Mercury in the Houses
Mercury | Mercury in the Signs
On this page, you’ll find interpretations of Mercury’s placement in the twelve houses of the natal (birth) chart.
Don’t know the house position of your Mercury?
Find out how you can get your astrology chart positions free with our simple steps. Or, calculate your free birth chart and receive a free report, including the position of your Mercury by sign and house, as well as other planets here: Planet Positions/Natal Chart and here: Free Astrology Reports.
Mercury in the 1st House
You are mercurial in appearance or manner, especially if Mercury is close to (within 10 degrees of) the Ascendant. You’re restless, adaptable, changeable, easily distracted, versatile, and nimble. While you enjoy talking, you might often monopolize the conversation or fail to listen (you might be too busy thinking about what you will say next to truly listen).
You have a mischievous and even precocious manner. Lively and interesting, you quickly adapt to new situations. In fact, you treat most new endeavors with curiosity and great interest. Your first reaction to new stimuli is logical and curious rather than emotional.
Mercury in the 2nd House
You have a very practical mind and intelligence, seeing the obvious, most logical answer to any predicament often well before others. You don’t like to be put on the spot or pushed into talking or coming to a conclusion. Studies are similar–you need to work at your own pace.
You can be quite one-track minded at times, not very happy with multi-tasking, and often quite fixed in your opinions. Sensual stimuli is more relevant to you than abstract concepts.
Mercury in the 3rd House
This is an especially curious and inquisitive position for Mercury. You are generally very interested in reading, teaching, speaking, exchanging ideas, keeping current with the daily news, and perhaps gossiping. Your interests are many and varied, sometimes to the point that you barely skim the surface of any one topic.
You are also very easily distracted and your attention span can be quite short. Quick to learn, you are swift to share what you know with others. You can be very talkative when you have the chance. You’re a list maker, and you’re likely quite involved in/with your community. Some of you can be quite nervous or fidgety.
Mercury in the 4th House
You are an extremely imaginative person who dreams up all sorts of unusual ideas and plans. Your thinking is quite subjective, and in some cases narrow or biased. Some of you might enjoy working at home or keeping a lively, intellectual atmosphere in your home.
You tend to retain a lot of information, and are usually quite interested in history, psychology, or politics. You’re not quick to embrace a new idea or plan, and can be quite traditional in your thinking.
Mercury in the 5th House
You tend to use your voice, whether written or spoken, as a means of creative self-expression. You can be witty and humorous, an engaging communicator, and a fun friend. Playing games is appealing, especially ones that employ your intellect. You love tricks, jokes, plays on words, and mimicry. It’s possible you’re skilled at impersonations. Some of you could be clever at lying. You can have a tendency to promise more than you can deliver, or overstate your case.
In some way, you are very entertaining with the spoken and/or written word. Communication and intellectual rapport are most attractive to you with romance. In some cases, this can indicate more than one lover at once. Curiosity can be a strong motivator for making social and romantic contact. You might also take much pride in your children’s intellectual abilities and talents. You would make a good teacher, as you are very curious about how people learn and can come up with many ideas that allow you to teach others creatively.
Mercury in the 6th House
You are a person who thinks of all the details that others often forget. Your mind is almost always turned “on” which can make you a little nervous. You’re excellent at sorting things out, organizing, and making lists and associations. With your attention to the details and the mechanics, however, you might miss the bigger point!
You are exceptionally helpful and others can count on you for making arrangements, researching, and offering advice. You truly love to feel useful. It’s possible you have some traits of a hypochondriac, as you notice all of the little aches and pains that others might overlook. Nervous tension could be at the root of many of your health complaints.
You might frequently have to deal with duplicitous co-workers. Many of you are good at crafts, mechanics, or anything that requires good manual dexterity.
Mercury in the 7th House
You have a great love of debate, if only to get closer to your own thoughts and opinions. Bouncing ideas off others helps you to make a decision, although coming to definite conclusions can be painfully difficult for you. You see the other side of the coin, but you might often play devil’s advocate.
Communication with a partner is craved, and you also love an audience for your own thoughts and opinions, but preferably a one-person audience, as you come alive verbally when it’s one-on-one. You can be quite skilled at keeping a partnership animated and alive with interesting tidbits, new ideas, and stimulating conversation. It’s easy for you to become bored in partnership if the lines of communication go down, even temporarily.
You might attract partners who are not especially sincere or downright duplicitous. In order to put an end to this pattern, you might try to avoid scheming and overanalyzing in your relationships. You might also love to talk about and analyze relationships and marriage. You get off on new perspectives that partners or good friends give you.
Mercury in the 8th House
You are especially curious about what motivates people, as well as all that is mysterious, taboo, secret, and psychological. You’re excellent at analyzing people and getting at their motivations, as well as developing strategies. You may have a good mind for finances, medicine, and other subjects that require research and investigation.
With your strong persuasive powers (which should be used carefully), you speak with authority and others listen. You tend to feel that everything we do and experience has a purpose. You have a great, investigative, and penetrating mind and you are excellent at developing strategies, as well as communicating them with others.
Mercury in the 9th House
You are eternally curious and hunger for knowledge. You enjoy studying and learning, and do it not because you have to, but because you want to. Exchanging ideas and personal philosophies with others is gratifying. You can be especially buoyant, enthusiastic, and even inspiring in your communications.
While you may not pay enough attention to details, you are skilled at finding a quick solution to problems. You readily see the bigger picture and enjoy sharing your opinions and ideas. You get off on how information affects people’s lives, and you take great pleasure in learning that something you have shared or taught has inspired others to take action, experience something new, or make changes in their lives. Some of you might be too quick to offer advice, however, that might be lacking in thoroughness and practicality, or that you yourself don’t follow. You may be especially interested in learning about different cultures and lands.
Mercury in the 10th House
You are good with language, and you generally use this talent in your profession. With your authoritative air, or you’re talented at communicating and negotiating with those in authority. You might have more than one job going at once much of the time, you could change your career directions frequently, or you could be attracted to jobs that keep you on the move.
You require frequent changes of setting or activities to remain stimulated and challenged. You’re skilled at bringing fresh energy to your conversations or to your job, perhaps because you need the stimulation.
Mercury in the 11th House
You are endlessly curious about people, group interactions, community affairs, trends, and teams. You are attracted to people who bring new ideas into your experience, and who have something novel to contribute on an intellectual level. You are very forward-looking and fair-minded.
Fair play, impartiality, and unselfishness are important ideals for you. There can be many changes or fluctuations in your personal wishes, dreams, plans, and ideals. You might attract friends who come and go, or who are dishonest or duplicitous.
Mercury in the 12th House
You are not very quick to speak or communicate, especially in childhood, as you need to develop trust in your own abilities to express yourself. You make an excellent confidant–you are very discreet and secrets go into the vault. Making matters too complex comes from overanalyzing motives or hunches, and then have problems acting on your intuition as a result.
You’re very attracted to symbols, sentiment, imagery, and paradoxes. Preferring not to focus only on facts, you learn best when ideas are presented visually, emotionally, or imaginatively. Learning to communicate clearly is a challenge for you, but one that might put an end to feelings of guilt, of being misunderstood, and to attracting unpleasant situations or duplicitous people into your experience.
See Also: Mercury in the Signs
< Back to the Mercury main page
Interpretations are written by Annie Heese.
Don’t know the house position of your Mercury? Find out how you can get your astrology chart positions free with our simple steps. Or, calculate your free birth chart and receive a free report, including the position of your Mercury by sign and house, as well as other planets here: Free Astrology Reports.