Hi Ernst,
I’ve been meaning to ask you something out of curiosity.
When I look at a chart, I see the symbols — planets, signs, houses — and I start associating them with the meanings I've learned. But I imagine that for you, with all your experience, the process must be quite different — probably much more intuitive and immediate. Like symbols hold much more meaning to you..
It reminds me of how I play certain games: within the first second of seeing a base, I already know whether it's worth attacking or not. Within three seconds, I’ve formed a strategy and made my decision. I’m guessing something similar might happen for you — where the chart isn’t just a collection of symbols anymore, but it speaks in a more direct, layered, or even story-like way. Maybe things pop out instantly, patterns emerge, or the symbology clicks together in a way that’s hard to explain.
So I was just wondering — what actually happens in your mind when you look at a chart? How does your perception work? What do you see or sense when a chart first appears in front of you? Is it the whole person's base? What kind of character they are? Where there's most planetary effects there?
I’d love to understand how astrology works at your level — not just technically, but mentally or even intuitively.
Warm regards,
If I may add something—I think that's a very good question, and it's one I often ask myself as well. For me, for example, if I'm not asked something specific, I tend to let a birth chart affect me intuitively. Ideally, something will catch my attention—almost like a feeling that a particular placement or combination is essential—and that's what I begin to explore. After that, the "side stories" follow.
But so far, I've never been able to get a true sense of totality or wholeness, something that could be fully grasped or recognized, because astrology and its symbols have something inherently fragmenting about them.
I believe astrology is more like a magnifying glass onto parts that are, in themselves, already wholes—like microcosms that point to a macrocosm. I'm not sure if I'm expressing myself clearly. It's a very ambivalent thing, because symbols can point to a whole—but due to their abundance in astrology, they seem to point to many different wholes.
You know what I mean?
@tamarap I agree on that approach as well I think a good meditation practice integrated with solid techniques would allow the reader to tell the client what they need to know.
I will post below an email exchange I had with someone today that touches on this:
Dear Ernst,
Well, I know you teach techniques of astrology and all that comes with it. You have mentioned that when you do readings your female side comes out with the more intuitive grasp of the chart.
I feel I am still missing some intuitive connection that can get me to the next level with readings.
Do you have a secret or something to get deep in to the person? lol. Like when you see a bad avastha and you know it is something, yet you can't intuit exactly what that is! I am working with planetary mantras to deepen my attunement to the planetary gods to ask for blessings. But in the end, no matter what methods one has, they still have to inuit the person in front of them!!
My Reply:
Intuition comes only from our connection to god. Its not the same as psychic, psychic uses their astral organs just as we use your physical organs and the information gained has to be interpreted, and is often interpreted incorrectly.
So only spiritual practices will help increase intuition.
However, most people are more intuitive than they realize, they simply do not trust their intuition so they do not open themselves upto it. When I do a reading, and say I see something like you mention, an avastha and I know something is there but I can’t grasp it, I will just open myself up, and let what is there come out, and then it flows. Intuition is opening ourselves upto the truth of a matter. If I am able to open myself up to it, I will say something correct. If I doubt myself for some reason, or question is coming to the surface, then I won’t be able to say anything useful or correct.
So, meditate, and open up to the truth inside of you.
Gayatri mantra is a great mantra for real spiritual development and also intuition and knowledge of astrology.
PS Gayatri mantra is essentially an affirmation for the intelligence of the sun to inspire our intelligence and understanding. So is really the ideal mantra to develop intuition. I don’t know if you got to the Vishvamitra rishi yet, but he was the first to obtain the gayatri mantra and online one of a handful of rishis to understand it in full, which means to gain the full understanding of the intelligent energy that the sun is a part of and a symbol of.
Certain yoga practices are a practice of the gayatri mantra, of enlightening the mind with the solar energy that travels through the chakras.
@ernst Thanks so much for the hint to Gayatri Mantra! I would like to find this Mantra with appropiate translation but realised that there are several. If @anyone has an idea which one is good to work with and the closest possible to its origin...
The real meaning of the Sun, until now, has always been so hard to grasp for me in more than just an intellectual way, and I have the impression, that the Aditya course is revealing so much of the essence - so I am really grateful for the course! I guess it´s due to Rahu with my Sun (in Sc) wanting to explore the very foundation of what that really means- Thank you!
@tamarap I like to meditate while sunbathing. The first and last hour of sun are very healing. You can also get a red light therapy device but the ones that actually work are expensive. I also eat a ton of watermelon sometime in the afternoon when the sun is cruel. Watermelon loves the sun and has properties to heal/prevent sun damage. I mostly do sun meditations now and have been doing this for about a year while I figure out my own Rahu. Just some simple sun things you can do until you find the mantra.
@karinia thats beautiful, thank you! And didnt know about the link of Watermelon/Sun...
There is a youtube channel called the Sanskrit Channel which I think is really good. Here is a video he did breaking down the Gayatri mantra. He might have some others if you search for them.