Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
July 8, 2020
FreeWillAstrology.com
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A good way to become more fearless is to cultivate tenderness. As you expand your capacity to feel compassionate affection, you have less to be afraid of.
That's the opposite of conventional wisdom, which says you become brave by toughening up, by reinforcing your psychic armor.
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OUR CAPACITY TO BE ASTONISHED
Let's cultivate our capacity to be astonished . . . to be thrilled by every subtle mystery that sneaks into our daily rhythm . . . to make ourselves fully available for the unexpected riddles that life is always setting in front of us.
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REVERENT JUSTICE
I hereby appoint you a dissident bodhisattva in charge of overthrowing the sour and crippled mass hallucination that is mistakenly called "reality," and replacing it with an authentic reality built on the principles of insurrectionary beauty, ingenious love, voracious curiosity, ecstatic gratitude, and reverent justice.
(Any other principles you want to add?)
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THROW A PARTY FOR ALL THE PEOPLE YOU ARE
Throw a party for all the people you've ever been and all the different selves who live within you. Invite the teenager who once seethed with frustrated potential and the four-year-old who loved nothing more than to play.
Include the hopeful complainer who stands in the shadows and dares you to ask for more, as well as the brave hero who comes out every now and then to attempt seemingly impossible feats of happiness.
Don't forget any of the various personalities who have contributed to making you who you are, even the "bad" ones. Celebrate your internal diversity. Marvel at how good you are at changing.
(For extra credit, you could also invite all the characters you've been in past incarnations, like the Balinese puppet-maker and the Nigerian herbalist and the Chinese midwife and the African savannah elephant.)
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AND TO THE BEAUTY FOR WHICH THEY STAND
I pledge allegiance
to the birds
of the United States of America
—and to the sky through which they fly
More: tinyurl.com/LoveTheBirds
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WHAT OPPORTUNITIES ARE AHEAD FOR YOU in the coming months?
EXPLORE THE BIG PICTURE OF YOUR LIFE
with my Expanded Audio Horoscopes for the Second Half of 2020.
How can you exert your free will to create the adventures that will bring out the best in you, even as you find graceful ways to cooperate with the tides of destiny?
To listen to my IN-DEPTH, LONG-TERM AUDIO FORECAST for YOUR LIFE during the next six months, go here, then register and/or sign in:
RealAstrology.com
After you log in through the main page, click on the link "Long Term Forecast for Second Half of 2020."
You can also listen to your short-term forecast for the coming week by clicking on "This week (July 7, 2020)."
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The Expanded Audio horoscopes cost $6 apiece. There are discounts for the purchase of multiple reports.
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SAVED BY LOVE
"Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime; therefore, we must be saved by hope. Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore, we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore, we are saved by love."
—Reinhold Niebuhr
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BIRTH BY FIRE
The seeds of the lodgepole pine and jack pine trees are so tightly compacted within their protective cones that they need flames to free them. It's only through the help of periodic conflagrations, then, that they're able to reproduce. Fire-dependent and fire-resistant, they can tolerate temperatures of 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit.
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DO YOU REALLY NEED TO CHANGE THE SUNSET?
"When I look at a sunset, I don't say, 'Soften the orange a little on the right hand corner, and put a bit more purple in the cloud color.'" Pioneering psychologist Carl Rogers was describing the way he observed the world. "I don't try to control a sunset," he continued. "I watch it with awe."
He had a similar view about people. "One of the most satisfying experiences," he said, "is just fully to appreciate an individual in the same way I appreciate a sunset."
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BREATHING FREE
The New York Times writes: Over the past decade, at least 70 people have died in police custody after saying the same words — “I can’t breathe.”
The dead ranged in age from 19 to 65. The majority of them had been stopped over nonviolent infractions, calls about suspicious behavior, or concerns about their mental health. More than half were Black.
Dozens of videos, court documents, autopsies, and police reports show a pattern of aggressive tactics that ignored prevailing safety precautions.
