Intelligence

Lissa

Well-known member
Good afternoon to you all:) .

I understand Mercury is connected to the mind and the way it works,but I was thinking what astrological configurations would show the mind's abilities in more detail.What signs,house placements,aspects would show the ability to deal with abstract thinking,words,visual patterns,and if we easily acquire new knowledgments or if takes us longer to learn,etc.Basicly,I'm trying to understand what astrological configurations show the way our mind works.
 

lillyjgc

Senior Member, Educational board Editor
Hi Lissa, I have come to observe that planets in Virgo and well aspected planets to either the H3 cusp , H9 cusp and planets within show <intelligence< potential.I have noticed that mercury badly aspected by malefic planets can impede communication skills so that Intelligence can be hard to measure (deafness for instance).Resourcefullness can be a measure of intelligence so saturn or capricorn well aspected can be a factor.Wit can be a measure of intelligence so positive aspects between moon/jupiter/mercury can produce a certain sharpness of mind. If by <intelligence> you mean the <ability to learn> then look to the H9/H3 axis and rulers..If you mean by <intelligence> original thought or <genius> aspects, I would say look to Uranus/Mercury- even Neptune well placed can create the vision that inspires the action/creation/invention, but negating aspects here can turn inspiration into dissipation. For <intelligent> acts of bravery look to what Mars is doing, in regard to the translation of THOUGHT into ACTION. i guess much depends on what exactly you mean by <intelligence>... i find Gemini and Virgo to be strong in the charts of people I regard as quick-minded or clear thinkers.... Lillyjgc
 

Frisiangal

Well-known member
Lissa said:
What signs,house placements,aspects would show the ability to deal with abstract thinking,words

Mercury in Air.

,visual patterns
,

Mercury in Water/Cancer (imagination) and Pisces (fantasy)

and if we easily acquire new knowledgments

Mercury in Fire/Aries.

or if takes us longer to learn,etc
.

Mercury in Earth/ Taurus and Capricorn.

Basicly,I'm trying to understand what astrological configurations show the way our mind works
.

It's the sign Mercury is in that will show HOW the 'intelligent mind' functions, in the house WHERE it functions, and the aspect WITH WHAT it functions.

F.
 

Soul Friend

Well-known member
Uranus can also give flashes of insight.

The 3rd, 7th and 11th are also going to show elements of relating so they involve our display and engagement of our intelligence.
 

Pisceanfool

Well-known member
Well if we are talking genius here then it's defintly Uranus (excluding sign/house placements). Sure there are numerous forms of intelligence, even a "jock" has high spatial intelligence. Favorable aspects between Mercury and Uranus imbue the native with the ablity to connect to the beyond self and intuitively understand ideas (neptune as well). Uranus is the connection to the Universal Mind/Divine (in my opinion). Einstien developed his theory of relativity while resting, Tesla got his ideas "out of the blue", if you will. In my opinion, based on much thinking and research, almost any great idea or "eureka" moment comes from the higher self. Now yes this gets a little spiritual but seriously. Uranus also links to the outermost auric layer and the 7th chakra which is the divine. We are constantly being influenced by the divine in ways we don't realize, pushing us in the direction of our paths. Read about Mercury trine Uranus and you will see how incredibly smart one could be. The aspects between Mercury and Uranus have a double Aquarian connontation, which is the scientist of the zodiac (Mercury's exaltation/Uranus rulership). The ideas they receive are intuitive and instant.

For most people to get from A to D we need the B and C... however these people just go from A to D without any long train of logical thought, they just get it (intuitivly). Now, for example, if this trine were to come from the 1st house to the 9th house it would be even more genius. We can imagine any sort of combinations of sign/house to make someone absolutly brilliant. As lillyjgc said, the 3rd and 9th houses are related to knowledge at the personal and beyond self levels as well.

As with anything an aspect or placement alone does not infer anything for certain. Nothing in astrology/psychology is that simple. One of my freinds has his mercury in Gemini, and while hes not stupid hes overly subjective and superficial.

