Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
June 22, 2016
FreeWillAstrology.com
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EXPLORE THE BIG PICTURE OF YOUR LIFE
with my MID-YEAR AUDIO PREVIEW of YOUR DESTINY
for the REST of 2016 and beyond:
RealAstrology.com
This week my Expanded Audio Horoscopes explore themes that I suspect will be important for you during the next six months and beyond.
What areas of your life are likely to receive unexpected assistance and divine inspiration?
Where are you likely to find most success?
How can you best cooperate with the cosmic rhythms?
What questions should you be asking?
To listen to my IN-DEPTH, LONG-TERM AUDIO FORECAST for YOUR LIFE during the next six months and beyond, go here, then register and/or sign in:
RealAstrology.com
After you log in through the main page, click on the link "Long Term Forecast for Second Half of 2016."
They're available on your tablets and smart phones as well as your computers.
Or for phone access, call:
1-877-873-4888
The Expanded Audio horoscopes cost $6 apiece if you access them on the Web (discounts are available for multiple purchases), or $1.99 per minute if you want them over the phone.
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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.
How Pronoia Works: There was once a poor farmer who could afford to own just one horse. He cared well for the animal, but one summer night, the horse escaped through a weak fence and ran away.
When his neighbors discovered what had happened, they visited to offer their condolences. "What bad luck!" they exclaimed. The farmer replied, "Maybe. Maybe not."
A week later, the fugitive horse sauntered back to the homestead, accompanied by six wild horses. The farmer and his son managed to corral all of them. Again the neighbors descended. "What great luck!" they exclaimed. "Maybe," the farmer replied. "Maybe not."
Soon the farmer's son began the work of taming the new arrivals. While attempting to ride the roan stallion, he was thrown to the ground and half-trampled. His leg was badly broken. The neighbors came to investigate. "What terrible luck!" they exclaimed. The farmer replied, "Maybe. Maybe not."
The next day, soldiers visited the farmer's village. Strife had recently broken out between two warlords, and one of them had come to conscript all the local young men. Though every other son was commandeered, the farmer's boy was exempted because of his injury. The neighbors gathered again. "What fantastic luck!" they exclaimed. "Maybe," the farmer said. "Maybe not."
-Source: an old Taoist folktale
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The Italian city of Florence harbors the richest trove of art treasures in the world. Its many museums are hot spots for outbreaks of a rare psychological disorder. Foreign tourists sometimes experience breakdowns while standing in the presence of the tremendous beauty, and are rushed to the psychiatric ward of Florence's Santa Maria Nuova Hospital.
"Many visitors panic before a Raphael painting," reports Reuters. "Others collapse at the feet of Michelangelo's statue of David."
Psychiatrists have referred to this pathology as the Stendhal syndrome, named after the French novelist who wrote about his emotional breakdown during a visit to the city's art collection in 1817.
As you embark on your explorations of pronoia, you should protect yourself against this risk. Proceed cautiously as you expose yourself to the splendor that has been invisible or unavailable to you all these years.
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What you may need is a more curious and mysterious sweetness. A wilder, stronger sweetness. A sweetness that shatters illusions.
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If you’ve ever watched “The Simpsons” TV show, you’ve probably heard Homer Simpson’s favorite toast. “To alcohol,” he proclaims, “the cause of and solution to all of life’s problems.”
My own salute is different. “To the Divine Trickster formerly known as God,” I say, “the cause of and solution to all of life’s problems.”
I invite you to compose a prayer in which you simultaneously curse and thank the Primal Source.
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Researchers at Rowan University announced a blood test they say can diagnose early-stage Alzheimer’s in patients with 100 percent accuracy.
Former President Jimmy Carter's campaign to rid the world of Guinea worm disease has resulted in a reduction to just two cases -- down from three million.
The Washington D.C. city council approved the phase-in of a $15 minimum wage.
John Oliver and the crew at HBO's "Last Week Tonight" highlighted unscrupulous debt collectors by setting up a debt-buying business and absolving 9,000 people of their medical debt.
U.S. District Judge Callie Granade entered a permanent injunction barring backwoods Alabama judges like state Chief Justice Roy Moore from enforcing any laws barring same-sex marriage rights.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the 2nd Amendment doesn’t guarantee the right to carry concealed weapons.
