Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
July 18, 2018
FreeWillAstrology.com
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THIS IS THE LAST WEEK THE BIG-PICTURE AUDIO HOROSCOPES WILL BE AVAILABLE!
EXPLORE THE BIG PICTURE OF YOUR LIFE
with my Expanded Audio Horoscopes for the Second Half of 2018 and onward into 2019. This is the last week they will be available.
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 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 2018."
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 (July 17, 2018)."
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TO-DO LIST
1. Say these words into a mirror: "It’s bad luck to be superstitious."
2. Fantasize that your so-called "dark side" is sweet and creamy.
3. Watch TV with your third eye.
4. Put on inflatable sumo wrestler costumes and play bagpipes as badly as possible.
5. Imagine you have guardian angels who look like Malcolm X and Eugene Debs.
6. Plant orchids on a strip-mined hill.
7. Dream you're a red-tailed hawk soaring over a shopping mall.
8. Forgive yourself for the blindness that put you in the path of those who betrayed you.
9. Put bumper stickers on your car that says, "My goddess can kick your god's ass!"
10. Hire a puppet troupe to reenact your life story using marionettes in Renaissance costumes.
11. Buy seven used gowns worn to the Academy Awards show by famous actresses, and send them gratis to seven Guatemalan teenagers.
12. Meditate on how one of the symbols of plenitude in Nepal is a mongoose vomiting jewels.
13. Thank your mother for the pain she endured while birthing us.
14. Review in painstaking detail the history of your life, honoring every moment as if you were conducting a benevolent Judgment Day.
15. Create a royal crown for yourself out of shower cap, rubber bands, and light bulbs.
16. Test to see if people are really listening to you by asserting that Karl Marx was one of the Marx Brothers and that Joan of Arc was married to the Biblical Noah.
17. Teach an animal to dance.
18. Make believe you are the ocean king or the thunder queen.
19. Actually kiss the earth now and then.
20. Find many good excuses to say, as physicist Niels Bohr once did, “Your theory is crazy, but it’s not crazy enough to be true.”
21. Ask butterflies if they will hang out on our faces for a while.
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YOU'RE A MAGICIAN
I'm not a major fan of occultist Aleister Crowley, but I appreciate some of his ideas. His definition of magic is pure and true: the Science and Art of causing change to occur in conformity with will.
He wasn't simply referring to the esoteric transformations attempted by wizards and witches wielding spells and conjurations. He meant anyone who seeks to make practical shifts in his or her life.
Let's say you grew up conditioned to feel shame about behavior there's no good reason to feel shame about, and you resolve to do whatever it takes to dissolve that shame, and you succeed in doing it. That's magic.
Or maybe you no longer want to attract bad listeners and flaky collaborators into your sphere, and you promise yourself you will alter that pattern, and you ultimately achieve your goal. That's magic, too.
One other example: You decide you want to be a skilled songwriter, and spend years learning to play an instrument, analyzing the songs you love in order to understand how they're constructed, and cultivating your creativity. That's magic at work.
I invite you to identify an example of one or two of your own magic skills.
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Therefore, dark past,
I'm about to do it.
I'm about to forgive you
for everything.
– Mary Oliver, from WHAT DO WE KNOW
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One of the odd and enjoyable things about my weekly column "Free Will Astrology" is that you can read it for free! Below, in this newsletter, is the most recent batch of horoscopes
Here are the Free Will Astrology horoscopes from a year ago: tinyurl.com/ycmobbmd. (When you reach the link, scroll down to read your horoscope.)
Here are the long-term, big-picture horoscopes I wrote for you at the beginning of 2018. How are they working for you? bit.ly/YourGloriousStory2018
Here are the long-term, big-picture horoscopes I wrote for you at the beginning of 2017. How did they work for you?
bit.ly/BigPicture2017
Here are the Free Will Astrology archives for the last 15 years: bit.ly/10x1Ghu
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P.S. You can read my horoscopes in French and Italian.
