Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
October 29, 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
Below is an excerpt.
To read the piece in its entirety, go here: http://bit.ly/wGN3iM
SHADOW SCHOOL
You're a gorgeous mystery with a wild heart and a lofty purpose.
But like all of us, you also have a dark side -- a part of your
psyche that snarls and bites, that's unconscious and irrational,
that is motivated by ill will or twisted passions or instinctual
fears.
It's your own personal portion of the world's sickness: a mess
of repressed longings, enervating wounds, ignorant delusions,
and unripe powers. You'd prefer to ignore it because it's unflattering
or uncomfortable or very different from what you imagine yourself
to be.
If you acknowledge its existence at all (many of us don't), you
might call it the devil, your evil twin, your inner monster, or
your personal demon. Psychologist Carl Jung referred to it as
the shadow. He regarded it as the lead that the authentic alchemists
of the Middle Ages sought to transmute into gold.
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Astrologer Steven Forrest has a different name for the shadow:
stuff. "Work on your stuff," he says, "or your
stuff will work on you." He means that it will sabotage you
if you're not aggressive about identifying, negotiating with,
and transforming it.
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The shadow is not inherently evil. If it is ignored or denied,
it may become monstrous to compensate. Only then is it likely
to "demonically possess" its owner, leading to compulsive,
exaggerated, "evil" behavior.
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"The shadow, which is in conflict with the acknowledged
values, cannot be accepted as a negative part of one's own psyche
and is therefore projected -- that is, it is transferred to the
outside world and experienced as an outside object. It is combated,
punished, and exterminated as 'the alien out there' instead of
being dealt with as one's own inner problem." -- Erich Neumann,
Depth Psychology and a New Ethic
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The qualities in ourselves that we deny or dislike are often
the very qualities that we most bitterly complain about in other
people. So for instance, an old friend of mine named Mark had
a special disgust for friends who were unavailable to him when
he really needed them. But I was witness to him engaging in the
same behavior three different times, disappearing from the lives
of his friends just when they needed him most.
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"Whatever is rejected from the self, appears in the world
as an event," said Jung. If you disown a part of your personality,
it'll materialize as an unexpected detour.
Everyone who believes in the devil is the devil . . . .
TO READ THE REST OF "SHADOW SCHOOL," go here: bit.ly/wGN3iM
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"All I ever wanted in life was to make a difference, conquer
the universe, travel the world, meet interesting people, find
the missing link, fight the good fight, live for the moment, seize
each day, make a fortune, know what really matters, end world
hunger, vanquish the dragon, be super popular but too cool to
care, be master of my own fate, embrace my destiny, feel as much
as I can feel, give too much, and love everything."
- Tatsuya Ishida at sinfest.net
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Some people put their faith in religion or science or political
ideologies. Novelist J.G. Ballard placed his faith elsewhere:
in the imagination. "I believe in the power of the imagination
to remake the world," he wrote, "to release the truth
within us, to hold back the night, to transcend death, to charm
motorways, to ingratiate ourselves with birds, to enlist the confidences
of madmen."
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"The Way of Abundance is all too often misconstrued as a
shallow sense of 'getting what one wants,' 'eliminating the negative,'
or 'being free from pain.' Even the often-touted 'manifesting
your dreams,' offers a psychological disposition that generally
remains fixated around manifestation as 'the project of me.'
"But the 'project of me' can never be enough, for it does
not meet 'the other,' and real living involves meeting. The touch
and contact with all of life, the full freedom of non-separation,
the completeness of full relationship, and the radiance of compassionate
ecstasy is what we are inherently hungry for."
- Rick Jarow, Alchemy of Abundance
tinyurl.com/l3hxqp8
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Think about your relationship to human beings who haven't been
born yet. What might you create for them to use? How can you make
your life a gift to the future? Can you not only help preserve
the wonders we live amidst, but actually enhance them? Keep in
mind this thought from Lewis Carroll: "It's a poor sort of
memory that only works backward."
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
How to Cut Poverty in Half in Ten Years
"It's an achievable goal because we've done it before,"
said Stegman. He reminds us that the War on Poverty contributed
to cutting poverty by 43 percent between 1964 and 1973, "to
a historic low of 11.1 percent.'
tinyurl.com/lus8u2d
Denmark Becomes Second Country to Let Citizens Choose Their Gender
Without Having Surgery. A new law allows transgender citizens
to decide their own gender -- and all it takes is a piece of paper.
tinyurl.com/ky8rfqp
7 Practical Ideas for Compassionate Communities, From Free College
to Debt Relief
tinyurl.com/kekes9h
(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 October 30
Copyright 2014 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
In AMC's famous TV drama, a high school chemistry teacher responds
to his awful luck by turning to a life of crime. The show's title,
"Breaking Bad," refers to what happens when a good person
cracks and veers over to the dark side. So then what does "breaking
good" mean? Urbandictionary.com
defines it like this: "When a criminal, junkie, or gang-banger
gets sweet and sparkly, going to church, volunteering at soup
kitchens, and picking the kids up from school." I'm concerned
that you are at risk of undergoing a similar conversion, Scorpio.
You seem so nice and kind and mild lately. I guess that's fine
as long as you don't lose your edge. Halloween costume suggestion:
a criminal with a halo, a sweet and sparkly gang-banger, or a
Buddhist monk junkie.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
I've got two possible remedies for your emotional congestion.
You might also want to make these two remedies part of your Halloween
shtick. The first remedy is captured by the English word "lalochezia."
It refers to a catharsis that comes from uttering profane language.
The second remedy is contained in the word "tarantism."
It means an urge to dance manically as a way to relieve melancholy.
For your Halloween disguise, you could be a wildly dancing obscenity-spouter.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
You are at a point in your astrological cycle when you deserve
to rake in the rewards that you have been working hard to earn.
I expect you to be a magnet for gifts and blessings. The favors
and compliments you have doled out will be returned to you. For
all the strings you have pulled in behalf of others' dreams, strings
will now be pulled for you. Halloween costume suggestion: a beaming
kid hauling around a red wagon full of brightly wrapped presents.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Two physicists in Massachusetts are working on technology that
will allow people to shoot laser beams out of their eyes. For
Halloween, I suggest that you pretend you have already acquired
this superpower. It's time for you to be brash and jaunty as you
radiate your influence with more confidence. I want to see you
summon reserves of charismatic clout you haven't dared to call
on before. Costume suggestion: The X-Men mutant named Cyclops
or the legendary Native America creature known as the thunderbird,
which emits lightning from its eyes.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
The African nation of Swaziland has passed a law prohibiting
witches from flying their broomsticks any higher than 150 meters
above ground. That will a big problem for Piscean witches. There
is currently an astrological mandate for them to swoop and glide
and soar as high and free as they want to. The same is metaphorically
true for all Piscean non-witches everywhere. This is your time
to swoop and glide and soar as high and free as you want to. Halloween
costume suggestion: high-flying witch, a winged angel, the Silver
Surfer, or a mythic bird like the Garuda.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
If you live in Gaza, you don't have easy access to Kentucky
Fried Chicken. The closest KFC restaurant is 35 miles away in
the Egyptian city of El-Arish. But there was a time when you could
pay smugglers to bring it to you via one of the underground tunnels
that linked Egypt to Gaza. Each delivery took four hours and required
the help of two taxis, a hand cart, and a motorbike. (Alas, Egypt
destroyed most of the tunnels in early 2014.) I recommend, Aries,
that you be as determined and resourceful to make your longed-for
connections as the KFC lovers in Gaza were. Halloween costume
suggestion: smuggler, bootlegger, drug-dealer, black-marketeer.
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WHAT NEW INFLUENCES ARE HEADED YOUR WAY?
How do you want to create your life story in the coming weeks?
How can you exert your free will to seek out 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 help in figuring it all out, consider trying my
EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES. They're four-to-five-minute meditations
on the current state of your destiny and where you're headed.
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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TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
It's urgent that you expand your options. Your freedom of choice
can't lead you to where you need to go until you have more possibilities
to choose from. In fact, you're better off not making a decision
until you have a wider selection. To playfully drive home this
point to your subconscious mind, I suggest that this Halloween
you consider disguising yourself as a slime mold. This unusual
creature comes in more than 500 different genders, at least 13
of which must collaborate to reproduce. Here's a photo: bit.ly/yellowslime.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
In the animated sci-fi TV sitcom Futurama, Leela is
the mutant captain of a spaceship. In one episode, she develops
an odd boil on her hindquarters. It has a face and can sing. The
actor who provides the vocals for the animated boil's outpouring
of song is Gemini comedian Craig Ferguson, whose main gig is serving
as host of a late-night TV talk show on CBS. Telling you this
tale is my way of suggesting that you consider going outside your
usual niche, as Craig Ferguson did, to offer your talents in a
different context. Halloween costume suggestion: Kim Kardashian
as a nurse wearing ebola protective gear; science educator Neil
deGrasse Tyson as a male stripper; a cat wearing a dog costume,
or vice versa.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Native American hero Sitting Bull (1831-1890) was a renowned
Lakota chief and holy man. He led his people in their resistance
to the U.S. occupation of their land. How did he become so strong
and wise? In large part through the efforts of his doting mother,
whose name was Her-Holy-Door. Let's install her as your exemplar
for now. May she inspire you to nurture beauty and power in those
you love. May she motivate you to be adroit as you perform your
duties in service to the future. May the mystery of her name rouse
you to find the sacred portal that ushers you to your next big
gift. Halloween costume suggestion: a sacred portal, a divine
gateway, an amazing door.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
This is one of those rare times when it's OK for you to just
throw out the dirty dishes that you are too lazy to wash. It's
also permissible to hide from a difficult person, spend money
on a supposedly foolish indulgence, eat a bowl of ice cream for
breakfast, binge-watch a TV show that provokes six months' worth
of emotions in a few hours, and lie in bed for an extra hour fantasizing
about sex with a forbidden partner. Don't make any of these things
habits, of course. But for now, it's probably healthy to allow
them. Halloween costume suggestion: total slacker.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Our evolutionary ancestors Homo erectus loved to eat
delicious antelope brains. The fossil evidence is all over their
old stomping grounds in East Africa. Scientists say that this
delicacy, so rich in nutrients, helped our forbears build bigger,
stronger brains themselves. These days it's harder but not impossible
to make animal brains part of your diet. The Chinese and Koreans
eat pig brains, and some European cuisines include beef brains.
I'm confident, however, that your own brain will be functioning
better than ever in the coming weeks, even if you don't partake
of this exotic dish. Be sure to take advantage of your enhanced
intelligence. Solve tough riddles! Think big thoughts! Halloween
costume suggestion: a brain-eating Homo erectus.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
"The egromenious hilarity of psychadisical melarmy, whether
rooted in a lissome stretch or a lusty wobble, soon defisterates
into crabolious stompability. So why not be graffenbent?"
So said Noah's ex-wife Joan of Arc in her interview with St.
Crocodile magazine. Heed Joan's advice, please, Libra. Be
proactively saximonious. I'M KIDDING! Everything I just said was
nonsense. I hope you didn't assume it was erudite wisdom full
of big words you couldn't understand. In offering it to you, I
was hoping to immunize you against the babble and hype and artifice
that may soon roll your way. Halloween costume suggestion: a skeptic
armed with a shock-proof bullshit-detector. (For inspiration,
check out these visuals: bit.ly/bsdetector.)
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HOMEWORK:
What Halloween costume would help you activate a secret or dormant
part of your potential? Testify at FreeWillAstrology.com.
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2014 Rob Brezsny
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