Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter November 21, 2018

 Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
 November 21, 2018
 FreeWillAstrology.com

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GRATITUDE FESTIVAL

Would you like to make yourself smarter and more beautiful? Are you interested in increasing your capacity for ecstasy and improving your health?

Consider the possibility of celebrating regular Gratitude Festivals. During these orgies of appreciation, you could confer praise and respect on the creatures, both human and otherwise, that have played seminal roles in inspiring you to become yourself. You would devote yourself to invoking and expressing thanks.

Who teaches and helps you? Who sees you for who you really are? Who nudges you in the direction of your fuller destiny and awakens you to your signature truths? Who loves you brilliantly?

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GRATITUDE FOR GRAVITY

Have you said a prayer of gratitude any time recently for the fact that your feet remain steadily on the earth? Gravity is giving you the same gift it always does, pulling on you with neither too much nor too little force. You should be glad for its versatility, too. It's working for the heavenly bodies with the same tender attentiveness it bestows upon you.

As all the other planets do, the Earth relies on gravity's genius to keep orbiting the sun in its ancient hallowed groove, thereby providing you with all of the favorable environmental conditions you need to live.

Magicians of the Western Hermetic tradition say that gravity is actually a form of love -- the irresistible attraction that all things have for each other over even the vastest distances.

Meanwhile, a trillion other facets of nature's ingenious design are expressing themselves as a skilled artist might. At the heart of the masterpiece are the plants. With relentless grace, they perform the everyday miracle of photosynthesis, using sunlight as a trigger to convert water and carbon dioxide into the fuel they need.

If you're like me, you feel regular surges of adoration for this complex alchemy, which pours oxygen into the air for us to breathe and ultimately provides us with all of our food.

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GRATITUDE FOR NEGATIVE THOUGHTS

Meditation teacher Jack Kornfield espouses an interesting method for dealing with negative and unwanted thoughts. Don't let them possess you, he says, and don't assume you have to act them out.

On the other hand, don't struggle mightily to suppress them, either. Instead, try this: Bow to the offending idea. Acknowledge and admire its power. Express your gratitude and respect to it for galvanizing so much of your psychic energy.

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WANT TO GET YOUR ASTROLOGICAL CHART READ?

If you want your personal chart done, I recommend a colleague whose approach to reading astrology charts closely matches my own. She's my wife, RO LOUGHRAN. She's at www.roloughran.com.

Ro utilizes a blend of well-trained intuition, emotional warmth, and technical proficiency in horoscope interpretation. She is skilled at exploring the mysteries of your life's purpose and nurturing your connection with your own inner wisdom.

In addition to over 30 years of astrological experience, Ro has been a licensed psychotherapist for 17 years. She integrates psychological insight with astrology's cosmological perspective.

Ro is based in California, but can do phone consultations and otherwise work with you regardless of geographic boundaries.

Check out Ro's website at www.roloughran.com

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GRATITUDE FOR YOUR INTERESTING PROBLEMS

What ignorance do you deserve to be forgiven for? How might you express gratitude for your most interesting problem? What could you do to love your body better?

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UNLEASH THE UNSPOKEN PRAISE AND GRATITUDE

"I've been practicing radical authenticity lately," my friend Brandon told me. "I'm revealing the blunt truth about unmentionable subjects to everyone I know. It's been pretty hellish -- no one likes having the social masks stripped away—but it's been ultimately rewarding."

"I admire your boldness in naming the currents flowing beneath the surface," I replied, "but I'm curious as to why you imply they're all negative. To practice radical authenticity, shouldn't you also express the raw truth about what's right, good, and beautiful? Shouldn't you unleash the praise and gratitude that normally go unspoken?"

Brandon sneered. He thought my version of radical authenticity was wimpy. I hope you don't. As a budding pronoiac, you have a mandate to be honest in both ways.

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THE EMOTION CALLED "ECSTATIC GRATITUDE" is when you feel genuine thankfulness with such resplendent intensity that you generate a surge of endorphins in your body and slip into a full-scale outbreak of euphoria.

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GRATITUDE IS THE ESSENCE OF BEAUTIFUL ART

"The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude." -Friedrich Nietzsche

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THE NUANCES OF GRATITUDE

Pronoia is fueled by a drive to cultivate happiness and a determination to practice an aggressive form of gratitude that systematically identifies the things that are working well.

