Mercury (Budha)
The Mind That Connects: budha in signs, houses and conjunctions
About the book. "Mercury (Budha)" — The Mind That Connects: budha in signs, houses and conjunctions. A book for astrologers on Vedic astrology (Jyotish). Author — Andrey Drobotin, teacher at Atma School. Read online and download the PDF — by donation from $5.
A book for astrologers
Introduction
Once a course participant came to me. She said: "I studied at another school. Separately I know everything: signs, houses, planets. But I can't connect them." Why does this happen? First, there is no practice: when knowledge is studied in pieces, people aren't taught to connect it. And second, Mercury may be weak.
Mercury is the messenger. Everything we connect into one whole, we connect with the help of Mercury. A house with a sign, a planet with a house, a planet with a nakshatra, a planet with the period of another planet. A car drives along the road — the wheels touch the asphalt. I sit on a chair — the chair connects me to the floor. That is Mercury too. You can see it everywhere.
That is why this book is a little special. Studying Mercury, we already begin connecting the planets with each other: Mercury with the Moon, with Jupiter, with Venus. This is a case where we can run a little ahead.
What this is for in practice
Every astrology lesson strengthens Mercury. When you learn to see the difference between planets, between houses, between the lord of the first in the twelfth and the lord of the first in the eighth, you give your Mercury work. When you go into practice and spend five minutes talking through a chart, with or without mistakes, that is Mercury too.
From this book you will learn:
- what Mercury is and why it is "the messenger";
- why the link between the Moon, Mercury and Jupiter matters so much;
- how to assess Mercury's strength with a twelve-point plan, plus two additional points;
- how Mercury shows up in the three gunas;
- how it thinks, speaks and learns in each sign;
- what Mercury gives in the houses;
- how to read its conjunctions;
- and most importantly — how to harmonize and develop it.
Intellect can be developed. Even if Mercury is weak in the chart, it is not a sentence. It is a muscle, and it can be trained.
Chapter 6. Mercury in the Twelve Houses
The main rule
Wherever Mercury stands, that is what the person thinks, talks and learns about. The formula is the same as with signs: Mercury's principle plus the themes of the house. Mercury in the fourth — conversations about home and study for the soul. In the tenth — speech at work and an intellectual profession.
And the main principle of harmonization: keep Mercury busy where it stands. If you don't know how to harmonize a planet, just give it work according to its house. This is the very first level of harmonization that astrologers teach. And if you occupy a planet out of keeping with its place, you can unsettle its element and worsen the problem.
One more rule: we don't draw conclusions from a single indicator. To say something in a person's chart is afflicted, you need several blows to the same house or sign.
Halves of the chart
We've already discussed dig bala: maximum in the first house, minimum in the seventh. But look wider.
The upper half of the chart is self-development. The closer Mercury is to the first house, the more the person tends to study themselves and move toward spirituality. Even Mercury in the eleventh, the house of society, is still close to the first.
The lower half, closer to the seventh, is helping others, work in the material world. Mercury in the sixth can make a person a good lawyer. In the eighth — a financial adviser working with other people's money. The intellect wants to develop in the material world, so spiritual self-education requires extra effort.
House by house
First house. The strongest placement in dig bala. If there are no aspects from unfriendly planets on Mercury, this is a good intellect, flexibility, the ability to adapt. The person looks younger than their age, argues well, loves learning. The best place for studying oneself as a soul.
Second house. Speech, family, savings. Mercury gives good speech and the ability to talk about money and values. This is still close to the first house. By the principle of "karako bhava nashaya", relations with blood relatives sometimes suffer. It may or may not happen — look at other indicators.
Third house. The house of effort, initiative, short trips, younger siblings. Mercury is natural here: writing, correspondence, skills, the ability to see things through by means of words.
Fourth house. There is a lot of Mercury here, and for education this can be good. But by the principle of "karako bhava nashaya" the living significations of the house may suffer. For example, the relationship with the mother — the person argues a lot, brings arguments. Intellectual disputes may also be with superiors. In my experience and that of many astrologers, this rule doesn't always work. With the Moon in the fourth it is felt much more strongly.
Fifth house. A trikona. Study, creativity, intellectual games, children. Mercury does well in the trikonas.
Sixth house. The house of difficulties, illness, enemies, disputes. The intellect is aimed at solving problems. Good lawyers, analysts. But this is already the lower half of the chart: development goes more in the material world.
Seventh house. Weakest in dig bala. This is the house of family and partnership, and sexless Mercury isn't interested in family life. People with Mercury in the seventh often try to calculate everything: "My husband is like this, so it'll go like that." But in love and relationships there is no calculation; it's a completely different energy. So relationships require effort.
If you have Mercury in the seventh — don't be alarmed. Look at the aspects: perhaps good planets aspect it, and everything is softer.
Eighth house. Secret knowledge, crises, other people's money. Financial advisers, researchers, astrologers. I have Mercury in the eighth, in Gemini. It is in its own sign, seemingly strong, but the eighth house shook it, and my childhood was not easy. Hatha yoga helped me a lot; we'll discuss it in the chapter on harmonization. And it was precisely through secret knowledge, through astrology, that my Mercury unfolded.
Ninth house. A trikona, the house of dharma and the teacher. Thinking reaches toward philosophy, scripture, higher knowledge. Good for teaching.
Tenth house. A kendra, work. An intellectual profession, speech as a career tool: teaching, business, negotiations, writing.
Eleventh house. Income, circle of friends, society. Many contacts, income through communication and knowledge. And it is still close to the first house: the tendency to study oneself remains.
Twelfth house. Not a very good placement. This is the house of loss, and the intellect is weakened here. Especially in childhood such a person needs help, needs pulling up. Strengthen earth, do yoga, calm down. But the twelfth is also the house of solitude, meditation, renunciation. If Mercury is directed there, it finds its work.
You have read the introduction and one chapter of the book (about 13% of the text). The full text and PDF are available after purchase.
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