Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology Newsletter
Do the planets control our fates? Are we merely puppets of cosmic
forces? Not in my view. I believe the study of astrology can be a
liberating force, alerting us to our own unconscious motivations and
revealing the long-term cycles in our lives.
In offering you my horoscopes, I aspire to unleash the power of your
imagination to create the destiny you want. It is in that spirit that I named
this column "Free Will Astrology." I hope it serves as a continual
reminder that you are always the boss of you.
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December 24, 2003
www.freewillastrology.com
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EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES FOR THE COMING YEAR
What hidden factors will be massaging your destiny in 2004? Could you
use some hints about how to prepare for the adventures awaiting you in
the next 12 months?
This week and next week, I'll be exploring the BIG PICTURE of your life in
my Expanded Audio Horoscopes. If, like most of us, you slip into a
philosophical, visionary mood at the end of each year, you might
appreciate my tender loving perspectives on your long-term destiny.
My IN-DEPTH, LONG-TERM FORECASTS FOR YOUR LIFE IN 2004 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:
http://www.relationshipnetwork.com/horo/index.asp?client_id=50700
From the United States, call
1-900-950-7700.
If you have a 900# block on your phone or prefer to use your credit card,
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.
If you live in Canada, call 1-888-499-4425 to purchase a Block of
Time.
(P.S. Both on the web and by phone, you can also still access last week's
BIG PICTURE horoscopes, which comprised part 1 of my three-part
series.)
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week of December 25
Copyright 2003 by Rob Brezsny
www.freewillastrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In his book, *The Degradation of Language
and Music and Why We Should, Like, Care,* John McWhorter says he
prefers the energetic rants of poetry slams to the "doggedly flat rainy day
poems" of more academic writers. On the other hand, the spoken word
stuff rarely ventures beyond "alienation and scolding," which limits its
beauty and power. "The vast weight of human artistic achievement was not
created in indignation," he notes. Please remember that, Aries. Your
anger will be good and strong in 2004. It will help you tap into a lot of
constructive creativity. But you should resist the temptation to let it
influence *everything* you do.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): "When you're following your energy and
doing what you want all the time," says New Age author Shakti Gawain,
"the distinction between work and play dissolves." I'd like to add that you
can go a long way towards blending work and play without having to reach
Gawain's impossibly high standard of *all the time.* It would be
revolutionary to "follow your energy and do what you want" just *20
percent* more than your current levels. And the astrological omens for
2004 suggest that you can easily exceed that. I say shoot for 30 percent,
Taurus. Experiment with creating rich new meanings of the term "labor
of love."
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): One way or another, you'll be coming home
in 2004, Gemini. Maybe you'll finally locate the sanctuary that brings
out the best in you -- the power spot where you feel pure and real and
true. Maybe you'll create the community you've always dreamed of or else
join a network that connects you to resources that have always been off-
limits. Perhaps you'll go explore the land where your ancestors lived and
died for many generations, or maybe you'll make a pilgrimage to a storied
place that holds the key to a mystery you desperately need to clarify. And
maybe you'll do all of the above.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): "The great lesson from the true mystics is
that the sacred is in the ordinary, that it is to be found in one's daily life,
in one's neighbors, friends, and family, in one's back yard." So said
psychologist Abraham Maslow. Of course that's always true, but in 2004
it will be far more true for you than ever before. You won't have to travel
to exotic paradises to drum up life-changing epiphanies, Cancerian. You
won't have to hunt for miracles in all-night revels at the edge of reality.
All the amazement you'll need will glide right up to you while you're
washing dishes or taking a walk or buying peanut butter.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Using FBI crime data, a research company
determined that Amherst, New York is the safest city in America, followed
by Brick Township, New Jersey and Mission Viejo, California. My
analysis of the astrological data for 2004 suggests that your sign, Leo,
will be safest in all the zodiac. You're least likely to be a victim of crime,
abusive relationships, health problems, and bad ideas. I think you should
take maximum advantage of this coming grace period. What adventures
would you set out on if you knew you had little to fear? What brave
decisions would you risk? What "forbidden" pleasures would you sample?
