Four Faces of Mercury

The approximately 116-day cycle of Mercury begins with the inferior conjunction with the Sun. It is a celestial situation where the Sun, Mercury and Earth are aligned, with Mercury standing between the Sun and Earth (see accompanying sidebar). Occurring in the middle of Mercury’s twenty to twenty-four day retrograde period, the inferior conjunction inaugurates Mercury’s waxing hemicycle, which is analogous to the period between the New Moon and the Full Moon. Because Mercury’s cycle opens with Mercury leaping from setting behind the Sun in the west to rise before the Sun in the eastern morning sky, Rudhyar termed this half of Mercury’s cycle Promethean, for the mythological titan who stole the fire of the gods and gave it as a gift to humanity.

Mercury turns direct nine to fifteen days after the inferior conjunction, and about a week later Mercury reaches its greatest distance from the Sun. A few days later, Mercury begins moving through the zodiac quicker than the Sun (or more than one degree a day). The superior conjunction occurs when Mercury is at the far side of the Sun, and while moving close to its maximum speed of about 2º15’ a day. It is analogous to the Full Moon and marks the beginning of Mercury’s waning hemicycle, during which Mercury sets in the early evening after the Sun. Rudhyar termed the waning Mercurial hemicycle Epimethean, for the always backward-looking brother of the forward-looking Prometheus. About four to five days after the superior conjunction, Mercury’s daily motion matches the Sun’s, and about two weeks later it turns retrograde. Then, ten to fifteen days after turning retrograde, the cycle closes with the inferior conjunction.

The Four Faces of Mercury

The brief look at the Mercury cycle presented above provides the foundation for the four-fold classification of Mercury types: Promethean-Retrograde, Promethean-Direct, Epimethean-Retrograde and Epimethean-Direct. They are Mercury’s four "faces," each representing a particular mental temperament.

It’s easy to determine your Mercury type. First locate the Sun in your birth chart. If Mercury is clockwise from the Sun, it is Promethean. On the other hand, if Mercury is counterclockwise from the Sun, your Mercury type is Epimethean. If you’re simply looking-up someone’s data in an ephemeris, notice if Mercury is ahead or behind the Sun in the zodiac. If the Sun is further along the zodiac than Mercury, then Mercury is Promethean. If Mercury is further along the zodiac than the Sun, then Mercury is in its Epimethean phase. While you’re at it, check to see if Mercury is retrograde (indicated by the character Rx in Mercury’s column above the date row). For example, if Sun is ten degrees Leo and Mercury is two degrees Leo, retrograde, then Mercury is Promethean-Retrograde. In a horoscope, retrograde planets are indicated by the Rx symbol.

http://www.khaldea.com/planets/merc_type.shtml

If your Mercury type is Promethean-Retrograde, you possess a mind seeking independence from biological limitations and the dictates of social convention. It does so because it is driven by an intuitive impulse to realize a new quality of being, the full nature of which you may not as yet clearly or fully understand. But independence from natural compulsions and social convention often leads to a more or less violent rebellion against the past and its traditions, or from anything which holds back your mental eagerness.

Eventually, the Promethean-Retrograde type generally tires of resisting whatever she feels hinders her freedom. Then mental combativeness gives ways to a powerful intuitive identification with, and a creative contribution to, something greater than the person.

Because the Promethean-Retrograde phase lasts from ten to fifteen days, it is seen in only about one out of ten birth charts. Great minds and influential thinkers are found among Promethean-Retrograde types, including Aldous Huxley. A member of England’s most prominent scientific family, Huxley migrated to America, where he became a famous novelist and social critic. Always a futuristic thinker, Huxley’s Promethean-Retrograde Mercury is clearly shown in his best-known novel, Brave New World.

Mercury’s character is traditionally said to be asexual, and its significance in a natal chart doesn’t vary much between men and women. Women born during Mercury’s Promethean-Retrograde phase, however, often find themselves engaged in challenging traditional roles and in defining a new image of woman. Some of the most outstanding icons of new womanhood are Promethean Retrograde types. Victoria Woodhull, an early feminist of the nineteenth century and one of the most Promethean women of the modern era, is exemplary of the type. Chrissie Hynde — who opened the way for women to work as creative and musical principals in the world of rock music — is a contemporary icon whose legacy has a tremendous impact on creative young women. The editor of Cosmopolitan and author of Sex and the Single Girl, Helen Gurley Brown, is another Promethean-Retrograde woman.

If your were born during Mercury’s Promethean-Direct phase, you possess an intuitive mind coupled with effective faculties of communication, enabling you to both convince others of the validity of your ideas and to inspire them with your future-oriented, farseeing vision. If you were born near Mercury’s maximum elongation, you may be so mentally intense and certain that some might find you overwhelming, while others may find you mentally stimulating and inspiring.

Mind is neutral, which explains why astrological tradition assigns asexual attributes to Mercury. As a Promethean-Direct type, you need to focus on values (symbolized by Venus), because without a clear set of guiding values and ideals, a powerful Promethean-Direct mind can be a ruthless force. Cultivate mental watchfulness because your thoughts, ideas and visions may become concrete realities.

The second face of Mercury is seen in the birth charts of Presidents Einsenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton. Fathers of the American Revolution, Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson, exemplify the Promethean-Direct type, as do Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltson. The originator of the Quantum Theory, Max Planck, was born during this phase as well. So were Franz Liszt, precursor of the modern superstar, and his friend George Sand, the famous nineteenth-century novelist and liberated woman. Al Gore and the Dalai Lama of Tibet are also Promethean-Direct types.

