Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter December 10, 2008

Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
DECEMBER 10, 2008
FreeWillAstrology.com

"Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality."
- Jules de Gautier

+

A number of people who listen to my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES have asked me if I'll be doing my annual three-part preview of the coming year.

The answer is yes. Part One will be available on December 30, Part Two on January 6, and Part Three on January 13.

I'll have more info about them in the coming weeks.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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 a piece that didn't quite make it into the first edition of the book.

PALIMPSEST: THE BEAUTY AND TRUTH LAB PLAGIARIZES HAKIM BEY

Ancient Hawaiian poets used to gather together to compose poems by committee. Someone would suggest a line, and the others would either nix it or refine it. Can you imagine a similar miracle occurring among the raging artistic egos of Western culture? Even for us share-and-share-alike Libertarian Socialists here at the Beauty and Truth Lab, it can sometimes be hard to drop our attachment to being inviolably special.

As a favor to pronoia, however -- as proof of our devotion to the joy of undoing our fixations -- we decided to enlist one of our crazy wisdom heroes, Hakim Bey, to commit a collaboration with us. Of course he was too busy to satisfy our request, so we decided simply to take matters into our own hands. We lifted one of his published works, stripped it down, and used it as the skeleton for our own musings.

The essay below amounts to an odd kind of plagiarism, then. Very few of our words are repeats of his, but his thought process is the underpinning. Think of it as a palimpsest.

+

PRONOIAC MAGIC
by Rob Brezsny and the Beauty and Truth Lab under the influence and inspiration of Hakim Bey

THE UNIVERSE WANTS TO PLAY. Pity the educated cynics who refuse to enjoy the fun, choosing instead to remain faithful to their numb logical anguish.

THE UNIVERSE WANTS TO PLAY. Mourn for the humorless devotees who refuse to join in the raucous unpredictable game so that they might feed their spiritual greed, pretzeled up motionless on prayer mats with the torment of grave meditations.

THE UNIVERSE WANTS TO PLAY. Have compassion for the imagination-dead heroes who cling so tightly to the masks they've forged for themselves that they're dead to the delight of molting.

PRONOIAC MAGIC is the daily cultivation of playfully altered states of awareness for the purpose of accomplishing practical miracles.

PRONOIAC MAGIC begins with your hunger for ingenious beauty and ever-fresh truth. It thrives and ripens as you discover that everything you behold is bursting with conscious intelligence.

PRONOIAC MAGIC is not about reading auras or divining past lives. It's not the corrupt shamanism of teachers who soar adeptly through astral realms but treat the people in their daily lives badly. Goddess forbid that PRONOIAC MAGIC might be confused with the dry lust for supernatural power and a godlike ego offered through certain occult schools. If it's elitist hocus-pocus you want, go for the real thing -- political power, the accumulation of financial wealth, or becoming one of the media mind-controllers.

Your perceptions gradually open under the quiet, steady, friendly shock of PRONOIAC MAGIC. As they do, they kill off your false will and banish your artificial self.

Real PRONOIAC MAGIC breaks holes in the consensual hallucination called "reality," allowing you to escape to your lost home. It metamorphoses the place where you actually live, right here and now -- wild, messy heaven brought kicking and screaming with delight into this eternally virgin planet Earth. Here amazement is normal; sudden mutations -- actual transformations of things you've never before been able to change -- are possible.

As a pronoiac magician, you prove the taboo truth that all of reality is inherently designed to bring about our liberation. Best of all, you do it not only for yourself. The enhanced perceptions you enjoy, the altered states you craft, are not just for your own use in the silence of your selfish needs. As a pronoiac magician, you yearn to awaken the gift in other people, to expand the intoxication through benevolent contagion.

PRONOIAC MAGIC: Let it spread. May it multiply. Unleash it and unmask it -- not just in exotic once-in-a-blue-moon dreams, but in the throb of the simple dramas you live from day to day.

Everything in the universe is alive with playful intelligence and wants to improvise with us.

