Hermes/Mercury

**Pantheon**: Greek/Roman

**Title**: Messenger of the Gods

**Authority**: Wisdom

## Information

**Origin:** Greece

Before Hermes was the winged messenger of Mount Olympus, he was a virile, rustic, pastoral spirit, presiding over the fertility of women and livestock. Hermes was among the best-loved of all Olympian spirits. He is the lord of animal husbandry as well as language, communication, trade, travel, and divination.

Hermes’ specialty is cleromancy, originally divination using small pebbles, which eventually evolved into dice. He is the trickster lord of the crossroads, spirit of luck and patron of gamblers, especially those who play with dice. Hermes protects thieves and also protects against them. He may be invoked for the gift of gab, business success, and true omens. He is the lord of cunning and mother-wit.

Hermes is a shaman: he travels between realms, hence his eventual role as Zeus’ messenger. He is a psychopomp who conveys the souls of the dead to Hades. Sacrifices were made to Hermes on the final day of Greek festivals of the dead to ensure that he would escort the dead souls back to Hades. If a ghost refuses to vacate your premises, Hermes may be asked to escort them to a more appropriate place. Just be careful: Hermes is not violent or particularly aggressive, but he does enjoy playing tricks and the periodic practical joke. He will be a troublesome spirit for those lacking humor and humility.

Hermes killed Hera’s guardian Argus by boring him to death. After he had put him to sleep, Hermes touched the guard with his staff to kill him. He is sometimes considered the patron of euthanasia: the gentle death.

Hermes prowls around at night, bringing dreams. You can request that he deliver prophetic dreams or that he provide relief from nightmares.

Hermes as Divine Child wears sandals and carries a staff: his image closely resembles that of the Holy Child of Atocha. Post-Christianity, many of Hermes’ functions were assigned to Michael Archangel.

Hermes was born in a cave to the goddess, Maia. Zeus is his father. He makes his home in Mekone, “Poppy town.” Hermes is associated with birth, death, and sex. Although now often portrayed as androgynous, Hermes was originally a very virile phallic deity. His sexual partners include Aphrodite and countless Nymphs. The Greek-born Italian goddess Carmenta may be his official wife. Hermes is credited with many inventions, including the musical scale, the alphabet, boxing, gymnastics, weights, measures, and olive culture. (Athena may have brought the olive tree, but Hermes taught people how to process the fruit and oil.)

**Favoured People:** Merchants; gamblers; travelers; thieves (but only if they’re not violent: he likes clever, tricky thieves, not thugs or muggers); those who live by their wits; boxers

**Manifestation:** Hermes traditionally wears a traveler’s broad-brimmed hat and sandals.

**Iconography:** Hermes has been through many transitions:

* His most ancient images portray him in the form of an erect phallus.
* He is represented by a cairn of stones.
* Statues called “Herms” were used to portray him: tall rectangular pillars displaying his head on top and his erect penis sticking out. Herms were placed at crossroads. Women seeking fertility would petition Hermes at a herm, placing flower garlands around his neck or elsewhere.
* Hermes was then envisioned as a robust man carrying a lamb around his shoulders.
* Finally he was portrayed in the form most familiar today: a winged, sandaled, androgynous messenger.

**Attribute:** Caduceus: a staff entwined by two snakes, the emblem of the modern medical profession. He can use the staff to induce sleep.

**Spirit allies:** His mother, Maia; Pan; Nymphs

**Sacred Sites:** Hermes is an extremely unpretentious spirit. He is among the Greek spirits least often honored with formal temples. Instead he is present at crossroads and in wild nature. Invoke his presence or summon him by erecting a herm or cairn of stones, especially at a four-way crossroads (X-shaped).

**Sacred animals:** Dog, tortoise, snake

**Tree:** Palm

**Offerings:** Cakes; honey; olives; goat or sheep’s cheese; wine; water; incense

**See Also:** Aphrodite; Asklepios; Athena; Calypso; Carmenta; Circe; Dionysus; Eshu Elegbara; Hades; Hekate; Hera; Maia; Nymph; Pan; Psychopomp; Shiva; Zeus

## Appearance in Modern Media

From HadesFrom Age of MythologyFrom Record of RagnarokFrom DislyteFrom Blood of ZeusFrom Shin Megami TenseiFrom immortals Fenyx RisingFrom Dawn of GodsFrom Puzzles & DragonsFrom Age of IshtariaFrom monster StrikeFrom Rage of BahamutFrom Kamihime ProjectFrom Sid StoryFrom Aura Kingdom
## Additional Images

A close-up of HermesHermes with a puzzled expression
## Mercury

    **Also known as:** Mercurius

**Origin:** Italy

Mercury is a trickster spirit who is happy to masquerade as other spirits. Long ago the Italian deity Mercury was syncretized to Greek Hermes. The two are now virtually indistinguishable, but they are not the same spirit. Mercury is urban, while the roots of Hermes lie in the rustic countryside. Hermes has a broader base of interests, while Mercury is a spirit of money, finances, and prosperity. His name is related to words like merchants, merchandise, or commerce as well as mercenary, a soldier of fortune.

