Mercury (the god, not the planet)

Hey there!

If you have bought my hand made Mercury candle, please note that it was made with permission from him and set out during the full moon.

Let’s talk about Mercury (Roman god)! This dude was introduced late in the game, so he is a new(er) god, and that’s why he so closely resembles Hermes (Greek god).

I hear a lot about Mercury, with the planet’s retrograde and stuff. This is about the god. I would pray to him on Wednesday, which is the planets’ day of the week, but that was about it. Then I was working on selling my car and I felt strongly called to him. I have been praying to Mata Lakshmi for abundance and prosperity, but for some reason I was starting to be called to him. One day he just popped into my head and I said, OK, I hear you. I made a candle in his honor, colored it orange/gold, put some herbs and essential oils in it, and lit it almost every day until that car sold (there were a few other things I did for the spell work, but I’m not comfortable divulging how I work my magick so openly). And I’m telling you what, that shit SOLD BEFORE the date I wanted it to. I made sure to give him some special gifts on his altar in thanks. 

He is in charge of merchants of all kinds, any sort of commerce, any sort of travelers, but specifically if you are transporting goods (truckers, he’s lookin at you!). Oddly enough (or not), he’s also the god of thieves and tricksters. So, I suppose if you were doing illegal shit or annoying prank shit you could pray to him, too. 🙄

The name “Mercury” (or Mercurius) probably emerged from the Latin merx, a noun meaning “merchandise.” In its verb form, the word mercari meant “to trade.” I like to think of this and thank him when I barter goods and services. 

The day to celebrate him is May 15th!

Mercury was also the mediator between the gods(dess’) and humans, which is why he had winged feet and a winged hat, so he could carry messages quickly. Because of this, some folks leave offerings to him on their bed side table, or somewhere in their sleeping quarters, in hopes that he would take their thoughts and prayers up and they would be able to interpret their dreams (the messages from the god(dess’) in the morning. 

Mercury is also a psychopomp! I l-i-t-e-r-a-l-l-y did not know this until today 😆 🤦 He plays the same role Hekate plays in the Demeter/Persephone/Hades story! I had no idea and am blown away right now 🤣 Also, in the Roman version, Mercury is Hekate, Proserpina is Persephone, Ceres is Demeter and Pluto is Hades. Same fucking story. This is fascinating to me as I already have an altar to Hekate and Mercury, and I had no clue they were both psychopomps, and that they were the same character in the Persephone story. 

What is a psychopomp? It is someone who walks through the veil. They are able to move information between the conscious and subconscious. 

OK. Back to Mercury. The items he wore were a caduceus (kuh-doo-see-us), which was used to reconcile differences, his winged sandals and hat for quickness when carrying messages to/from the gods and a purse symbolizing him being the god of commerce. 

Since Mercury is the god of a few different things, it depends on what you want him to help you with on which herbs to use. 

If you want him to help with commerce you could use patchouli, peppermint, mandrake, pomegranate, cinnamon.

Communication you could use coffee, Lily of the Valley, peppermint, sage, lemon balm.

Psychopomp you could use mugwort, pomegranate, star anise, thyme, yarrow. 

Messages to and from the god(dess’) while sleeping: Frank and Myrrh, lavender, jasmine, sandalwood, thyme.

These are just suggestions. For real, you use whatever calls to you. I got most of this information from Scott Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (I love this book).

And that is a little bit about Mercury!