Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
February 8, 2017
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.
ELATIONSHIP LOVE SPELLS FOR BEAUTY & TRUTH LAB ALLIES
The Beauty and Truth Lab's rapturists have formulated a batch of personal ads for you to borrow. If you're a Crafty Optimist or Mystical Activist or Ceremonial Teaser who aspires to put the elation back in relationship, check them out here:
bit.ly/LoveAd
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"The Orgasmic Roots of Pronoia" is one of the few NC-17-rated pieces in my book. If I published it here, it might get censored, so here's a link: bit.ly/OrgasmicRoots
NSFW! PROCEED WITH CAUTION! This material has graphic references to love, lust, tenderness, bliss, and rapture.
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"Everyone carries with them at least one piece to someone else's puzzle." So wrote Lawrence Kushner in his book, Honey from the Rock.
In other words, you have in your possession certain clues to your loved ones' destinies -- secrets they haven't discovered themselves.
Wouldn't you love to hand over those clues -- to make a gift of the puzzle pieces that are most needed by the people you care about?
Search your depths for insights you've never communicated. Tell truths you haven't found a way to express before now. More than you know, you have the power to mobilize your companions' dreams.
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You understand that you can never own love, right? No matter how much someone adores you today, no matter how much you adore someone, you can't force that unique state of grace to keep its shape forever. It will inevitably evolve or mutate, perhaps into a different version of tender caring, but maybe not.
From there it will continue to change, into either yet another version of interesting affection, or who knows what else?
Are you making any progress in getting the hang of this tricky wisdom?
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I invite you to act like a person who's in love. Even if you're not currently in the throes of passion for a special someone, pretend you are. Everywhere you go, exude that charismatic blend of shell-shocked contentment and blissful turmoil that comes over you when you're infatuated. Let everyone you meet soak up the delicious wisdom you exude. Dispense free blessings and extra slack like a rich saint high on natural endorphins.
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Imagine that the merger of you and your best ally has created a third thing that hovers near you, protecting and guiding the two of you. Call this third thing an angel. Or call it the soul of your connection or the inspirational force of your relationship. Or call it the special work the two of you can accomplish together. And let this magical presence be the third point of your love triangle.
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"For a relationship to stay alive, love alone is not enough. Without imagination, love stales into sentiment, duty, boredom. Relationships fail not because we have stopped loving but because we first stopped imagining."
- James Hillman
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Gertrude Stein defined love as "the skillful audacity required to share an inner life." It suggests that expressing the truth about who you are is not something that amateurs do very well. Practice and ingenuity are required.
It also implies that courage is an essential element of successful intimacy. You've got to be adventurous if you want to weave your life together with another's.
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"You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are my divinity, my madness, my selfishness, my transfiguration and purification. You are my rapscallionly fellow vagabond, my tempter and star. I want you."
- George Bernard Shaw
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Whenever I write about romance and togetherness, I attract a storm of complaints from readers who are solitary. "How dare you imply that everyone has or should have a partner!?" is a typical protest. "I'm quite content being alone!" is another.
Let it be known that I do not believe your happiness depends on having a spouse or lover. What I do suspect, though, is that your soul needs some sacred relationship in order to thrive, whether it's with a good friend, a beloved animal, a beautiful patch of earth, the Divine Wow, or anything that's not you.
Whenever I invite you to seek deeper, wilder communion, feel free to interpret it as a call to explore any kind of intimacy that draws you closer to the secret heart of the world.
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
10 Films to Keep You Inspired After the Women’s March. Movies to remind you there’s hope in the fight for justice and equality.
tinyurl.com/z6ruafd
How Neighbors Turned Unused Buildings into a Thriving Community Hub. As rents rise and independent businesses in Minneapolis lose their leases to large national chains, a first-of-its-kind co-op found a solution.
tinyurl.com/hmxylj7
How to Help Immigrant and Muslim Neighbors. People are turning their frustrations with the Trump administration into finding ways to make a meaningful difference in the lives of vulnerable citizens.
tinyurl.com/gmrj8gb
(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 February 9
Copyright 2017 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
The time is now, Brave Aquarius. Be audacious about improving the big little things in your life. (That's not a typo. I did indeed use the term "big little things.") For example: Seek out or demand more engaging responsibilities. Bring your penetrating questions to sphinx-like authorities. Go in search of more useful riddles. Redesign the daily rhythm to better meet your unique needs. Refuse "necessary" boredom that's not truly necessary. Trust what actually works, not what's merely attractive. Does all that seem too bold and brazen for you to pull off? I assure you that it's not. You have more clout than you imagine. You also have a growing faith in your own power to make subtle fundamental shifts. (That's not a typo. I did indeed use the term "subtle fundamental shifts.")
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
"Love does not at first mean merging, surrendering, and uniting with another person," wrote the poet Rilke, "for what would a union be of two people who are unclarified, unfinished, and still incoherent?" That's an excellent meditation for you to entertain during the Valentine season, Pisces. You're in the right frame of mind to think about how you could change and educate yourself so as to get the most out of your intimate alliances. Love "is a high inducement for the individual to ripen," Rilke said, "to become something, to become a world for the sake of another person." (Thanks to Stephen Mitchell for much of this translation.)
