Soumya, saumayana (Son of Soma/Moon)
Kumara (teenager) - Rauhineya
Mercury
Mentality, discrimination, analysis, problem-solving, articulation, handiness, skill
Communication, conversation, mental process, conceptual thought
Sexuality, relationships
Hands, hand-to-eye coordination
Short journeys, short-term projects
Nose
Scripts, dialogs, protocols, formalized communications
Superficial, surfaces, top layer of communication
telepathy
cleverness, discrimination
workgroups, teams, neighbors
Professions: Sales, marketing, advertising, public relations
Shri Krishna Avatara (in some traditions)
Budha's Two "Teenage" mentality houses - Sahaja and Ari
Mercury:
from L. Mercurius "Mercury," the Roman god, originally a god of tradesmen & thieves, from merx "merchandise"
- "c.1150, from L. Mercurius "Mercury," the Roman god, originally a god of tradesmen& thieves, from merx "merchandise;" or perhaps from Etruscan& infl. by merx. Later he was associated with Gk. Hermes.
- The planet closest to the sun so called in classical Latin (c.1386 in Eng.). Sense of "silver-white metal, quicksilver" is first recorded c.1386, when elements were commonly associated alchemically with the planets. This one probably so associated for its mobility."
"Analysis"
Budha:
awaking
intelligent , clever , wise
a wise or learned man , sage
a god
dog
a descendant of Soma, hence also called saumya, saumAyana
author of RVand father of Puru-ravas
identified with the planet Mercury; Mercury (regarded as a son of Soma or the moon)
Wednesday
Accuracy, analytical adjustment, not originality, averse to love/devotion, communications, editing, comprehension, research, computer knowledge, convertible nature, sexless, diplomacy, discrimination, elegance, eloquence, fun, liberal, general success, green things, idealism, averse to wisdom, intellectual knowledge, wit, intuition, memory, logic journalists, mathematics, medicine, astrology, medium of truth, sciences, messengers, public speakers, polarization = its central quality, publishers, scholars, short distance, day to day travel, skin-touch, virility, speech, writing, study, books, education, Vishnu (god). (Adapted from Das)
"Budhi is endowed with an attractive physique& the capacity to use words with many meanings. He is fond of jokes. He has a mix of all the three humors."
~~ BPHS Ch. 3 [Planetary Characters& Description], Shloka 26 [Planetary Characters& Description], Shloka 26
"The root function of language is to control the universe by describing it."
~~ James Baldwin, Stranger in the Village
Mercury rules Veda, writing, sculpture, medicines, expertise, minister-ship, speech, jokes, birds, couples, fame, Vanaspathi (i.e. a large forest tree which bears fruit apparently without any blossoms) & gold.
~~ Saravali, Ch. 7-13
... Mercury is a malefic if He joins a malefic ...
-- BPHS Ch. 3 (Graha Characteristics & Descriptions), Shloka 11
The 6th from Budha be also considered in regard to indications derivable from Ari Bhava.
-- BPHS Ch. 7, Shloka 39-43
Mercury is the planet associated with the nose and therefore any afflictions to him may find expression in the shape of the person suffering from nasal complaints.
~~ B. V. Raman, Three Hundred Important Combinations. (10th ed., Delhi, 1991). Originally published in 1947.
An afflicted Mercury indicates an increase in low class association & opponents, loss of wealth, fear of being confined, mean speech & an unsteady mind.
Budha is the karaka of neutral, skillful communication.
6th-from any house indicates animosity, exploitation, or disease in matters of that house.
The house which is 6th-from-Budha will indicate any "imbalance of neutrality" or "loss of agreement" in communications. The native's behavior in regard to matters of this house will be less concerned with the interests of others, inimical to balanced agreements, independent exhibit behaviors areas, which are all the effects of imbalance (Ari being 12th-from-7th, loss of balance) in the body, mind, spirit,& pocketbook :)
You may remember the story of how the devil and a friend of his were walking down the street, when they saw ahead of them a man stoop down and pick up something from the ground, look at it, and put it away in his pocket.
