Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology Newsletter
wonders what it would be like
to fight tenderly for beauty and truth and love
-- without despising those
who spread ugliness and lies and division
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November 19, 2003
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www.freewillastrology.com
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"The extravagant gesture is the very stuff of creation. After one
extravagant gesture of creation in the first place, the universe
has continued to deal exclusively in extravagances, flinging
intricacies and colossi down aeons of emptiness, heaping
profusions on profligacies with fresh vigor. The whole show has
been on fire since the word go!"
-Annie Dillard
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week of November 20
Copyright 2003 by Rob Brezsny
www.freewillastrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
ARIES (March 21-April 19): To prepare you for your upcoming
encounters with inexpressible mystery, I offer you the words of
Alexander Solzhenitsyn from his Nobel Prize acceptance speech.
"Not everything has a name," he said. "Some things lead us into a
realm beyond words . . . to revelations unattainable by reason. It
is like that small mirror in fairy tales -- you glance in it and
what you see is not yourself; for an instant you glimpse the
Inaccessible, where no magic carpet can take you. And the soul
cries out for it."
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): "Do one thing that scares you
every day," counsels novelist Kurt Vonnegut. That's easy for a
risk-loving Scorpio like him to say, but is it good advice for you
Tauruses, who typically thrive on peace and safety? At most
other times, I would say no; I'd suggest you force yourself to face
your fears no more than once a month. But the coming weeks are
shaping up as a departure from your usual rhythms. You can do a
lot to ensure your long-term peace and safety through regular
encounters with unpredictable experiences that will scare up
your hidden reserves of courage.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): At one point in Steve Martin's
novella, *The Pleasure of My Company,* the main character
Daniel says: "The real me and a false one were competing against
each other." San Francisco Chronicle reviewer David Kipen
comments that "You could easily read the whole novella as the
story of this competition between real and false Daniels." I think
we can apply a similar description to your adventures in the
coming weeks, Gemini: The deep, genuine version of you will be
struggling for supremacy with the artificial, fragmented one.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): "Dear Mr. Brezsny: I'm a feminist
in a post-feminist era, a warrior poet when poetry is considered
irrelevant in war, and a lone wolf amidst yapping coyotes. I've
been a firefighter, journalist, and janitor -- and damn good at
all three, not that anybody noticed. My questions are: Why is my
success with men like that of a goat trying to herd trucks? Why
is the only luck I ever have the 'avoided the falling piano at the
last second' kind? Are there any cake raffle winnings in my
future? -Anti-Heroic Crab"
Dear Anti-Heroic: The mournful conditions you described
will take a turn for the better when you devote a concentrated
time to becoming emotionally self-sufficient. During that
period, vow to draw all the love you need from either yourself or
whatever passes for God or Goddess in your world. Now would be
the perfect moment to begin.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Clarissa Pinkola Estes is a
psychotherapist and *cantadora,* "a keeper of the old stories."
She believes that feeding the soul with nourishing tales is a great
healing art. And what constitutes a "nourishing" tale? Her
repertoire is filled with myths and fairy tales that "cut fine
wide doors in previous blank walls, openings that lead to the
dreamland, that lead to love and learning, that lead us back to our
own real lives." I advise you to get some of this good stuff, Leo.
Feast on unpredictable stories that replenish your innocence and
rekindle your sense of wonder. Estes' book, *Women Who Run
With the Wolves,* has some good ones. Try "Skeleton Woman" or
"Sealskin, Soulskin."
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): "Charlie's Angels" star Cameron
Diaz, born under the sign of Virgo, hates to give autographs to
fans. She's so notorious that Autograph Collector magazine named
her the least approachable celebrity entertainer. Another Virgo
luminary, Shannon Elizabeth, was ranked right behind Diaz in
her stinginess. To redeem your tribe's reputation, I urge you to
give away your autograph to anyone and everyone in the coming
week. Such a generous display would also dovetail nicely with the
astrological omens, which suggest you should engage in playful
acts that make you feel like a star.
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What's more worth your time than learning to ask better
questions about the nature of your quest? What could be more
exciting than to know with all your heart that you will live
forever, always changing?
In addition to the written horoscopes you find here, I create
longer, more in-depth audio horoscopes. They're not for
everyone. But if you and I are members of the same tribe, they
may help you feel more at home on this planet -- and more
confident in your own natural ability to know exactly what to do
and when to do it.
