Introduction
Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun, so in a chart it stays close to the Sun; it is usually in the Sun's sign or a neighbouring one. It turns retrograde several times a year.
Mercury owns two signs, Mithuna and Kanya. Astrology calls Mercury the "prince": curious, cheerful and ready to learn. Tradition holds that Mercury quickly takes on the colour of the planets it sits with.
What it signifies
Tradition holds that Mercury signifies:
- intellect, reasoning and quick understanding
- speech, writing and conversation
- accounts, trade and exchange
- study, language and humour
For work, tradition associates Mercury with fields that involve writing, speaking, numbers, trade, teaching or handling information.
These are tendencies, not settled facts about a person. The house, sign, companions and dasha make the picture together.
Exalted, debilitated, own sign: in plain words
Mercury's own signs are Mithuna and Kanya. Exaltation is at Kanya 15° and debilitation at Meena 15°, the same degree in the opposite sign. Kanya holds all three: 15° is the exaltation point, 15° to 20° is moolatrikona, and the sign is also Mercury's own.
Mercury's natural friends are the Sun and Venus; its neutrals are Jupiter, Mars and Saturn; the old classification lists the Moon as an enemy. These are old labels; in shadbala they only decide how many points of positional strength a planet earns in a sign. Raman's method also adds the temporary relationship from the birth chart.
Exalted, debilitated, own sign and moolatrikona are names for a position, not a verdict on anyone's life. Debilitation by itself decides nothing; houses, aspects, dasha, the navamsa and the whole chart speak together.
Shadbala and this planet, in plain words
Shadbala is the sum of six kinds of strength: positional, directional, temporal, motional, natural and aspectual. ePandit computes it by B. V. Raman's method in Graha and Bhava Balas. The unit is the virupa; 60 virupas make 1 rupa.
Raman gives each planet a traditional required minimum. For Mercury it is 420 virupas (7 rupas). We show you one simple ratio:
Ratio = Mercury's total shadbala ÷ 420
- Above 1 means only that Mercury has more than the traditional minimum to work with in its themes.
- Below 1 says nothing bad. It means other factors lead in that chart: another planet, the running dasha, or a house.
Mercury's naisargika (natural) bala is 25.71 virupas, the same in every chart. Directional strength is full when Mercury sits in the 1st house (east). Mercury's minimum (420) is the highest of the seven. So don't compare two planets' totals directly; compare the ratios. In Raman's method Mercury's nature depends on which planets share its sign.
Other software may show small differences; we follow Raman's method. Shadbala is a measure built on arithmetic; it does not decide any result on its own.
Mahadasha
In Vimshottari, Mercury's mahadasha lasts 17 years. Tradition holds that study, skills, writing and speaking, trade and new contacts come forward in this time.
The real colour depends on where Mercury sits in your chart, which houses it rules, whom it sits with and which antardasha is running. Every mahadasha holds nine antardashas.
Faith
Tradition links Wednesday with Mercury. If you wish, you can chant Mercury's name-mantra 11 or 108 times in the morning, with a calm mind:
ॐ बुधाय नमः (Om Budhāya Namaḥ) (planet name-mantra: tradition)
On a Wednesday, you may give a notebook or a book to a child. (folk belief, optional)
This is a matter of faith, not a condition. No costly remedy is needed.