If your Mercury type is Epimethean-Direct, you probably have a practical, objective and analytical mind leading you to act on the basis of facts and past experience rather than on hunches and gut-feelings. Your well-organized mental faculties enable you to manage people and run things. But in doing so, you may need to keep an open mind and avoid rigid thought patterns.

As a third face of Mercury type, you are success-oriented and work hard to fulfill plans and goals. To realize your goals, you draw upon knowledge acquired though past experience and by observing the achievements and mistakes of others. Indeed, this is the main area were Promethean types and Epimethean types most differ in their approach: Promethean types eagerly forge ahead to pursue a vision or intuition flash; Epimetheans, regardless of how intuitive and impulsive they may be, tend to first distance themselves mentally and attempt to look at things objectively, to consider what past experience can offer the situation. Epimetheans can be daring and radical thinkers, but they tend to see their free-thinking as part of a tradition operating within a historical context or movement.

The Epimethean-Direct type is seen in the birth charts of three of the most influential minds of the nineteenth century, individuals whose work figures largely in the development of the collective mentality of the twentieth century. Karl Marx, Charles Darwin and Sigmund Freud. Their work has made, in much different ways, a tremendous impact on current mentality. They formulated revolutionary theories based respectively on the study of historical and political precedents, the observation of biological types, and the study of psychological processes and disturbances. Leaders of the Bolshevik Revolution, Lenin and Trotsky, are also examples of Mercury’s third face. Other examples include Albert Einstein, J. Krishnamurti, George Gurdjieff and Indira Gandhi.

If you were born during Mercury’s fourth face, you possess a contemplative, deeply introspective mind seeking inner meaning. This doesn’t mean other Mercury types lack contemplation and introspection, just that it comes more easily and naturally for you. When in doubt, you’re likely to examine all the issues involved from every perspective. Your want to discover the reason, meaning and purpose behind everything, and you are unlikely to be satisfied with easy, superficial answers. Others exposed to your insight may mistake it for Promethean intuition. While Epimethean insights may affirm the intuition of Prometheans, different process stand behind them — one founded in an intuitive vision of the future and how things could be, the other based in an understanding of the past and how it leads to a creative future.

Individuals born during the Epimethean-Retrograde phase may at times experience a profound dissatisfaction with the order of things as they are, with the status quo, and they may encounter a good deal frustration attempting to inspire others with their ideas and inner realizations. During such moments it is best to avoid protracted feeling of frustration. Focus on the future and its new possibilities, symbolized by the inferior conjunction just ahead—the seed consummation of the past cycle and the gateway to the future.

Sri Aurobindo, who was modern India’s greatest holistic mind and an early activist for Indian Independence, was born at the very beginning of the Epimethean-Retrograde phase. Marie d’Agoult, an influential nineteenth century social and philosophical commentator, and an early liberated women, also exemplifies the fourth face of Mercury. The surrealist painter, Salvador Dali, the Indian saint, Ramakrishna, and Ben Franklin were also born during the Epimethean-Retrograde phase.

Like female Promethean-Retrograde types, women born during the fourth face of Mercury often find themselves breaking new ground and embracing controversial issues. Their biographies, inner realizations and personal philosophies often inspire and guide others. Jane Fonda and Dr. Joyce Brothers are examples of the type, issue-oriented and intellectual, with a strong sense of precedents, they make a powerful impression while projecting a strong sense of natural femininity. Madonna, Tina Turner and Janis Joplin also exemplify the Epimethean-Retrograde woman, and in their biographies we witness some of the type’s "soul discontent."

I'm Epimethean-Direct. My mind is super-analytical but it can also break me as I don't have an open mind. Meanwhile, I always do good in Mathematics. Joined Math Olympiad and Math & Science Quiz Bee back in high school; I was second in both.

I don't know how you can read all this.

Epimethean-Direct

If your Mercury type is Epimethean-Direct, you probably have a practical, objective and analytical mind leading you to act on the basis of facts and past experience rather than on hunches and gut-feelings. Your well-organized mental faculties enable you to manage people and run things. But in doing so, you may need to keep an open mind and avoid rigid thought patterns.
As a third face of Mercury type, you are success-oriented and work hard to fulfill plans and goals. To realize your goals, you draw upon knowledge acquired though past experience and by observing the achievements and mistakes of others. Indeed, this is the main area were Promethean types and Epimethean types most differ in their approach: Promethean types eagerly forge ahead to pursue a vision or intuition flash; Epimetheans, regardless of how intuitive and impulsive they may be, tend to first distance themselves mentally and attempt to look at things objectively, to consider what past experience can offer the situation. Epimetheans can be daring and radical thinkers, but they tend to see their free-thinking as part of a tradition operating within a historical context or movement.
The Epimethean-Direct type is seen in the birth charts of three of the most influential minds of the nineteenth century, individuals whose work figures largely in the development of the collective mentality of the twentieth century. Karl Marx, Charles Darwin and Sigmund Freud. Their work has made, in much different ways, a tremendous impact on current mentality. They formulated revolutionary theories based respectively on the study of historical and political precedents, the observation of biological types, and the study of psychological processes and disturbances. Leaders of the Bolshevik Revolution, Lenin and Trotsky, are also examples of Mercury’s third face. Other examples include Albert Einstein, J. Krishnamurti, George Gurdjieff and Indira Gandhi.

Promethean Direct:

If your were born during Mercury’s Promethean-Direct phase, you possess an intuitive mind coupled with effective faculties of communication, enabling you to both convince others of the validity of your ideas and to inspire them with your future-oriented, farseeing vision. If you were born near Mercury’s maximum elongation, you may be so mentally intense and certain that some might find you overwhelming, while others may find you mentally stimulating and inspiring.

Posted by P-Angel

I don't know how you can read all this.

It's a compulsion I think.