Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
JANUARY 16, 2008
FreeWillAstrology.com
+
“The capacity to blunder slightly is the real marvel of
DNA. Without this special attribute, we would still be anaerobic
bacteria and there would be no music.”
- Lewis Thomas, Lives of a Cell
+
WHAT'S TO COME?
BRAINSTORM ABOUT THE BIG PICTURE OF YOUR LIFE
with the help of my
Expanded Audio Horoscopes for the Coming Year
Go to RealAstrology.com
You can still listen to my long-range, in-depth explorations
of your destiny in 2008. Each report in the three-part series
is about 6-9 minutes long.
What will be the story of your life in 2008? How can you exert
your free will to create the adventures that'll bring out the
best in you, even as you find graceful ways to cooperate with
the tides of destiny?
If you'd like a high-octane boost of inspiration to fuel you
in your quest for beauty and truth and love and justice and meaning,
tune in to my meditations on your long-term outlook.
A new short-range forecast for this week is also available.
To find out more about Your BIG PICTURE horoscopes, go to RealAstrology.com.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
My book
"PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA:
How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings"
is available for sale at
tinyurl.com/qaj62
Here's an excerpt:
SHADOW SCHOOL
You're a gorgeous mystery with a wild heart and a lofty purpose.
But like all of us, your psyche also harbors a portion of the
world's sickness: a mess of repressed longings, enervating wounds,
ignorant delusions, and unripe powers. It has been known by many
names, including demon and devil. Psychologist Carl Jung called
it the shadow. He believed it was the lead that the authentic
alchemists of the Middle Ages sought to transmute into gold.
+
"I am superior to you only in one point," Narcissus
tells Goldmund in Hermann Hesse's novel Narcissus and Goldmund.
"I'm awake, whereas you are only half awake, or completely
asleep sometimes. I call a man awake who knows in his conscious
reason his innermost unreasonable force, drives, and weaknesses,
and knows how to deal with them."
+
Astrologer Steven Forrest has a different name for the shadow:
stuff. "Work on your stuff," he says, "or your
stuff will work on you." He means that it will sabotage you
if you're not aggressive about identifying, negotiating with,
and transforming it.
+
"You have to recognize the demons or else they'll annoy
you like mosquitoes. But if you acknowledge their existence, if
you say, 'All right, here's a cookie, go sit in the corner,' then
you can go about your work and you don't have to go into depression
because of it."
--James Broughton, as told to interviewer Jack Foley in The Alsop
Review, "Big Joy: Octogenarian--An Interview with James Broughton,"
tinyurl.com/k4ech
+
"The unconscious sends all sorts of vapors, odd beings,
terrors, and deluding images up into the mind; for the human kingdom,
beneath the floor of the comparatively neat little dwelling that
we call our consciousness, goes down into unsuspected Aladdin
caves. There not only jewels but also dangerous jinn abide: the
inconvenient or resisted psychological powers that we have not
thought or dared to integrate into our lives."
--Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces
+
The shadow is not inherently evil. If it is ignored or denied,
it may become monstrous to compensate. Only then is it likely
to "demonically possess" its owner, leading to compulsive,
exaggerated, "evil" behavior.
+
"Whatever is rejected from the self, appears in the world
as an event," said Jung. If you disown a part of your personality,
it'll materialize as an unexpected detour.
Everyone who believes in the devil is the devil.
+
"Nothing determines who we will become so much as those
things we choose to ignore."
--Sandor McNab
+
"There is no generally effective technique for assimilating
the shadow. It is more like diplomacy and is always an individual
matter. First one has to accept and take seriously the existence
of the shadow. Second, one has to become aware of its qualities
and intentions. This happens through conscientious attention to
moods, fantasies, and impulses. Third, a long process of negotiation
is unavoidable."
--Daryl Sharp, Jung Lexicon: A Primer of Terms and Concepts;
also available at tinyurl.com/znxn3
+
"The shadow is not only the dark underside of the personality.
While much of it consists of inferior, primitive, unadapted, and
awkward qualities, it also contains vitalizing instincts, sleeping
abilities, and positive moral qualities that have long been buried
or never been conscious. These unacknowledged personal characteristics
are often seen or hallucinated in others through the mechanism
of projection."
