From the word Mercury come the words
merchant, mercenary, and commerce. It is not
only Mercury’s charm that won over the offend-
ed Apollo, but also his exchange of items: the
lyre for two cows. Mercury is an opportunist and
loves to wheel and deal. He rules quick transac-
tions and the marketplace. He is the messenger
of the gods, delivering Hera, Aphrodite, and
Athena to the judgment of Paris, which led to
the Trojan War. This demonstrates the merce-
nary aspect of Mercury. The gods knew that
nothing good would come out of the contest, but
Mercury performed the deed for the right price.
When Zeus (Jupiter) sojourns on Earth,
his favorite companion is Mercury because he is
clever, knows how to have a good time, and is
skillful. It was Zeus who gave Mercury the
winged sandals, and the claduceus that became
the symbol of healing and medicine. Mercury is
associated with the healing arts, but in Greece
he was also associated with death. He could
travel between all the worlds, and was responsi-
ble for guiding the dead safely and swiftly to the
underworld. He was known as the psychopom-
pos who assisted in the transition between dif-
ferent states of reality. In this sense, Hermes
functions as a hospice worker.
There are similarities in Hinduism with
Mercury’s association with the god Visnu. In the
Rig Veda, Visnu marks out the three worlds with
three giant strides spanning the heavens, the earth, and the netherworld. Mercury, as a
reincarnation of Visnu, quantifies or defines the different worlds. The Hindu Puranas,
like the Greek myths, tell a wonderful story of the birth of Mercury. Jupiter was the
guru (teacher) to the gods, and one of his students was the Moon. The beautiful Tara
(Star) was married to Jupiter, but fell in love with the Moon. The tryst soon produced a
child who was Mercury. Mercury was so delightful and charming that everyone loved
him. Both Jupiter and the Moon claimed to be the father of the wonderful child. Mer-
cury has two fathers, and rules the two mutable signs of Gemini and Virgo.
Mercury is also the son of Jupiter in Mesopotamian mythology. Here he is
known as Nabû, the scribe of the gods. On the eighth day of the new year, all the gods
come together to decide the fate for the coming year. It was Nabu who wrote down
the destinies, and thus fixing the fates. Nabu was also a diplomat. One tablet reads,
“Nabû who holds the god’s Table of Destiny, and can reconcile conflicting things.”
By the time of Hellenistic Egypt (300 B.C.E.) Mercury becomes associated with
the god Thoth. This god was responsible for all areas of science including medicine,
THEASTROLOGYBOOK [443]
MercuryA detail of Mercury shown holding two caduceus rods.
From an engraving in Maiers’ Atalanta Fugiens,1618.
Reproduced by permission of Fortean Picture Library.