“The image of Mercury, according to the wise Mercurius, is the shape of a man with a cock on his head, standing on a throne; his feet are similar to the feet of an eagle; he is holding fire in the palm of his left hand…” Picatrix Book II, Chapter 10, Paragraph 32. (Attrell and Porecca, 2019)
Behold, friends! My latest astrological image, and one of my favorites to date: Mercury according to Mercurius. The imagery doesn’t particularly call to me (I’m surprisingly un-mercurial), but I’m just SO FUCKING PLEASED with how this turned out. And, for a rarity, I’m equally happy with both the pencil sketch and the digital inks!
Like all of what I describe as the primary planetary images (the big block of descriptions in Book Two, Chapter Ten), it is my understanding that this image is good for all Mercurial purposes.
The picatrix says this of Mercury:
“The benevolence of Mercury is appropriate to messengers and scribes…” – Bk II Ch 3 Para 6
“Mercury is the source of intellectual power. He governs an aspect toward learning knowledge and wisdom, dialectic, grammar, philosophy, geometry, astronomy with its processes, geomancy, notarial science, the augury of birds according to tradition, and the interpretation of Turkish and other languages.” – Bk III Ch1 Para 8
“Mercury is the author of eloquence, rational intellect, and sense perception; from him proceeds the understanding of subtle and profound things.” – Bk III Ch 3 Para 33
“Seek from Mercury petitions appropriate to notaries, scribes, arithmeticians, geometricians, astrologers, grammarians, public speakers, philosophers, rhetoricians, poets, sons of kings and their secretaries, toll keepers, merchants, ministers, lawyers, slaves, boys, girls, younger brothers, painters, designers, and the like.” – Bk III Ch 7 Para 7
“Use Mercury when you wish to know, understand, and expel distraction; then your request will be fulfilled and flourish more easily.” – Bk IV Ch 4 Para 26
