Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
February 6, 2019
FreeWillAstrology.com
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You don't have to be anything you don't want to be. You don't have to live up to anyone's expectations.
There's no need to strive for a kind of perfection that's not very interesting to you.
You don't have to believe in ideas that make you sad or tormented.
You don't have to feel emotions that others try to manipulate you into feeling.
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EACH OF US IS A BLEND
Each one of us is a blend of life and death. In the most literal sense, our bodies always contain old cells that are dying and new cells that are emerging as replacements.
From a more metaphorical perspective, our familiar ways of seeing and thinking and feeling are constantly atrophying, even as fresh modes emerge. Both losing and winning are woven into every day; sinking down and rising up; shrinking and expanding.
In any given phase of our lives, one or the other polarity is often more pronounced. But sometimes they are evenly balanced; the Seasons of Rot and of Regeneration happen at the same time.
Where are you at in the cycle right now?
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WHAT WOULD IT BE LIKE TO ASK FOR GIFTS?
I was born under the sign of Cancerian the Crab. One of the potential weaknesses of our tribe is that we can tend to be almost pathologically self-sufficient. Some of us may find it challenging to ask for help and support. In my continuing effort to overcome this inclination, I'm asking for your support!
If you would like to contribute to me and my well-being, please visit my Gift Page: paypal.me/GiftsForRob
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P.S. Every week since September 2009, I have offered my Free Will Astrology horoscopes for free here on Facebook. Fourteen years before that, in 1995 and ever since then, I began providing my horoscopes free through my website.
Unlike many other websites, mine isn't crammed with advertisements. And all the writing and music there are free.
Here's a testimony from one of my readers: "Dear Rob - I appreciate that you have never sold out to advertisers. Your site is one of the most restful places to visit on the Internet. I don’t know how you manage to make a living from doing Free Will Astrology! - Grateful Reader"
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PHOTO OP
Photo of me in the desert surrounded by Love: bit.ly/LoveInTheDesert
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ENRICHING OUR EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Many of us don't always know what we feel. We may have a vivid sense that we feel something, but we're not sure what it is. That's why musicians, writers, actors, and other creative people play such a crucial role in our emotional lives. Their work can help us articulate the enigmas fermenting within us.
But here's the problem: A majority of the artists who are easiest for us to find aren't exceptionally smart or original; they specialize in expressing hackneyed feelings.
Meanwhile, many of the very best creators "remain in relative obscurity because of their resistance to formula efforts," writes journalist Alan Cabal. "Mediocrities latch onto whatever hits and repeat it endlessly in pursuit of cash or celebrity or both." If we look to the latter for illumination, we're cheated.
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Proposed experiments:
Get tough with the lazy or wounded part of you that is drawn to the mediocrities.
Compile a roster of virtuosos who have developed a high level of proficiency in extracting esthetically exciting meaning from the fascinating chaos around us.
Expose yourself exclusively to their work, devotedly avoiding the mediocrities' stuff, for a given period, say 30 days. Describe how this transforms you.
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SPECIFIC GOALS WORK BEST
"Having very broad and abstract goals may maintain and exacerbate depression. Goals that are not specific are more ambiguous and, therefore, harder to visualize.
"If goals are hard to visualize it may result in reduced expectation of realizing them which in turn results in lower motivation to try and achieve them."
- Researchers at the institute of Health, Psychology, and Society
More: tinyurl.com/nv6jdqq
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CUTTING LOOSE
Sometimes from sorrow, for no reason,
you sing. For no reason, you accept
the way of being lost, cutting loose from
all else and electing a world
where you go where you want to.
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Arbitrary, sound comes, a reminder
that a steady center is holding
all else. If you listen, that sound
will tell you where it is, and you
can slide your way past trouble.
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Certain twisted monsters
always bar the path – but that’s when
you get going best, glad to be
lost, learning how real it is
here on the earth, again and again.
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– William Stafford, “Cutting Loose” in "Dancing with Joy: 99 Poems" edited by Roger Housden
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MY DAUGHTER ZOE'S CURATION
On Tuesday, February 12 at 7 pm, my daughter Zoe Brezsny is curating a poetry reading by renegade luminaries Cecilia Vicuña and Will Alexander. The event is at Hauser & Wirth Gallery, 548 West 22nd Street in New York City. It's free.
