Last Updated on May 20, 2022 by astrologerbydefault
There is always some confusion about Mercury, he is said to be neutral in nature. But the word ‘mercurial’ comes from him so analysing him can sometimes get typical. In chart analysis we need to know if he is capable of auspicious results or not, this is the basic first step. As it is, the two signs he owns, Gemini and Virgo are the 3rd and 6th natural houses of the zodiac. The 3rd house can go both ways and the 6th house is the Maha-dusham-sthan, both are capable of causing severe turmoil in your life. So here are some basic guidelines which can help you in determining how Mercury is going to work in charts. He is not ‘neutral’. (This is from Parshari Jyotish.)
Natural tendencies
- Natural malefics are Sun Mars and Saturn. Also the astral planets Rahu and Ketu.
- Natural benefics are Moon, Venus and Jupiter. (The Moon can give his full auspicious benefit only if strong)
- Naturally neutral – Mercury
Functional behaviour
Mercury will be inclined to behave in a favourable or inauspicious manner as per the ascendant. This is his functional role and will vary with the ascendant sign.
- Malefic – Mercury is a functional malefic for an ascendant when he rules over any of the three Dusham-sthan, 6th 8th or 12th houses (post here). This will be directly applicable to the ascendant signs of Aries, Cancer and Scorpio. For Libra, Capricorn and Aquarius he owns a dusham-sthan and a kona, but even then his ownership of the dusham can potentially overshadow his ownership of the kona. So for these too I will put him as a malefic. Even if he is influenced by benefics, he will still have to give the fruits of the dusham-sthan concerned. But in this case, his potential to cause mischief may be reduced or the personality may be able to find some positive opportunities in the turbulent results of the dusham-sthan concerned.
- Functional benefic – We can consider Mercury to be a functional benefic for an ascendant if he owns either a Kendra (1st 4th 7th 10th) or a Kona (5th 9th) house and simultaneously does not own a Dusham-sthan. This condition will be applicable to the ascendant signs of Taurus, Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces. (Mercury cannot be a yogkarak graha for any ascendant post here).
- Neutral – He owns the 2nd and 11th houses for Leo ascendant. So you can consider him to be a neutral only for this ascendant.
In charts you will find Mercury conjunct other planets most commonly with the Sun or Venus. As per our texts its given that Mercury takes on the malefic or benefic nature of the planet conjunct him. But as this is Parashari Jyotish, this condition has to be seen as per their functional natures. And if he is with both, a functional malefic and a functional benefic for the chart, how do you deduce his nature? So let’s break this down.
Graha yuddha
As you know two or more non-luminous planets, Tara graha, together in a sign is a Graha yuddha, planetary war.
- If the winner of the planetary war is a functional malefic then Mercury will act like a malefic for the chart. This effect will be enhanced if Mercury is less than than 15deg from that other planet.
- eg For Cancer ascendant, Mercury is a functional malefic to begin with, so whatever happens to him, he is going to discharge the unpleasant functions of the 12th house lord. Suppose if he is in Leo 12deg and Jupiter, who is also a functional malefic, is at 16 deg Leo, this will increase his tendency to cause harm.
- eg For Taurus ascendant, Mercury is beneficial as the ruler of the 2nd and 5th houses. Suppose he is at 12deg Leo and Jupiter, the ruler of the 8th house is at 15deg Leo. Then Mercury will not be able to give his positive results and will behave more as a malefic for the chart.
- If the winner is a functional benefic then Mercury will act as a benefic but only if he is not a ruler of a dusham-sthan. If he is, then his malefic nature will be reduced to some extent. Again he should be ideally be less than 15deg apart for this influence to be seen.
- For Cancer ascendant, suppose he is at 12deg Leo and Mars, a functional benefic is at 18deg Leo then this Mars will control Mercury’s 12th house activities or at least give them some positive orientation.
- eg For Taurus ascendant, suppose Mercury is at 2deg Leo and Venus the ascendant lord is at 5deg Leo. In this case Venus will influence Mercury and enhance his benefic nature.
