Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter March 23, 2016

 Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
 March 23, 2016
 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.

INTERVIEWER: You confuse me in the way that you praise rational thought and the scientific method, yet reserve the right to believe in astrology, angels, miracles, and other woo-woo.

ROB BREZSNY: Thousands of amazing, inexplicable, and even supernatural events occur every day. And yet most are unreported by the media. The few that are cited are ridiculed.

Why? Here's one possible reason: The people most likely to believe in wonders and marvels may be superstitious, uneducated, or prone to having a blind, literalist faith in their religions' myths. Those who are least likely to believe in wonders and marvels are skilled at analytical thought, well-educated, and yet prone to having a blind, literalist faith in the ideology of materialism, which dogmatically asserts that the universe consists entirely of things that can be perceived by the five human senses or detected by instruments that scientists have thus far invented.

The media is largely composed of people from the second group. It's virtually impossible for them to admit to the possibility of events that elude the rational mind's explanations, let alone experience them. If anyone from this group manages to escape peer pressure and cultivate a receptivity to the miraculous, it's because they have successfully fought against being demoralized by the unsophisticated way wonders and marvels are framed by the first group.

I try to be immune to the double-barreled ignorance. When I behold astonishing synchronicities and numinous breakthroughs that seem to violate natural law, I'm willing to consider the possibility that my understanding of natural law is too narrow. And yet I also refrain from lapsing into irrational gullibility; I actively seek mundane explanations for apparent miracles.
 

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MAGIC SECRET

"The real secret of magic is that the world is made of words," said Terence McKenna, "and that if you know the words that the world is made of, you can make of it whatever you wish."

Here's my version of that hypothesis: What world you end up living in depends at least in part on your use of language.

Do you want to move and breathe amidst infertile chaos where nothing makes sense and no one really loves anyone? Then speak with unconscious carelessness, expressing yourself lazily. Constantly materialize and entertain angry thoughts in the privacy of your own imagination, beaming silent curses out into eternity.

Or would you prefer to live in a realm that's rich with fluid epiphanies and intriguing coincidences and mysterious harmonies? Then be discerning and inventive in how you speak, primed to name the unexpected codes that are always being born right in front of your eyes. Turn your imagination into an ebullient laboratory where the somethings you create out of nothings are tinctured with the secret light you see in your dreams of invisible fire.

P.S. "The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words," wrote Philip K. Dick in his essay, "How to Build A Universe That Won't Fall Apart in Two Days."

- from "Pronoia Is the Antidote to Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings" - bit.ly/Pronoia

- Listen to "Magic Secret": bit.ly/M9S8Ub
 

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"The degree of a person's intelligence is directly reflected by the number of conflicting attitudes she can bring to bear on the same topic."

- novelist Lisa Alther

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function."

- F. Scott Fitzgerald
 

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OUR BODIES ARE WILD

Gary Snyder says: "Our bodies are wild. The involuntary quick turn of the head at a shout, the vertigo at looking off a precipice, the heart-in-the-throat in a moment of danger, the catch of the breath, the quiet moments relaxing, staring, reflecting -- are universal responses of this mammal body.
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"The body does not require the intercession of some conscious intellect to make it breathe, to keep the heart beating. It is to a great extent self-regulating, it is a life of its own.
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"Sensation and perception do not exactly come from outside, and unremitting thought and image-flow are not exactly outside. The world is our consciousness, and it surrounds us. There are more things in the mind, in the imagination, than you can keep track of -- thoughts, memories, images, angers, delights, rise unbidden.
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"The depths of the mind, the unconscious, are our inner wilderness areas, and that is where a bobcat is right now. I do not mean personal bobcats in personal psyches -- the bobcat that roams from dream to dream.
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"The conscious agenda-planning ego occupies a very tiny territory, a little cubicle somewhere near the gate, keeping track of some of what goes in and out (and sometimes making expansionist plots), and the rest takes care of itself. The body is, so to speak, in the mind. They are both wild."
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- Gary Snyder, The Practice of the Wild
 

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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:

Sea World announced it will stop breeding killer whales in captivity.

