AUTHOR’S NOTE: In my theoretical reworking of the Golden Dawn’s astrological correspondences for the Major Arcana a few years ago, I realigned Mercury with two of the four trumps – Temperance and the World – via sign rulership and left it in place with the Magician, which represents the archetypal personification of its energy. Here is a set of quotes from my previous text on the subject (linked below), that I will attempt to explain more fully in the current essay.
“The Magician = Mercury (the quintessential planet of the Intellect and mental gymnastics in general).”
“Temperance = Gemini (the goal of hermetic alchemy is mental transmutation and exaltation of the mind, so Temperance represents the philosophical side of Mercury).”
“The World = Virgo (the idea of “harvest” seems to be at home in this card of completion and success).”
“The Magician, Temperance and the World are connected by their relationship to Mercury (The Magician and The World are associated with the four elements, and Temperance with their admixture).”
Gemini was orphaned when I replaced it with Venus in the Lovers for reasons addressed in my post of a few days ago, and Temperance was vacated when I moved virtuous Sagittarius, its former occupant, to the Hierophant after reassigning Taurus to the Empress as described in the same analysis. In The Book of Thoth, Aleister Crowley went to great lengths to correlate the Lovers as Gemini and Art (aka Temperance) as Sagittarius to the alchemical allegory documented in “The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz,” so by shifting Gemini to Temperance I concatenated those ideas into one seamless synthesis (I admit to apostasy, so shoot me).
When I kicked Virgo out of the Hermit in favor of Capricorn and gave it to the World after bumping Saturn over to the Devil to replace Capricorn as mentioned in another recent post, its association with Mercury came along in the swap. Since both Gemini and Virgo are “mutable” signs ruled by Mercury, this convergence of Temperance and the World seemed like a rather neat coincidence. Virgo is also the sign of applied practical acumen that falls within the purview of Mercury, while Gemini conveys the planet’s more conceptual side that steps smoothly into the abandoned shoes of Sagittarius; one is tactical and the other more strategic, but both capture the spirit of the “technician” for which the Magician is the apotheosis.
These transitions retain the earthy nature of the World and the enlightened focus of Temperance that regulates what I once termed “the Water of Spirit.” Letting loose my “inner Jodorowsy” (those who’ve read The Way of Tarot will know what I’m talking about), I can fancy this philosophical fluid as nourishing the mundane roots of the World through its translation from Gemini to Virgo. In psychological astrology, mutability is sometimes defined as being socially-astute or “people-oriented,” so the scenario might be interpreted as a Shakespearean vignette: “All the world’s a stage . . . etc.”
But, from an elemental perspective, the Air of Gemini and the Earth of Virgo are mutually uncooperative, so I can almost see my way clear to Aleister Crowley’s portrayal of “Nemo” (no-one) in the 13th Aethyr of The Vision and the Voice torturing those roots below ground to stimulate luxuriant growth in the garden above. (While this is neither here-nor-there for the present discussion, I can certainly envision Mercury resorting to imaginative [and perhaps unconventional or even unethical given its amorality] Geminian methods to make its abstract case. Thus, “Art” will set the stage at a high level of sophistication (or artifice) and – without missing a beat – the World will play along either willingly or reluctantly to populate it.
Because it needs no further elaboration, I’ve left the Magician (Thoth Magus) for last. The main thing to note regarding Mercury is that the traditional magician (Le Bateleur in the Tarot de Marseille) was a mountebank or shyster, a taint that was not completely expunged by elevating its status to that of spiritual conduit in later decks. Mercury is still up to its old tricks behind that conjurer’s table, so let the seeker beware.
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