I like the word “mercurial”. It virtually dances on the tongue, fraught, as it is, with alphabetical curly-cues and trills. When I say it, out loud, I immediately flash on the word “ethereal”. On first thought, I supposed this to be an accident of pronunciation, but, in truth, there is an other-worldly essence to them both.
Mercury, dubbed Hermes by Greek mythologists, was the messenger god. He was also associated with trade, travel, and speed, as symbolized by winged feet. Early Celtic art endows him with three heads, and sometimes three penises, all of which he put to good use.
Borrowing from Norse mythology, followers of the occult assign Mercury dominion over all things magical via a circuitous route that ends, apparently, on Wednesday. The French word for Wednesday is “Mercredi”, and in Spanish “Miercoles”.
Mercury enjoyed great popularity in early Rome, inspiring many heroic stories, even though, interestingly enough, he may have lacked initiative; acting, almost always, at the behest of someone else. Apollo, Zeus, and Odysseus used him to do their dirty work, as he was well versed in the art of trickery.
He was born of an illicit union, and embraced his father’s tradition, on a grand scale, enjoying some of the most beautiful of mythological women; among them, Aphrodite, Penelope, and Chione. The fruit of these unions mirrored his duality of nature. His son, Pan, was lauded as the god of shepherds, music, and fertility. More recently, however, his image has been borrowed for use as the depiction of Satan. Another son, the beautiful Hermaphrodites, suffered gender reassignment after spurning the advances of a scornful nymph, and later, exacted his own revenge by praying that an entire body of water be spoiled, such that anyone who swam there lost his virility.
Mercurial: “2) having qualities of eloquence, ingenuity, or thievishness attributed to the god Mercury or to the influence of the planet Mercury, 3) characterized by rapid and unpredictable changeableness of mood”
I like to say the word. I like to hear it. But, recently, I have realized I don’t enjoy people who are it.
Are We There Yet? 
