Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter October 14, 2009

Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
OCTOBER 14, 2009
FreeWillAstrology.com

+

"What would you do if you knew that every good thing in your life depended on your getting enough rest? Because it does."
- Martha Beck, Steering by Starlight

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

The revised and expanded version of my book PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA is now available.

With 55% fresh material beyond the original edition (60,000 additional words and 75 new illustrations), it basically has a whole new extra book inside it.

Order it here:

Amazon: tinyurl.com/lxpnyt

Barnes and Noble: tinyurl.com/kkadtb

+

Now here's an excerpt of a piece from the new book, "Unhappy Hour."

To read the whole thing, go here: tinyurl.com/ygvg2fn

+

UNHAPPY HOUR

You're invited to celebrate Unhappy Hour. It's a ceremony that gives you a poetic license to rant and whine and howl about everything that hurts you and makes you feel bad.

During this perverse grace period, there's no need for you to be inhibited as you unleash your tortured squalls. You don't have to tone down the extremity of your desolate clamors. Unhappy Hour is a ritually consecrated excursion devoted to the full disclosure of your primal clash and jangle.

Here's the catch: It's brief. It's concise. It's crisp. You dive into your darkness for no more than 60 minutes, then climb back out, free and clear. It's called Unhappy Hour, not Unhappy Day or Unhappy Week or Unhappy Year.

Do you have the cheeky temerity to drench yourself in your paroxysmal alienation from life? Unhappy Hour invites you to plunge in and surrender. It dares you to scurry and squirm all the way down to the bottom of your pain, break through the bottom of your pain, and fall down flailing in the soggy, searing abyss, yelping and cringing and wallowing.

That's where you let your pain tell you every story it has to tell you. You let your pain teach you every lesson it has to teach you.

But then it's over. The ritual ordeal is complete. And your pain has to take a vacation until the next Unhappy Hour, which isn't until next week sometime, or maybe next month.

You see the way the game works? Between this Unhappy Hour and the next one, your pain has to shut up. It's not allowed to creep and seep all over everything, staining the flow of your daily life. It doesn't have free reign to infect you whenever it's itching for more power.

Your pain gets its succinct blast of glory, its resplendent climax, but leaves you alone the rest of the time.

If performed regularly, Unhappy Hour serves as an exorcism that empties you of psychic toxins, while at the same time -- miracle of miracles -- it helps you squeeze every last drop of blessed catharsis out of those psychic toxins.

Pronoia will then be able to flourish as you luxuriate more frequently in rosy moods and broad-minded visions. You'll develop a knack for cultivating smart joy and cagey optimism as your normal states of mind.

READ THE REST OF "UNHAPPY HOUR" HERE: tinyurl.com/ygvg2fn

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

MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:

PRONOIA MEANS LEARNING HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR OWN BRAIN
The Eight-Circuit Brain: Navigational Strategies for the Energetic Body by my old friend Antero Alli
bit.ly/4BFVo3

INTELLIGENT OPTIMISM IS REACHING PANDEMIC PROPORTIONS
Nominate your favorite intelligent optimist -- and see others' nominations
tinyurl.com/y98hyby

HEALTH MEANS BEING READY TO RESPOND TO LIFE'S UNPREDICTABILITY
The Heart's Beautiful Chaos
tinyurl.com/ydymzwp

(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.

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

Check out my new Facebook page: tinyurl.com/nkay2n

Sign up for the RSS feed of this newsletter: freewillastrology.com/newsletter

My website's here: FreeWillAstrology.com

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

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning October 15

Copyright 2009 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

Were you ever a tiger in one of your past lives? If so, this would be an excellent time to tap into that power. If you have never lived the life of a tiger, would you be willing to imagine that you did? During the coming week's challenges, you will really benefit from being able to call on the specific kind of intelligence a tiger possesses, as well as its speed, perceptivity, sense of smell, charisma, and beauty. Your homework is to spend ten minutes envisioning yourself inhabiting the body of a tiger.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

Your circumstances aren't as dire as you feared, Scorpio. The freaky monster in the closet is bored with spooking you and will soon be departing the premises. Meanwhile, one of your other tormentors is about to experience some personal sadness that will soften his or her heart toward you. There's more: The paralysis that has been infecting your funny bone will miraculously cure itself, and the scheduled revelation of the rest of your dirty secrets will be summarily canceled. I hope you're not feeling so sorry for yourself that you fail to notice this sudden turn in your luck. It may take an act of will for you to wake up to the new dispensations that are available.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

"Jazz music is an intensified feeling of nonchalance," said playwright Francoise Sagan. Keep that in mind during the coming week, Sagittarius. Whether or not you actually play or listen to jazz, do whatever's necessary to cultivate intensified feelings of nonchalance. It's extremely urgent for you to be blithe and casual. You desperately need to practice non-attachment as you develop your ability to not care so much about things you can't control. You've got to be ferociously disciplined as you transcend the worries and irritations that won't really matter much in the big scheme of things.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