In some of the “I can’t breathe” cases, officers restrained detainees by the neck, hogtied them, shocked them with a Taser multiple times, or covered their heads with mesh hoods. Most frequently, officers pushed them face down on the ground and held them prone with their body weight.
P.S.: Only a small fraction of these murderous police have faced criminal charges, and almost none have been convicted.
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Money to Pay for “Medicare for All” Is Right Here. We already spend that much on health care.
tinyurl.com/qt9cwnr
How This Tribe Got Their Coastal California Lands Returned. The Kashia’s success might be the first time that a tribe in the U.S. has held a private deed—as well as management rights—to their ancestral lands.
tinyurl.com/tsbh3eo/
How Advocates Are Fighting Voter Suppression.
tinyurl.com/u7m823m
(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 July 9
Copyright 2020 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Cancerian author Mary McCarthy provides you with a challenge you'll be wise to relish during the rest of 2020. She writes, "Everyone continues to be interested in the quest for the self, but what you feel when you're older is that you really must make the self." McCarthy implies that this epic reorientation isn't likely until you've been on earth for at least four decades. But judging from the astrological omens, I think you're ready for it now—no matter what your age is. To drive home the point, I'll say it in different words. Your task isn't to find yourself, but rather to create yourself. Don't wait around passively for life to show you who you are. Show life who you are.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Some night soon, I predict you'll have an agitated dream while you're asleep: a nightmare that symbolizes an unresolved conflict you're wrestling with in your waking life. Here's a possible example: A repulsive politician you dislike may threaten to break a toy you loved when you were a kid. But surprise! There'll be a happy ending. A good monster will appear in your dream and fix the problem; in my example, the benevolent beast will scare away the politician who's about to break your beloved toy. Now here's the great news: In the days after your dream, you'll solve the conflict you've been wrestling with in your waking life.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
"Love is the best school, but the tuition is high and the homework can be painful," writes author Diane Ackerman. I'm guessing that in recent months, her description has been partially true for you Virgos. From what I can tell, love has indeed been a rigorous school. And the tuition has been rather high. But on the other hand, the homework has been at least as pleasurable as it has been painful. I expect these trends to continue for the foreseeable future. What teachings about intimacy, communion, tenderness, and compassion would you like to study next?
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
"A single feat of daring can alter the whole conception of what is possible," wrote Libran novelist Graham Greene. His words can serve as a stirring motto for you in the coming weeks. I sense you're close to summoning a burst of courage—a bigger supply of audacity than you've had access to in a while. I hope you'll harness this raw power to fuel a daring feat that will expand your conception of what is possible.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
"It's not always easy to tell the difference between thinking and looking out of the window," wrote poet Wallace Stevens. That's a problem you won't have to worry about anytime soon. The coming weeks will be a favorable phase for you to both think and gaze out the window—as well as to explore all the states in-between. In other words, you'll have the right and the need to indulge in a leisurely series of dreamy ruminations and meandering fantasies and playful explorations of your deepest depths and your highest heights. Don't rush the process. Allow yourself to linger in the gray areas and the vast stretches of inner wildness.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
The coming weeks will be a favorable time to undertake a transformative vision quest, even if the exigencies of the pandemic require your quest to unfold primarily in your inner realms. The near future will also bring you good fortune if you focus on creating more sacredness in your rhythm and if you make a focused effort to seek out songs, texts, inspirations, natural places, and teachers that infuse you with a reverence for life. I'm trying to help you to see, Sagittarius, that you're in a phase when you can attract healing synchronicities into your world by deepening your sense of awe and communing with experiences that galvanize you to feel worshipful.
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WHAT'S AHEAD FOR YOU?
BRAINSTORM ABOUT THE BIG PICTURE OF YOUR LIFE
with my Expanded Audio Horoscopes for the Second Half of 2020:
RealAstrology.com
What areas of your life are likely to receive unexpected assistance and divine inspiration? Where are you likely to find most success? How can you best cooperate with the cosmic rhythms?
