Timelines of Mercury

by Brian Clark

Mercury has a penchant for threes: it has three synodic cycles a year and it goes retrograde three times a year, each approximately for three weeks. The “sacred geometry” of the planet’s cycle and its unique timetable for making decisions and undertaking other actions are examined.

A time to remember; a time to forget
A time to speak; a time to dream

Hendrik Goltzius: Mercury, with his symbols
Source: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Multifarious, mischievous, magical: descriptions that spring to mind when we mention Mercury. The ancients knew his predecessor Hermes as shifty, cunning in mind, a rustler of cattle and a leader of dreams.(1) As master of the margins, Mercury is a boundary-crosser, always in motion, especially moving about at night ‒ the time of sleep and dreams, of love and larceny. Whatever camouflage, Mercury is there at bends in the road, as we awaken from a dream, when we forget our way, in our conversations and as we turn out the lights. At daybreak or at nightfall, he lingers in the shadows, disappearing in the light or descending into darkness. He awakens, guiding the spirits up from the night realm to watch them fade away through the daylight of the 12th house. As the shepherd of dreams, He crosses the western portal to guide us down to the phantasmal night world of sleep.

God of the road, of numbers and words, he is also the god of the classroom. With one wave of his hypnotic wand he can induce sleepiness in the brightest of students. Between alertness and drowsiness, we are in mercurial space, moving between wakefulness and sleep. Mercurial space is often invisible and/or nonsensical ‒ a borderland. And in between intellect and imagination, day and night, logic and symbol, we come upon creative ways of knowing.

Mercury’s cycle illustrates the sacredness of geometry. Annually there are 3.14 synodic cycles; therefore, the mathematical constant of Pi is outlined on the heavens as Mercury orbits the Sun. This numerical paradigm states that the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter is always approximately 3.14, reminding us of the mercurial connection between infinity (circle) and linearity (diameter). Mercury is the god of the hieroglyph ‒ ‘the sacred carving’. His heavenly hieroglyph is Pi or 3.14....(2) Mathematical Mercury is irrational in the truest sense, in that it is unlimited in possibilities, reminding us of the infinite possibilities of thoughts, ideas and movement. Mercury is at the helm of the horizon: no wonder the ancients said he en-joys the 1st house, always ready to transition from a night to a day personality.

Mercury is betwixt and between inhabiting liminal and subliminal spaces. A dual, disappearing and dexterous god who endlessly links the narratives of our lives together. He is multifocaled, seeing through lenses of intellect, intuition, interpretation and imagination. Tom Moore so succinctly describes mercurial intelligence as the power “to keep the soul in motion” and “the carousel of interpretation moving”(3).

When we are on thresholds, in transitions, between times, crossing borders or at crossroads, Mercury might appear out of the shadows to lead us into or out of the situation. Mercury is not just interested in ideas, but also in what underpins them, their source, derivation and motivation. He moves between both solar consciousness and lunar intelligence. This is well demonstrated in his earlier relationship with goddesses such as Hecate, Hestia and Mnemosyne with whom he was often paired. Mercury’s appearance in our life leads us into and out of our soul’s essential experiences. He is the guide to the guru, the unexpected detour, the thought that reconnects us to our dream the night before; he is leader and follower eyeing the landscape in front of and behind us.

Heavenly Mercury

Planet Mercury
Source: NASA, Public domain

In the heavens his archetypal nature is coherent. Catching a glimpse of Mercury is not easy. The planet is only visible near the horizon in the transitional twilight before sunrise or after sunset, the betwixt and between zone where Mercury is at home. Mercury is observable for a few days when at its greatest separation from the Sun.(4) Like mythic Mercury, the planet is elusive, difficult to corner. Being a master traveller, the zodiacal route that he tours in the heavens maps out mercurial time with regularity and order.

Being close to the Sun, the skies are never completely darkened when Mercury is discernible. Perched between day and night, the silhouetted Mercury is fleetingly glimpsed at certain times after the Sun sets or before it rises. In his morning apparition, Mercury leads souls up from the underworld, guiding them down again at dusk. Ancients knew his two faces as Psychagogos, the one who called up the spirits of the dead, and Psychopompos, the spectre leading the souls into the night world. Characteristically, Mercury lingers on the threshold of sleeping and waking when we are in a distinctive state of consciousness, a state often identified as hypnagogic(5). On the borderland, not yet asleep, yet no longer awake, sensory phenomena such as voices and visions, fantasies and phantasms, are often experienced. Mercury’s brood inhabit the interval between wakefulness and sleep.

