Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
February 5, 2020
FreeWillAstrology.com
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"I've found a nice balance," writes EarthMover, one of my non-Facebook friends, "between living like someone who has overdosed on delusional optimism and someone who thinks everything and everyone sucks. I can see things as they really are instead of through either rose-colored glasses or murk-colored glasses.
"That means I can cultivate true objectivity, not the fake cynical kind. I free myself from negative emotional biases that used to cloud my ability to see the partially hidden beauty all around me.
"At the same time, I'm not addicted to the idea that I should be eternally happy and blithe and sweet. When the dark moods descend on me, I trust them. I know they are openings into equally sacred perceptions and insights."
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I've gathered together all of the long-term, big-picture horoscopes I wrote for you in the past weeks, and bundled them in one place. Go here to read a compendium of your forecasts for 2020:
bit.ly/2020BigPicture
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In addition to these, I've created three-part, in-depth EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES about Your Long-Range Future. They go even further in exploring your prospects and challenges in 2020.
Who do you want to become in the coming months? Where do you want to go and what do you want to do? How can you exert your free will to create adventures that'll bring out the best in you, even as you find graceful ways to cooperate with the tides of destiny?
To listen to these three-part, in-depth reports, go here:
freewillastrology.sparkns.com
Register and/or log in through the main page, and then access the horoscopes by clicking on "Long Range Prediction." (Choose from Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3.)
If you'd like a boost of inspiration to fuel you in your quest for beauty and truth and love and meaning, tune in to my meditations on your Big-Picture outlook.
Each of the three-part reports is seven to nine minutes long. The cost is $6 per report. There are discounts for the purchase of multiple reports.
P.S. You can also listen to a short-term Expanded Audio Horoscope for the coming week and for last week.
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ARE YOU READY?
"The soul should always stand ajar," said 19th-century Emily Dickinson poet in one of her poems, "That if the heaven inquire, He will not be obliged to wait, Or shy of troubling her."
My translation: Keep your deep psyche in a constant state of readiness for the possible influx of divine inspiration or unexpected blessings. That way, you're likely to recognize the call when it comes and respond with the alacrity necessary to get the full benefit of its offerings.
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WE HAVE COME TO BE DANCED
by Jewel Mathieson
We have come to be danced
Not the pretty dance
Not the pretty pretty, pick me, pick me dance
But the claw our way back into the belly
Of the sacred, sensual animal dance
The unhinged, unplugged, cat is out of its box dance
The holding the precious moment in the palms
Of our hands and feet dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the jiffy booby, shake your booty for him dance
But the wring the sadness from our skin dance
The blow the chip off our shoulder dance.
The slap the apology from our posture dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the monkey see, monkey do dance
One two dance like you
One two three, dance like me dance
but the grave robber, tomb stalker
Tearing scabs and scars open dance
The rub the rhythm raw against our soul dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the nice, invisible, self-conscious shuffle
But the matted hair flying, voodoo mama
Shaman shakin’ ancient bones dance
The strip us from our casings, return our wings
Sharpen our claws and tongues dance
The shed dead cells and slip into
The luminous skin of love dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the hold our breath and wallow in the shallow end of the floor dance
But the meeting of the trinity, the body breath and beat dance
The shout hallelujah from the top of our thighs dance
The mother may I?
Yes you may take 10 giant leaps dance
The olly olly oxen free free free dance
The everyone can come to our heaven dance.
We have come to be danced
Where the kingdoms collide
In the cathedral of flesh
To burn back into the light
To unravel, to play, to fly, to pray
To root in skin sanctuary
We have come to be danced
WE HAVE COME
poem by Jewel Mathieson
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THIS IS A GOLDEN AGE FOR SPIRITUAL INFORMATION
Sometimes we get so bound up fretting about the damage that fundamentalist religions wreak on the world that we forget about a countervailing development: the explosion of wisdom about spirituality and consciousness that has happened in the last 140 years.
Here's one person's timeline about how this unprecedented series of breakthroughs has unfolded: tinyurl.com/bjc7jof
What books and events would you add?
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YOU MUST EARN YOUR RIGHT TO CRITICIZE AND DEBUNK
Famous scientists like Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson have made attempts to debunk astrology without having studied anything more than the most superficial expressions of astrology. Their efforts are akin to, say, a music critic who summarily belittles all music ever created based on his brief exposure to a street musician he heard playing once in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Louisville.
Let's hope that Tyson and Nye and their fellow skeptical soldiers do a better job if they ever turn their attention to debunking related areas of human inquiry. They might consider, for example, actually reading the books of Carl Jung before debunking Jungian psychology.
