Your Spiritual Connection Centers: Knowledge and Innovation: Uranus and Mercury

• Uranus (higher octave)
• Rulership: Breath; breathing; diaphragm; brain stem and spinal cord; central nervous system
• Native house: 11th House
• Rise: Scorpio
• Rest: Aquarius
• Detriment: Leo
• Fall: Taurus
• Mercury (lower octave)
• Rulership: Left/Right hemispheres of brain; peripheral nervous system
• Native houses: 3rd House; 6th House
• Rise: N/A
• Rest: Gemini; Virgo
• Detriment: Sagittarius; Pisces
• Fall: N/A

The first planet from the Sun is Mercury. It is the planet closest to the Sun and is the quickest of the planets, completing one orbit around the Sun in 88 days at about 30 miles per second. Mercury is among the planets with the most stories written about him. Mercury is the Roman name for this planet, but the Greeks called him by the name of another: Hermes. In Greek mythology, Hermes was the messenger of the gods and was given winged sandals by Zeus himself to aid him in quickly ferrying messages and communications. Hermes was free to travel at will and without permission between the Heavens, Earth, and the Underworld. Mercury is at home in two houses of the Zodiac: the 3 rd House of siblings, communication, and learning, and the 6th House of work and health. Mercury governs the signs Gemini and Virgo, the signs of mutable Air and Earth, respectively.

Mercury also shares the root for the word “merchant,” this because of his role in a natal chart: communication and exchange of information, among others. Mercury, as the ruler of two mutable signs (Gemini of Air, Virgo of Earth), holds neither a negative nor a positive charge and possesses no distinct personality of his own. Instead, Mercury – as the mouthpiece of the gods – amplifies or transmits the message or personality of whichever planets are in close proximity.

Mercury imparts a quick intelligence, clever nature, and adaptability that would make Indiana Jones or MacGyver look positively rigid. Mercury governs all things which require communication and exchange of ideas, including writing, speaking, listening, learning, teaching, and assimilating what others communicate. Mercury also rules those things which facilitate communication and exchange of knowledge: books, contracts, agreements, newspapers, journals, sales, and exchange of money. Mercury, as the ruler of the hands, leads people under his influence to speak with their hands, to possess great dexterity, and be skilled in fine craftsmanship.

On a bad day, Mercury is out of touch and unavailable. Misunderstandings abound and nothing seems to be communicated properly. You tell your friend about ABC but later he gets upset and swears that you were talking about XYZ. Mercury will cling to rational thinking, even if the logic is faulty or rational thought can’t explain what happened. This means that Mercury can have trouble adapting to a new game because he’s still operating under the rules of the last game and doesn’t understand why things needed to be changed.

Mercury goes into retrograde four times per year for about three weeks. Retrograde means that the planet as seen from Earth appears to slow down, stand still, or even move backward. In reality, it is a trick of the eye – the planet is as always moving on its same course. When Mercury goes into retrograde, the things he rules experience flux and difficulty. Phone calls mysteriously disconnect, emails get lost in cyberspace, arguments start from simple miscommunications, the payroll database crashes, and so on. All of these happen more frequently during Mercury retrograde and for that reason it gets a lot of attention every time it rolls around. For all the worrying some people do about Mercury-retrograde, it’s not as terrible as is described. The blessing of Mercuryretrograde is that we are given a three-week period in which we can disengage from others, focus on ourselves, and enjoy some peace and privacy. Mercury-retrograde is a good time for reflection and inquest.

Before we go any farther, I want to preemptively kill any naughty astrologer jokes. I have a very dry and sarcastic sense of humor and I love puns and plays on words; however, I find it hard to avoid being laughed at by complete strangers when I bring up the subject of Uranus. I have to admit – potty humor is immature but it makes me laugh because, well, it’s funny. Unfortunately, it’s hard to talk when the other person laughs every time I mention Uranus. Imagine an astrologer sitting at a table with a client looking at a natal chart: “The signs look favorable for a romantic encounter in the near future, but I see unexpected trouble coming from Uranus.” You can say the name of the planet any way you like, but I’ve found that I avoid a lot bad jokes at my expense when I move the stress from the letter “a” to the first letter, “u.” Ur-ANUS is something you discuss with a proctologist, and UR-anus is something you discuss with an astrologer.

