Mercury in Pisces

Pisces carries two old labels for Mercury at once. Lilly 1659 calls it both detriment, being opposite Virgo, and fall, being opposite the sign of exaltation, and Ptolemy (Ashmand's 1822 translation) explains the fall through the contrast of dry Mercury with moist Venus, who is exalted here. Both terms describe a spot on the circle and should be read that way.

Lilly lists Pisces as a mute sign, slow of voice, alongside Cancer and Scorpio, and gives Mercury terms from 15 to 20. Ptolemy's bicorporeal list for the mind mentions versatility, love of music and changeability.

Ruled by Jupiter in the older sources and by Neptune in Adams 1928, the sign gets read differently depending on which book is open. Modern astrology tends to call this Mercury imaginative and poetic, and that turn from unease to compliment is recent.