Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
APRIL 11, 2012
FreeWillAstrology.com
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My book
PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA
is available at Amazon: bit.ly/Pronoia
or Powells: bit.ly/PronoiaPowells
Here's an excerpt:
THE LITERARY EQUIVALENT OF A SEX-CHANGE
(To read the entire text of this piece, go here: bit.ly/SexChange)
When I was 19, while other man-boys my age were dreaming of becoming
doctors and lawyers and rock stars, a curious ambition overtook
me: I decided I wanted to be a feminist when I grew up. As I pursued
that goal over the years, I devoted many meditations to imagining
what it's like to be a woman. While writing my second book, The
Televisionary Oracle, I lived part-time inside the psyche
of the heroine for five years.
But I have always been perfectly happy to be a heterosexual man.
The prospect of dressing in women's clothes, for costume parties
or any other reason, has never appealed to me. I'm mildly interested
in the stories of those who have decided to change their sex with
the intervention of surgery and drugs, but the fantasy of becoming
a transgender person has never flitted across my mind's eye.
My identity as an author, on the other hand, has not been as
clear-cut. I have sometimes felt like a storyteller trapped in
the body of a journalist. On other occasions, it's more the reverse.
I imagine I'm an essayist stuck inside the persona of a poet,
or else maybe a scholar lurking within the form of a wacky visionary.
The confusion doesn't stop there. My heart tells me I'm a mystical
seeker who was born to explore spiritual themes, even as my head
says I'm an artistic intellectual whose task it is to illuminate
the mysteries of concrete reality here on the material plane.
So while I've never dreamed of being a transgender person, I
have sometimes fantasized about getting a mythical trans-genre
operation -- a procedure that would cure me of the nagging sense
that I'm not the writer I'm supposed to be.
My wish was finally fulfilled during the four and a half years
I worked on my new book, PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia.
It taught me not to struggle against my contradictions, but rather
to celebrate them. It didn't give me the literary equivalent of
a sex-change, but rather bestowed on me a poetic license to be
the authorial equivalent of a hermaphrodite . . . .
TO READ THE REST OF THIS ESSAY, GO HERE: bit.ly/SexChange
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"I dig Rob Brezsny for his powerful yet playful insights,
his poetry, and his humor . . . I salute him for his dedication
to inspiration."
- Jason Mraz, singer-songwriter
Hear Jason Mraz talk about pronoia here: bit.ly/7OO7TQ
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My band WORLD ENTERTAINMENT WAR is a benevolent media virus programmed
to prevent the entertainment criminals from stealing your imagination.
Read about us on Wikipedia: bit.ly/ykYtSe
Listen to mp3's and grab free downloads here: bit.ly/Ic90Wz
Or buy the CD here: bit.ly/GiveTooMuch
Read the lyrics here: bit.ly/HpA1FC
Here's a journalist's overview of our history: bit.ly/WEWstory
More info: freewillastrology.com/cds
"They pack their songs full of enough heady words and phrases
to fill a Greil Marcus-style rock critique. But WORLD ENTERTAINMENT
WAR reminds us that smart music need not be the prisoner of rock
academia. It's a stirring, entertaining band with a smooth, funky
sound and a loose, punky attitude . . . They succeed at wresting
'smart' rock out of the critics' hands."
- Gus Stadler, SF Weekly
"Calling this music 'smart rock,' as some critics have,
does a disservice to the emotional sweep of the music and the
ready accessibility of Rob Brezsny's lyrics."
- Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle
"All the mystic power of the Zep, but with good will and
good vibes. Very powerful singers and thoughtful lyrics. Soul-feeding
music. Occult wisdom. Now anthemic fire, now intricate rhythms.
Secret Orders take note."
- amazon.com
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
HOW MUCH BEAUTY CAN YOU ENDURE?
10 Years of Gorgeous Images of Earth From Space
tinyurl.com/7rto7me
NATURE WINS SOME VICTORIES NOW AND THEN
Hope for Salmon as Dams Come Down. The destruction of two Washington
State dams will restore depleted fisheries, create jobs, and maybe
even change how we manage our rivers.
tinyurl.com/6s3ngzq
REDEFINING WEALTH
Should happiness figure in a nation's bottom line? And should
the concept of Gross National Product be replaced by Gross National
Happiness?
tinyurl.com/cklbqmq
THE EVIDENCE KEEPS ACCUMULATING
A compendium of pronoiac news.
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 April 12
Copyright 2012 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Some people misunderstand the do-it-now fervor of the Aries tribe,
thinking it must inevitably lead to carelessness. Please prove
them wrong in the coming weeks. Launch into the interesting new
possibilities with all your exuberance unfurled. Refuse to allow
the natural energy to get hemmed in by theories and concepts.
But also be sure not to mistake rash impatience for intuitive
guidance. Consider the likelihood that your original vision of
the future might need to be tinkered with a bit as you translate
it into the concrete details.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
There is a possibility that a pot of gold sits at the end of
the rainbow. The likelihood is small, true, but it's not zero.
On the other hand, the rainbow is definitely here and available
for you to enjoy. Of course, you would have to do some more work
on yourself in order to gather in the fullness of that enjoyment.
Here's the potential problem: You may be under the impression
that the rainbow is less valuable than the pot of gold. So let
me ask you: What if the rainbow's the real prize?
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
"It's eternity in a person that turns the crank handle,"
said Franz Kafka. At least that should be the case, I would add.
