Mercury in the 2nd house: speech, learning and wealth, and the Sun on the other side of the horizon

Mercury in the 2nd house brings the planet of speech into the house the texts read for speech, family and stored wealth. The readings agree with unusual closeness. Saravali gives a native who earns by his own wisdom, enjoys food and drink, has auspicious speech and good conduct; the Bhrigu Sutras give one who is talkative, versed in the shastras, contented and wealthy, unless a malefic or debilitation intervenes; BPHS Ch. 13 says a benefic in Dhan Bhava gives wealth.

This page sets out those statements, the BPHS rules for the 2nd lord that apply when Mercury owns the house, the yoga Mercury forms with the Sun here, what Mercury owns from each rising sign, and how this app grades it, with one engine-computed chart. For the planet see Mercury in Vedic astrology; for the house, the 2nd house, Dhana Bhava.

The planet of speech in the house of speech

BPHS Ch. 11 Sl. 3 gives Dhan Bhava wealth, grains and food, family, death, enemies, metals and precious stones; Ch. 13 Sl. 12-13 add the eyes and truthfulness of speech. Saravali Ch. 3 Sl. 26-27 name the house Artha and Dhana, and Kutumba: means, wealth and household. The Bhrigu Sutras' list (p. 14) adds speech, vision, memory and family members, calls it a maraka sthana, and reports that "many a learned" add education, worded as an opinion.

Mercury's side of the match is as direct. BPHS Ch. 3 Sl. 12-13 give each graha one governance, and Mercury's is speech. Bhrigu Sutras Part I (p. 9) names Mercury "the chief governor for education and uncle". BPHS Ch. 70 Sl. 1-6, in the Ashtakavarga chapter, judge business dealings, livelihood and friends from it. So speech is on both the house's list and the planet's, and education is on the planet's list and on the house's as a reported opinion.

The 2nd is a Panaphara, neither an angle, a trine nor a dusthana (BPHS Ch. 7 Sl. 33-36). Saravali Ch. 3 Sl. 32 adds that planets in Panapharas are felt in the middle of life, a single line the text does not develop into a method.

What the verses say

Saravali Ch. 30 Sloka 39

The verse in full: the native will earn wealth through his own wisdom, will enjoy food and drinks, be auspicious in speech and will have a good course of conduct. No condition is stated. Three of the four clauses land on the house's significations: wealth, food and speech.

The Bhrigu Sutras, Sutras 18-24

The sutras (p. 63): a good number of children, talkative, well versed in shastras, determined, contented, wealthy and full of good qualities, with academic distinction and large gains in the 15th year. Then the conditions: joined with a malefic, in a malefic's sign or debilitated in Pisces, the native "will remain uneducated" and has windy troubles; joined or aspected by a benefic, wealthy and educated; joined or aspected by Jupiter, very proficient in mathematics, an authority on it. The commentator (pp. 63-64) finds the effects logical, doubts the age of 15, and names Taurus and Leo rising, then Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces, as Dhana yogas.

Other Views (p. 64): Brihat Jatak, rich; Phaldeepika, wealth by intelligence, a poet, soft-spoken, sweet food; Chamatkar Chintamani, wise, a good orator, generous and fond of luxury. The Note records a consensus that the placement is benefic. The engine's lines for the house were written from the same chapter: favourable, "wealth, education and a large, supportive family - a genuine wealth combination in several charts"; testing, "real strain around finances and education". Both name education, which the house's own list treats as an opinion and the sutra makes conditional on Mercury's company.

BPHS Ch. 13 Sloka 1-2

The 2nd house's chapter opens with two tests in one sloka pair (Ch. 13 Sl. 1-2). The lord of the 2nd in the 2nd, an angle or a trine promotes wealth, in the 6th, 8th or 12th it declines; and "a benefic in Dhan will give wealth, while a malefic instead will destroy wealth". Mercury is a benefic only in benefic company by BPHS Ch. 3 Sl. 11 and Ch. 34 Sl. 8-10, so the occupant test turns on who is with it.

