Studies in Astrology
by
Elman Bacher
Volume VII
Chapter VII
The Faculty of Intuition
Intuition: our winged inner sense, the magical
perceptive power by which a human after many, many lives of conscious
regeneration, purification, and simplification, is able to effect an
instantaneous realization of spiritual fact or law inherent in any
expression of phenomena, experience, or relationship. The presence of this
perceptive power or faculty in the consciousness of a human is evidence of his
dedicated pursuance of truth and dedicated endeavor to spiritualize his
autonomy (self-rulership) through Love.
Egos who have evolved this faculty have appeared
in many places throughout human history, but they are now incarnating in
greater numbers than ever before. These persons, in degree, represent a
vanguard in the evolutionary preparation for the New Age; they bring in from
their developments in past lives the evidence of the potential of
Intuition possessed by all humans and which all humans are eventually to
develop and express. The present expansion in scientific exploration and
invention externalizes this "New Age advent" because the human's ability to
invent mechanisms and instruments is based on intuitive perception of
principles. Consider for a moment that mechanism which most perfectly
externalizes the intuitive faculty: the electronic calculator. This
mechanism produces, almost instantly, the accurate solution of mathematical
combinations and problems so complicated that highly trained people require
hours to solve them. Recognize, by correspondence, that human intuition in
action is based on the same power of accurate, synthesizing perception that is
externalized by this fabulous machine.
The word "intuition" is directly derived from two
Latin root-words which, together, mean to look into. By the
synchronized action of our two eyes--the polarized physical expression of
visual perception--we look at things. Even the study of an X-ray
picture reveals only that aspect of the physical which is beneath the exterior
surface. It is by the action of the single eye of truthful perception,
externalized in the physical as the pituitary gland, that we "in-to-
it-ively perceive that which is with-in the physical, that from
which the physical proceeds. Every single mechanism ever devised
by humans represents an externalization of an intuitive perception of a
principle of the cosmos. Think of the genius possessed by the
human who first intuitively perceived the principle of the wheel and
reproduced that principle in physical form! Or the principle of the boat, or
the use of fire, or the principle of the radio, or that of motion-pictures;
all of these devices, from the simplest to the most complex, were perceived
as applications of cosmic principles to form and the perception, in each
case, was experienced inwardly as intuitive functioning. It has been
said, with truth, that a human cannot invent a device or mechanism the
principle of which does not have correspondence with an actual or a potential
faculty of the human. The converse can be stated: The inner-power of
humans can discover ways and means to externalize each and every principle
of the cosmos which has correspondence with the human's potentialities.
The old saw holds true: there is nothing new under the Sun; there are
only different ways to externalize what is perceived "under the Sun" and the
perceiving is always some degree of intuitive action.
Only the higher faculties make possible the perception of that which is
"new," and of all these Intuition is the one which most directly gives
evidence of the "regeneration of the self by the Self."
One of the most perfectly pure correlations to be
found in the entire realm of Astro-philosophy is that of the faculty of
Intuition with the planet Uranus. There is complete correspondence in every
point of this two-fold identification. Uranus is the liberative principle
in the cosmos. Intuition is the most completely liberated faculty of the
Ego; Uranus is the principle of synthesis, the faculty of Intuition
provides the Ego with the most complete synthetic perception of things under
consideration; Uranus symbolizes the purity of impersonal love,
Intuition is that clear power of the Ego when it is completely free of the
biases of prejudice--personal approval and disapproval; Uranus, in the realm
of generic consciousness, symbolizes the perfect polaric balance of the
true androgyne (man-woman). Intuition is that power of the Ego to draw
on the deeply-hidden resources of knowledge and understanding derived from
snaky past incarnations as finale and as female; Uranus, as ruler of
Aquarius, symbolizes the apotheosis of the consciousness of fraternity;
Intuition makes it possible for a human truly to perceive the similarities
and correspondences between his own experiences and those of another
human; Uranus symbolizes the Un-bound and un-binding
apperception of Love; Intuition is the un-bound and un-binding
apperception of truth inherent in any phase of phenomena or experience.
