The birth chart reveals a lot of information about your personality. Does it tell if a person is extraordinarily intelligent? The answer is yes. There are several indicators of brilliance in the natal chart.
While there are many types of intelligence, this post is about mathematical-logical intelligence in particular. It is not about how educated you are, how many languages you speak, how emotionally intelligent you are, how articulate and communicative you are etc, it is just about how fast your mind can come up with the correct solution to a logical problem.
So, how can you find out if the chart owner is a brilliant person?
The first thing you want to take a look at is Mercury. Mercury’s condition and aspects serve as primary indicators of intelligence in the birth chart. As the planet of logical thinking and the rational mind, a strong Mercury that gets a lot of support suggests a clever, witty person.
The next thing you want to find is Uranus. As the planet of brilliance in astrology, Uranus aspecting your personal planets brings a great deal of creativity, innovative spirit to the chart (along with some eccentricity).
Some other placements also serve as indicators of intelligence in the birth chart, such as planets in your third or ninth house.
This list is not exclusive of course, and there are many exceptions in astrology, but it can serve as a good starting point. Two or more of these indicators are usually strong clues that the chart owner is a really intelligent person.
That being said, here’s how you can spot intelligence, based on someone’s birth chart!
Intelligence in the Birth Chart
Mercury – the Planet of the Intellect
When it comes to finding intelligence in the birth chart, it’s a good idea to start with Mercury. Mercury represents the rational mind in astrology. This planet is key for intelligence, as it represents your thought processes, your ability to learn and adapt fast, the ability to come to the correct conclusion. Mercury has a lighter, extroverted, communicative side and an analytical and logical one, processing things in silence and coming up with the perfect solution. This planet can deal with very complex problems. As the planet of communication, Mercury can help you share your ideas with others as well.
Mercury’s zodiac sign is very meaningful in the horoscope. While it does speak about your thinking style, it is not that much about actual intelligence in the birth chart. If you study the charts of Mensans, you will find all of the Mercury signs. Every Mercury sign be extremely intelligent. Even if Mercury is placed in a zodiac sign that is not as favorable at first glance, such as Mercury in Taurus, it can help to know that there are several extremely intelligent people with this placement out there.
When it’s placed at the first degrees of a zodiac sign, Mercury can be particularly potent, reflecting the best qualities of that sign.
Mercury’s aspects are also important. However, even the difficult aspects can indicate intelligence in the birth chart. But they also suggest tension and mental restlessness.
Interestingly, outer planets aspecting Mercury seem to enhance its cognitive ability more than inner planets. But inner planets aspecting Mercury help it as well (for example, the Moon’s influence suggests excellent memory).
The Sun conjunct Mercury is tricky: on one hand, if it’s a cazimi conjunction (when they are extremely close, within 17 minutes to each other), it is an indicator of natural brightness and intelligence in the birth chart. On the other hand, if Mercury is within a few degrees to the Sun, it becomes combust, meaning the Sun burns it. In this case, Mercury becomes weaker (but other aspects can still strengthen it, you need the context of the whole chart).
Mercury-Jupiter Aspects
Mercury and Jupiter are considered polar opposites, but when they blend their energy, your mind works in a very harmonious way.
When Mercury and Jupiter come together, you see both the details and the big picture. You don’t just know things, you understand them. These aspects make you good at seeing patterns. They suggest an ability to keep track of many complex details and organize them into a smooth-running system.
Mercury-Jupiter aspects in the birth chart often also indicate a talent for learning languages. These aspects are particularly good for the humanities, but you can excel in other fields too with the help of Mercury-Jupiter aspects. They can also indicate academic success if the rest of the chart supports it.
Mercury is almost exactly conjunct Jupiter in the chart of Joseph Campbell, the author of the book Hero with a Thousand Faces (you might like this book a lot if you enjoy astrology!), which reflects his interest in anthropology.