Aquarian energy is far superior, scientifically speaking, then any other. Aquarians get thier own ideas and do not follow traditions as would Sagitarrian energy. Also it is the most objective sign which is absolutly vital for finding the truth. Aquarians are open minded with the potential of accepting new ideas, although yes they can be stubborn in those ideas once they adopt them (it is fixed after all) but no sign is perfect or better overall. And as i said they have a connection and understanding of the Universal Mind which they tune into freely. It is that open mindedness that allows for this.

Aside from that, if one has intelligence and great ideas they are nothing but just thoughts without a means of expression (or desire to do so). The Sun conj Mercury allows for a quick mind and mouth, however this needs to be very close in order for the thought process to be productive and fluid. Also, as was said, mars/pluto entering this equation would provide the stimulus and desire to use this intelligence in some way (Mars for personal and Pluto for collective). I have mercury conj the sun at 4 degrees and while i defintly have above average intelligence there are times when my mind fries out and there are mental "blind spots" and my thought process fails. I also have Mars sextile and Pluto trine, and while this should give me very quick and desisive thoughts i am not the quick minded and witty in normal conversations. Also i am very slow at taking tests, and this sucks for my SAT/IQ scores (i also REALLY want to make sure i am right). My intelligence in the normal sense gets a bit underminded by the Piscean energy. So it is clear that many factors come into describing school/scientific intelligence. Althought strangly enough i am a very fast learner even with my mercury in such a watery sign. Overall it doesn't matter because i just need time to think over things, and i can express them proficently through my writing ability (sorry i know i'm an ego centric Sun in 1st house tends to do that).

Many other planets hooked up to Mercury closely and favorably can provide various intelligences. My new quote describes the necessity for imagination in finding truth and conceptualizing ideas. Imagining a situation can prove as effective as testing it if one has the ablity to think in such a way and posesses the knowledge of the actions/reactions that would ensue. Pluto also gives a distrust that allows for the mind to test and investigate ideas without blind adherence (among other abilities).

Anyway this is kind of long but i hope this helps, overall the concept of intelligence is due to a number of factors depending on the type of intelligence.
 

Teddybull

Well-known member
Piscesfool,
You made my head bubble saying such sweet things about Aquarians! I don't know if I can get out the door today with such a swelled head lol! That was interesting about Sag vs. Aquarius. I agree. (I one time read about Aquarians, "You combine in your nature the broad vision of Sagittarius with the attentiveness to detail of Virgo") Now I will make your day -

Seriously, I'll give my two cents. When I went for my master's degree I worked as a graduate assistant for a state university. I worked in the graduate office, with confidential files. I would put their GRE's scores on file. Hundreds came through. I used to casually look at each file and compare scores with birthdates. I didn't make note or use formal statistics to figure this out (so I could be way off!). Just going by birthday, I saw that Pisces and Aries usually scored the highest. Scorpio, Leo, Libra were up there too. BTW, Aquarius was mediocre. Please note again, this was just through casual glances.

I only worked at the office for a year. It could of been the year that most of the students were born (most grad students go right after college- most born the same yr) had were good natal merc/uranus astrological aspects. Blessings, tb
 

Lissa

Well-known member
Hi everyone!

Some very interesting points were made.Pisceanfool,I defintely agree with you that Mercury-Uranus easy aspects are sign of a brilliant mind(I was unlucky enough to be born with the square:p lol).I think I've heard of it somelsewhere before.Funny,Mercury in Pisces people tend to be full of surprises.Their thinking is sometimes so descoordinated and messy that it's almost impossible to understand what's going on in their heads.But,sometimes,they surprise everyone with almost genial ideas.I have two friends with Sun conjunct Mercury in Pisces(they were born in different years)and,surprisingly,they're very good with Maths and feel very comfortable with anything which requires logical,abstract thinking,whereas they have lots of trouble writing or simply trying to put their thoughts into words.

Albert Einstein has a pretty tight Mercury-Saturn conjunction in Aries.I remember once reading about him on an astrological site,where they said people used to think he was"stupid".The website said people with Mercury conjunct Saturn find some troubles trying to express themselves and take a long time to let their intelligence shine.

