Mercury in Pisces: From Sloppy to Sublime

 Mercury, holding the caduceus

from a mural unearthed in Pompeii

Maybe you’ve heard that Mercury “isn’t good” in Pisces? Au contraire, my pseudo-judgmental friend!

Mercury in Pisces can be brilliant. Yes, it may not punctuate every sentence like a grammar Nazi. Yes, Mercury in Pisces is not generally what you would look for in someone you want monitoring your ‘clean room’ at a computer chip production facility.

But when you want an idea? When you want a gleeful thought? When you want a stylistic facility with words? Then Mercury in Pisces can be just the very thing.

So where did that nasty reputation come from? Oh where, you ask?

Take it from me…it’s a polarity thing.

Signs come in pairs. We like to think of them as single colorations, but they aren’t. They’re more like teeter totters. When sign pairs are in balance, both precepts – in this case, precision and creativity – are in balance. When we have a planet sitting in a sign natally, that ‘tips’ the balance to one side, which is why we get the distinct positives from that placement as well as the ‘overactive’ negatives.

Similarly, when a planet passes through a sign, that ‘activates’ the polarity question.

 The Pisces/Virgo polarity as pictured on a 'natural' zodiac wheel

(i.e., ths signs placed as they fall in 'natural' order - starting

with Aries and ending with Pisces - around a horoscope wheel).

Here we have Pisces as the sign of feeling our feelings…through which (hopefully) we come to not feel all alone because we realize our feelings aren’t unusual and the value of sharing our feelings – good and sad – with others. It’s the commonalty of the human experience Pisces drives to achieve, as do all signs. 

In Pisces we just do it through our feeling nature.

At the other end of this polarity we have Virgo. Virgo the very precise, Virgo the detail oriented, Virgo the wholesome, clean, earthy and earthly. Virgo seeks to make a better world through everyone doing things knowingly and “cleanly” (in every sense of that word!)

Mercury being a planet all about mentality, we now get to learn some about the pluses and minuses of our feeling, communal, creative and inspiring nature.

And yes, from February 21st at 10:54pm when Mercury enters Pisces until March 9th when it moves on into Aries, we will also be prone to more daydreaming and the 'gist’ of the thing…with maybe a little less jumping to the exactitudes and nuts and bolts and all that.

So if you’re looking to tap into your creative side, this is a good time to start. If you’re looking to be precise, maybe this isn’t your moment. 

Except…. 

I have a good friend who (bless her heart!) is in her early 30’s who has just taken on getting a college degree. Apart from what I take to be a general anxiety about ‘doing college,’ in particular she’s not excited about algebra. Really? When am I ever going to use this (blank – blank – blank – blank) stuff in real life? 

Being of the opinion that there are real world uses for algebraic theory, I replied to her petite social network rant with the comment algebra is a way of thinking. Most of math is. And while it’s not precisely emotional (an idea which would probably be well attested to by the countless geeks who have emotions certainly…but who are not particularly good with emotionalism)…algebra is a way of thinking. 

In other words, the idea of how to think which algebra (and most higher math) asks one to indulge in is what gets you to the precise way to do the precision calculation.

The difference between this higher math – and all the magical sciences which lie beyond higher math’s door (yes, we know which side of this argument I’m on…) physics, astrophysics and even metaphysics – when treated as a science – it’s all about being able to go with the idea of the thing, then the ‘how to do.’

In other words, it’s deciding what you want for dinner so you can then look up and follow the recipe, not just focusing on the recipe itself.

Make sense?

The whole of the zodiac goes through this cycle.

Starting in the bottom half of the natural hemisphere we have the ‘me’ part of life’s explorations.

 The zodiac polarities (color coded, even!)

Aries-Taurus-Gemini are our baby steps. What am I? What do I need? What’s that? What do I do next?

Then we have the Cancer-Leo-Virgo phase: what does everyone else like? How do they do things? What do I like? How can I make this work for me? This is the zodiacal equivalent of figuring out and ‘gluing things down’ – the rules of our personal road and thus what we tend to think think life is based on and how things work best.

After that comes the shift from the lower personal and internal to the upper public and external horoscope hemisphere, an arena which starts with the interactive signs. Libra is this is my idea – what’s yours? Then we have Scorpio – everything which evokes an emotional reaction in us. Last is Sagittarius, a sign all about do my ideas work for everyone else? If not, why not? Will my idea get me where I want to go? 

Last comes the public/worldly triad of ‘global’ signs: Capricorn – what we do to achieve and with the power and social status achievement anoints us with…Aquarius – the interactive marketplace of ideas, ideals, acceptance and systemic connectivity…and Pisces, the universality of perceptions and from that, the experience of what we feel – and how we feel about what we feel.

Whatever Sun sign you’re born under, that’s your basic point-of-view consideration on much of life. Doesn’t mean you can’t really love some other Sun sign’s point of view (you probably will!) but of all those ‘other’ POV’s the one you will probably have the most problem with is that which is your polarity.

It polarizes you. It’s not so much about what who they are as what they make you recognize in yourself.

(I know…! Aren’t we just all such endlessly egocentric creatures!?!!)

Being that the ‘global’ signs are opposite (in polarity with) the signs about defining our world, we can all perceive the problem. ‘Big Picture’ people have issues with ‘the little stuff’ and those who think details make the thing work scoff at global sign perspectives as ‘too ambitious’ (Capricorn), ‘too expensive or likely to be rejected’ (Aquarius) or ‘unworkable’ or ‘not reality based’ (Pisces).

Does that make you want to look up a Sun sign or two? Maybe of some politician? A great thinker? Someone else you admire, are in awe of or possibly loathe?

