Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter June 3, 2015

 Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
 June 3, 2015
 FreeWillAstrology.com

+

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

The e-book is available at bit.ly/eePronoia

Below are excerpts.

Here are three of our deepest spiritual aspirations, which we invite you to steal for your own use:

1. to develop the capacity to thrive in the midst of raging contradictions;

2. to be discerning as we protect ourselves from people's flaws while at the same time being generous as we celebrate their beauty;

3. to refrain from dividing the world into two groups, those who help and agree with us and those who don't

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

"I've been practicing radical authenticity lately," my friend Brandon told me. "I'm revealing the blunt truth about unmentionable subjects to everyone I know. It's been pretty hellish -- no one likes having the social masks stripped away -- but it's been ultimately rewarding."

"I admire your boldness in naming the currents flowing beneath the surface," I replied, "but I'm curious as to why you imply they're all negative. To practice radical authenticity, shouldn't you also express the raw truth about what's right, good, and beautiful? Shouldn't you unleash the praise and gratitude that normally go unspoken?"

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

"True life is lived when tiny changes occur," said Leo Tolstoy. I agree. It's rare for us to undergo rapid, dramatic transformations in short periods of time. That's why it's delusional to be forever pining for some big magic intervention that will fix everything. The best way to alter our course is slowly and gradually, by conscientiously revamping our responses to the small daily details.

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

"The lesson that life constantly enforces is 'Look underfoot.' You are always nearer to the true sources of your power than you think. The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity is where you are. Don't despise your own place and hour. Every place is the center of the world."
- naturalist John Burroughs

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

There is only One Being: the Living Intelligent Consciousness That Pervades Every Cubic Inch of the Universe. Every seemingly separate thing, from earthworm to human being to star, is a cell in the body of this One and Only Great One.

All of us cells feel pain as long as we have forgotten we are part of the One. But the forgetting was an essential rule that the One set up to begin the master game. Because of our illusion that each of us is alone and separate, we are under the impression that we must become distinctive and unique. As we work to create ourselves, adding intricate modifications to what we started out as, we give joy to The One, expanding and deepening the meaning of the master game.

At the point when the sense of isolation is greatest in each cell -- which is also the point when each cell experiences its uniqueness with maximum acuity -- the pain of separation triggers the longing to remember where we came from. Gradually, each of us figures out how to return home and reunite consciously with the One. But something fundamental in us has changed since we first fell under the spell of separateness. We have added the beauty of our individuality, our gift to The One.

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Are you in quest of an Intimate Ally? A Soul Friend? A Wild Confidante?

Check out Matchmaker.com via Free Will Astrology's link: bit.ly/SoulMatch

Look for a Co-Pilot, Co-Conspirator, or Collaborator . . . an Agent to represent you or a Disciple to worship you . . . a Secret Sharer who'll listen better than anyone or an Amazing Accomplice with whom you can practice the Art of Liberation.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:

New Zealand legally recognizes animals as sentient beings.
tinyurl.com/lgll8up

These three colleges stopped investing in fossil fuels. One year later, their endowments are doing just fine. Colleges argue that divestment is not financially responsible, but those who've already done it say the risk is minimal.
tinyurl.com/k8gajy4

France decrees new rooftops must be covered in plants or solar panels.
tinyurl.com/okhljkt

(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.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
 Week beginning June 4

Copyright 2015 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

Nobel Prize-winning physicists Wolfgang Pauli and Niels Bohr were both amused at how counterintuitive their innovative theories seemed. Once Pauli was lecturing a group of eminent scientists about a radical new hypothesis. Bohr got out of his seat in the audience and walked up to the front to interrupt his colleague. "We all agree that your theory is crazy," Bohr told Pauli. "The question that divides us is whether it is crazy enough to have a chance of being correct. My own feeling is that it is not crazy enough." Pauli defended himself. "It is crazy enough!" he said. But Bohr was insistent. "It's not crazy enough!" he argued. I'm going to pose a comparable query to you, Gemini. Are your new ideas and possibilities crazy enough to be true? Make sure they are.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

You've wandered into an awkward phase of your cycle. Missed connections have aroused confusion. Disjointed events have led to weirdness. I've got a suggestion for how you might be able to restore clarity and confidence: Make a foray into a borderland and risk imaginative acts of heroism. Does that sound too cryptic or spooky? How about if I say it like this: Go on an unpredictable quest that will free your trapped vitality, or try a mysterious experiment that will awaken your sleeping magic. P.S. For best results, ask for help every step of the way.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

Gesamtkunstwerk is a German word that can be translated as "total art work" or "all-embracing art form." It refers to a creative masterpiece that makes use of several genres. The 19th-century composer Richard Wagner had this in mind when he produced his opera cycle The Ring of the Nibelung, which included orchestral music, singing, theater, and literature. I'm invoking the spirit of Gesamtkunstwerk for your use, Leo. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to synthesize and coordinate all the things you do best, and express them with a flourish.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

Defender was a popular video game that young people played in video arcades during the 1980s. Fifteen-year-old Steve Juraszek was profiled in Time magazine after he racked up a record-breaking 16 million points while playing the game for 16 hours straight. But when his high school principal found out that Juraszek had skipped classes to be at the arcade, he was suspended. I'm wondering if there may soon be a similar development in your own life, Virgo. Will you have to pay a small price for your success? You should at least be prepared to risk an acceptable loss in order to accomplish an important goal.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

