Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
March 31, 2021
FreeWillAstrology.com
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firgun (n.) the act of sharing in or contributing to someone else's pleasure or fortune, with a purely generous heart and without jealousy; or of sharing credit fairly. (From the Hebrew.)
mudita (n.) sympathetic, vicarious joy; happiness rather than resentment at someone else's well-being or good fortune; the opposite of schadenfreude. (From the Sanskrit.)
unne (adj.) to be happy on someone else’s behalf. (From the Norwegian.)
compersion (n.) an empathetic state of happiness and joy experienced when another individual experiences happiness and joy. (From the English.)
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BE LIKE YOUR BEST SELF
Someone paid me the highest compliment. She said, “I want to make sure I tell you how often your process of being you has helped me in my process of being me.”
One essential element of my teachings is that I don't want you to be like me; I want you to be like you—to the fullest, deepest, most glorious and sacred and eccentric extent possible.
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FOR ANOTHER 60 YEARS
I’m probably going to write my horoscopes for only another 60 years. My tentative plans are to retire in 2081.
Don’t worry about it, though. I’m sure that by then, I will have conspired with cyberhackers to create an ultimate Artificial Intelligence that will generate “Rob Brezsny”-style horoscopes until the sun explodes in about 7.5 billion years.
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THE EVER-EVOLVING TRUTH
The ever-evolving truth is far too complicated and fluid and slippery and scrambled and gorgeously abundant for one human being to master—even for genius bodhisattva avatars (I’ve heard rumors that there have been a few of such characters), let alone me and you and virtually everyone else who has ever lived.
I'm lucky to have gotten my percentage of mastery up to about 3%. On a good day, that’s how much I understand of the Maddening and Delightful Mystery we are embedded in.
That means I don't know 97% about how the Great Mystery actually works. This is despite the fact that my heart and mind have always been greedily curious to learn and experience as much as I can.
Here’s the solution I’ve come up with: I employ an empirical approach to life. I formulate amusing, non-binding hypotheses about what the Great Mystery might be like, and then collect the experimental data that’s generated as I test my hypotheses. I observe and analyze the results to determine how well each hypothesis works the following magic:
1. Does it liberate me from suffering and does it inspire me to help liberate other creatures from their suffering?
2. Does it make me a smarter and kinder and trickier and humbler fool?
3. Does it motivate me to embrace what I call the FLUX MOJO? In other words, does it fuel me to overthrow my own fixations, cooperate enthusiastically with the never-ending change that life asks me to deal with, and continually reinvent my attitudes, perspectives, ideas, and feelings?
4. Does it engender in me a lust for life and a primal urge to respond creatively to the glory of being alive and conscious?
5. Does it fuel my longing to inspire and nurture and play with those who are interested in sharing space with me?
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DAILY TEXT MESSAGE HOROSCOPES
I write daily horoscopes, available as text messages sent to your phone. They're shorter than the weekly Free Will Astrology 'scopes, but more frequent. They're called SUNBURSTS.
You can get these regular bursts of inspiration for 67 cents a day if you sign up for a subscription.
Go to RealAstrology.com. Register or log in. On the new page, click on "Subscribe / Renew" under "Daily Text Message Horoscopes" in the right-hand column.
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THE EDUCATION OF DESIRE
A famous Sufi teacher named Hazrat Inayat Khan said, “All that produces longing in the heart deprives the heart of freedom.” I am in fervent disagreement with that idea.
In my experience, longing in the heart is the single greatest motivator in my own quest for liberation from delusion and suffering.
The longing of the heart is a treasure, a divine blessing, a joy that inspires me to love the world, myself, and everything in it.
Here's another Sufi teacher, Pir Zia Inayat-Khan, whose thoughts match mine: "From a Sufi perspective, the whole universe is a phenomenon of desire. The Divine desire pervades all things and beings, empowering each according to its capacity. For the mystic, the truest education is the education of desire. By means of this education the indwelling Divine desire is liberated from the constraints of the ego and becomes a force for the transfiguration of the world."
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Here's an excerpt from a review of one of my favorite books, Daniel Odier's Desire: The Tantric Path to Awakening:
"The old saw in Buddhism is that desire is the noxious weed that keeps us lurching from one unsatisfactory pleasure to the next, and that uprooting it is the only way to liberation.
"Daniel Odier, a scholar and teacher of tantra, turns this wisdom on its head in Desire: The Tantric Path to Awakening, saying that desire is the only true path to liberation.
"Odier objects to any religion that pretends to offer liberation in any form other than simple, personal experience."
