Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, and second in his movement speed only to the moon. Its small size and great distance from the earth almost negates any physical effect on our planet, but in most ancient cultures and religions it was given great significance and often considered one of the gods. The speed with which Mercury moves across the sky made him associated with various messenger, communication and trade deities throughout the world.
In western astrology, Mercury represents the brain, cognitive and learning abilities. In vedic astrology however, the brain is represented by the Moon while Mercury represents mainly the wit, analytical and linguistic abilities. He also represents intelligence, hearing, short term memory, the attention to details, the skin, the lungs, the nervous system, business and commerce, technology and communication systems.
How can the brain and intelligence be separate?
Most people think that intelligence is a measure of wisdom or cognitive abilities, but that is not the case. Intelligence is mostly a measure of our ability to understand and apply logic, but it cannot measure the levels of creativity for example. This is why intelligence can estimate someone’s aptitude as an accountant but not as a painter or singer. It also cannot measure the wisdom of a person, which relies mostly on life experience.
The best example for a clear distinction between the brain as a whole and intelligence itself is the condition known as Savant syndrome. People with this syndrome are afflicted with mental disabilities such as autism yet at the same time display extraordinary mathematical or artistic abilities. Another example of this difference is the fact that many of those regarded as geniuses, such as Da Vinci, Edison and Einstein showed signs of dyslexia.
And how is intelligence connected to hearing or language skills?
Hearing and speech are the main intrapersonal communication tools for humans, allowing one person to transfer information to someone else even if they never saw or experienced the situation being described. At the same time, it is the person’s intelligence that dictates their ability to properly interpret and understand the information they receive. Intelligence also dictates the speed with which we can formulate the message we are trying to convey, or the speed with which we respond to messages we receive from others.
Our hearing too is vital for both intelligence and speech. It allows us to hear other the ideas, thoughts and insights of others hence vastly increasing our own knowledge and understanding, and as a result our intelligence. At the same time, it allows us to control our tone, pitch and pronunciation, all of which are vital for proper speech and the ability to verbally communicate with others.
Reading this one might mistakenly think that this does not apply to the mute and the deaf, but in fact nothing could be further from the truth as sign language still requires the same intelligence and language skills needed for any spoken language. And the same can be said for the written word, which sometimes requires an even greater effort to fully grasp.
So what about business and technology?
It is well known that any form of business requires excellent communication skills, because to sell a product or a service a person first and foremost has to persuade others to buy them. In addition, the commercials and logos that a business puts forward are messages in and of themselves, directed towards its potential clients. And in addition to clients, the business also needs good communication with partners, suppliers, distributors and employees to continue providing the services and products it offers.
Technology also exhibits the same dependence on communication, as the ability to develop it directly depends on the ability to pass knowledge from one individual to another and from one generation to the next. The same can be said regarding the ability to properly use that technology, which requires its inventor to pass instructions to the end user in one form or another. In fact, the dependence of technology on communication is quite mutual, as technologies such as the internet and telephones were invented to improve communication itself. And while phones and the internet are relatively new technologies, one must only look at paper, clay tablets or cave painting to realize how far this connection goes.
But how is technology related to our skin and nervous system?
To understand the connection between the nervous system and technology and communication, one needs to look no further than the internet. Just like the internet is the communication network of the world that allows computers to share information between them, the nervous system is the communication network of our body that connects all of its organs to our brain and to each other. It also relays to the brain all of the information gathered by the body’s sensory organs such as the eyes, the nose and even the skin, making it vital for sensing the outside world.
This network is also responsible for sending the commands given by the brain to the rest of the organs. When we wish to say something it is the nervous system that conveys the commands to our tongue, lips and lungs that enable us to utter the right words. The skin too can be seen as a huge communication network, sensing pressure and heat in the environment, warning us of danger through the sensation of pain and allowing us to feel pleasure from touch with others.
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