Mercury symbol

A horned circle above a cross — Mercury, and quicksilver.

Also known as: Hermes symbol, Quicksilver symbol, Horned circle symbol

Astrology & astronomyHistorical & archaeologicalScientificStandard profile

Meanings

Mercury's symbol is the Venus sign with a pair of horns added on top. Unusually, the planet and the metal share a name as well as a mark: quicksilver is called mercury precisely because of this correspondence.

Common modern usageVerified fact
Denotes the planet Mercury in astronomical notation.
Contexts: History
Historically documentedDocumented interpretation
Denoted quicksilver — the liquid metal now called mercury after this very association.
A record of what alchemists wrote, not a claim that the association holds. The planet–metal correspondences were a system of belief, and the chemistry they rest on is not sound.
Medieval and early modern alchemy · Contexts: History
Common modern usageTradition
Is held in astrological tradition to signify communication, intellect and exchange.
Recorded as what astrological tradition assigns, not as a finding. Symbolwise does not assert that any planet influences anything, and astrology has no empirical standing.
Contexts: History
Historically documentedDocumented interpretation
Is the one case in this batch where the correspondence survives in ordinary language: the metal is named after the planet, so the alchemical association is embedded in modern chemistry's vocabulary even though the reasoning behind it was abandoned.
Contexts: History
Historically documentedVerified fact
Is the only classical planet symbol that stacks three elements: a crescent above, a circle in the middle and a cross below. The reading usually given is a winged helmet or a caduceus over the disc of the planet, though like most of the planetary glyphs its derivation is a reconstruction rather than a documented invention.
Medieval and early modern astronomical manuscripts · Contexts: History
Historically documentedVerified fact
Denoted the metal mercury — quicksilver — in alchemical and early pharmaceutical writing, and survives in that role on antique apothecary jars and in histories of chemistry.
Medieval and early modern alchemy · Contexts: Medicine, History

Variants

Related forms that are not treated as separate canonical symbols — see our variant rules.

Crescent-less form
The circle and cross without the crescent above, found in some manuscript traditions and easily mistaken for the Venus symbol as a result.
Unicode MERCURY
U+263F, the encoded character.

Visual description

A circle with a small upright cross beneath it and a crescent resting on top like a pair of horns.

Symmetry: vertical
Orientation: upright

Visually similar to: Venus symbol
Identical to the Venus symbol but for the crescent added above the circle.

Confidence

Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is defined by a current official standard, but multiple independent sources agree.
IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is defined by a current official standard, but multiple independent sources agree.
Historical originModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.

Sources

Astronomical symbols
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for the character's identity, its documented astronomical and alchemical use, and the fact that astrology assigns it a meaning. Never used to support the astrological claim itself, which is recorded as a tradition rather than a finding.
Planet symbols
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-22
Tertiary reference, cited for the conventional description of a form or a name in common use. Where a standards body or issuer defines the mark, that body is cited alongside and governs.
Planet symbols
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for the character's identity, its documented astronomical and alchemical use, and the fact that astrology assigns it a meaning. Never used to support the astrological claim itself, which is recorded as a tradition rather than a finding.
Unicode Code Chart: Miscellaneous Symbols (U+2600–U+26FF)
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for the character's identity, its documented astronomical and alchemical use, and the fact that astrology assigns it a meaning. Never used to support the astrological claim itself, which is recorded as a tradition rather than a finding.
Alchemical symbol
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for the character's identity, its documented astronomical and alchemical use, and the fact that astrology assigns it a meaning. Never used to support the astrological claim itself, which is recorded as a tradition rather than a finding.

Last reviewed 2026-08-22

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Planetary symbols and their older meanings

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Meanings

Common modern usageVerified fact

Denotes the planet Mercury in astronomical notation.

Contexts: History

Historically documentedDocumented interpretation

Denoted quicksilver — the liquid metal now called mercury after this very association.

A record of what alchemists wrote, not a claim that the association holds. The planet–metal correspondences were a system of belief, and the chemistry they rest on is not sound.

Medieval and early modern alchemy · Contexts: History

Common modern usageTradition

Is held in astrological tradition to signify communication, intellect and exchange.

Recorded as what astrological tradition assigns, not as a finding. Symbolwise does not assert that any planet influences anything, and astrology has no empirical standing.

Contexts: History

Historically documentedDocumented interpretation

Is the one case in this batch where the correspondence survives in ordinary language: the metal is named after the planet, so the alchemical association is embedded in modern chemistry's vocabulary even though the reasoning behind it was abandoned.

Contexts: History

Historically documentedVerified fact

Is the only classical planet symbol that stacks three elements: a crescent above, a circle in the middle and a cross below. The reading usually given is a winged helmet or a caduceus over the disc of the planet, though like most of the planetary glyphs its derivation is a reconstruction rather than a documented invention.

Medieval and early modern astronomical manuscripts · Contexts: History

Historically documentedVerified fact

Denoted the metal mercury — quicksilver — in alchemical and early pharmaceutical writing, and survives in that role on antique apothecary jars and in histories of chemistry.

Medieval and early modern alchemy · Contexts: Medicine, History

Confidence

Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is defined by a current official standard, but multiple independent sources agree.
IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is defined by a current official standard, but multiple independent sources agree.
Historical originModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.

Sources

Astronomical symbols
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for the character's identity, its documented astronomical and alchemical use, and the fact that astrology assigns it a meaning. Never used to support the astrological claim itself, which is recorded as a tradition rather than a finding.
Planet symbols
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-22
Tertiary reference, cited for the conventional description of a form or a name in common use. Where a standards body or issuer defines the mark, that body is cited alongside and governs.
Planet symbols
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for the character's identity, its documented astronomical and alchemical use, and the fact that astrology assigns it a meaning. Never used to support the astrological claim itself, which is recorded as a tradition rather than a finding.
Unicode Code Chart: Miscellaneous Symbols (U+2600–U+26FF)
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for the character's identity, its documented astronomical and alchemical use, and the fact that astrology assigns it a meaning. Never used to support the astrological claim itself, which is recorded as a tradition rather than a finding.
Alchemical symbol
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for the character's identity, its documented astronomical and alchemical use, and the fact that astrology assigns it a meaning. Never used to support the astrological claim itself, which is recorded as a tradition rather than a finding.

Last reviewed 2026-08-22

Meanings

Variants

Visual description

Related & commonly confused symbols

Meanings

Variants

Visual description

Related & commonly confused symbols