- If he is with both a functional malefic and a functional benefic.
- For Taurus ascendant, suppose he is at 2deg Leo, Saturn yogkarak is at 5deg Leo and Jupiter a functional malefic at 25deg Leo. Now Jupiter may have won the planetary war but he is more than 15deg from Mercury. Saturn is very close to Mercury, so in this case Mercury will accept Saturn’s influence and behave as a benefic.
- For Taurus ascendant, suppose he is at 12deg Leo, Saturn yogkarak is at 15deg Leo and Jupiter a functional malefic at 19deg Leo. Now Jupiter has won planetary war and will influence both Saturn and Mercury. Mercury will be underJupiter’s influence and behave as a malefic.
- If the winner of the war is Mercury himself or is he is more than 15deg apart from any other planet then, his basic functional malefic/ benefic nature will prevail as above.
Combust Mercury – Asta
Mercury being the closest to the Sun gets combust more often than the other planets. So in this case you will have to deduce his functional nature from the functional role of the Sun for that ascendant sign.
Moon and Mercury
Another typical case would be Moon conjunct Mercury. This is called Samaagam (post here). Mercury is always close to the Sun, 28deg is the max that they can be apart. And when Moon is within 90deg from Sun, he loses strength, ie his paksha bala is low and he can give inauspicious results for the chart. So Moon conjunct Mercury will mean that Moon will have low paksha bala, ie not very favourable for the person. Thus it is quite possible that Mercury will also behave in an unfavourable manner.
Rahu /Ketu and Mercury
Mercury conjunct Rahu or Ketu will cause some problems in the thought processes, behaviour etc. So unless Rahu/Ketu are yogkarak (post here) for the chart, you can consider Mercury going unfavourable in their presence.
Finally if you are still not sure about Mercury’s role in the chart you can ask the client about a few past incidents connected to Mercury. See if he has behaved in a auspicious or inauspicious manner in the past. Thus you can analyse his role in the present and future for the chart.
(Writing short posts as answers for questions asked can be of interest to everyone.)
27 responses to “Mercurial Mercury benefic neutral malefic”
Thank you mam.Happy sriramanavami
Thank you for all the interesting articles. I am a bit confused about the placement of my Mercury. I have Aries lagna, Mercury with Sun in 8th house. Mercury would be a functional malefic but in spite of that I don’t experience problems with intellect, communication, creativity, things that are ruled by Mercury. What do you think? I have Saturn and Moon in 5th, Mars and Jupiter in 9th an Venus with Ketu in 7th house.
Hi there
hopefully your chart is drawn correctly, if so then
ruler of 3rd 6th in 8th can give good results
4th lord in 5th is good
10th 11th lord in 5th is good
Jupiter in his own 9th in sagi is excellent with asc lord.
venus in his own 7th even with ketu is also gr8
rahu in asc but aspected by venus and jupiter is going to give very good results
you have a chart thats way above average so i doubt that there would have been very significant issues in your life.
Tejaswini. I have noticed that some Vedic astrologers consider the 1st house as both a Kona and Kendra (the 3rd leg of the Kona trine, and the 4th leg of the Kendra quadrant). Hence, they actually consider both Mercury and Jupiter yogakara planets (but only if they are also in their own sign). Can you kindly comment on this and give insight as to the conflicting interpretations of Jupiter and Mercury in this regard? Thanks!
Hi there
The 1st is a part of the dharma trikon 1-5-9 axis
and it is a kendra
but we do not call it a ‘kona’ house. there are only 2 houses called Kona, the 5th and 9th
i do not think a genuine vedic astrologer who has read the BPHS will ever consider mercury or jupiter to be yogkaraks for asc signs.
for the ascs ie their own signs, where these two would own the 1st house and a kendra house, they will actually cause the kendradhipati related problem in what you have mentioned “(but only if they are also in their own sign).” this would not a good position, and obviously not a yogkarak thing.
https://psychologicallyastrology.com/2019/05/20/kendra-adhi-pati-functional-malefics/
Thanks for your clarification on this!
