Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter June 30, 2010

Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
JUNE 30, 2010
FreeWillAstrology.com

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Do you have questions?
Check out this FAQ for Free Will Astrology:
bit.ly/FWAfaq

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WHAT'S AHEAD FOR YOU in the next six months?

To hear my IN-DEPTH, LONG-TERM AUDIO FORECAST for YOUR LIFE between now and January 2011, go here: RealAstrology.com

Log in through the main page, and then click on the link "Long Term Forecast for Second Half of 2010."

What areas of your life are likely to receive unexpected assistance and divine inspiration? Where are you likely to find most success? How can you best cooperate with the cosmic rhythms? Tune in.

You can also listen to your short-term forecast for the coming week by clicking on "This week (June 29, 2010)."

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The revised and expanded version of my book PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA is available at Amazon: bit.ly/Pronoia

Here's an excerpt:

PRONOIA NEWS NETWORK

These are our top stories.

CULTURE WARS A FABRICATION?
The high degree of religious and multicultural tolerance in the United States is unprecedented in world history. So said sociologist Alan Wolfe in his book One Nation, After All, based on two years of interviews with 200 subjects.

"Wolfe argues that middle-class Americans don't deserve their reputation as angry, sanctimonious, and narrow-minded," reported Alicia Potter in the Boston Phoenix. "On the contrary, they're optimistic, thoughtful, and slow to judge."

Wolfe's subjects expressed remarkable acceptance of immigrants, non-whites, and people of other socio-economic classes.

Wolfe was frustrated by his findings. Because he makes part of his living writing for opinionated magazines, he yearned for more controversial data.

"The reasonableness, the sensitivity, the thoughtfulness just drove me batty," he told Potter. "I just wanted to scream at people, 'Isn't there something that really just makes you angry and upset?'" (Source: Alicia Potter, Boston Phoenix)

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NEXT STOP: PAPER FROM HEMP
Kinko's, the photocopy franchise with 1,200 branches in nine countries, no longer buys paper from companies that use wood from old-growth and endangered forests.

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FREE ALLAH
More than 1.2 billion Muslims live under democratically elected governments, and there is a steady move towards democratization, civil rights, and political freedom in many other Islamic countries. (Source: Freedom House Survey: freedomhouse.org)

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GLASS WAY MORE THAN HALF FULL
In portentous tones, as if exposing yet another demoralizing deterioration of our collective health, the Centers for Disease Control informed us that the average person is "sad, blue, or depressed" about three days a month. As we pored over various news articles reporting the results of the CDC's survey, we looked in vain for even a glimmer of glee. After all, if we're downhearted three days every month, it means we're feeling pretty good the other 27 or 28 days.

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SINGING DUELS DIFFUSE ANGER
"In Greenland, disputes are solved through singing duels. The quibbling parties face off and proceed to croon tunes heaped high with insults. While spectators pass the final judgment on the event, the singing generally diffuses the anger, and the dueling parties leave as friends." - Mental Floss, July-August 2004

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FREE WORK DONE OUT OF LOVE
The U.S. Labor Department periodically analyzes the volunteer work done by Americans. In one report, it estimated that between one recent year-long period, 59 million people offered their services free of charge as they mentored, tutored, built affordable housing, cleaned up the environment, and helped respond to community emergencies. The average contribution per person for the year was 52 hours. (Source: Associated Press)

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ANIMAL ECSTASY
In his book Animals and Psychedelics: The Natural World and the Instinct to Alter Consciousness, ethnobotanist Giorgio Samorini proves that many animals deliberately alter their consciousness. His evidence includes robins that get drunk on holly berries and act "like winged clowns," as well as goats hooked on caffeine and reindeer that seek out hallucinogenic mushrooms.

Samorini concludes that the desire to get high is a natural drive. Intoxication has served as an evolutionary force for some species, breaking down outworn habits in such a way as to improve long-term survival.

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RATTLESNAKE SLACK
Scientists now know that rattlesnakes would actually prefer to lie back and relax than to rattle and attack.

