Weekly horoscopes, mercury in retrograde, moon cycles: you might have no idea what any of it really means but you can bet everyone’s talking about it. With astrology continuing to grow a cult following, astrologist Jessica Lanyadoo and journalist T. Greenaway are turning their focus towards relationships. Promising to illuminate your love life, the duo have written a practical guide to help you better understand your partner and learn how to cultivate the relationships you *really* want, not the ones you think you deserve.
In the below extract, Lanyadoo and Greenaway discuss the different ways your star sign in mercury will affect your approach to relationships.
Mercury in Aries
These people are enthusiastic and direct, but prone to interrupting. They may have me-centric thinking, and they’re not the most compromising, which is not super endearing to their partners. That said, they are brave, protective of those they love, and willing to do the work of moving things along in their relationships.
Mercury in Taurus
Stubborn, diplomatic, and resourceful, these people tend to have methodical ways of processing, which they do through their senses. If they don’t have enough time to do that, they can get a bit rushed and defensive. This means that they need extra time to truly take in information, especially when things get heated or unpleasant with their partners. They may experience periods of inertia wherein they need to find ways to recharge.
Mercury in Gemini
This placement gives people a quick, logical nature. They’re able to grasp ideas and communicate them efficiently, but they may get easily distracted or keep things on the surface. They tend toward duplicity if they’re not careful; not because they’re intentionally lying but because they are speaking to different truths at different moments. It’s important in relationships that these folks honor their word and not rely heavily on their ability to convince or talk circles around their partner
Mercury in Cancer
People who have Mercury in Cancer will express themselves indirectly, but their tone of voice will often betray their emotions—especially when they’re talking about things that are difficult for them. This can give them a reputation for being passive-aggressive. That said, they are loyal and tend to be supportive and responsive to their partners’ needs. Because Cancer is such an emotional sign, they may change their points of view often.
Mercury in Leo
This placement inclines people to be enthusiastic and fun and to have a flair for the dramatic in how they tell stories, communicate, and relate to the people they’re close to. They may also be a little self-indulgent. They have an authoritative way of speaking and can have a bit of a “do as I say not as I do” tendency. Their stubbornness can become a challenge in relationships, especially if these folks lose sight of their intentions to be creatively connected to their partners.
Mercury in Virgo
These people can be highly critical or thoughtfully discerning. They can get fixated on what they believe to be the truth, and they won’t rest until it’s verified or validated. There’s a tendency to get lost in the details and distracted by the little things. On the plus side, people with this placement can have an endless well of loving curiosity about their partners, especially when they can remain curious in their own lives
Mercury in Libra
This placement leads to indecisiveness, which can become uncertainty and insecurity over time if these folks aren’t careful. The drive and willingness to compromise is useful in a partnership, but when it gets to a point where people aren’t making their own decisions and taking responsibility for what they bring to the table, that indecisiveness can be a real problem. While admirable, their desire to be nice can sometimes lead them to be less than honest in their communications.
Mercury in Scorpio
This is not the most forthcoming placement, as Scorpio tends to be a private, sometimes secretive sign. This is not due to a lack of integrity in these people but instead to the depth of emotion that comes along with their ideas. These folks are quite intense and have very strong attitudes and opinions about people and situations. They’re excellent at picking up on subtlety and must learn to resist the urge to clock their partners’ every move or bring up the past when discussing charged issues.
Mercury in Sagittarius
These people have to be careful not to write checks with their words that they can’t cash with their actions. They are quite capable and honest but can also justify almost anything. They love sharing stories, and, as much as they value honesty, they tend to colour outside the lines to make things more interesting. Their relationships will work best when they make sure to listen to their partners and when they don’t feel as if they’re just being swept along for the ride.
Mercury in Capricorn
Literalists until the end, these people can be hard to predict, and their attitudes vacillate between uptight and wild. They may have rigid mindsets about how things should be and fixed ideas about the past. They also have pretty serious mental dispositions, which empowers them to do the work that relationships require, but it doesn’t always make them the most romantic or sentimental communicators along the way.
Mercury in Aquarius
These people are very detail-oriented and tend to pick up on everything at once. They’re given to having eccentric ideas and inventive speech patterns. Attuned to symbolism, they can be active listeners or may project onto others. These folks have to be careful not to interrupt, because even though they think they can anticipate their partners’ words, everyone deserves the space to express themselves in their own ways
Mercury in Pisces
This is a very sensitive placement for Mercury. These people are supportive, sentimental, and have genuine empathy for others, but they can be a bit passive when things get difficult in their relationships. They loathe the idea of hurting feelings or being wrong. Since their sensitivities can make them quite moody, it’s important they take the space that they need to truly show up within their partnerships.
Reprinted from ASTROLOGY FOR REAL RELATIONSHIPS: Understanding You, Me, and How We All Get Along. Copyright © 2020 by Jessica Lanyadoo and T. Greenaway. To be published on December 31, 2019 by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