Back to business: Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and the first of the outer planets. Uranus is an odd-ball, in the most literal sense: he orbits the Sun on his side and rotates clockwise. This is unusual because the other planets of our Solar System rotate counter-clockwise and their poles face away from the Sun (not toward it.) This unusual axis and rotation is thought to be the result of a cataclysmic collision or similar event which radically altered the planet’s position; maybe there’s truth to Uranus’ mythological castration and deposition at the hands of his son Saturn? Uranus is the ruler of youth and orbits the Sun in eighty four years. Men’s common “mid-life crisis,” which generally happens between 38 and 42, is the result of Uranus occupying the exact opposite position of a man’s natal chart as when he was born; thus, things are literally upside down.

Uranus is the higher octave of Mercury and functions in a similar manner but on a higher order. Mercury could be compared to a reporter or journalist: he discovers, collects, digests, assimilates, and disseminates information. Mercury is a mouth-piece who reports what’s happening or what already happened. Mercury hears the word, assembles the word, and then puts the word on the street. Mercury dutifully and responsibly collects, relays, and reports information like Hermes the fleet-footed messenger of the gods. Uranus is different: like Mercury, he’s smart, swift, and agile, but – unlike Mercury – Uranus is inventive and highly original. To get an idea how Uranus works, just look to the metal named for him: uranium, which is used both for nuclear power and nuclear bombs. You can use uranium to light up a city, but you can use it to blow up a city. Uranus does not suffer consistency: he wants to turn things upside down to match the axis on which he sits.

Unlike Mercury, who collects and reports new things, Uranus wants to collect and invent new things. Mercury will maintain a car in working order, but Uranus will strip the car apart, change up to a bigger engine, improve the fuel economy, add a new sound system, and install satellite radio. See the difference? He changes everything. Of all the changes Uranus would make to that car, the one thing he would definitely install is satellite radio. Uranus is the ruler of radio waves, advanced communication, new research, and experimental development. Uranus takes the information and then works to learn something from it and make it better. Uranus can be difficult to cope with because he changes things by first pointing out what’s not good about them. Uranus doesn’t wait on others for their permission: he’s willful and he doesn’t conform to expectations. Despite all of that, Uranus is highly scientific and can make sudden breakthroughs where others have languished. He is a synthesizer and combiner of all things: give him ten difficult projects and he’ll turn them into one successful endeavor. It won’t be anything like what you gave him, but it will be original, unique, and powerful. On a bad day,

Uranus can be impetuous and he’ll leap before he looks: he may even leap just to disprove his naysayers, only realizing later that he really should have checked the height first. He can also be disconnected from the rest of the world or in his comings and goings a regular space cadet. His ability to synthesize moves beyond the scientific and instead into the imaginary where everything makes perfect sense and no sense at all. He feels like he’s on the brink of something great but instead he’s totally confused with all of the ideas he’s spinning around in Mind. Uranus is the primary ruler of Aquarius, the sign of fixed Air, and is most at home in the 11th House of friends, groups, mentors, teachers, and aspirations.

The entire head is a major junction of universal life Spirit; the first portion which will be discussed is Uranus, or the crown, and the second which will be discussed is Mercury, or the brain. Because the kingdoms of Mercury and Uranus are inseparable, they must be considered the same. Any division between the two is artificial and exists only to provide clarification. If you lay your hand palm-down over the top of your head with the fingers are pointing behind you, that’s almost the entire crown. Mercury, as the left and right hemispheres of the brain, covers the portion of the head not included in the crown to exclude the brow and temples. This area includes the rear of the head extending to the occipital bone.