Of all the planets in our solar system, Uranus represents that tendency to
act, or to affect, with maximum speed- the transcendence of the
limitations of time; Intuition acts with a speed that is designated as " time-
less "--when it arises in consciousness to fulfill the requirements of
directed attention it "just happens" and there are not words in our
language that can describe the "instantaneousness" of its action. Only the
experience itself can serve to "describe" it. Intuition, as the
spiritualization of love united with the apperceptive power of the
mind, can reveal all things, just as Love fulfills all things.
The study of a natal horoscope with regard to
determining intuitive power or inclination must include a correlation of
Uranus, the symbol of the faculty itself, with the mental equivalents
of other planets in terms of aspect-pattern and dispositorship. All planetary
points have mental equivalents, just as they have physical, astral, and
spiritual equivalents; each planetary point designates a certain "kind of
thinking" because each one depicts kinds of things upon which a human's
mental attention can be focused, whether it be some object in the
material world, a personal environment, an event, or a relationship.
Of the nine other planetary points, three are
specifically representative of mental faculties, the other six may be
understood, in terms of mental equivalents, to represent mental
attributes. The three "mental faculty planets" are Moon, Mercury, and
Neptune. The Moon symbolizes the instinctual mind, the reservoir of
memories from past lives, the production mechanism of the mental
faculty. Mercury symbolizes the conscious mind, the correlation between
the brain and the sensory perceptions by which the human gains information of
the exterior world, the mental power to identify specifically, to compute, to
analyze, to study, and to communicate by speech and writing. Neptune
symbolizes the faculty of the inspirational mind; it is the special
mental principle which characterizes the creative and interpretive artist, it
is the subtle mental faculty by which a human receives and apprehends
communication from Higher Planes. These three planets may be considered to be
the mental triad which characterizes communicative action: the Moon, as
the instinctual mind, communicates the secrets of the past to the awareness of
the present by producing effects which correspond to the stored-up
memories; Mercury as the conscious mind, communicates the secrets of the
external world to the mental awareness of the person and represents inter-
communication between persons; Neptune, as the symbol of the inspirational
mind, is the mental faculty which identifies channelship between the
relatively higher to the relatively lower.
Referring to the trine aspects as representing the
relative fulfillment of intuitive development,
Moon trine Uranus identifies the intuitive awareness of needs and their
fulfillment, the awareness of how the progress of human groups may be
furthered, the "new age" consciousness of the principles of home- life,
provision and protection; more than any other one aspect, Moon trine Uranus is
the planetary insignia of the "emancipation of women," the liberating of mass-
consciousness from ignorance, prejudice and crudeness, the electrifying
reformation of the personal instinctual consciousness by internal
apperception.
Mercury trine Uranus, more than any other aspect,
identifies the intuitive knowledge of the scientific genius; it is the basis,
in the mental body, for that which makes possible all discovery and invention.
Children with this aspect very often reveal great ability in their studies at
school. It is evidence of specialized knowledge brought over from
studies and inquiries in past lives. These persons have exercised great
independence of spirit in their intellectual pursuits in the past. They often
reveal great ability in foreign languages, in which case the evidence is shown
that in their present studies they are really recapitulating--"bringing to the
surface"--much knowledge of languages gained in the past.
The Uranus-Neptune aspects have to be evaluated by
correlation with the entire chart; these aspects are cyclic or "epochal" in
nature and only by a careful analysis and synthesis with the basic tendencies
of the chart as a whole can the predominance of intuitive or
inspirational mental abilities be determined. All humans who come in with
the aspect of Uranus trine Neptune comprise a life-wave who are, in a general
sense, more at-tuned to the effects of higher forces. They, as a universal
group, represent a cyclic emphasis of relatively progressive and
spiritualizing consciousness. The most highly evolved of these people--
regardless of historical timing of incarnation--make a. great contribution,
through their revelatory and inspirational powers, to the
progress of the race. Those highly developed who come in when Uranus is
square or opposition Neptune are evolutionary transposers, their timing
of incarnation brings them in when dissolution of that which is outmoded
and crystallized is needed by the race. These timings are always
characterized by conditions of upheaval, revolution, terrific tension and
conflict, but the Uranus factor of the highly evolved persons
identifies them as "workers for the future." They have the apperception of
that which is to be and, having intuitive enlightenment, they work to
initiate those steps, methods, and procedures which will result in the new
manifestations which characterize the future.