If you wish to look at Albert Einstein's chart: http://members.tripod.com/more_tra/1b_aeinstein.htm

All the best,
Lissa
 

Soul Friend

Well-known member
Pisceanfool said:
For most people to get from A to D we need the B and C... however these people just go from A to D without any long train of logical thought, they just get it (intuitivly). Now, for example, if this trine were to come from the 1st house to the 9th house it would be even more genius. We can imagine any sort of combinations of sign/house to make someone absolutly brilliant. As lillyjgc said, the 3rd and 9th houses are related to knowledge at the personal and beyond self levels as well.
quote]

Too, it would be easy to see in discussing house placements as they affect interpretation and another type of intelligence two of the three Relational Houses of the 3rdH, 7thH or 11th by Trine would likely endow Relational Intelligence and if focused by a planetary opposition to a Grand Trine would make a great understanding through its Kite formation.
 

Eklipse

Well-known member
Mercury is at home in Gemini and third house, if I remember well, but is it any strong if in that position, but unaspected? Does it denote only a fleeting, chatty, petty intelligence?
Jupiter in the same position: would it mean luck in mental activities?

BTW, I agree with you about Aquarians: my best friend is one, and his open-ness and objectivity keep impressing me! He'll make an excellent doctor! :)
 

Lissa

Well-known member
Hi Eklipse!

I've heard two distinct theories about unaspected planets-the first one saying that unaspected planets are malevoulous(oh God,is this spelled correctly?:p )and should be "watched for"(meaning one should be extra-cautious with the affairs of that planet),while the second theory says unaspected planets are very strong because the planet does simply "what the hell it wants",following it's own course of action almost like an independent identity from the rest of the chart.I personally agree with the latter,so i'm thinking an unaspected Mercury in either Gemini or the3rd would be quite powerful to express it's dignity in a pure,untouched way.

On the other hand,I can see where you're coming from because both Gemini and the3rd house are usually considered quite "superficial"(sorry,couldn't find a better word:eek: ).Both rule the spoken(and written)word,so perhaps the same unaspected Mercury in Gemini or the3rd would have a powerful intelect,yet combined with a strong tendency to jump from subject to subject without really focusing on anything,or to waste it's energies with small talk.

I have to say Mercury is quite a mystery to me.I consider it to be a very maleable planet,highly sensitive to the influences of the sign/house it occupies and the aspects it receives.Being neutral,Mercury is very receptive to the rest of the chart.Unlike certain other planets,who are powerful enough to dominate an entire chart,Mercury works with what it gets from the rest of the chart.A unaspected Mercury,even if in it's sign or in it's natural house,would probably lack something to work whit-lacking this stimulation,the planet would fall for small talk or behave in a superficial way.

Anyway,just my two cents.

Kind regards,
Lissa
 
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Carole

Well-known member
I totally agree with you, Pisceanfool, about the Mercury-Uranus connection. Mercury well dignified, free of combustion, and in easy aspects to Uranus, Jupiter, Mars and the Moon will do.

And about those "blind spots" you talk about, I get them as well. My Mercury in Sagittarius is at only 3 degrees from my Scorpio Sun and conjunct my Saturn in Sagittarius. Sometimes when I am in the middle of a conversation, I may stop talking because my mind goes blank for a few seconds, after which I am able to keep it up. I wonder if this is because my Mercury gets somehow burned or flashed by the Sun, even if I have read that the combustion only occurs when Mercury is in the same sign as the Sun.

This is for the sake of learning.:)
 
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Lissa

Well-known member
Hi Carole,

Like I mentioned before,Mercury in detriment tends to have this sort of problems with communication matters...My dad has his Mercury in Pisces,and I could relate to what you were talking about.How many times doesn't he stop talking in the middle of an interesting conversation,staring at the air with those vague eyes...He often starts his sentences but doesn't finish them,quickly changing the subject of the conversation for no specific reason,like"The other at work,I was..I was...How was your Math test?".When it happens,it's impossible to make him go back to the previous subject because he simply forgets what he was talking about(let me stress that my dad is too young-41years completed about a week ago-to have memory problems,and his memory is otherwise quite good).Also,I believe a head trauma due to a motorbike accident in his late20years has contributed to make this problem even worse.

Lissa
 

Carole

Well-known member
Hi, Lissa!

