Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
March 7, 2018
FreeWillAstrology.com
+
I invite you to nurture a goal that stretches your possibilities and opens your mind . . . a wild hope whose pursuit makes you smarter and stronger even if you never fully accomplish it.
I invite you to have an improbable quest playing at the edge of your imagination: a heroic task that provokes deep thoughts and noble passions even if it incites smoldering torment . . . an extravagant dream that's a bit farfetched but not entirely insane.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
YOUR MONKEY MIND'S FAKE NEWS
Using our fears and superstitions and delusions as fuel, our monkey minds are churning out fake news about ourselves all the time.
One possible remedy: Treat our monkey mind's fake news with the same healthy, exuberant skepticism we do toward politicians' and media's fake news.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
NEITHER ROSE-COLORED NOR CRAP-COLORED GLASSES
"I've found a nice balance," writes EarthMover, "between living like someone who has overdosed on delusional optimism and someone who thinks everything and everyone sucks. I can see things as they really are instead of through either rose-colored glasses or crap-colored glasses.
"That means I can cultivate true objectivity, not the fake cynical kind. I free myself from negative emotional biases that used to cloud my ability to see the partially hidden beauty all around me.
"At the same time, I'm not addicted to the idea that I should be eternally happy and blithe and sweet. When the dark moods descend on me, I trust them. I know they are openings into equally sacred perceptions and insights."
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
WELCOME TO THE BEAUTY AND TRUTH LAB
Welcome to the Beauty and Truth Lab. We're coming to you live from your repressed memories of paradise, reminding you that you can have anything you need if you will just ask for it in an unselfish way.
Welcome to the end of your nightmares, beauty and truth fans!
The world is young, your soul is free, and a naked celebrity is dying to talk to you about your most intimate secrets right now.
Just kidding.
In fact, the world is young, your soul is free, and at any moment you will feel a flood of ecstatic compassion for salamanders, oak trees, clouds, toasters, convenience store clerks, and even the ocean itself.
I'm your host. My name is the Sacred Janitor at the Edge of Time, and I'm proud to announce that this is a perfect moment.
It's a perfect moment for many reasons, but especially because you are on the verge of finally figuring out exactly what it is you really want more than anything else.
Bravo! Viva! Whoopee! Oooo Eureka! Hallelujah! Abracadabra!
Bravo! Viva! Whoopee! Oooo Eureka! Hallelujah! Abracadabra!
The Beauty and Truth Lab's experiments are brought to you by the pine trees whose seeds are so tightly compacted within their protective covering that only the intense heat of a forest fire can free them and allow them to sprout.
+
Hear this welcome message as a song: bit.ly/LoveLab
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
THE CRUX OF THE FLUX
"Dear Rob: I sure don't like so much God stuff mixed into my horoscopes. Can you cut it out, please? I understand it's common for the desperate masses to believe in an Ultra Being, but you? Pul-lease. You're smarter than that. I just can't abide all the 'Divine Wow' and 'Cackling Goddess' nonsense that you dispense; it doesn't jibe with the practical, sensible, unsuperstitious, non-mushy world that I hold dear -- and that I see represented mostly accurately in your horoscopes. -Sally Skeptic."
Dear Sally: I can't accommodate you. You will have to keep dealing with the cognitive dissonance that arises from reading the oracles of a "smart" person who also has an intimate relationship with the Amazing Everything.
Just so you're clear about how I perceive the Living Intelligent Consciousness That Pervades Every Cubic Inch of the Universe: It is the interplay of the Supernal Hermaphrodites: the Divine Wow mistakenly called "God" and the Blooming HaHa mistakenly called "Goddess."
More precisely, it is the Torrential and Torturous Ecstasy spawned anew every nanosecond by the glide of the Divine Wow's virile eternity against the Blooming HaHa's voluptuous infinity. It is the Cosmic F*** that recreates the universe again and again in every nanosecond.
Here's my place in that mystery: I aspire to locate myself in the crux of the flux of the Cosmic F***.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
The preceding five blips are excerpts from my book
PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA
It's available at Amazon: bit.ly/Pronoia
or Powells: bit.ly/PronoiaPowells
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Activists Launch Voter Registration Drive At ‘Black Panther’ Screenings
tinyurl.com/yddordef
Americans support various forms of gun control, often by overwhelming margins.
tinyurl.com/ybo8hbe2
Actor Emma Watson donates £1m to anti-harassment campaign.
