Mercury Pendant

November 2008
Sterling silver

Planetary symbol: ☿
Astrological signs: ♊ (Gemini) and traditionally ♍ (Virgo)

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, has the shortest orbit (88 Earth days) and is the smallest planet in the Solar System. Like the Earth, it is a rocky planet and has a magnetosphere. Mercury is visible with the naked eye from Earth (although only briefly because of its solar proximity), and the earliest recorded observations of it date back to Assyrian astronomers in the 14th century bce.

In Greco-Roman mythology, Mercury (Greek name: Hermes), is the messenger god. Astrologically, Mercury represents the faculties of the brain, adaptability and communicability; people with erratic behavior or moods are also said to be mercurial in nature. Mercury is associated with Wednesday.

This pendant design is admittedly terrible. It was based on lo-rez images from NASA's Mariner 10 mission in the 1970s; I had hoped that NASA's Messenger probe would yield better images from its fly-bys in 2008 and 2009 but I wasn't inspired. Perhaps when ESA's Mercury Planetary Orbiter and JAXA's Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter reach the planet in late 2026/early 2027, I'll give the design some more heat!

Dimensions: 1" x 1"
Sterling silver
Chain is included