I have Mercury in Cancer, but why do I have a quick mind?

Normally, Mercury in Cancer by itself is a slow-thinking placement, but in my case my thinking is SUPER quick and decisive... penetrative, even. I really dislike "slowness" and prefer things to go fasssst or else I will go batshit crazy.

For example, one time I had to take this "mental test" that determines your ability to reason, solve word puzzles, and mental clarity. The researcher who conducted the test told me that it takes most people 3 minutes to finish. Anyways, I took the test and I was able to finish in roughly 50 SECONDS... like, not even a minute yet. I also got all the answers correctly. When I notified the researcher that I was done, she was shocked and gave me a weird look and told me that I'm "hella quick".

Of course, she was thoroughly impressed with my profound fast-thinking abilities and went to tell everyone else in the room. She said that in the last 10 years of her working here, she's NEVER seen anyone who finished the test so quickly. I, of course, being the proud guy that I am was the FIRST to finish the test with such speedy precision.

What in my chart makes me a quick thinker?

Virgo rising makes Mercury your chart ruler (ruler of the ascendant). And you have Mars in your first house, in Virgo, conjunct the AC. Mars is quick in its own way. And it sextiles your Mercury. When planets are sextile, the actions of one of them excite the other into its own action. So you have Mercury and Mars playing off each other, and Mercury playing off one of its own native signs. Virgo can be very cerebral. With the planet of passion and competitiveness in it (Mars), you're probably very passionate about thinking, and that's probably also the way you're most likely to be competitive.

Cancer slows Mercury down in the sense that it reigns in the runaway expressions of it. A strong Mercury in Gemini might make someone very wordy and/or a nonstop talker, never knowing when to shut up, unless it's tempered by other influences. Cancer is a sign that tempers that Mercury influence, but how much depends on the rest of the chart. If you had Mercury in Cancer with much of the rest of your chart weighted towards slowness and quiet contemplation, you probably wouldn't be such a quick thinker, at least not in a verbal sense. You might, however, be a strong communicator in a more intuitive way, and in more non-verbal ways.

Your moon placement echoes your Mars placement, and since moon rules Cancer, it also plays into this Mercury/Mars picture. Aries is a highly competitive, quick thinking, impulsive sign. Aries hates slowness. In your seventh house, its message turns up especially strongly in the way you interact with others... the communication theme again. Seventh house indicators include not only the classic marriage and relationships, but also what traditional astrology calls open enemies. That doesn't necessarily mean people who have it in for you, it can just as easily indicate friendly competition--"worthy opponents." Again, a theme of competitiveness playing out in verbal and cerebral quickness.

Mercury sextile or trine Mars
Your mind is very restless and you will never cease to learn. You are quick, practical, perceptive, brave and can easily detect the weaknesses of others. You are very secure and firm in your decisions without being aggressive. You can be very productive when you're focused, spending less time on work that others labor over. You often take "busy-ness" in stride. You are alert and aware, and can easily turn ideas into workable projects. Your communications are refreshingly direct and to the point, although not especially sympathetic.

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source: cafe astrology

[edited quote over 100 words - Moderator]

Mars in Virgo too...

Merc-Uranus aspects will usually confer mental speed. I'm pretty sure that THIS is the cause, above all other aspects. Hard aspects also come with some other more negative side-effects too though. Google Mercury opposite Uranus.

While you're at it, you may want to look at Merc opp Neptune because that definitely adds another twist to it.

DukeMania555 said:

Normally, Mercury in Cancer by itself is a slow-thinking placement, but in my case my thinking is SUPER quick and decisive... penetrative, even. I really dislike "slowness" and prefer things to go fasssst or else I will go batshit crazy.

For example, one time I had to take this "mental test" that determines your ability to reason, solve word puzzles, and mental clarity. The researcher who conducted the test told me that it takes most people 3 minutes to finish. Anyways, I took the test and I was able to finish in roughly 50 SECONDS... like, not even a minute yet. I also got all the answers correctly. When I notified the researcher that I was done, she was shocked and gave me a weird look and told me that I'm "hella quick".