Pranams Tejaswini-ji.
I am trying to understand better what is being said – “See if he has behaved in a auspicious or inauspicious manner in the past. Thus you can analyse his role in the present and future for the chart.”
E.g In my case Mercury (Retrograde and also Combust at 11 deg) seated in exalted Virgo and is ascendant lord.
My previous dasha experiences : Jupiter Mahadasha + Mercury bhukti really was bad and pulled me down in my studies ( My Sade sati was also on at that time).
But then Saturn Mahadasha Mercury Bhukti really gave me a big lift in my life.
So how do we interpret this conflicting results during the two Mercury bhuktis ?
This will also help me in analysing his forthcoming dasha.
Also just in case it matters, This Mercury in ascendant is also influenced by Jupiter (also Retrograde- from seventh house) , Saturn ( from 11 house ), Mars from 10 house).
-Best Regards & Thank you for your time.
Hi there
asc lord can never never be a malefic for the chart, but may be prevented from giving pleasing results.
read about the kendraadhipati issue,
https://psychologicallyastrology.com/2019/05/20/kendra-adhi-pati-functional-malefics/
both mercury and jupiter occupying their own signs, so their combined maha/antar dasha was problematic. plus as you said sade-sati.
3rd and 4th aspect of Saturn and Mars, plus combustion can cause discomfort to the mercury. this will mean tht mars and saturn also aspect ur sun. try and do some physical exercises so that this extra energy finds a channel somewhere. if you can do something simple fr 10mins daily in your home itself?
saturn the 5th lord placed in the 11th is good, you must do some mantra daily, try with gayatri 27times daily? will take 5mins of your time. even 6th lord in the 11th is going to be of great help, esp in your profession. if you have crossed 36yrs of age saturn will start giving favourable results. his mahadasha after 36yrs should be quite good. did your shani-budha antardasha come after 36yrs?
do some exercises to become more aware of your mercury if you feel like it
https://psychologicallyastrology.com/2019/04/13/use-your-mercury/
Pranams Tejaswini-ji.
My Sani Dasa started at 28 yrs. Now am 45+ (in Sani- Guru period till Sep2022 ). So Sani-budh period was around 31+ yrs. After Saturn maturity am able to handle things better.
I will try to strengthen my Mercury and be more consistent about it.
Right now consistently trying to listen to गणपत्यथर्वशीर्ष everyday (Got this also from your previous. blogs. Thanks to you.) I will improvise on this and add गायत्री महामंत्र also.
Thank you for very much for your valuable directions and inputs.
ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः
Dear madam ji
I read in some book that sri sankaracharya said that rendering of the name of Devi Bhavani three times a day is enough to grant anything in this life. can u please elaborate this special avathar of Devi if your time permits?sorry if the information has a different spiritual meaning altogther..
Hi there
i doubt if Adi Shankaracharya would have recommended reciting the name of Devi Bhavani.
All his writings are on the pure Advaita. He was/ is the Advaita himself.
Thats why i mention his Bhashya on the Mandukya upanishad several times, its my personal favourite. He does not worship deities. Or the Brahmajnyanavali mala or the Nirvan shatak etc clearly are his compositions where he unambiguously declares his reality as the highest eternal auspicious Advaita.
The Advaita is beyond the reach of Mahamaya ie beyond Devi Bhavani Lalita Tripursundari, Tri-dev, Tri-gun and all that we see as a part of manifested creation.
This manifested creation including Devi Bhavani is an illusion.
But as I have done Devi pujas also in this life time for a few years this is how it goes.
The Mahamaya or Prakruti or the Devi Lalita Tripurasundari, is the Ruler of all creation.
Her ‘body’ is composed of the tri-gun, who are Satva-Vishnu/Laxmi, Raja-Brahmadev/Sarasvati and Tama Shankar/Parvati. and onwards. a total of 108 types of deities/ conscious energies ‘surround’ her. we worship the Shri yantra, the 108 vertices are these 108 ‘deities’ who emanate from the central bindu/Mahamaya.