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Your reputation is in a state of fermentation. Will this process ultimately produce the metaphorical equivalent of fine wine or else something more like pungent cheese? The answer to that question will depend on how much integrity you express as you wield your clout. Be as charismatic as you dare, yes, but always in service to the greater good rather than to self-aggrandizement. You can accomplish wonders if you are saucy and classy, but you'll spawn blunders if you're saucy and bossy.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Using a blend of warfare and diplomacy, Napoleon extended French control over much of Western Europe. In 1804, he decided to formalize his growing sovereignty with a coronation ceremony. He departed from tradition, however. For many centuries, French kings had been crowned by the Pope. But on this occasion, Napoleon took the imperial crown from Pope Pius VII and placed it on his own head. Historian David J. Markham writes that he "was simply symbolizing that he was becoming emperor based on his own merits and the will of the people, not because of some religious consecration." According to my reading of the astrological omens, Taurus, you have the right to perform a comparable gesture. Don’t wait for some authority to crown you. Crown yourself.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Have you heard the fable about the four blind men who come upon an elephant for the first time? The first man feels the tail and declares that the thing they've encountered must be a rope. The second touches one of the elephant's legs and says that they are in the presence of a tree. The third strokes the trunk and assumes it's a snake. Putting his hand on a tusk, the fourth man asserts that it's a spear. I predict that this fable will NOT apply to you in the coming weeks, Gemini. You won't focus on just one aspect of the whole and think it's the whole. Other people in your sphere may get fooled by shortsightedness, but you will see the big picture.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
For now, at least, your brain is your primary erogenous zone. I suspect it will be generating some of your sexiest thoughts ever. To be clear, not all of these erupting streams of bliss will directly involve the sweet, snaky mysteries of wrapping your physical body around another's. Some of the erotic pleasure will come in the form of epiphanies that awaken sleeping parts of your soul. Others might arrive as revelations that chase away months' worth of confusion. Still others could be creative breakthroughs that liberate you from a form of bondage you've wrongly accepted as necessary.
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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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P.S. My long-range, big-picture audio horoscopes for the coming months are still available. Register and/or log in through the main page, and then access the horoscopes by clicking on "Long Range Prediction." (Choose from Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3.). Each part is a standalone report, not dependent on the other two.
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"The best part about your audio horoscopes is that they pat me on the head and kick me in the ass at the same time." - Rita L., San Diego
"Your audio oracles go beyond helping me find the truth -- they inspire me to find the WILD truth." - Patrick K., Montreal
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LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Human beings upload 300 hours of videos to Youtube every minute of every day. Among that swirling flow is a hefty amount of footage devoted exclusively to the amusing behavior of cats. Researchers estimate there are now more than two million clips of feline shenanigans. Despite the stiff competition, I suspect there's a much better chance than usual that your cat video will go viral if you upload it in the coming weeks. Why? In general, you Leos now have a sixth sense about how to get noticed. You know what you need to do to express yourself confidently and attract attention -- not just in regards to your cats, but anything that's important to you.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
I know you haven't literally been wrestling and wrangling with a sweaty angel. But if I were going to tell a fairy tale about your life lately, I'd be tempted to say this: Your rumble with the sweaty angel is not finished. In fact, the best and holiest part is still to come. But right now you have cosmic permission to take a short break and rest a while. During the lull, ratchet up your determination to learn all you can from your friendly "struggle." Try to figure out what you've been missing about the true nature of the sweaty angel. Vow to become a stronger advocate for yourself and a more rigorous revealer of the wild truth.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Even if you're not an occult wizard or pagan priestess, I suspect you now have the power to conjure benevolent love spells. There's a caveat, however: They will only work if you cast them on yourself. Flinging them at other people would backfire. But if you do accept that limitation, you'll be able to invoke a big dose of romantic mojo from both your lower depths and your higher self. Inspiration will be abundantly available as you work to reinvigorate your approach to intimacy and togetherness.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Here's some advice from Scorpio writer Norman Rush: "The main effort of arranging your life should be to progressively reduce the amount of time required to decently maintain yourself so that you can have all the time you want for reading." It's understandable that a language specialist like Rush would make the final word of the previous sentence "reading." But you might choose a different word. And I invite you to do just that. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to devotedly carve out more time to do The Most Important Thing in Your Life.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Sixteenth-century Italian painter Titian was renowned for his brilliant use of color. He was also prolific, versatile, and influential. In 2011, one of his paintings sold for $16.9 million. But one of his contemporaries, the incomparable Michelangelo, said that Titian could have been an even greater artist if he had ever mastered the art of drawing. It seems that Titian skipped a step in his early development. Is there any way that your path resembles Titian's, Sagittarius? Did you neglect to cultivate a basic skill that has subtly (or not so subtly) handicapped your growth ever since? If so, the coming weeks and months will be an excellent time to fix the glitch.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Our obsessive use of digital devices has diminished our power to focus. According to a study by Microsoft, the average human attention span has shrunk to eight seconds -- one second less than that of a typical goldfish. I'm guessing, though, that you Capricorns will buck this trend in the coming weeks. Your ability to concentrate may be exceptional even by pre-Internet standards. I hope you'll take opportunity of this fortunate anomaly to get a lot of important work and play done.
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HOMEWORK:
Don't get back to where you once belonged. Go forward to where you've got to belong in the future. Testify at Freewillastrology.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, 2017 Rob Brezsny
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