The question can be asked, “Which planet is the most important?” The answer, if you’re curious, is “yes.” Yes – they’re all the most important. Each planet is absolutely vital and important to the individual’s health. The only importance given to a planet is the importance of the structures, functions, and processes it rules. Although Hermetic teachings confirm that reality as we know it is a lower, base manifestation of myriad higher planes, there is no benefit to giving exclusive emphasis to planets such as Uranus, Mercury, and Pluto in an effort to ascend more rapidly to higher planes of Spiritual awareness. Placing exclusive emphasis on Uranus, Mercury, and Pluto is like building a palatial mansion on top of a mobile home: grossly unbalanced. Ascension to and operation within the higher planes of Spirit is only accessible to those whose Minds and bodies are equally balanced.

The importance of the crown in Lightworking is that the crown is the gateway to the breath of life: it is revered in world religions as a place of importance and significance. It is considered among the most sacred parts of the body and is frequently protected or shielded from outside influence by hats or other garments. Yarmulkes are found in Judaism; kufis and taqiyahs are found in Islam; zucchettos are found in Catholicism; tubeteikas are worn by ethnic Turks and some eastern-Europeans; the fez is still worn in parts of Libya, Morocco, Egypt, and northern Africa; turbans are worn by Sikhs; a wide variety of headwear is in use today in the Middle East both among men and women; and a wide variety of headgear is worn in traditional Asian cultures.

In many cultures around the world it is considered an extreme offense to touch or strike another’s crown, and even if the exact importance of the location is not explained, the crown is given great emphasis in Christian culture: when congregants come together to give a blessing of comfort to a brother or sister in need, they do so by placing their hands atop the person’s head.

Uranus is best illustrated through his lesser-used second glyph which looks like an amalgam of the glyphs of the Sun and Mars. The second glyph of Uranus shows a circle of Spirit with a seed of potential or identity within it, but in this instance it is topped with a straight vertical arrow of aim, drive or desire. It is almost identical to the glyph of Mars, except that the arrow points straight to the divine and is an emblem of mortal man’s innovation and self-determination to grow and become closer to the First Cause from which he and all other life originated.

The importance of Mercury is that he’s is the communicator of information and ferryman of signals throughout the body. You remember the importance of the Roman Mercury or Greek Hermes in mythology: he was the fleet footed messenger of the gods and the only person who could freely and without restriction travel between the Heavens, Earth, and Underworld. He fulfilled his duties as a courier but also used his privileges to learn and indulge his curiosity. Mercury is the general ruler of the brain itself is also the specific ruler of the corpus callosum, the segment which connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Uranus is the higher octave of Mercury, and Uranus and Mercury together form the Mind, intellect, rationale, thought, insight, and wit of man. Because Uranus is the higher octave of Mercury, the two are essentially the same Spirit.

Uranus is the major portal through which Spiritual life Spirit flows into the human body. Uranus, similar to its association with the breath of the divine, governs the breath, breathing, and diaphragm. Scriptures from the Bible, Koran, Tora, and others which refer to man being made alive or animate through the breath of God are numerous. A review of other holy texts outside the Abrahamic faiths shows similarities between breath and animation of the human Spirit.

An intriguing story stems from the correspondence of Uranus to Tarot, a form of cartomancy famously employed by Gypsies and fortune-tellers around the world. The 12th card of the major arcana (greater secrets) of the Tarot is the Hanged Man and shows a man tied by the ankle to a wooden crossbeam hanging upside down with a corona or bright aura around his crown. Although the Hanged Man originally referred to a traitor or somebody who went against the established regime (much like innovative, rebellious Uranus), physical inversion is archetypally significant.

In Norse mythology, Odin was said to have hung himself upside down from a branch of the World Tree (or Tree of Life) to gain wisdom. Similarly, yogis and other mystics practice physical inversion to let oxygen-rich blood flow from the feet and abdomen to the brain and head. The increased blood flow is said to improve health and promote wisdom. Likewise, chiropractors and health spas frequently employ swinging tables to invert their patients for health and wellness.