--Daryl Sharp, Jung Lexicon: A Primer of Terms and Concepts;
also available at tinyurl.com/znxn3
+
"The best political, social, and spiritual work we can do
is to withdraw the projection of our shadow onto others."
--Carl Jung
+
"Suffering can't be avoided," James Broughton told
Jack Foley. "The way to happiness is to go into the darkness
of yourself. That's the place the seed is nourished, takes its
roots and grows up, and becomes ultimately the plant and the flower.
You can only go upward by first going downward."
--James Broughton, as told to interviewer Jack Foley in The Alsop
Review, "Big Joy: Octogenarian--An Interview with James Broughton,"
tinyurl.com/k4ech
+
The alchemists said the magic formula for enlightenment was Visita
Inferiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem, or "Seek
out the lower reaches of the earth, perfect them, and you will
find the hidden stone" (the treasured Philosopher's Stone).
Jungian psychologists might describe the process this way: Find
the ignorant, wounded parts of your psyche, perfect them, and
you will awaken your hidden divinity.
+
"The great epochs in our lives are at the points when we
gain the courage to rebaptize our badness as the best in us."
--Friedrich Nietzsche
+
In the best-known version of the Greek myth, Persephone is dragged
down into the underworld by Hades, whose title is "Pluto."
But in earlier, pre-patriarchal tales, she descends there under
her own power, actively seeking to graduate from her virginal
naiveté by exploring the intriguing land of shadows.
"Pluto" is derived from the Greek word plutus, meaning
"wealth." Psychologist James Hillman says this refers
to the psyche-building riches available in Pluto's domain. Hades,
he says, is "the giver of nourishment to the soul."
+
The goddess Hecate also lives in the underworld. According to
poet Robert Graves, she is the mistress of sorcery, "the
goddess of ghosts and night-terrors, of phantoms and fearful monsters."
On the other hand, he notes, Hecate "presides at seed time
and childbirth; she grants prosperity, victory, plentiful harvests
to the farmer and rich catches to the fisherman."
How can a single deity embody such seemingly contradictory archetypes?
Graves: She symbolizes "the unconscious in which beasts and
monsters swarm. This is not the living hell of the psychotic,
but a reservoir of energy to be brought under control, just as
Chaos was brought to cosmic order under the influence of the spirit."
+
In the New World, it won't be your material wealth that will
win you the most bragging points. Nor will it be the important
people you know or the deals you've swung or the knowledge you've
amassed or your mate's attractiveness. What will bring you most
prestige and praise in the civilization to come will be your success
in transmuting lead into gold--how thoroughly you have integrated
your shadow and tapped into its resources.
+
Here's a corollary to Jesus's injunction to love thy neighbor
as thyself: "I will love the dark, difficult side of my neighbor--not
just the attractive, friendly side--and I will encourage it to
express itself in constructive ways."
+
"If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil
people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were
necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy
them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart
of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of
his own heart?"
--Alexander Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago
+
Ancient legend says that a giant cobra--normally a fearsome predator--shielded
Buddha with its expansive hood as he meditated in the wilderness
during a terrible week-long storm.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
OTHER PRONOIA RESOURCES:
LEARNING TO LOVE YOU MORE
Entertaining "assignments" from artist Miranda July
learningtoloveyoumore.com
Perform the phone call someone else wished they could have.
Give advice to yourself in the past.
Reread your favorite book from fifth grade.
Make a portrait of your friend's desires.
DON'T JUST QUESTION AUTHORITY -- GIVE IT THE THIRD DEGREE
The "Question Authority" Proposal
tinyurl.com/2murnt
VOTE FOR FREEDOM?
The "Open-Source Political Party" Proposal
tinyurl.com/2r4ed9
(Note: I endorse these because I like them. They are not advertisements,
and I get no kickbacks.)
Please tell me your own personal
nominations for PRONOIA RESOURCES.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning January 17
Copyright 2008 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
When Doris Lessing was informed she'd won the Nobel Prize for
Literature, she said, "I couldn't care less." What prompted
her to be so blasé about receiving the world's foremost
award for writers? Can you imagine what her state of mind was?