Mercury beside the other planets in the 2nd

Education is the column's running theme for the 2nd, and every planet that has it has it on a condition: the Moon is educated only with benefics, Mars only in its strong signs (Saravali denies Mars learning outright), Jupiter loses it with a malefic, and Mercury's sutras give it outright and then withdraw it under a malefic or in Pisces. Both texts read the four benefics well here, matching BPHS Ch. 13 Sl. 1-2. Mercury, Jupiter and Venus share the speech clause; Mercury's is the one that names its source, its own wisdom.

The Sun on the other side of the horizon

Mercury is never more than one sign from the Sun; it shared the Sun's sign on 51.0 per cent of days in the Mercury page's century of engine positions. The Sun's house follows the clock, the 1st around sunrise, so a Mercury in the 2nd belongs to a birth with the Sun in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd: in this engine's whole-sign houses, the hours before sunrise and around it.

Each of the three positions brings a different reading. With the Sun in the 2nd too, the occupant test of Ch. 13 Sl. 2 meets a malefic beside the benefic (this engine counts the Sun among its malefics), Mercury is often combust, and Saravali Ch. 30 Sl. 3 reads the Sun itself in the 2nd as loss through authority. With the Sun in the 1st, Mercury is in the 2nd sign from the Sun and forms Vesi Yoga. With the Sun in the 3rd, Mercury is in the 12th from it and forms Vasi.

Saravali Ch. 14 reads Vesi caused by Mercury as soft-spoken, modest and bashful, a servant, suffering penury (Sl. 3-5), and Vasi caused by Mercury as sweet in speech, good-looking, obedient to others' orders (Sl. 7-9). Sl. 10 asks for the strength of the Sun and of the causing planet to be weighed first. Both readings stress speech, as the house does. The engine detects both yogas by whole sign. Saravali Ch. 15 Sl. 4 reads Mercury with the Sun as in service, sweet in speech, with fame, money and learning, dear to the king, and unsteady wealth.

Leo and Taurus rising: Mercury owns the 2nd

Leo rising: the 2nd and 11th lord exalted in the 2nd

For Leo rising Mercury owns Virgo (the 2nd) and Gemini (the 11th), and in the 2nd it is exalted. BPHS Ch. 13 Sl. 1 gives the 2nd lord in the 2nd wealth; Sl. 10 gives the 2nd lord in its own sign or exalted a native who "will look after his people, will help others and also will become famous", which ties the family meaning to the money meaning; Ch. 24 Sl. 14 reads the 2nd lord in the 2nd as wealthy and proud. And the 11th lord in the 2nd is half of Ch. 13 Sl. 4's exchange and Ch. 22 Sl. 3's wealth combination, with one planet holding both lordships; Ch. 24 Sl. 122 gives the 11th lord in the 2nd all kinds of wealth and accomplishment.

BPHS Ch. 34 Sl. 29-30 still call Mercury malefic for Leo, as owner of the 11th. On the Virgo degrees, BPHS Ch. 3 Sl. 51-54 split Virgo into exaltation (0-15 degrees), Moolatrikona (15-20) and own sign (20-30), and this engine's dignity label follows the same bands. Past 20 degrees, Ch. 13 Sl. 10 still applies, since own sign qualifies.

Taurus rising: the 2nd and 5th lord in Gemini

For Taurus rising Mercury owns Gemini (the 2nd) and Virgo (the 5th), and in the 2nd it is in its own sign. The same Ch. 13 and Ch. 24 slokas apply for the 2nd lord, and Ch. 24 Sl. 50 gives the 5th lord in the 2nd many sons and wealth, head of the household, famous in the world. BPHS Ch. 34 Sl. 23-24 call Mercury somewhat inauspicious for Taurus. The 5th is a trine, and this engine's Raja Yoga needs the 5th and 9th lords together: for Taurus that is Mercury with Saturn, the 9th and 10th lord.

