Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
December 5, 2018
FreeWillAstrology.com
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If you would like to contribute to me and my ongoing work, please visit my Virtual Tip Jar at Paypal. It's here: paypal.me/FreeWillAstrology
You can also contribute to my well-being by buying the Expanded Audio Horoscopes I create. These forecasts are different in tone and content from the written horoscopes I provide here. They're four- to five-minute-long ruminations about the current chapter of your life story. They're available at freewillastrology.sparkns.com
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PLAY AS A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
Once, as an adult, psychologist Carl Jung took a break from work to stroll on a beach. As he meandered, he was overcome with a spontaneous impulse to build things as he did when he was a kid. He gathered stones and sticks and used them to construct a miniature scene, including a church.
As he finished, he was visited by a flood of novel insights about his life. He concluded that his childlike play had called forth these revelations from his unconscious mind.
That might sometimes be a worthwhile strategy for you. To access important information that your deep mind has sequestered, go play a while.
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PLAYING EASILY IN THE DEEP
"Approfondissement”
is a French word
that means
“playing easily
in the deep."
—Tom Robbins
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LEARNING COMES FROM PLAYING
"The ancient Greeks knew that learning comes from playing," writes Roger von Oech in his book "A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative." Their word for education, paideia, he says, was close to their word for play, "paidia."
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MEDITATION AS PLAY
"As a free deed, meditation is naturally individual, uniquely our own. It is where we most fully become ourselves. Its practice is also always individual.
"There are no rules. Just as every potter will elaborate his or her own way of making pots, so every person who meditates will shape his or her own meditation. No two people will do a given meditation in exactly the same way. The same meditation practiced daily will be different every time.
"Every meditation is experimental. One never knows what is going to happen. Improvisation is essential . . . Meditation is something to play with . . . There is no 'wrong' way of doing the meditation, except not doing it!"
- Christopher Bamford, Start Now!: A Book of Soul and Spiritual Exercises
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WE ARE FULLY HUMAN WHILE PLAYING
"We are fully human only while playing, and we play only when we are human in the truest sense of the word."
-Rudolf Steiner
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HOW MUCH COURAGE IS NEEDED TO PLAY
The research of the Beauty and Truth Lab is made possible in part by the largesse of Boris Pasternak's poem "Bacchanalia," which includes these words:
"How much courage is needed
to play forever,
as the ravines play,
as the river plays."
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YOU ARE A MUTANT DEITY
You are a mutant deity in disguise—not a Buddha or a Christ exactly, but of the same lineage and conjured from the same fire. You have been around since the beginning of time and will be here after the end. Every day and in every way, you're getting better at playing the preposterously amusing master game we all dreamed up together before the Big Bang bloomed.
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DISRUPTIVE PLAY
Disruptive Play: The Trickster in Politics and Culture
by Shepherd Siegel: tinyurl.com/y7dhktkh
Description of the book:
"In a world ruled by conflict and competition, non-competitive play is insurrection.
"Mischief-makers and culture jammers have transformed society again and again, from ancient folkloric appearances of the Trickster as Raven and Èṣù-Elegba, to the twentieth century's dada and hippies, to contemporary social actors like the graffiti artist Banksy.
"Original Play is the frolic and noncompetitive play that animals and human babies do in order to have fun and to keep on playing -- not to win or to lose. It is a substance of the universe that occurs in all life. It is the behavior by which love and belonging are expressed, given, and received.
"When play moves into contest or other roles and rules, with winners and losers, it becomes Cultural Play. Issues of ego and narcissism are issues for Cultural Play, not for Original Play.
"Disruptive Play occurs in the rare times when the rhythms of Original Play suddenly appear in a political or cultural setting, settings conventionally fraught with Cultural Play. Like driving a clown car across the field during an official NFL game. Or Raven tricking Chief into releasing the sun, the moon, and the stars into the sky. Or a surreptitious Banksy graffiti that invades a museum or the public commons. Tricking power into performing an act of love.