Free Will Astrology in the French publication "Courrier International":
www.courrierinternational.com/horoscope
and in the Italian publication "Internazionale":
www.internazionale.it/oroscopo/
Here's a link to my free weekly newsletter archives, featuring the Free Will Astrology horoscopes, plus good news, lucky advice, and tender rants: tinyurl.com/y73l3476
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Iceland has become the first country in the world to make it illegal to pay men more than women for doing the same work: tinyurl.com/yboz29tm
Solar Has Overtaken Gas and Wind as Biggest Source of New U.S. Power.
tinyurl.com/y9mztxne
Feminize Your Canon. Exploring the lives of underrated and under-read female authors.
tinyurl.com/ybb2m5u2
(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.
Read old but still useful archives of Pronoia Resources: pronoiaresources.com
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning July 19
Copyright 2018 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Self-described skeptics sometimes say to me, "How can any intelligent person believe in astrology? You must be suffering from a brain dysfunction if you imagine that the movements of planets can reveal any useful clues about our lives." If the "skeptic" is truly open-minded, as an authentic skeptic should be, I offer a mini-lecture to correct his misunderstandings. If he's not (which is the usual case), I say that I don't need to "believe" in astrology; I use astrology because it works. For instance, I have a working hypothesis that Cancerians like myself enjoy better-than-average insight and luck with money every year from late July through the month of August. It's irrelevant whether there's a "scientific" theory to explain why this might be. I simply undertake efforts to improve my financial situation at this time, and I'm often successful.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Here are some of the fine gifts you're eligible for and even likely to receive during the next four weeks: a more constructive and fluid relationship with obsession; a panoramic look at what lies below the tip of the metaphorical iceberg; a tear-jerking joyride that cracks open your sleeping sense of wonder; erasure of at least 20 percent of your self-doubt; vivid demonstrations of the excitement available from slowing down and taking your sweet time; and a surprising and useful truth delivered to your soul by your body.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
During the last three months of 2018, I suspect you will dismantle or outgrow a foundation. Why? So as to prepare the way for building or finding a new foundation in 2019. From next January onward, I predict you will re-imagine the meaning of home. You'll grow fresh roots and come to novel conclusions about the influences that enable you to feel secure and stable. The reason I'm revealing these clues ahead of time is because now is a good time to get a foreshadowing of how to proceed. You can glean insights on where to begin your work.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
A reader asked Libran blogger Ana-Sofia Cardelle, "How does one become more sensual?" I'll ask you to meditate on the same question. Why? Because it's a good time to enrich and deepen your sensuality. For inspiration, here are some ideas that blend my words with Cardelle's: "Laugh easily and freely. Tune in to the rhythm of your holy animal body as you walk. Sing songs that remind you why you're here on earth. Give yourself the luxury of reading books that thrill your imagination and fill you with fresh questions. Eat food with your fingers. Allow sweet melancholy to snake through you. Listen innocently to people, being warm-hearted and slyly wild. Soak up colors with your eager eyes. Whisper grateful prayers to the sun as you exult in its gifts."
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
"If people aren't laughing at your goals, your goals are too small." So says bodybuilder Kai Greene. I don’t know if I would personally make such a brazen declaration, but I do think it's worth considering -- especially for you right now. You're entering into the Big Bold Vision time of your astrological cycle. It's a phase when you'll be wise to boost the intensity of your hopes for yourself, and get closer to knowing the ultimate form of what you want, and be daring enough to imagine the most sublime possible outcomes for your future. If you do all that with the proper chutzpah, some people may indeed laugh at your audacity. That's OK!
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
This mini-chapter in your epic life story is symbolically ruled by the fluttering flights of butterflies, the whirring hum of hummingbird wings, the soft cool light of fireflies, and the dawn dances of seahorses. To take maximum advantage of the blessings life will tease you with in the coming weeks, I suggest you align yourself with phenomena like those. You will tend to be alert and receptive in just the right ways if you cultivate a love of fragile marvels, subtle beauty, and amazing grace.
