Mental Chemistry in the Birth Chart

by Bob MakranskyLife is like bodysurfing: Most of the time, you’re just standing there, waiting for the rightwave to come; then when it does come, you have to hurl yourself into it at precisely thecorrect moment and ride it to shore. If you’re a little too slow or a little too fast — or if itwasn’t the right wave — you’re left standing right where you were.Dr. Marc Edmund Jones came up with a simple technique that indicates whether a personis too slow, too fast, or just right in grabbing and riding the waves of life.1 He called it“mental chemistry,” and it is shown by the combination of two horoscope factors:1. Whether the Moon is relatively slow or fast in its daily travel;2. Whether Mercury rises before or after the Sun.The Moon’s relative speed shows a native’s perceptual capabilities: how a person processes information, whether his or her perceptions are alert (fast Moon) or deliberate(slow Moon). The Moon’s daily travel is simply the difference between the Moon’slongitude at midnight (or noon) Universal Time before birth and its longitude at midnight(or noon) UT after birth. Because this averages 13°10’ (13.37°) per day, we will define anative’s perception to be alert if the Moon was moving faster than this on the day of birth — and deliberate, if the Moon was moving more slowly than this.In the words of Al H. Morrison: “The ‘fast’ Moon … scans rapidly with a wide-opensearch pattern. If there is anything going on, anything new or unfamiliar, anythingdifferent from expectation, it is instantly perceived. In a complex environment, as mostsocial environments are, there are so many details and processes to notice that the ‘fast’Moon native has his mind receiving an avalanche of input, fresh data.”2On the other hand, “Where the Moon is slow in its apparent motion, the native’s perceptual capabilities are focused, or directed toward observing whatever the native ismotivated to seek, or has been conditioned to pay attention to, or whatever he fears. Other information is simply not perceived, not observed. This leaves the mind relatively lightly burdened, with minimal input of perceived data to process.”3The Moon’s speed, however, does not merely symbolize how fast information is gatheredand processed; it also describes how people gather themselves together and girdthemselves for action. The natives whose perceptions are alert move quickly to get on topof a situation: Their immediate impulse is to attack. They like things to be clear anddefinite and aboveboard, so they are nonplused by subtleties. When they have a bee intheir bonnet, they have no patience for any other point of view, nor are they interested inexploring possible consequences and ramifications — they don’t even want to hear aboutsuch things. They move by impulse and instinct; they make up their minds immediately,and once their minds are made up, they cannot be budged or moved to reconsider. Inconflict, they try to take their opponents by storm, to overwhelm them, to give them nospace in which to move. Their actions and reactions are quick and decisive.