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Some of the finest minds I've ever known have
belonged to Virgos. I've benefited greatly from your tribe's analytical
power. Though my gig as an astrology columnist may suggest I favor
magical thinking over the logical kind, I am in fact a great admirer of the
scientific method and objective reasoning. Having said all that, I can in
good conscience tell you to trust your passion way more than usual in
2004. Cut out this quote from Ray Bradbury and carry it in your wallet:
"If we listened only to our intellect, we'd never have a love affair or
friendship. We'd never go into business. Well, that's nonsense. Sometimes
you've got to jump off cliffs and grow your wings on the way down."
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Amazon.com has begun to do with books what
Napster did to music: give them away free online. Along with 120,000
other books, you can now read the entire text of my memoir, *The
Televisionary Oracle,* without buying it. My first reaction to this was a
clenched "Aaarrrggghhh! My beloved creation, which I slaved over for
years, will no longer generate any income!" Soon I moved to a new
attitude, Buddhist-style non-attachment: "Everything in this world is
transitory. Why worry about what I can't control?" Later my view
evolved still further, spurred by reports that Amazon expects this
innovation to actually boost book sales. "Maybe this is a good thing," I
decided. The process I went through, Libra, will be similar to your own in
2004. I predict that an apparent loss will lead to an unexpected gain.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In last week's horoscope, I predicted that in
2004 you will have many exuberant exploits that spread joy and laughter
throughout the land. Now it's time to reveal your other key assignment for
the coming months: to seek out experiences that rouse reverence and awe.
Do you have any heroes, Scorpio? Do you know anyone whose noble grace
or healing genius takes your breath away? Are there any gorgeous works
of art or natural wonders that inspire you to fall to your knees and shout
"Glory in the highest!"? You need to put yourself regularly in the
presence of marvels like that. For extra credit, create adventures in
which you feel both worshipful adoration and rowdy pleasure.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You'll have some heroic assignments in
2004, Sagittarius. They will challenge you to be both ingeniously
creative and rigorously disciplined. Can you think way outside of the box
without alienating those who prefer to live inside of the box? Are you
open-minded enough to get fired up about experimental innovations, but
authoritative enough to hammer out pragmatic compromises? Do you have
the flexibility to be both a maverick and a leader?
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Mountaintop perspectives will be your
specialty in the coming months, Capricorn. You will be invited again and
again to gaze at the big picture. To make sure you keep going with the
cosmic flow, keep asking yourself the question, "What would the far-
seeing, adventure-loving part of me do right now?" Your weekly schedule
should always be spiced with tasks that serve your master plan. Now
here's your thought for the week, which can also serve as your thought
for the year: "When we stop learning and merely act from the knowledge
we have accumulated, disorder comes." --J. Krishnamurti.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Two thousand four will be the Year of
Games for you. Here are helpful guidelines, courtesy of programmer
Garry Hamilton (www.c2.com/cgi/wiki?GarryHamilton). 1. If the game
is rigged so you can't win, find another game or invent your own. 2. If
you're not winning because you don't know the rules, learn the rules. 3. If
you know the rules but aren't willing to follow them, there's either
something wrong with the game or you need to change something in
yourself. 4. Don't play the game in a half-baked way. Either get all the
way in or all the way out. 5. It shouldn't be necessary for others to lose in
order for you to win. If others have to lose, re-evaluate the game's goals.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): I'm hopeful that 2004 will be the year you
renounce your habit of taking on the roles of scapegoat and martyr. In
fact, let's launch a campaign to do just that right now. The best way to
begin might be to engage in one last self-mocking wallow. Tape a "Kick
Me" or "Use Me" sign on your back. Attach a chain to a doormat and wear it
around your neck like a big necklace. Invite friends to blame you for
everything that's wrong in their lives. Take the whole shtick to the limit,
in other words, Pisces. Feel how ridiculous it is. Encourage it to burn
itself out in a blaze of absurd g
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HOMEWORK: What's the one feeling you want to feel more than any other
in 2004? Testify by going to www.freewillastrology.com and clicking on
"Email Rob."