"There are two rules for ultimate success in life," wrote L. M. Boyd. "First, never tell everything you know." While that may be the conventional wisdom about how to build up one's personal power, I prefer to live by a different principle. Personally, I find that as I divulge everything I know, I keep knowing more and more that wasn't available to me before. The act of sharing connects me to fresh sources. Open-hearted communication doesn't weaken me, but just the reverse: It feeds my vitality. This is the approach I recommend to you in the coming days, Capricorn. Do indeed tell everything you know.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

Writing in The New Yorker, Adam Gopnik named two characters from literature that well-educated people tend to identify with. "Men choose Hamlet because every man sees himself as a disinherited monarch," he said, while "women choose Alice [in Wonderland] because every woman sees herself as the only reasonable creature among crazy people who think that they are disinherited monarchs." That's a funny thought in light of your current omens, Aquarius, which suggest that you're a reasonable creature who clearly sees how much you're like a disinherited monarch. The omens go on to say that there's a good chance you will have excellent intuition about what to do in order to at least partially restore yourself to power.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

"Dear Rob: Help! I have a sinking feeling that the man I love and want to be with for the rest of my life is almost but not quite courageous enough to be truly and deeply intimate with me. What should I do? -Downcast Piscean." Dear Downcast: Ask yourself if there's anything you can change about yourself that will help him feel braver. For instance, is there any way, however small, in which you're manipulative, untrustworthy, dishonest, or unkind? If so, fixing that in yourself could allow your lover to feel a lot closer. By the way, it's an excellent time, astrologically speaking, for all Pisceans to alter their inner states in order to alter the world around them.

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

LISTEN TO AN EXPANDED HOROSCOPE

Since I put all my heart and soul into the written horoscopes I send out in this newsletter, they're pretty nutritious. You may never need any of the other stuff I create.

But if you ever do crave an added boost, you may want to sample my Expanded Audio Horoscopes. They're different in tone and intent than the written scopes, imbued with a little more of the psychologist in me, and a little less of the poet.

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

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

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

You say you not only want to be loved, but that you also want to love? Then learn the fantasies and symbols and beliefs that hold people's lives together. Be interested in feeling the crushing weight and deep comfort of their web of memories. Every now and then, dive in and swim along in their stream of consciousness. And yes, be willing to accompany them when they're writhing in their personal hells as well as when they're exploring the suburbs of paradise. All these tasks will be exceptionally worthy of your time in the coming weeks, Aries.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

Right now you're like a sulking cherry tree that hasn't bloomed for years but then inexplicably erupts with pink flowers in mid-autumn. You're like a child prodigy who lost her mojo for a while and then suddenly recovers it when her old mentor comes back into her life after a long absence. You're like a dormant volcano that without any warning spurts out a round of seemingly prophetic smoke signals on the eve of a great victory for the whole world.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

"Dear Rob: Thanks for being a continued source of careful thinking! With the help of you and the rather ruthless teachers who are my friends and loved ones, I'm learning the lessons that are most important for me to learn -- like how rigorous I have to be in figuring out my intentions, how impeccable I have to be with formulating my desires, and how precise I have to be in expressing myself. Sometimes I wish I could just go back to being an aimless street punk in Berkeley. But in the end I prefer this tough path I've chosen. - Hard-Working Gemini." Dear Hard-Working: This is an excellent phase in the Gemini life cycle to concentrate on what you named: rigorously figuring out your intentions, impeccably formulating your desires, and expressing yourself precisely.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

The British playwright Colley Cibber, who was born 55 years after Shakespeare died, thought that the Bard's historical drama Richard III needed improvement. He made extensive revisions, transposing scenes and inserting new material. For 150 years, Cibber's version was widely performed, effectively replacing Shakespeare's rendition. I suggest you borrow Cibber's strategy for your own in the coming weeks. Take something you like and personalize it; make it into your own. Be sure to acknowledge the original, of course. But have fun blending your influence with the prototype as you create a useful and amusing hybrid.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

The corny but sometimes useful adages of folk wisdom are still being created afresh in the 21st century. Their breeding ground is no longer the tavern or marketplace, as in centuries past, but rather the Internet. I've plucked one of these funky gems out of the ethers for you to contemplate: "Noah's Ark was built by amateurs, while the Titanic was built by professionals." How exactly does this apply to you? According to my reading of the astrological omens, you're in a phase when a good imagination will count for more than strict logic; when innocent enthusiasm will take you further than know-it-all expertise; and when all the work you do should have a playful spirit fueled by a beginner's mind.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

To extract enough gold to make a wedding ring, a mining company must process a ton of ore. In a similar way, many writers generate a swamp of unusable sentences on their way to distilling the precise message they really want to deliver. Please keep these examples in mind as you evaluate your own recent progress, Virgo. It may seem like you're moving at a crawl and producing little of worth. But according to my analysis of the omens, you're on your way to producing the equivalent of a gold ring.

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

HOMEWORK:

Compose a prayer in which you ask God or Goddess for something you're not "supposed" to. 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 2009 Rob Brezsny

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