What Mercury owns, from each rising sign

Mercury is in your 2nd when it occupies the sign after your rising sign; the Lagna calculator finds yours. BPHS Ch. 24 gives a sloka for each lord placed in the 2nd, and a pattern shows: the lords of angles, trines and the 11th read well, the 8th lord worst, the 3rd lord as lacking effort.

Two rows touch speech directly: the 12th lord in the 2nd is "sweet in speech" despite spending on unfortunate things (Cancer rising), and the 6th lord in the 2nd is "a skilful speaker" (Aries rising). Aquarius rising is the hard row on both counts: Mercury debilitated in Pisces and carrying the 8th, the lordship Ch. 24 Sl. 86 reads worst in the 2nd. Saravali Ch. 26 Sl. 23-24 give Mercury in Pisces good conduct but no learning in shastra, and the sutras themselves say a debilitated Mercury here leaves the native uneducated.

Gemini rising puts the Lagna lord in the 2nd, in Cancer, an enemy's sign by nature: Ch. 24 Sl. 2 reads it as gainful, scholarly, happy, religious and honourable, and BPHS Ch. 34 does not name Mercury's role for Gemini. Virgo rising does the same in Libra, a friend's sign, where Mercury is also the 10th lord, and Ch. 24 Sl. 110 gives the 10th lord in the 2nd wealth and honour from the king.

Saravali Ch. 26 Sl. 1-24, Mercury by sign, give the sign layer for each row. Gemini (Taurus rising): sweet in speech, very affluent, an able speaker and poet. Virgo (Leo rising): virtuous, eloquent, skilled in writing and the arts, famous, charitable. Taurus (Aries rising): skilful, liberal, honestly earned wealth, soft and sweet in speech. Libra (Virgo rising): an able speaker who spends freely, with business in many directions. Sagittarius (Scorpio rising): learned, very rich, skilled in speech and writing. Scorpio (Libra rising): troubles and debts, not outspoken, miserly. Capricorn (Sagittarius rising): mean, dull, does others' work. Several rows name wealth or speech directly, the 2nd house's two themes; the sign readings make no reference to house, and this page does not merge them.

Company decides Ch. 13 Sl. 1-2, and Saravali Ch. 15's Mercury pairs read it in money terms: with Venus (Sl. 18), abundantly rich, good in speech; with Jupiter (Sl. 17), a scholar, wise and happy; with the Moon (Sl. 9), skilled in poems and wealthy; with Mars (Sl. 13), little wealth; with Saturn (Sl. 19), an able poet but in debt, proud, deceiving and restless; with the Sun (Sl. 4), unsteady wealth. The benefic companions read toward wealth and the malefic ones away from it, which is BPHS's occupant rule in another text's words. One named yoga does not apply here: BPHS Ch. 36 Sl. 31-32's Kalanidhi needs Jupiter in the 2nd aspected by Mercury and Venus, which puts Mercury in the 8th, not beside Jupiter in the 2nd.

Speech, truthfulness and the eyes

BPHS Ch. 13 Sl. 13 reads the 2nd house and its lord both joined by malefics as a talebearer who speaks untruth, with windy diseases. Mercury is the planet of speech, and by BPHS's own rule a Mercury with malefics is a malefic, so a Mercury in the 2nd beside the Sun, Mars or Saturn supplies the house's half of that condition by itself. The lord's half depends on the Lagna. It is one of the two Ch. 13 slokas that make the 2nd the house of the face and speech.

The other is Sl. 12: a strong 2nd lord gives beautiful eyes, and one in the 6th, 8th or 12th the reverse. For Taurus and Leo rising Mercury is that lord. The eye statement is a classical association; nothing in a chart replaces an eye examination.

Wealth in the Hora, and the aspect on the 8th

BPHS Ch. 7 Sl. 1-8 assign wealth to the Hora (D2), so the classical method reads the 2nd house and the Hora chart together. BPHS Ch. 7 Sl. 13-16 say some grahas show their effects in the Sun's Hora and others in the Moon's, and that Mercury is effective in both. The Hora (D2) calculator gives the split. So a Mercury in the 2nd is the one planet whose Hora half never removes it from the wealth reading.