Mercury is identified as an ‘inferior’ planet because its orbit is contained by the Earth’s. As we look towards the Sun, the orbit of Mercury is enclosed by Earth’s; therefore, inferior. This is an astronomical term, not a judgement, as Mercury is far from inferior. Because of this arrangement, we only see Mercury in a close relationship with the Sun. At its maximum elongation from the Sun, Mercury is never more than 28° away, always ranging between 17 and 28 degrees of zodiacal separation at these times. From our vantage point Mercury and the Sun are a dynamic duo. This astronomical dyad of the Sun and Mercury is consistent in the mythic tales of the brothers, Apollo and Hermes, inspirationally articulated in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes over two-and-a-half millennia ago. Marsilio Ficino described Mercury as being “filled with Apollo”.(6)

Being egg-shaped, Mercury’s orbit is eccentric, characteristic of this god. Its orbital speed varies considerably, ranging from a standstill near its stations to over 2.25° per day at its superior conjunction. Like the Moon, Mercury’s synodic cycle goes through phases, a heavenly and helpful time frame when imagining and developing certain projects.(7)

The Sun-Mercury cycle averages 116 days. However, each individual cycle may last from 105 to 130 days. We might think of these like academic terms of a year or modules of a course. In its cycle Mercury is conjunct the Sun twice: once when it is closest to Earth and retrograde (the ‘inferior’ conjunction) and again when direct on the other side of the Sun (the ‘superior’ conjunction). Each cycle begins at the inferior conjunction when Mercury is retrograde.(8)

These two conjunctions are turning points in the Mercury/Sun cycle. At the inferior conjunction, Mercury leaves its post as the evening star to now rise first, leading the Sun into a new cycle. At the superior conjunction, Mercury is on the other side of the Sun, changing position to follow the Sun, becoming considered. At each conjunction, Mercury is obscured by the brilliance of the Sun and swaps between the solar and lunar teams. Through the technique of planetary sect our astrological ancestors respected Mercury’s temperament by aligning him with the day sect, when he rose before the Sun, and the night camp, when he set after the Sun.

This cycle accounts for Mercury’s disappearance and reappearance in our skies, as well as its backtracking through the zodiac three times a year. Shapeshifting between the twilight gods of dawn and dusk is consistent with the mercurial disposition: adaptability in changeover times, proficiency in moving between hemispheres, acclimatising to new arrangements, guiding in transitional zones and linking different states of consciousness. Like his great grandson Ulysses, Mercury is polytropos, a god of many turns; and polymetis, a god with much cunning and intelligence.

At the inferior conjunction, the beginning of the cycle, a renewed facet of mercurial development is set in motion. This ‘new Mercury’ begins a forward striving phase while it is still retrograde and closest to Earth. At the halfway point in the cycle, Mercury is direct, fast-moving and farthest from Earth, now at its most objective and informed point of this cycle. It enters its occidental phase, a more pensive and introspective period.

During the cycle, Mercury reappears and disappears in the morning sky and in the evening. About a week before each conjunction Mercury withdraws, being obscured by Apollo’s bright countenance. But in this time Mercury prepares to change focus, visibly rising about a fortnight later having changed allegiances between the day and the night sect. In the ancient world, a planet appearing after being absent from the heavens was a time of reverence, a time of annunciation. Three times a year, Mercury emerges out of the Sun beams in the morning and evening sky to announce the subtle shift in mercurial time.

The inferior conjunction is the midpoint of Mercury’s retrograde period. In the cyclical context of the synodic cycle, Mercury is retrograde just before and after its inferior conjunction, the ending of one cycle and the beginning of another. Mercury turns retrograde 10 or 11 days before its inferior conjunction, ingesting the information, impressions, ideas, impact and senses from the past three to four months of its cycle. After the inferior conjunction, Mercury retrograde enables the essence of what has been digested to seed the new cycle. For these next 10 to 11 days, the retrograde period is reformatting and reframing what has been distilled, nourishing the newborn cycle. I often think that this part of the cycle is slow motion, allowing us to retrace our steps to become mindful and more conscious of how we move through time. Seen from this perspective, Mercury retrograde is an essential part of its cycle, ending one cycle with the Sun and beginning another. While Mercury retrograde ‘events’ may seemingly appear indiscriminate, they invite us to be considered and reflective.

Therefore, the three-week cycle of Mercury retrograde can be seen in two parts: the ending of one cycle and the renewal of the subsequent cycle. Mercury retrograde times are periods of review, clearing the backlog of work, filing completed reports, deleting old programs, attending to the messages you have been avoiding. Now is the time to get caught up with the paper trail that has piled up, finish the assignment you have been postponing, complete the tasks you have been delaying, so that the new cycle can begin with a purer essence of the past cycle.