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BRAINSTORM ABOUT THE BIG PICTURE OF YOUR LIFE
with my Expanded Audio Horoscopes for the Second Half of 2018 and beyond:
RealAstrology.com
What will be the story of your life during the rest of 2018 and onward into 2019? 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?
If you'd like a high-octane boost of inspiration to fuel your quest to create your most interesting and meaningful destiny, tune in to my meditations on your long-term outlook.
Go here: RealAstrology.com. Then register and/or log in and click on this link:
"Long Term Forecast for Second Half of 2018"
You can also listen to your short-term forecast for the coming week by clicking on "This week (July 17, 2018)."
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"Your big-picture audio horoscope was somehow both a balm for my soul and a kick in the ass. How did you do that?" - David G., Coral Gables, FL
"Your big-picture horoscopes filled the gaps in my imagination. They woke up the fun plot twists that had been just on the tip of my ability to visualize." - Ani Kraft, Brattleboro, VT
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The horoscopes cost $6 apiece. Discounts are available for multiple purchases.
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CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
I swear the astrological omens are telling me to tell you that you have license to make the following requests: 1. People from your past who say they'd like to be part of your future have to prove their earnestness by forgiving your debts to them and asking your forgiveness for their debts to you. 2. People who are pushing for you to be influenced by them must agree to be influenced by you. 3. People who want to deepen their collaborations with you must promise to deepen their commitment to wrestling with their own darkness. 4. People who say they care for you must prove their love in a small but meaningful way.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
You will never find an advertisement for Nike or Apple within the sacred vessel of this horoscope column. But you may come across plugs for soul-nourishing commodities like creative freedom, psychosexual bliss, and playful generosity. Like everyone else, I'm a salesperson -- although I believe that the wares I peddle are unambiguously good for you. In this spirit, I invite you to hone your own sales pitch. It's an excellent time to interest people in the fine products and ideas and services that you have to offer.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Would you do me a favor, please? Would you do your friends and loved ones and the whole world a favor? Don’t pretend you're less powerful and beautiful than you are. Don't downplay or neglect the magic you have at your disposal. Don't act as if your unique genius is nothing special. OK? Are you willing to grant us these small indulgences? Your specific talents, perspectives, and gifts are indispensable right now. The rest of us need you to be bold and brazen about expressing them.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
"Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are magic." Whenever that quote appears on the Internet, it's falsely attributed to painter Frida Kahlo. In fact, it was originally composed by poet Marty McConnell. In any case, I'll recommend that you heed it in the coming weeks. You really do need to focus on associating with allies who see the mysterious and lyrical best in you. I will also suggest that you get inspired by a line that Frida Kahlo actually wrote: "Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are a bourbon biscuit." (If you don't know what a bourbon biscuit is, I'll tell you: chocolate buttercream stuffed between two thin rectangular chocolate biscuits.)
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Here's what author Franz Kafka wrote in his diary on August 2, 1914: "Germany has declared war on Russia. I went swimming in the afternoon." We could possibly interpret his nonchalance about world events to be a sign of callous self-absorption. But I recommend that you cultivate a similar attitude in the coming weeks. In accordance with astrological omens, you have the right and the need to shelter yourself from the vulgar insanity of politics and the pathological mediocrity of mainstream culture. So feel free to spend extra time focusing on your own well-being. (P.S.: Kafka's biographer says swimming served this role for him. It enabled him to access deep unconscious reserves of pleasurable power that renewed his spirit.)
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Am I delusional to advise a perky, talkative Gemini like yourself to enhance your communication skills? How dare I even hint that you're not quite perfect at a skill you were obviously born to excel at? But that's exactly what I'm here to convey. The coming weeks will be a favorable time to take inventory of how you could more fully develop your natural ability to exchange information. You'll be in robust alignment with cosmic rhythms if you take action to refine the way you express your own messages and receive and respond to other people's messages.
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HOMEWORK:
Tell a story about the time Spirit reached down and altered your course in one tricky, manic swoop. 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 2018 Rob Brezsny
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