Let's hope they will study up on lucid dream studies before ridiculing them, and that they will gaze at a few of Kandinsky's paintings before they inevitably trash them as "unscientific." The mythological thought of Joseph Campbell would certainly be a fair target for their debunking crusade as long as they first familiarized themselves with Campbell's books.
Here's a template for how they might proceed -- a debunking of the poetry of John Keats, as carried out by a critic who calls her blog "The Invisible Left Hand of Jesus":
"'Ode on a Grecian Urn,' a poem by John Keats, contains many egregious lies, distortions, and inaccuracies. Indeed, it is so replete with statements that are blatantly scientifically inaccurate that its overall veracity is extremely questionable.
"Note, for instance, the first two lines, 'Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness, Thou foster-child of Silence and slow Time.' The term 'unravished' is immediately worrisome. One certainly hopes that the urn has not been the victim of forcible sexual intercourse. Taking the effort to deny something so unlikely indicates that such things are, to Keats, within the realm of possibility.
"Furthermore, 'quietness' is an abstraction related to the relative absence of sound in a place -- that is, compression waves traveling through a medium. As a sound wave cannot be married, and therefore cannot logically be called a "bride", it is that much more the case that its absence will never experience matrimony . . ."
tinyurl.com/rnw6dsd
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SACRED AD
This perfect day is brought to you by the origin myth of the Iroquois' Thunderbird Clan: Earthmaker woke up to realize he was the only being in the universe. Out of the depths of his loneliness, he cried, unleashing a flood of tears that became the oceans and rivers and lakes of our world.
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ENEMY OF COMPASSION?
Pema Chodron says that one of the enemies of compassion “is idiot compassion. This is when we avoid conflict and protect our good image by being kind when we should definitely say 'no.'
"Compassion doesn't only imply trying to be good. When we find ourselves in an aggressive relationship, we need to set clear boundaries. The kindest thing we can do for everyone concerned is to know when to say 'enough.' Many people use Buddhist ideals to justify self-debasement. In the name of not shutting our heart we let people walk all over us.
"It is said that in order not to break our vow of compassion we have to learn when to stop aggression and draw the line. There are times when the only way to bring down barriers is to set boundaries."
- Pema Chodron, "The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times"
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
We are not doomed:
tinyurl.com/wtzhoyl
Greece Elected an Environmentalist As Its First Woman President:
tinyurl.com/qle6e8l
After a man collapsed of a heart attack at a grocery store in rural Minnesota, 20 people lined up and performed CPR on him for 96 minutes until paramedics arrived. The man survived.
(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 February 6
Copyright 2020 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
According to my analysis, the year 2020 will be a time when you can have dramatic success as you re-evaluate and re-vision and revamp your understandings of your life purpose. Why were you born? What's the nature of your unique genius? What are the best gifts you have to offer the world? Of the many wonderful feats you could accomplish, which are the most important? The next few weeks will be a potent time to get this fun and energizing investigation fully underway.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Physicist Niels Bohr won a Nobel Prize for his insights about quantum mechanics. But he was humble about the complexity of the subject. "If you think you understand it, that only shows you don’t know the first thing about it," he mused. I'm tempted to make a similar statement about the mysteries and riddles that are making your life so interesting. If you think you understand those mysteries and riddles, you probably don't. But if you're willing to acknowledge how perplexing they are, and you can accept the fact that your comprehension of them is partial and fuzzy, then you might enjoy a glimmer of the truth that's worth building on.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
You now have the power to make connections that have not previously been possible. You can tap into an enhanced capacity to forge new alliances and strengthen your support system. I urge you to be on the lookout for a dynamic group effort you could join or a higher purpose you might align yourself with. If you're sufficiently alert, you may even find an opportunity to weave your fortunes together with a dynamic group effort that's in service to a higher purpose.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
"Victory won't come to me unless I go to it," wrote the poet Marianne Moore. In other words, you must track down each victory you're interested in. You must study its unique nature. And then you must adjust yourself to its specifications. You can't remain just the way you are, but must transform yourself so as to be in alignment with the responsibilities it demands of you. Can you pass these tests, Taurus? I believe you can. It's time to prove it.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
While at the peak of his powers as an author, Gemini-born Nobel Prize-winner Jean Paul Sartre consumed an array of mood-shifters every day. He quaffed at least a quart of alcohol, smoked two packs of cigarettes, and drank copious amounts of coffee and tea. His intake of pills included 200 milligrams of amphetamines, 15 grams of aspirin, and a handful of barbiturates. I propose that we make Sartre your anti-role model during the next four weeks, dear Gemini. According to my analysis of your astrological indicators, your ability to discover, attract, and benefit from wonders and marvels will thrive to the degree that you forswear drugs and alcohol and artificial enhancements. And I'm pleased to inform you that there could be a flood of wonders and marvels.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
I don't think I'm boring. How could I be? I have an abundant curiosity and I love to learn new things. I've worked at many different jobs, have read widely, and enjoy interacting with a broad range of humans. Yet now and then I've had temporary relationships with people who regarded me as uninteresting. They didn't see much of value in me. I tend to believe it was mostly their fault—they couldn't see me for who I really am—but it may have also been the case that I lived down to their expectations. Their inclination to see me as unimportant influenced me to be dull. I bring this up, my fellow Cancerian, because now is an excellent time to remove yourself from situations where you have trouble being and feeling your true self.