The friend said to the devil, "What did that man pick up?"
"He picked up a piece of the truth," said the devil.
"That is a very bad business for you, then," said his friend.
"Oh, not at all," the devil replied. "I am going to help him organize it."
Budha is not really the karaka for Intelligence. Divine intelligence emanates from Surya, the Sun (Vishnu). True human intelligence, in the form of Wisdom, is the province of Guru.
"The relinquishing of the present happiness and the pursuit of a future one is never the policy of intelligent people. "
~~ Mahabharata, Shanti Parva, 140.36
Discriminating: Information vs. Wisdom vs. Truth
Budha describes "mental thinking".
Budha, natural lord of domain-3 for team communications, and domain-6 for arguments and disagreements, is the darling of the Information Economy. (Budha is a major karaka for commercial business.
Budha represents a somewhat superficial layer of the personality that facilitates human-to-human communication.
Guru describes "wise knowing".
Guru, natural lord of domain-9 for the house of worship, and domain-12 for the meditation cave, is the inner priest and the inner professor.
Guru represents the religious (9) and psychic (12) knowledge passed from generation to generation through the priestly lineages.
Surya describes "the brilliant light of truth".
Surya, natural lord of domain-5, is the karaka for Genius. Surya is the Light of Truth at the center of all religions.
Surya represents the human soul's connection to the Divine.
Budha's machinery is strictly neutral toward the information it is processing.
Budha carries no inherent values and continues no karmic legacy. Budha carries out the agenda of His lord.
In the hierarchy of graha, Budha is similar to the "Prime Minister" who provides essential information and guidance to the King. However it is (or should be) the King who makes the ultimate ethical decision.
In Swakshetra
In Mithuna rashi and Kanya rashi, Budha is almost perfectly neutral toward the information He is processing (barring the effect of drishti).
Budha processes information as it is found, with no agenda except "data in, data out". Incoming sense data, largely determined by the bhava Budha occupies, is interpreted, logically organized, and messaged out.
Budha is Friendly with Surya & Shukra
Budha always sees The King (Surya) and the Minister of Sense Pleasure (Shukra) as friends. Surya is neutral toward Budha, while Shukra accepts Budha as a friend.
Budha feels welcomed in Rishabha, Simha, and Thula.
Parivartamsha yoga between Surya and Budha gives a highly confident, elitist, but ethical communication style. The native is a fact-based decision-maker.
Examples:
U.S. Pres. & global humanitarian Jimmy Carter, Budha Simha + Surya Kanya.
Parivartamsha yoga between Budha and Shukra gives a pleasant communication style which flourishes in businesses of high civilization which are highly populated by women. The native's thinking is oriented toward facilitating the pleasures of self and others. A mentalized sensualist.
E.g., literature & literary publishing, physical & dramatic arts, delicious oils & wines; fashion, jewelry & textiles; diplomacy & human relationships; and items of gracious pleasure.
Examples:
U.S. Pres. G.H.W. Bush (Sr.) - Budha Rishabha + Shukra Mithuna
U.S. Pres. Harry Truman - Budha Rishabha + Shukra Mithuna
Jiddu Krishnamurti - Budha Rishabha + Shukra Mithuna
Meryl Streep (prize-winning actor, extraordinary skill with speech accents) - Budha Rishabha + Shukra Mithuna
A much more problematic parivartamsha occurs when Budha occupies a rashi of Shukra and Shukra occupies His neechcha position in Kanya. The two graha are mutual friends, but Shukra is ill-disposed. The native has social & commercial success in non-romantic business relationships and relatively little trouble from men. Yet, there is usually a history of trouble with perfectionistic, over-compensating women due to the neechcha Shukra.
