If you are part of Freyja’s Circle you likely already know the answer to the second question - Intuition is a real thing and has been documented in cultures and traditions the world over for millennia, from the Pythia of the Temple of Apollo in Ancient Greece, to the Germanic seeress Veleda and the Völva or Seiðkona women of old Norse society, to that curiously prophetic dream you had as a child and can’t quite explain. Historically, intuitive knowledge about situations and events is an ability most strongly associated with women, priestesses, and female practitioners of spiritual traditions and magic, giving rise to the popular term ‘women’s intuition’, though men and non-binary people are quite capable of developing and being lauded for intuitive abilities, and many are.
The first part of the question is more complicated, however, because the answer depends on your beliefs.

In essence, intuition is the ability to know something without rationally deducing it from information gleaned from accepted material world sources, like reading about it in a textbook, being told by a credible source, or witnessing it with your physical eyes. The Cambridge Dictionary characterises intuition as ‘an ability to understand or know something immediately based on your feelings rather than facts.’

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/intuition)

I argue that this definition is not entirely accurate. For starters, feelings matter, should be listened to, and can be an important part of intuition, but ‘feelings’ is not the best way to describe intuitive hits or the source of the intuitive information we receive because, as a term, ‘feeling’ is easily conflated with ‘emotion’, and intuition and emotions are not the same and it can be dangerous to confuse them. (The same dictionary lists ‘emotions’ as the definition for ‘feelings’, so this linguistic issue is a real one.) Nor is intuitive information necessarily immediate. Sometimes it takes some exposure to a situation to receive or recognise intuitive information.

In its simplest form, and regardless of where the information springs from, I would describe intuition as an inner knowing. This is distinct from something suggested or told to us, distinct from the left-brained rational calculations of our ordinary mental consciousness (or OMC for short), and also distinct from our emotional response to something, because though there is often a strong feeling component to intuition, emotions can often be at odds with both our inner knowing, and reality. Inner knowing has its own qualities, and learning to recognise those qualities is an excellent ability to hone, and one which I help my coaching clients with.

Despite various definitions and theories, the source of intuitive knowing is shrouded in mystery even today, with no clear consensus reached. Some possible answers include but are not limited to the following:

The true answer may be one or none of these, or possibly a combination, but the good news is that regardless of your beliefs you do possess intuitive knowing, and you can hone your ability to access that inner knowing. This can be part of a spiritual awakening, or simply acceptance of aspects of the Self and your own layers of experience. Whatever your belief, many of the essential principles for accessing your intuition are similar.

There are a variety of effective techniques for accessing and honing intuitive abilities, but in my personal experience, having worked with and mentored clients for several years, the best first step forward is always stopping.
You read that correctly - the best way to move forward in accessing your intuition is to stop.

If you want to access true intuitive knowing instead of creative visualisation or fantasy (lovely as those are), it is necessary to learn to quiet the mind and body, for it is only by removing outside distractions and the chatter of the ‘doing’ mind or left brain ordinary mental consciousness (OMC) that you can hear the inner knowing I am speaking of. This is one of the reasons why meditation and other meditative practices that slow the body and quiet the OMC are so powerful and common across spiritual traditions – they are literally necessary to allow the space for intuitive knowing to come in, and for that information to get noticed. Inner knowing may be powerful, but it rarely shouts. It whispers.

Fairytales and popular culture often frame intuition is an exclusive kind of gift, something only some people are born with, but decades of experience have taught me that there is always an inner knowing available to people, to one degree or another. It is just that we often dismiss it, do not want to face what it tells us, or are too busy, overstimulated or overwhelmed by external activities to hear what our knowing has to say.

Intuition is available to everyone, but first you must both accept that it exists, and be willing to hear what it tells you.

To learn more about how to hone your intuition get a one-on-one coaching session or join one of my workshops to get kick started on specific practices and techniques that can help. In the meantime, regard that fifteen minutes of undistracted quiet time or mediation each day as more than a luxury. It isn’t just a self-care time out, it is your opportunity to get in touch with what is arguably the most valuable part of yourself – your intuition.

Listening to intuitive information takes practice, but the results are powerful, protective and frequently surprising. It is not too much to say I would not be here today without it.