So if you are asking the name of the highest ‘Devi’, it is the Devi Mahamaya, aka Devi Lalita Tripurasundari aka Shri Rajrajeshwari. Her Lalitasahastranama has a list of her 1000 names, starting with Shrimata to Lalitambika.
I have in my several posts recommended pujas of the Shri yantra Shri sukta etc. Its the same thing
Thankyou madam ji for the reply..and yes about manifested creation i realy enjoyed the way u explained it in one of your blogs beautifully and systematically.
I never heard about devi Bhavani before so once I came across that information thought about asking you.Therewere so many ashtakams and slokas like soundarya Lahari attributed to Adi sankaracharya in kerala. Since I am only a novice in spiritual journey I depend on books only. So the mistake happened..
Hi there
The sanskrit word Bhavani means she who is Respected, she who flows, produces everything, the abode, feminine energy, Empress, the magnificent source, she who brings everything to existence, causing everything to be, the creator of the Universe, the universe, etc,
Devi Bhavani is a Ugra Devi, the Kuldevi of all Marathi people. I think about 12 Crore people at the present time consider Her to be their kul-devi. Its said that Shivaji Maharaj was directed by Her this form. Her temple is at Tuljapur in Maharashtra.
Even if you are not from Maharashtra its surprising that you should have not heard her this name till now.
There is a utterly beautiful Bhavani Ashtakam recited by the singer Gayathri which you can listen to.
Hi Tejaswini , currently bharat going through unprecedented covid wave , country is gasping for oxygen n healthcare. It’s hard to see this happen. What do you think caused it ? Basis mundane astrology except Rahu over lagna not much is happening then why is country in pain?
Hi there
Saturn in shravan, can severely worsen things on several fronts on global and national levels
i hope tht sufficient no. of people have done some puja on the new year day intending fr a happy new Shri Plava.
Saturn capricorn overall is a trigger fr collective karma.
Rahu with mars at the day of the new year ensures his influence over all of us fr the entire year.
Jupiter not in real power till jan 22 and apr 2022 etc
just a few of the combinations
I have written in tht post about cheats traitors activists the greed of pharma firms etc.
See no one will write very detailed negative readings in a general post. That many people reading it again and again amplifies it.
So reg Covid, everyone must take care till jupiter gets in a position to do something about it.
As always, enjoyed reading this article.Timing can not be more right, I was reading about mercury mahadasha effects on Cancer ascendent.As you sated these will not be very comfortable for Cancer ascendent as it is owner of 12th House. I read your article on Sandhi, my specific question is how is transition from Exalted Saturn (in Libra) MD for cancer ascendent to Mercurry MD, when Mercury and Saturn are conjunct in 4th House of Libra for Cancer ascendent. Will the theme same as started by Exalted Saturn or will person experience new found of relief.
It is very interesting to note that for Cancer ascendent who’s MD start with Jupiter followed by Saturn and then Mercury, they have experienced all effects 6,8 and 12th house. Does that mean the person is here for Karmic debt. Majority of their life is learning and stress.
It would be interesting to know your thoughts.
Hi there
If more planets in the 6th house or aspected/conjunct its lord then a karma oriented life.
If u r a cancer asc, take up some simple mantra jaap which u can do daily. Give urself these 5 mins. Gayatri or Shri sukta or any mantra of ur fav deity. But do it daily.
Currently saturn transit in capricorn and later aquaruis can b testing times.
Hi there
I have told u several times that i do not do readings anymore.
I have also told u to recite some mantra of ur choice eg shri sukta, gayatri etc regularly. It will get u what u desire.
U r not fortifying ur personal energy / intention and unnecessarily asking fr readings.
Show your chart to your regular astrologer fr your detailed predictions.
I will not b doing anything readings or anything fr others in this life time ever.
My time is done fr doing readings and these things. Its over fr me.
I only have to teach / write all i know.
If u cannot understand this simple thing it would b best if u stop reading my blog as the wisdom in it will b of no use to u.
I will not b responding to any further questions frm u.