Examples:
Prince Charles - Budha Thula + Shukra Kanya
Jack Welch (historic CEO of General Electric megacorp) - Budha Thula + Shukra Kanya
brilliant but tragic philosopher of social history, Michel Foucault - Budha Thula + Shukra Kanya
Budha is Neutral in rashi of Shani
Budha feels neither welcome nor unwelcome in Makara, and Kumbha.
Hostility from Guru & Mangala
In Mesha, Vrischika, Meena and Dhanau, mentalistic Kumara is not welcome. Although Budha is neutral toward His hosts when Budha occupies a rashi of Kuja or Guru, those hosts are hostile to Budha as a tenant.
Wisdom-lord Vrihaspati dislikes Budha's superficial, day-to-day perspective which cannot accommodate Guru's "big picture" cosmic understanding. Kuja dislikes Budha's habit of talking when Kuja would prefer to fight.
Budha loses some of His objectivity when He resides in the signs of those who dislike Him. Budha tends to "talk too big" (or too vague) when in a rashi of Guru. Budha tends to speak too aggressively (or too selfishly) when in a rashi of Mangala.
Budha sees His true but illegitimate father Chandra as an Enemy
In Karkata, Budha loses much of His natural neutrality and becomes uncomfortably emotionalized.
Drishti from Chandra is also mentally destabilizing to Budha, in the sense that psychic instincts to obtain and protect emotional and physical security will tend to over-rule Budha's neutral assessment of the facts.
The native's objective logic is compromised by feeling of imminent threat of home (or homeland) invaders.
Budha in Karkata: George W. Bush, Jerry Falwell Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Fidel Castro
Who is welcome in Mithuna & Kanya?
Budha is able to offer a neutral home to all graha except Chandra, whom Budha overtly dislikes.
The native with Chandra in Kanya always feels unwelcome! George W. Bush, George H. W. Bush "Sr.", Deepak Chopra, actor Jack Nicholson, Fidel Castro
Kuja
Although accepted as a neutral into Mithuna rashi and Kanya rashi, Mangala is very uncomfortable in those analytical, argumentative, verbally dominated places. Kuja is looking for a way to fight and compete.
In Budha's signs, Kuja is forced to fight with words (criticism, sarcasm) which does not give Mangala the dominating, physical power He wants.
Guru
Although accepted as a neutral into Mithuna rashi and Kanya rashi, Vrihaspati is very uncomfortable in those analytical, argumentative, verbally dominated places. Guru is looking for a way to expand wisdom and understanding.
In Budha's signs, Guru is forced to argue His faith teachings, which does not give Guru trust nor the breadth of perspective He wants.
Kumara ('the teenager') is the karaka for one's personal mentality. Kumara is quick, incomplete, reactive not reflective, and "smart". He reveals the internal and external mental processing and messaging style.
Thus, Budha's role in the Jyotisha nativity shows the native's power to organize & develop the day-to-day information which humans need to interpret their world.
Budha regulates that adult mental-skill toolkit of heuristic devices - aphorisms, mnemonics, rules of thumb, models - which speed thinking and promote accuracy.
"The best remedy for sorrow (dukha) is to not think about it. Thinking about sorrow increases it, rather than decreasing it. "
~~ Mahabharata Stri Parva 2.27
If conditions are ideal (e.g., uchcha vargottama Budha in kendra not combust in same rashi with the Sun) the native may be spectacularly intellectualized.
Nevertheless, if Surya and Guru lack strength, even a great analyst may not be Wise.
Drishti from malefics can reduce messaging capabilities.
Drishti from benefics can expand and enhance communication skills.
Shani Drishti
Drishti from Shani restrains the articulatory capacity.
If Shani owns and aspects Budha's rashi, the native may struggle to message effectively.
When Shani has inordinate impact on Budha, the native tends toward unclear speech.
The mechanics of Shani-influenced Budha include a tendency to reduce meaningful sounds and truncate words, lopping off final syllables, reducing essential vowels, and dropping final consonants even if the language being spoken requires these items for clear meaning.
The handwriting may become illegible.
