Jofish2669 :
@bellovide @Custard🇬🇧🏳️🌈🧠 @Emma Morecroft the vines don't go through the letters HGS so I had a look.
Mercury (Hg) has some fascinating connections. Its main natural ore is cinnabar — mercury sulphide (HgS), a vivid red mineral which, when made into pigment, is known as vermilion. Cinnabar/vermilion has historically been associated with blood, life, death and immortality.
Mercury poisoning can affect the brain and nervous system, causing tremors, insomnia, headaches, memory problems, anxiety, irritability, mood and personality changes and disturbed behaviour. This links to “mad as a hatter”: mercury compounds were once used in felt-hat making, and prolonged exposure could cause neurological and behavioural symptoms — hence the cultural connection with the Mad Hatter/Alice in Wonderland.
Then there is Mercury the Roman god (Greek Hermes): messenger of the gods, associated with communication, travel, trickery and crossing boundaries. Crucially, Mercury could move between worlds and acted as a psychopomp, guiding souls between the realms of the living and the dead. His symbols include the caduceus (two entwined snakes), winged sandals and winged helmet.
2026-08-15 09:51:27