Mercury-Saturn Aspects
Saturn, while it is gloomy and lagging, often indicates extraordinary intelligence in the birth chart when it is connected to Mercury, especially in a harmonious aspect. It gives a structured, disciplined mind that is not scared off by even the toughest intellectual challenges. Saturn enhances Mercury’s concentration ability and focus. You are a careful thinker. You prefer facts to assumptions and you like to test every idea before accepting it. You might not learn fast, but when you learn something, you remember it for ever. You are logical, realistic and grounded, sometimes overly sceptical.
If you have Mercury-Saturn aspects, you only say what you are sure about, otherwise you keep silent. With the conjunction and the negative aspects, you might be prone to dperession and self-doubt.
In Albert Einstein’s chart, Mercury is closely conjunct Saturn in Aries (and it also forms a quincunx with Uranus).
Mercury-Uranus Aspects
Mercury-Uranus aspects indicate a sharp mind. You learn very fast and your brain processes information at the speed of lightning. You are clever and a very good problem-solver. You are creative and think outside the box. You prefer to come to conclusions independently.
Uranus aspecting your Mercury also enhances your intuition. It suggests sudden insights and connecting the dots. You have great ideas out of nowhere.
Mercury-Neptune Aspects
Mercury in a good aspect to Neptune is another excellent indicator of intelligence in the birth chart. Interestingly, it very often shows up in the charts of brilliant people. Even the difficult aspects indicate a smart person, although they can suggest troubles with finding clarity from time to time.
Neptune in aspect to Mercury implies a talent for retaining information and using it creatively. You memorize huge amounts of information with ease. Mercury in aspect to Neptune suggests a strong imagination. Your thinking is intuitive and ingenious. Grasping subtle undercurrents is easy for you, you are excellent at abstract thinking. Neptune is the planet of the visionary. Mercury-Neptune blend reason with imagination.
These aspects are also great for making others recognize your intelligence and gaining their support. You intuitively know what to say.
The Third House
Some third house placements indicate that you are extra bright. The third house is the sign of gathering information, reading, learning in astrology. This house also governs thinking, it describes how your mind operates and how you process information.
The third house’s ruler’s position is also key for intelligence in the birth chart, not just whether you have planets in this house. Many brilliant people have an empty third house. You want to see if the ruler makes aspects to the planets mentioned above.
It’s great if your third house cusp is in a sign that is ruled by Mercury, Jupiter or Uranus. However, this is not the most important factor for intelligence in the birth chart.
Planets in the third house suggest that you are very curious and you love learning. Depending on the nature of the planet, you might prefer to learn a bit about many things or a lot about a few topics, but an occupied third house suggests a person who enjoys expanding their knowledge.
Planets in the third house bring a lot of focus to your thinking process. These planets emphasize the need to be mentally active.
Uranus in the third house is very often an indicator of above-average intelligence. It suggests that your mind is lightning-fast. You are often particularly gifted in mathematics, computer science, engineering. This placement can also indicate an interest in astrology.
If you have your Mercury in your third house, it feels very comfortable and at home here. It can function really well, even if it is otherwise weaker for some reason. This placement is characterized by clear thinking and articulateness. You are a very curious person whose mind is extremely active. You connect things very quickly.
Uranus
You also want to take a look at Uranus when it comes to intelligence in the birth chart. Uranus is the planet of brilliance. This planet touching someone’s personal planets brings a unique perspective, accompanied by quick wits and an ability to come up with original solutions. While it is not always a positive influence (it can manifest in bizarre ways or as a constant restlessness and tension), Uranus is very frequently emphasized in the charts of extremely intelligent people.
Uranus in aspect to luminaries is particularly common in the charts of intelligent people. Even the difficult aspects indicate above-average intelligence (but they come with a lot of tension). These aspects are highly charged and taming them is difficult. However, they suggest that you have a lot of brain power.
When it comes to aspects, the quincunx shows up surprisingly often.
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