The native's resistance toward full articulation of the signal-marks (letters, diacritics, connectors, separators, punctuation, etc.) in the script makes the output too minimized and the marks become difficult to distinguish.
Writing becomes a slow and laborious process. Grasp of writing implements may be impeded by some manual handicap.
When combust, Budha becomes subjectivized. The mentality develops a solipsistic character. The native's mentality is unable to objectify information. One tends to personalize the information-interpretation process.
Combust Budha has difficulty to see the world from another person's perspective, which can hamper effective problem-solving and reduce articulated expressions of compassion.
Traditional rules for combustion of Budha:
Budha occupies a position within 13 degrees of Surya
if Budha is retrograde: within 11 degrees of Surya
Budha's mulatrikona range = 16-20 degrees of Kanya, within the nakshatra of Hasta.
Within 16-20 Kanya, Budha's potential for clear articulation of ideas, incisive reasoning, & freedom from articulatory limitation or distraction, is optimized. However, should Shani occupy Karkata, Kanya, Dhanau, or Meena rashi, the mental clarity of Mulatrikona Budha will be reduced.
Budha is often called "the calculator" because He rules the repetitive mental actions.
Budha measures, rates, and paces.
Budha makes maps, routes, programs and plans.
Whichever domain Budha occupies, the native is busy calculating matters of that environment.
If Budha is well disposed, the native can also articulate & explain what has been measured and project future plans based on continuous cycling of the established repeating mental pattern.
"Intelligence" reconsidered
Naturally, as the "measurer", Budha is a karaka for human language, mathematics, and music.
All mental pattern-recognition and repetitive mental behaviors fall into Budha's portfolio, whether these mental processes are articulated through expressive language or not.
Thus Budha is a karaka for "intelligence".
It is important to note that "wisdom" is not included in Budha's portfolio (that is Guru) nor is "ethics" (Surya) nor "love" (Shukra, Guru, Moon).
Budha is essentially a piece of mental machinery which compulsively weighs, measures, and rates. Budha delivers no judgment on meaning or significance except as limited to agreed standards of qualitative or quantitative measurement.
Budha is an absorptive, passive "neutral" graha whose mechanical actions must be chained to a greater force in order to accomplish a spiritual goal. Budha's lord has a great deal of power over the outcome of Budha's behavior.
Uchcha Budha, caveat emptor
Uchcha Budha becomes a "systems" thinker, capable of consciously integrating simultaneous calculations regarding multiple and diverse cycles.
When Budha is uchcha or swakshetra and thus lord of His own territory, His intelligence is unimpeded by a potentially restrictive lord but also ultimately unconstrained by moral or aesthetic concerns. Lacking direction from a supervising graha, Budha will blithely categorize, organize, articulate and plan using information available in the domain & rashi where He is placed.
Sometimes the smartest people make the biggest moral errors, especially in this materialistic age when Budha's mechanical information processing abilities are so highly prized.
Quality of the speaking voice essential to the educator's profession, is determined by conditions of the 2nd-house from lagna; however, 2nd-from-Mercury is also influential.
Guru is also a karaka for speech and particularly for language ability.
Top caliber speakers will have favorable Guru and favorable Budha, related in auspicious angles.
Meena's lord Guru only has only one enemy -- & that is Budha!
Fallen Budha in Meena indicates vague, generalized, or inconsistent thinking.
Guru's universal, mystical sign Meena is a tough place for locally-focused, technically-minded Budha to function. The result is that Budha/Meena tends toward inarticulate, incorrect,& distracted mentality with poor problem-solving skills.
Budha/Meena with good aspects might be a remarkable musician or artist, a compassionate servant of humanity, or galaxy-piercing meditator who perceives huge universal truths. The native will always struggle with practical, technical mental tasks and verbal articulation of broad perceptions.
The native is sensitive to the presence of intuitive pathways through the astral world, which are perceived in meditation and the dream state.