Uranus primarily rules the central nervous system which includes includes the brain, the brainstem, and the spinal cord. The brain is ruled by both Uranus and Mercury, but the nature of their kingdoms is different in function. Uranus and Mercury are inseparable and, for our purposes, must always be treated together. Uranus primarily rules the central nervous system (brain, brain stem, and spinal cord), and Mercury primarily rules the peripheral nervous system and the signals and messages which are carried through it. Like fleet-footed Hermes who traveled everywhere as he pleased, Mercury governs the nerves and pathways which permeate the body and bring signals from the top of the crown to the tip of the toes and everywhere in between.

Uranus’ rulership of the central nervous system controls a variety of functions, primarily the central nervous system, which includes the brain, brain stem, and the spinal cord. The brain is not one solid mass of grey matter but several separate pieces. The brain is made of four lobes in two hemispheres and the two halves are joined by the corpus callosum, an information super highway which coordinates the body and facilitates transfer of signals to, from, and between the separate halves of the brain. The two hemispheres of the brain form the cerebral cortex, the wrinkly, rumpled surface which most people see when they think of the brain. The cerebral cortex sits on top of and surrounds other structures, such as the pons, cerebellum, and the ubiquitous medulla oblongata. The cerebral cortex forms the base for the neo cortex, in Latin meaning “new bark” or “new rind,” the gray matter which surrounds the deeper white matter of the brain.

The four lobes of the brain are interconnected and work together, but each individual lobe generally governs specific processes. The portion of the brain nearest the front of the head is the frontal lobe. The frontal lobe governs speech, speaking, expression, motor control, coordination, plans, and planning. After the frontal lobe is the parietal lobe which governs comprehension of speech, interpretation of signals, making sense of communication, and decoding signals of sensation from the body. At the very rear and base of the skull is the occipital lobe which governs sight, vision, and making sense of what we see. Last, wrapped or tucked around each side is the temporal lobe. The temporal lobe governs the interpretation of what we hear, how we hear, moderates behavior, and influences long-term memory.

The spinal cord, as an extension of the cerebral cortex and cerebellum, is also ruled by Uranus. One of the most interesting functions of the spinal cord is the function and operation of dermatomes. Dermatomes are those portions of the body which are connected to specific portions of the spinal cord. This is important not just to Uranus but also Pluto, who we’ll meet next, because both Uranus and Pluto are in rise, rest, detriment, and fall only in the fixed signs of the Zodiac which correspond to the divisions of the spine.

The spine is divided into four portions: the cervical vertebrae (C2-C8), thoracic vertebrae (T1-T12), lumbar vertebrae (L1-L5), and sacral vertebrae (S1-S5.) We’ll return to dermatomes later when we explore the fixed signs Aquarius, Leo, Scorpio, and Taurus, but I introduce the subject now to illustrate the spinal column’s relation to Uranus as a relay network. The spinal cord transmits signals to the body from the brain via synapse nerves which run through the entire body. Nerves extend from the spinal column (the central nervous system) to every region of the body and in response to signals from the brain innervate (synaptically trigger) muscles, organs, and tissues to perform certain functions. These same nerves also relay information from dermatomes back to the central nervous system.

Another interesting relation between the 12th major key of the Tarot and Uranus is that there are twelve cranial nerves which extend from the brain stem and terminate at different locations in the body. They primarily terminate in the head, but a few extend much farther than the head, face, jaw, and neck.

The function of Cranial Nerve Zero is uncertain and is debated by researchers. It is known to be a sensory nerve, meaning that it is essentially afferent, or that it transmits outside signals to the central nervous system, but is believed to play a role in the detection of pheromones. More practical than Cranial Nerve Zero, Cranial Nerve I is an afferent nerve which communicates what we actually smell, such as food, smoke, trees, and unwashed laundry. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could just turn that nerve off sometimes?