Ma’am, thank you for this article! I am trying to reconcile the fact the Mercury is a functional malefic for my Scorpio ascendant, but also it is atmakaraka in Gemini in the 8th house. I think this has something to do with Sri Rudra? Has Mercury gone to the tattva level? What exactly does that mean? Does that mean Rahu takes over Mercury’s functions? As you can see, I am very confused on these concepts! I appreciate whatever insight you can offer here. Thank you!
Hi there
Parashari and Jaimini are based on two very different concepts
never mix the two
both give the same results obviously but the systems are different
if you want to learn jaimini, forget parashari, untill you are reasonably good in jaimini
there are a couple of good books by KN Rao on practically using Jaimini
i do not know what you mean by Shri Rudra or Mercury in tattva level so cannot comment
for scorpio, try to match the keywrds of
1. mercury with the 8th house
2. mercury with the 11th house
this will help you understand his role better
and if you want to learn jyotish go thru this post first.
https://psychologicallyastrology.com/2019/08/21/start-learning-astrology-systematically/
Dearest Tejaswiniji,
Thank you for this super post🙏🏻 I loved your previous posts also, many thanks♥️ Your post on Shri Plava naam samvatsara predictions was spot-on🎯 I can already see some of those predictions happening. It also triggered an inner knowing in me – I felt what you were trying to say…
If Mercury is in Virgo at 23:49 degrees and Sun is in Virgo at 14:56 degrees then Mercury will behave as a malefic (although he is a functional benefic)? Or will he behave as a benefic because he is strong?
Lots of love and gratitude
Hi there
thnx for the compliment ..
this mercury is combust, so whatever Sun is, he will be too
see malefic and benefic are actually saumya and kroor in sanskrit, several shades of meanings
eg
someone gets a lot of money trading in the stock market, he has cheated in a very clever way –
genius, confidence, creativity – Sun
Financial cheating, stocks – mercury
now is this benefic/malefic?
Got it! Thank you so much for the very prompt reply 🙏🏻♥️♥️♥️
Hare Ram, I read most of your articles (destinated in my tough times) and always felt wisdom flowing from your words, some times I used to sit hours and read them. I have suggestion (not sure whether you like it or not), please see possibility for you to write a book with these topics, it really helps many future generation people.
Hi there
thnx for the compliments 🙂
several people including my husband and my dad have asked me to write books
one of my cousins wanted me to make a vlog on the posts, another suggestion was to convert them to podcasts..
and my son wants me to write illustrated fiction stories (i can write and also draw very well)
but i do not have much free time..
last year, i was told to write a book on Runes, Odin specifically mentioned ‘book’, i tried to avoid it, was too busy, then i tried to take a short cut by writing posts on the runes, but then I was strongly told that its a ‘book’ am supposed to write…
i wrote about 25K words in Feb but then in March i got so busy in office, I still have about 15K words to write on this, i can do it in a week if i get the uninterrupted time… hopefully will finish this one at least soon.
writing it is half the work, then putting it in a ebook format and then publishing it, and am supposed to sell it for exactly 600 rs. (i do not like this part of it, will request some guidance again from Odin when i reach that point).. let’s see..
its actually so funny.. about being a Jyotishi doing other sort of things and finally the Advaita and all .. and the first book i will write will be on the Runes..
so regarding books, let see what happens in the future..
but the blog will always be there, there are 8 lakh words now, that means it is equivalent to about 20 regular sized books 🙂
Universe must be appreciating what you are doing. Many ppl on earth now does not know how nature captures their karma whtr good or bad, people who know some jyotish vidya are selling it rather just taking dakshan for survival, they are inviting bad karma. You having this jnan or wisdom is good but more than that you are not selling it. I am really happy to see person like you in this kali yuga where maya covered people. Having knowledge is not sufficient but putting it for the sake of society is needed like adi sankara charya and ramanuja (he told narayana mantra for ppl although his guru warned him that he will go to hell if he say), you are wrkng like pure sage. I may not comment further on your posts, this is one comment for all yours posts. God bless you.
Ma’am, do you get vibes from readers when answering their questions?