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VISUALIZE YOUR BEST POSSIBLE FUTURE
Would you like some inspiration as you muse and wonder about your upcoming adventures in 2020?
You can still listen to my long-range, in-depth explorations of your destiny in the coming months. Each report in the three-part series is 7 to 9 minutes long.
Go to freewillastrology.sparkns.com
Register and/or log in through the main page, and then access the horoscopes by clicking on "Long Range Prediction." (Choose from Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.)
A new short-range forecast for this week is also available.
The cost is $6 per sign, with discounts for bulk purchases.
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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):
Soprano Helen Traubel and tenor Lauritz Melchior performed together in many productions of Wagnerian operas, often at the Metropolitan in New York City. Friends and colleagues but not lovers, they had a playful relationship with each other. A favorite pastime was figuring out tricks they could try that would cause the other to break into inappropriate laughter while performing. According to my quirky reading of the astrological omens, Leo, the coming weeks will be a propitious time for you to engage in similar hijinx with your allies. You have a poetic license and a spiritual mandate to enjoy amusing collaborative experiments, playful intimate escapades, and adventures in buoyant togetherness.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Eighteenth-century author Samuel Johnson singlehandedly compiled the influential A Dictionary of the English Language, which remained the definitive British dictionary for 170 years. We shouldn't be surprised that it was a Virgo who accomplished such an intricate and exhaustive feat. As a high-minded Virgo, Johnson also had a talent for exposing hypocrisy. In commenting on the Americans' War of Independence against his country, he noted that some of the "loudest yelps for liberty" came from slave-owners. I propose that we make him one of your role models in 2020. May he inspire you to produce rigorous work that's useful to many. May he also empower you to be a candid purveyor of freedom.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Is there a project or situation you'd love to create but have lacked the confidence to try? Now is a time when you can finally summon the necessary courage. Is there a long-running dilemma that has always seemed too confusing and overwhelming to even understand, let alone solve? Now is a favorable time to ask your higher self for the clear vision that will instigate an unforeseen healing. Is there a labor of love that seems to have stalled or a dream that got sidetracked? Now is a time when you could revive its luminosity and get it back in a sweet groove.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Was there a more influential 20th-century artist than Scorpio-born Pablo Picasso? He was a revolutionary innovator who got rich from his creations. Once, while visiting a gallery showing of art made by children, he said, "When I was their age I could draw like Raphael [the great Renaissance artist]. But it took me a lifetime to learn to draw like they do." In accordance with your current astrological omens, Scorpio, I suggest you seek inspiration from Picasso's aspiration. Set an intention to develop expertise in seeing your world and your work through a child's eyes.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
I know a Sagittarius man who has seen the film Avengers: Endgame 17 times. Another Sagittarian acquaintance estimates she has listened all the way through to Billie Eilish's album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? 135 times. And then there's my scholarly Sagittarian friend who has read the ancient Greek epic poem the Iliad 37 times. I have no problem with this behavior. I admire your tribe's ability to keep finding new inspiration in sources you already know well. But in my astrological opinion, you shouldn't do much of this kind of thing in the coming weeks. It's high time for you to experiment with experiences you know little about. Be fresh, innocent, and curious.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Athens was one of the great cities of the ancient world. Its vigorous art, theater, philosophy, architecture, and experiments in democracy are today regarded as foundational to Western culture. And yet at its height, Athens' population was a mere 275,000—equal to modern Fort Wayne, Indiana or Windsor, Ontario. How could such a relatively small source breed such intensity and potency? That's a long story. In any case, I foresee you having the potential to be like Athens yourself in the coming weeks and months, Capricorn: a highly concentrated fount of value. For best results, focus on doing what you do best.
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HOMEWORK:
You can fling imaginary lightning bolts from your fingers any time you want. Prove it! 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 2020 Rob Brezsny
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