Of course, she was thoroughly impressed with my profound fast-thinking abilities and went to tell everyone else in the room. She said that in the last 10 years of her working here, she's NEVER seen anyone who finished the test so quickly. I, of course, being the proud guy that I am was the FIRST to finish the test with such speedy precision.

What in my chart makes me a quick thinker?

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Cancer as a sign isn't slow... It is of Cardinal modality, which is the quality of initiative: dynamic and fast.

In fact, you have a strong emphasis on Cardinal signs and houses in your chart.

Please interpret the chart

All,

This Forum is for interpreting charts, not in criticizing OPs. If you want to argue astrological theory, go to a different Forum. I have deleted all off-topic comments and responding to off-topic comments.

Back on topic,

Tim

Is Mercury strong in Aries?

The OP has been banned http://www.astrologyweekly.com/forum/showthread.php?t=77507

so I suppose we can continue the discussion by considering Mercury in different signs?

positivevibes said:

Is Mercury strong in Aries?

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Depends on what is meant by "strong"
Any planet conjunct an angle ~ i.e. ASC/DESC/IC/MC has strength to act
HOWEVER
that is not necessarily "good"
because
Mercury has also strength by ESENTIAL DIGNITY
such as being in Mercury's own home signs of Gemini and/or Virgo

These are two different forms of strength

JUPITERASC said:

Depends on what is meant by "strong"
Any planet conjunct an angle ~ i.e. ASC/DESC/IC/MC has strength to act
HOWEVER
that is not necessarily "good"
because
Mercury has also strength by ESENTIAL DIGNITY
such as being in Mercury's own home signs of Gemini and/or Virgo

These are two different forms of strength

Click to expand...

How about Mercury in Gemini in the 9th house, opposing Uranus in Sag(3rd house),Saturn in Sag(3rd house) and squaring Mars in Pisces(6th house),a friend of mines has this smart guy,but his thinking is a bit

I think he may have antisocial personality disorder.

Where is his moon in relation to all that? Usually Merc + Moon will tell you something about the balance of rational vs intuitive.

I just finished a memoir by Barbara Ehrenreich which made me wonder about the condition of her Mercury. She writes:

I had discovered that writing - with whatever instrument - was a powerful aid to thinking, and thinking is now what I resolved to do. ...

I got the idea from my father; at least he was the most insistent about it. What do you do when confronted with an inexplicable and alarming situation? Well, you can panic or give in to some other tyrannical emotion, like dread. Or you can escape into a book or puzzle, or, judging from the adults around me, a bottle of gin. But there was another possible response to the unknown and potentially menacing, and that is thinking.

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She was first a scientist and got a PhD, and then she became a journalist and writer.

There is no birth time available for her, but this is a chart someone had done: http://heavenlytruth.typepad.com/.a/6a0120a5701826970b0120a644f2fb970c-800wi

Virgo Mercury, wide square to Jupiter in Gemini stands out.

Mercury opposite Uranus

All,

As is often the case, Skyscript has a great way of "getting to the meat of things". In this case, of Mercury opposite Uranus (which he has in his chart):

You are stubborn in the sense that no one can change your mind. Yet you may change your position on just about anything at the drop of a hat. Unless factors in the chart suggest otherwise, you can be blunt and tactless in your speech. You think of yourself as especially gifted mentally…It's essential for you not to let yourself appear arrogant and conceited because of this…it is surprising that you find it so hard to compromise with people. By concentrating on tact and diplomacy you can more effectively take advantage of your intellectual potential.

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About the dangers of genius,

Tim

The 7-ish degree loose Merc 180 Uran might be hard to swallow as attribution for such a major trait...

though other software describes his Merc-Uran relationship as 3 min-orbed 25th harmonic aspect (you know, a quintile x a quintile...haven't studied these yet but this chart makes me wanna start looking).

on top, Merc seems affliction-free up through the 24th harmonic worth of aspects (somewhat rare) and enjoys positive integration with most other personals via a 20-80-60 triangle with Ven and Mars.