I think you'll be able to after this week, Capricorn. You're likely
to get a major ego stroke that isn't all that big a deal to you,
mostly because you already know how valuable you are and don't
need external confirmation of that fact.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
While riding my bicycle through a quiet neighborhood this afternoon,
I saw two girls fiddling with the gate of a tall wooden fence.
They were frustrated because it wouldn't open and let them inside.
One kicked the gate. The other tried unsuccessfully to climb up
to reach down over the top to the latch on the other side. Finally,
the younger girl put her hand under the gate and managed to free
some obstruction on the other side. The gate opened. "I got
it! I got it!" she yelled, jumping up and down with exhilarated
triumph. I foresee those words and that emotion flying out of
you soon when you, too, finally open a metaphorical door that
has been stuck.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
The President of the United States is George W. Bush, but the
Secret President of the United States is . . . well,
I can't tell you, can I, because then he or she wouldn't be secret
anymore, right? I can reveal this, though: The Secret President
of the United States is working furiously behind the scenes to
create a world in which generosity, not fear, is the prime motivator
-- a world whose moral system is rooted in beauty, love, pleasure,
and liberation instead of control, repression, propaganda, and
profit. And the Secret President of the United States has a special
assignment for you to carry out in the coming months, Pisces.
Are you ready to become more of a leader than you've ever been
before? Do you have the courage to be an inspirational role model
who motivates people through the power of beauty, love, pleasure,
and liberation?
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
I urge you to spend 2008 turning all of your pretty good but
half-developed notions into a few brilliant, fully formed ideas.
While you're at it, melt down your hundreds of wishy-washy wishes
and recast them into three driving desires. This is the Year of
Pinpoint Aim, Aries, also known as the Year of Lasering Your Focus
and the Year of Seeing with Fierce Clarity. Psyche yourself up
for a major campaign to cut the crap so the essence can shine.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
EXPLORING YOUR LONG-RANGE FUTURE
Would you like some inspiration as you muse and wonder about
your upcoming adventures in 2008?
You can still listen to my long-range, in-depth explorations
of your destiny in 2008. Each report in the three-part series
is about 6-8 minutes long.
Go to RealAstrology.com
for these EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES
A new short-range forecast for this week is also available.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
My sensitive poet friend Carson taught criminals in a penitentiary
how to write haiku poems. Novelist Margaret Atwood gave a class
on the absurdist writing of Franz Kafka to engineers in British
Columbia. And in 2008 I'll ask you to share your gifts with people
you've always assumed wouldn't be receptive to you, let alone
be able to benefit from your unique talents. Get ready to push
past your boundaries in the coming months, Taurus. Extend your
sphere of influence and appeal to a larger audience.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
As I approached a pick-up truck from behind while out driving
my car, I saw an unlikely bumper sticker. It said "Surf Colorado."
But Colorado is a landlocked place, I thought to myself, more
than a thousand miles from the ocean. At the next red light, I
got closer to the truck and was able to read the fine print: "In
your river kayak, you don't need an ocean to catch a wave."
What a perfect message to convey to my Gemini readers, I mused,
and resolved to write it into this horoscope. In fact, you are
currently in a phase when you don't need an ocean to surf. Nor,
for that matter, do you need a plane in order to fly, a soulmate
to achieve romantic rapture, or money to be rich. Your imaginative
powers are peaking at the same time as your resourcefulness.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
"Dear Rob: Help! When I give love I feel powerful but when
I accept love I feel weak. So even though I dearly crave love,
when someone tries to give it to me I run away. I'm afraid of
the vulnerability that comes from being the recipient of the gift;
I'm afraid of being in debt to the person who's offering it; I'm
afraid of the loss of control that comes from not providing myself
with everything I need; and I'm afraid that if I accept love,
I'll get addicted to it, and then how will I cope if it goes away?
