Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
June 29, 2016
FreeWillAstrology.com
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WHAT OPPORTUNITIES ARE AHEAD FOR YOU in the next ten to twelve months?
EXPLORE THE BIG PICTURE OF YOUR LIFE
with my Expanded Audio Horoscopes for the Second Half of 2016 and onward into 2017.
How can you exert your free will to create the adventures that will bring out the best in you, even as you find graceful ways to cooperate with the tides of destiny?
To listen to my IN-DEPTH, LONG-TERM AUDIO FORECAST for YOUR LIFE during the coming months, register and/or sign in here:
RealAstrology.com
After you log in through the main page, click on the link "Long Term Forecast for Second Half of 2016."
The horoscopes cost $6 apiece. Discounts are available for multiple purchases.
You can also listen to your short-term forecast for the coming week by clicking on "This week (June 28, 2016)."
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BONUS
You may also be interested in reviewing the long-term horoscopes I wrote for you early this year. They discuss your best potential destiny for all of 2016. To see them, go here:
bit.ly/BigPicture2016
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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.
Pronoia doesn't promise uninterrupted progress forever. It's not a slick commercial for a perfect summer day that never ends.
Grace emerges in the ebb and flow, not just the flow.
The waning reveals a different kind of blessing than the waxing.
But whether it's our time to ferment in the valley of shadows or rise up singing in the sun-splashed meadow, fresh power to transform ourselves is always on the way.
Our suffering won't last, nor will our triumph.
Without fail, life will deliver the creative energy we need to change into the new thing we must become.
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USEFUL REVERENCE
Reverence is one of the most useful emotions. When you respectfully acknowledge the sublime beauty of something greater than yourself, you do yourself a big favor. You generate authentic humility and sincere gratitude, which are healthy for your body as well as your soul.
Please note that reverence is not solely the province of religious people. A biologist may venerate the scientific method. An atheist might experience a devout sense of awe toward geniuses who have bequeathed to us their brilliant ideas.
What about you? What excites your reverence? I invite you to explore the deeper mysteries of this altered state of consciousness.
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GLOBALIZATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS
More than 240,000 people died in the earthquake that struck Tangshan, China in 1976. The relief effort was negligible compared to the help that arrived in response to the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. This clued me in to the possibility that a dramatic globalization of consciousness is underway.
People currently living on the planet are increasingly aware of how intimately interdependent we all are. Thirty years ago no one had heard of the butterfly effect -- the theory that the flapping of a butterfly's wings in Japan can affect the weather in Texas. Now millions understand the principle.
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In his well-researched book Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming, Paul Hawken argues that organized political action devoted to advancing the rights of others is a relatively new phenomenon. The drive to abolish slavery was where it began. In recent decades it has grown exponentially, becoming a global crusade to improve social justice, economic conditions, human rights, and environmental health.
By Hawken's estimates, there are well over a million organizations engaged in the effort, which thrives without centralized leadership, charismatic front men, or a fixed ideology. Because of its grass-roots ubiquity, it is largely invisible to the mass media and underestimated by politicians.
Some day, maybe 500 years from now, our descendants will have installed the art and science of universal compassion as the first law of civilization. And I bet they will give honor to us, the people alive on the planet today, as the heroes who gave critical mass to their prime directive.
For those who are dogmatically predisposed to thinking that the world is a hellhole and life is a bitch, no amount of contrary evidence will change their minds. The cynic who asked me the following question didn't really want an answer: "Tell me how your pronoia explains a child in Darfur starving to death after watching soldiers kill his mommy?"
While I don't claim to have the authoritative response to that accusation, I think it's worthwhile to consider the possibility that suffering is, among other things, a difficult gift we humans are given in order to prod our evolution.
On a personal level, our longing to escape our suffering is a primal force in making us smarter. On a collective level, nothing refines and ennobles us more than our passion to keep others from suffering. For every dead child in Darfur, 100 people in other places on the planet have responded with a commitment to create a world in which future Darfurs won't happen.
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"If the Angel decides to come it will be because you have convinced her, not by tears, but by your humble resolve to be always beginning; to be a beginner."
- Rainer Maria Rilke, translated by Stephen Mitchell
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
20,000 domestic workers are about to get fair wages. How’d they do that? Left out by traditional unions, women-led domestic workers are winning fights for minimum wage and overtime.
tinyurl.com/z8vzbnm
Norway bans deforestation.
tinyurl.com/jon6jjl
Chinese chemists have developed a super efficient method for turning polyethylene, the plastic which makes up almost all of the bags and bottles you use and throw away on a daily basis, into a liquid fuel.
tinyurl.com/zodmnr4
(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 30
Copyright 2016 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Once upon a time, weren't you the master builder who never finished building your castle? Weren't you the exile who wandered aimlessly while fantasizing about the perfect sanctuary of the past or the sweet safety zone of the future? Didn't you perversely nurture the ache that arose from your sense of not feeling at home in the world? I hope that by now you have renounced all of those kinky inclinations. If you haven't, now would be an excellent time to do so. How might you reinvest the mojo that will be liberated by the demise of those bad habits?