But it is not a soothing diversion meant for timid Pollyannas strung out on optimistic delusions.

It's not a feel-good New Age fantasy used to deny the harsh facts about existence. Those of us who perceive the world pronoiacally refuse to be polite shills for sentimental hopefulness.

On the contrary, we build our optimism not through a repression of
difficulty, but rather a vigorous engagement with it. We understand that the best way to attract blessings is to grapple with the knottiest enigmas.

Each fresh puzzle is a potential source of future bliss—an exciting
teaching that may usher us to our next breakthrough.

Do you want to be a pronoiac player? Blend optimistic rebelliousness with open-hearted exuberance. Root your insurrectionary fervor in expansive joy instead of withering hatred. Enjoy saying "no!" but don't make it the wellspring of your vitality. Be fueled by blood-red yeses that rip against the grain of comfortable ugliness.

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UNEXPECTED GRATITUDE

Imagine you're with a team of explorers in Antarctica. You're climbing the 2,000-foot granite spire called Rakekniven that thrusts up out of the ice in Queen Maud Land. The temperature is 10 degrees below zero.

There's not a plant or animal in sight. The blinding white emptiness of the wasteland beneath you fills you with desolate reverence, alienated awe, and soaring gratitude. You are far from everything that normally gives you comfort.

Why do you feel so good?
 

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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:

Ethiopia's Prime Minister gives half the cabinet to women to restore peace.
tinyurl.com/ybffxbqd

Bai Fangli, a Chinese walking-cab driver, donated 350,000 yuan (US$54,958) over a span of 18 years to enable more than 300 poor students to continue with their studies. He wore second hand discarded clothes, lived in a shabby house, ate humble food, and donated most of his income.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bai_Fangli

Indigenous Culture Reasserts Women’s Power Through Dance
Native women revitalize ceremony to resist the legacy of patriarchy that supports a long-entrenched history of abuse.
tinyurl.com/y73osvs2
 

(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 November 22

Copyright 2018 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
 

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

"You have two ways to live your life," writes spiritual teacher Joseph Vitale, "from memory or inspiration." In other words, you can take your cues about how to live your life from what happened in the past, or else you can make your decisions based on what you're excited to do and become in the future. According to my analysis, the next ten months will be an excellent time for you to fully embrace the latter approach. And it all starts now.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

You've always got more help available than you imagine, and that's especially true these days. Both people you know and people you don't know may come to your assistance and offer extra support -- especially if you meet two conditions: 1. you sincerely believe you deserve their assistance and support; 2. you clearly ask for their assistance and support. Now here's more good news about the help that's available. Whether or not you believe in spiritual beings, they, too, are primed to offer blessings and resources. If you don't believe in their existence, I invite you to pretend you do and see what happens. If you do believe in them, formulate clear requests for what you'd like them to offer you.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

In one of his poems, Arthur Rimbaud extolled the exquisite evenings when the mist soaked his face as he strolled, and he sipped that heavenly dew till he was drunk. Was he speaking literally or metaphorically? Probably both, if I know Rimbaud. Anyway, Aquarius, I'd love for you to engage in similar exploits. What are some natural adventures that might intoxicate you? What simple pleasures may alter your consciousness, nudging you free of its habits? Meditate with sweet abandon on how to free yourself through the power of play and the imagination.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

It's illegal to hunt animals in Kenya. But members of the Dorobo tribe circumvent the law to provide food for their families. As three or more Dorobo men wander out on the savanna, they wait for hungry lions to kill a wildebeest or other creature. Then they stride toward the feasting beasts in a calm show of force until the predators run away in confusion. The brave scavengers swoop in and swiftly remove a portion of the wildebeest, then coolly walk away, leaving plenty for the lions when they return to their meal. I bring this scene to your attention, Pisces, because I suspect that in the coming weeks you will have similar levels of courage and poise as you go after what you want.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

In his autobiography On the Move, neurologist Oliver Sacks praised his friend Jerry's curiosity and knowledge. "Jerry has one of the most spacious, thoughtful minds I have ever encountered, with a vast base of knowledge of every sort," wrote Sacks, "but it is a base under continual questioning and scrutiny." So willing was Jerry to question and re-evaluate his own assumptions that Sacks said he had "seen his friend suddenly stop in mid-sentence and say, 'I no longer believe what I was about to say.'" That's the gold standard to which I hope you will aspire in the coming weeks, Aries. As bright and articulate as you'll be, you will have an even higher calling to expand your mind through continual questioning.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