tinyurl.com/yapharuw
(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.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning March 8
Copyright 2018 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
According to my assessment of the astrological omens, you're in a favorable phase to gain more power over your fears. You can reduce your susceptibility to chronic anxieties. You can draw on the help and insight necessary to dissipate insidious doubts that are rooted in habit but not based on objective evidence. I don't want to sound too melodramatic, my dear Pisces, but THIS IS AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY! YOU ARE POTENTIALLY ON THE VERGE OF AN UNPRECEDENTED BREAKTHROUGH! In my opinion, nothing is more important for you to accomplish in the coming weeks than this inner conquest.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
The men who work on offshore oil rigs perform demanding, dangerous tasks on a regular basis. If they make mistakes, they may get injured or befoul the sea with petroleum. As you might guess, the culture on these rigs has traditionally been macho, stoic, and hard-driving. But in recent years, that has changed at one company. Shell Oil's workers in the U.S. were trained by Holocaust survivor Claire Nuer to talk about their feelings, be willing to admit errors, and soften their attitudes. As a result, the company's safety record has improved dramatically. If macho dudes toiling on oil rigs can become more vulnerable and open and tenderly expressive, so can you, Aries. And now would be a propitious time to do it.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
How will you celebrate your upcoming climax and culmination, Taurus? With a howl of triumph, a fist pump, and three cartwheels? With a humble speech thanking everyone who helped you along the way? With a bottle of champagne, a gourmet feast, and spectacular sex? However you choose to mark this transition from one chapter of your life story to the next chapter, I suggest that you include an action that will help the next chapter get off to a rousing start. In your ritual of completion, plant seeds for the future.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
On April 23, 1516, the Germanic duchy of Bavaria issued a decree. From that day forward, all beer produced had to use just three ingredients: water, barley, and hops. Ever since then, for the last 500+ years, this edict has had an enduring influence on how German beer is manufactured. In accordance with astrological factors, I suggest that you proclaim three equally potent and systemic directives of your own. It's an opportune time to be clear and forceful about how you want your story to unfold in the coming years.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
What's your most frustrating flaw? During the next seven weeks, you will have enhanced power to diminish its grip on you. It's even possible you will partially correct it or outgrow it. To take maximum advantage of this opportunity, rise above any covert tendency you might have to cling to your familiar pain. Rebel against the attitude described by novelist Stephen King: "It's hard to let go. Even when what you're holding onto is full of thorns, it's hard to let go. Maybe especially then."
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
In his book Whistling in the Dark, author Frederick Buechner writes that the ancient Druids took "a special interest in in-between things like mistletoe, which is neither quite a plant nor quite a tree, and mist, which is neither quite rain nor quite air, and dreams, which are neither quite waking nor quite sleep." According to my reading of the astrological omens, in-between phenomena will be your specialty in the coming weeks. You will also thrive in relationship to anything that lives in two worlds or that has paradoxical qualities. I hope you'll exult in the educational delights that come from your willingness to be teased and mystified.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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.
+
"I always feel like I know myself better after listening to your audio 'scopes."
-June R., Austin, TX
"Your audio horoscopes calm me down when I'm too manic and pep me up when I'm down."
-Arthur T., Cleveland, OH
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
The English word "velleity" refers to an empty wish that has no power behind it. If you feel a longing to make a pilgrimage to a holy site, but can't summon the motivation to actually do so, you are under the spell of velleity. Your fantasy of communicating with more flair and candor is a velleity if you never initiate the practical steps to accomplish that goal. Most of us suffer from this weakness at one time or another. But the good news, Virgo, is that you are primed to overcome your version of it during the next six weeks. Life will conspire to assist you if you resolve to turn your wishy-washy wishes into potent action plans -- and then actually carry out those plans.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
In the 2002 film Spiderman, there’s a scene where the character Mary Jane slips on a spilled drink as she carries a tray full of food through a cafeteria. Spiderman, disguised as his alter ego Peter Parker, makes a miraculous save. He jumps up from his chair and catches Mary Jane before she falls. Meanwhile, he grabs her tray and uses it to gracefully capture her apple, sandwich, carton of milk, and bowl of jello before they hit the floor. The filmmakers say they didn't use CGI to render this scene. The lead actor, Tobey Maguire, allegedly accomplished it in real life -- although it took 156 takes before he finally mastered it. I hope you have that level of patient determination in the coming weeks, Libra. You, too, can perform a small miracle if you do.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Scorpio mathematician Benoît Mandelbrot was a connoisseur of "the art of roughness" and "the uncontrolled element in life." He liked to locate and study the hidden order in seemingly chaotic and messy things. "My life seemed to be a series of events and accidents," he said. "Yet when I look back I see a pattern." I bring his perspective to your attention, Scorpio, because you are entering a phase when the hidden order and secret meanings of your life will emerge into view. Be alert for surprising hints of coherence.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
I suspect that in July and August you will be invited to commune with rousing opportunities and exciting escapades. But right now I'm advising you to channel your intelligence into well-contained opportunities and sensible adventures. In fact, my projections suggest that your ability to capitalize fully on the future's rousing opportunities and exciting escapades will depend on how well you master the current crop of well-contained opportunities and sensible adventures. Making the most of today's small pleasures will qualify you to harvest bigger pleasures later.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
If you saw the animated film The Lion King, you may have been impressed with the authenticity of the lions' roars and snarls. Did the producers place microphones in the vicinity of actual lions? No. Voice actor Frank Welker produced the sounds by growling and yelling into a metal garbage can. I propose this as a useful metaphor for you in the coming days. First, I hope it inspires you to generate a compelling and creative illusion of your own -- an illusion that serves a good purpose. Second, I hope it alerts you to the possibility that other people will be offering you compelling and creative illusions -- illusions that you should engage with only if they serve a good purpose.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
I do a lot of self-editing before I publish what I write. My horoscopes go through at least three drafts before I unleash them on the world. While polishing the manuscript of my first novel, I threw away over a thousand pages of stuff that I had worked on very hard. In contrast to my approach, science fiction writer Harlan Ellison dashed off one of his award-winning stories in a single night, and published it without making any changes to the first draft. As you work in your own chosen field, Aquarius, I suspect that for the next three weeks you will produce the best results by being more like me than Ellison. Beginning about three weeks from now, an Ellison-style strategy might be more warranted.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
HOMEWORK:
What would the people who love you best say is the most important thing for you to learn? Testify at FreeWillAstrology.com.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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 2018 Rob Brezsny
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
|