Cranial Nerve II is an afferent nerve which transmits light signals to the brain stem. In other words, it is our sense of sight and it helps us make sense of the visual input we receive. Complementary to Cranial Nerve II, Cranial Nerve III (the oculomotor nerve) is an efferent nerve which innervates most eye motion. Cranial Nerve IV is an efferent nerve, called the trochlear nerve, and complements Cranial Nerve II through innervation of fine motor control of the eyes. Cranial Nerve VI, called the abducens nerve, abducts the eye, or in other words innervates the muscles of the eye to track left and right. When the doctor watches your eyes and asks you to visually track light as he moves it left and right, he is examining your abducens nerve for proper functioning.

Cranial Nerve V is both afferent and efferent, and is called the trigeminal nerve. It receives sensory information from the face and innervates the muscles of mastication, or in other words, signals muscles of the jaw which enable us to chew our food. Cranial Nerve V is good friends with Cranial Nerve IX, the glossopharyngeal nerve, which innervates the parotid gland to produce saliva and which also communicates the sense of taste from the rear third of the tongue.

Cranial Nerve VII is an afferent and efferent nerve, called the facial nerve. It innervates the muscles which enable us to create so many different expressions, from the saddest frown to the happiest smile and everything in between. It also innervates a very small skeletal muscle in the ear called the stapedius. This muscle acts like a buffer or valve, relaxing or contracting, to regulate the effect of very loud sounds entering the ears. Cranial Nerve VII additionally communicates taste from the front two-thirds of the tongue.

Cranial Nerve XII is an efferent nerve, called the hypoglossal nerve, and enjoys the company of Cranial Nerves V, VII, VIII, and IX. It innervates most of the tongue and it is important with respect to swallowing because it promotes bolus formation. A bolus is the mass of food formed in the mouth so that food can be swallowed and easily digested. The hypoglossal nerve also innervates the parotid gland to produce saliva which begins the process of digestion in the mouth.

Cranial Nerve VIII is an afferent nerve, called the statoacoustic nerve. It relays sound to the brain stem and acts as a gyroscopic compass which maintains rotation, gravity, hearing, and equilibrium. Cranial Nerve X is an afferent and efferent nerve, called the vagus nerve. Vagus comes from Latin, meaning “wanderer,” which is appropriate in that it “wanders” quite a long way away from the brain stem where it originated. The vagus nerve is parasympathetic in nature, meaning that it serves to relax the body. The vagus nerve helps control the muscles which form our voice and resonance as well as the soft palate. It innervates the palatoglossus, which is the muscle that elevates the posterior of the tongue and aids our ability to swallow. The vagus nerve “wanders” from the brain stem through the head, neck, chest, and abdomen, and also contributes to the innervation of the internal organs. Cranial Nerve XI is an efferent nerve, called the accessory nerve. It innervates the muscles of the neck and of the trapezeus and it shares several functions with the vagus nerve. 

Uranus rules breath, breathing, and the diaphragm. As illustrated earlier, the mystical significance of breath can’t be undervalued. Breath and breathing are essential not only for life, health, and relaxation, but also for occult purposes. It is no accident that breath-control and awareness of one’s breath is taught in classes of conflict mediation, stress reduction, and anger management. On the purely physical level, breathing is the process by which the body expels carbon dioxide. This gas exchange removes harmful carbon dioxide from the human body and the rate at which a person breathes is set by the autonomic nervous system.

Like the Hanged Man suspended in mid-air, the diaphragm performs a similar function: it suspends the heart and prevents it from “falling” into the abdominal cavity. Every time you inhale, you body moves. Depending on how you choose to breathe (because it is a conscious choice), either you chest or your abdomen will expand; this is in response to the movement of the diaphragm. The diaphragm is a large wall or sheet of muscle which separates the abdominal cavity from the thoracic cavity. The diaphragm is related to breath and breathing in that as it expands and contracts, the lungs breathe in and out.