From the 2nd, aspectedHouses('mercury', 2) returns [8]: the 7th aspect on the 8th house. BPHS Ch. 42 Sl. 16-18: Mars and Saturn together in the 2nd destroy wealth, and Mercury's aspect on them reverses it to great wealth. That reversal needs Mercury in the 8th, aspecting the 2nd; a Mercury in the 2nd itself aspects the 8th and cannot supply it. The engine implements the rule the same way, lifting its Dhan Bhava caution only when Mercury sits in the 8th.

Directional strength is close to its peak: full in the 1st (BPHS Ch. 27 Sl. 7), so this engine gives Mercury 3.33 of 4 in the 2nd. Combustion often cancels it, since a combust planet loses its whole position score; the Shad Bala calculator shows the parts.

How this app grades it

The Kundali reading prints the favourable line when Mercury's dignity label is Exalted, Moolatrikona, Own sign or Friendly sign; the 2nd is not a dusthana, so dignity alone decides. The dignity function receives the chart, so the friendly and enemy grades include the temporary relation of BPHS Ch. 3 Sl. 56.

• Always favourable: Taurus (own) and Leo (exalted).
• Never favourable: Aquarius (debilitated) and Gemini (Cancer, Neutral at best).
• Favourable with the sign's lord in a temporary-friend position: Aries, Cancer and Virgo (otherwise Neutral; for Cancer rising the lord is the Sun, so a Sun beside Mercury in Leo drops it), and Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn and Pisces (otherwise Enemy sign).

The line reads dignity, not Ch. 13 Sl. 2's benefic-or-malefic test, so a dignified Mercury beside the Sun still gets it. The engine's house card for the 2nd takes its tone from the 2nd lord's dignity score, which for Taurus and Leo rising is Mercury's own. The career and money calculator reads Mercury separately, as the significator of trade: Strong toward running one's own business, Weak toward a role where someone else owns the commercial side.

Timing

Mercury has 17 Vimshottari years. BPHS Ch. 47 Sl. 62-65 list wealth, reputation, better knowledge, favour from the government and profit in business for a Mercury that is exalted, in its own or a friend's sign, or in the 11th, 5th or 9th; the 2nd is not on the house list, so for this placement the dignity half decides. The sub-period chapters sometimes list a sub-lord placed "in Dhan" among the good positions (Ch. 58 Sl. 20-22 for the Sun's sub-period in Mercury's), but repeatedly flag a sub-lord that rules the 2nd or 7th, and in Ch. 58 a Jupiter or Rahu placed in Dhan, with physical distress or fear of early death; this app computes no longevity.

For Taurus and Leo rising Mercury's period is also the 2nd lord's, for which BPHS Ch. 48 Sl. 2-4 give distress and the possibility of death; this app keeps the life area and words it "financial and family matters - historically a house needing extra care in this Dasha". The Vimshottari Dasha calculator gives the dates and the Mercury Mahadasha page the sub-periods. For transits, the Gochar calculator counts from the natal Moon, and Mercury in the 2nd from the Moon is favourable in the engine's benefic rule; this 2nd is not your natal 2nd house.

A worked chart

This app's engine output for 04:43 IST on 3 October 2017 in New Delhi, chosen because it is the Leo-rising case: Mercury exalted as 2nd and 11th lord in the 2nd, before sunrise. It is an illustration, not a reading of any person.

The lordship slokas all apply: the 2nd lord in the 2nd (Ch. 13 Sl. 1, Ch. 24 Sl. 14), exalted (Sl. 10), and the 11th lord in the 2nd (Ch. 24 Sl. 122). The exaltation is at 11.24 degrees, inside every text's exaltation band. The planet row and dasha grade read favourable and good.

The occupant test reads the other way. The Sun shares Virgo, 4.85 degrees from Mercury, so Mercury is combust by the engine's 14 degrees and by the Bhrigu Sutras' 8.5, and Ch. 13 Sl. 2's benefic in Dhan has a malefic beside it. The Sun is the Lagna lord here, so Ch. 24 Sl. 2 (the Lagna lord in the 2nd: gainful, scholarly) applies to that companion too. The position score is zero and the total Medium. No Vesi or Vasi forms, since the Sun is in the same sign. The dasha runs Rahu to 2030 and then Jupiter, so Mercury's own period is far off. The page lists these and does not net them.

