Mercury

Mercury is the planet of mind and message. It describes how you gather information, think things through, speak and write, and how you learn. In myth it is the messenger who moves between worlds, and in a chart it shows how you connect ideas and people.

Cycle and speed

Mercury circles the Sun in about 88 days and stays close to it, never more than about 28 degrees away. That means your Mercury is always in the same sign as your Sun or in the sign just before or after it. It usually spends two to four weeks in a sign. About three times a year it appears to move backward for about three weeks, which is called a retrograde.

Rulership

Mercury rules Gemini and Virgo. In Gemini it is curious and quick, collecting variety. In Virgo it is exact and practical, sorting and improving, and Virgo is also its sign of exaltation. It is traditionally weaker in Sagittarius and Pisces, where the mind prefers big pictures or intuition to precise detail.

When it is strong

A clear Mercury means you find words, listen well, adapt your explanations and learn what you need. Your thinking is flexible and you can see more than one side.

When it is stressed

Strain shows up as scattered attention, overthinking, nervous talk, misreading people or saying things before they are ready. You may feel you cannot switch your mind off. A calm routine, writing things down and slowing your speech often help.

How to read it in your chart

• Sign: your thinking style. Fire signs think fast and boldly, earth signs practically, air signs conceptually, water signs through feeling.
• House: where you most want to learn, talk and exchange ideas.
• Retrograde: a retrograde Mercury often means a more inward, reflective mind that revises before it speaks.
• Aspects: links to the Moon show how thoughts and moods influence each other.