Mercury in Sagittarius in the Twelfth House

The placement of Mercury in Sagittarius indicates you have a need to function mentally within broad and expansive constructs. Much of the behavior and many of the personality characteristics associated with Mercury in Sagittarius are a result of this need to be able to mentally quest and explore the world. There is an inherent tension in the Mercury placement in Sagittarius. This is symbolized by the natural square between Sagittarius and Mercury-ruled Virgo and the natural opposition between Sagittarius and Gemini, which is also ruled by Mercury. The Sagittarian propensity for ignoring detail in favor of the “big picture” can be frustrating and seem careless from the analytical and detail-oriented perspective inherent in the Mercury-symbolized functions. Likewise, the Sagittarian focus on the abstract idea clashes with the Mercury functions’ natural tendency to be concerned with the concrete and objective.

Yet there are also creative opportunities within this tension. Sagittarius is the Mutable Fire sign. Sagittarius’ changeable fire energy symbolically stimulates the changeable airy nature of Mercury, carrying it to all corners of the mental world.  While this can be creatively stimulating, the overabundance of mutable energy can create too much instability and lack of grounding for the Mercury-associated functions.

Another source of potential conflict is that the fire element within Sagittarius is prone to action, while Mercury functions in the mental realm. Either the mind may incline you to action, or the mental activity that you are engaged in may be so absorbing that you procrastinate taking any concrete action.

Insecurities

Having Mercury in Sagittarius, if you are insecure, then you cannot face the pain of the disillusion of established mental concepts that naturally must take place if you are to move beyond these concepts toward a greater understanding. This is because these established mental concepts support your ego and your ideas of who you are. You prefer to remain judgmental and hold on to your ego-reinforcing preconceptions than to understand the truth. Therefore, to defend your ego against an understanding that may threaten it, you become absorbed in the pursuit of the frivolous. Mentally, you chase after “fun” or move from one mental entertainment to another. In this way, you avoid the quest for higher understanding.

Mercury in the 12th House:

Mercury in the 12th House is a difficult placement for Mercury, given Mercury’s association with mental forms that are specific, concrete in nature and able to be categorized and known. The 12th House symbolizes those things that are hidden, that are ambiguous, universal and transcendent and for your mind to be focused on this level of existence may be difficult. With Mercury in the 12th House, you may find it difficult to find anything that you can mentally latch on to. You may become confused about what it is you are supposed to learn or know and may question whether there is anything that can be definitely known. This confusion and frustration may cause you to devalue your mental capabilities or to want to avoid mental activity.

Having Mercury in the 12th House, your mental and communicating faculties may appear weak or you may be unaware of the mental side of your personality and psyche. It may seem as if your mental capabilities evaporate or disintegrate. It is only when you consciously face the ambiguities and unknowns of life that you are likely to find your mental strength and be able to develop your mental faculties.

As an individual with Mercury in the 12th House, you may employ your mental and communicative energy to help others once you face the existence of pain and suffering in the world. Grasping the intuitive component of the mind, you may tackle difficult and subtle mental problems once you accept that there are no clear-cut and simple answers. Realizing that there is much in life that is unknown, with Mercury in the 12th House, you may turn your mental energy to uncovering what lies hidden and bringing the undiscovered to the light of knowledge. Coming to grips with the confusion and disorganization that besets you, you may use your mental faculties to gain more organization in your life.

Insecurities

Having Mercury in the 12th House, faced with confusion and doubt and an inability to mentally form a stable world in which your ego can safely reign, if you are inwardly insecure, you will adopt a subconscious defense mechanism to preserve your ego-consciousness from disintegration and collapse. This generally involves the creation of a fantasy world, a mental construct in which your ego can safely operate and within which it is king or queen. With Mercury in the 12th House, you may engage in various subterfuges, directed both at yourself or others, in order to preserve this fantasy. You become an expert at hiding facts and realities. Although your mental world may appear to be falling apart to others, from your own point of view it is something you can grasp onto. One danger with Mercury in the 12th House is that you may grasp onto a fantasy that involves masochism, substance abuse or self-dissipation.

Intellect’s Focus

With Mercury in the 12th House, you are likely to be intellectually interested in exploring the unknown and the mysterious. This may include the mysteries of life and death, the subconscious, the self, religion and mysticism, the problem of good and evil and the reality of phenomena. You may be particularly comfortable, mentally, with problems that are ambiguous and with solutions that are unclear. You may not be willing to be specific and absolute in your ideas and intellectual beliefs and you are more likely to be inclined toward a relativist intellectual perspective. You are less likely to commit to the idea that something is “this way” and more likely to state “these are the possibilities.”

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Article referenced from:

• Gargatholil, Depth Astrology: An Astrological Handbook – Volume 2: Planets in Signs

• Gargatholil, Depth Astrology: An Astrological Handbook – Volume 3: Planets in Houses

Click Here to Access the Complete Depth Astrology Collection with full excerpts.

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