According to Greek myth, Mercury (or Hermes, whose name derives etymologically from the piles of rocks which marked trails and guided travelers) was the messenger of the gods. He carried orders from Olympus to the mortals on Earth. The child of the illegitimate union of Zeus with Maia, Mercury was born “unknown to the immortal gods” and had to win his place among them by trickery, cleverness, and cunning. This is why he became the vagabond deity of travelers and wanderers. He is the instinctive foe of the settled who see him as an outcast roaming on the outskirts of society: a pariah, a thief, and a swindler. As ruler of the sign of Gemini, the Twins, he symbolizes the brother—the alter-ego who teaches us as much as we teach him and is associated with adolescence, a period of intense intellectual discovery. Mercury thus symbolizes lively, sparkling wit, mobility in any form, mental exchange, and interaction. As a result, a person strongly ruled by Mercury is quite likely to be clever and skillful. If Mercury is “afflicted” in one’s chart, their intellectual velocity may sometimes become mere mental hyperactivity. In any case, these skills are a great resource in the social realm.

Brooke Maroon’s birth chart is strongly solar. As a result, she identifies very positively with motherhood. Her personality is friendly, energetic, and creative, with high ideals and a firm determination to accomplish them. She takes her own superiority and authority over others for granted, and she has a natural ability to command the attention and admiration of an audience. She is a born leader who enjoys being in the limelight and may behave somewhat theatrically or with dramatic exaggeration. She has definite artistic leanings. The sense of her ideals is evident to her and may lead her to be somewhat self-focused. If ill-directed, her deep aspirations may lead to such faults as egotism, selfishness, or greediness for power.

As the moon orbits the earth, it has always been associated with the sun in the minds of men. The moon and sun are the primordial cosmic couple. This satellite of the earth, which mysteriously waxes and wanes, has been compared to the eternal feminine principle, the mother hovering over your infant’s cradle. Psychologically, the moon is thus symbolic of the mother and the mother image. This figure is a primordial element in the psyche of each individual. Depending on your nature, the mother figure may correspond to your biological mother, a grandmother, or a woman who cared for you in infancy and childhood. When you reach adulthood, this mother-figure and all the emotions and bonds associated with you may be transferred to something else: a spouse, a companion, an institution, a church, corporation, or political movement, a cult, etc. In short, any individual or structure likely to take on the mother’s duty of caring for and nurturing the vulnerable aspects of an individual. To be more down-to-earth, the mother figure corresponds to the habits which were learned and then definitively incorporated into the individual’s identity as you gradually became acculturated and progressed toward social independence. As a result, a strongly “lunar” personality often finds it difficult to adapt and is uncomfortable outside the secure setting of familiar routines. Closely tied to your past, you may be unwilling to detach yourself from it and embark on your life as an individual in the here and now. You still identify somewhat with your inner child and may display a child’s capricious behavior, indulging in moodiness and indecision. Your passivity may make you easily influenced, your sensitivity makes you subjective, and you hesitate to open up and lay your soul bare. In your daily life, psychic activity will rule. Your imagination, memory, sensitivity, sensation, and sentiment nearly overwhelm your psyche.

Brooke Maroon, you should be especially interested in the twelfth house because it contains several planets, including the one which rules your rising sign.

According to tradition, this sector of the astrological chart is related to hardship, disease, hospitals, and all other areas associated with weakness and weariness. More specifically, this sector is associated with the last sign of the zodiac, Pisces, or the Fishes. It symbolizes the epilogue of your various experiences. This is where the failures you encountered as you were going about your evolution may have accumulated; in certain extreme cases, they may have an impact on your health or well-being. This sector should thus be associated with your need to confront your own past, assume the errors you may have made, and accept your flaws. If you hope to improve your performance, you must confront your past, understand and analyze it. Before starting something new, it is often important to settle the unfinished business first. If this sector is especially prominent, you may have to concentrate on making sure every initiative is followed through to completion, including a constructive analysis of your experiences afterward. You may wonder about the personal and spiritual value of your acts and thoughts. You may sometimes be haunted by the memories of your failures; at that point, you must have the courage to confront your mistakes and learn a lesson from them.

Brooke Maroon, you should pay attention to the tenth house in your theme.