Arnold Peter Weisz-Kubíncan. *Composition* (1930-1940). Original public domain image from Web umenia. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel

Carl Jung, in Psychology and Religion, observed something radical about the psyche:

“My psychological experience has shown time and again that certain contents issued from a psyche more complete than a consciousness. They often contain superior analysis or insight or knowledge which consciousness has not been able to produce. We have a suitable word for such occurrences—intuition. In pronouncing it, most people have an agreeable feeling as if something had been settled, but they never take into account the fact that you do not make an intuition. On the contrary, it always comes to you. You have a hunch, it has produced itself, and you only catch it if you are clever or quick enough.”
— Jung, Psychology and Religion (CW 11, p. 49)

Here Jung names a mystery many of us know intimately: intuition arrives unbidden. We do not manufacture it. We cannot will it into being. Instead, it arises from what Jung called the “psyche more complete than consciousness”—a deeper ground of knowing that exceeds the rational mind.

Intuition as a Gift, Not an Achievement.

We live in a culture that celebrates effort, reason, and productivity. Knowledge is assumed to be the result of calculation, research, or logic. And yet, the most important turns in our lives—the decision to change careers, the recognition of a partner’s truth, the sudden creative breakthrough—often arrive as hunches.

Intuition is not the fruit of conscious labor but of unconscious ripening. Something within us, out of sight, gathers the fragments of experience, dream, and feeling, and suddenly pushes forth an insight like a flower breaking through the soil.

Catching the Hunch.

Jung reminds us that the work of intuition lies not in producing it but in catching it. The psyche offers; the ego must be attentive enough to receive.

How often have we dismissed a hunch only to regret it later? The phone call we felt we should make but didn’t. The opportunity we ignored because it seemed irrational. Intuition demands respect. It is subtle, fleeting, easily drowned out by the noise of reason or the chorus of external expectations, aka, one’s internal negative voice.

To cultivate intuition is less about effort than about listening. Quieting. Making room.

The Mythic Dimension of Intuition.

Across traditions, intuition has been depicted as a visitation: The whisper of a god, the voice of a muse, the guidance of a guardian spirit. The Greeks called it daimon, the Romans genius, the poet Rilke spoke of angels. All point to the sense that intuition is not “mine” but comes through me, from a source both intimate and beyond.

Jung would say this source is the unconscious—personal and collective. It is the wisdom of the Self, the archetypal ground of the psyche, nudging the ego toward wholeness.

Intuition and Individuation.

Intuition is central to individuation—the lifelong process of becoming who we are. Rational thought alone cannot guide us through the labyrinth of the soul. Logic may map the surface, but intuition shines in the dark corridors where reason cannot go.

To trust intuition is to trust the deeper psyche: the “more complete” knowing within us. It is an act of humility and courage to let something larger than the ego have a say in the choices of our lives.

Cultivating Intuition: Practices for Everyday Life.

While intuition cannot be manufactured, we can prepare ourselves to hear it more clearly. Think of these as ways to attune your inner ear to the whispers of the unconscious:

Dream Journaling: Write down dreams upon waking, even fragments. Over time, patterns and images emerge that reveal what your unconscious is working through.
Active Imagination: Enter into dialogue with dream figures, symbols, or inner images through writing, drawing, or meditation. Let the psyche speak in its own language.
Mindfulness & Embodiment: Practices like meditation, breathwork, or even long walks quiet the noise of the ego and make space for intuitive impressions to surface.
Creative Expression: Poetry, painting, music, or movement often bypass the rational mind and open a channel for intuitive insights.

These practices do not create intuition—they cultivate the conditions where you might “catch it,” as Jung says, before it slips back into the depths.

Lawrence W. Ladd , *The Creation*. Original public domain image from Smithsonian.

Depth Psychotherapy as a Guide.

Engaging in depth psychotherapy provides a container for listening to and discerning intuition. A therapist trained in Jungian or depth-oriented approaches can help:

Mirror unconscious material through the exploration of dreams, fantasies, slips of the tongue, and recurring life patterns.
Hold the tension of opposites when intuitive guidance feels confusing, contradictory, or overwhelming.
Differentiate intuition from impulse by slowing down the process, bringing awareness to shadow projections and complexes that might masquerade as intuition.
Anchor insights into daily life so that hunches and images don’t remain ephemeral, but instead guide decisions, relationships, and creative work.

Depth psychotherapy becomes a kind of laboratory of the soul: A place where the voice of intuition can be tested, honored, and integrated into conscious life.

Final Reflection.

If intuition is the underground river, then our task is to listen for its flow, to cup our hands and drink when it rises to the surface. Through practices of self-reflection and through the steady companionship of depth psychotherapy, we learn to trust that this deeper knowing is not fantasy but a vital thread of the psyche’s wisdom.

To follow it is to live more fully, more authentically, and more in dialogue with the mystery of the Self.

Intuition is not a luxury but a necessity. It is the voice of the underground river, the sudden flicker of torchlight in a cave. To follow it is to honor the fullness of our psyche, to live in dialogue with the wisdom that comes to us rather than from us.

In the end, intuition is the psyche’s way of reminding us: We are not alone in our knowing. It is a guidance system from a “psyche more complete than consciousness,” as Jung said, and to ignore it is to cut ourselves off from a wellspring of wisdom.