Yet, expressing the perceptual experience of moving along those pathways (in the dream world of Pushan, the conductor) is very difficult and nigh impossible through the limited logical mentality of Budha. It's a task that Budha can't perform unless Budha receives Neechha bhanga.
(Similar general difficulties attend most rashi conditions for Budha in domain-12.)
Neechcha bhanga Budha gives the most brilliant results of all. Neechcha bhanga Budha occupies Meena while also in kendra from key points like lagna and/or Chandra.
The second prerequisite for neechcha bhanga is that Budha's dispositor should be extremely strong. Ideally, positive drishti occurs. Then, emerges an amazing genius like Albert Einstein.
Despite genius for expressing the astral perceptions, these folks will continue to struggle with mundane problem-solving. Although gifted to navigate the astral plane of perception, the native is not equipped to navigate earth.
Einstein for example could not complete his own physics computations, frequently got lost in his own neighborhood, & had famously poor relationship communication within his own family.
Although strength of L-4& L-7 is also required success in higher academics (such as university teaching & research careers) auspicious Mercury is also major indicator of ability to articulate complex thoughts. Most people who earn Ph.D.'s will be found to have the strong positions of Mercury signifying verbal & written articulation & robustly analytical intelligence.
Permission to practice all three traditional professions - teaching, law,& medicine - requires advanced graduate education, so all practitioners of the professions will have some planetary combination of Jupiter, Mercury,& L4-/L-7/L-10 which distinguishes their career as intellectually distinguished.
However it is the professors & consultants in those fields who are the most intellectually engaged with their subject matter. So, when we see a strong Mercury in yoga with favorable Guru& a distinguished kendra lord, we expect not only a professional position, but also a degree of intellectual leadership within that profession.
Certain signs for Mercury are allied with specific professions.
Budha in Dhanus [Mercury in Sagittarius] is quite helpful for practice of law, particularly at the teaching & policy levels. If other factors collude, can be a professor of law or top government policy maker. (Can usually see both the forest& the trees.)
Budha in yuvati bhava in most signs gives a natural capacity to articulate contracts & agreements. A natural negotiator. In Dhanau rashi, excellent for the solicitor's profession, eventually becoming a judge.
Uchcha Budha in Kanya is supremely articulate,& will flourish in any field of structured inquiry. This position has a natural affinity for medicine,& will often be found teaching, writing, diagnosing & prescribing in one of the medical traditions - whether tribal medicine, homeopathy, pharmaceutical, ayurveda, etc. Otherwise excellent in all analytical professions. (Always a decision-making professional of some stripe. See the gazillionaire investors Warren Buffet, Bill Gates,& the actor Christopher Reeves, who earned millions by speaking& writing even while quadriplegic.)
Swakshetra Budha in Mithuna is also highly articulate but His focus tends toward rapid, short-term communication & rather than Kanya-Budha's slower more comprehensive, longer-term logical inquiry. Mithuna-Budha thrives in any fast-paced business environment but they are easily bored in stodgy academics. E.g., Budha in Mithuna/7 enjoys commercial law.
3rd-from-Budha is an inauspicious location for matters of mental health. Any planet in 3rd-from-Budha will cause distracted thinking, depressed thinking, compulsive thoughts, etc. according to the nature of that graha in 3rd-from-Budha.
This graha may give excellent results in other departments of life, but if it occupies 3rd-from-Budha it will cause some disruption of the neutral thinking process.
It is easier for the mental process to function unencumbered by strong feelings or opinions. The strong feelings & opinion, compulsive or habitual loops, and other draining or distracting concerns will be generated by the graha(s) in 3rd-from-Budha.
Even a very capable & aware thinker will recognize the "brain drain" effect of the graha 3rd-from-Budha in their mental life.
The strongest effect of this mental-drain phenomenon occurs during the mahadasha of Budha when the bhukti of the graha(s) which occupy 3rd-from-Budha comes onto the schedule. During these periods the native should be especially vigilant to maintain optimum mental health.