More by Daniel Odier: tinyurl.com/v6vft782
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Some religious traditions teach the doctrine, "Kill off your longings." In their view, attachment to desire is at the root of human suffering.
But the religion of materialism takes the opposite tack, asserting that the meaning of life is to be found in indulging desires. Its creed is, "Feed your cravings like a French foie gras farmer cramming eight pounds of maize down a goose's gullet every day."
At the Beauty and Truth Lab, we walk a middle path. We believe there are both degrading desires that enslave you and sacred desires that liberate you.
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Psychologist Carl Jung believed that all desires have a sacred origin, no matter how odd they may seem. Frustration and ignorance may contort them into distorted caricatures, but it is always possible to locate the divine source from which they arose.
In describing one of his addictive patients, Jung said: "His craving for alcohol was the equivalent on a low level of the spiritual thirst for wholeness, or as expressed in medieval language: the union with God."
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"The primordial fire that sparked millions of galaxies is the same fire that sparks the human creative impulse."
—Cindy Spring
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"The human reproductive drive is a watered-down version of the godsex that spawned our solar system."
—Lieutenant Anfortas, the homeless man in the Safeway parking lot
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"Mad! One must become mad with love in order to realize God. When a person attains ecstatic love of God, all the pores of the skin, even the roots of the hair, become like so many sex organs, and in every pore the aspirant enjoys the happiness of communion with the Supreme Universal Self."
—Ramakrishna
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Like all of us, you have desires for things that you don't really need and aren't good for you. But you shouldn't disparage yourself for having them, nor should you conclude that every desire is tainted.
Rather, think of your misguided longings as the bumbling, amateur expressions of a faculty that will one day be far more expert.
They're how you practice as you work toward the goal of becoming a master of desire. It may take a while, but eventually you will get the hang of wanting things that are really good for you, and good for everyone else, too.
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To become a master of desire, keep talking yourself out of being attached to trivial goals and keep talking yourself into being thrilled about the precious few goals that are really important.
Here's another way to say it: Wean yourself from ego-driven desires and pour your libido into a longing for beauty, truth, goodness, justice, integrity, creativity, love, and an intimate relationship with the Wild Divine.
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"God has desires. Since I want to be close to God and to model myself after God, I therefore don't aspire to extinguish my desires, but rather to make my desires more God-like: i.e., imbued with an inexorable ambition to create the greatest and most interesting blessings for everyone and everything."
—Collin Klamper
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John Botiller writes: "There are a lot of false beliefs about Buddhism which make it seem unpalatable. I've used it successfully to improve my life when I need to. I don't identify as a Buddhist, but it pleases me to share this misinformation with you if you are interested in reading. I correct 3 big misunderstandings that exist in the American cultural narrative. My source is as close to the original as possible-Theravada Buddhism.
"1) Buddha didn't teach that all life is suffering. He acknowledges the pleasures that exist. What he taught is that suffering does exist and it happens when we try to hold onto things that are subject to change. That's all. We can all agree.
"2) Buddha didn't teach that desire is at the root of suffering. He taught that craving, which means the plans you formulate to make contact with pleasurable sense objects, is the cause of suffering, not desires. He said desires are conditioned by nature. If you want to have sex, you want food, you want companionship, you want to see beauty, hear awesome sounds, feel tactile pleasures, you want to because of nature. You can't undo these things. You might as well hold your breath.
"3) Buddha didn't teach that there is or isn't a self. He taught a strategy called the not-self strategy. He did this because you can get attached to a sense of self that is destined to change and if you cling to it you will suffer. So he has you look at what's happening in the present moment and see that whatever's in front of you has a cause and that cause isn't a self.
"Everything is a series of causes and effects that happen through a body, but there's never a self you discover that's doing it. Everything has a logical basis.
"That doesn't mean that a self does or does not exist. He puts all existential questions of existence/non-existence (is there a god, is there a self, is existence real?) aside as not belonging to what he teaches-- Stress and the cessation of stress."
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WHO OWNS THE LAND?
I've known conservative white men who place great emphasis on the fact that throughout history the migration of people from one land to another has always been common. Everyone on earth originated somewhere else, they say. From an historical perspective, it's not unusual or problematic that Native Americans were displaced by invading Europeans. After all, Indians had originally wandered to the Americas from original homes on another continent.
Amusingly, the conservative white men who make this argument are usually worshipers of the right to own land. For them the concept of private property is a sacred dispensation. They also neglect to notice the huge distinction between humans migrating into previously uninhabited land and humans invading land already occupied by great numbers of humans.
