Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter September 3, 2014

Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
September 3, 2014
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

I want to call your attention to one of the few NC-17-rated pieces in the book. It's called "THE ORGASMIC ROOTS OF PRONOIA."

If I quoted from it here in the newsletter, however, it would trigger all the spam filters that lie between me and you, preventing the text from reaching you.

Instead, I will give you a place to read it online:

bit.ly/OrgasmicRoots

PROCEED WITH CAUTION! This material has graphic references to love, lust, tenderness, bliss, and rapture.

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IMPOSSIBILITIES

"Everything that can be invented has been invented."
- Charles H. Duell, Director of US Patent Office, 1899

"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?"
- Harry M. Warner, Warner Bros Pictures, 1927

"There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom."
- Robert Miliham, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1923

"Heavier than air flying machines are impossible."
- Lord Kelvin, President, Royal Society, 1895

"The horse is here today, but the automobile is only a novelty - a fad."
- President of Michigan Savings Bank advising against investing in the Ford Motor Company

"Video won't be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night."
- Daryl F. Zanuck, 20th Century Fox, commenting on television in 1946

"Space travel is utter bilge."
- Sir Richard van der Riet Wooley, The Astronomer Royal (1956)

"Rail travel at high speeds is not possible because passengers, unable to breathe, would die of asphyxia."
- Dionysius Lardner, English scientist (1793-1859)

"While theoretically and technically television may be feasible, commercially and financially it is an impossibility."
- Lee DeForest, American inventor (1873-1961)

"Guitar music is on the way out."
- Decca Records turning down the Beatles, 1962.

"If I had thought about it, I wouldn't have done the experiment. The literature was full of examples that said you can't do this."
- Spencer Silver, originator of Post-It Notepads.

"Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction."
- Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology, 1872.

"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us."
- Western Union internal memo, 1876.

"Sensible and responsible women do not want to vote."
- Grover Cleveland, 1905

"Professor Goddard does not know the relation between action and reaction and the need to have something better than a vacuum against which to react. He seems to lack the basic knowledge ladled out daily in high schools."
- 1921 New York Times editorial about Robert Goddard's revolutionary rocket work.

"Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau."
- Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929.

"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value."
- Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre.

"The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon".
- Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, appointed Surgeon-Extraordinary to Queen Victoria, 1873.

"640K ought to be enough for anybody."
- Bill Gates, 1981

"Such startling announcements as these should be deprecated as being unworthy of science and mischievous to its true progress."
- Sir William Siemens, electrical engineer, upon hearing Edison's announcement of a successful light bulb.

"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."
- Ken Olson, president of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977.

"I believe all the music that can be written has already been written. We're just repeating the past."
- Tschaikovsky in a letter to his brother

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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:

What a shocking revelation: Organic fruits and vegetables are more nutritious than those that are conventionally grown, according to a peer-reviewed meta-study of 343 studies.
tinyurl.com/n7q2466
tinyurl.com/p672tv6

Acupuncture works! Previous studies based on insufficient data have claimed that acupuncture's efficacy can be fully attributed to the placebo effect. A large meta-analysis has shown that's not true. In fact, even by the standards of Western-style evidence-based medicine, acupuncture works.
tinyurl.com/9f5s52p

"It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart." - Anne Frank

"When you know how to listen, everyone is the guru." - Ram Dass

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 September 4

Copyright 2014 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

"I have a hypothesis that everyone is born with the same amount of luck," says cartoonist Scott Adams. "But luck doesn't appear to be spread evenly across a person's life. Some people use up all of their luck early in life. Others start out in bad circumstances and finish strong." How would you assess your own distribution of luck, Virgo? According to my projections, you are in a phase when luck is flowing stronger and deeper than usual. And I bet it will intensify in the coming weeks. I suggest you use it wisely -- which is to say, with flair and aplomb and generosity.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

When my daughter Zoe was seven years old, she took horse-back riding lessons with a group of other young aspirants. On the third lesson, their instructor assigned them the task of carrying an egg in a spoon that they clasped in their mouths as they sat facing backwards on a trotting horse. That seemingly improbable task reminds me of what you're working on right now, Libra. Your balancing act isn't quite as demanding, but it is testing you in ways you're not accustomed to. My prognosis: You will master what's required of you faster than the kids at Zoe's horse camp. Every one of them broke at least eight eggs before succeeding. I suspect that three or four attempts will be enough for you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

Peter the Great was the Tsar of Russia from 1682 until 1725. Under his rule, his nation became a major empire. He also led a cultural revolution that brought modern European-style ideas and influences to Russia. But for our purposes right now, I want to call attention to one of his other accomplishments: The All-Joking, All-Drunken Council of Fools and Jesters. It was a club he organized with his allies to ensure there would always be an abundance of parties for him to enjoy. I don't think you need alcohol as an essential part of your own efforts to sustain maximum revelry in the coming weeks, Scorpio. But I do suggest you convene a similar brain trust.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

In Roald Dahl's kids' story James and the Giant Peach, 501 seagulls are needed to carry the giant peach from a spot near the Azores all the way across the Atlantic Ocean to New York City. But physics students at the U.K.'s University of Leicester have determined that such a modest contingent wouldn't be nearly enough to achieve a successful airlift. By their calculations, there'd have to be a minimum of 2,425,907 seagulls involved. I urge you to consider the possibility that you, too, will require more power than you have estimated to accomplish your own magic feat. Certainly not almost 5,000 times more, as in the case of the seagulls. Fifteen percent more should be enough. (P.S. I'm almost positive you can rustle up that extra 15 percent.)