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To find out more about reading or ordering Rob Brezsny's book,
THE TELEVISIONARY ORACLE
or music CD,
GIVE TOO MUCH,
go here:
http://www.freewillastrology.com/store/
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Many people have requested access to the column I did at the end of 1999,
wherein I gave tantalizing hints about each sign's destiny for the next five
years or so. Here, by popular demand, is a reprint of that mysterious
thing.
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED DECEMBER 30, 1999
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Clip and save this preview of your fate in
the coming years. Year 2000: Normally you Aries folks are as crafty and
circumspect as a battering ram. But you'd be advised to wield these
virtues more like a cagey Scorpio in the coming months. You'll have to
know when to hide your raging clarity and when to unleash it in laser-
like blasts. 2001: Escape every limitation from March through August.
After that, embrace invigorating new limitations. 2002: Come home,
dammit! Come all the way home! 2003: Love wants all of you--and won't
accept any less. Either go all the way, or else don't go at all. 2004: If
you've always lived like a wildfire, this is the year you'll learn to be a
furnace.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Clip and save this preview of your fate in
the coming years, Taurus. Year 2000: Can you expand and contract at the
same time? Can you open up your imagination to the gifts awaiting you at
the frontiers while at the same time you prune your useless comforts and
indulgences? 2001: If you work with high integrity at a task that makes
people happy, unexpected money will come from a seemingly unrelated
source. 2002: Dare to be versatile. 2003: Your web grows as if spun by
spiders on steroids. 2004: Everything you ever thought you knew about
love will not prepare you for the generous surprises that await you.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Clip and save this preview of your fate in the
coming years, Gemini. Year 2000: Scream goodbye to every pest that's
bugged you, every ghost that's haunted your reveries, every failed dream
that's riddled you with remorse. 2001: Howl hello to the breakthroughs
that have eternally eluded you, the teachings that have previously been
over your head, and the potential pleasures that until this golden year
have relentlessly teased but never gratified. 2002: Use all your ingenuity
to find the niche that gives you the freedom to express your multitude of
talents. 2003: Pray to strange angels until they agree to show you a
secret that inspires but does not shatter. 2004: Your roots deepen, your
foundation grows stronger.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Clip and save this preview of your fate in
the coming years, Cancer. Year 2000: You know that project you've been
working on for so long? That smoldering yet moist adventure which,
though it's not a secret, is 85 percent invisible to everyone but you? It'll
climax in the next eight months. 2001: By the end of this year, you will
have lost every last excuse for cultivating pessimism. 2002: Your world
will become at least 33 percent bigger than it's ever been. 2004:
Showdown of the Year: the Road Warrior versus the Road Worrier. 2005:
You'll look for, and most likely find, a new version of your dream home.
2008: I wonder how you'll respond to the invitation to reinvent yourself
from alpha to omega? Ignore it and it'll mutate into a strident demand.
Jump on it and you'll get the ride of your life.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Clip and save this preview of your life in the
coming years, Leo. Year 2000: It'll be a great time to master the
difference between invigorating pride and wicked arrogance, between
radiant aplomb and perilous overconfidence. 2001: You can't imagine the
blessings that'll come from soliciting feedback and critique. Surround
yourself with people who love what you do but are ballsy enough to tell
you the truth about your excesses. 2002: Run away from instant
gratification so you can devote yourself to what'll make you happy in the
long run. 2003: You'll be like a wise teenager. 2004: Your sweat is
sweet, your tears productive.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Clip and save this preview of your fate in the
coming years, Virgo. Year 2000: With delightful regularity, you'll escape
the relentless gnawings of your steel-trap mind. As a result, you'll be
unusually free to explore a host of exotic feelings and altered (yet drug-
free) states. 2001: If you're doing the work you love, your career will
flourish. 2002: The various personalities in your psyche that co-exist
but do not cooperate will finally agree to peace talks. Detente will emerge,
as most of your inner voices will commit to serving a common goal. 2003:
If you vow to be like a warrior as you burn off your karma, every ending
you undergo will be clean and redemptive. 2004: The growing pains will
feel really good! You could give pioneering lessons to an Aries.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Clip and save this preview of your fate in the
coming years, Libra. Year 2000: You got a problem with being sexy and
inscrutable? Hope not. Ready or not, you'll be less nice and more
dangerous than usual in the coming months. 2001: Off you go on the
madcap pilgrimage of your life. In the back of your mind, always be
thinking of how you can turn your adventures there into wealth-builders.