Cecilia Vicuña is a poet, conceptual artist, and activist. Will Alexander has served as Poet Laureate of Los Angeles and is a poet, essayist, and visual artist.
Vicuña’s rapturous songs about human rights, ecological preservation, and feminine politics will synergize Alexander’s longing "To imparadise the soul by humming butterfly dirges."
Alexander’s "Above the Human Nerve domain" will join with Vicuña’s "Ancient & Star-Flowered" to re- sensitize us, to tune us in to the world beneath the world, to the word under the word.
Vicuña’s divinations, which arm us "with the visions of words," will conspire with Alexander’s scientifically precise language, which is never cold and exacting, but rather lit with a spiritual and surreal incandescence.
More info: tinyurl.com/RenegadeLuminaries
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
For more about the good news stories below, plus links to the articles that provide full evidence, go here: tinyurl.com/ya8kb4rh
1. Spain said it would create a new marine wildlife reserve for the migrations of whales and dolphins in the Mediterranean and will prohibit all future fossil fuels exploration in the area.
2. Following "visionary" steps by Belize, UNESCO removed the Belize Barrier Reef, the second largest in the world, from its list of endangered World Heritage Sites.
3. Colombia officially expanded the Serranía de Chiribiquete (also known as The Cosmic Village of the Jaguars) to 4.3 million hectares, making it the largest protected tropical rainforest national park in the world.
4. Mexico said its population of wild jaguars, the largest feline in the Americas, grew by 20% in the past eight years, and 14 Latin American countries signed an agreement to implement a regional conservation program for the big cats through 2030.
5. In the forests of central Africa, the population of mountain gorillas, one of the world’s most endangered species, was reported to have increased by 25% since 2010, to over 1,000 individuals.
6. Canada signed another conservation deal with its First Nations people, creating the largest protected boreal forest (an area twice the size of Belgium) on the planet.
7. Chile passed a new law protecting the waters along its coastline, creating nine marine reserves and increasing the area of ocean under state protection from 4.3% to 42.4%.
8. The Seychelles created a new 130,000 square kilometer marine reserve in the Indian Ocean, protecting their waters from illegal fishing for generations to come.
9. New Caledonia agreed to place 28,000 square kilometers of its ocean waters under protection, including some of the world’s most pristine coral reefs.
(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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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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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning February 7
Copyright 2019 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Can you sit on your own head? Not many people can. It requires great flexibility. Before comedian Robin Williams was famous, he spontaneously did just that when he auditioned for the role of the extraterrestrial immigrant Mork, the hero of the TV sitcom Mork and Mindy. The casting director was impressed with Williams' odd but amusing gesture, and hired him immediately. If you're presented with an opportunity sometime soon, I encourage you to be inspired by the comedian's ingenuity. What might you do to cinch your audition, to make a splashy first impression, to convince interested parties that you're the right person?
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Twitter wit Notorious Debi Hope advises us, "Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assho--s." That's wise counsel for you to keep in mind during the next three weeks. Let me add a few corollaries. First, stave off any temptation you might have to believe that others know what's good for you better than you do. Second, figure out what everyone thinks of you and aggressively liberate yourself from their opinions. Third, if anyone even hints at not giving you the respect you deserve, banish them for at least three weeks.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Climbing mountains has been a popular adventure since the nineteenth century, but there are still many peaks around the world that no one has ever ascended. They include the 24,591-foot-high Muchu Chhish in Pakistan, 23,691-foot Karjiang South in Tibet, and 12,600-foot Sauyr Zhotasy on the border of China and Kazakhstan. If there are any Aries mountaineers reading this horoscope who have been dreaming about conquering an unclimbed peak, 2019 will be a great time to do it, and now would be a perfect moment to plan or launch your quest. As for the rest of you Aries, what's your personal equivalent of reaching the top of an unclimbed peak?
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Eminem's song "Lose Yourself" was a featured track in the movie 8 Mile, and it won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2003. The creator himself was not present at the Oscar ceremony to accept his award, however. He was so convinced his song would lose that he stayed home. At the moment that presenter Barbra Streisand announced Eminem's triumph, he was asleep in front of the TV with his daughter, who was watching cartoons. In contrast to him, I hope you will be fully available and on the scene for the recognition or acknowledgment that should be coming your way sometime soon.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
While enjoying its leisure time, the peregrine falcon glides around at 50 miles per hour. But when it's motivated by the desire to eat, it may swoop and dart at a velocity of 220 miles per hour. Amazing! In accordance with your astrological omens, Gemini, I propose that we make the peregrine falcon your spirit creature for the next three weeks. I suspect you will have extraordinary speed and agility and focus whenever you're hunting for exactly what you want. So here's a crucial question: what exactly do you want?
