Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
MAY 4, 2011
FreeWillAstrology.com
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The excerpt below is from my book PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE
FOR PARANOIA
available at Amazon: bit.ly/Pronoia
or Powells: bit.ly/PronoiaPowells
ECSTATIC STUDY GUIDE
Strategies for plying a chronic, low-key, blissful union with
everything you're not
1. It's possible there's still enough oil buried in the earth
to sustain our civilization's exorbitant appetite for material
comforts for another 100 years. Or it may be true, as some researchers
suggest, that global reserves of black gold are rapidly dwindling,
and 20 years from now we'll all be farmers and hunters sitting
around campfires at night telling stories.
Whichever scenario comes to pass, you may be happiest and smartest
and healthiest if you cultivate a simple and earthy relationship
with luxury -- something akin to poet Omar Khayyam's notion, which
was "a jug of wine, a loaf of bread, and thou beside me singing
in the wilderness." Comments? Questions? Celebrations?
P.S. The amount of oil left in the world has no bearing whatsoever
on your ability to cultivate ecstasy.
2. If you're reading this, you're probably not a Cambodian orphan
who grew up as a slave in a brothel or a Sudanese man kidnapped
by a militia and forced to do heavy labor 18 hours a day or one
of the millions of other victims of human trafficking around the
world. But you may be yoked and subjugated in a less literal way,
perhaps to a debilitating drug or an abusive relationship or a
job that brings out the worst in you or a fearful fantasy about
the looming collapse of civilization's infrastructure.
The good news is that you have the power to escape your bondage.
Maybe it'll help you muster the strength you need if I remind
you that your freedom won't be anywhere near as difficult to achieve
as that of the Pakistani boy tied to a carpet loom in a dark room
around the clock or the Nigerian woman who's beaten daily as she
toils in the sugar cane fields for no pay.
Try this: When you feel overwhelmed by the sadness of your problems
or the addiction of your compulsions, put on your best clothes
and clean toilets at a homeless shelter, or give foot massages
to workers at a sewage disposal plant, or sing songs, sip champagne,
and play card games with patients at a psychiatric hospital. Be
ready to get hit upside the soul with exotic varieties of ecstasy,
which such acts will unleash.
3. Here's Caroline Myss' explanation of faith: "Faith is
the power to stand up to the madness and chaos of the physical
world while holding the position that nothing external has any
authority over what heaven has in mind for you."
If you don't like the word "heaven" in Myss' statement,
substitute a term that works for you, like "your higher self"
or "your destiny" or "your soul's code." Modify
anything else in it that's not right for your needs, as well.
When you're finished tinkering, I hope you'll have created a definition
of faith that motivates you with as much primal power as you feel
when you're in love.
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
A LESS OPPRESSIVE KIND OF POWER?
The 100 Most Spiritually Influential People Alive
tinyurl.com/6jpslo9
IT'S FUN TO RETHINK EVERYTHING
Farms surrounded on all sides by condos, office buildings, shopping
centers and apartments. How urban agriculture is changing our
relationship with food.
tinyurl.com/26gzaoj
INNOVATIVE ACTS OF COLLABORATION
Traveling spider
i.imgur.com/B8XMy.jpg
THE EVIDENCE KEEPS ACCUMULATING
pronoiaresources.com
(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 May 5
Copyright 2011 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
You're an animal! And I mean that in the best senses of the word.
Your vitality is heading toward peak levels, and your body is
as smart as it gets. If you were ever going to act as if every
move you make is a dance, now would be the time to do it. If you
ever wanted to explore the righteous blending of grace and power,
this is a perfect moment. Give yourself permission to be a fluid
bolt of ingenious fun, Taurus. Play hard and sweet, with sublime
ferocity.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
"Make the invisible dark force beautiful." That was
the first line of the horoscope I wrote for you in my dream last
night. Here's what came next: "Create a song out of your
moans. Brag about your wounds. Dance reverently on the graves
of your enemies." Does any of this make sense to you so far?
It all seemed perfectly reasonable and helpful in my dream. "Sneak
a gift to your bad self. Dissolve the ties that bind you to hollow
intelligence. Seek the angel near the funky gulley that winds
through no man's land. Dig for treasure in the muddy puddle where
the single lily grows." That's it, Gemini -- my dream of
your horoscope. If you can align yourself with its spirit, I bet
you'll be primed for the waking-life opportunities that are headed
your way.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Writing in the Journal of Medical Ethics, psychologist
Richard Bentall proposed that happiness be reclassified as a "psychiatric
disorder" -- a pathology that should be treated with therapy.
"Happiness is statistically abnormal," he argued. It
"consists of a discrete cluster of symptoms, is associated
with a range of cognitive abnormalities, and probably reflects
the abnormal functioning of the central nervous system."
If he's correct, Cancerian, you may have a problem. According
to my reading of the astrological omens, you're about to be besieged
by a massive influx of good feelings. It may be hard for you to
fend off surges of unreasonable joy, well-being, and gratitude.
So let me ask you: Are you prepared to enter into rebel mode as
you flaunt your abnormal bliss?