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

So far, 53 toys have been inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame. They include crayons, the jump rope, Mr. Potato Head, the yo-yo, the rubber duckie, and dominoes. My favorite inductee -- and the toy that is most symbolically useful to you right now -- is the plain old cardboard box. Of all the world's playthings, it is perhaps the one that requires and activates the most imagination. It can become a fort, a spaceship, a washing machine, a cave, a submarine, and many other exotic things. I think you need to be around influences akin to the cardboard box because they are likely to unleash your dormant creativity.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

I'm not opposed to you fighting a good fight. It's quite possible you would become smarter and stronger by wrangling with a worthy adversary or struggling against a bad influence. The passion you summon to outwit an obstacle could bestow blessings not only on you but on other people, as well. But here's a big caveat: I hope you will not get embroiled in a showdown with an imaginary foe. I pray that you will refrain from a futile combat with a slippery delusion. Choose your battles carefully, Aquarius.

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WHAT FRESH BLESSINGS WILL LIFE BRING YOU?

You're got more strength and intelligence and help to draw on than you realize. For help in accessing those untapped inner resources, tune in to my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES. They're 4 to 5 minute meditations on the state of your life and where you're going.

Sign in or register and access them here:
RealAstrology.com

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

The weekly forecasts are also available by phone:

1-877-873-4888

P.S. What questions should you be asking? I may be able to assist you in figuring them out.

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PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

During the next six weeks, I suggest you regard symbiosis as one of your key themes. Be alert for ways you can cultivate more interesting and intense forms of intimacy. Magnetize yourself to the joys of teamwork and collaboration. Which of your skills and talents are most useful to other people? Which are most likely to inspire your allies to offer you their best skills and talents? I suggest you highlight everything about yourself that is most likely to win you love, appreciation, and help.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

I don't usually do this kind of thing, but I'm going to suggest that you monitor the number six. My hypothesis is that six has been trying to grab your attention, perhaps even in askew or inconvenient ways. Its purpose? To nudge you to tune in to beneficial influences that you have been ignoring. I furthermore suspect that six is angling to show you clues about what is both the cause of your unscratchable itch and the cure for that itch. So lighten up and have fun with this absurd mystery, Aries. Without taking it too seriously, allow six to be your weird little teacher. Let it prick your intuition with quirky notions and outlandish speculations. If nothing comes of it, there will be no harm done. If it leads you to helpful discoveries, hallelujah.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

In English, the rare word "trouvaille" means a lucky find or an unexpected windfall. In French, "trouvaille" can refer to the same thing and even more: something interesting or exceptional that is discovered fortuitously; a fun or enlightening blessing that's generated through the efforts of a vigorous imagination. Of course I can't guarantee that you will experience a trouvaille or two (or even three) in the coming days, Taurus. But the conditions are as ripe as they can be for such a possibility.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

The Dutch word epibreren means that even though you are goofing off, you are trying to create the impression that you are hard at work. I wouldn't be totally opposed to you indulging in some major epibreren in the coming days. More importantly, the cosmos won't exact any karmic repercussions for it. I suspect, in fact, that the cosmos is secretly conspiring for you to enjoy more slack and spaciousness that usual. You're overdue to recharge your spiritual and emotional batteries, and that will require extra repose and quietude. If you have to engage in a bit of masquerade to get the ease you need, so be it.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

When James Franco began to learn his craft as an actor, he was young and poor. A gig at McDonald's paid for his acting lessons and allowed him to earn a living. He also used his time on the job as an opportunity to build his skills as a performer. While serving customers burgers and fries, he practiced speaking to them in a variety of different accents. Now would be an excellent time for you to adopt a similar strategy, Cancerian. Even if you are not doing what you love to do full-time, you can and should take stronger measures to prepare yourself for that day when you will be doing more of what you love to do.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

Here are a few of the major companies that got their starts in home garages: Apple, Google, Microsoft, Mattel, Amazon, and Disney. Even if you're not in full support of their business practices, you've got to admit that their humble origins didn't limit their ability to become rich and powerful. As I meditate on the long-term astrological omens, I surmise you are now in a position to launch a project that could follow a similar arc. It would be more modest, of course. I don't foresee you ultimately becoming an international corporation worth billions of dollars. But the success would be bigger than I think you can imagine.

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HOMEWORK:

Make a playful effort to change something you've always assumed you could never change. Testify at Truthrooster@gmail.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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