Mercury in Astrology: Significations and Meanings

In episode 307 astrologer Jo Gleason joins the show to talk about the meaning of the planet Mercury in astrology, and what it signifies in a birth chart. This is the third installment in our series where we do a deep dive into the significations of each of the planets and their meanings in astrology. We anchored the discussion by reading through a series of excerpts about Mercury from different ancient and modern astrologers, including Vettius Valens, Abu Ma’shar, William Lilly, Reinhold Ebertin, Steven Forrest, and Richard Tarnas. We then used these passages as jumping off points for an extended discussion about some of the deeper meanings of Mercury, and the role that it plays in chart interpretation, especially in combination with other planets. For more information about Jo check out her website: JoGleason.com This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Significations of Mercury Excerpts Here is the document we read through in this episode that contains excerpts from different astrologers on the significations of Mercury: Significations of Mercury Excerpts Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:30 Mercury dignities diagram 00:04:20 Vettius Valens significations 00:09:54 Mercury’s adaptability 00:10:54 Comparisons between Mercury and the Moon 00:13:00 Mercury Retrograde 00:14:00 Mercury as a go-between 00:17:00 Mercury’s primary function 00:20:00 Mercury never more than one sign away from the Sun 00:21:08 Eminem’s chart 00:21:28 Mercury and communication 00:24:16 Joe Biden chart 00:27:00 Mercury’s different communication styles 00:28:24 James Earl Jones chart 00:31:40 Maya Angelou chart 00:33:05 Jo’s chart 00:35:10 Mercury stations in secondary progression 00:38:10 T.S. Eliot chart 00:39:08 Mercury Mars 00:42:20 Virgo rising 00:44:18 Virgo placements 00:45:10 Gemini vs. Virgo 00:47:00 Steve Wozniak’s chart 00:48:20 Steve Jobs’ chart 00:50:30 Mercury getting stuck on details 00:55:22 Edward Snowden chart 00:56:20 Gemini placements 01:00:08 Anthony Bourdain’s chart 01:02:20 Divination 01:06:25 Numbers 01:07:06 Skilled with hands 01:08:02 Paradox 01:08:31 Humor, riddles, comedy 01:11:28 Abu Ma’shar significations 01:16:20 Mercury’s neutrality 01:18:15 Mercury and Uranus similarity 01:19:38 William Lilly significations 01:28:58 Reinhold Ebertin significations 01:31:24 Steven Forrest significations 01:33:23 Richard Tarnas significations 01:34:50 Rationalization qualities 01:43:08 Mercury Neptune 01:47:20 Mercury Uranus 01:56:10 Mercury Jupiter 01:58:40 Tem Tarriktar chart 02:01:40 Mercury in Virgo and Editing 02:02:26 Alois Treindl’s chart 02:03:00 Richard Tarnas’ chart 02:05:22 Jupiter stabilizing, Mercury destabilizing 02:09:09 Basic Nature of the Planets diagram 02:11:26 Jo’s website and social media 02:12:20 Closing remarks Watch the Video Version of This Episode Watch the video version of this episode on Mercury in astrology on YouTube: – Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 307 transcript