The Story of a Neutral Planet
Nothing is neither good nor bad, but thinking makes it so! ~William Shakespeare
I think this quote aptly describes Mercury.
Mercury the smallest planet in the solar system, roughly the size of the Earth’s moon. It is also closest to the mighty Sun. However, it is not the hottest planet in the Solar System. This is because Mercury lacks an atmosphere that can trap heat from the Sun i.e. the atmosphere is very thin.
Due to this lack of atmosphere, Mercury has the temperatures of extreme. The side that faces the Sun has temperature rises up to 436 degrees Celsius and on the darker side, the temperature falls -176 degrees celsius.
Now, coming back to astrology, Mercury is considered Neutral and takes on the characteristics of the zodiac sign & the house that it is placed in, much like its thin atmosphere adapt to whatever it faces in the lonely realms of galaxy.
Here are some astrological facts of Mercury:
- Ruling Planet of: Gemini, Virgo
- Friendly with: Sun, Venus
- Enemy with: Moon
- Exalted in: Virgo
- Debilitated in: Pisces
- Mahadasha Period: 17 years
- Gender: Neutral
- Color: Green
- Day: Wednesday
- Transit Period: 25 days
Nevertheless, Mercury rules one of the most important things that mankind can ever own and what makes it different from the other living beings — The Intellect.
In Vedic astrology, the planet Mercury rules intelligence and communication skills. Therefore, people with a stronger influence of Mercury exhibit exceptional intelligence and manner of expression. These people hold an exemplary ability to mold the words according to the situation and hence are able to direct people to follow their point of view.
These people can get the work done on the strength of their intellect and speech [for example, Adolf Hitler — He did some really terrible things but his power of persuasion was indeed above ordinary.]. The strong Mercury endows the people with great persuasion power, almost revolutionary; that they can make others see their point of view.
Some of the personality traits that Mercury endows:
- Intellectual: Mercury rules the intellect and thought process of the native. When this planet is well placed then the native tends to have superior intelligence. However, when it is ill-placed, the result is quite the opposite.
- Eloquent & witty: The native with well-placed mercury tends to be witty and eloquent in manner. This person tends to be someone who has witty one-liners always in hand.
