About the Author
Andrea Taylor (Dorset, England) has been an astrological counselor for over forty years. Originally self-taught, she studied through the Huber School in the mid-1980s. She started teaching birth chart interpretation soon after and works with clients from all over the world.
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Secrets of Mercury: Communication, Connection, and Retrograde Copyright © 2026 by Andrea Taylor. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, including internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd., except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems.
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Other Books by Andrea Taylor
The Astrology Book
Birth Chart Interpretation Plain & Simple
What’s Your Big Three?
Secrets of Your Rising Sign
Secrets of Saturn
For my beloved grandson Danny, a rockstar with a tender and caring heart, full of life and love, whose star will brightly shine.
Introduction — 1
Contents
ONE: Mercury in the Elements — 9
TWO: Mercury Through the Signs and Houses — 15
THREE: Mercury Compatibility — 211
FOUR: Mercury Retrograde — 265
FIVE: Mercury Aspects and Transits — 279
SIX: Decision-Making Through the Astrological Signs — 293
Conclusion — 301
Introduction
Mercury is a highly underrated planet. Why? Because in astrology, this is the planet that rules how we think and communicate. It is our thoughts that become our ideas and plans, which then become our actions. Everything we think we then become.
French philosopher René Descartes famously said, “I think, therefore I am.” This was in 1637—little did he realise he was actually describing Mercury’s role!
Most people assume the Sun and Moon are the most important planets in a chart, and though they are incredibly important in how we express our physical and emotional energy, before we even activate those energies, we utilise Mercury. Even before we can speak, we can think, and thinking is Mercury’s domain. If a small child wants a
toy, for example, they will make efforts to get it. They might first activate their Mercury as the thought of wanting the toy followed by their Mars, the planet of action, to go get it. The child could cry instead, activating their Mercury then their Moon, the planet of emotions, to draw attention to the fact they want it so someone else can get it for them. Everything we do in life starts with a thought. We make a decision. That kick-starts another planet. If we want to express who we are, we use the Sun; if it’s an emotional choice, we use our Moon; if it’s an action we use Mars; if it involves love and altruism, we activate Venus, and so forth. Mercury is so important because it is the beginning of everything we do.
We can use our Mercury to conjure up any world we want to inhabit; we can invent, design, and manufacture unbelievable new things. The human race has gone from the Stone Age to the Digital Age, and each step through those ages is the result of someone, somewhere, having an idea beyond what was already known and putting that idea into action through trial and error, showing just how powerful our Mercury position is.
It is not only our thoughts that have the ability to motivate us to change our world and the world at large, but our words. They have the power to build or to destroy. This applies not only to our friendships, relationships, work-
places, and homes but to the world stage, where our use of language can be aggressive or placatory; words can both start and end wars.
Words cannot be retracted. Even if unkind words are forgiven, rarely are they forgotten. It’s a sure thing that we can all still recall something hurtful said to us. Equally, when someone says something particularly complimentary or kind, we remember that, too, which only confirms that we think many times about what people say to us.
Silence also has its place in our world. Choosing when not to speak is as important as choosing what to say and how to say it, but silence can be a positive or a negative— when used as a weapon it can be incredibly cruel, especially when a few well-chosen words could alleviate someone’s mental or emotional suffering. Most of us have heard of the new term for this: ghosting, which involves leaving a relationship (of any sort) with no explanation or further communication. To avoid creating negative cycles in our lives, it is important to consider how to phrase difficult things in a kind way so as to leave others free of mental chains.
I’ve been an astrologer for forty-five years now, and it is very clear from my experience that where Mercury is placed in our charts by sign and house describes very clearly how we think and express those thoughts. The
placement shows if the person will be an effective communicator or not, whether they’ll be verbally aggressive or placatory.
Some positions of Mercury are designed to be aggressive but for a good reason. We all have a spiritual role in life, and a forceful Mercury is given to us so we can create better conditions in the world in whatever sphere of life we choose to use it. Problems only arise when our Mercury energy is improperly directed. Many people don’t speak up when required because their Mercury sign is more placatory—and that’s because they are not meant to. They may feel and see a bigger picture and therefore accept everyone’s right to their opinions. There are the action-takers, the people designed to make changes and move the world forward to create better conditions for us all alongside those who quietly support, encourage, and supply compassion when required.
We cannot change who we fundamentally are (nor should we), but it is important to be aware that the way in which we think and speak can positively or negatively affect others. Using our Mercury energy wisely and sensibly—and with conscious awareness—can make a huge difference to our own lives and to those we mix with every day. Our relationships with everyone depend on our speech. The kinder, more receptive, and patient we are with others, the kinder they are to us. If we block them
off, treat them indifferently, or dismiss their ideas, they will do likewise. The old adage that we get back what we give is true.