In recent years, a few pioneers have gotten microchips implanted under their skin. These technological marvels enable them to open doors and turn on lights with merely a wave of their hands, or receive up-to-the-minute readings on what's transpiring inside their bodies. Now an additional frontier has arisen: people using do-it-yourself kits to experiment on their own DNA. For example, some have tweaked their genes so their bodies create more muscle than is natural. I would love for you to change yourself around in the coming weeks, Taurus, but not in these particular ways. I'd rather see you do subtle psychological and spiritual work. The astrological omens suggest it's a favorable time for focused self-transformation.
 

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OUR COLLABORATION

I really do feel that you're here with me as I create these horoscopes. In a sense, you're my assistant. Our telepathic connection is utterly palpable and practical. The hopes and questions you project my way stream into my higher mind, coloring my psychic environment and enriching my desire to give you exactly what you need.

If you ever want more inspiration generated in that same collaborative spirit -- beyond the horoscopes you're reading here -- keep in mind that every week I also offer EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES for you. They're four-to-five-minute meditations on the current state of your destiny.

These forecasts are different in tone and format from the written horoscopes you read here in the newsletter.

To listen to your Expanded Audio Horoscope online, go to freewillastrology.sparkns.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.

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GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

Are you smart enough to take advantage of the fact that your best relationships would benefit from bursts of innovative energy in the coming weeks? Are you brave enough to banish the ghost that still haunts your romantic life? Do you have the moxie to explore frontiers with collaborators who play fair and know how to have fun? Will you summon the curiosity and initiative to learn new strategies about how to enhance your approach to intimacy? I'll answer those questions in your behalf: yes, yes, yes, and yes.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

Would you agree with me that there are both boring, tiresome problems and fun, interesting problems? If so, read on. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you're at a fork in your path where you could either get further involved with a boring, tiresome problem or else a fun, interesting one. (I think you'll have to engage with one or the other.) Of course, I'm rooting for you to proactively wrangle with the fun, interesting one. Here's timely inspiration from Cancerian author John W. Gardner: "We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems."

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

The Jharia Coalfield in eastern India is a 110-square-mile reserve of underground coal. In some places, it's on fire, and has been burning for over a hundred years. This isn't a good thing. It's wasteful and causes pollution. But now I'll ask you to put aside that scenario, and imagine a more benevolent kind of steadily burning fire: a splendor in your soul that never stops radiating warmth and light; that draws from an inexhaustible source of fuel; that is a constant source of strength and courage and power. I'm happy to tell you that the coming months will be a favorable time to establish and nurture this eternal flame.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

Marilyn Monroe, Georgia O'Keeffe, and President Franklin Roosevelt were direct descendants of the pilgrims who sailed from England to the New World on the famous Mayflower ship in 1620. I, on the other hand, am a direct descendant of a nineteenth-century Slovakian coal miner who toiled in the underground darkness. What about you, Virgo? Now would be a rich and provocative time to reconnect with your roots; to remember where your people originated; to explore the heritage that served as the matrix from which you sprouted.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

According to researchers who study animal behavior at two Italian universities, chickens can do arithmetic. The birds don't even need to be trained; the skill seems to be innate. (Read details here: tinyurl.com/ChickensDoMath.) I'm wondering whether chickens born under the sign of Libra might even be able to do algebra in the coming weeks. According to my assessment of the astrological omens, the mental acuity of many Libran creatures will be at a peak. How will you use your enhanced intelligence?

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

In March 2005, far more people than usual won big money in a regional Powerball lottery in the U.S. The average for each draw is four winners, but on this special occasion, 110 players were awarded at least $100,000 and as much as $500,000. The reason for the anomaly seemed to have been an oracle that appeared in a number of widely distributed fortune cookies. It provided five of the six winning numbers. Inspired by this crazy stroke of good fortune, and in accordance with the favorable financial omens now coming to bear on you, I hereby offer you six numbers to use as your lucky charms. Will they help you win a game of chance? I can't be sure. At the very least, they will titillate and massage the part of your psyche that is magnetic to wealth. Here they are: 37. 16. 58. 62. 82. 91.
 

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HOMEWORK:

How could you change yourself in order to get more of the love you want? Go to FreeWillAstrology.com; click on "Email Rob."

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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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