Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
October 17, 2018
FreeWillAstrology.com
+
YOUR MOST IMPORTANT DESIRE
I invite you to write the following on a piece of red paper and keep it under your pillow. "I, [put your name here], do solemnly swear on this day [put date here] that I will devote myself for a period of seven days to learning my most important desire. No other thought will be more uppermost in my mind. No other concern will divert me from tracking down every clue that might assist me in my drive to ascertain the one experience in this world that deserves my brilliant passion above all others."
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
YOU HAVE MORE FREEDOM THAN YOU ARE USING
"You have more freedom than you are using," says artist Dan Attoe.
I hope that taunt gets under your skin and riles you up. Maybe it will motivate you to lay claim to all the potential spaciousness and independence and leeway that are just lying around going to waste.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
GO WITH WHAT FLOW?
When they say "Go with the flow," what "flow" are they talking about? Do they mean the flow of your early childhood conditioning? The flow of your friends' opinions? The latest cultural trends? Your immediate instinctual needs?
When they say "Go with the flow," are they urging you to keep doing what's easiest to do and what will win you the most ego points, even if it keeps you from being true to your soul's code?
Consider the possibility that there are many flows to go with, but only one of them is correct for you. Do you know which one? Maybe it's the one flowing in an underground cavern, far from the maddening crowd.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
KNOW YOUR WOUNDS
Mythologist Michael Meade says that the essential nature of every human soul is gifted, noble, and wounded.
I agree. Cynics who exaggerate how messed-up we all are, ignoring our beauty, are just as unrealistic as naive optimists.
But because the cynics have a disproportionately potent influence on the zeitgeist, they make it harder for us to evaluate our problems with a wise and balanced perspective. Many of us feel cursed by the apparent incurability of our wounds, while others, rebelling against the curse, underestimate how wounded they are.
Mead says: "Those who think they are not wounded in ways that need conscious attention and careful healing are usually the most wounded of all."
Your task -- and your talent -- is to make realistic appraisals of your wounds.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REPRESSION AND SUPPRESSION
There's a difference between repression and suppression. When you repress a difficult feeling or thought, you drive it so deeply into your unconscious mind that you forget about it. In effect, you hide it from yourself out of fear. And yet because this exiled material is of crucial importance, it refuses to remain buried. It ultimately re-emerges in disguise, often as an addiction or obsession, sometimes as an illness.
.
Suppression, on the other hand, is a healthier mechanism. It involves you moving the problematic feeling or thought away from the center of your attention, but remaining aware of it. You're not motivated by fear, but by the intention to deal with the challenge at a time of your choosing.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
IS THERE ANY SUCH THING AS FREE WILL?
Is there really such a thing as free will, or are our destinies shaped by forces beyond our control?
Here's one way to think about that question: Maybe some people actually have more free will than others. Not because they have more money. (Many rich folks are under the spell of their instincts, after all.) Not because they have high-status positions. (A boss may have power over others but little power over himself.)
Rather, those with a lot of free will have earned that privilege by taking strong measures to dissolve the conditioning they absorbed while growing up. They've acted on the advice of psychologist Carl Jung: "Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate."
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Wherever you stand, be the soul of the place.
-Rumi
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
MY THOUGHTS ON THE CURRENT TROUBLES
If you'd care to read my thoughts and research concerning recent political and cultural events, you can find them here: tinyurl.com/yac54gft
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Good news: There was a 75 percent increase in women of color among nominees for Congress in 2018 compared with 2012.
A record number of women ran and won in the primaries, and an unprecedented number of LGBTQ candidates also ran and have won so far.
tinyurl.com/ycjley8g
9 Stats On Women Running For Office In 2018 That Will Get You Fired Up:
tinyurl.com/yd5bpqbg
A record number of women stepped up for U.S. House and Senate races—524. Overall, almost half of the women who ran won their primary.
tinyurl.com/y7gshpuw
More than 40,000 US women have expressed interest in running for office since the 2016 election.Emily’s List, a political action committee focused on enlisting pro-choice female candidates for office, announced the figures of those running for office since November 2016 – a dramatic increase from the less than 1,000 women who reached out to them during the last election cycle.
tinyurl.com/yantndcd
Since 2016, a number of groups have emerged to work towards the election of explicitly progressive Democrats. As of this August, 41 percent of the Democratic candidates who received an endorsement from one or more of these progressive groups won their primary races as Democrats.
tinyurl.com/yajghqxj
Please tell me your own nominations for PRONOIA RESOURCES: Truthrooster@gmail.com.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning October 18
Copyright 2018 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
"There are works which wait, and which one does not understand for a long time," wrote Libran author Oscar Wilde. "The reason is that they bring answers to questions which have not yet been raised; for the question often arrives a long time after the answer." That's the weird news, Libra. You have been waiting and waiting to understand a project that you set in motion many moons ago. It has been frustrating to give so much energy to a goal that has sometimes confused you. But here's the good news: Soon you will finally formulate the question your project has been the answer to. And so at last you will understand it. You'll feel vindicated, illuminated, and resolved.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Many seekers who read horoscope columns want common-sense advice about love, career, money, and power. So I hope I don't disappoint you by predicting that you will soon have a mystical experience or spiritual epiphany. Let me add, however, that this delightful surprise won't merely be an entertaining diversion with no useful application. In fact, I suspect it will have the potential of inspiring good ideas about love, career, money, or power. If I had to give the next chapter of your life story a title, it might be "A Thousand Dollars' Worth of Practical Magic."
