Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter July 13, 2011

Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
July 13, 2011
FreeWillAstrology.com

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Mid-Year Audio Preview of the Rest of 2011: RealAstrology.com

Log in through the main page, and then click on the link "Long Term Forecast for Second Half of 2011."

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Big Picture horoscopes for 2011, which I wrote for you last December and January: bit.ly/BigPicture2011

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My band World Entertainment War is a benevolent media virus programmed to prevent the entertainment criminals from stealing your imagination.

We played our first show in 1987, and performed live most recently in 2009. Our best album is Give Too Much, which is available at bit.ly/GiveTooMuch

The story of our early years is detailed in my book The Televisionary Oracle, which is available here:
Amazon: bit.ly/Televisionary
Powells: bit.ly/juYYQm

You can read some info and listen to mp3s of our music here: bit.ly/WorldEntertainmentWar

Listen to our song "Kick Your Own Ass": bit.ly/mkqfVj

Here's a journalist's overview of our history: bit.ly/WEWstory

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The piece below is excerpted from my book PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA
available at
Amazon: bit.ly/Pronoia
or Powells: bit.ly/PronoiaPowells

RADICAL EVERYTHING

"I've been practicing radical authenticity lately," my friend Brandon told me. "I'm revealing the blunt truth about unmentionable subjects to everyone I know. It's been pretty hellish -- no one likes having the social masks stripped away -- but it's been ultimately rewarding."

"I admire your boldness in naming the currents flowing beneath the surface," I replied, "but I'm curious as to why you imply they're all negative. To practice radical authenticity, shouldn't you also express the raw truth about what's right, good, and beautiful? Shouldn't you unleash the praise and gratitude that normally go unspoken?"

Brandon sneered. He thought my version of radical authenticity was wimpy. I hope you don't. As a budding pronoiac, you have a mandate to be honest in both ways.

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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:

HAVE YOU PERPETRATED ANY PRONOIA LATELY?
Ethical Traveler website: Tips on moving through the world with grace
ethicaltraveler.com

QUIT YOUR COMPLAINING?
First World Problems
tinyurl.com/63mdjfj

IT'S HARD TO KEEP TRACK OF ALL THE HEALTH ADVANCES
Cancer Death Rates Continue to Fall
tinyurl.com/62hyjf2

(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 14

Copyright 2011 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

The great-grandson of a slave, Cancerian Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993) was America's first African-American Supreme Court Justice. According to Thurgood, a play about his life that appeared on HBO, his unruly behavior as a school kid played a role in launching him toward his vocation. As punishment for his bad behavior, his teacher exiled him to a storage room where he was instructed to study the U.S. Constitution -- a document he would later be called on to interpret during his service on the high court. I foresee a version of this scenario playing out in your immediate future, Cancerian. Mischief could lead to opportunity. Blessings might evolve out of shenanigans. Bending the rules may bring rewards.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

Do you mind if I call you "The Original Liontamer"? I know it sounds a bit extravagant, maybe even pretentious, but it really fits you right now. More than any other sign of the zodiac, you have the power to control the wild, ferocious forces of the unconscious. You're the fluid flowmaster in charge of making the beastly energy behave itself; you're the crafty coordinator of the splashy, flashy kundalini; you're the dazzling wizard of the dizzy whirling whooshes. Here's a tip to help you soothe the savage rhythms with maximum aplomb: Mix a dash of harmonious trickery in with your charismatic bravado.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

You have maybe ten more days left to locate the healthiest possible gamble for the second half of 2011. I'm referring to a smart risk that will bring out the best in you, expand the hell out of your mind, and inspire you to shed at least 10 percent of your narcissism and 15 percent of your pessimism. Trust your gut as much as your brain, Virgo. It will be important to have them both fully engaged as you make your foray all the way out there to the edge of your understanding.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

"He got a big ego, such a huge ego," sings Beyonce in her song "Ego." "It's too big, it's too wide / It's too strong, it won't fit / It's too much, it's too tough / He talk like this 'cause he can back it up." I would love to be able to address that same message to you in the coming days, Libra. I'm serious. I'd love to admire and marvel at your big, strong ego. This is one of those rare times when the cosmic powers-that-be are giving you clearance to display your beautiful, glorious self in its full radiance. Extra bragging is most definitely allowed, especially if it's done with humor and wit. A bit of preening, mugging, and swaggering is permissible as well.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

