Mercury in Taurus
Since this sign is of an earthy nature according to medieval sources, Mercury here indicates natives whose thinking and decision making are based on practical common sense. They have shrewd business intellects and have a talent for management. Intellectually, they are slow to come to decisions, but once made, their minds will be difficult to change. They can also be stubborn and opinionated. The cool/dry nature allows for great powers of concentration, since cold, according to Aristotle, is what concentrates things into tighter spaces.
In a diurnal chart, the ability to make intellectual distinctions is increased since the heat burns off impure/muddy ideas. The opinionated nature comes out more completely and there is greater intellectual conservatism, though they are not necessarily conformists. The dryness of the daytime prevents easy conformity, which is something water/wetness does much better. These natives tend to be more practical than their nocturnal counterparts.
In a nocturnal chart, intellectual reasoning is relational by nature. The mind asks how situations and things are alike because the cool and moist of the night brings together things of like and unlike nature and concentrates them in a way that makes it more difficult to make distinctions. Therefore there is a higher degree of tolerance and understanding, and the native is less opinionated. There can be a higher degree of confusion as well and sometimes long held ideas end up being changed through disillusionment.
© 2000 Curtis Manwaring