LGBT-rights activists in Oklahoma contributed to the defeat of all 27 "slate of hate" bills in the Oklahoma legislature.

The Portland, Oregon city council unanimously authorized the City Attorney to sue Monsanto for contaminating its waterways with PCBs.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidelines to help clamp down on the over-prescription of opioid painkillers like Oxycontin and Vicodin that kill 40 people a day in the U.S.

President Obama blocked oil drilling in the Atlantic and appointed Raffi-Freedman-Gurspan the first transgender person to be White House LGBT liaison.

District Attorney Tim McGinty lost re-election in Ohio after ignoring the police murder of Tamir Rice. Cook County, Illinois' State's Attorney Anita Alvarez lost her election over the cover-up of the police murder of Laquan McDonald.
 

(Note: I endorse these because I like them. They are not advertisements, and I get no kickbacks.)

Please tell me your own nominations for PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Truthrooster@gmail.com.

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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
 Week beginning March 24

Copyright 2016 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com/horoscopes
 

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

When Orville and Wilbur Wright were kids, their father gave them a toy helicopter powered by a rubber band. The year was 1878. Twenty-five years later, the brothers became the first humans to sail above the earth in a flying machine. They testified that the toy helicopter had been a key inspiration as they worked to develop their pioneering invention. In the spirit of the Wright Brothers' magic seed, Aries, I invite you to revive your connection to a seminal influence from your past. The coming weeks will be a favorable time to feed a dream that was foreshadowed in you a long time ago.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

"The task of a writer is not to solve the problem but to state the problem correctly," said Russian writer Anton Chekhov. Whether or not you're a writer, Taurus, that is also your special task in the coming weeks. The riddle that has begun to captivate your imagination is not yet ripe enough for you to work on in earnest. It has not been defined with sufficient clarity. Luckily, you have the resources you need to research all the contingencies, and you have the acuity to come up with a set of empowering questions.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

The good news is that if you eat enormous amounts of chocolate, you will boost your memory. Science has proved it. The bad news is that in order to get the full effect of the memory enhancement, you would have to consume so much chocolate that you would get sick. I propose that we consider this scenario as a metaphor for what may be going on in your life. Is it possible you're doing things that are healthy for you in one way but that diminish you in another? Or are you perhaps getting or doing too much of a good thing -- going to unbalanced extremes as you pursue a worthy goal? Now is a favorable time to figure out if you're engaged in such behavior, and to change it if you are.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

When the young director Richard Lester got his big break, he took full advantage. It happened in 1964, when the early Beatles asked him to do their first movie, A Hard Day's Night. Lester's innovative approach to the project propelled his career to a higher level that brought him many further opportunities. Writing of Lester's readiness, critic Alexander Walker said, "No filmmaker . . . appeared more punctually when his hour struck." That's what I hope you will soon be doing in your own chosen field, Cancerian. Do you understand how important it will be to have impeccable timing? No procrastination or hemming and hawing, please. Be crisply proactive.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

As a young man, the poet Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) left his home in France and settled in Abyssinia, which these days is known as Ethiopia. "I sought voyages," he wrote, "to disperse the enchantments that had colonized my mind." You might want to consider a similar strategy in the coming weeks, Leo. From an astrological perspective, it's going to be an excellent time both to wander free of your usual haunts and to disperse the enchantments that have colonized your mind. Why not find ways to synergize these two opportunities?

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

At one point in his life, author C. S. Lewis had a rude awakening as he took stock of the progress he thought he had been making. "I am appalled to see how much of the change I thought I had undergone lately was only imaginary," he wrote. I want to make sure that something similar doesn't happen to you, Virgo. You're in the midst of what should be a Golden Age of Self-Transformation. Make sure you're actually doing the work that you imagine you're doing -- and not just talking about it and thinking about it.
 

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YOU NEED MAGIC EVERY DAY

Every day, you have to wade through a relentless surge of soul-less facts. The experience tends to shut down your sense of wonder.

Every day, you're over-exposed to cynical narratives that have been sucked free of delight and mystery. That's why you have to make such strenuous efforts to keep your world enchanted.

I like to think I can contribute to the sacred cause of feeding your sense of wonder and enchantment. In fact, that's one of my prime motivations for offering you the free weekly horoscopes you read in this newsletter.

