Mercury as natural significator of astrology

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Garry's article on Mercury and astrology http://www.skyscript.co.uk/mercury5.html is very enlightening indeed. I found it interesting that he placed Mercury as significator of astrology in a modern context that made so much sense. We have had many discussions on this forum before about scientific proof of astrology but looking at it from the point of view of Mercury and its elusive nature it is not surprising that proof has not been forthcoming. The suggestion that astrology which can work at its optimum, regardless of the mental state of the astrologer, is a contradiction in terms is, to me, further evidence that Mercury is it?s natural significator. As Garry points out in his article, it is consistent with the nature of astrology that it cannot be conclusively validated in objective, scientific terms.

I'm not really up on the details of when and why astrology was given to Uranus. Was it soon after Uranus was discovered or did it take some time for this to happen? And was it a simple matter of giving it to Uranus because of the muse Urania or were there other explanations put forward?

An interesting article Garry. Thanks.

Sue

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That?s a point. When, where and how did astrologers suffer a mental breakdown and decide to align themselves under the signification of Uranus? Well I don?t accept one jot of it, but I?m very curious as to when astrologers moved from the view expressed about Uranus in the early 19th century:
...He has no houses allotted him, but participates of the nature of the malevolent planet Saturn in the highest degree; and it is therefore equally unfortunate?

?to considering themselves and their activities defined by this planet. I recently attended a meeting, the purpose of which was to discuss the resurrection of a local astrological society. The original ?birth chart? of the old society had Uranus conjunct Jupiter on the Midheaven and I suspect it was elected to capture the Uranian energy. Most members at the meeting felt that since Uranus was now on the square of that old Uranus/Jupiter/MC conjunction, this would be a good time to bring the activities to life again. (It was drawn to their attention that the last two people to lead the group were forced to quit due to dramatic accidents or events that put them in wheelchairs). I also recollect being on the AA council when a conference was organised that ?commenced? with Uranus/Neptune angular and receiving a malefic aspect from the Moon. I realise the AA had a very limited time frame but the aspect was very confidently predicted to represent a time of spiritual enlightenment and an ideal time to discuss the issues that challenge astrologers. (In fact it was particularly chaotic with lots of complaints during and after and most people commenting on the strange, stressful atmosphere).

In the ?Outer Planet Signification? thread Kim says
?Everyone [astrological author] I looked at today, which was practically everything I could find in the late eighteenth into nineteenth century, insists that Uranus doesn?t actually rule anything.?
In another early reference, Raphael says of Uranus:
?His effects are truly malefic ; but what he does of evil, is always in a peculiarly strange, unaccountable, and totally unexpected manner: he causes the native born under his influence, to be of a very eccentric and original disposition. Those persons are generally unusually romantic, unsettled, addicted to change, and searchers after novelty.?
Which might make Uranus a good significator for modern popular astrological drivel, but what idiot-astrologer or idiot astrological collective decided to tar us all with the same brush?

I also enjoyed Garry?s philosophical take on the traditional signification of Mercury over astrologers, and I was going to enlarge on a point I made in another post, about how astrological philosophy has been the inspiration behind some major scientific advances (ie. Kepler, Newton, etc), and yet once those ?truths? are discovered they usually end up as a means to undermine the astrological philosophy that inspired them ? that seems very much in keeping with the enigmatic, ambivalent and elusive nature of Mercury the Mockery-maker. But then I realised I?m writing this post as a pathetic excuse to avoid something else that I should be doing, so I?m going to stop being so distracted and get back to some proper work now.

One last thing though; I don?t actually think any one planet is a complete significator for astrology and I prefer Jupiter as the significator of the ?divine priest? role of spiritual advisor where astrology is used to enlarge the capacity for self-understanding. But I think that one of the reasons why astrologers were anciently allocated under Mercury was because astrologers had to be skilled in mathematics, logic, astronomical cycles, numerology, geometry, as well as philosophy and the muses. Ancient sources do seem to place astrology firmly under the Mercurial influence, along with other augurs and interpreters, such as dream interpreters, so perhaps the onus is on the capacity for intellectual reasoning and the ability to interpret something in a way that satisfies the expectations placed upon it. Hence Mercury is a good general significator for a subject that has a huge variety of branches, styles and approaches. But I can't think of any good argument for putting astrology under the influence of Uranus

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Hi Deb and Sue,

I like John Frawley's observation regarding his preference for Mercury as general significator for astrology as opposed to Uranus:

"We are thinkers, not eccentrics."

Tom