+

Hakim Bey's original version of "The Universe Wants to Play," which he calls "SORCERY," can be found here: tinyurl.com/59dpts

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

To read news and features from my book, go here: tinyurl.com/lhwx2

You can buy the book here:

AMAZON
tinyurl.com/qaj62

POWELLS
tinyurl.com/3dsx6q

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

OTHER PRONOIA RESOURCES:

ARCHIVES OF PRONOIAC RESOURCES
pronoiaresources.wordpress.com/

WHAT HIGHER AUTHORITY ABOUT PRONOIA COULD THERE BE THAN A HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR?
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
What if our primary drive and greatest satisfaction in life is not pleasure, but the quest for meaning?
tinyurl.com/57ofbp

NOT ALL REASONS FOR PRONOIA ARE BIG SECRETS
New solar cell material achieves almost 100% efficiency, could solve world-wide energy problems
tinyurl.com/586t8l

THE GLOBAL BRAIN KEEPS GROWING
Universal access to all knowledge is within our grasp
tinyurl.com/57quk9

(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.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

If you'd like to give your friends and loved ones holiday gifts of my work without spending any money, here's what you can do:

1. Give them the URLs where I've posted about half of my most recent book, PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia.

The links are here:
tinyurl.com/lhwx2
tinyurl.com/6bj8cf

2. Or go to the above links yourself, print out the pages, and make them into a homemade version of my book.

3. Download mp3s of my eight podcasts and burn them onto a CD. The URLs for those podcasts can be found here: tinyurl.com/5v9rxb

4. Give them the URL where I've posted the entirety of my second book The Televisionary Oracle. Start here: tinyurl.com/6blklz

5. Download mp3s of my band's music and burn them onto a CD.

Most of the songs are here: tinyurl.com/5px7ke

All of the songs are here: tinyurl.com/yh5v7j

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning December 11

Copyright 2008 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

There are 300,000 surveillance cameras set up all over the city of Beijing, spying constantly on its citizens. London, a supposed bastion of democracy, has 500,000 such cameras. I highly recommend you don't visit either place in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. It's crucial for you to avoid influences that make you feel self-conscious or guilty. You've got to hang out in spots where you're not being watched, scrutinized, and evaluated. While you're at it, you might also want to tell your Inner Critic to shut the hell up. You need wide-open, judgment-free spaces, both without and within.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

In California's recent election, citizens voted to liberate poultry. Proposition 2 passed, mandating that from now on farmers cannot confine chickens in cages where they're unable to spread their wings. Meanwhile, in the same election, voters decided to make it illegal for gay people to be married, a right that had previously been granted by the California Supreme Court. How odd is it that chickens got a measure of freedom while gays had one of their precious freedoms cut away? I'm warning you to be wary of a metaphorically similar scenario looming in your personal life, Capricorn: in which one liberty is upgraded while another is sacrificed. Fight to make sure there's no net loss.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

Would you like to consistently be in the right place at the right time in the coming weeks? Personally, I'd love you to have that knack. It would make my job more enjoyable, since I could fall asleep each night with the comforting thought that you are meeting your dates with destiny while you're at the height of your powers. So what IS the best way to ensure that you will have impeccable intuition and a great sense of timing? Here's what I say: Set aside all expectations about what the past implies and what the future may bring. Instead, cultivate a desire to recognize and respond to the raw truth of each new moment.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

There's a new elective surgery that makes it impossible to ever blush again. It's an expensive procedure that involves boring a hole in your armpit and cutting the nerve endings that are responsible. I wouldn't recommend it for you, even though you're entering a phase when you'll be more prone than usual to blushing. Why? Because, according to my projections, your main reason for blushing in the coming days will be due to receiving sudden, unexpected, or long-withheld praise. I believe it'll be a time when you're acknowledged for the good things you do. Blush away!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

LISTEN TO AN EXPANDED HOROSCOPE

In addition to the horoscopes that you read here, I create additional in-depth audio horoscopes for your inspiration.

They're not repeats or elaborations of the stuff you find here, but entirely fresh explorations of your astrological omens, designed to help you tune in to your soul's code.

Try them at RealAstrology.com.

They're available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.

They're $6 if you access them on the Web, or $1.99 per minute over the phone.