Just looking back at a few recent subjects discussed here at Ye Olde Blog what you may see – and thus why I’m bringing this to your attention - are distinct differences in attitudes and effectiveness which can pretty much be summed up as whether someone born in a sign belonging to one hemisphere appears to understand and be able to grapple with issues belonging to the other!

My friend going back to college is a Cancer. She is plainly struggling with seeing the algebraic ‘Big Picture.’ We see this often times in politics – just to pick out a name here, William Jefferson Clinton (aka Bill) is born on August 19th.

 President Bill Clinton - 1993 Presidential portrait

He’s a Leo. Yet Bill Clinton’s greatest asset may just be his ability to grasp systemic big pictures and communicate that to the greater public in a way which can be understood. You may not like it – but you’ll understand it!

With President Clinton, this is a clear demonstration of his Solar Leo/Aquarius “teeter-totter.” Love him, hate him, think him charming or weird, Bill Clinton has demonstrated his ability to understand economics, for instance. And his ability to manage and marshal the economy and economic system not merely for his own Leo pleasure, but for the sake of the economic system and thus everybody…which in turn of course, won great acclaim for him… 

…Which let’s face it – is everything any Leo is born to love, crave and desire.

Learning to ‘do’ any given sign’s polarity is what completes yours. It’s the balance which fulfills – which allows you to be the person successful in their own right.

That’s a Mercury in Pisces concept. It’s universal. It’s very big picture. It’s about the commonalty of what we all go through in life.

Oh – and while we’re here…despite all the US political hoo-hah about this or that being started under some ‘other’ administrations, metaphysically, an administration is elected in its own time. 

What the fern does that mean? That means that what happens during any given President’s administration, is a metaphysical reflection of that President. And yes, their administration. The reverse would also be true – namely that they get elected because the metaphysics person has a metaphysical portrait (a chart) which is part and parcel of the metaphysical patterns of a given time.

Is that ‘fate’? In metaphysical terms, no – that would be functionality…namely, all things happening when they should. 

Quite a thought, eh? It has even more interesting implications when we consider a country like the UK, which though it changes Parliamentary administrations has had the same Queen for many decades now.

 

 Queen Elizabeth II on a visit to NASA in 2007

photo credit: NASA

Putting on our Mercury in Pisces hats, can we see how the nation has reflected the Queen and the Queen her national situation as years have passed, things been experienced and (hopefully) wisdom gained?

I find that interesting….you?

Okay…well! Now that I’ve either got your teeth on edge as you mutter will she just get ON WITH IT? or set your feet and associated brain cells to squirming…

Mercury enters Pisces in exact conjunction with Chiron, centaur asteroid of needing to learn how to do that you don’t even know enough about to know how to learn.

The simple answer is ‘try.’ Wherever we see Chiron, life becomes trying….and can be improved by trying.

Right behind Mercury (at 29 Aquarius) Mars is barely an ootch ahead of Neptune, still at 28 Aquarius, but soon to complete it’s 8-year transit of that sign and plunge us all into a whole new experience of emotions and nebulous certainties about uncertainties.

Oh yeah…we are SO all going to love that, right?

(Not!)

(At least not for a little while…)

But this Neptune/Mars thing….this is a marker which suggests that the most of us are going to start letting go of what ‘they’ say in favor of thinking for ourselves.

It’s a ‘what do I think?’ moment.

Ahead of Mercury/Chiron, the Sun stands at 2 Pisces and a trio of celestial markers (Fomalhaut, Circe and Amphitrite) are all at 4 Pisces.

 Screen shot snippet of Mercury's entrance into Pisces

 - chart generated by Solar Fire Gold -

Fixed star Fomalhaut promises great success providing our dreams and yearnings are not corrupt, corruptive or corrupted.

Circe is a myth about personal powers + loneliness promoting such terrible yearnings that we will stoop even to doing evil to others in order to try not to hurt in our own hearts, minds or souls.

 'Circe Invidiosa' by John William Waterhouse (1892)

Amphitrite speaks to the wanting to run away from something which once you surrender to it, you’re very happy with.

We thus ‘stand between’ (the Sun) the idea of what we need to do and learn by doing (Chiron) and all our concerns about drinking the metaphysical Kool-Aid.

Or even our own personal Kool-Aid…otherwise known as realizing we’re wrong about something. Oooo, do we all hate that or what?

For those who find this all a bit creepy for their tastes, not to worry! Unless you have a birthday during the next couple of weeks, this period will pass soon enough. If you do have a birthday coming up, welcome to some portion of your mental ministrations for the next solar year!

In saying that however…a few more notes: Mercury will be in Pisces’ first decanate (degrees 0 through 9) from February 21st through the 26th – give or take a time zone. Like all first decan periods, this emphasizes the ‘doing’ and physical aspects and questions.

Mercury will then move on to Pisces’ second decanate (degrees 10 through 19) from the 26th (as above) until March 3rd or 4th - again, depending on where you are. The second decan of any sign being where it manifests emotionally, this would be where thoughts are emotional, things which provoke emotionality occur and when we ‘see’ things (including our feelings!) from a more feeling point of view.

From that March 3 or 4 (depending), Mercury then moves on into Pisces’ third decanate: degrees 20 through 29. This is Pisces’ most worldly, most global realm – where ‘big picture’ concerns are most prevalent, where we are easily daunted if we teeter too far towards ‘Virgo’ definitions and just as easily drawn off track if we allow too much Piscean emotionalism to just simply wash us away.

Being this is Mercury we’re talking about – it’s a good time to think about things. About your life. About your hopes. About your plans. About your mistakes – and forgiving yourself for being human.

Fact is, we all are. Sometimes that’s the hardest thing of all to admit…which may be the biggest mistake of them all.