Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
September 13, 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.
Psychologist Carl Jung said that all desires have a sacred origin, no matter how odd they seem. Frustration and ignorance may cause them to twist into distorted caricatures, but it is always possible to locate the beautiful source from which they arose.
In describing one of his addictive patients, Jung said: "His craving for alcohol was the equivalent on a low level of the spiritual thirst for wholeness, or as expressed in medieval language: the union with God."
Holding this in mind, ruminate about this question: What are the glorious prototypes behind the longings that confuse you or drain you?
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WE NEED VISIONS OF UTOPIA
"You gotta remember, and I’m sure you do, the forces that are arrayed against anyone trying to alter the hammerlock on the human imagination. There are trillions of dollars out there demotivating people from imagining that a better tomorrow is possible.
"Utopian impulses and utopian horizons have been completely disfigured and everybody now is fluent in dystopia. My young people’s vocabulary … their fluency is in dystopic futures. When young people think about the future, they don’t think about a better tomorrow, they think about horrors and end of the worlds and things or worse.
"Do you really think the lack of utopic imagination doesn’t play into demotivating people from imagining a transformation in the society?"
- Junot Díaz, “Art, Race and Capitalism”
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IMAGES IN FULL BLOOM
"The rise and fall of images of the future precedes or accompanies the rise and fall of cultures. As long as a society’s image is positive and flourishing, the flower of culture is in full bloom. Once the image begins to decay and lose its vitality, however, the culture does not long survive."
- Fred Polak
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THE PRACTICAL REVOLUTIONARY POWER OF OPTIMISM
Howard Zinn said: "Revolutionary change does not come as one cataclysmic moment (beware of such moments!) but as an endless succession of surprises, moving zigzag toward a more decent society. We don't have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world. Even when we don't 'win,' there is fun and fulfillment in the fact that we have been involved, with other good people, in something worthwhile. We need hope.
"An optimist isn't necessarily a blithe, slightly sappy whistler in the dark of our time. To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something.
"If we remember those times and places -- and there are so many -- where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."
Excerpted from Howard Zinn's essay, "The Optimism of Uncertainty"
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"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
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"Every optimist moves along with progress and hastens it, while every pessimist would keep the world at a standstill. The consequence of pessimism in the life of a nation is the same as in the life of the individual. Pessimism kills the instinct that urges men to struggle against poverty, ignorance and crime, and dries up all the fountains of joy in the world."
- radical socialist, anti-militarist, labor rights activist, suffragette Helen Keller
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"Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so. If you assume there is no hope, you guarantee there will be no hope."
- Noam Chomsky
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Robert Anton Wilson: "What some call my blasphemous cheerfulness or my cockeyed optimism just depends on my basic agnosticism. We don't know the outcome of the current worldwide transformation, so it's sick and decadent when fashionable opinion harps on the gloomy alternatives & resolutely ignores the utopian possibilities that seem equally likely (and, on the basis of past evolution, perhaps a little more likely)."
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Chance The Rapper has become a tireless advocates for teachers and public schools, raising millions in funding for Chicago-area education and funding numerous programs through his SocialWorks nonprofit.
tinyurl.com/y8klydrl
Dams Be Damned: California Rebuilds the Salmon Habitat It Destroyed.
Innovative restoration projects are working to prevent the state’s salmon from going extinct.
tinyurl.com/y8a7hm8n
The Innovating, Creative Superpowers of ADHD. It is so common for self-employed people to have ADHD, the disorder could be renamed “the entrepreneur’s trait.”
tinyurl.com/y6wecah4
(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 September 14
Copyright 2017 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
In the coming weeks, you might want to read the last few pages of a book before you decide to actually dive in and devour the whole thing. I also suggest you take what I just said as a useful metaphor to apply in other areas. In general, it might be wise to surmise the probable outcomes of games, adventures, and experiments before you get totally involved. Try this fun exercise: Imagine you are a psychic prophet as you evaluate the long-range prospects of any influences that are vying to play a role in your future.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
"Dear Dr. Astrology: I'm feeling lost, but am also feeling very close to finding my new direction. It hurts! It would be so helpful if I could just catch a glimpse of that new direction. I'd be able to better endure the pain and confusion if I could get a tangible sense of the future happiness that my pain and confusion are preparing me for. Can you offer me any free advice? -Lost Libra." Dear Libra: The pain and confusion come from the dying of the old ways. They need to die a bit more before the new direction will reveal itself clearly. I predict that will happen soon -- no later than October 1.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Welcome to "Compose Your Own Oracle," a special edition of Free Will Astrology. Departing from tradition, I'm temporarily stepping aside so you can have the freedom to write the exact horoscope you want. Normally, you might be in danger of falling victim to presumptuous arrogance if you imagined you could wield complete control over how your destiny unfolds. But in the days ahead, that rule won't be as unyielding, because cosmic forces will be giving you more slack than usual. Fate and karma, which frequently impel you to act according to patterns that were set in place long ago, are giving you at least a partial respite. To get the maximum benefit out of "Compose Your Own Oracle," identify three plot developments you'd like to weave into a self-fulfilling prophecy for your immediate future. Then start weaving.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Almost two-thirds of us confess that if we are alone, we might sip milk directly from the carton rather than first pouring it into a glass. Fourteen percent of us have used milk as part of our sexual activities. One out of every five of us admit that we have "borrowed" someone else's milk from the fridge at work. Most shockingly, four percent of us brag that we have blown milk out our noses on purpose. I expect that in the next two weeks, you Sagittarians will exceed all these norms. Not just because you'll be in the mood to engage in mischievous experiments and playful adventures with milk, but because you're likely to have a loosey-goosey relationship with almost everything.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
