According to Vedic astrology, Mercury is exalted in a horoscope when it is placed in the sign of Virgo, which in simple words means that Mercury gains maximum strength when placed in Virgo compared to its placement in all the other signs. Exalted Mercury is associated with many good things by many astrologers and it is believed by a number of astrologers that exalted Mercury always works positively in a horoscope and it brings good results for the native under its influence. This is not the case in actual practice and exalted Mercury can work positively as well as negatively in a horoscope depending on the other deciding factors and depending on the overall tone of the horoscope of a native under consideration.
The word exalted simply relates to the strength of Mercury in a horoscope and it doesn’t relate to the nature of Mercury in a horoscope. Accordingly exalted Mercury placed in different houses of a horoscope can give benefic as well as malefic results depending on the nature of Mercury as well as depending on the overall tone of the horoscope. We will now discuss some of these benefic as well as malefic effects which can be experienced when exalted Mercury is placed in different houses of a horoscope.
Exalted Mercury in 1st House : When benefic in nature, exalted Mercury placed in the first house of a horoscope can bless the native with good results related to marriage, profession, finances, overall health and many other good things. Accordingly the natives under the effect of this benefic influence may come across some of these good results depending on the overall tone of their horoscopes. The placement of benefic exalted Mercury in the first house of a horoscope is a very important placement and it has the potential to significantly affect or even govern the overall tone of a horoscope. This is due to the reason that when exalted Mercury is placed in the first house of a horoscope, the sign Virgo ruled by Mercury falls in the first house of that horoscope.
Hence Virgo becomes the first house or ascendant of such horoscope and Mercury being the planetary lord of the sign Virgo becomes the lord of ascendant in such horoscope. As we already know, the house of ascendant is the most important house in a horoscope and the lord of ascendant is one of the most important planets in a horoscope. Accordingly the placement of any positive or negative planet in the first house of a horoscope can affect the entire horoscope positively or negatively, depending on the nature of the planet placed in this house. Similarly, any type of strength or weakness to the lord of ascendant in a horoscope can affect the entire horoscope positively or negatively. In this case, Mercury is the lord of ascendant, it is benefic, it is exalted and it is placed in the first house of a horoscope.
It means that an exalted benefic planet which is the lord of ascendant is present in the first house of a horoscope. The presence of such benefic exalted lord of ascendant in the house of ascendant itself may provide much more strength to the house of ascendant as well as to the overall tone of the horoscope. It should be noted that when strong benefic lord of ascendant in any horoscope is placed in the first house of that horoscope, it reasserts the house of ascendant and it adds more strength to the entire horoscope. Hence the placement of benefic exalted Mercury in the first house of a horoscope carries great significance and therefore it should be studied carefully.
Benefic exalted Mercury in the first house of a horoscope can bless the native under its influence with success in many fields of profession and accordingly these natives may achieve success through a number of professional spheres. This benefic influence can also render a post of power and authority to the native under its effect and hence some of these natives may get blessed with a post of power and authority in government. For example, if benefic exalted Mercury is placed in the first house of a horoscope in the sign of Virgo, Sun is placed in the twelfth house of this horoscope in the sign of Leo, Mars is placed in the second house of this horoscope in the sign of Libra and Saturn is placed in the third house of this horoscope in the sign of Scorpio, the native may become a revenue officer. The native under the combined effect of these benefic planets may join some revenue department or some taxation department of government and he may achieve good amount of success through this field of profession.
At the same time, if benefic Jupiter is placed in the fourth house of this horoscope in the sign of Pisces, the equation may become even better. Accordingly the native under the effect of such benefic exalted Mercury and all other benefic planets mentioned in this example may directly get selected for a post of high authority in some revenue or taxation department of government and he may witness a good professional career in this field. However these results can become very good if at the same time, benefic debilitated Venus is placed in the first house of this horoscope in the sign of Virgo along with benefic exalted Mercury. Though Venus is debilitated in the sign of Virgo, the results delivered by such debilitated Venus may not be substandard in this case and it may deliver very good results to the native under its influence.
This is due to the reason that the presence of benefic exalted Mercury in the same house of this horoscope may cancel the debilitation status of Venus and the two of them may form Neechbhang Rajyoga in the horoscope. According to the valid definition of Neechbhang Rajyoga, if a benefic debilitated planet is joined by a benefic planet which is either the lord of its sign of debilitation or which is exalted in its sign of debilitation, the status of debilitation of this planet may get cancelled and Neechbhang Rajyoga may by formed in the horoscope. Such benefic Yoga can bless the native with very good results related to many spheres of his life, depending on the overall tone of his horoscope.
In the present case, since Mercury is the lord of sign Virgo and at the same time, it is exalted in the sign of Virgo, its presence with debilitated Venus may cancel the debilitation status of Venus and together these two benefic planets may form Neechbhang Rajyoga in the first house of this horoscope. Looking at the already defined tone of the horoscope, the native under the effect of this yoga and all other benefic planets mentioned in this example may appear in some exams for revenue services and through such exams, he may get selected for the highest possible direct rank in revenue services. The combined effect of all these benefic planets can bless this native with very good success and growth throughout his career and such benefic results may increase if there are some other benefic influences in the horoscope of this native.
Apart from this, benefic exalted Mercury in the first house of a horoscope can bless the native with success in many other types of professional spheres. Accordingly the natives under its effect may become professionals like, taxation officers, bankers, financial analysts, charted accountants or any other type of professionals dealing in financial lines; players engaging in various sports, singers, actors, businessmen engaging in many types of businesses, doctors, lawyers, judges, police officers, administrative officers, astrologers, numerologists, engineers, architects, interior designers and many other types of professionals. The type of profession chosen by a native under the effect of such benefic exalted Mercury and the amount of success achieved by the native depends on the overall tone of his horoscope.
On the other hand, malefic exalted Mercury placed in the first house of a horoscope can trouble the native with problems related to his marriage, profession, finances, health and many other types of problems. Accordingly the natives under the effect of this malefic influence may have to face some of these problems depending on the overall tone of their horoscopes. Such malefic influence can trouble the native a lot, when it comes to his professional sphere and hence some natives under its effect may have to come across many types of problems in their professions, depending on their horoscopes. Some of these natives may not get suitable professions till late in their lives and they may have to work for some jobs which they may not like or for some jobs which may not pay them according to their academic education or according to some other ability that they may possess. Some other natives under the effect of malefic exalted Mercury in the first house of their horoscopes may have to face financial losses and setbacks through their fields of professions and such losses may increase, if there are some other malefic planets in their horoscopes.
For example, if malefic exalted Mercury is placed in the first house of a horoscope in the sign of Virgo along with malefic Sun; and malefic Mars is placed in the sixth house of this horoscope in the sign of Aquarius, the native under the effect of these malefic planets may not be able to find a suitable profession till late in his life. At the same time, if malefic Moon also joins malefic Mars in the sixth house of this horoscope, the equation may become worse. Accordingly the native may not even find some permanent profession till his age of 33 and he may only be able to find some jobs on and off. It means that such native my engage in some job for some months and he may then have to sit idle for many months. The presence of malefic Rahu in the fifth house of this horoscope in the sign of Capricorn can add more negativity to this equation. Hence the native under the effect of such malefic exalted Mercury and all other malefic planets may have to remain jobless most of the time, till his age of 35 years. As more malefic planets add to this horoscope, the native may have to suffer even more on the front of his profession.