What can I do? -Cowardly Crab." Dear Crab: In the coming
weeks, the universe will conspire to help you find new ways to
think about these riddles. You'll have tremendous access to the
precise kind of courage you need.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
I want to call your attention to a scene in the independent film
Autism: The Musical. Neal is a 12-year-old autistic boy
who has never spoken a complete sentence, not even to his beloved
mother Elaine. He can barely form words. If you ask him to say
"bar," he'll say "rahb." Elaine brings him
to a therapist who guides autistic kids in using a machine that
produces vocal sounds corresponding to words the kids type on
a keyboard. For the first time, Neal's mom hears a message from
her son: "Mom, I'm going to put you on the spot. You need
to do more listening." I expect you will soon experience
a metaphorically comparable event, Leo: A source you love will
communicate with you in a novel way. Be receptive. Listen hard.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
LET'S IMAGINE WHAT BEAUTIFUL MYSTERIES
MIGHT COME YOUR WAY IN 2008
What hidden factors will be massaging your destiny in 2008? Could
you use some hints about how to prepare for the adventures awaiting
you in the next 12 months?
You can still listen to my long-range, in-depth explorations
of your destiny in 2008. Each report in the three-part series
is about 6-8 minutes long.
Go to RealAstrology.com
for these EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES
A new short-range forecast for this week is also available.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
In 1954, the writer Albert Camus said, "A person's life
purpose is nothing more than to rediscover, through the detours
of art or love or passionate work, those one or two images in
the presence of which his heart first opened." In the first
month of 2008, a humble astrology columnist, yours truly, used
Camus' words to direct Virgos towards one of their primary tasks
in the year ahead.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
A few months ago I went to a costume party on the Cruise Ship
Ecstatic, which was docked in San Francisco Bay. The theme was
"The Ecstatic Muse: What is the future of your own turn-on?"
I recommend you make that your meditation in the coming weeks,
Libra. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you're
overdue for a rigorous inventory of your approach to creating
rapture, bliss, and joy. If in the course of your investigations
you find you've been neglecting this essential aspect of your
physical and mental health, take dramatic steps to upgrade your
zeal. It's time to get more aggressive about feeling excited.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Internet pundit Ariana Huffington realized she was working too
hard when she got so exhausted she passed out and broke her cheekbone
on her desk. Resolved to give herself more slack, she decided
to carry just two Blackberries with her at all times instead of
the three that had been her constant companions. I request that
you perform at least two similar acts of self-care in the coming
week, Scorpio. They could come in the form of either eliminating
complications, as Huffington did, or else adding luxurious treats.
For example, you might want to arrange to be massaged in warm
water by a team of charismatic healers singing you love songs
and lullabies.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Ask not what you can do for your country; ask what your country
can do for you. The same advice applies to your relationship with
your family, job, closest companion, circle of friends, and favorite
group. During this brief period when enlightened selfishness is
the wise thing to pursue, don't get caught up obsessing on how
you can serve them. Diplomatically request that they serve you.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
HOMEWORK:
What is the idea, feeling, or attitude you're most enslaved to?
What can you do to escape your slavery? Go to FreeWillAstrology.com
and click on "Email Rob."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
WANT TO GET YOUR CHART DONE?
I'm not doing personal charts, but I highly recommend my astrological
colleague, RO LOUGHRAN. Her approach closely matches my own. In
our many discussions about astrology over the years, we've had
a major influence on each other's work.
Ro utilizes a blend of well-trained
intuition, emotional warmth, and
a high
degree of technical proficiency
in horoscope interpretation; she
is skilled
at exploring the mysteries of your
life's purpose and nurturing your
connection with your own inner
wisdom.
Ro is based in California, but
can do phone consultations and
otherwise
work with you regardless of geographic
boundaries.
Ro's website is at YourSoulJourney.com
She can also be reached at roloughran@comcast.net
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Submissions sent to the Free
Will Astrology Weekly Newsletter
or in response to "homework
assignments" may be
published in a variety of formats
at Rob Brezsny's discretion,
including but not limited to newsletters,
books, the Free Will
Astrology column, and Free Will
Astrology website. We reserve
the right to edit such submissions
for length, style, and content.
Requests for anonymity will be
honored with submissions;
otherwise, reader names, screen
names, or initials will be used.
Please be sure to note your preference
when sending to us. We
are not responsible for unsolicited
submission of any creative
material.
Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2008 Rob Brezsny
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
|