I have noticed how Mercury retrograde works in the charts of a few friends and acquaintances. In my case, Mercury is not retrograde and I don't lose the track of the subject in conversations. I Only get those few seconds where my mind goes blank.

Be happy!

Carole
 

Pisceanfool

Well-known member
Lissa said:
Hi Eklipse!

I have to say Mercury is quite a mystery to me.I consider it to be a very maleable planet,highly sensitive to the influences of the sign/house it occupies and the aspects it receives.Being neutral,Mercury is very receptive to the rest of the chart.Unlike certain other planets,who are powerful enough to dominate an entire chart,Mercury works with what it gets from the rest of the chart.A unaspected Mercury,even if in it's sign or in it's natural house,would probably lack something to work whit-lacking this stimulation,the planet would fall for small talk or behave in a superficial way.

Lissa

Indeed, even though i prefer to not look at astrology in mythological terms, this reminds me of Mercury as the messenger of the gods. He seems to just communicate the messenges and not have any real power of his own. I wonder if an unaspected Mercury, at it's worst, would make one engage in needless chit chat and have a very restless nature. Mercury is also reflective and fast astronomically. What is the mind but a gateway from the soul to reality and vise versa.

With the Sun/Mercury conj. i have read in some sources that when the orb is less then about 1/2 a degree it is said to be "casimi". This almost perfect solar connection imbues the native with high powers of intellect and expression, especially in an air sign (or virgo of course:)). With expression of the Sun and communication of the Mercury in perfect harmony this makes alot of sense. Otherwise it is "combust" and at times can cause an overload of solar energy and the brain sort of short circuits. Interesting(at least for me) that if i were to be born on the 27th of feb. as expected i would have this, however not the same moon position... not exactly sure why i chose it yet. I must have chosen a more spiritual path...

It is strange your father has that much trouble in conversations. Somtimes if i am not "on" (anyone with Sun conj. Mercury combust notice they have "moments"?) i have a hard time debating issues and i end up trailing into somewhat irrelavent issues. Overall i can converse effectively as long as the conversation can keep my interest. Mercury is probly the least afflicted planet in my chart, and it links into a close GT with Lilith/Sun/Pluto. Even the square to the midheaven is actually good in many ways.
 

Lissa

Well-known member
Pisceanfool,

A planet "cazimi" is a planet which is17minutes(I'm not sure if this is the right orb)away from a perfect conjunction to the Sun.Any planet in this condition is said to powerfully dignified,almost like the Sun lends some of it's light for the planet to shine too.It's interesting you mentioned you were supposed to be born with Mercury cazimi-it's curious to know why did our souls chose to be born the time they were...I was also supposed to be born one week later,with an exalted Sun and Moon and Venus in their respective dignity signs,but decided to come a little bit earlier so here I am,with a Pisces Sun and both Moon and Mercury in Aries:) LOL.

But,I believe it's not the chart that makes the person,but the person who makes the chart.Your combust Mercury may work as well as a dignified or cazimi Mercury if you do your best to it,and I've personally seen people with debilitated planets finding success in the affair of that planet.For example,I can tell you about a girl with a dignified Mercury in Gemini who has lots of trouble with typical Mercurian(is this a word?:p )things(writing,talking in an articulate manner,recognizing patterns,abstract thinking,etc).She needs to study really hard(and when I say really hard,I mean REALLY HARD)to get good grades at school,because it's not easy for her to understand things at first.One of my best friends has Mercury in Virgo and he has the exact same problems as the girl I was talking about.

Pixiequix,you posted a very intesresting article!I didn't know a genious mind was that much afflicted.Later,I will probably get back at Einstein's chart and see what I can find.

Best regards,
Lissa
 

Lissa

Well-known member
Oh,here's that article on Einstein I was talking about.I will only quote a part of it but you can find the full article here:http://www.circlesoflight.com/horoscopes/albert-einstein.shtml

The Saturn/Mercury conjunction tells us of his questionable mental development. Not speaking until the age of three and being temporarily diagnosed as mentally retarded when he began school, Albert was obviously misunderstood. In retrospect it seems that he was heavily over-burdened with a level of mentation that most of us can't even imagine, and perhaps it took awhile to gain mastery of this. Saturn implies delay and Mercury is about analytical ability and logical perceptions. Einstein did not seem to operate by logic particularly, but instead by intuition.