Tune in to my meditations on your long-term outlook.
Go here: RealAstrology.com
Register or log in and click on the link
"Long Term Forecast for Second Half of 2020"
You can also listen to your short-term forecast for the coming week by clicking on "This week (July 7, 2020)."
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"Your big-picture audio horoscope was somehow both a balm for my soul and a kick in the ass. How did you do that?" - David G., Coral Gables, FL
"Your big-picture horoscopes filled the gaps in my imagination. They woke up the fun plot twists that had been just on the tip of my ability to visualize." - Ani Kraft, Brattleboro, VT
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The horoscopes cost $6 apiece. Discounts are available for multiple purchases.
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CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
"To love well is the task in all meaningful relationships, not just romantic bonds." The author and activist bell hooks wrote that. (She doesn't capitalize her name.) In accordance with the highest astrological potentials, I'm inviting you Capricorns to be inspired by her wisdom as you upgrade your meaningful relationships during the next six weeks. I think it's in your self-interest to give them even more focus and respect and appreciation than you already do. Be ingenious as you boost the generosity of spirit you bestow on your allies. Be resourceful as you do this impeccable work in the midst of a pandemic!
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
"One-half of knowing what you want is knowing what you must give up before you get it," wrote author Sydney Howard. Now would be a perfect time to act on that excellent advice. Is there any obstacle standing in the way of your ability to achieve a beloved dream? Is there a pretty good thing that's distracting you from devoting yourself wholeheartedly to a really great thing? I invite you to be a bit ruthless as you clear the way to pursue your heart's desire.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Author Ellen Goodman writes, "The truth is that we can overhaul our surroundings, renovate our environment, talk a new game, join a new club, far more easily than we can change the way we respond emotionally. It is easier to change behavior than feelings about that behavior." I think she's correct in her assessment. But I also suspect that you're in a prime position to be an exception to the rule. In the coming weeks, you will have exceptional power to transform the way you feel—especially if those feelings have previously been based on a misunderstanding of reality and especially if those feelings have been detrimental to your mental and physical health.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
"As beautiful as simplicity is, it can become a tradition that stands in the way of exploration," said singer Laura Nyro. This is practical advice for you to heed in the coming weeks. According to my analysis, you're scheduled to enjoy an extended engagement with rich, fertile complexity. The best teachings won't be reducible to a few basic lessons; rather, they'll be rife with soulful nuances. The same is true about the splendid dilemmas that bring you stimulating amusements: They can't and shouldn't be forced into pigeonholes. As a general rule, anything that seems easy and smooth and straightforward will probably not be useful. Your power will come from what's crooked, dense, and labyrinthine.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
You may think that playing heavy metal music and knitting with yarn don't have much in common. And yet there is an annual contest in Joensuu, Finland where people with expertise in needlework join heavy metal musicians on stage, plying their craft in rhythm to the beat. The next Heavy Metal Knitting World Championship will be July 15-16, 2021. This year's event was canceled due to the pandemic. If it had been staged, I bet multiple Tauruses would have been among the top ten competitors. Why? Because you Bulls are at the peak of your ability to combine things that aren't often combined. You have the potential to excel at making unexpected connections, linking influences that haven't been linked before, and being successful at comparing apples and oranges.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
In 1848, Danish King Frederick VII agreed, under pressure from liberal agitators, to relinquish some of his absolute power. Thereafter, he shared his decision-making with a newly formed parliament. He was pleased with this big change because it lightened his workload. "That was nice," he remarked after signing the new constitution. "Now I can sleep in every morning." I recommend him to you as an inspirational role model in the coming weeks. What so-called advantages in your life are more boring or burdensome than fun and interesting? Consider the possibility of shedding dubious "privileges" and status symbols.
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HOMEWORK:
Is there a so-called weakness or liability you might be able to turn into an asset? 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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