"Dear Rob Brezsny: Please, sir, if you could do me a cost-free favor and tell me something special about my upcoming future, I would be amazingly glad and would spread good will about you everywhere. My age is 34 and I am sharply eager to know in detail about my next five years at least -- any big good or bad predictions. Kindly be very specific, no cloudy generalizations. - Fayyaz Umair Aziz, First-Degree Scorpio." Dear Fayyaz: I'm happy to inform you that your future is not set in stone; you have the power to carve out the destiny you prefer. And it so happens that the next four weeks will be prime time for you Scorpios to formulate a clear master plan (or reformulate your existing one) and take a vow to carry it out with impeccability.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

One of my readers sent me an interesting tale. He said the teacher Rudolf Steiner "once had a devotee who complained that after years of meditating and studying sacred texts he had not yet had a spiritual experience. Steiner asked him if he'd noticed the face of the conductor on the train on which they were riding. The man said no. Steiner replied, 'Then you just missed a spiritual experience.'" This is a good tip for you to keep in mind in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. It'll be a time when you could dramatically expedite and intensify your education about spiritual matters by noticing the beauty and holiness in the most mundane things.

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BRAINSTORM ABOUT THE BIG PICTURE OF YOUR LIFE

with my Expanded Audio Horoscopes for the Second Half of 2011: RealAstrology.com

What will be the story of your life during the rest of 2011? 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 2011"

You can also listen to your short-term forecast for the coming week by clicking on "This week (July 12, 2011)."

"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

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CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

I've got two bits of information for you late bloomers out there; two inspirational messages to quell your worry about how long everything seems to be taking to unfold for you. First comes this fact: While some oak trees begin growing acorns after two decades, many don't produce a single acorn until they're 40 or even 50 years old. Your second message is from poet Robert Bly: "I know a lot of men who are healthier at age 50 than they've ever been before, because a lot of their fear is gone." Keep the faith, Capricorn -- and continue your persistent efforts.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

Russia has more psychic healers than medical doctors. Research done by the World Health Organization says so. While licensed physicians number around 640,000, there are 800,000 witches and wizards who use occult means to perform their cures. Personally, I prefer a more balanced ratio. I feel most comfortable when there are equal amounts of officially sanctioned practitioners and supernaturally inspired mavericks. In fact, that's my guiding principle in pretty much every situation. I want as many unorthodox rebels who mess with the proven formulas as serious professionals who are highly skilled at playing by the rules. That helps keep both sides honest and allows me to avoid being led astray by the excesses and distortions of each. May I recommend a similar approach for you in the coming week?

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

"The most frequently leveled criticism of Jimmy Fallon is that he laughs too much." So begins a New York magazine profile of the late-night talk show host. "He laughs before jokes, after jokes, during jokes." He is "TV's most inveterate cracker-upper." Cynics point to this as proof that he's suffering from a profound character defect. But there is another possibility, says New York: "Fallon laughs so much because he's just having a really good time." According to my reading of the astrological omens, Pisces, you're primed to have a Fallon-like week -- a period when the fun is so liberating and the play is so cathartic and the good times are so abundant that you'll be in a chronic state of amusement. In response, people addicted to their gloom and doom might try to shame you. I say: Don't you dare let them inhibit your rightful relief and release.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

In the coming days you have permission from the universe to dwell less on what needs to be resisted, protested, flushed out, and overcome. Instead you have license to concentrate on what deserves to be fostered, encouraged, bolstered, and invited in. Sound like fun? It will be if you can do it, but it may not be as easy to accomplish as it sounds. There are many influences around you that are tempting you to draw your energy from knee-jerk oppositionalism and cynical naysaying. So in order to take full advantage of what life is offering you, you will have to figure out how to rebel in a spirit of joy and celebration.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

"Dreams are today's answers to tomorrow's questions," said the seer Edgar Cayce. That's your thought for the week, Taurus. Not just in dreams, but in your waking life as well, you will be experiencing insights, hearing stories, and getting messages that provide useful information for the crucial questions you have not yet framed, let alone posed. I hope that by telling you this, I will expedite your work on formulating those pertinent questions.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

"The most important thing in acting is honesty," said Hollywood actor George Burns. "If you can fake that, you've got it made." The same thing is true about life itself in the coming weeks, Gemini. The more you dispense the raw truth -- even if you have to push yourself to do it -- the more successful you'll be. Being a fount of radical authenticity might feel like a performance at first, but it'll eventually get easier, more natural.

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HOMEWORK:

Even if you don't send it, write a letter to the person you admire most. Share it with me at freewillastrology.com.

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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 2011 Rob Brezsny

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