end, and it has meaning and purpose like any other being.  It is like a child of a person’s imagination and desire.  But it’s also impersonal, in that it doesn’t carry its own conscious evolvement even though it passes through phases and cycles like everything else on earth.  In this way it is more like a mundane chart and the meanings from that branch of astrology apply.

In a business chart, Mercury describes communication and information systems, merchandising and inventory control, news, electronics, publications, and machinery, especially electronics and transportation.

Vocations

Much thanks for the following vocational information to Noel Tyl.  As my first astrology teacher in the 1970s, his work continues to influence my thinking to this day.  He has recently published Vocations, the New Midheaven Extension Process, which outlines the various vocations that are connected with each of the planets.

Some of the vocations associated with Mercury include communications, sales, travel, broadcasting, accounting, and media.  Do you see how these are connected to the other descriptions?  The essential energy of Mercury takes slightly different but related forms in the different expressions.

So, in chart form, we have:

Planet or Luminary In personal chart In mundane chart In businessperson’s chart In business chart In vocational expression
Mercury The reasoning mind 

Communication, conversation, writing 

Assimilation of information from the environment 

Analysis and discrimination 

Concentration and focus 

Spinal cord, respiratory system, nervous system

 

 The literary world 

Newspapers 

Publishers 

Ambassadors 

Trade and commerce 

A nation’s communication and telecom industries. 

Local transport issues.

 Intellect 

Conversation style 

Aptitude for spoken and written communications 

Facility with information technology and analytical tools 

Approach to business 

Facility with purchasing, selling, negotiating

 Communication systems 

Information systems 

Merchandise & inventory control 

News 

Publications 

Machinery

 Communications 

Sales 

Travel 

Broadcasting 

Accounting 

Media