Before we can understand the meaning of Mercury in the fifth house we have to know what the fifth house symbolizes. The fifth house shows our needs in love and where we release fourth house energies and emotions. The more emotional we are, the greater the need for constructive channels of expression. All forms of self-expression, anything we create or do purely for its own sake, children of the mind and the body, love affairs (insofar as they represent fun and self-expression) or their lack, theater, dramatics, hobbies, speculation, play and amusement, are all indicated by this house. The more planets we have in the fifth, the more abundant the energy we have to release, with perhaps some disinterest in receiving the same from others. This is also the house of hidden karma resulting from the misuse of the will or love principle in past lives.

Astronomically, the fifth house is that one-twelfth sector of the local sky midway between the western horizon and the nadir (see picture at the top of this page) occupied by planets two to four hours after they set.

With Mercury in your fifth house you have talent in writing and speech, and can express feelings and put emotions into words. This could give you a flair for public speaking, poetry, the dramatic and the arts. When young the mental emphasis is on romance and love affairs; as you mature it turns to your children and all that you create. If Mercury is in a fixed sign (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio or Aquarius) you can be very fixed in your opinions and attitude. You are proud of your mind and enjoy using it: solving puzzles, any creative mental outlet. You have a fine and immediate rapport with children.

Famous people with Mercury in their fifth house are/were Mary Astor, Samuel Beckett, Sarah Bernhardt, Bernardo Bertolucci, Shirley Temple Black, William Blake, Marlon Brando, Dave Brubeck, Wilt Chamberlain, Carol Channing, Charles Chaplin, George M. Cohan, Kevin Costner, Charles Dickens, Placido Domingo, Faye Dunaway, Federico Fellini, George Foreman, Michael J. Fox, Greta Garbo, Don Johnson, Tommy Lee Jones, Naomi Judd, LL Cool J, Bill Maher, Manet, Matisse, John McEnroe, Charles Mingus, Joni Mitchell, Bill Moyers, Mozart, Peter O'Toole, Dolly Parton, Vanessa Redgrave, Dennis Rodman, Teddy Roosevelt, Diana Ross, George C. Scott, Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr, Rudolf Steiner, Sarah Vaughan, Verdi, Mae West, Jonathan Winters and Tiger Woods.

This Mercury in the Fifth House page and much of this 550-page resource website are excerpted from You and the Universe.