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
In accordance with the astrological omens, I have selected three aphorisms by poet James Richardson to guide you. Aphorism #1: "The worst helplessness is forgetting there is help." My commentary: You have the power to avoid that fate. Start by identifying the sources of healing and assistance that are available to you. Aphorism #2: "You do not have to be a fire to keep one burning." My commentary: Generate all the heat and light you can, yes, but don't torch yourself. Aphorism #3: "Patience is not very different from courage. It just takes longer." My commentary: But it may not take a whole lot longer.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
You may not know this, but I am the founder and CEO of Proud To Be Humble, an acclaimed organization devoted to minimizing vanity. It is my sworn duty to protest any ego that exceeds the acceptable limits as defined by the Geneva Convention on Narcissism. However, I now find myself conflicted. Because of the lyrical beauty and bighearted charisma that are currently emanating from your ego, I am unable, in good conscience, to ask you to tone yourself down. In fact, I hereby grant you a license to expand your self-love to unprecedented proportions. You may also feel free to unleash a series of lovely brags.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
The next 28 days will not be a favorable period to sit around passively wishing to be noticed. Nor will it be a good time to wait to be rescued or to trust in others to instigate desirable actions. On the other hand, it will be an excellent phase to be an initiator: to decide what needs to be done, to state your intentions concisely, and to carry out your master plan with alacrity and efficiency. To help ensure your success during the next 28 days, make this declaration each morning before breakfast: "I don't want to OBSERVE the show. I want to BE the show."
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
"In life, as in bicycling, pedal when you have to, coast when you can." So says author James Lough, and now I'm passing on his advice to you -- just in time for your transition from the heavy-pedaling season to the coasting-is-fun phase. I suspect that at this juncture in your life story you may be a bit addicted to the heavy pedaling. You could be so accustomed to the intensity that you're inclined to be suspicious of an opportunity to enjoy ease and grace. Don't be like that. Accept the gift with innocent gratitude.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
"When a jet flies low overhead, every glass in the cupboard sings," writes aphorist James Richardson. "Feelings are like that: choral, not single; mixed, never pure." That's always true, but it will be intensely true for you in the coming weeks. I hope you can find a way to tolerate, even thrive on, the flood of ambiguous complexity. I hope you won't chicken out and try to pretend that your feelings are one-dimensional and easily understandable. In my opinion, you are ripe to receive rich lessons in the beauty and power of mysterious emotions.
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BRAINSTORM ABOUT THE BIG PICTURE OF YOUR LIFE
with my Expanded Audio Horoscopes for the Second Half of 2016 and onward into 2017.
In the coming months, 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 hear my LONG-TERM AUDIO FORECAST, register and/or sign in here:
RealAstrology.com
After you log in through the main page, click on the link "Long Term Forecast for Second Half of 2016."
You can also listen to your short-term forecast for the coming week by clicking on "This week (June 28, 2016)."
The horoscopes cost $6 apiece. Discounts are available for multiple purchases.
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CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Pop artist Andy Warhol said that in the future, everyone would be famous for 15 minutes. His idea had a resonance with the phrase "nine days' wonder," which as far back as Elizabethan times referred to a person or event that captured the public's fascination for a while. You Capricorns are entering a phase when you're far more likely than usual to bask in the spotlight. Between now and September 2017, I bet you'll garner at least a short burst of glory, acclaim, or stardom -- perhaps *much* more. Are you ready for your close-up? Have you prepped for the influx of attention that may be coming your way?
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
One of my readers, Jay O'Dell, told me this story: "After my cancer surgery, a nurse said to me, 'You may as well try magical thinking. Regular thinking hasn't helped.' I said to the nurse, 'Well, why the hell not?' That was seven years ago." In bringing O'Dell's testimony to your attention, I don't mean to suggest you will have any health problems that warrant a strong dose of magical thinking. Not at all. But you may get wrapped up in a psychological twist or a spiritual riddle that would benefit from magical thinking. And what exactly is magical thinking? Here's one definition: The stories that unfold in your imagination have important effects on what actually happens to you.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Let's talk about X-factors and wild cards and strange attractors. By their very nature, they are unpredictable and ephemeral, even when they offer benevolent breakthroughs. So you may not even notice their arrival if you're entranced by your expectations and stuck in your habitual ways. But here's the good news, Pisces: Right now you are not unduly entranced by your expectations or stuck in your habits. Odds are high that you will spy the sweet twists of fate -- the X-factors and wild cards and strange attractors -- as they float into view. You will pounce on them and put them to work while they're still fresh. And then they will help you hike your ratings or get the funding you need or animate the kind of love that heals.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
During winter, some bears spend months hibernating. Their body temperatures and heart rates drop. They breathe drowsily. Their movements are minimal. Many hummingbirds engage in a similar slow-down -- but they do it every single night. By day they are among the most manic creatures on earth, flapping their wings and gathering sustenance with heroic zeal. When the sun slips below the horizon, they rest with equal intensity. In my estimation, Aries, you don't need a full-on immersion in idleness like the bears. But you'd benefit from a shorter stint, akin to the hummingbird's period of dormancy.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
"Dear Dr. Brezsny: A psychic predicted that sometime this year I will fall in love with a convenience store clerk who's secretly a down-on-his-luck prince of a small African country. She said that he and I have a unique destiny. Together we will break the world's record for dancing without getting bitten in a pit of cobras while drunk on absinthe on our honeymoon. But there's a problem. I didn't have time to ask the psychic how I'll meet my soulmate, and I can't afford to pay $250 for another reading. Can you help? - Mopey Taurus." Dear Mopey: The psychic lied. Neither she nor anyone else can see what the future will bring you. Why? Because what happens will be largely determined by your own actions. I suggest you celebrate this fact. It's the perfect time to do so: July is Feed Your Willpower Month.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Of all the concert pianos in the world, 80 percent of them are made by Steinway. A former president of the company once remarked that in each piano, "243 taut strings exert a pull of 40,000 pounds on an iron frame." He said it was "proof that out of great tension may come great harmony." That will be a potential talent of yours in the coming weeks, Gemini. Like a Steinway piano, you will have the power to turn tension into beauty. But will you actually accomplish this noble goal, or will your efforts be less melodious? It all depends on how much poised self-discipline you summon.
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HOMEWORK:
For one week, pretend to already be something you're on your way to becoming. Report results to 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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