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
In 1962, when she was 31 years old, Sagittarian actress Rita Moreno won an Academy Award for her role in the film West Side Story. In 2018, she attended the Oscars again, sporting the same dress she’d worn for the ceremony 56 years before. I think the coming weeks will be a great time for you, too, to reprise a splashy event or two from the past. You'll generate soul power by reconnecting with your roots. You'll tonify and harmonize your mental health by establishing a symbolic link with your earlier self.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
The Committee to Reward Unsung Good Deeds hereby acknowledges your meritorious service in the trenches of the daily routine. We praise your tireless efforts to make life less chaotic and more coherent for everyone around you. We're grateful for the patience and poise you demonstrate as you babysit adults who act like children. And we are gratified by your capacity to keep long-term projects on track in the face of trivial diversions and petty complaints. I know it's a lot to ask, but could you please intensify your vigilance in the next three weeks? We need your steadiness more than ever.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
You need a special pep talk that's best provided by Aquarian poet Audre Lorde. Please meditate on these four quotes by her. 1. "Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation. 2. "We have been raised to fear the yes within ourselves, our deepest cravings." 3. "You cannot use someone else's fire. You can only use your own. To do that, you must first be willing to believe you have it." 4. "Nothing I accept about myself can be used against me to diminish me." 5. "The learning process is something you can literally incite, like a riot."
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Warning: My horoscopes may interfere with your ability to rationalize your delusions; they could extinguish your enthusiasm for clichés; they might cause you to stop repressing urges that you really should express; and they may influence you to cultivate the state of awareness known as "playful wisdom." Do you really want to risk being exposed to such lavish amounts of inner freedom? If not, you should stop reading now. But if you're as ripe for emancipating adventures as I think you are, then get started on shedding any attitudes and influences that might dampen your urge to romp and cavort and carouse.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
WHY IS IT CALLED "FREE WILL" ASTROLOGY?
It's called Free Will Astrology because my goal is to create horoscopes that nurture your free will.
Contrary to what some horoscope fans believe, there's no such thing as predestination. Fate is a tricky sucker that keeps changing its mind about where it wants to go. The stars may impel, as the astrological saying goes, but they don't compel.
That's why I've never considered myself a fortuneteller. I prefer to think that my greatest service is as a psychic intelligence agent, helping you explore the hidden patterns and unconscious forces that may be affecting your life without your full knowledge.
If I "predict" anything, it's not so much the future as the unknown part of the present.
And if you ever want more than the 'scopes you're reading here, keep in mind that I also create EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES for you. They're four-to-five-minute meditations on the current state of your destiny.
To buy and listen to your Expanded Audio Horoscope online, go to freewillastrology.sparkns.com
Register and/or log in through the main page.
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.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Humraaz is a word in the Urdu language. Its literal meaning is "secret sharer." It refers to a confidante, a person in whom you have full trust and to whom you can confess your core feelings. Is there such a character in your life? If so, seek him or her out for assistance in probing into the educational mysteries you have waded into. If there is no such helper you can call on, I advise you to do whatever's necessary to attract him or her into your sphere. A collaborative quest may be the key to activating sleeping reserves of your soul wisdom.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Taurus author Roberto Bolaño suggests that the world contains more beauty than many people realize. The full scope and intensity of this nourishing beauty "is only visible to those who love." When he speaks of "those who love," I suspect he means deep-feeling devotees of kindness and compassion, hard-working servants of the greater good, and free-thinking practitioners of the Golden Rule. In any case, Taurus, I believe you're in a phase when you have the potential to see far more of the world's beauty. For best results, supercharge your capacity to give and receive love.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Once upon a time you were walking along a sidewalk when a fairy floated by and whispered, "I'm willing to grant you three wishy-washy wishes for free. You don't have to do any favors for me in return. But I will grant you three wonderfully wise wishes if you perform three tasks for me." You asked the fairy, "What would those three tasks be?" She replied, "The second task is that you must hoodwink the devil into allowing you to shave his hairy legs. The third task is that you must bamboozle God into allowing you to shave his bushy beard." You laughed and said, "What's the first task?" The fairy touched you on the nose with her tiny wand and said, "You must believe that the best way to achieve the impossible is to attempt the absurd."
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
You Crabs tend to be the stockpilers and hoarders of the zodiac. The world's largest collections of antique door knobs and Chinese restaurant menus and beer cans from the 1960s belong to Cancerian accumulators. But in alignment with possibilities hinted at by current astrological omens, I recommend that you redirect this inclination so it serves you better. How? One way would be to gather supplies of precious stuff that's really useful to you. Another way would be to assemble a batch of blessings to bestow on people and animals who provide you with support.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Chinese mythology tells us there used to be ten suns, all born from the mother goddess Xi He. Every 24 hours, she bathed her brood in the lake and placed them in a giant mulberry tree. From there, one sun glided out into the sky to begin the day while the other nine remained behind. It was a good arrangement. The week had ten days back then, and each sun got its turn to shine. But the siblings eventually grew restless with the staid rhythm. On one fateful morning, with a playful flourish, they all soared into the heavens at once. It was fun for them, but the earth grew so hot that nothing would grow. To the rescue came the archer Hou Yi. With his flawless aim, he used his arrows to shoot down nine of the suns, leaving one to provide just the right amount of light and warmth. The old tales don't tell us, but I speculate that Hou Yi was a Leo.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
You now have maximum command of a capacity that's a great strength but also a potential liability: your piercing brainpower. To help ensure that you wield this asset in ways that empower you and don't sabotage you, here's advice from four wise Virgos. 1. "Thought can organize the world so well that you are no longer able to see it." — psychotherapist Anthony de Mello 2. "Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable." —poet Mary Oliver 3. "I like to wake up each morning and not know what I think, that I may reinvent myself in some way." —actor and writer Stephen Fry 4. "I wanted space to watch things grow." —singer Florence Welch
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
HOMEWORK:
Forget all you know about gratitude. Act as if it's a new emotion you're tuning into for the first time. Then let it rip.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
|