Their hypocrisy would be hilarious if it weren't so astoundingly ignorant. They sputter and go blank when I remind them that the ancestors of modern Native Americans arrived in what's now the United States at least 15,000 years ago—600 generations. They seem unable to acknowledge the truth that even if their forebears reached the "New World" as early as the 17th century, their people have occupied the land for a mere 16 generations—less than three percent of the indigenous span.
In light of these thoughts, here are three questions for us:
• Let's say you bought the property and home where you now live, or else inherited it from your family. Is that place more thoroughly your personal property than, say, the places inhabited by the Dwamish people, circa 1800, who had been living in what's now the Seattle area for at least 390 generations?
• Imagine this scenario: An invading army of extraterrestrial beings with highly advanced technology arrives on Earth. They seize your land and home, and force you to flee. Do you complain? Do you fight back?
I guess it's possible you might say to yourself, "Oh, well, the migration of people from one land to another has been common throughout history. I'm just another example. Guess it's time for me to move on."
• How well do you know the land and the ecology of the place where you live? Can you name ten local species of trees and plants? Ten species of birds and insects? Do you know the geological history? What are five bodies of water near you? Do you know which indigenous people once dwelled where you do now?
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Why indigenous folklore can save animals’ lives.
tinyurl.com/37fpvhu2
Culturally significant island in Salish Sea returns to First Nations.
tinyurl.com/4msrtew5
"Reserved as Confucius was about the supernatural, he was not without it; somewhere in the universe there was a power that was on the side of right."
—religious scholar Huston Smith
"I am a center of expression for the Primal Will to Good, which eternally creates and sustains the universe."
—affirmation by Qabalistic author Paul Foster Case
More affirmations: tinyurl.com/336zdu22
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For a lot more pronoiac resources and ideas, read my book Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings
Available at Barnes & Noble: tinyurl.com/PronoiaBN
Available at Amazon: bit.ly/Pronoia
A free preview of the book is available here: tinyurl.com/PronoiaPreview
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Please tell me your own nominations for PRONOIA RESOURCES: Truthrooster@gmail.com.
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning April 1
Copyright 2021 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Playwright August Strindberg (1849–1912) was a maverick innovator who loved to experiment with plot and language. One of his stories takes place in a dream and the hero is the Christ-like daughter of a Vedic god. He once said that he felt "an immense need to become a savage and create a new world." Given your current astrological potentials, Aries, I suspect that might be an apt motto for you right now. APRIL FOOL! I half-lied. There's no need for you to become a savage. In fact, it's better if you don't. But the coming weeks will definitely be a good time to create a new world.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Who says all Tauruses are dependable, gentle, risk-avoidant, sensible, and reliable? Taurus author Mary MacLane (1861–1929), known as the "Wild Woman of Butte, Montana," authored shocking, scandalous books. In I Await the Devil's Coming, she testified, "I am not good. I am not virtuous. I am not generous. I am merely a creature of intense passionate feeling. I feel—everything. It is my genius. It burns me like fire." Can I convince you, Taurus, to make her your role model for the coming weeks? APRIL FOOL! I don't think you should be EXACTLY like MacLane. Please leave out the part about "I am not good. I am not virtuous. I am not generous," as well as the "I await the devil's coming" part. But yes, do be a creature of intensely passionate feeling. Let your feelings be your genius, burning in you like a fire.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Poet Emily Dickinson had a good sense of humor, so she was probably making a wry joke when she wrote, "The lovely flowers embarrass me. They make me regret I am not a bee." But who knows? Maybe Emily was being a bit sincere, too. In any case, I advise you to make a list of all the things you regret not being—all the qualities and assets you wish you had, but don't. It's a favorable time to wallow in remorse. APRIL FOOL! I was totally lying! In fact, I hope you will do the reverse: Engage in an orgy of self-appreciation, celebrating yourself for being exactly who you are.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Provocation specialist Lydia Lunch is a singer and poet who's skilled at generating interesting mischief. She testifies, "My daily existence is a battlecade of extreme fluctuations where chaos clobbers apathy, which beats the s--- out of depression which follows irritability which slams into anger which eclipses ecstasy which slips through my fingers far too often." In the coming weeks, Cancerian, I recommend you adopt her melodramatic approach to living the intense life. APRIL FOOL! I lied. Please don't be like Lydia Lunch in the near future. On the contrary: Cultivate regal elegance, sovereign poise, and dynamic equanimity.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
In 1692, a Swedish man named Thiess of Kaltenbrun was put on trial for being a werewolf. He claimed to be a noble werewolf, however. He said he regularly went down to Hell to do holy combat against the Devil. I suggest you make him your inspirational role model in the coming weeks. Be as weird as you need to be in order to fight for what's good and right. APRIL FOOL! I half-lied. What I really meant to say was: Be as weird as you need to be, but without turning into a werewolf, zombie, vampire, goblin, or other supernatural monster.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
"I want to hear raucous music, to brush against bodies, to drink fiery Benedictine," wrote author Anais Nin. "Beautiful women and handsome men arouse fierce desires in me. I want to dance. I want drugs. I want to know perverse people, to be intimate with them. I want to bite into life, and to be torn by it." All that sounds like perfect counsel for you to consider right now, dear Virgo! APRIL FOOL! I lied. Nin's exuberant testimony might be an interesting perspective to flirt with—if the COVID-19 virus had been completely tamed. But it hasn't. So I must instead suggest that you find ways to express this lively, unruly energy in safe and sublimated ways.
