Files
kennethreitz ce93f429a2 Add Knowledge: the vault's reference shelf, crosslinked across the site
Publish the Obsidian vault's Knowledge folder as /knowledge (881 notes,
67 folders), with a Knowledge item in the nav and footer.

- scripts/import_knowledge.py regenerates data/knowledge from the vault:
  slugged paths, folder notes as index pages, wikilinks resolved to site
  links (or plain text), callouts, highlights, and Dataview tables
  rendered statically. Personal notes are withheld via an exclusion
  list plus a privacy guard.
- tuftecms/core/knowledge.py builds a concept index from note titles and
  aliases. First mentions on ordinary pages link to their Knowledge note
  (capped, never in headings, code, links, or sidenotes); Knowledge pages
  list related notes and where they're mentioned across the site; other
  pages get a Related Knowledge block.
- Knowledge URLs join sitemap.xml (so the sweep test covers them), never
  displace existing legacy slugs, list alphabetically, and mermaid
  diagrams render client-side only on pages that have them.
2026-10-18 20:08:46 -04:00

2.5 KiB

source
source
obsidian-knowledge

Mercury

Domain: Messenger, commerce, communication, travelers, thieves Symbol: Caduceus, winged sandals, winged hat, rooster Greek Equivalent: Hermes


Overview

Mercury is the Roman god of commerce, communication, and travelers, and the messenger of the gods. Swift and eloquent, he governs trade, profit, and the passage of messages between mortals and the divine, and — like his Greek counterpart Hermes — he also guides the souls of the dead down to the underworld as a psychopomp. His very name binds him to exchange: the Latin merx and mercari, "merchandise" and "to trade," stand behind both his name and the English words "merchant," "commerce," and "mercantile."

His attributes mark him as a god of swiftness and speech. He carries the caduceus, the herald's staff entwined with two serpents; wears the winged sandals (talaria) that carry him faster than thought and the winged traveller's cap (petasus); and often bears a purse or money-bag that underscores his commercial character. The rooster, herald of the dawn, is sacred to him. Fittingly, he was honored under titles that catch his double role in words and money, as Mercury the speaker and Mercury the man of business.

His worship centered on trade. The Mercuralia, on May 15th, was above all a merchants' festival: traders drew water from his sacred spring near the Porta Capena and sprinkled themselves and their wares with it, praying for forgiveness of past deceptions and for profit in those to come. His temple on the Aventine Hill, dedicated in 495 BCE, stood as the cult center of the merchant class and was closely tied to the guild of traders whose interests he protected.

Against the Greek Hermes, Mercury is weighted toward commerce and eloquence and away from the trickster mischief so prominent in Greek myth — the infant who stole Apollo's cattle on the day of his birth. The Roman god keeps the speed, cunning, and the role of divine messenger and guide of souls, but wears them with a more dignified, businesslike air: the patron of honest gain rather than the sly thief of the cradle.