Your own chart

1. 1.Confirm Mercury is in the sign after your Ascendant in the birth chart calculator, and note where the Sun is: 1st (Vesi), 2nd (beside Mercury) or 3rd (Vasi).
2. 2.Apply Ch. 13 Sl. 2: is Mercury acting as a benefic, or does malefic company make it a malefic?
3. 3.Find what Mercury rules and read both Ch. 24 slokas for those lords in the 2nd.
4. 4.For Taurus and Leo rising, read Ch. 13 Sl. 1, 10 and 12 for the 2nd lord.
5. 5.Check whether the 2nd and its lord both have malefics, for Ch. 13 Sl. 13.
6. 6.Read the Hora chart beside the 2nd house, as BPHS Ch. 7 asks.
7. 7.Apply BPHS Ch. 11 Sl. 14-16, the general rule BPHS sets before Ch. 13: a house prospers when joined or aspected by a benefic, and is harmed when its lord keeps malefic company or the company of a 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th or 12th lord.

Money and work are combined on the career and money page. Method and limits are on the methodology page.

Over-readings

• "Mercury in the 2nd means wealth." Ch. 13 Sl. 2 gives wealth to a benefic in the 2nd, and Mercury is a benefic only in benefic company.
• "Mercury in the 2nd means a career in speaking." The verses name speech and wisdom, not occupations.
• "Mercury in the 2nd reverses a Mars-Saturn 2nd house." The reversal in Ch. 42 needs Mercury aspecting the 2nd from the 8th.
• "Exalted Mercury in the 2nd is always good." In the worked chart it is exalted, combust, and beside the Sun.
• "The 2nd is a Marak house, so Mercury there is a killer." BPHS names lords of the house and malefics in it as Marakas; this app computes no longevity at all.
• "The app's favourable line means Ch. 13's benefic test is met." The line reads dignity; Ch. 13 reads company.

Questions about Mercury in the 2nd

Is Mercury good in the 2nd house?

The verses are favourable: earns by his own wisdom with auspicious speech (Saravali); talkative, learned, contented and wealthy (Bhrigu Sutras), though the sutras withdraw education under a malefic or in Pisces. BPHS Ch. 13 gives wealth to a benefic in the 2nd, and Mercury's benefic nature depends on its company.

Why does the Sun matter here?

Mercury is never more than a sign from the Sun, so the Sun is in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd. In the 2nd it is a malefic companion and often makes Mercury combust; in the 1st or 3rd Mercury forms Vesi or Vasi Yoga instead.

Which rising signs make Mercury the 2nd lord in its own house?

Taurus (Mercury in Gemini) and Leo (Mercury exalted in Virgo). BPHS Ch. 13 Sl. 1 and 10 then apply.

What does Mercury aspect from the 2nd?

Only the 8th house, by its 7th aspect.

Why is my Mercury in the 2nd marked testing?

Its dignity label is not Exalted, Own or Friendly. Aquarius rising (debilitated in Pisces) and Gemini rising (Cancer) never get the favourable line; others depend on where the sign's lord sits.

Does Mercury in the 2nd affect speech?

The verses read speech well. BPHS Ch. 13 Sl. 13 reads untruthful speech when the 2nd and its lord are both joined by malefics, and a Mercury with malefics counts as a malefic by BPHS's rule.

Does Mercury in the 2nd mean education?

The sutras say versed in the shastras, educated with a benefic and uneducated with a malefic, and the engine's line names education. The 2nd house's own list gives education only as a reported opinion, and Mercury is the significator of education in the Bhrigu Sutras.

Is a Mercury dasha good with this placement?

BPHS Ch. 47 Sl. 62-65 read a Mercury in its own, exalted or friendly sign well; the 2nd is not on its house list. The app grades the period by dignity.