Deep breathing which expands the abdomen is called diaphragmatic breathing, belly breathing, and abdominal breathing, but Yogis have even more names and methods of performing this technique. Most people breathe into their upper chest, which causes the familiar “rise and fall” of the chest. This is the way most people automatically breathe and unfortunately it’s not the best way to breathe. Breathing into the chest restricts the lungs from expanding fully and does not encourage a full breath of fresh Air and exchange of carbon dioxide. By “breathing” into the abdomen, the lungs accept more fresh oxygen and harmful carbon dioxide is expelled with greater efficiency. With practice this way of breathing can become automatic – I encourage you to research deep breathing and work to implement it in your own life.

Beyond the coordination of the body and aiding the transfer of information, Mercury specifically rules the peripheral nervous system which includes the somatic and autonomic nervous systems. The autonomic nervous system is further subdivided into the sympathetic, parasympathetic, and enteric nervous systems. The peripheral nervous system connects the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord) to the rest of the body and relays information from one to the other and back again in a constant flow of information. Autonomic body functions are those functions and processes which are “automatic,” or which function without conscious effort on your part (digestion, heart rate, etc.) The central and peripheral nervous systems can, as already mentioned above, be afferent or efferent. Afferent means that a nerve carries sensory information or signals from external stimuli to the brain for processing; in other words, afferent nerves affect the brain. Efferent means that a nerve carries signals from the brain to the body for action; in other words, efferent nerves create effects. 

The somatic nervous system is primarily efferent and it works to coordinate movement and regulate those activities which are under conscious control. In its afferent capacity, it receives external stimuli which when relayed to the brain keep the body in touch with its surroundings. These afferent signals come from muscles, skin, and sense organs. In other words, if something is heavy or light, hot or cold, or smells good or bad, the somatic nervous system helps relay that information to the brain so that we know whether to work harder to lift an object, stay away from an intense heat, or not eat something rotten. In its efferent capacity, it coordinates voluntary movement of the body through the innervation of skeletal muscles (walking, jumping, turning the head, etc.)

Interestingly, the somatic nervous system does not rule reflex arcs. A reflex arc is an automatic reflex which happens involuntarily and which appears to have become ingrained in our genetic make-up as a survival mechanism; reflex arcs are autonomic and somatic. Autonomic reflex arcs are reflexes which occur in the internal organs, while somatic reflex arcs are reflexes which occur in the muscles. The knee jerk and the rapid retraction of the hand after touching a hot surface are examples of a somatic reflex arc. Curiously, reflex arcs do not result from a command issued in the brain but instead from the spinal cord; in other words, the afferent signal doesn’t travel to the brain and the efferent signal is issued from the spinal cord. The autonomic nervous system operates largely outside of our awareness. The autonomic nervous system is responsible for regulating and coordinating such activities as sexual arousal, salivation, perspiration, heart rate, sexual arousal, intestinal activities, and digestion, and it is classically divided into two halves: the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

The sympathetic nervous system is what prepares the body for “fight or flight” and could be compared to the accelerator pedal in a vehicle. The sympathetic nervous system reacts and responds to danger, irritation, stress, and anxiety – in other words, it compels us to act in the face of danger. The sympathetic nervous system increases blood pressure, raises heart rate, increases adrenaline, and coordinates other physiological changes associated with excitement and arousal.

The parasympathetic nervous system is the counterbalance to the sympathetic nervous system: it is the rest-and-digest, like the brake pedal in a vehicle. Generally speaking, the parasympathetic nervous system slows the body, calms the nerves, and returns the body to homeostasis. It responds to calm surroundings and can be deliberately activated by increasing one’s sense of peace and calm. The parasympathetic nervous system promotes healthy digestion and can be seen in the slowing of the heart, healthy digestive activity, and dilation of pupils or blood vessels.

The autonomic nervous system also includes the enteric nervous system. The enteric nervous system regulates everything which operates in context to digestion: esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and colon. The enteric nervous system innervates the digestive tube and is located inside its walls. Curiously, the enteric nervous system collectively contains as many neurons as the entire spinal cord and can operate independently in isolation from the autonomous nervous system. For this reason, the enteric nervous system has been called a "second brain” and provides evidence for “gut feelings!”