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Two British men, Jack Jones and Chris Cuddihy, pulled off an
epic deed in 2009. They ran seven marathons in seven consecutive
days on seven continents. Each marathon was over 31 miles. (More
info here: 7in7on7.com.) I'm
not recommending that you try something as ridiculously excessive
as they did, Leo, but I do want to note that you're now in a phase
when your capacity for amazing feats is bigger than usual. Do
you have any ideas about what you could accomplish that's beyond
your expectations?
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
What have you had to relinquish in the past ten months, Virgo?
What were you forced to sacrifice or surrender? Whatever it is,
I predict you will be compensated for it over the course of the
next 12 months. And the process begins soon. It's not likely that
the incoming blessing will bring an exact replacement for the
dream that got away. Rather, you will be awakened to an unexpected
new source of excitement, thereby dissolving the lingering sense
of loss and liberating you to rise again.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
If given the choice between having our lives change or keeping
our lives the same, many of us would choose the status quo. We
tend to feel that even if the current state of things is uncomfortable,
it's still preferable to having to deal with the uncertainty and
fear that come from transformation. But I don't think you fit
this description right now, Libra. Of all the signs of the zodiac,
you're the one that's most receptive to shifting the mood and
experimenting with the rules. It's easier than usual for you to
imagine different ways of doing things. Take advantage of this
superpower.
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YOU NEED MAGIC EVERY DAY
Every day, you have to wade through a relentless surge of soul-less
facts. The experience tends to shut down your sense of wonder.
Every day, you're over-exposed to narratives that have been sucked
free of delight and mystery. That's why you have to make such
strenuous efforts to keep your world enchanted.
I like to think I can contribute to the sacred cause of feeding
your sense of wonder and enchantment. In fact, that's one of my
prime motivations for offering you the free weekly horoscopes
you read in this newsletter.
If you ever want more of that good stuff, and think it's worth
paying for, please consider trying out my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES.
They're four-to-five-minute meditations on the current state of
your destiny.
Go here to access them: RealAstrology.com
You can also listen over the phone by calling 1-877-873-4888
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SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Hugo Chavez is the socialist president of Venezuela, not an
astronomer or New Age philosopher. And yet he recently speculated
that the planet Mars once had a thriving civilization that met
its doom because its resources were drained off and poisoned by
the excesses of capitalism. I love it when notable people go off-message
and freestyle wacky fantasies, so I applaud Chavez's improvisation.
May I respectfully suggest you consider indulging in your own
version of this art form? According to my reading of the astrological
omens, it would be downright healthy for you to depart from your
usual raps and unveil some unpredictable self-expressions to anyone
and everyone who think they have you all figured out.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Symmetry and equilibrium are not all that valuable right now.
They're certainly not worth obsessing over or having screaming
fights about. In fact, I recommend that you cultivate a jaunty
knack for stylish lopsidedness. Appreciate the beauty of irregularity.
Be alert for the way incongruous details and crooked angles reveal
fresh, hot truths that provide you with exactly what you need.
Even so-called flaws and mistakes may lead to lucky accidents.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
"It was better for me when I could imagine greatness in
others, even if it wasn't always there," said Charles Bukowski,
a generally cranky writer not renowned for his optimism. According
to my analysis of the astrological omens, this strategy will also
work wonders for you in the coming days. Trying to see what's
great about other people will tend to activate your own dormant
greatness, and will just generally make you feel good. So ask
yourself: What's beautiful, smart, interesting, and successful
about the people you know? Fantasize aggressively.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
The income gap between the richest and poorest sections of society
has always been large, but in recent years it has grown absurdly,
grotesquely humongous. As journalist Les Leopold notes (tinyurl.com/RichEatPoor),
there are hedge-fund gamblers who rake in more money in an hour
than a middle-class wage-earner makes in 47 years. From an astrological
perspective, Aquarius, it's an excellent time for you to raise
your voice against this inequity. Furthermore, you'd be wise to
dramatically shrink the discrepancy between the haves and have-nots
in your own personal sphere, where you can actually have an immediate
effect. You might start the healing by asking yourself how the
rich aspects of your psyche steal from the poor parts.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
There's a good chance you will soon utter the smartest words
you have ever said in your life. It's also possible that you will
generate two of the top five thoughts that have popped into your
brain in the last decade. That's how in tune I expect you to be
with your inner sources of wisdom. And that's how closely aligned
you'll be with the Divine Intelligence formerly known as God.
Now here's the surprise ending to my message for you, Pisces --
the unexpected outcome: Your brilliant insights and cogent statements
may tempt you to be wilder and freer than you've been in a long
time.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Imagine this scene, as described by Seattle-based video artist
Michael Douglas. "Sometimes a tree falls down in a field
of cows, and the cows walk over to it and stare at it. It used
to be standing and now it's on the ground. There's something different
in the field and the cows start to hang out around the tree and
watch it like it's television, attracted to the rupture in the
order of things. They gather around it for months, even after
they completely forget why they started doing it." I think
there's a comparable scene going on in your life right now, Aries.
People you care about are in a daze, seemingly hypnotized by a
certain "rupture in the order of things" that took place
some time ago. In my opinion, it's your task to wake them up,
gently if possible, and motivate them to move on.
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HOMEWORK:
If you had a little baby clone of yourself to take care of,
what would be your child-rearing strategy? Tell me at Freewillastrology.com.
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2011 Rob Brezsny
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