Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
December 12, 2018
FreeWillAstrology.com
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My book PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA
is available at Amazon: bit.ly/Pronoia
or Powells: bit.ly/PronoiaPowells
Below is an excerpt.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR FEARFUL FANTASIES AND YOUR ACCURATE INTUITIONS
Knowing the difference between your fearful fantasies and your authentic, accurate intuitions is one of the greatest spiritual powers you can possible have.
Let's explore what it means: discerning between the frightening, alienating pictures that sometimes pop into your imagination, as opposed the simple, warm, clear direction that is always available from the deepest source within you.
Read or hear the rest: bit.ly/FearVsIntuition
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GRATITUDE FOR OUR TEACHERS!
Who would I be without my teachers? Nothing! I pay tribute to all the magnificent souls who have showered me with the blessings of their wisdom and knowledge and role modeling.
Some of the people aren't very famous -- like Ann Davies and Paul Foster Case and Marie-Louise von Franz. Others are well-known, like Clarissa Pinkola Éstes, Martin Luther King Jr., Rudolf Steiner, Emily Dickinson, Rebecca Solnit, Dion Fortune, W. S. Merwin, Dane Rudhyar, Gabriel García Márquez, Arthur Rimbaud, and Harriet Tubman.
Right now I'm extra-special celebrating the two people who taught me most about the REAL history of the country where I live: Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn. Their work is instrumental in two of the books I'll publish in the future.
I'd love to hear about a few of the teachers who have helped make you who you are. Tell me by going to freewillastrology.sparkns.com and clicking on "Email Rob."
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I'm not a Pelican Whisperer, but Marzy the Pelican is a Rob Brezsny Whisperer. See the photo: tinyurl.com/yaz392tk
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THANKS FOR FOOD STAMPS!
I'm forever grateful for the food stamps the government gave me during the 17+ years I lived in poverty as a young adult. That financial support was crucial to my process of becoming who I am.
And now here's the data about how valuable food stamps have been to many others: tinyurl.com/yc3hmbus
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Check out my Instagram page: www.instagram.com/rob.brezsny._.truthrooster
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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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OVERCOMING OUR NEGATIVITY BIAS
"Neuropsychologist Rick Hanson says that humans are evolutionarily wired with a negativity bias. Our minds naturally focus on the bad and discard the good. It was much more important for our ancestors to avoid threats than to collect rewards: An individual who successfully avoided a threat would wake up the next morning and have another opportunity to collect a reward, but an individual who didn’t avoid the threat would have no such opportunity.
"Hanson describes the brain as like 'Velcro for negative experiences and Teflon for positive ones.' While some individuals may be inherently more optimistic than others, it’s generally true that in order for positive experiences to ‘stick’ in our brains as well as negative ones do, these positive experiences need to be held in our consciousness for a longer period of time.
"'The alarm bell of your brain — the amygdala (you’ve got two of these little almond-shaped regions, one on either side of your head) — uses about two-thirds of its neurons to look for bad news: it’s primed to go negative,' writes Hanson. 'Once it sounds the alarm, negative events and experiences get quickly stored in memory — in contrast to positive events and experiences, which usually need to be held in awareness for a dozen or more seconds to transfer from short-term memory buffers to long-term storage.'"
More: tinyurl.com/yda8htgu
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Instead of buying a new car, retired paramedic spends $40K on overdose prevention kits, gives them away for free, and saves lives.
tinyurl.com/ycvvws5g
Transforming dumpsters into works of art.
tinyurl.com/y84n2ug8
These Men Are Waiting to Share Some Feelings. In meetings and retreats, chastened menfolk are working on their feelings.
tinyurl.com/yb3qnzrf
(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 13
Copyright 2018 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
"What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable?" Author John Green asked that question. I confess that I'm not entirely comfortable with it. It's a bit pushy. I find I'm more likely to do remarkable things if I'm not trying too hard to do remarkable things. Nevertheless, I offer it as one of your key themes for 2019. I suspect you will be so naturally inclined to do remarkable things that you won't feel pressure to do so. Here's my only advice: up the ante on your desire to be fully yourself; dream up new ways to give your most important gifts; explore all the possibilities of how you can express your soul's code with vigor and rigor.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
In the fairy tale "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," the heroine rejects both the options that are too puny and too excessive. She wisely decides that just enough is exactly right. I think she's a good role model for you. After your time of feeling somewhat deprived, it would be understandable if you were tempted to crave too much and ask for too much and grab too much. It would be understandable, yes, but mistaken. For now, just enough is exactly right.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
In 1140, two dynasties were at war in Weinsberg, in what's now southern Germany. Conrad III, leader of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, laid siege to the castle at Weinsberg, headquarters of the rival Welfs dynasty. Things went badly for the Welfs, and just before Conrad launched a final attack, they surrendered. With a last-minute touch of mercy, Conrad agreed to allow the women of the castle to flee in safety along with whatever possessions they could carry. The women had an ingenious response. They lifted their husbands onto their backs and hauled them away to freedom. Conrad tolerated the trick, saying he would stand by his promise. I foresee a metaphorically comparable opportunity arising for you, Aquarius. It won't be a life-or-death situation like that of the Welfs, but it will resemble it in that your original thinking can lead you and yours to greater freedom.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
The National Center for Biotechnology Information reported on a 15-year-old boy who had the notion that he could make himself into a superhero. First he arranged to get bitten by many spiders in the hope of acquiring the powers of Spiderman. That didn't work. Next, he injected mercury into his skin, theorizing it might give him talents comparable to the Marvel Comics mutant character named Mercury. As you strategize to build your power and clout in 2019, Pisces, I trust you won't resort to questionable methods like those. You won't need to! Your intuition should steadily guide you, providing precise information on how to proceed. And it all starts now.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
In 1930, some British mystery writers formed a club to provide each other with artistic support and conviviality. They swore an oath to write their stories so that solving crimes happened solely through the wits of their fictional detectives, and not through "Divine Revelation, Feminine Intuition, Mumbo Jumbo, Jiggery-Pokery, or Act of God." I understand that principle, but don't endorse it for your use in the coming weeks. On the contrary. I hope you'll be on the alert and receptive to Divine Revelations, Feminine Intuition, Mumbo Jumbo, Jiggery-Pokery, and Acts of God.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
When you're prescribed antibiotic pills to fight off infection, you should finish the entire round. If you stop taking the meds partway through because you're feeling better, you might enable a stronger version of the original infector to get a foothold in your system. This lesson provides an apt metaphor for a process you're now undergoing. As you seek to purge a certain unhelpful presence in your life, you must follow through to the end. Don't get lax halfway through. Keep on cleansing yourself and shedding the unwanted influence beyond the time you're sure you're free of it.
