Okay, so you’re curious about astrology.  You’ve looked up the sun sign of your boy- or girl-friend to see how well you match.  You’ve learned that your Aunt Edna is an eccentric Aquarius, and – by gosh – her opinions (not to mention her wardrobe) are a little bit Out There.

But did you know that astrology can help YOU succeed in life?  That’s right.  Taking the time to learn more about your astrological chart can help you make smart decisions as you move through your teen years.  If you want answers for day-to-day matters – such as whether one of your friends would make a good lab partner, or what types of classes you’ll like best – you’ll want to look at the placement of the planet Mercury in your chart.  In astrology, Mercury represents the way you think and absorb information.  It symbolizes your unique type of intelligence, and your best approach to learning.  Knowing which sign contains Mercury in your chart can help you understand what makes your mind grow weary in class or become hungry to learn more.  So in between episodes of Dawson’s Creek or Buffy the Vampire Slayer, curl up with a cappuccino and read on!

First, let’s consider the word “intelligence.”  Despite what at least one of your teachers may have told you, intelligence is not just people in pointy hats rattling off dates of famous battles.  Intelligence is also not limited to doing well on tests, though that’s part of it.  Intelligence can include performing a stunning violin solo, making clever physical moves in sports, keeping a well-organized locker, choosing to handle your anger in an effective way, or bringing up a difficult subject for discussion with a friend (more on these last two items in Part 2 on Venus).

The ancient poet Rumi (you Pisces people are allowed to swoon at the mention of poetry!) believed that there are two basic types of intelligence.  The first type is knowledge about the outer world – subjects such as astronomy, art, mathematics, literature, history, and technology.  From the day our parents stuck a book in our hands as toddlers, we’ve been quite familiar with this type of intelligence.  It involves words, numbers, notebooks, SAT tests and the other measurements of our outer world learning.  The second and less common kind of intelligence is what we might call wisdom.  It includes information from our inner world that can help us make good emotional decisions.  This type of intelligence is less common, and badly needed in our world today.  We will focus on this second type of intelligence next month.  For now, let’s look at Mercury, symbol of our approach to outer world learning and intelligence. 

See Table 1 to find the possible signs of your Mercury based on your birthdate and Sun sign.  Mercury is always in one of three signs:  the same sign as your Sun sign, the sign before it, or the sign after it in the zodiac.  Look up your Sun sign in the first column of Table 1 (based on your date of birth).  Read to the right to find the three possible signs that may contain your Mercury.  You’ll need to read the descriptions for all three signs, and consider which one is most likely to fit you.  If you want to know EXACTLY which sign contains your Mercury (you didn’t think we were going to do ALL the work for you, did you?), you will need to get a copy of your astrological chart, look at an ephemeris (book that lists where the planets were on certain dates), or consult with an astrologer to find out for sure.
 

Now, read the interpretations for the three Mercury signs that could be yours. > >