Earth Mercury

Natural Sign Rulers: Gemini and Virgo

Natural Houses: 3rd and 6th

Orbit Cycle: 88 Days

Mercury in our charts can explain how we think, how we communicate, how we deal with short distance travel, our ease with writing, and how we learn and process information. Mercury naturally rules two signs, Gemini and Virgo. Mercury is never more than 28 degrees away from your Sun sign, so it is either in the same sign, or the one before or after. Given that we are currently Sun in Virgo, I am going to talk a little bit about the earth aspect of Mercury, versus the air element of Gemini. 

I already made a post a little bit about what Virgo entails. Having Mercury in an earth sign will bring a much more grounded and sure thinking and communication method. People who have Mercury in Virgo are the people that you want to go to for planning and organizing. Think travel planners. Analysis is of major import to the Mercury in Virgo native, and are always attempting to achieve perfection. This need for perfection can lead to anxiety and worry. This is very different from the scattered energy of Mercury in Gemini. 

People who have Mercury in the natural house of Virgo (6th House), will also have a Virgo flavor, along with the sign that their Mercury is in naturally. This brings out the organized efficiency (Virgo) within their daily work (6th House). You might be easily bored within your workplace, so it is important to have a job which is mentally stimulating, and constantly challenging, or allowing you to learn. 

Now, chances are that your Mercury does not appear this exact placement, so I would like to briefly go over some things that might help you look in to your own chart, and to learn about yourself. Mercury in each of the different elements, then further divided by the individual sign, are all going to process and communicate differently. Then add in the different houses and those which are connected by rulers can affect what you mostly talk about. This is no means all encompassing, but is a place for you to start and journey down the rabbit hole. I like to look in to astrology as more of a self-help and meditative tool, instead of a predictive one, and I feel like you will never completely understand your natal chart in the lifelong study of it. 

So, lets look at the different elements of Mercury. In a natal chart, you have 4 different elements- Fire, Earth, Air and Water:

• Fire- typically associated with drive, ambition, leadership, passion and aggression. 
• Earth- steady, slow, strength, foundation, physical matters
• Air- Thinking, communication, scattered energy, logical
• Water- Emotions, intuitive/psychic, moody, constantly changing energy

So this elemental flavor alone can affect how you communicate with others (and yourself).

Then, we get in to the individual signs:

• Fire- Aries, Leo, Sagittarius: Aries- Quick decisions and responses. Not always thinking actions through. Impulsive, competitive and argumentative. Prone to accidents due to not thinking things through.  Leo- Flair for the dramatic, natural leader and great for motivating others. Opinionated, and believe you have all the answers. Creative. Sagittarius- Pursuit of knowledge is guiding force. Highly principled, thinks in black and white. Optimists.
• Earth- Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn: Taurus- Thoroughly thinks things through. Stubborn in decision making. Often thinks about material security. Virgo- see above. Capricorn- Realistic. Problem solvers which work through everything. Mostly thinks about status and career. 
• Air- Gemini, Libra, Aquarius: Gemini- Scattered energy. Constantly learning and researching. Versatile and quick thinking. Libra- Avoids controversy. Persuasive and diplomatic. Difficulty making decisions. Aquarius- Innovative and creative. Emotions rarely influence decisions. Comfortable with expressing thoughts instead of feelings. 
• Water- Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces: Cancer- Emotions guide thinking. Thoughts are related to home and family. Often in touch with friends and family. Scorpio- Excellent researcher and communication is geared for amassing information. Secretive, stubborn. Some are jealous and vengeful. Pisces- Creative. Prone to wishful thinking and are compassionate. Highly intuitive. Empathic.

Hopefully this allows for a start for you to look in to your own thinking and communication processes. 

Sun in Leo!

Today we welcome the Sun in to Leo, the zodiac sign symbolized by the Lion. Today I will be making my Leo Candle, to help me as I work through the energies that this period will bring. Along with a friend, I am journeying through Christopher Penczak's Living Temple of Witchcraft, Volume 2, which explores the Sun travelling through each Zodiac sign. The wisdom of this sign that I will be embracing is creativity and taking charge of the things in my life that need sovereignty. The Sun gives us life. Simple as that. As it is the center of our Universe, so is Leo energy center stage. These people are creators and sometimes, they live only under that persona of the actor. Another part of my working this month will to figure out what parts of myself I am "playing", and discarding those to allow my true self shine through.

With the creativity aspect of Sun in Leo, I realize that the creation of this blog has come at no better time. However, with whatever we create, it is important to remember that we are not what we create. I think it is easy to get stuck in describing yourself as the things you do, the things you think, and the things that you feel. These identities give us purpose in our life, however, they can overcome. I think back to a time when I was in college and was playing volleyball. I had been a volleyball star all through high school, making Most Valuable Player, and even setting high school records! I was on top of the world. I was getting to go play volleyball in college, nothing could go wrong. Except that it did. A month in to my first season, I tore my Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) and was benched for the rest of the season, and didn't play again after that, at fear of injuring myself again. I was devastated. I no longer knew who I was. At the time, I was Mormon, and tried to seek comfort in the religion, but it never came. I realize now that it was because I had associated myself entirely with this volleyball image, that I no longer knew who I was when it was gone. I still mourn the loss of that passion, but I realize it was a necessary loss to get to where I am now, as it triggered a series of events turning my life completely 180 degrees. So this month, I will work on creating, to EXPRESS myself, not to MAKE myself. What will you do to utilize this Leo energy?