Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Fr** Will Astrology Newsletter
reminds you of novelist Thomas Pynchon's advice:
"If they can get you asking the wrong questions,
they don't have to worry about the answers."
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March 17, 2004
www.freewillastrology.com
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"Everything that can be invented has been invented."
- Charles H. Duell, Director of US Patent Office, 1899
"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?"
- Harry M. Warner, Warner Bros Pictures, 1927
"There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom."
- Robert Miliham, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1923
"Heavier than air flying machines are impossible."
- Lord Kelvin, President, Royal Society, 1895
"The horse is here today, but the automobile is only a novelty - a fad."
- President of Michigan Savings Bank advising against investing in the
Ford Motor Company
"Video won't be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six
months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every
night."
- Daryl F. Zanuck, 20th Century Fox, commenting on television in 1946
"Space travel is utter bilge."
- Sir Richard van der Riet Wooley, The Astronomer Royal (1956)
"Rail travel at high speeds is not possible because passengers, unable to
breathe, would die of asphyxia."
- Dionysius Lardner, English scientist (1793-1859)
"While theoretically and technically television may be feasible,
commercially and financially it is an impossibility."
- Lee DeForest, American inventor (1873-1961)
"Guitar music is on the way out."
- Decca Records turning down the Beatles, 1962.
"If I had thought about it, I wouldn't have done the experiment. The
literature was full of examples that said you can't do this."
- Spencer Silver, originator of Post-It Notepads.
"Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction."
- Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology, 1872.
"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as
a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us."
- Western Union internal memo, 1876.
"Sensible and responsible women do not want to vote."
- Grover Cleveland, 1905
"Professor Goddard does not know the relation between action and reaction
and the need to have something better than a vacuum against which to
react. He seems to lack the basic knowledge ladled out daily in high
schools."
- 1921 New York Times editorial about Robert Goddard's revolutionary
rocket work.
"Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau."
- Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929.
"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value."
- Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de
Guerre.
"The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the
intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon".
- Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, appointed Surgeon-
Extraordinary to Queen Victoria, 1873.
"640K ought to be enough for anybody."
- Bill Gates, 1981
"Such startling announcements as these should be deprecated as being
unworthy of science and mischievous to its true progress."
- Sir William Siemens, electrical enginner, upon hearing Edison's
announcement of a successful light bulb.
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."
- Ken Olson, president of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977.
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FR** WILL ASTROLOGY
Week of March 18
Copyright 2004 by Rob Brezsny
www.beautyandtruth.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
ARIES (March 21-April 19): For too long, grace has eluded you; you have
had to fight your way through life. But now your luck is about to turn;
your soul will get the refreshment it needs. To celebrate, imagine you're
the one speaking in this poem by Theodore Roethke:
"Near the rose, in this grove of sun-parched, wind-warped madrones
Among the half-dead trees, I came upon the true ease of myself,
As if another person appeared out of the depths of my being,
And I stood outside myself,
Beyond becoming and perishing.
A something wholly other,
As if I swayed out on the wildest wave alive,
And yet was still.
And I rejoiced in being what I was."
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In the first Matrix movie, the central
character, Thomas "Neo" Anderson, gradually begins to suspect that his
entire understanding of reality is a delusion. At a key moment, a
mysterious ally named Morpheus offers him a choice between two pills. If
Neo takes the red pill, Morpheus tells him, he will be able to see the truth
he has been blind to. If he swallows the blue pill, he will sink comfortably
back into the lie he has been living. I see the coming weeks as a
comparable turning point for you, Taurus. Which will it be, the red pill
or the blue pill?
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I'll tell you a little cosmic secret, Gemini.
One of the best ways to stay on top -- which is where you are now, right?
-- is to keep paying homage to the bottom. So as you harvest your good
fortune in the coming weeks, I suggest you express your gratitude for the
painful experiences that have taught you how to thrive. While basking in
the glow of people's praise and attention, recall the parts of you that are
still unripe. When you come home after a day of radiant success, take out
the garbage.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Last century, Walt Disney coined a word for
the inventive engineers who designed the rides and attractions for
Disneyland: *imagineers.* In anticipation of the creativity I expect will
flow through you this week, Cancerian, I'm going to describe you, too, as
an *imagineer.* It's not that I expect you to literally invent a radical new
variation on a roller coaster or anything. But there's a good chance you'll
come up with brilliant innovations in the way you have fun.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): What's the best way to get yourself in sync with
the plans that the Goddess has for you? Follow poet Robert Bly's
admonition to "poke holes in your habits." Here are a few suggestions to
get you started. Strike up a conversation with a person you'd normally
ignore. Write with your non-dominant hand. Try a food you've never
tasted. Sprinkle seldom-used words like "sublime," "curiosity," and
"reverence" into your conversation. Walk backwards now and then. Slap a
crafty grin on your face and wish for something impossible.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Don't sit there passively, Virgo, hoping that
fate will be nice to you. Be aggressive about cultivating good fortune.
