HTML Entity for Mercury (☿)

Beginner

5 min read

Updated: Sep 2026

1 example

Unicode U+263F

HTML Entity for Mercury symbol (U+263F) tutorial illustration

Definition

What Is the Mercury Entity?

Mercury (☿) is the planet / alchemy symbol at Unicode U+263F. Use it in astronomy, astrology, and educational pages. There is no named HTML entity such as &mercury;.

Remember

Character     ☿
Unicode       U+263F
Hex entity    &#x263F;
Decimal       &#9791;
CSS escape    \263F
Named entity  (none)

Hex, decimal, CSS, and a typed character all produce the same glyph: ☿.

Reference

Quick Reference

One table for every form you will actually use.

Form	Code	Where it goes
Direct character	`☿`	UTF-8 HTML text (default choice)
Hex entity	`☿`	HTML markup
Decimal entity	`☿`	HTML markup
CSS escape	`\263F`	Stylesheet `content`
Named entity	—	Not defined in HTML5

When to Use Which

Situation	Use
Astronomy / astrology labels	Type `☿` (UTF-8) or `☿`
Need an entity in HTML source	`☿` or `☿`
Generated text via `::before` / `::after`	`content: "\263F"`
Venus / female symbol	See Female Sign — `&female;` (♀)
Mars / male symbol	See Mars — `&male;` (♂)

See it

Live Preview

Mercury alongside related planet symbols.

Planet label Planet: Mercury ☿

Large glyph ☿

With neighbors ♀ Venus ☿ Mercury ♂ Mars

vs Venus / Mars ☿ | ♀ | ♂

With entities Hex: ☿ | Decimal: ☿

Code

Complete HTML Example

One page that shows Mercury with hex, decimal, CSS, and a typed character. Use View Output or open the live editor.

Hex + Decimal + CSS + Typed

Four ways to produce ☿ in a single document.

html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <title>Mercury (☿)</title>
  <style>
    #point::after {
      content: "\263F";
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <p>Using Hex Code: &#x263F;</p>
  <p>Using HTML Code: &#9791;</p>
  <p id="point">Using CSS Entity: </p>
  <p>Planets: ♀ Venus ☿ Mercury ♂ Mars</p>
</body>
</html>

Try It Yourself

How It Works

1. Hex: U+263F → ☿ in HTML. The browser turns it into ☿.

2. Decimal: same code point as 9791 → ☿. Same result as hex.

3. CSS: use \263F in content (not an HTML entity). #point::after appends that ☿ after the paragraph text.

4. Context: Venus (♀) and Mars (♂) use named entities &female; and &male;; Mercury does not.

Pitfalls & Tips

Common mistakes when working with the Mercury symbol.

Named?

No `&mercury;`

HTML5 does not define a named entity for U+263F. Use numeric forms.

Neighbors

Venus and Mars have names

♀ is &female;; ♂ is &male;. Mercury stays numeric-only.

Meaning

Planet vs element text

☿ is the symbol glyph. For the chemical element, write the word “mercury” or use Hg — do not rely on this glyph alone.

CSS vs HTML

Do not mix escapes

\263F belongs in CSS. ☿ / ☿ belong in HTML.

Encoding

Declare UTF-8

If you type ☿ directly, keep <meta charset="UTF-8"> so the file is not misread.

Semicolon

End references

Always finish with ; — write ☿, not &#9791.

Compatibility

Browser Support

Mercury (U+263F) and its numeric entity forms (☿, ☿, CSS \\263F) are supported in all mainstream browsers with a Unicode-capable font.

✓ Universal support

Mercury (☿)

Type ☿, or encode with hex, decimal, or CSS escape — same glyph everywhere fonts support it.

100% Browser coverage

Google Chrome Supported

Yes

Microsoft Edge Supported

Yes

Mozilla Firefox Supported

Yes

Apple Safari Supported

Yes

Opera Supported

Yes

Internet Explorer IE 9+

Yes*

U+263F / entities Full support

Bottom line: Type ☿ for normal UTF-8 text. Prefer ☿ or ☿ when encoding must be explicit, and \\263F only inside CSS content.

Remember

Key Takeaways

Unicode: Mercury is U+263F (decimal 9791).
HTML: use ☿ or ☿ — there is no named entity.
CSS: use \263F inside content for generated text.
Related: Venus &female; (♀), Mars &male; (♂).

One line: U+263F → type ☿, or encode as ☿ / ☿ / CSS \263F.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I display the Mercury symbol in HTML?

Use ☿ (hex), ☿ (decimal), or the CSS escape \263F in the content property. All render ☿. There is no named HTML entity for U+263F.

What is the Unicode value for Mercury?

U+263F (MERCURY). Hex 263F, decimal 9791. It belongs to the Miscellaneous Symbols block and is used in astronomy, astrology, and alchemy.

Is there a named HTML entity for Mercury?

No. U+263F has no named HTML entity such as &mercury;. Use numeric references like ☿ or ☿.

When should I use this HTML entity?

Use it for astronomy and astrology charts, planet labels, alchemy notes, and educational content about the planet Mercury.

What is the difference between HTML code and CSS entity for U+263F?

HTML entities (☿ or ☿) go in markup. The CSS escape \263F is used in stylesheets (usually in the content property of ::before/::after). Both render ☿.

How does Mercury compare to Venus and Mars?

Mercury is ☿ (U+263F, no named entity). Venus / female is ♀ (U+2640, &female;). Mars / male is ♂ (U+2642, &male;).

Did you know?

Mercury is Unicode U+263F (decimal 9791) — in Miscellaneous Symbols. HTML5 has no named entity for it — use ☿ or ☿. Related planets: Venus &female; (♀) and Mars &male; (♂).

Next: Micro Sign

Continue with the micro sign (µ) entity tutorial.

Micro sign tutorial →

About the author

Mari Selvan M P 🔗

Developer, cloud engineer, and technical writer

Experience 12 years building web and cloud systems
Focus Full Stack Development, AWS, and Developer Education

I write practical tutorials so students and working developers can learn by doing—from databases and APIs to deployment on AWS.

AWS Certified Developer – Associate (Credly)

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