Lissa
 

Pisceanfool

Well-known member
Lissa,

That's interesting any planet conj the sun is cazimi didn't know that. I have never had any trouble with writing and school BTW. Both Virgo and Gemini are mutable and i think the mutable quality works well with Mercury. I only studied for i think one test in high school and always did fine on them(althought just getting the homework done was another story). The Piscean energy gives me a bit of a photographic memory(also with Moon/Jupiter conj. expanding memory) and ideas seem to float up from the unconcious at times.

I like what you said about the person making the chart because if we do in fact choose our lives then that's pretty clear.

Einstein's Mercury/Saturn could mean limitation at first but disipline later on. Everyone knows he did bad in math yet proved his theory of relativity with equations (i think he used d=rt to make his famous e=mc2) Also notice how strongly aspected Uranus was, and the imbalence even with the new astroids and what not. Uranus also forms the handle on his bucket-like pattern. Anyone know what time he was born?
 
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Sag Moon

Well-known member
Cazimi=17' within the the influene of the Sun

Combust=8Deg to 17' to the Sun

Under the Suns's Beam 16Deg. to 8Degrees of the Sun.

In Einsteins chart which I have studied indepth had Uranus in the 3rd and the only other planet below the horizon is the Moon.

IMO he was very self absorbed in finding answers to his interest .He was able to push those findings upon the world pushing them upward using the charts indicator ,to the world.

Having Uranus Rx he internalized his views in order to view what he viewed as hunches and rusued his intuition. His findings were shown to the world having Sa\Me in the 10th.

This aspect of Sa\Me has an easier time with structures than most of us have as he can visulize internally ,Ur Rx, his theories .

The 3rd is the house of the mind. Uranus placed there does have the ability for genius if there are other indicators in the chart.At the very least Ur in the 3rd have great memory .Some Photograpic. Many musicians have highly placed Uranus to mercury.

Moon in 6th is the house of the workaholic and with his moon there his obessison was for his work and his earlier life was shown to be eccentric.

Another aspect of this Ur in 3rd was the trine to Ne in the 11th giving him vision to what could be possible.

Aries being prominent also added to his revolutionary thought.He pioneered a new way of looking at old theories.He discovered.

There is more,but I am tired at the moment.

He was a genius through vision and the obsession of what he knew was possible.He not only thought it oosible,but proved it as true.

Sa\Me gave him the ability to see structure in his work. Great math skills that others can only dream of having.

I use to have a big book about his life and it was a strange obsession to others that lived with him.He was an eccentric genius,but he was not disturbed,he just had odd habits unlike others that have mental problems due to over active mental abilities.They combust tthrough thought you ,might say.They cannot seperate their work from normal living.They become all consumed which leads to certain neurosis .It's sad to see.
 
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Lissa

Well-known member
Very interesting information about Einstein's chart!That Mercury in Aries conjunct Saturn is a weird combo.Mercury in Aries people are usually quick thinkers but Saturn(and particularly being in it's fall)represents delays so perhaps it took him longer to let his mental skills shine.

About the chart's imbalance,the first thing I noticed was that he only had one planet in a water sign.That planet hapenned to be the Sun,representing the Ego,which was in Pisces,a sign known for being selfless.Not only,the Sun was in the10th,the house of the career.I'm wondering what implications did this have in his life.

Sag_Moon,just a quick question.Is a planet considered combust or under the sunbeams when it fits the orb,but occupies a diferent sign than the Sun?Or are planets only considered combust/under the sunbeams when they're in the same sign as the Sun?

Oh yeah,memory.I have Moon conjunct Mercury and my photographic memory sucks:p .My brain uses words instead of images.There's always some type of "internal dialogue" going on in my head.I often forget people's faces,but never forget their names or their birth data:p .When I had a boyfriend-I went out with him and then next day I couldn't remember his face:confused: lool.

Lissa
 

Lissa

Well-known member
PS.-About Moon/Jupiter contacts,they do tend to expand the memory.I have a trine and I can still remember things I did when I was4years old.I can even remember a dream I had.
 
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