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REBORN STEEL
The North American steel industry annually recycles millions of tons of steel scrap from recycled cans, automobiles, appliances, construction materials, and other steel products. The scrap is remelted to produce new steel. Every ton of steel recycled saves 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,400 pounds of coal, and 120 pounds of limestone. The industry's overall recycling rate is 68 percent.

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THE TEN-THOUSANDTH AMAZEMENT
"You start out as a single cell derived from the coupling of a sperm and egg; this divides in two, then four, then eight, and so on. At a certain stage there emerges a single cell that has as all its progeny the human brain. The mere existence of such a cell should be one of the world's great astonishments. People ought to be walking around all day, calling to each other in endless wonderment, talking of that cell."
-Lewis Thomas, The Lives of a Cell

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THIS WEEK IN PRONOIAC HISTORY
Pablo Picasso had a difficult birth. When he finally popped out after a long labor, he wasn't breathing. The midwife decided his face was so blue he'd be impossible to revive. She declared him dead and left. But Picasso's uncle, who was in attendance, got up close to the infant and puffed cigar smoke up his nose. The shock brought him back to life.

There are hundreds more stories like this in PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.

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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:

THE PRONOIAC FACTS TRUMP THE FEAR-BASED DELUSIONS
The Improving State of the World: Why We're Living Longer, Healthier, More Comfortable Lives on a Cleaner Planet by Indur M. Goklany
tinyurl.com/2fh5hjd

I DARE YOU TO FIND LIGHT IN THE DARK PLACES
is it possible that there's some good news coming out of Afghanistan? You be the judge.
goodafghannews.com

OUTBREAKS OF MYSTERIOUS BEAUTY FOR NO APPARENT REASON
Whatever you may believe about the origin of the crop circles, they're often very beautiful.
tinyurl.com/2du2xkl
tinyurl.com/2bjo4xs

HOW MUCH GOOD NEWS CAN YOU HANDLE?
A Gathering Point for the Good News
bit.ly/GoodGood

(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.

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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning July 1

Copyright 2010 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

Let's do a check-in on your progress so far in 2010, Cancerian. The year's half over, and I'm wondering if you've been cashing in on the unique invitations that life has been sending your way. The way I understand it, you've been summoned to emerge from your hiding place and go wandering around in exotic and unfamiliar places. Events that in the past may have turned you inward toward thoughts of safety have in recent months nudged you out in the direction of the Great Unknown. Have you been honest enough with yourself to recognize the call to adventure? Have you been wild and free enough to answer the call? If not, I suggest you find it in yourself to do so. The next six months will be prime time to head out on a glorious quest.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

The year's half over, Leo. Let's take an inventory to see whether you've been taking maximum advantage of the special opportunities life has been offering you. Consider these questions: Has the quality of your intimate alliances become especially intense, invigorating, and catalytic in recent months? Have you created lots of small miracles with the people you care about most? Have you been willing to risk more to get the most out of togetherness, even if it means dealing with shadowy stuff that makes you uncomfortable? If there has been anything missing from your efforts in these heroic tasks, get to work. Between now and January 2011, you'll have a mandate to go even deeper than you have since January 2010.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

So how is 2010 going for you so far, Virgo? Have you been taking advantage of life's offers to help you move into a dynamic new phase of your relationship life? Have you been willing to set aside tired old strategies for seeking intimacy so that you can discover approaches you've never imagined before? Have you been brave about overcoming the past traumas and hurts that scared you into accepting less than the very best alliances you could seek? I hope you've been pursuing these improvements, because this is the best year in over a decade to accomplish them.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

Have you been doing a lot of sweating and grunting from sheer exertion in 2010? Have you thrown yourself conscientiously into the hardest, smartest labor you've ever enjoyed? I hope so, because that would suggest you're in rapt alignment with this year's cosmic rhythms. It would mean that you have been cashing in on the rather sublime opportunities you're being offered to diligently prove how much you love your life. The next six months will provide you with even more and better prods, Libra, so please find even deeper reserves of determination. Intensify your commitment to mastering the work you came to this planet to do.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

