Hercules' work linked to the sign of Cancer is the capture of the Cerinean deer. Cancer is related to our roots in life, such as the body, the house and the family. This work represents the process of making roots at the top, in the spiritual world, to eventually bear fruit at the bottom, the material world. The inverted tree with the roots in the heavens and the fruits on the earth, is a symbol of the spiritual way of life, and this tree begins to germinate by the cultivation of intuitive knowledge.
On Mount Cerineu, there lived a deer with gold horns and silver helmets. Diana, a hunter goddess, claimed that the deer was his. She took care of the animal until then, and she was useful. But the beautiful deer also belonged to the sun god Apollo, and Hercules was to take her to the temple of God. Hercules spent a whole year from one place to another chasing the deer, for she was very elusive, and Diana still intervened subtly every time he was close to capturing her. Finally, when the deer tired by the endless escape, rests on the banks of a calm lake, Hercules approached gently and launched an arrow that wounded his heel. So he managed to capture her, placed her on his shoulders, next to his heart, and led her to the temple.
The deer is an animal of delicate constitution; with the silver helmets and the golden horns of myth, she represents the conscience. The deer was very elusive, and it is very difficult to understand or explain what exactly consciousness is. But perhaps it is enough to say that knowledge is the great gift (gift) of the human being and is what makes him what he is. She allows you to know, learn, discern, reflect, understand, choose. And it is a tremendous challenge to do all that truly, consciously, and not mechanically and superficially.
Diana and Apollo represent two facets of knowledge. They are twin brothers. Diana was associated with the moon, and the goddess hunter represents intellectual knowledge, always looking for something. Apollo was the sun-god, and represents intuitive knowledge, which produces clarity or illumination. Therefore, bringing the deer to the temple of Apollo means cultivating intuitive awareness, that is, creating conditions and opportunities for intuition to begin to awaken.
It is important not to confuse intuition with foreboding or foresight. Intuition is simply the ability of consciousness to recognize a truth. The intellect hardly analyzes whether a thought is coherent or not; Intuition is what can indicate whether or not this thought expresses a truth. It is by intuitive recognition, for example, that a person learns ethical principles and universal values. Naturally, intellect and intuition must go hand in hand. Intuition reveals the superior ideas, and it is the job of the intellect to interpret and explain them correctly.
And how can we cultivate intuitive awareness? The myth suggests: A lot of perseverance is necessary, because the process is slow (the work took a whole year); we have to pay attention to the artima as and retrueques of the intellect (Diana interferes with H rcules); there must be emotional stability (a calm lake); and we must help the process using the arrow of clear and accurate thinking.
As intuitive consciousness develops, we can learn to recognize what is genuine spiritual learning and what is not; we can learn to rely on spiritual principles and values; we can discover the world of universal ideas as our true lighthouse and safe harbor; we can discover all humanity as our spiritual family, and find in each human being an authentic brother.
Ricardo A. Georgini