Backtracking

Mercury’s retrograde patterning is a wonder. But too often this phase of its cycle is sensationalised and exaggerated, a mercurial quality anyway!

Mercury retrograde periods can be times of reflection, contemplation and rethinking so that ideas can be conceived, and new patterns of thinking can emerge. The hassles that occur during Mercury retrograde could be embraced as a contemplative call to deliberating on the distractions that we mindlessly engage in. What appears as a seemingly random act might result in mindfulness and consciousness if one listens, reflects and recognises that the trickster at work might be unconscious desire. The ancient Greeks recognised these moments in life when a critical discovery or event happened: they called this anagnorisis or recognition, the change from ignorance to knowledge, mostly apparent when there was a reversal of fortune. Our misfortunes are never welcomed, but in mercurial parlance this moment of reversal potentially brings new understanding.

One of the features of the Mercury retrograde cycle is that each year it will turn retrograde at approximately the same zodiacal degree as it turned direct eleven months previously.

As Mercury weaves its way through the zodiac, it picks up the threads from the previous year which may have been overlooked, connecting the phases, and weaving them again into the mercurial tapestry. In the table, note how every third time Mercury goes retrograde: it links back to where it went stationary direct approximately 11 months previously ‒ for instance, on 14 October 2020 Mercury will station retrograde at 11 Scorpio 40, picking up the direct thread of 20 November 2019 at 11 Scorpio 35, continuously reconnecting the phases together.

Mercury is retrograde from 20 to 24 days, three times a year, about 1/6th of its time; therefore, about 18% of all horoscopes will have retrograde Mercury. Mercury has a penchant for threes: it has three synodic cycles a year; it goes retrograde three times a year for approximately three weeks. If we plotted these retrograde stations on a zodiacal wheel, a triangle would form. For instance, the retrograde stations of Mercury for 2020 occur at 12 Pisces 53, 14 Cancer 45 and 11 Scorpio 40, forming a grand trine in water.

Mapping the inferior and superior conjunctions separately, two triangles would form the Star of David. While Venus etches a pentagram in the sky, Mercury designs triangles and six-pointed stars.

Going through phases

Each planetary cycle has its own timing. We are often persuaded to see planetary time chronologically, rather than cyclic, rendering us metric rather than symbolic. When considering times for writing an article, completing a major assignment, launching a campaign or applying for a course of study, the mercurial cycle becomes an effective clock to consult. In contemporary life, with so many decisions to be made, the mercurial cycle offers us a unique timetable.

Mercury has apparent crossroads in its synodic cycle: it begins at the inferior conjunction, turns direct, reaches its greatest elongation as the morning star, disappears, then conjoins the Sun again on the other side, reappears, reaches its greatest elongation as the evening star, turns retrograde and then renews its cycle at the next inferior conjunction. Each phase could be seen as stages of the development of one idea or the mind in general.

As we move through the mercurial cycle, each phase is an integral aspect of the sequence symbolising the way we process information and return to and renew ideas. It is also reflective of the way the mind cultivates its concepts and matures its ideas, like phases of thinking something through ‒ this is how Mercury outlines it plots. We might also use eight phases for Mercury’s cycle(9), but for our purpose, let’s think of it in terms of six stages, a number resonant with Mercury. The length of each phase varies in each cycle, but the average days are listed below, forming the synodic period average of 116 days.

1. Inferior Conjunction to Stationary Direct: this phase includes the morning rise and lasts between nine and 14 days but on average is approximately 11 days.
2. Stationary Direct to Greatest Elongation as Morning Star: this phase includes Mercury’s increasing brightness and greatest brilliance in the morning sky, lasting approximately one to two weeks, but on average is approximately 10 days.
3. Greatest Elongation to Superior Conjunction: this is the longest phase which includes Mercury’s morning set and disappearance into the brilliance of the Sun. This phase varies but lasts approximately 37 days (five weeks).
4. Superior Conjunction to Greatest Elongation as Evening Star: again, another long phase including the evening rise as Mercury emerges out from under the Sun beams and increases in brightness. This phase varies but lasts approximately 37 days (5 weeks).
5. Greatest Elongation to Stationary Retrograde: at its brightest in the evening sky, Mercury slows to station retrograde. This phase lasts between one and two weeks, but on average is approximately 10 days.
6. Stationary Retrograde to Inferior Conjunction: this phase includes the evening set and lasts between nine and 14 days, but on average is approximately 11 days.

