I watched Bohemian Rhapsody recently and was curious as to Freddie Mercury’s choice of surname (he was born Farrokh Bulsara).

I had a look at his birth chart, and not only is Mercury the ruler of his Sun and Ascendant (both Virgo), but also the planet Mercury is situated at 2 degrees Virgo, the exact degree of his Ascendant.

Since the Ascendant changes so quickly (it moves through the full 360 degrees of the zodiac every 24 hours), any planet close to it in a birth chart has an extremely pronounced effect on a person’s character and life.

Mercury is the Messenger of the Gods in Roman mythology. He is the storyteller, the one who is here to communicate the message of the heavens down to earth. Mercury types always have something to say to the world and usually have a gift with words.

I always find it interesting how astrological symbolism shows up in the world. I am sure Freddie had no idea that Mercury was by far the most significant and prominent planet in his birth chart. Like how scientists gave Pluto (Lord of the Underworld in mythology) and Neptune (God of the sea) their names, and the nature of the planets’ symbolism in astrology fits perfectly with the mythology.