Drum up and track down the lucky breaks you need. To get you in the
mood, I've infused the rest of this horoscope with subliminal suggestions
that are scientifically formulated to make you a magnet for favors and
synchronicities. (Combustion luster verve blaze.) They will set in motion
shifts in your inner chemistry that will help other people see how
beautiful you are. (Luminous flourish lucid mojo.) Soon you'll be tuning
in to evidence that life is actually conspiring for you to succeed.
(Lightning splendor wake-up fuel.)
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Tune in to my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, weekly meditations on your
fate that go beyond the scope of the written column:
http://www.relationshipnetwork.com/horo/index.asp?client_id=50700
Each reading costs $6.
You can also access the weekly forecasts on the phone for $1.99 per
minute.
From the United States, call
1-900-950-7700.
If you live in Canada, call 1-888-499-4425 to purchase a Block of
Time.
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.
Call 1-877-873-4888 to buy the amount of time that best suits you.
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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I'm always on the lookout for *real* heroes.
Not the celebrities, athletes, and other fake heroes endlessly hyped by the
mainstream media, but brave innovators who show courageous flair in
standing up for what's right. The good news is that I recently located an
actual hero, and he's a Libra. It's Gavin Newsom, mayor of San Francisco,
a Rosa Parks-like figure in the crusade to extend a full array of civil
liberties to gays. In his calm fight for fairness, in his skillful use of logic
to deal with emotionally charged issues, and in his artful approach to
breaking an absurd taboo against joy and passion, he has embodied the
highest expression of your sign's potentials. I recommend that you imitate
his approach in your own sphere during the coming weeks.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In his book, *America As Empire: Global
Leader or Rogue Power?,* Jim Garrison says America has changed from
being a republic to an imperial empire. If you're liberal, you hate this
development, and if you're conservative, you like it; but in any case, the
deed is done. The genie won't go back into the bottle. The question now is,
how will America wield its global power? Will it be a bully using brute
force to serve its narrow economic aims? Or will it be a gracious
sovereign, leading a movement to bring democracy and freedom to every
corner of the globe? In my view, Scorpio, you're facing a small-scale
version of this dilemma in your personal sphere. How will you handle the
weighty responsibilities that accompany your increasing clout? Will you
mostly indulge your selfish interests, or will you work for the good of
all?
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): It took six years for Mark Salzman to
write his novel, *Lying Awake.* When it was done, he told the "New
Yorker" about the tortures he'd put himself through as he fought against
writer's block. During one stretch, he shut out distracting sounds by
wrapping a towel around his head. To discourage his cats from crawling on
his lap as he wrote, he covered his lower body with aluminum foil. But
nothing worked until he fled to a quiet cabin in the woods. "It was like
waking from a bad dream," he said, "-- the removal of all the reminders
of art as a profession, as a way of making money or gaining a reputation.
The book wrote itself in five weeks." I suspect that after enduring a period
akin to Salzman's arduous warm-up, Sagittarius, you're about to have a
cathartic five-week breakthrough of your own.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Your imminent future reminds me of the
archaeologists in Scotland who celebrated when they thought they found
the remains of a ninth-century Viking village. Upon further review,
however, they realized it was actually the site of a suburban patio from
the 1940s. Like them, Capricorn, you will probably be disappointed in
your initial forays into the mysterious depths; what you unearth will
rouse hopes that are quickly dashed. Unlike the archaeologists, though,
you will eventually locate treasure lying *beneath* the discredited
discovery -- if you keep digging, that is.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): "Be born into the right family. Choose
your chromosomes wisely." So begins a list in which Aquarian heiress
Paris Hilton details her secrets of success. "Develop a way of entering a
room that looks almost royal -- but NOT snobby," she continues. "Never
have only one cell phone when you can have many. Eat only the worst junk
food or the most fabulous food there is, but nothing in between. Only sleep
in Egyptian cotton sheets with a 400 to 600 thread count." I offer you
these definitions, