Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter April 16, 2014

Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
APRIL 16, 2014
FreeWillAstrology.com

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BE A WEAVE

What if there's no contradiction between being your idiosyncratic self in love with your life and serving others with the best gifts you have to give?

What if exploring your inner world to activate your personal genius dovetails perfectly with fighting to recreate the soulless culture we're embedded in?

What if working on your own salvation makes you a more effective force in liberating others from their suffering?

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My book
PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA
is available at Amazon: bit.ly/Pronoia
or Powells: bit.ly/PronoiaPowells

Below is the text of a spoken-word piece based on a text in the book. To listen to it, go here: bit.ly/yBmWBg

GLORY IN THE HIGHEST

Thousands of things go right for you every day, beginning the moment you wake up. Through some magic you don't fully understand, you're still breathing and your heart is beating, even though you've been unconscious for many hours. The air is a mix of gases that's just right for your body's needs, as it was before you fell asleep.

You can see! Light of many colors floods into your eyes, registered by nerves that took God or evolution or some process millions of years to perfect.

The interesting gift of these vivid hues is furthermore made possible by an unimaginably immense globe of fire, the sun, which continually detonates nuclear explosions in order to convert its own body into light and heat and energy for your personal use.

Your hands work wonderfully well. Your heart circulates your blood all the way out to replenish the energy of the muscles and nerves in your fingers and palms and wrists. And after your blood has delivered its blessings, it finds its way back to your heart to be refreshed. This wondrous mystery recurs over and over again without stopping every minute of your life.

You can smell intoxicating aromas. You can hear provocative and soothing sounds. You can taste a thousand different tastes. How is any of this possible? You can think thoughts any time you want -- big, wide, colorful thoughts or tiny dark burrowing thoughts. You can revel and wallow in great oceans of emotion. What colossal secret intelligence or improbable series of fabulous accidents conspired to bestow these superpowers upon you?

TO READ AND HEAR THE REST OF THIS PIECE, go here: bit.ly/yBmWBg

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Tip Jar for Me: bit.ly/TipsforRob

Expanded Audio Horoscopes: RealAstrology.com

Sign up for daily astrological text messages: bit.ly/Sunbursts

Free excerpts from my most recent book: bit.ly/BeautyTruth

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MAKE ROOM FOR MORE

Is your schedule too rigid to allow magic to seep in? Then mutate that schedule, please.

Is your brain so crammed with knowledgeable opinions that no fresh perceptions can crack their way in? Then flush out some of those opinions.

Is your heart so puckered by the stings of the past that it can't burst forth with any expansive new invitations? Then unpucker your heart, for God's sake.

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YOUR SOUL MATE?

If you bury your face in your tear-stained pillow and beg God to please send you your soul mate, please don't slur your words in such a way that they sound like "cell mate."

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My book THE TELEVISIONARY ORACLE is available as an actual book: bit.ly/Televisionary

or in a Kindle edition: amzn.to/1n5uY2u

See the spectacular cover: bit.ly/yHbHHF

Read the first four chapters here: bit.ly/y6br6D

After reading the book, novelist Tom Robbins wrote: "I've seen the future of American literature, and its name is Rob Brezsny."

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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:

5 Habits of Highly Compassionate Men
"Having compassion leads to increased happiness, freedom from gender stereotypes, and better relationships with others."
tinyurl.com/m3cwldl

10 Things Creative People Know
"Everyday creative activities like knitting and cooking can boost your levels of serotonin and decrease anxiety."
tinyurl.com/p9vqcun

"More solar power was installed in the United States last year than the previous 30 years combined, and the per unit cost of solar power is falling so rapidly it's soon likely to drop below that of coal." - Robert Reich

(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 17

Copyright 2014 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

It's Compensation Week. If you have in the past suffered from injustice, it's an excellent time to go in quest of restitution. If you have been deprived of the beauty you need to thrive, now is the time to get filled up. Wherever your life has been out of balance, you have the power to create more harmony. Don't be shy about seeking redress. Ask people to make amends. Pursue restorations. But don't, under any circumstances, lust for revenge.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

"Our brains are no longer conditioned for reverence and awe," said novelist John Updike. That's a sad possibility. Could you please do something to dispute or override it, Taurus? Would it be too much to ask if I encouraged you to go out in quest of lyrical miracles that fill you with wonder? Can I persuade you to be alert for sweet mysteries that provoke dizzying joy and uncanny breakthroughs that heal a wound you've feared might forever plague you? Here's what the astrological omens suggest: Phenomena that stir reverence and awe are far more likely than usual.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

I wonder if it's time for you to modify an old standby. I'm getting the sense that you should consider tinkering with a familiar resource that has served you pretty well. Why? This resource may have some hidden weakness that you need to attend to in order to prevent a future disruption. Now might be one of those rare occasions when you should ignore the old rule, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." So be proactive, Gemini. Investigate what's going on beneath the surface. Make this your motto: "I will solve the problem before it's a problem -- and then it will never be a problem."

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

"Do you really have what it takes or do you not have what it takes?" That's the wrong question to ask, in my opinion. You can't possibly know the answer ahead of time, for one thing. To dwell on that quandary would put you on the defensive and activate your fear, diminishing your power to accomplish the task at hand. Here's a more useful inquiry: "Do you want it strongly enough or do you not want it strongly enough?" With this as your meditation, you might be inspired to do whatever's necessary to pump up your desire. And that is the single best thing you can do to ensure your ultimate success.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

I swear my meditations are more dynamic when I hike along the trail through the marsh than if I'm pretzeled up in the lotus position back in my bedroom. Maybe I've been influenced by Aristotle's Peripatetic School. He felt his students learned best when they accompanied him on long strolls. Then there was philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who testified that his most brilliant thoughts came to him as he rambled far and wide. Even if this possibility seems whimsical to you, Leo, I invite you to give it a try. According to my reading of the current astrological omens, your moving body is likely to generate bright ideas and unexpected solutions and visions of future adventures.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

Throughout North America and Europe, there are hundreds of unused roads. Many are former exit and entrance ramps to major highways, abandoned for one reason or another. Some are stretches of pavement that used to be parts of main thoroughfares before they were rerouted. I suggest we make "unused roads" your metaphor of the week, Virgo. It may be time for you to bring some of them back into operation, and maybe even relink them to the pathways they were originally joined to. Are there any missing connections in your life that you would love to restore? Any partial bridges you feel motivated to finish building?

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WHERE ARE YOU RIGHT NOW?

Grace emerges in the ebb and flow, not just the flow. The waning reveals a different kind of blessing than the waxing.

But whether it's our time to ferment in the valley of shadows or rise up singing in the sun-splashed meadow, fresh power to transform ourselves is always on the way. Our suffering won't last, nor will our triumph. Without fail, life will deliver the creative energy we need to change into the new thing we must become.

Where are you in the great cycle of your life? For inspiration in figuring it all out, tune in to my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES.

They're four-to-five-minute meditations on the current state of your destiny and where you're headed.

They are not repeats or extensions of the written 'scopes you read here for free. They are entirely fresh explorations of your astrological omens, and are designed to help you tune in to your soul's code. (P.S. They're not free.)

Register and/or sign in at RealAstrology.com/

They're available on your tablets and smart phones as well as your computers.

The forecasts are also available by phone: 1-877-873-4888

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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

Karma works both ways. If you do ignorant things, ignorant things may eventually be done to you. Engage in generous actions, and at some future date you may be the unexpected beneficiary of generosity. I'm expecting more of the latter than the former for you in the coming days, Libra. I think fate will bring you sweet compensations for your enlightened behavior in the past. I'm reminded of the fairy tale in which a peasant girl goes out of her way to be kind to a seemingly feeble, disabled old woman. The crone turns out to be a good witch who rewards the girl with a bag of gold. But as I hinted, there could also be a bit of that other kind of karma lurking in your vicinity. Would you like to ward it off? All you have to do is unleash a flurry of good deeds. Anytime you have a chance to help people in need, do it.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

As they lie in the sand, African crocodiles are in the habit of opening their jaws wide for hours at a time. It keeps them cool, and allows for birds called plovers to stop by and pluck morsels of food that are stuck between the crocs' molars. The relationship is symbiotic. The teeth-cleaners eat for free as they provide a service for the large reptiles. As I analyze your astrological aspects, Scorpio, I'm inclined to see an opportunity coming your way that has a certain resemblance to the plovers'. Can you summon the necessary trust and courage to take full advantage?

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

Are you sure you have enough obstacles? I'm afraid you're running low. And that wouldn't be healthy, would it? Obstacles keep you honest, after all. They motivate you to get smarter. They compel you to grow your willpower and develop more courage. Please understand that I'm not taking about trivial and boring obstacles that make you numb. I'm referring to scintillating obstacles that fire up your imagination; rousing obstacles that excite your determination to be who you want and get what you want. So your assignment is to acquire at least one new interesting obstacle. It's time to tap into a deeper strain of your ingenuity.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

In 1937, physicist George Paget Thomson won a Nobel Prize for the work he did to prove that the electron is a wave. That's funny, because his father, physicist J. J. Thomson, was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1906 for showing that the electron is a particle. Together, they helped tell the whole story about the electron, which as we now know is both a wave and a particle. I think it's an excellent time for you to try something similar to what George did: follow up on some theme from the life of one of your parents or mentors; be inspired by what he or she did, but also go beyond it; build on a gift he or she gave the world, extending or expanding it.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

You have been a pretty decent student lately, Aquarius. The learning curve was steep, but you mastered it as well as could be expected. You had to pay more attention to the intricate details than you liked, which was sometimes excruciating, but you summoned the patience to tough it out. Congrats! Your against-the-grain effort was worth it. You are definitely smarter now than you were four weeks ago. But you are more wired, too. More stressed. In the next chapter of your life story, you will need some downtime to integrate all you've absorbed. I suggest you schedule some sessions in a sanctuary where you can relax more deeply than you've allowed yourself to relax in a while.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

You have the power to shut what has been open or open what has been shut. That's a lot of responsibility. Just because you have the power to unleash these momentous actions doesn't mean you should rashly do so. Make sure your motivations are pure and your integrity is high. Try to keep fear and egotism from influencing you. Be aware that whatever you do will send out ripples for months to come. And when you are confident that you have taken the proper precautions, by all means proceed with vigor and rigor. Shut what has been open or open what has been shut -- or both.

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HOMEWORK:

Comment on the following hypothesis: "You know what to do and you know when to do it." 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 2014 Rob Brezsny

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