All the above are from dailykos.com
(Note: I endorse these because I like them. They aren’t 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 June 23
Copyright 2016 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
My meditations have generated six metaphorical scenarios that will symbolize the contours of your life story during the next 15 months: 1. a claustrophobic tunnel that leads to a sparkling spa; 2. a 19th-century Victorian vase filled with 13 fresh wild orchids; 3. an immigrant who, after tenacious effort, receives a green card from her new home country; 4. an eleven-year-old child capably playing a 315-year-old Stradivarius violin; 5. a menopausal empty-nester who falls in love with the work of an ecstatic poet; 6. a humble seeker who works hard to get the help necessary to defeat an old curse.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Joan Wasser is a Leo singer-songwriter who is known by her stage name Joan As Police Woman. In her song "The Magic," she repeats one of the lyric lines fourteen times: "I'm looking for the magic." For two reasons, I propose that we make that your mantra in the coming weeks. First, practical business-as-usual will not provide the uncanny transformative power you need. Nor will rational analysis or habitual formulas. You will have to conjure, dig up, or track down some real magic. My second reason for suggesting "I'm looking for the magic" as your mantra is this: You're not yet ripe enough to secure the magic, but you can become ripe enough by being dogged in your pursuit of it.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Renowned martial artist Bruce Lee described the opponent he was most wary of: "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times." In my astrological opinion, you should regard that as one of your keystone principles during the next 12 months. Your power and glory will come from honing one specific skill, not experimenting restlessly with many different skills. And the coming weeks will be en excellent time to set your intention
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
To celebrate my birthday, I'm taking time off from dreaming up original thoughts and creative spurs. For this horoscope, I'm borrowing some of the BOLD Laws of author Dianna Kokoszka. They are in sweet alignment with your astrological omens for the next 13 months. Take it away, Dianna. 1. Focus on the solution, not the problem. 2. Complaining is a garbage magnet. 3. What you focus on expands. 4. Do what you have always done, and you will get what you have always gotten. 5. Don't compare your insides to other people's outsides. 6. Success is simple, but not easy. 7. Don't listen to your drunk monkey. 8. Clarity is power. 9. Don't mistake movement for achievement. 10. Spontaneity is a conditioned reflex. 11. People will grow into the conversations you create around them. 12. How you participate here is how you participate everywhere. 13. Live your life by design, not by default.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
No pressure, no diamond. No grit, no pearl. No cocoon, no butterfly. All these clichés will be featured themes for you during the next 12 months. But I hope you will also come up with fresher ways to think about the power and value that can be generated by tough assignments. If you face your exotic dilemmas and unprecedented riddles armed with nothing more than your culture's platitudes, you won't be able to tap into the untamed creativity necessary to turn problems into opportunities. Here's an example of the kind of original thinking you'll thrive on: The more the growing chamomile plant is trodden upon, the faster it grows.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
The royal courts of Renaissance England often employed professional fools whose job it was to speak raw or controversial truths with comedic effect. According to the Royal Shakespeare Company, Queen Elizabeth once castigated her fool for being "insufficiently severe with her." The modern-day ombudsman has some similarities to the fool's function. He or she is hired by an organization to investigate complaints lodged by the public against the organization. Now would be an excellent time for you to have a fool or ombudsman in your own sphere, Sagittarius. You've got a lot of good inklings, but some of them need to be edited, critiqued, or perhaps even satirized.
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WHAT'S TO COME?
BRAINSTORM ABOUT THE BIG PICTURE OF YOUR LIFE
with my Expanded Audio Horoscopes for the Second Half of 2016 and beyond:
RealAstrology.com
What will be the story of your life during the rest of 2016 and beyond? How can you exert your free will to create 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 a boost of inspiration to fuel you in your quest for beauty and truth and love and justice and meaning, tune in to my meditations on your long-term outlook.
Go here:
RealAstrology.com
After you register and/or log in through the main page, click on the link "Long Term Forecast for Second Half of 2016."
Or for phone access, call:
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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CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Capricorn journalist Katie Couric is a best-selling author who has interviewed five American presidents and had prominent jobs at three major TV networks. What's her secret to success? She has testified that her goal is to be as ingratiating and charming as she can be without causing herself to throw up. I don't often recommend this strategy for you, but I do now. The coming weeks will be prime time for you to expand your web of connections and energize your relationships with existing allies by being almost too nice. To get what you want, use politeness as your secret weapon.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
"The water cannot talk without the rocks," says aphorist James Richardson. Does that sound like a metaphor you'd like to celebrate in the coming weeks? I hope so. From what I can tell, you will be like a clean, clear stream rippling over a rocky patch of river bed. The not-really-all-that-bad news is that your flow may feel erratic and jerky. The really good news is that you will be inspired to speak freely, articulately, and with creative zing.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Every now and then you may benefit from being a bit juvenile, even childlike. You can release your dormant creativity by losing your adult composure and indulging in free-form play. In my astrological opinion, this is one of those phases for you. It's high time to lose your cool in the best possible ways. You have a duty to explore the frontiers of spontaneity and indulge in I-don't-give-a-cluck exuberance. For the sake of your peace-of-soul and your physical health, you need to wriggle free of at least some of your grown-up responsibilities so you can romp and cavort and frolic.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
"The past lives on in art and memory," writes author Margaret Drabble, "but it is not static: it shifts and changes as the present throws its shadow backwards." That's a fertile thought for you to meditate on during the coming weeks, Aries. Why? Because your history will be in a state of dramatic fermentation. The old days and the old ways will be mutating every which way. I hope you will be motivated, as a result, to rework the story of your life with flair and verve.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
"Critics of text-messaging are wrong to think it's a regressive form of communication," writes poet Lily Akerman. "It demands so much concision, subtlety, psychological art -- in fact, it's more like pulling puppet strings than writing." I bring this thought to your attention, Taurus, because in my opinion the coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to apply the metaphor of text-messaging to pretty much everything you do. You will create interesting ripples of success as you practice the crafts of concision, subtlety, and psychological art.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
During my careers as a writer and musician, many "experts" have advised me not to be so damn faithful to my muse. Having artistic integrity is a foolish indulgence that would ensure my eternal poverty, they have warned. If I want to be successful, I've got to sell out; I must water down my unique message and pay homage to the generic formulas favored by celebrity artists. Luckily for me, I have ignored the experts. As a result, my soul has thrived and I eventually earned enough money from my art to avoid starvation. But does my path apply to you? Maybe; maybe not. What if, in your case, it would be better to sell out a little and be, say, just 75 percent faithful to your muse? The next 12 months will be an excellent time for you to figure this out once and for all.
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HOMEWORK:
What experience do you deny yourself even though it would be good for you and wouldn't hurt anyone? Write a note giving yourself permission. Share at 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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