In contrast, natives whose perceptions are deliberate move slowly and hesitatingly: Their immediate impulse is to draw back. They approach things by indirection, by outflankingthe situation, by bogging things down and operating under the cover of confusion. Wherethe alert types act like sharks, the deliberate types act like octopuses — hiding on the bottom and masking their intentions in a cloud of murk. In conflict, these individualsrefuse to expose themselves but rather outwait their opponents, letting them make theerrors.The other horoscope factor that makes up a person’s mental chemistry is Mercury’s position relative to the Sun at the moment of birth. If Mercury is located earlier than theSun in the zodiac — so that, at dawn on the birthday, Mercury has already risen (is in the12th house) — then the native’s attitude is said to be eager. Whereas if Mercury is locatedlater than the Sun in the zodiac — so that, at dawn on the birthday, Mercury is still beneath the horizon (in the 1st house) — then the native’s attitude is said to be certain.(See Table below.) The difference here lies in how people categorize information,interpret it, and fit it into preconceived patterns, whether these be individualistic (eager)or conventional (certain). This is a process of reason or self-consciousness rather than oneof knee-jerk response.Mental Chemistry “Table of Elements”BODY FACTOR TYPEMoon Fast (moves more than 13°10’ in 24 hours) Alert(relative speed) Slow (moves less than 13°10’ in 24 hours) DeliberateMercury Rises before the Sun (earlier in the zodiac) Eager (relative to the Sun) Rises after the Sun (later in the zodiac) Certain Note: When the Moon moves at, or very close to, average speed, the alert/deliberatedistinction blurs; likewise, when Mercury is conjunct the Sun, the eager/certaindistinction is of less importance. At these points, therefore, the Mental Chemistrytechnique is not as revealing as it is at the extremes.In the words of Leyla Rael, “The Epimethean [certain] Mercury type of person tends toreact to life more cautiously and based on past experience (either his or her own personalexperience or according to traditional, cultural patterns). But while such a person is at best thorough and objective, mentally free from many purely emotional prejudices, atworst he or she can cling almost obsessively to obsolescent ideologies or display aconservatism bordering on rigidity. The Promethean [eager] Mercury type of person tendsto leap into life with his or her mental antennae fully extended to receive information.While such a person may be able to act based on a compelling inner vision of what is possible — and at best may be flexible, prophetic, and responsive to the needs of themoment — at worst he or she may be merely conniving, facile, and crafty, going this wayor that according to his or her own advantage.”4Another way of saying this is that the “certain” natives need to be sure of themselves before they act — they need to feel that their actions will meet the approval of their socialmilieu. Thus, they are restrained and oriented toward goals and purposes. These natives

interpret the world in terms of a guiding philosophy of social responsibility in which eachmember must do his or her own share, and they are scrupulous in observing their part of the bargain. They play the game by the rules — whatever they conceive those rules to be.They are wary and dutiful, and they put their faith in principle and obligation.The “eager” natives, on the other hand, are unrestrained and experimentative. They don’tneed any social authority to sanction their actions, but rather they follow their inclinationsof the moment. They do what is expedient or convenient rather than what will be thought praiseworthy by others. They are optimistic and freewheeling and able to bounce right back whenever life slaps them down.The Mental MixWhen there is a perceptive alertness combined with a rational certainty (fast Moon andMercury rising after the Sun), then the native is quick to react but possesses a powerfulgovernor on his or her impulses. An example of this alert–certain type is AbrahamLincoln: He was a shrewd and opportunistic politician, but his conscience and sense of responsibility for the consequences of his decisions made him a target for the radicals andextremists surrounding him.Contrariwise, when there is a perceptive deliberation combined with a rational eagerness(slow Moon and Mercury rising before the Sun), then the native is slow to react but possesses compensatory flexibility and adaptability. Andrew Johnson, who succeededLincoln as president, is a good example of this deliberate–eager type: He held fast to his principles in complete isolation but always managed to come out on top — first, as theonly Southerner to remain in the U.S. Senate after the secession of the Southern statesand, later, by successfully defending himself against a trumped-up impeachment.In both of these cases, there is a healthy balance between the perceptual and rationalfaculties: These natives are able to resolutely hold their ground in the face of confusionand to marshal their resources effectively to deal with situations as they arise. They areable to grapple directly with the problems of life and to take things as they come — torecognize which waves are the right waves and to know when to hold back and when to jump forward.But when perceptive alertness combines with rational eagerness — fast Moon (alert) andMercury rising before the Sun (eager) — or when perceptive deliberation combines withrational certainty — slow Moon (deliberate) and Mercury rising after the Sun (certain),then the perceptual and rational faculties are out of balance. Natives of these types areeasily thrown off their stride or confounded by situations requiring quick decisions. Theydon’t really pay attention to what is going on around them, but rather only to their ownreactions. The alert–eager types become flustered, and the deliberate–certain types become obstinate. In either case, these unbalanced natives tend to fall out of synchronization with the speed of their environment: Alert–eager natives move too fast,and deliberate–certain natives move too slow — their suggestions and actions areinappropriate.Whereas the balanced types have self-control or an instantaneous analysis that reacts to