There are three other planets which, when
correlated to Uranus, represent marked intuitive characteristics: Jupiter,
Saturn, and Venus. Uranus correlated with Jupiter, or the ninth house
influence gives a high degree of interpretive artistic genius, is intuitional
and imaginative, spiritual qualities possessed by the Guru, the Teacher, the
spiritual-law Interpreter and, in large degree, the Healer. Uranus trine
Jupiter gives evidence of higher development of the abstract mind, the
intuitive apperception of symbolism and principle. Uranus-Saturn identifies
clairaudience and that quality of intuition which makes possible
necessary reforms in the social, political, and business life of humanity.
Uranus-Venus, one of the insignia of creative or interpretative artistic
genius, is intuitional apperception particularly directed toward the
comprehension of relationship; Uranus trine Venus gives evidence of the power
to perceive the impersonal values of relationship and the ability to respond
to a very high quality of spiritual affinity in relationship; it is one of the
insignia, perhaps the principal one, of "biune love" or "soul-marriage."
Considering Mars as the co-ruler of Scorpio--
action which releases the Scorpionic resources of desire-power--we may
consider the aspect of Uranus trine Mars as being primarily an evidence of
great capacity for action by which intuitive tendencies are directed for
the fulfillment of enterprise. Mars "thinks" in terms of "how, what,
where, when can I do;" Uranus trine Mars, therefore, could well be
understood to represent an intuitive perception of right action. If
Pluto may be considered as the planetary ruler of Scorpio, then Uranus trine
Pluto indicates the intuitive faculty to be "backed up" by an enormous
resource of desire-power and emotional force. This aspect is one which could
be understood to be a "planetary insignia" of a magician-black or white. In
the chart of a highly evolved, spiritually- minded human, Uranus trine Pluto
could represent one whose reformative power is tremendous, both as
regards his own personal regeneration and the power he may direct toward
regenerating or transforming another individual or society at large.
Externalized, this aspect could be thought of as the explosion of the first
atomic bomb, opening up a new era in human experience regarding the knowledge
and use of newly-perceived octaves of power.
Regarding Uranus and Sun we will give special
consideration because the Great Astrological Mandala (the twelve-housed wheel,
Aries Ascendant, the planets in the signs and houses of their dignity) gives
us the clue to the essential evolutionary root and spiritual meaning of the
faculty of Intuition, as a potential possessed by all humans. The Great
Astrological Mandala is the abstract astrological significance of earthian
humanity and any point of faculty or experience which humans have in
common can be studied from this design. Create a copy of the Great
Astrological Mandala, intensify the diameter Leo-Aquarius, draw straight lines
connecting the cusps Leo-Aries and Aquarius-Scorpio.
No sign of the zodiac can be fully comprehended
without a consideration of its opposite, just as two humans of opposite sex
become aware of their subjective polarity by intimate relationship in strong
magnetic attraction. To "know Aquarius" we have also to "know Leo," the fire
sign ruled by the Sun, symbol of will, purpose, radiation, and individual
autonomy. If the Sun is the radiation of love, Uranus is the
liberative, transforming quality of love-radiation; if the Sun is the
power of the Mind, Uranus is that form of individualism by which
independence of thought has been evolved; if the Sun is the potential
of Mastery, Uranus is that potential realized in and through all
relationships by an increasing spiritualization and regeneration of the
emotional nature. Aquarius, as spiritualized love, polarizes and "redeems"
the egotistical love of unevolved Leo: Aquarius, through its ruler Uranus, as
intuition, polarizes and redeems the "self-centered" mind of unevolved Leo.
When Sun and Uranus are considered in their exaltations--Aries and Scorpio
respectively--we see the symbolic apotheosis of the human as a Son of
God and the human's potential to realize his spiritual identity through
internal regeneration the "divine magic," the "creative alchemy," the
transmutation by which the dross of the personal Ego is transformed into the
White Light of the Spiritual Being. The unequivocal pursuit of Truth, the
self- directed discipline and refinement of emotional and mental faculties,
the expansion of Love-power through impersonalization, and the ever-more-
clarified realization of true spiritual identity are seen to be the steps by
which the Master Power of Intuition is focalized, evolved, and perfected in
human consciousness. The astrologer looks at the symbols and numbers
of a horoscope, but he intuitively looks in-to the chart to apprehend the
truths of the person's consciousness. Astrological study for serviceable
use and human enlightenment is one of the principle modes by which the
Faculty of Intuition is developed in the human being.