“Isn’t it rich, isn’t it queer
Losing my timing this late in my career
And where are the clowns
Quick send in the clowns
Don’t bother, they’re here”
“Send in the Clowns,” A Little Night Music by Stephen Sondheim
This month our spotlight shines on Mercury, currently transiting through expansive, inspirational Pisces from March 15th through April 3rd, when it enters Aires. I confess to being a bit obsessed with Mercury in Pisces. In traditional astrology, this placement puts Mercury in the sign of both its exile and depression, opposite Virgo, in which Mercury finds both rulership and exaltation. For this reason, Mercury in Pisces is traditionally considered a sort of double whammy of difficulty, as the planet of communication struggles in this emotionally-attuned, versatile water sign.
And yet, a cursory survey indicates that Mercury in Pisces counts many accomplished writers, songwriters, musicians, poets, and artists among its ranks. A short list includes Billy Holiday, Serge Gainsbourg, Yoko Ono, Johnny Cash, Stephen Sondheim, Audre Lorde, Herb Alpert, Erica Jong, Bobby McFerrin, Chaka Khan, Alexander McQueen, Kurt Cobain, Jon Krakaur, John Travolta, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Al Jarreau, Maya Angelou, Charles Baudelaire, Lois Lowry, Paul Theroux, and Amanda Gorman, the young poet who dazzled at the inauguration of President Biden.
No planet other than Mercury has this double rulership-exaltation in one sign (Virgo) and a corresponding exile-depression in its opposite sign (Pisces). All of the other traditional planets have one or two signs of rulership (such as the sun ruling Leo, or Mars ruling Aires and Scorpio) and a different sign of exaltation, which is less beneficial than rulership but still very positive (such as the sun exalted in Aires, or Mars exalted in Capricorn). Because of this quirk of the traditional rulership/ exaltation scheme, Mercury in Pisces faces a unique set of challenging circumstances to express its communicative Mercury impulses.
Mercury is about the delivery of information — clear, concise, informative. In its sign of rulership and exaltation, Virgo, Mercury is skilled with data and wants to be helpful. It’s the scientist communicating health data, the helpful IT director connecting employees, the organized librarian or archivist who can locate records instantly. In its other home sign of Gemini, Mercury is the intrepid journalist, the curious reporter, the helpful translator. In both of these signs, Mercury thrives, its mission to communicate information and data supported completely.
In Pisces, Mercury enters Jupiter’s expansive, philosophical realm. Mercury’s communicativeness instead becomes a means of almost spiritual expression. How do we communicate that which is beyond communication? Through poetry, song, music, art. Sondheim’s lyrics, above, make almost no sense on the page. But sung in the context of a musical about star-crossed lovers converging on a magical evening, they tap into a deep emotional well, perfectly capturing the resonance of that moment.
Mercury’s thought process, in Pisces, becomes translated through emotion. Thoughts become not linear and logical, but circular and intuitive. Mercury in Pisces intuits, tapping into the reservoir of human experience at Jupiter’s disposal. And Jupiter has endless reserves. Like Mercury in Sagittarius, also ruled by Jupiter, Mercury in Pisces is never at a loss for words. To the contrary, there are too many words, an amplitude of words. Saturn, the great editor, can be a great help here in curbing Jupiter’s excesses and providing structure.
Nevertheless, Mercury in Pisces presents a mixed picture. On the one hand, there can be great creativity expressed through communication, especially if there are other supportive conditions in the natal chart. And the creative results can be fascinating, as planets in challenging signs are forced to adapt in unusual ways.
On the other hand, transits of Mercury through Pisces can feel like mini Mercury retrograde periods, in which messaging becomes confused. I reflected recently on last year’s Mercury retrograde in Pisces, at the beginning of the pandemic in the U.S., and how it had likely hindered messaging about the virus during a crucial period. As those of us with this natal placement know only too well, Mercury in Pisces requires extra attention to detail and constant double checking for its regular communication activities, otherwise things can be forgotten, overlooked, or miscommunicated.
Also notable is that Mercury moves into a sign-based square with Mars in Gemini as soon as it enters Pisces, a stressful aspect in which both planets are debilitated as Mars’ ruler is, guess who: Mercury in Pisces. As a practical matter, this aspect suggests confused and potentially conflicting messages. The ruler of Mercury in Pisces, Jupiter in Aquarius, provides some help, offering Saturnian structure which harmonizes with Mars in Gemini, but ultimately the picture appears challenging in terms of clear communication.
This square goes exact on March 23rd, when the sun and Venus will have moved into Aires, making Mars in Gemini the big shot in the sky as the ruler of the sun and Venus. But, until Mercury moves into Aires in early April, Mars will be hindered in its communication efforts. Further complicating the picture, Mercury meets up with Neptune towards the end of its time in Pisces, on March 29th, adding to the sense of nebulousness and hazy communication. It will be wise to seek out truthful information from trusted sources at this time and try to see through any illusions or potential self-deceptions presented to us. I have a feeling that these issues may come up around shifting messaging on health precautions in the face of a changing phase in the pandemic — who can do what once vaccinated, which activities are safe, etc.
On an individual level in the realm of creativity, we can work constructively with Mercury in Pisces by letting go of normal mental processes and logic. To-do lists, detailed plans, and outlines may not be helpful for creative work now. Instead, Mercury in Pisces asks us to tune into our emotions, dream our thoughts, and communicate intuitively and from the heart. Write some poetry, jot down some song lyrics, pen a love letter, journal your feelings, brainstorm for a project and let yourself go wild with the possibilities.
And don’t worry, if you find this a mentally challenging time. Mercury is zipping along now, after its recent retrograde in Aquarius, and will leap into Aires in early April. Ruled by act-first-think-later Mars, Mercury in Aires doesn’t waste time intuiting or daydreaming. Thoughts are clear, direct, and meant for action. Your to-do list will get a workout in April. But for now, enjoy your thoughts, drift along with them, on an inner tube on one of those lazy river rides at the water parks, meandering along in the pleasant water, the sun on your face. Enjoy the ride!