How's that project coming, Scorpio? You know, that assignment the universe gave you at the beginning of 2010 to loosen up, play more, and periodically laugh like a tipsy Sagittarius. Have you been taking a sabbatical from the seething complications that in most other years are your rightful specialty? Did you throw some of your emotional baggage off a cliff? Are you dancing more frequently? I hope you've been attending to all of this crucial work, and I trust that you're primed to do even more of it during the next six months. To take maximum advantage of your appointments with relief and release, you'll have to be even sweeter and lighter.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

Are you a dynamic bastion of stability yet, Sagittarius? Have you been growing deeper and deeper roots as you bloom in your power spot? Are you continuing to build your self-mastery as you draw abundant sustenance from the mother lode? You're halfway through 2010, the year when these wonders should be unfolding with majestic drama. The best is yet to come, so I recommend that you declare your intention to make the next six months be a time when you come all the way home.

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WHAT'S TO COME?

BRAINSTORM ABOUT THE BIG PICTURE OF YOUR LIFE

with my Expanded Audio Horoscopes for the Second Half of 2010:

RealAstrology.com

What will be the story of your life during the rest of 2010? 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.

Go here: RealAstrology.com

Log in and click on the link "Long Term Forecast for Second Half of 2010"

You can also listen to your short-term forecast for the coming week by clicking on "This week (June 29, 2010)."

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CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

What are the toughest pairs of opposites in your life, Capricorn? What are the polarities whose different sides rarely resonate with each other and too often threaten to split you in half? One of the distinguishing characteristics of 2010 is the fact that you are getting unprecedented chances to bring them together in ringing harmony, or at least a more interesting tension. What have you learned so far about how to work that magic? And how can you apply it in even craftier ways during the next six months?

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

You may still be gnawed by a longing for your life to be different from what it is. You might fantasize that you're missing a crucial element that would, if acquired, usher you into a Golden Age. But I've been analyzing the big picture of your destiny, Aquarius, and here's what I see: This year you're being offered the chance to be pretty satisfied with the messy, ambiguous, fantastically rich set of circumstances that you've actually been blessed with. The first half of 2010 should have inspired you to flirt with this surprising truth. The second half will drive it home with the force of a pile of gifts left anonymously on your doorstep.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

The journal Nature recently marked the tenth anniversary of a great scientific triumph: the complete mapping of the human genome. There was a cloud over the celebration, however, because few practical health benefits have yet to come out of this revolutionary accomplishment. It has proved unexpectedly hard to translate the deciphered code into cures for diseases. I offer this situation as a cautionary tale for you, Pisces. The first part of 2010 has brought you several important discoveries and breakthroughs. In the coming months, even as the novelties continue to flow, it'll be your sacred duty to put them to use in ways that will permanently improve your day-to-day life. Unlike the case of the human genome, your work should meet with success.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

How well are you capitalizing on this year's unique opportunities, Aries? Since we're halfway through 2010, let's take an inventory. I'm hoping you're well underway in the heroic task of conquering your past. It has been and will continue to be prime time for you to wean yourself from unresolvable energy-drains. So exorcise irksome ghosts, please! Pay off ancient debts! Free yourself from memories that don't serve you! You're finally ready to graduate from lessons you've had to learn and re-learn and re-re-learn. The coming months will bring you even more opportunities to finish up old business that has demanded too much of your time and energy.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

Now that we're midway through 2010, it's time to assess how well you're taking advantage of this year's good fortune. So let me ask you, Taurus: Have you been expanding your web of connections? Have you honed and deepened your networking skills? Have you taken bold steps to refine your influence over the way your team or crew or gang is evolving? The first half of the year has been full of encouragement in these areas, and the coming months will be even more so.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

How well have you been attending to 2010's major themes, Gemini? Since we're midway through the year, let's do a check-in. I hope that by now you are at least 15 percent sturdier, stronger, and braver than you've ever been in your entire life, and at least 20 percent better organized and disciplined. I hope that you have outgrown one of your amateur approaches and claimed a new professional privilege. Now write the following questions on a slip of paper that you will leave taped to your mirror for the next six months. "1. How can I get closer to making my job and my vocation be the same thing? 2. What am I doing to become an even more robust and confident version of myself?"

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HOMEWORK:

We're halfway through 2010. Write a report about how your big projects for the year are progressing. Testify at Truthrooster@gmail.com.

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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

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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 2010 Rob Brezsny

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