In my opinion, analytical insight and intuition are two very different things. Analytical insight comes from data processing. The information is in the data. It only needs to be treated.
Intuition is something else. If you are spiritually oriented, we can say that analytical insight belongs to the Ego, while intuition is a fundamentally different type of knowledge that has a different origin.
Let's try with some examples:
If enough meteorological measuring stations report rain, wind and low air pressure – we can interpret it as an intense low pressure moving inland. We can predict that the rain will hit another part of the country tomorrow. Meteorologists are not magicians; they see patterns in data.
In earlier times, older men and women could predict the weather based on gut feeling, looking at the animals' behaviour, listening to the forest, studying the clouds, the shadows in the mountains, the colour of the sea, the sunset – and then stutter between missing teeth that tomorrow will be glorious weather, but lousy fishing!
That is not miraculous either, although many were impressed. These old ones, too, based their predictions on data; collected and experienced on the body through a long life. The most observant, most analytical, and those with the best «intuition» got/took the job of interpreting and predicting.
The next step may be to leave the weather forecast to an astrologer. Maybe, but probably not, you will find an astrologer willing to try, but that would be futile.
Astrology is not science in that sense. Astrology studies the movements of the planets and tries to see connections to both the human psyche and events on Earth.
That has been going on for thousands of years. The collected material is vast. Astrology has been studied by the foremost scholars, the most analytical, and those with extraordinary abilities. The result is a complex but coherent system of insight. Psychological insight. Insight into the forces and shifts in nature.
Probably, the same patterns we observe in the planets can also be found in everything else «natural». Then one can discuss whether the connection between the planets and the human psyche is so direct that we may conclude. Some say yes, others no. In a world where everything is mental, as I suggest in this book, the answer is a clear and necessary yes.
I believe that astrology's archetypes, forces, and interactions tell a lot. At the very end of the book, I will try to justify this scientifically (see
22.6. Cause and effect) because I can hear that you are sceptical, probably highly doubtful. Stay like that.
In any case, one can not use astrology to predict the weather next Tuesday. That's not how it works. Astrology requires something more. A good astrologer possesses more than a table of planetary positions and a textbook of zodiac signs, houses and aspects.
A good astrologer must understand the system thoroughly but is usually also possessed by solid intuition. A good astrologer must be able to read people, understand psychological processes, look beyond the obvious and be willing and able to pursue challenging tracks.
So one thing is data and pattern recognition.
Something else is intuition – genuine, raw, brutal, beautiful, authentic and violent intuition.
When you experience sudden insights, truthfulness, miracles, providence, etc. – you understand that this is something else. If one were to experience a revelation, one would know for sure.
It is so different, clear, and powerful that you can't explain it away.
You know.
I know.
I always knew. I already knew when I sat alone in the pile of sand.
Intuitive knowledge has several characteristics that distinguish it from other knowledge.
- Fast: It appears very quickly, often in a brief flash.
- Not controllable: It appears spontaneously, usually without prior effort and is impossible to control.
- Requires calmness: Intuitive knowledge often comes when we are not concerned with analytical problem-solving.
- Outside logic: It is illogical, which means that it does not necessarily contradict ordinary logic but does not follow it either.
- Silent: The knowledge the intuition provides is silent, more about what that means a little later in the chapter (see 2.5. Tacit knowledge).
- Holistic: Intuitive knowledge is holistic, i.e. it deals with the whole in a situation, not parts or details.
- Certainty: The knowledge is perceived as indisputably true, even if there is no evidence.
- Used actively: Studies show that intuition plays a role, especially when making decisions and seeking a creative solution to a problem.
- Widespread: The vast majority, probably all, have experienced «receiving» knowledge intuitively.
Analytical insight – what can be called traditional knowledge, has diametrically opposite properties:
- Slow: We have to «think through» the case, consider different elements, weigh the pros and cons, etc.
- Controllable: We can decide when we want to start thinking and control what we choose to include in the process.
- Does not require peace: Traditional knowledge is available anytime, without any requirements for situations etc.
- Logical: Traditional knowledge often emerges through analysis and interpretations based on hypotheses, testing, etc.
- Patchwork: In traditional thinking, a patchwork occurs of aspects held up against each other to find connections. It is a complex, fragmented process, partly conscious, partly subconscious.
- Uncertain conclusion: The results from traditional thinking are usually not perceived as absolute. If new aspects occur or something changes, the conclusion may also need to be changed.