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DAILY TEXT MESSAGE HOROSCOPES
Did you know that I write daily horoscopes, available as text messages sent to your phone? They're shorter than the weekly 'scopes, but more frequent. They're called SUNBURSTS.
You can get these regular bursts of inspiration for 67 cents a day if you sign up for a subscription.
Go to RealAstrology.com. Register or log in. On the new page, click on "Subscribe / Renew" under "Daily Text Message Horoscopes" in the right-hand column.
As always, you can also buy and listen to my Expanded Audio Horoscopes, also available at RealAstrology.com.
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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Here are affirmations that will serve you well in the coming days. 1. "I am willing to make mistakes if someone else is willing to learn from them." 2. "I am grateful that I'm not as judgmental as all the shortsighted, self-righteous people." 3. "I assume full responsibility for my actions, except those that are someone else's fault." 4. "A good scapegoat is as welcome as a solution to the problem." APRIL FOOL! All the preceding affirmations are total bunk! Don't you dare use them. Use these instead: 1. "I enjoy taking responsibility for my actions." 2. "Rather than indulging in the reflex to blame, I turn my attention to fixing the problem." 3. "No one can make me feel something I don't want to feel." 4. "I'm free from believing in the images people have of me."
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
According to author Kahlil Gibran, "If we were all to sit in a circle and confess our sins, we would laugh at each other for lack of originality." But I challenge you Scorpios to refute that theory in the coming days. For the sake of your sanity and health, you need to commit highly original sins—the more, the better. APRIL FOOL! I lied. Save your novel, imaginative sinning for later. The truth is that now is an excellent time to explore the joyous and healthy practice of being extremely virtuous. Imitate author Susan Sontag: "My idolatry: I've lusted after goodness. Wanting it here, now, absolutely, increasingly."
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
The coming months would be a great time to start your own university and then award yourself a PhD in Drugless Healing or Mathematical Reincarnation or Political Metaphysics—or any other subject you'd like to be considered an expert in. Hey, why not give yourself three PhDs and call yourself a Professor Emeritus? APRIL FOOL! I'm just joking. The coming months will indeed be an extremely favorable time to advance your education, but with real learning, not fake credentials.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
After his Nirvana bandmate Kurt Cobain committed suicide, Capricorn drummer Dave Grohl was depressed for months. To cheer himself up, he wrote and recorded an album's worth of songs, playing almost all the instruments himself: drums, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass, and vocals. I think you should try a similar spectacularly heroic solo task in the coming weeks. APRIL FOOL! I lied. Here's my true and actual advice: Now is a time when you should gather all the support and help and cooperation you can possibly garner for a beloved project.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Argentine poet Alejandra Pizarnik told her psychoanalyst León Ostrov that if she were going to steal something, it would be "the façade of a certain collapsed house in a little town called Fontenay-aux-Roses [near Paris]." What was so special about this façade? Its windows were made of "magical" lilac-colored glass that was "like a beautiful dream." In accordance with astrological omens, I invite you, too, to decide what marvel you would steal—and then go steal it! APRIL FOOL! I half-lied. Yes, definitely decide what you would steal—it's important to give your imagination permission to be outrageous—but don't actually steal it.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
I've never understood the appeal of singer-songwriter Morrissey, especially since he began endorsing bigoted far-right politicians. However, I want to recommend that you adopt the attitude he once expressed in a letter to a friend. "It was a terrible blow to hear that you actually worked," he wrote. "It’s so old-fashioned to work. I’d much rather lounge about the house all day looking fascinating." Be like that in the coming weeks, Pisces! APRIL FOOL! I lied. In fact, you'd be making a silly mistake to lie around the house looking fascinating. It's a highly favorable time for you to find ways to work harder and smarter.
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HOMEWORK:
Send the secrets you could only tell a stranger. 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 2021 Rob Brezsny
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