People I meet are sometimes taken aback by the probing questions I ask them. Recently an acquaintance said to me, "Why don't you feel driven to talk about yourself all the time, like everyone else?" I told him the truth: "Being curious is just the way I was made. Maybe it's because of my Mercury in Gemini, or my seventh-house sun, or my three planets in Libra." I suspect that you are due to go through a phase similar to the mode I'm so familiar with. If it doesn't happen naturally, I suggest you coax it out. You need to be extra inquisitive. You'll benefit from digging as deeply as you dare. The more information you uncover, the better your decisions will be.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

I love to watch an evolved Scorpio get his or her needs met by helping other people get their needs met. It's thrilling to behold the paradoxical Scorpio assets in action: the combination of manipulativeness and generosity; the animal magnetism working in service to the greater good; the resourceful willpower that carries out hidden agendas and complex strategies designed to make the world a better place. I expect to see a lot of this idiosyncratic wisdom from you in the coming weeks.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

LISTEN TO AN EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE

Since I put all my heart and soul into the written horoscopes I send out in this newsletter, they're pretty nutritious. You may never need any of the other stuff I create.

But if you ever do crave an added boost, you may want to sample my Expanded Audio Horoscopes. They're different in tone and intent than the written scopes, imbued with a little more of the psychologist in me, and a little less of the poet.

To listen to your Expanded Audio Horoscope online, go to RealAstrology.com.

Register and/or log in through the main page.

You can also listen over the phone by calling 1-877-873-4888.

The cost is $6 per sign on the Web (discounts available for bulk purchases), or $1.99 per minute by phone. Each forecast is 4-5 minutes long.

The cost is $6 per sign on the Web (discounts available for bulk purchases), or $1.99 per minute by phone. Each forecast is 4-5 minutes long.

"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

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

"Would that life were like the shadow cast by a wall or a tree," says the Talmud. "But it is like the shadow of a bird in flight." That's a lyrical sentiment, but I don't agree with it. I've come to prefer the shimmering dance over the static stance. The ever-shifting play of light and dark is more interesting to me than the illusion of stability. I feel more at home in the unpredictable flow than in the stagnant trance of certainty. What about you, Sagittarius? I suggest that in the immediate future you cultivate an appreciation for the joys and challenges of the shimmering dance.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

The core of your horoscope comes from the poem "A Color of the Sky" by Tony Hoagland. Imagine that you are the "I" who is saying the following: "What I thought was an end turned out to be a middle. What I thought was a brick wall turned out to be a tunnel. What I thought was an injustice turned out to be a color of the sky." Please understand, Capricorn, that speaking these words might not make total sense to you yet. You may have to take them on faith until you gather further evidence. But I urge you to speak them anyway. Doing so will help generate the transformations you need in order to make them come true.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

Lessons in luck are coming your way. Will they help you attract more luck? Maybe. Will they show you how to make better use of your luck? Maybe. A lot depends on your ability to understand and love the paradox of luck. I've assembled a few enigmatic teachings to prepare you. 1. "Luck is believing you're lucky." - Tennessee Williams. 2. "It is a great piece of skill to know how to guide your luck even while waiting for it." - Baltasar Gracián. 3. "Sometimes not getting what you want is a brilliant stroke of luck." - Lorii Myers. 4. "The harder I work, the luckier I get." - Samuel Goldwyn. 5. "You've got to try your luck at least once a day, because you could be going around lucky all day and not even know it." - Jimmy Dean. 6. "Go and wake up your luck." - Persian proverb.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

The word "boudoir" means a woman's bedroom. But hundreds of years ago, it had a more specific definition. It was a room where a well-bred girl was sent when she was pouting. "Boudoir" is derived from the French verb bouder, which means "to sulk." If it were in my power, Pisces, I would send you to the sulking room right now. In fact, I would encourage you to sulk. In my opinion, a good long sulk would be just the right prescription for you. It would trigger brainstorms about how to change the soggy, foggy conditions that warranted your sulking in the first place.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

The Persian scholar Avicenna was so well-rounded in his knowledge that he wrote two different encyclopedias. Even as a teenager he was obsessed with learning all he could. He got especially consumed with trying to master Aristotle's Metaphysics, which did not easily yield its secrets to him. He read it 40 times, memorizing every word. When he finally understood it, he was so excited he celebrated by giving out money and gifts to destitute strangers. I suspect you will soon be having an equivalent breakthrough, Aries. At last you will grasp a truth that has eluded you for a long time. Congratulations in advance!

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

When it's rush hour in Tokyo, unwieldy crowds of commuters board the trains and subways. They often need help at squeezing in. Railway workers known as oshiya, or pushers, provide the necessary force. Wearing crisp uniforms, white gloves, and neat hats, they cram the last stragglers into each car. I foresee the possibility of you being called on to perform a metaphorical version of the service these pushers provide. Is there a polite and respectful way for you to be indelicate in a worthy cause? Could you bring light-hearted tact to bear as you seek an outcome that encourages everyone to compromise?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

HOMEWORK:

I dare you to bestow a blessing on a person you've considered to be beneath you. Testify at FreeWillAstrology.com

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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 2015 Rob Brezsny

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++