Mercury is tidally locked with the Sun, so one side is perpetually hot and the other half is perpetually cold. Similarly, Mercury is a planet of dualities, a wildcard, a trickster, sometimes hot, sometimes cold, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Mercury is the fastest planet in our solar system, appearing to zip backward between the Earth and the Sun three times each year. Mercury’s speed and erratic behavior mirror the restlessness of the mind, the rapidity of thought, the fluidity of speech. As the planet closest to the Sun, Mercury serves as an emissary, a translator, a messenger of the Sun. In astrology, Mercury represents the way we think and reason, the way we speak and communicate, saying something about our interests, skills and hobbies, our sense of humor.
Mercury in Cancer is in a cardinal water sign and takes on the qualities of its ruler, the Moon: reflective, reactive, instinctual. People with this placement can persuade others and be persuaded with sentiment and emotion. Sometimes there is difficulty untangling emotional bias and other unconscious factors from the facts but there is also the tendency to have a good memory, recalling your emotional states with more clarity than most. Memories can be particular source of comfort or pain, someone who holds grudges or unable to let go of their good old days. Their intellectual interests, technical skills and marketing senses may center around homes, security, conservation, food, biology, organic and natural causes, effects and solutions. There is also the instinct to form connections between things without being sure how you made them. They’re probably tickled most by second-hand embarrassment or cringe comedy.
This is especially true if you were born with Gemini, Cancer or Virgo rising. Whether you experience the better or worse significations of this position depends on Mercury’s relationship with the Sun and whether you were born during the day or at night, and the kind of aspects it makes with the other planets.
To learn even more specific and customized information about your natal chart and ask questions about what it indicates for your past, present and future through the use of transits, profections and Zodiacal Releasing, schedule a consultation with me today!