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Now and then the sun shines and rain falls at the same time. The meteorological name for the phenomenon is "sunshower," but folklore provides other terms. Hawaiians may call it "liquid sunshine" or "ghost rain." Speakers of the Tangkhul language in India imagine it as "the wedding of a human and spirit." Some Russians refer to it as "mushroom rain," since it's thought to encourage the growth of mushrooms. Whatever you might prefer to call it, Cancerian, I suspect that the foreseeable future will bring you delightful paradoxes in a similar vein. And in my opinion, that will be very lucky for you, since you'll be in the right frame of mind and spirit to thrive amidst just such situations.
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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.
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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.
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"I don't much believe in astrology. But that doesn't seem to get in the way of me deriving a whole lot of benefits from your expanded audio horoscopes."
- A. Arrosto, Indianapolis
"You have an amazing aptitude for cutting through the lies I tell myself. Thanks for the gentle shocks."
- T. Preneris, Toronto
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LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
A study by the Fidelity financial services company revealed that in 43% of all couples, neither partner has an accurate knowledge of how much money the other partner earns. Meanwhile, research by the National Institute of Health concludes that among heterosexual couples, 36 percent of husbands misperceive how frequently their wives have orgasms. I bring this to your attention in order to sharpen your focus on how crucial it is to communicate clearly with your closest allies. I mean, it's rarely a good idea to be ignorant about what's going on with those close to you, but it'll be an especially bad idea during the next six weeks.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Torre Mayor is one of the tallest skyscrapers in Mexico City. When workers finished its construction in 2003, it was one of the world's most earthquake-proof buildings, designed to hold steady during an 8.5-level temblor. Over the course of 2019, Virgo, I'd love to see you erect the metaphorical equivalent of that unshakable structure in your own life. The astrological omens suggest that doing so is quite possible. And the coming weeks will be an excellent time to launch that project or intensify your efforts to manifest it.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Multitalented Libran singer and actor Donald Glover uses the name of Childish Gambino when he performs his music. How did he select that alias? He used an online random name generator created by the rap group Wu-Tang Clan. I tried the same generator and got "Fearless Warlock" as my new moniker. You might want to try it yourself, Libra. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to add layers to your identity and expand your persona and mutate your self-image. The generator is here: tinyurl.com/yournewname. (P.S.: If you don't like the first one you're offered, keep trying until you get one you like.)
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Leonardo da Vinci's painting Salvator Mundi sold for $450 million in 2017. Just twelve years earlier, an art collector had bought it for $10,000. Why did its value increase so extravagantly? Because in 2005, no one was sure it was an authentic da Vinci painting. It was damaged and had been covered with other layers of paint that hid the original image. After extensive efforts at restoration, the truth about it emerged. I foresee the possibility of a comparable, if less dramatic, development in your life during the next ten months, Scorpio. Your work to rehabilitate or renovate an underestimated resource could bring big dividends.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
We can behold colors because of specialized cells in our eyes called cones. Most of us have three types of cones, but a few rare people have four. This enables them to see far more hues than the rest of us. Are you a tetrachromat, a person with super-vision? Whether you are or not, I suspect you will have extra powerful perceptual capacities in the coming weeks. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you will be able to see more than you usually do. The world will seem brighter and deeper and more vivid. I urge you to deploy your temporary superpower to maximum advantage.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
There are two kinds of minor, boring little tasks. One is when you're attending to a detail that's not in service to a higher purpose; the other is when you're attending to a detail that is a crucial step in the process of fulfilling an important goal. An example of the first might be when you try in vain to scour a permanent stain on a part of the kitchen counter that no one ever sees. An example of the second is when you download an update for an existing piece of software so your computer works better and you can raise your efficiency levels as you pursue a pet project. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to keep this distinction in mind as you focus on the minor, boring little tasks that are crucial steps in the process of eventually fulfilling an important goal.
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HOMEWORK:
What is the best gift you could give your best ally right now? Testify 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 2019 Rob Brezsny
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