The following table contrasts the speed and light during these phases. The changes in speed and light very much differ from lunar phases due to the Moon orbit of the Earth while Mercury orbits the Sun.

	from Inferior Conjunction to Stationary Direct	from Stationary Direct to Greatest Elongation	from Greatest Elongation to Superior Conjunction	from Supierior Conjunction to Greatest Elongation	from Greatest Elongation to Stationary Retrograde	from Stationary Retrograde to Inferior Conjunction
Speed		Slower	Faster	Faster	Slower
Light	Increasing	Increasing	Decreasing	Increasing	Decreasing	Decreasing
Rudhyar phase	Promethean Retrograde	Promethean Direct		Epimethean Direct		Epimethean Retrograde
% of cycle	9.5%	40.5%		40.5%		9.5%

We can imagine each of these phases as having tasks in the context of the cycle moving through time.

Now we can apply these phases to some actual timeframes. Following are some dates for 2020–21 organised by phase to help plan and to involve yourself with any upcoming projects, courses, study, assignments, communications or rehearsals. We might not be able to change the times, but we can participate in them more consciously ‒ these mercurial timelines are one way to consider how.

We can of course personalise the cycle through considering our natal Mercury ‒ its phase, sign, house and aspects ‒ and reflect on how we best adapt to mercurial transitions. Transiting Mercury’s zodiacal sign and aspects at any moment flavour the phase it is passing through. Being aware of this rhythm helps me to remember a broader perspective ‒ that Mercury is going through a phase and this moment is part of a larger process, a fuller cycle.

I keep a Mercury journal. It is distinct from my dream journal, but similar in a way. I use the phases as chapters, having pages for each of Mercury’s phases, and here I write my ideas, my daytime dreams, projects and preparations, my thoughts, images that have stayed with me, conversations that have engaged me and connections that I felt were special. Mostly it is what comes to mind, what is on my mind, sometimes it is nevermind. I note where Mercury is at the time I am writing.

Mercury loves journals and so do I – handcrafted, sensual to touch, beautiful to look at and evocative of the classical past. And between the pages there is homage to the god of words and imagination.

Endnotes:
1. ‘The Homeric Hymn to Hermes’ from the Homeric Hymns, translated by Michael Crudden, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK: 2001.
2. See Brian Clark. ‘Mercury Pi in the Sky’, The Mountain Astrologer, December 2018/January 2019 edition.
3.Thomas Moore, The Planets Within, Lindifarne Press, Great Barrington, MA: 1990, p.153.
4. Mercury is observable for only a few days in its cycle when it reaches greatest elongation from the Sun. This occurs alternately in the morning and evening skies. When it sets a short time after the Sun, it is visible in early evening twilight. When it rises before the Sun, it is visible shortly before sunrise. Some of these, six times of the year, are more favourable for viewing Mercury than others and of these there is a possibility of three times in the northern and three times in the southern hemisphere. I like the In-The-Sky.org website which provides so much information about the planets. For Mercury’s visible appearances, see: https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20200210_11_101&town=2160517/.
5. For a thorough and engaging scientific study of this in between zone, see Andreas Mavromatis, Hypnagogia, The Unique State of Consciousness between Wakefulness and Sleep, Thyrsos Press, London: 2010.
6. Ficino, Opera, 542 as referenced in Thomas Moore, The Planets Within, p.148.
7. ‘Phase’ comes from the Greek phasis and phainein, suggesting ‘bringing to light’, an ‘appearance’ or ‘showing’. The word can be used in many ways: when referencing time, it suggests distinctive periods in an ongoing process of change.
8. This cycle is known as the synodic cycle. Synod originates in the Greek, which means a meeting or assembly and can be applied to a conjunction of planets, synodic. Syn means together and hodos refers to going or a way; therefore, the synod suggests a planetary dialogue which goes a certain direction or way. There are different schools of thought about whether the beginning of the synodic cycle of Mercury and Venus begins with at the ‘inferior’ or ‘superior’ conjunction.
9. In my article ‘Mercury Pi in the Sky’, The Mountain Astrologer, https://www.astrosynthesis.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Mercury-Pi-in-the-Sky.pdf, I experiment with the 8-fold approach, p.47.

Published by: The Astrological Journal, Sep/Oct 2020

Author:
Brian Clark has been an astrological counsellor for most of his adult life. He has facilitated seminars and tours worldwide, written books and articles and with his partner Glennys Lawton developed and taught in their four-year astrological program Astro*Synthesis which is now a comprehensive distance learning program (www.astrosynthesis.com.au). The couple live in Northern Tasmania. Brian’s newest book is Soul, Symbol & Imagination: The Artistry of Astrology.

© Brian Clark, 2022

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