Mercury in Aquarius: A Question of Dignity!

After a long trek through Capricorn where they were retrograde for a while, Mercury is finally in Aquarius! Even though the sign of Aquarius isn’t one of Mercury’s domiciles or exaltation, there’s something about Mercury that just feels right when they’re basking in Aquarian waters. Is it just a matter of vibe/personal taste? Or can astrology and older traditions explain why certain signs seem to just “work” for certain planets despite them not being associated to them by sign? Let’s dive in!

In astrology, “Dignity” refers to the kinds of qualities or characteristics that a planet has based on other astronomical factors. Dignity is used to determine whether a planet has enough resources or help to enforce its own agenda. There are several types of dignity, which represent as many possibilities a planet has to express itself. Think of it as a person with a certain character/agenda: are they in a position of power, or do they rely on the help of others? Are they surrounded by people who facilitate and uplift them, contradict them, try to bring them down?… This will all affect the ability of that person to do what they intend to do.

There are two main types of dignity: “essential” dignity, meaning the “essence” or core characteristics a planet can receive, and “accidental”, things that are a product of circumstances rather than a core thing. See this table below from renaissance astrologer William Lilly’s Christian Astrology. Lilly developed a point-based system to determine how much dignity a planet has. However, things aren’t as simple as a planet having more or less points. How does a “dignified” planet translate into someone’s lived experience? Part of the answer lies in the closer examination of dignity.

Let’s go back to the case at hand, Mercury in Aquarius. Traditionally affiliated with Hermēs, Messenger god of commerce, eloquence, thieves and duality, Mercury is a powerful and many-faced planet. People whose Mercury is well-aspected have great eloquence, considerable ease with commerce and business matters, can communicate effectively, do well in competitions, are favoured by the powerful and also have a talent for the occult and esoteric arts. So, how do we determine if Mercury will express themselves favourably in someone’s life? That’s where dignity comes into play! Gemini and Virgo are Mercury’s domiciles, meaning that Mercury is “at home” in these signs, with the capacity to enact their will. Virgo is also the exaltation of Mercury, while the sign of Pisces is both their detriment and fall (we won’t talk about this in details today, but these signs are also particularly relevant to Mercury’s powers.

Now, someone with an Aquarius Mercury would also enjoy these qualities (there is more nuance as this would depend on house placement, aspects and other factors…). Why? Because in parts of Aquarius, Mercury also has dignity by term and face. The terms (or bounds) are subdivisions of the signs where the planets (minus the Sun and Moon) rule different degrees (they were determined by the Egyptians, and to this day we don’t know why they were distributed as such). The faces, or decans, are 3 divisions of a sign (10° each) ruled by a planet depending on triplicity. Finally, the most important form of minor dignity is triplicity, which is based on which element a planet is in and whether it’s in a day or night chart. In Aquarius, Mercury also has triplicity in night charts. Mercury’s in their own term from 0-7° Aquarius, and rules the second decan of Aqua (10°-20°). So, quite a lot of power there! Although not as “agentic” as sign-based dignity, these different types of dignity afford a planet precious help (triplicity represents the help of others) and powers to a lesser degree. Think of a politician who may not be a president or minister, but who has a lot of allies and is elected in a city or state (a mayor, for example). Depending on their office, this person actually has quite a lot of power and responsibilities over a sizeable amount of people and resources. That’s what essential dignity is all about!

We can actually see the “special powers” of Mercury in Aquarius throughout the tradition. Renaissance astrologer Johannes Schoener says of Mercury in Aquarius: “the native will come to be of the best intellect, and will have a profound counsel in matters; having a secretive mind he will understand things most completely.” - On the Judgement of Nativities, Bk I, ch. 7. We see the qualities of Mercury pertaining to the intellect, memory and occult knowledge being particularly highlighted here. Now you know why Mercury in Aquarius just *feels* right! The same can be said of other planets: for example, Venus in Cancer has triplicity (by day), rules the first decan of Cancer (0-10°) *and* is in her own terms from 7° to 12° of Cancer. Powerful! That also explains where Venus just works well in Cancer.

I hope this was helpful, I wish you a lovely transit of Mercury through Aquarian waters! 👽