2002: Choose carefully what summit you want to be standing on by
summer. 2003: Reinvent work or let work reinvent you. 2004: Summon
your wildest integrity and most disciplined chutzpah as you finish up
every long-term life cycle. 2005: You'll either have a baby or be reborn
yourself.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Clip and save this preview of your fate in
the coming years, Scorpio. Year 2000: You'll finally be able to stop
trying to fill the holes in your soul through your obsessive search for the
perfect relationship. 2001: Revolution! if you can only avoid the cheap
thrills of masochism, you'll create the beautifully imperfect relationship
you were made for. 2002: Leave your home country at least once, please.
And leap out of your standard grooves at least 52 times. 2003: You'll be
ridiculously, extravagantly fertile. 2004: You'll laugh at the shock of
becoming more and more popular. 2006: The signature fear that has
always been your driving force will shrivel into irrelevance, leaving you
with the freedom either to replace it with a new terror or else learn to
motivate yourself without any angst at all.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Clip and save this preview of your fate
in the coming years, Sagittarius. Year 2000: Odds are 2-1 that you'll
figure out a better way to make your chronic wanderlust serve your
career goals, and 4-1 that your job will allow you to travel more. 2001:
All your theories about relationships will need to be thrown out so you
can be free of the burden of old biases as you study radical new teachings
about intimacy. 2002: If you're not married, you'll probably tie the knot.
If you already are, the only way to avoid divorce will be to deepen your
devotion to your union. 2003: You thrive out on a limb. 2004: Welcome to
the Really Big Show. 2007: You'll finally outsmart or outgrow a riddle
that's mystified you since 1996.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Clip and save this preview of your fate in
the coming years, Capricorn. Year 2000: You'll be genuinely surprised
by how much creative fervor erupts from you. 2001: Will you be
practical and harvest the fruits of the previous year's teeming fertility?
Or will you be self-destructively cautious, freaking out as you scramble
back to numbing normalcy? 2002: If you allowed 2000's breakthroughs
to change you every which way, 2002 will bring a match made in heaven.
2003: It's not the meek who will inherit the earth, but the well-
disciplined pleasure-seekers. 2004: It's finally time to unveil your
revolutionary riffs and your chance-taking chops. 2007: You'll
experience a death which electrifies your sleeping potential into action.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Clip and save this preview of your fate in
the coming years. Year 2000: As an Aquarius, you'll always be an
idealistic networker with lots of nervous energy. But in the coming
months you'll be as down-to-earth, practical, and stable as it's possible
for you to be. 2001: Your theme song will be Bob Dylan's "When I Paint
My Masterpiece." You'll be surprised by the sustained creativity you're
capable of. 2003: The hunger you'll be consumed by could be a torment or
gift. It'll all depend on how well you understand the fact that you
ultimately can't change anyone but yourself. 2004: What's the holy
version of sex, drugs, and rock and roll?
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Clip and save this preview of your fate in
the coming years, Pisces. Year 2000: You'll begin to shed your
superstitious approach to life, no longer wasting your energy wondering
about whether luck, fate, and God are working with you or against you.
2001: Your willpower will bloom, infusing you with a wild and free
determination to accomplish your goals. 2002: Crazy love could drive you
very, very sane. 2003: You'll develop an intimate relationship with an
idea that will inspire you the rest of your life. 2004: Celebration time:
You're ready to meet your match.
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2003 Rob Brezsny
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