"Disruptive Play: The Trickster In Politics and Culture connects knowledge from mythology, folklore, popular culture, art, politics, and play theory to make its case that to be playful means not taking power seriously. At critical mass, power collapses and leaves us swimming about in the waters of the amoral Trickster. New values emerge and could lead to some version of the dystopia that currently drenches popular culture.
"Or, if people can discern between the authentic contact and exhilaration of play, and branded, mediated, alienated pleasure, then we just might stumble and frolic our way to the Play Society.
"Disruptive Play is ideal for enthusiasts of the human condition and those who hold out for the vision, however slim, of the Play Society."
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Lila: The cosmos is a manifestation of the creative play of God and Goddess.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lila_(Hinduism)
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Western science and religion have differing views on how the universe was created, but they agree that it happened a long time ago.
The mystery schools of the West, on the other hand, assert that the universe is re-created anew in every moment through the divine erotic play of God and Goddess. They say that if we humans treat lovemaking as an experimental sacrament, we can attune ourselves to the union of the two primal deities and, in a sense, participate in the ongoing creation of the world.
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THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAY
The Importance Of Play:
tinyurl.com/y72yfupb
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A STUDY OF THE PLAY ELEMENT IN CULTURE
Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture
tinyurl.com/y8bk29bu
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HOW TO FIND GOOD NEWS
Experiment: Imprint yourself with the intention that, say, 25% of the time, you will seek out the GOOD news instead of the BAD stuff -- that you will regard tales of affliction and mayhem and corruption and tragedy as no more interesting or worthy of your attention than tales of triumph and liberation and pleasure and ingenuity.
If this idea appeals to you, here are sources of GOOD news to get you started:
Yes magazine: yesmagazine.org
Good News Network: goodnewsnetwork.org
Celebrate Small Victories: celebratesmallvictories.com
Reddit Uplifting News: reddit.com/r/UpliftingNews
New York Times' Good News section: tinyurl.com/ya2hpe9e
Heroic Stories: heroicstories.com
(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 December 6
Copyright 2018 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Robert Louis Stevenson published his gothic novel Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in 1886. It was a bestseller, and quickly got turned into a theatrical production. In the ensuing 132 years, there have been well over a hundred further adaptations of the story into film and stage productions. Here's the funny thing about this influential work: Stevenson wrote it fast. It took him three feverish days to get the gist of it, and just another six weeks to revise. Some biographers say he was high on drugs during the initial burst, perhaps cocaine. I suspect you could also produce some robust and interesting creation in the coming weeks, Sagittarius—and you won’t even need cocaine to fuel you.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
A blogger on Tumblr named Ffsshh composed a set of guidelines that I think will be apt and useful for you to draw on in the coming weeks. Please study these suggestions and adapt them for your healing process. "Draw stick figures. Sing off-key. Write bad poems. Sew ugly clothes. Run slowly. Flirt clumsily. Play video games on 'easy.' OK? You do not need to be good at something to enjoy it. Sometimes talent is overrated. Do things you like doing just because you like doing them. It's OK to suck."
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Aquarian athlete Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player who ever lived. He was also the first to become a billionaire. But when he was growing up, he didn't foresee the glory that awaited him. For example, in high school he took a home economics class so as to acquire cooking abilities. Why? He imagined that as an adult he might have to prepare all of his own meals. His ears were so huge and ungainly, he reasoned, that no woman would want to be his wife. So the bad news was that he suffered from a delusion. The good news was that because of his delusion, he learned a useful skill. I foresee a similar progression for you, Aquarius. Something you did that was motivated by misguided or irrelevant ideas may yield positive results.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
The Bible does not say that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute or even a "sinner." There's no mention of her sexual proclivities at all. Delusional ideas about her arose in the Middle Ages, instigated by priests who confused her with other women in the Bible. The truth is that the Bible names her as a key ally to Christ, and the crucial witness to his resurrection. Fortunately, a number of scholars and church leaders have in recent years been working to correct her reputation. I invite you to be motivated and inspired by this transformation as you take steps to adjust and polish your own image during the coming weeks. It's time to get your public and private selves into closer alignment.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
When I write a horoscope for you, I focus on one or two questions because I don't have room to cover every single aspect of your life. The theme I've chosen this time may seem a bit impractical, but if you take it to heart, I guarantee you it will have practical benefits. It comes from Italian author Umberto Eco. He wrote, "Perhaps the mission of those who love humanity is to make people laugh at the truth, to make truth laugh, because the only truth lies in learning to free ourselves from insane passion for the truth." I swear to you, Aries, that if you laugh at the truth and make the truth laugh in the coming days, you will be guided to do all the right and necessary things.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
You have a cosmic mandate and a poetic license to stir up far more erotic fantasies than usual. It'll be healthy for you to unleash many new thoughts about sexual experiments that would be fun to try and novel feelings you'd like to explore and people whose naked flesh you'd be interested to experience sliding and gliding against yours. But please note that the cosmic mandate and poetic license do not necessarily extend to you acting out your fantasies. The important thing is to let your imagination run wild. That will catalyze a psychic healing you didn't even realize you needed.