My Expanded Audio Horoscopes cost $6 a pop if you access them
on the Web via RealAudio or $1.99 per minute if you want them
over the phone.
For Web access, go here:
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From the United States, call
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If you live in Canada, call 1-888-499-4425 to purchase a
Block of Time. Then call 1-888-682-8777 to get your reading.
If you have a 900# block on your phone, there's another way to
access the Expanded Audio Horoscopes by phone. Using your
credit card, call 1-877-873-4888 to buy the amount of time
that best suits you. Then call 1-888-682-8777 to get your
reading.
"Your expanded astrology thingees help me remember who I
really am." -Gareth N., Toronto
"I never knew it was possible to get my butt kicked and my head
patted at the same time -- until I listened to you, Rob." -Kristi
P., Portland, OR
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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Many plants used for prescription
drugs originate in tropical rainforests. Do their endangered
ecosystems therefore harbor other healing herbs that are as yet
undiscovered? Probably. But a recent study suggests that weeds
growing in easily accessible places near human settlements may
be an equally important source of medicine. The Journal of
Ethnopharmacology reports that the Highland Mayans of Chiapa
"rely almost exclusively on disturbed areas for medicinal
plants, even in communities that are adjacent to stands of
primary forest." I offer up this intriguing scenario as an apt
metaphor for you in the coming days. The best goodies are more
likely to be close at hand in the midst of familiar clutter, not in
far-off enclaves of peace and plenty. (Thanks to
www.eurekalert.org for this info.)
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): To supply the newsprint for the
average Sunday edition of the New York Times, about 63,000
trees must die. Is that a worthy sacrifice? Maybe. To keep your
body fueled with caffeine for a year, upwards of a thousand
plants must give up their lives. Is that a worthy sacrifice?
Possibly. To make sure your freshly hatched dream will
ultimately reach full bloom, at least three of your tired old
illusions will have to croak. Is that a worthy sacrifice? Hell,
yes. Let the mercy killing begin.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You're not awakening from a
coma or anesthesia; it's not quite that dramatic. But the effect
will be similar. Events you've been blind to will suddenly
become visible. You'll become a magnet for clues you've been
repelling. Your emotional numbness will recede, allowing a flood
of feelings to come rushing into your awareness. The net effect,
at least initially, may be confusing: You'll be filled up with too
much information too fast to make sense of it. But be patient and
concentrate on digesting the glut, Sagittarius, and by this time
next week the mess will have evolved into a web of fresh
insights.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): "I go through the canned-goods
department of my soul," mused columnist Jon Carroll, "and I
write down how many cubes of spiritual bouillon I have left." I
suggest you take a similar tack this week, Capricorn. In other
words, add a touch of self-mocking frivolity as you make a
profound inventory of your current relationship with the Great
Mystery. And be sure to mix in a few wacky, winsome questions
with your heartfelt yearning for deeper understanding. Here's
how Carroll expressed it: "Who am I? Why am I here? Is there
an entity greater than myself? If there is, how can I get it to like
me?"
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): "Satan is broke!" declared a
recent article in the Weekly World News. "He's selling back
souls at half price to avoid bankruptcy." On the face of it, this is
an amusing riff dreamed up by one of the comic geniuses who
writes for the notorious tabloid. But oddly enough, there is a
metaphorical grain of truth in it. The astrological omens suggest
that a huge window of opportunity has opened for those who need
redemption. It is a favorable moment for lost souls to find
themselves, for black sheep and prodigal sons to return to the
fold, and for incorrigible troublemakers to mend their ways. I'm
letting you know, Aquarius, because your tribe, more than any
of the other signs, is in the best position to facilitate
rehabilitations and restorations of all kinds -- both for others
and for yourself.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): "I've finally got my relationship
problem figured out," wrote Melinda, a reader from
Philadelphia. "It has been a lifelong, insidious misunderstanding
of what I'm entitled to, combined with a fear of abandonment that
has made me grab onto the wrong companions." I bring this
testimony to your attention, Pisces, because I think it resonates
with realizations you're ready for. The coming months will be a
favorable time for you to discern the hidden karma that has been
keeping you from getting the love you want. A good way to begin
your search will be to take inventory of your fear of
abandonment and your misunderstanding of what you're entitled
to.
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HOMEWORK: Homework: Describe what you're ever so thankful
for. Go to www.freewillastrology.com and click on "Email Rob."
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"Calling this music 'smart rock,' as some critics have, does a
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2003 Rob Brezsny
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