The coming weeks will an excellent time for you to raise funds in support of political prisoners, or to volunteer at a soup kitchen, or to donate blood at a blood bank. In fact, any charitable service you perform for people you don't know will be excellent for your physical and mental health. You can also generate vivid blessings for yourself by being extra thoughtful, kind, and generous toward people you care for. You're in a phase of your astrological cycle when unselfish acts will yield maximum selfish benefits.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
In his novel The Jungle, muckraker Upton Sinclair (1878-1968) exposed the abominable hygiene and working conditions of the meat-packing industry. The uproar that followed led to corrective legislation by the U.S. Congress. Sinclair remained devoted to serving the public good throughout his career. He liked to say that the term "social justice" was inscribed on his heart. Drawing from his inspiration, Aquarius, I suggest you decide what your soul's main motto is -- and imagine that it is written on your heart. Now is a perfect moment time to clarify your life's purpose, and intensify your commitment to it; to devote even more practical, tender zeal to fulfilling the reason you were born.
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LOVE YOUR LIFE!
How's your fight for freedom going? Are you making progress in liberating yourself from your unconscious obsessions, bad habits, and conditioned responses? Are you turning out to be the hero of your own life?
For assistance and inspiration, tune in to my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES.
These forecasts are different in tone and format from the written horoscopes you read here in the newsletter. They're longer and more leisurely in tone. They tend to bring out more of the patient counselor in me, and have a bit 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 Expanded Audio Horoscopes work on most smart phones and tablets.
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"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
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PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
You know that "patch of bothersome weeds" growing right in the middle of your life? Is it really a patch of bothersome weeds? Or is it perhaps a plot of cultivated blooms that once pleased you but has now turned into a puzzling irrelevancy? Or how about this possibility: Is it a chunk of languishing beauty that might flourish and please you again if it were cared for better? Those are excellent questions for you to pose in the coming days, Pisces. According to my interpretation of the astrological omens, it's time for you to decide on the future of this quizzical presence.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Two animals are pictured prominently on Australia's coat of arms: the kangaroo and the large flightless bird known as the emu. One of the reasons they were chosen is that both creatures rarely walk backward. They move forward or not at all. Australia's founders wanted this to symbolize the nation's pledge to never look back, to remain focused on advancing toward the future. The coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to make a similar commitment, Aries. Is there a new symbol you might adopt to inspire your intention?
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
The Simpsons is an animated sitcom that will soon begin its 29th consecutive year on TV. During its run, it has told over 600 stories. The creators of another animated sitcom, South Park, once did an episode entitled "Simpsons Already Did It," which referenced their feelings that it was hard to come up with new tales because their rival had already used so many good ones. I bring this up, Taurus, because I suspect your life story will soon be spinning out novel plots that have never before been seen, not even on The Simpsons or South Park. You could and should be the Best Storyteller of the Month.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Love won't exactly be free in the coming weeks, but there should be some good deals. And I'm not referring to risky black-market stuff obtained in back alleys, either. I mean straightforward liaisons and intriguing intimacy at a reasonable cost. So if you're comfortably mated, I suggest you invest in a campaign to bring more comedy and adventure into your collaborative efforts. If you're single, wipe that love-starved look off your face and do some exuberant window-shopping. If you're neither comfortably mated nor single, money may temporarily be able to buy you a bit more happiness.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
The current state of your fate reminds me of the sweet confusion alluded to in Octavio Paz's poem "Between Going and Staying": "All is visible and elusive, all is near and can't be touched." For another clue to the raw truth of your life right now, I'll quote the poet William Wordsworth. He spoke of "fleeting moods of shadowy exultation." Is the aura described by Paz and Wordsworth a problem that you should try to fix? Is it detrimental to your heroic quest? I don't think do. Just the opposite, really: I hope you can hang out for a while in this pregnant mystery -- between the yes and the no, between the dark and the light, between the dream and the reality. It will help you learn what you've been too restless to tune in to in the past.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
The imminent future will be a favorable time for refurbished models and revived originals. They are likely to be more fun and interesting the second time around. I suspect that this will also be an auspicious phase for substitutes and alternatives. They may even turn out to be better than the so-called real things they replace. So be artful in formulating Plan B and Plan C, Leo. Switching over to backups may ultimately bring out more of the best in you and whisk you toward your ultimate goal in unexpected ways.
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HOMEWORK:
Are you ready for an orgy of gratitude? Identify ten of your best blessings. Tell me all about it 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 2017 Rob Brezsny
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