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PRAYERS FOR YOU
An interviewer once asked me if there's any special ritual I do before writing my weekly horoscopes. I told her that I say a prayer in which I affirm my desire to provide you with these three services:
1. that what I create will be of practical use to you;
2. that it will help you cultivate your relationship with your inner teacher;
3. that it will inspire you to tap into and use the substantial freedom you have to create the life you want.
If you ever want more inspiration generated in that same spirit -- beyond the horoscopes you're reading here -- keep in mind that every week I also create EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES for you. They're four-to-five-minute meditations on the current state of your destiny.
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):
Danish scientist and poet Piet Hein wrote this melancholy meditation: "Losing one glove is painful, but nothing compared to the pain of losing one, throwing away the other, and finding the first one again." Let his words serve as a helpful warning to you, Gemini. If you lose one of your gloves, don't immediately get rid of the second. Rather, be patient and await the eventual reappearance of the first. The same principle applies to other things that might temporarily go missing.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Cancerian author Elizabeth Gilbert is a soulful observer whose prose entertains and illuminates me. She's well aware of her own limitations, however. For example, she writes, "Every few years, I think, 'Maybe now I'm finally smart enough or sophisticated enough to understand Ulysses. So I pick it up and try it again. And by page 10, as always, I'm like, 'What the hell?'" Gilbert is referring to the renowned 20th-century novel, James Joyce's masterwork. She just can't appreciate it. I propose that you make her your inspirational role model in the coming weeks. Now is a favorable time to acknowledge and accept that there are certain good influences and interesting things that you will simply never be able to benefit from. And that's OK!
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
More than three centuries ago, Dutch immigrants in New York ate a dessert known as the olykoek, or oily cake: sugar-sweetened dough deep-fried in pig fat. It was the forerunner of the modern doughnut. One problem with the otherwise delectable snack was that the center wasn't always fully cooked. In 1847, a man named Hanson Gregory finally found a solution. Using a pepper shaker, he punched a hole in the middle of the dough, thus launching the shape that has endured until today. I bring this to your attention because I suspect you're at a comparable turning point. If all goes according to cosmic plan, you will discover a key innovation that makes a pretty good thing even better.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
I can't believe I'm going to quote pop star Selena Gomez. But according to my analysis of the current astrological omens, her simple, homespun advice could be especially helpful to you in the coming weeks. "Never look back," she says. "If Cinderella had looked back and picked up the shoe, she would have never found her prince." Just to be clear, Virgo, I'm not saying you'll experience an adventure that has a plot akin to the Cinderella fairy tale. But I do expect you will benefit from a "loss" as long as you're focused on what's ahead of you rather than what's behind you.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Among the pieces of jewelry worn by superstar Elvis Presley were a Christian cross and a Star of David. "I don't want to miss out on heaven due to a technicality," he testified. In that spirit, and in accordance with astrological omens, I urge you, too, to cover all your bases in the coming weeks. Honor your important influences. Be extra nice to everyone who might have something to offer you in the future. Show your appreciation for those who have helped make you who you are. And be as open-minded and welcoming and multicultural as you can genuinely be. Your motto is "Embrace the rainbow."
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Are you a gambling addict seeking power over your addiction? If you live in Michigan or Illinois, you can formally blacklist yourself from all casinos. Anytime your resolve wanes and you wander into a casino, you can be arrested and fined for trespassing. I invite you to consider a comparable approach as you work to free yourself from a bad habit or debilitating obsession. Enlist some help in enforcing your desire to refrain. Create an obstruction that will interfere with your ability to act on negative impulses.
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HOMEWORK:
Do a homemade ritual in which you vow to attract more blessings into your life. Report results at 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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