Mercury in the 12th House

Vyaya Bhav — losses, liberation, foreign lands

Favourable Results

When Budha (Mercury) occupies the 12th house (the Vyaya Bhava, the house of expenditure, loss, and liberation), the native (the person whose chart it is) is skilful and clever in his work, modest, and true to his word. He is learned (a pandit), an excellent and plain-spoken speaker, and long-lived. He is benevolent and free of addictions. He gains wealth and property, and that wealth is spent on righteous deeds, at places of pilgrimage, and in performing yajna (sacrificial rites), puja (worship), and the like. In battle his enemies tremble before him, and he does not worry about the wealth he spends to subdue them. He holds command over hard-won siddhis (occult attainments) and the gudha shastras (the esoteric, hidden sciences). Whatever idea takes hold in his mind, he rests only once he has carried it through to completion.

Unfavourable Results

The native is merciless, witless, cruel, and poor; he is ill-regarded within his own family, cunning, of unclean habits, sickly, dependent on others, and one who keeps bad company. It is in his nature to twist his words for the sake of his master, to lie, and to speak sharply and bitterly. He is given to drinking alcohol and to sham, pretentious conduct, and he suffers ailments of the nerves, the nose, and the like. The native strays and falls from his dharma (his righteous path). He is dishonoured in the assembly, and he remains aggrieved by the king's wrath and by public censure before that assembly. Through theft, embezzlement, and dishonesty he ends up in jail or suffers demotion in rank, and the like. He generally comes to harm from speaking too much.