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LOSING WHAT'S NO GOOD FOR YOU
An earthy psychic once told me that my first name "Rob" is an apt description of my spiritual function. "You're here on earth to rob people of their godawful belief that life is a bitch," she advised me. "Your job is to steal away the habits that sap their life energy; to rip off the sorry-ass dogmas that blind them to the wondrous feats their imaginations are capable of."
I don't know if I have fully earned that glowing promise, but I certainly aspire to do so.
If you ever want more information and inspiration generated in this 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. 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 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):
In my continuing efforts to help you want what you need and need what you want, I've collected four wise quotes that address your looming opportunities. 1. "What are you willing to give up, in order to become who you really need to be?" —author Elizabeth Gilbert 2. "Leave the door open for the unknown, the door into the dark. That's where the most important things come from." —Rebecca Solnit 3. "You enter the extraordinary by way of the ordinary." ―Frederick Buechner 4. "Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you." ―Nathaniel Hawthorne
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
I've called on author Robert Heinlein to provide your horoscope. According to my astrological analysis, his insights are exactly what you need to focus on right now. "Do not confuse 'duty' with what other people expect of you," he wrote. "They are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect. But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible."
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
What does "beauty" mean to you? What sights, sounds, images, qualities, thoughts, and behavior do you regard as beautiful? Whatever your answers might be to those questions right now, I suggest you expand and deepen your definitions in the coming weeks. You're at a perfect pivot point to invite more gorgeous, lyrical grace into your life; to seek out more elegance and charm and artistry; to cultivate more alluring, delightful magic.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
You know the expiration dates that appear on the labels of the prescription drugs you buy? They don't mean that the drugs lose their potency after that date. In fact, most drugs are still quite effective for at least another ten years. Let's use this fact as a metaphor for a certain resource or influence in your life that you fear is used up or defunct. I'm guessing it still has a lot to offer you, although you will have to shift your thinking in order to make its reserves fully available.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Libran rapper Eminem is renowned for his verbal skill. It may be best exemplified in his song "Rap God," in which he delivers 1,560 words in six minutes and four seconds, or 4.28 words per second. In one stretch, he crams in 97 words in 15 seconds, achieving a pace of 6.5 words per second. I suspect that in the coming weeks, you will also be unusually adept at using words, although your forte will be potent profundity rather than sheer speed. I encourage you to prepare by making a list of the situations where your enhanced powers of persuasion will be most useful.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
In May of 1883, the newly built Brooklyn Bridge opened for traffic. Spanning the East River to link Manhattan and Brooklyn, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. But almost immediately people spread rumors that it was unstable. There was a growing fear that it might even crumble and fall. That's when charismatic showman P. T. Barnum stepped in. He arranged to march 21 elephants across the bridge. There was no collapse, and so the rumors quickly died. I regard the coming weeks as a time when you should take inspiration from Barnum. Provide proof that will dispel gossipy doubt. Drive away superstitious fear with dramatic gestures. Demonstrate how strong and viable your improvements really are.
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HOMEWORK:
Imagine that one of your heroes comes to you and says, "Teach me the most important things you know." What do you say? 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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