"Your audio horoscopes help me love myself better, and I mean that in a non-narcissistic way."
- Deva P., Indianapolis

"I'm really grateful for the way you pick up my telepathic requests and answer them in your expanded audio 'scopes."
- Marion H., Birmingham, AL

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

It's an ideal time for you to throw a party for all the people you've ever been and all the different selves who live within you now. Invite the teenager who once seethed with frustrated potential and the four-year-old who loved nothing more than to play. Include the hopeful complainer who stands in the shadows and dares you to ask for more, as well as the brave hero who comes out every now and then to attempt seemingly impossible feats of happiness. Don't forget any of the various personalities who have contributed to making you who you are. Celebrate your internal diversity. Marvel at how good you are at changing.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

Novelists and actors make a living by using their imaginations to create fictional stories. In recent years there has emerged a new group of workers whose pretending skills also earn them money. They make imaginary weapons, armor, potions, and other computer-generated gear to sell to people who play online role-playing games like World of Warcraft. I bring this to your attention, Taurus, because you're in a favorable phase to put your imagination to work in practical ways that increase your prosperity and security. As soon as you're finished reading this horoscope, start brainstorming about specific things you could do to convert fantasies into real-world wealth.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

I'm pleased to be able to offer you a Zen riddle that will prepare you well for the immediate future. Study it, meditate on it, and refer back to it often when dealing with upcoming challenges. Question: What did the big chimney say to the little chimney? -Answer: nothing. Chimneys can't talk. I don't want to explain all the nuances of this helpful conundrum, Gemini, because it'll serve you better if you come to your own conclusions. But I'll get you started with this hint: Be vigilant for trick questions, and don't let those trick questions frame the debates you engage in. Do you know what red herrings and straw men are? Don't get distracted by them.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

I've got three related questions for you, Cancerian. 1. Are there any roles you play in which your selfish and unselfish tendencies overlap? 2. What situations allow you to be most completely yourself as you provide a fine service to others? 3. Which of your skills generate the most blessings and gifts? The next 12 months will be a favorable time for you to identify these roles, situations, and skills, and cultivate them to the max. You'll have prime opportunities to express your special genius while doing good deeds.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

LISTEN TO AN EXPANDED HOROSCOPE

In addition to the horoscopes that you're reading here, I create more in-depth audio horoscopes for your inspiration. Find out more at RealAstrology.com.

The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.

"The best part about your audio horoscopes is that they pat me on the head and kick me in the ass at the same time."
- Rita L., San Diego

"Your audio oracles go beyond helping me find the truth -- they inspire me to find the WILD truth."
- Patrick K., Montreal

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

What country has more sand than any other? With its vast deserts, Saudi Arabia has got to be near the top of the list. Nevertheless, the Saudi government forbids the export of sand, worrying that it might eventually run out due to its construction industry's demands for the stuff. This irrational fear reminds me of you, Leo. You, too, have a certain bountiful resource that will never be depleted -- and yet you're chronically worried that it will. Please adjust your thinking. It's an excellent time to get more realistic about the true nature of your abundance.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

After meditating on how best to energize your love life, I decided to direct you to this passage from John Welwood's book Perfect Love, Imperfect Relationships: Healing the Wound of the Heart: "Everyone knows perfect love in their heart, for the human heart is a direct channel through which absolute love pours into this world. At the same time, human relationships are imperfect expressions of that love. This creates a painful gap between the perfect love we know in our hearts and the imperfect, incomplete ways it is expressed in our relationships. When we imagine that relative human love should be something it is not -- absolutely unconditional -- we suffer disappointment and wind up distrusting love itself. We also hold grievances against others for not loving us rightly or against ourselves for not having won that love. This gives rise to a universal human wound -- the sense of not feeling loved for who we are."

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

"I was walking down the street agonizing over what to do about a particularly troublesome person in my life," writes Tai Moses in her blog (aerophant.com), "when I saw a playing card laying facedown on the sidewalk. I turned it over." It was a joker. Her thoughts immediately turned to the words of the philosopher Alan Watts: "When you get the message, hang up the phone." I hope you'll be inspired by Moses' experience, Libra. For now, the best approach to take with your knotty dilemmas is to welcome them as wild cards and X-factors that will bring you interesting experiences and valuable lessons -- and just stop worrying about them.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

In one episode of the TV show "Seinfeld," Elaine couldn't get her favorite Chinese restaurant to deliver take-out food to her apartment. The manager said her neighborhood was just beyond the boundary of where his drivers were authorized to travel. But Elaine was determined. She went over to the apartment building across the street, which was within the restaurant's delivery zone, and set up an alternate home for herself in a janitor's closet. I suggest you adopt a similar strategy, Scorpio. If you can't get what you want in the place where you are, shift your location.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

HOMEWORK:

Before bed on the next five nights, remember everything that happened during the day. Do it with compassion and objectivity. Report your results by going to FreeWillAstrology.com and clicking 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

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++