Effects of graha in 3rd-from-Budha
Malefics in 3rd-from-Budha will cause the worst effects, but benefics are also somewhat problematic in this angle.
Shani in 3rd-from-Budha = depression, scarcity fears, poverty fears, self-isolation, insecurity, native perceives a lack of support and a crushingly heavy workload.
Rahu = obsessive/compulsive thought loops, intense disruptive desires, usually hungers for taboo objects or experiences or people.
Ketu = detachment and despair, disconnection, inability to find meaning, compulsive wandering.
Kuja = repetitive anger, need to dominate & win, self-righteousness, immature style of competition, sore loser, intolerance of weakness, Napoleon complex
Surya = cannot be in 3rd-from-Budha.
Shukra = excess concern with sensual pleasures, nervous concern with superficial appearance and petty social manners, distracted focus on getting attention.
Guru = minding other people's business, trying to save the world, sympathy where compassion is needed, simple solutions to complex questions, pollyanna complex
Protective Herb of Mercury:Achyranthes or Apamarga-bhasma
Ayurveda: it is bitter, pungent, heating, laxative, stomachic, carminative and useful in treatment of vomiting, bronchitis, heart disease, piles, itching abdominal pains, ascites, dyspepsia, dysentery, blood diseases etc.
Ayurvedic Preparation:
Apamarga Taila, Agnimukha etc.
Chemical Constituent:
Plant yields achyranthine.
Subject: Potato Garden
An old man lived alone in Idaho. He wanted to spade his potato garden, but it was very hard work. His only son, Bubba, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and mentioned his predicament.
Dear Bubba,
I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won't be able to plant my potato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here, all my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me.
Love, Dad
A few days later he received a letter from his son.
Dear Dad,
"For HEAVEN'S SAKE, Dad, don't dig up the garden! That's where I buried the GUNS!"
Love, Bubba
At 4 A.M. the next morning, a dozen FBI agents and local police officers showed up and dug up the entire area without finding any guns. They apologized to the old man and left.
That same day the old man received another letter from his son.
Dear Dad,
Go ahead and plant the potatoes now. It's the best I could do under the circumstances.
Love, Bubba
Law of Logical Argument:
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
"Keep your thoughts positive, because your thoughts become your words.
Keep your words positive, because your words become your behaviors.
Keep your behaviors positive, because your behaviors become your habits.
Keep your habits positive, because your habits become your values.
Keep your values positive, because your values become your destiny. "
Alternating Analytical & Stabilizing meditation
"Here is how to alternate analytical and stabilizing meditation:
After analyzing with individual investigation, desist from such analysis and set the mind single-pointedly on the meaning you have understood.
However, before the mind becomes too settled, switch again to analytical meditation, alternating in this way between stabilizing and analytical meditation.
Gradually, the power of analysis itself will be able to induce physical and mental pliancy...
with respect to calm abiding, but to a greater degree.
Generation of a bliss of physical and mental pliancy, induced through the power of analysis, no longer requiring alternation between analytical and stabilizing meditation, marks the attainment of fully qualified special insight -- and thereby the attainment of the path of preparation.
From this point on, you have a union of calm abiding and special insight.
You now have powerful means for realizing the emptiness of inherent existence in order to overcome obstructions when it is brought to the level of direct perception.
Though specific tantras, or even specific passages in tantras, emphasize either stabilizing or analytical meditation,
it is necessary to alternate these two equally until special insight is attained through the bliss of mental pliancy being induced,
not by the power of stabilizing meditation, but by the power of analysis itself.
Therefore, it is not sufficient merely to withdraw the mind inside or even first to become mindful of the view of emptiness and then set merely in stabilizing meditation.
Analysis is necessary.
This is the thought of all three masters expert in Yoga Tantra."
~~ Dzong-ka-ba & H.H. Dalai Lama. (2005). Yoga Tantra: Paths to Magical Feats. Jeffrey Hopkins (Trans. & Ed.). www.snowlionpub.com
updated: 23 September 2009
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