The unfortunate fact of the matter is that a lot of people let
other, lesser things turn the crank handle -- like the compulsive
yearning for money, power, and love, for example. I challenge
you to check in with yourself sometime soon and determine what
exactly has been turning your crank handle. If it ain't eternity,
or whatever serves as eternity in your world view, get yourself
adjusted. In the coming months, it's crucial that you're running
on the cleanest, purest fuel.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
For a white guy from 19th-century England, David Livingstone
was unusually egalitarian. As he traveled in Africa, he referred
to what were then called "witch doctors" as "my
professional colleagues." In the coming weeks, Cancerian,
I encourage you to be inspired by Livingstone as you expand your
notion of who your allies are. For example, consider people to
be your colleagues if they simply try to influence the world in
the same ways you do, even if they work in different jobs or spheres.
What might be your version of Livingstone's witch doctors? Go
outside of your usual network as you scout around for confederates
who might connect you to exotic new perspectives and resources
you never imagined you could use.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
The flag of California features the image of a grizzly bear,
and the huge carnivore is the state's official animal. And yet
grizzly bears have been extinct in California since 1922, when
the last one was shot and killed. Is there any discrepancy like
that in your own life, Leo? Do you continue to act as if a particular
symbol or icon is important to you even though it has no practical
presence in your life? If so, this would be a good time to update
your attitude.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
The cartoon character Felix the Cat made his debut in 1919. He
was a movie star in the era of silent films, and eventually appeared
in his own comic strip and TV show. But it wasn't until 1953,
when he was 34 years old, that he first got his Magic Bag of Tricks,
which allowed him to do many things he wasn't able to do before.
I bring this up, Virgo, because I believe you're close to acquiring
a magic bag of tricks that wasn't on your radar until you had
matured to the point where you are now. To ensure that you get
that bag, though, you will have to ripen even a bit more.
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LISTEN TO AN EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE
In addition to the horoscopes 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.
"I don't much believe in astrology. But that doesn't seem
to get in the way of me deriving a whole lot of benefits from
your expanded audio horoscopes."
- A. Arrosto, Indianapolis
"You have an amazing aptitude for cutting through the lies
I tell myself. Thanks for the gentle shocks."
- T. Preneris, Toronto
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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
I have one child, a daughter, and raising her conscientiously
has been one of the great privileges and joys of my life. Bonus:
She has turned out to be a stellar human being. Every now and
then, though, I get a bit envious of parents who've created bigger
families. If bringing up one kid is so rewarding, maybe more would
be even better. I asked an acquaintance of mine, a man with six
kids, how he had managed to pull off that difficult feat. He told
me quite candidly, "My secret is that I'm not a good father;
I'm very neglectful." I offer up this story as a way to encourage
you, at this juncture in your development, to favor quality over
quantity.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
I expect there'll be some curious goings-on this week. A seemingly
uninspired idea could save you from a dumb decision, for example.
An obvious secret may be the key to defeating a covert enemy.
And a messy inconvenience might show up just in time to help you
do the slightly uncool but eminently right thing. Can you deal
with this much irony, Scorpio? Can you handle such big doses of
the old flippety-flop and oopsie-loopsie? For extra credit, here
are two additional odd blessings you could capitalize on: a humble
teaching from an unlikely expert and a surge of motivation from
an embarrassing excitement.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Some of our pagan forbears imagined they had a duty to assist
with nature's revival every spring by performing fertility rituals.
And wouldn't it be fun if it were even slightly true that you
could help the crops germinate and bloom by making sweet love
in the fields? At the very least, carrying out such a ceremony
might stimulate your own personal creativity. In accordance with
the astrological omens, I invite you to slip away to a secluded
outdoor spot, either by yourself or with a romantic companion.
On a piece of paper, write down a project you'd like to make thrive
in the coming months. Bury the note in the good earth, then enjoy
an act of love right on top of it.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Once upon a time, I fell in love with a brilliant businesswoman
named Loreen. I pursued her with all my wiles, hoping to win her
amorous affection. After playing hard to get for two months, she
shocked me with a brazen invitation: Would I like to accompany
her on a whirlwind vacation to Paris? "I think I can swing
it," I told her. But there was a problem: I was flat broke.
What to do? I decided to raise the funds by selling off a precious
heirloom from childhood, my collection of 6,000 vintage baseball
cards. Maybe this story will inspire you to do something comparable,
Capricorn: Sacrifice an outmoded attachment or juvenile treasure
or youthful fantasy so as to empower the future of love.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
We all know that spiders are talented little creatures. Spiders'
silk is as strong as steel, and their precisely geometric webs
are engineering marvels. But even though they have admirable qualities
I admire, I don't expect to have an intimate connection with a
spider any time soon. A similar situation is at work in the human
realm. I know certain people who are amazing creators and leaders
but don't have the personal integrity or relationship skills that
would make them trustworthy enough to seek out as close allies.
Their beauty is best appreciated from afar. Consider the possibility
that the ideas I'm articulating here would be good for you to
meditate on right now, Aquarius.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Have you ever had the wind knocked out of you? It feels weird
for a short time, but leaves no lasting damage. I'm expecting
that you will experience a form of that phenomenon sometime soon.
Metaphorically speaking, the wind will get knocked out of you.
But wait -- before you jump to conclusions and curse me out for
predicting this, listen to the rest of my message. The wind that
will get knocked out of you will be a wind that needed to be knocked
out -- a wind that was causing confusion in your gut-level intuition.
In other words, you'll be lucky to get that wind knocked out of
you. You'll feel much better afterwards, and you will see things
more clearly.
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HOMEWORK:
Why is this a perfect moment? Tell me at Truthrooster@gmail.com.
To hear my reasons why, tune in to my podcast: bit.ly/PerfectionNow.
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2012 Rob Brezsny
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