If you ever want more of that good stuff, and think it's worth paying for, please consider trying out my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES. They're four-to-five-minute meditations on the current state of your destiny.

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.

The Expanded Audio Horoscopes work on most smart phones and tablets.

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"Your expanded horoscopes get more personal and intimate with me than some of my closest friends. Thanks for the loving reflections."
- Ari S., Ann Arbor, MI

"When I listen to your audio 'scopes, my free will lights up." - Alex D., Los Angeles

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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

"There are questions that you don't ask because you're afraid of the answers," wrote Agatha Christie. I would add that there are also questions you don't ask because you mistakenly think you already know the answers. And then there are questions you don't ask because their answers would burst your beloved illusions, which you'd rather preserve. I'm here to urge you to risk posing all these types of questions, Libra. I think you're strong enough and smart enough, and in just the right ways, to deal constructively with the answers. I'm not saying you'll be pleased with everything you find out. But you will ultimately be glad you finally made the inquiries.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

If you are enmeshed in a jumble that makes you squirm or if you are caught in a tangle that stifles your self-love, you have three choices. Here's how Eckhart Tolle defines them: 1. Get out of the situation. 2. Transform the situation. 3. Completely accept the situation. Does that sound reasonable, Scorpio? I hope so, because the time has come to act. Don't wait to make your decision. Do it soon. After that, there will be no whining allowed. You can no longer indulge in excuses. You must accept the consequences. On the bright side, imagine the new freedom and power you will have at your disposal.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

Here's a proposed experiment. Sidle up to a creature you'd love to be closer to, and softly sing the following lyrics: "Come with me, go with me. Burn with me, glow with me. Sleep with me, wake with me." At this point, run three circles around the creature as you flap your arms like a birds' wings. Then continue your singing: "Rise with me, fall with me. Work with me, play with me. Pray with me, sin with me." At this point, leap up into the air three times, unleashing a burst of laughter each time you hit the ground. Continue singing: "Let me get high with you. Laugh with you, cry with you. Make me your partner in crime." At this point blow three kisses toward the creature, then run away. (P.S. The lyrics I'm quoting here were composed by songwriter Fran Landesman.)

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

In getting energy from food, we humans have at our disposal over 50,000 edible plants. And yet we choose to concentrate on just a few. Wheat, corn, rice, and potatoes make up two-thirds of our diet, and 11 other staples comprise most of the rest. Let's use this as a metaphor for the kind of behavior you should avoid in the coming weeks. I think it will be crucial for you to draw physical, emotional, and spiritual sustenance from a relatively wide variety of sources. There's nothing wrong with your usual providers, but for now you need to expand your approach to getting the nurturing you need.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

"We teach each other how to live." Poet Anne Michaels said that, and now I'm passing it on to you -- just in time for the phase of your cycle when acting like a curious student is your sacred duty and your best gift to yourself. I don't necessarily mean that you should take a workshop or enroll in a school. Your task is to presume that everyone you meet and every encounter you have may bring you rich learning experiences. If you're willing to go as far as I hope you will, even your dreams at night will be opportunities to get further educated. Even your vigils in front of the TV. Even your trips to the convenience store to buy ice cream.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

In her poem "Time," Piscean poet Lia Purpura wonders about "not picking up a penny because it's only a little luck." Presumably she is referring to a moment when you're walking down a street and you spy an almost-but-not-quite-worthless coin lying on the concrete. She theorizes that you may just leave it there. It adds next to nothing to your wealth, right? Which suggests that it also doesn't have much value as a symbol of good fortune. But I urge you to reject this line of thought in the coming weeks, Pisces. In my astrological opinion, you'll be wise to capitalize on the smallest opportunities. There will be plenty of them, and they will add up.
 

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HOMEWORK:

Imagine that seven years from now you will want a new career or line of work. What will it be? Write: Truthrooster@gmail.com.

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Submissions sent to Rob Brezsny's Astrology 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 submissions for length, style, and content. Requests for anonymity will be honored. We are not responsible for unsolicited submission of any creative material.

Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright 2016 Rob Brezsny

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