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.

  



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