This book will analyse Mercury through the twelve zodiac signs and the twelve houses (areas of life). We’ll assess the strengths and weaknesses of every sign, starting by looking at the most suitable jobs and careers. Most of us spend more time working than doing anything else, so choosing a job suitable for the way we think and speak is paramount to our happiness and contentment. It isn’t easy to be happy when we can’t express ourselves the way we’d like in our everyday life, which is why what we do for a living should complement our Mercury position.
After careers we’ll take a look at relationships. Although compatibility has many factors to it, the way we communicate in our relationships is crucially important. Along with choosing someone who suits our other chart positions (someone compatible with our Sun, Moon, Venus, Mars, and who reflects our seventh house sign), having compatible Mercury signs determines if we’ll enjoy positive communications with our loved one.
Chapter 1 looks at the elements and motivations. This explanation gives a quick overview of the manner in which your Mercury works, whether you’re a forceful, logical, or emotional thinker; and whether you’re mentally proactive, stubborn, or flexible. In chapter 2, you will find your
own Mercury sign’s traits assessed in detail via work and relationships. From there I’ll look at compatibility between the Mercury signs, followed by a chapter on Mercury retrograde. Retrograde can be a confusing topic, especially if you’re new to astrology, so I’ve fully explained what it is and how it works along with information on how Mercury retrogrades affect the signs and houses they inhabit during a retrograde phase. Then we’ll dive into Mercury’s aspects and transits. At the end is an amusing but accurate guide to the different way Mercury signs make a decision. Checking this will make you smile, but I also hope it’ll make you think about how different we all are and how understanding other people’s thought processes can ensure we are tolerant of the different ways we all communicate.
Once you’ve read all about your own Mercury, you can then have a bit of fun with it by finding out what your closest friends, family, and partner’s Mercury positions are and how compatible (or not) your ways of thinking and communicating might be.
If you haven’t already got your birth chart, there are many online sites that will generate one for free; you just need your time, date, and place of birth. The time is really important as the chart is like a clock, and the time sets it in the right position.
Having seen your own chart, you may be tempted to learn how to fully interpret it. Why not take a look at my book Birth Chart Interpretation, Plain and Simple.
Written with the complete novice in mind, it guides you through all aspects of basic chart interpretation and is a good place to start to get the overall feel and message of your chart. Although it isn’t strictly necessary to understand your entire chart to access the information in this book, you’ll certainly get a clearer picture of Mercury’s role in relation to your other planets.
Even if you haven’t yet fully interpreted your chart, do have a look at the other two books in this series of Spiritual Astrology: Secrets of Your Rising Sign, followed by Secrets of Saturn. Both explain what your birth chart has to say to you about your past life and your true purpose in this life.
Facts About the Planet Mercury
Mercury was seen in the skies long before telescopes were invented. Its movements were documented as far back as around 3000 BCE by the Sumerians, but it was so close to the sun it was harder to see than the bigger planets and therefore more difficult to track. It wasn’t until 1609 when Thomas Harriot and Galileo Galilei finally observed Mercury through the newly invented telescope, though it wouldn’t be until 1631 when Pierre Gassendi observed how fast Mercury travelled. He discovered that thirteen times each century Mercury passed across the sun, and always in May and November. However, it took many individual astronomers (and NASA confirmation) to work
out that it travels through space at twenty-nine miles per second and takes eighty-eight days to go around the sun. In fact, it is the fastest-moving planet in our solar system.
Upon the new planet’s discovery, it was named Mercury after the Roman god Mercurius. He was the god who took messages between the other gods of Mount Olympus and also acted as a go-between from the gods to earthly mortals. The Greeks gave a different name to their messenger god—Hermes. Mercurius/Hermes was referred to as the winged messenger, and because this new planet appeared to move faster than any of the other planets, Mercury seemed an appropriate name for it. As a mythical god, Mercurius/Hermes was considered the cleverest of the gods and ruled over wealth, good fortune, and fertility. He was also in charge of translators and interpreters, commerce, and even thievery; he is known as the trickster because he uses words and sleight of hand to fool people. Mercury has no gender associated with it astrologically whereas the other planets are traditionally considered to have either masculine or feminine energy, but this wasn’t always the case. Originally the messenger god was considered male, more specifically a young male. But in astrological terms, Mercury rules communication and intellect, forces those long-ago astrologers considered androgynous.