* In Rome, Mercury was most closely associated with commerce.
* In Celtic areas, where he was very beloved, he was also associated with prosperity, fertility, and healing. (This may derive from identification with local Celtic deities or with Hermes.)

He had no official consort in Rome, but in Celtic regions Mercury was paired with various Gaulish goddesses, especially Rosmerta. Following the advent of Christianity, his role and many shrines were reassigned to Michael Archangel.

In Roman influenced Teutonic regions, the name Mercurius was applied to Odin, possibly because of physical resemblances. Both deities traditionally dress as travelers. (See the Glossary entry for Identification.) This is well-documented beginning in the first century CE and continuing to the High Middle Ages. (For example, twelfth century historian Geoffrey of Monmouth writes explicitly of the identification of the two deities.)

Mercury assumed Odin’s associations with magic and occultism, not present in his original Italian form. (Alternatively, Odin’s true nature peeks out from behind the mask of Mercury.) By the medieval era, Mercury was profoundly associated with alchemy and ceremonial magic as he remains today.

Mercury is a generous spirit but his temperament is mercurial. He loves practical jokes and word games. Always be exceptionally careful how you phrase petitions to him, paying close attention to nuance and implication, lest he gives you what you accidentally asked for, rather than what he knows very well that you desire. Mercury has quicksilver intelligence and wit. He is easily bored. Keep him entertained and he’ll be more likely to keep you happy, healthy, and prosperous. Although Mercury patronizes the dishonest, he may also be invoked to protect against them.

**Favoured people:** Merchants, perjurers, forgers, counterfeiters, alchemists, astrologers, ceremonial magicians as well as those born under the zodiac signs Gemini and Virgo. People born when the planet Mercury was retrograde, regardless of sun sign, are also Mercury’s special children.

**Manifestation:** He wears a traveller’s cloak and either a broad-brimmed traveller’s hat or a winged cap. He went native in Gaul and is depicted wearing a torc; sometimes in Gaul, his hat is replaced by horns and he resembles Cernunnos.

**Iconography:** Mercury is a popular subject of ancient as well as Renaissance art. He may be the inspiration for the Magician tarot card, which may be used to represent him.

**Attributes:** Caduceus (staff with two entwined serpents), money bag. In Gaul he also sometimes has a drawn sword indicating that he aggressively guards devotees’ finances.

**Creatures:** Rooster (cockerel), tortoise

**Day:** Wednesday (in French: Mercredi)

**Date:** 15 May, the Festival of the Mercuralia

**Planet:** Mercury

**Metals:** Quicksilver/mercury and zinc

**Plants:** Dog’s Mercury (Mercurialis perennis) and other members of the potentially dangerous Mercurialis plant family, also known as the Spurge family. Mercury also rules kitchen herbs like anise, dill, and fennel.

**Spirit ally:** Neptune—together they support the maritime trade.

**Sacred site:** His temple on the Aventine Hill dedicated in 495 BCE was associated with the formation of a brotherhood of merchants.

**Offerings:** Mercury Head Dimes, Mercury-brand cars and tools of magic

**See Also:** Asklepius; Michael; Morgan Le Fay; Odin; Rosmerta

## Appearance in Modern Media

From SmiteFrom Monster StrikeFrom Blood BrothersFrom age of IshtariaFrom Unison LeagueFrom Force of WillFrom Dragalia Lost
## Smite Lore

Mercurial. A word that evokes volatility, quickness, and cunning. But to compare anything to the speed and wit of the Messenger God Mercury would be to compare a hot day to the searing forge of Vulcan, or a blooming rose to the glory of Venus. It is but a pale comparison. Mercury can leap the space between lightning and thunder, outfox the fox king, and reach tomorrow before the sun.

As an infant, Mercury escaped the watchful eye of his half-brother, Apollo, stole his cattle, fashioned a lyre from a tortoise shell, and snuck in a nap, all before Apollo found him missing. His father, Jupiter, found the child's mischief boisterously entertaining, and awarded him the task of delivering messages for the Gods, travelling between the Heavens, the Earth, and even to the depths of the Underworld.

## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes