Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
November 26, 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 are excerpts.
Take inventory of the extent to which your "No" reflex
dominates your life. Notice for 24 hours (even in your dreams)
how often you say or think:
"No."
"That's not right."
"I don't like them."
"I don't agree with that."
"They don't like me."
"That should be different from what it is."
Then retrain yourself to say "YES" at least 51 percent
of the time. Start the transformation by saying "YES"
aloud 22 times right now.
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You don't have to be anything you don't want to be. You don't
have to live up to anyone's expectations. There's no need to strive
for a kind of perfection that's not very interesting to you. You
don't have to believe in ideas that make you sad or tormented,
and you don't have to feel emotions that others try to manipulate
you into feeling.
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I kick my own ass and wash my own brain.
I push my own buttons and trick my own pain.
I burn my own flags and roast my own heroes.
I mock my own fears and cheer my own zeroes.
Nothing can stop me from teasing my shadow.
I'm full of empty and backwards bravado.
My wounds are tattoos that reveal my true beauty.
I turn tragic to magic and make bliss my duty.
I honor my faults till they become virtues.
I play jokes on my nightmares
till I'm sure they won't hurt you.
I sing anarchist lullabies to lesbian trees
and love songs with punch lines
to anonymous seas.
I won't accept gifts that infringe on my freedom.
I shun sacred places that stir up my boredom.
I change my name daily, pretend to be nobody.
I fight for the truth if it's majestically rowdy.
I brag about what I can't do and don't know.
I take off my clothes to those I oppose.
I'm so far beyond lazy, I work like a god.
I'm totally crazy; in fact that's my job.
- bit.ly/Pronoia
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This perfect moment is brought to you by the imaginary lightning
bolts you can fling from your fingers any time you want to.
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When you're an aspiring master of pronoia, you see the cracks
in the facades as opportunities; inspiration erupts as you careen
over bumps in the road; you love the enticing magic that flows
from situations that other people regard as rough or crooked.
"That which is not slightly distorted lacks sensible appeal,"
wrote poet Charles Baudelaire, "from which it follows that
irregularity--that is to say, the unexpected, surprise and astonishment--is
an essential part and characteristic of beauty."
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Americans Believe Violence is Worse than Ever; When in Reality
U.S. Violence is Lower than Ever
tinyurl.com/ktl9dak
"Here's a narrative you rarely hear: Our lives are safer.
This message is so rarely heard that half of all respondents to
a recent YouGov poll suggested that the violent crime rate had
risen over the past two decades. The reality, of course, is that
it has fallen enormously.
"The decline in violent crime is one of the most striking
trends over recent decades; the rate has declined roughly by half
since 1993.
"To be precise, the F.B.I.'s count of violent crimes reported
to law enforcement has declined from a rate of 747 violent incidents
per 100,000 people in 1993 to 387 incidents per 100,000 people
in 2012, which is the most recent year for which it has published
complete data. This reflects the fact that over this period, the
homicide rate has fallen by 51 percent; forcible rapes have declined
by 35 percent; robberies have decreased by 56 percent; and the
rate of aggravated assault has been cut by 45 percent. Property
crime rates are also sharply down.
"These trends aren't caused by changes in our willingness
to report crime to the police. We see an even more significant
decline in violent crime in data derived from surveys asking people
whether they've been the victims of certain crimes over the past
year. The National Crime Victimization Survey reports that the
rate of violent victimizations has declined by 67 percent since
1993. This reflects a 70 percent decline in rape and sexual assault;
a 66 percent decline in robbery; a 77 percent decline in aggravated
assault; and a 64 percent decline in simple assault. This survey
has nothing to say about the decline in homicide, for obvious
reasons."
(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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Dear Gmail users:
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why. There's not much I can do on my side.
You might try subscribing with a non-Gmail address.
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If you are successful in getting Gmail to stop blocking delivery
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning November 27
Copyright 2014 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist,
and mathematician who is sometimes called "the father of
modern science." He expressed his innovative ideas so vigorously
that he offended the Catholic Church, which convicted him of heresy.
For us today, he symbolizes the magnificence of rational thought.
And yet Galileo also had a weird streak. For example, he gave
lectures on the "Shape, Location, and Size of Dante's Inferno,"
analyzing the poet's depiction of hell. In the course of these
meticulous discourses, Galileo concluded that Satan was more than
four-fifths of a mile tall. In this spirit, Sagittarius, and in
accordance with current astrological omens, you are temporarily
authorized to de-emphasize the constraints of reason and logic
so that you may gleefully and unapologetically pursue your quirky
proclivities.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
While in his early twenties, actor Robert Downey Jr. appeared
in the films Less Than Zero and Weird Science.
That got him semi-typecast as a member of Hollywood's Brat Pack,
a group of popular young actors and actresses who starred in coming-of-age
films in the 1980s. Eager to be free of that pigeonhole, Downey
performed a ritual in 1991: He dug a hole in his backyard and
buried the clothes he had worn in Less Than Zero. I recommend
that you carry out a comparable ceremony to help you graduate
from the parts of your past that are holding you back.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
In her book Revolution from Within, Gloria Steinem
offers a challenge: "Think of the times you have said: 'I
can't write,' 'I can't paint,' 'I can't run,' 'I can't shout,'
'I can't dance,' 'I can't sing.'" That's your first assignment,
Aquarius: Think of those times. Your second assignment is to write
down other "I can't" statements you have made over the
years. Assignment three is to objectively evaluate whether any
of these "I can't" statements are literally true. If
you find that some of them are not literally true, your
fourth assignment is to actually do them. The coming weeks will
be a favorable time to transform "I can't" into "I
can."
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
"Dogs don't know where they begin and end," writes
Ursula K. Le Guin in her book The Wave in the Mind. They
"don't notice when they put their paws in the quiche."
Cats are different, LeGuin continues. They "know exactly
where they begin and end. When they walk slowly out the door that
you are holding open for them, and pause, leaving their tail just
an inch or two inside the door, they know it. They know you have
to keep holding the door open . . . It's a cat's way of maintaining
relationship." Whether you are more of a dog person or a
cat person, Pisces, it is very important that you be more like
a cat than a dog in the coming weeks. You must keep uppermost
in your mind exactly where you begin and where you end.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
What exactly do you believe in, Aries? What's your philosophy
of life? Do you think that most people are basically good and
that you can make a meaningful life for yourself if you just work
hard and act kind? Do you believe that evil, shapeshifting, kitten-eating
extraterrestrials have taken on human form and are impersonating
political leaders who control our society? Are you like the character
Crash Davis in the film Bull Durham, who believed in
"high fiber, good scotch, the sweet spot, and long, slow,
deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days"? Now would be
an excellent time for you to get very clear about the fundamental
principles that guide your behavior. Re-commit yourself to your
root beliefs -- and jettison the beliefs that no longer work for
you.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
I have two encyclopedias of dreams, and they disagree on the
symbolic meaning of mud. One book says that when you dream of
mud, you may be facing a murky moral dilemma in your waking life,
or are perhaps dealing with a messy temptation that threatens
to compromise your integrity. The other encyclopedia suggests
that when you dream of mud, it means you have received an untidy
but fertile opportunity that will incite growth and creativity.
I suspect that you have been dreaming of mud lately, Taurus, and
that both meanings apply to you.
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FEELING JOY STIMULATES YOUR COMPASSION?
Assume that your drive to experience pleasure isn't a barrier
to your spiritual growth, but is in fact essential to it. Proceed
on the hypothesis that cultivating joy can make you a more ethical
and compassionate person. Imagine that feeling good has something
important to teach you every day.
For inspiration in practicing this approach, tune in to your
Expanded Audio Horoscopes. They're four-to-five-minute meditations
on the current state of your destiny. The cost is $6 per reading,
with a discount for multiple purchases.
Go here to register and/or sign in: RealAstrology.com
They're available on your tablets and smart phones as well as
your computers.
You can also listen over the phone by calling
1-877-873-4888
"I always feel like I know myself better after listening
to your audio 'scopes."
- June R., Austin, TX
"Your audio horoscopes calm me down when I'm too manic and
pep me up when I'm down."
- Arthur T., Cleveland, OH
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GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Are there certain influences you would love to bring into your
life, but you can't figure out how? Do you fantasize about getting
access to new resources that would make everything better for
you, but they seem to be forever out of reach? If you answered
"yes," it's time to stop moping. I'm happy to report
that you have more power than usual to reel in those desirable
influences and resources. To fully capitalize on this power, be
confident that you can attract what you need.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Should you cut back and retrench? Definitely. Should you lop
off and bastardize? Definitely not. Do I recommend that you spend
time editing and purifying? Yes, please. Does this mean you should
censor and repress? No, thank you. Here's my third pair of questions:
Will you be wise enough to shed some of your defense mechanisms
and strip away one of your lame excuses? I hope so. Should you
therefore dispense with all of your psychic protections and leave
yourself vulnerable to being abused? I hope not.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
I know you're beautiful and you know you're beautiful. But I
think you could be even more beautiful than you already are. What
do you think? Have you reached the limits of how beautiful you
can be? Or will you consider the possibility that there is even
more beauty lying dormant within you, ready to be groomed and
expressed? I encourage you to ruminate on these questions: 1.
Are you hiding a complicated part of your beauty because it would
be hard work to liberate it? 2. Are you afraid of some aspect
of your beauty because revealing it would force you to acknowledge
truths about yourself that are at odds with your self-image? 3.
Are you worried that expressing your full beauty would intimidate
other people?
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Helsinki, Finland is growing downwards. By cutting out space
in the bedrock below the city's surface, farseeing leaders have
made room to build shops, a data center, a hockey rink, a church,
and a swimming pool. There are also projects underway to construct
200 other underground structures. I'd like to see you start working
along those lines, Virgo -- at least metaphorically. Now would
be an excellent time to renovate your foundations so as to accommodate
your future growth.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
The Pantone Color Matching System presents a structured approach
to identifying colors. It's used as a standard in the printing
industry. According to its system of classification, there are
104 various shades of grey. I suspect you will benefit from being
equally discerning in the coming weeks. It just won't be possible
to differentiate between the good guys and the bad guys. You'll
misunderstand situations that you try to simplify, and you'll
be brilliant if you assume there's always more nuance and complexity
to uncover. Don't just grudgingly tolerate ambiguity, Libra. Appreciate
it. Learn from it.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
I am not necessarily predicting that you will acquire a shiny
new asset in time for the solstice. Nor am I glibly optimistic
that you will get a raise in pay or an unexpected bonus. And I
can offer only a 65-percent certainty that you will snag a new
perk or catch a financial break or stumble upon a treasure. In
general, though, I am pretty confident that your net worth will
rise in the next four weeks. Your luck will be unusually practical.
To take maximum advantage of the cosmic tendencies, focus your
efforts on the one or two most promising prospects.
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HOMEWORK:
For three days, uphold your highest ideal in every little way
you can imagine. Report results at Truthrooster@gmail.com.
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2014 Rob Brezsny
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