The planet Mercury is closely associated with the sign Gemini. We will meet Mercury once again in association with the sign of Virgo. When Mercury is ruling Virgo, his more practical qualities are emphasised. When Mercury is ruling Gemini, his energies work more on the plane of pure ideas and so more effort is needed to bring these thoughts and ideas down to the practical world of everyday living. Both Virgo and Gemini share in common the need to put their minds to work, to invent new ways of tackling old tasks, but in Virgo it is easier to see in what way the idea can be applied. Gemini may remain in the realm of theory, plans and discussion only, without making that little extra conscious effort to commit to paper!
Mercury is a very important planet, one whose qualities contribute to how we perceive and intellectually respond to the world around us, how we can best interrelate with people and our environment. Mercury also rules our nerve energy and so influences the way we move and speak and gesture. In Ancient Egypt the god Thoth represented these qualities. Thoth is the god of writing and recording and of spell-making.
Thoth Ancient Egyptian god
By the time of the Greeks and Romans, the role of Thoth was taken over by the Greek god Hermes and the Roman god Mercury.
In Egypt, Thoth as master of writing transcribed the word of the gods so that humans could understand what was being communicated to them. The gods being represented by the other planets and acting as symbols for the different human traits such as loving [Venus] giving [Jupiter] conserving [Saturn] feeling [Moon] nobility [Sun] striving [Mars].
In Greece, as a descendent of Thoth, Hermes too communicated between the gods and humans; he wears wings on his heels for speedy transport between the two worlds, that of man and that of the gods. This hints at another Egyptian god who is called Anubis. Anubis also commutes between the two worlds of the living and the dead and is known as a psychopomp or one who leads and guides the dead or the soul, into the world of the spirit or gods, when its physical term is completed.
Anubis leading a soul
Reading mythology is a good introduction to the gods/goddesses but you have to look beyond the surface recording to see and feel what drives that myth. Try Robert Graves, ‘Greek Myths’.
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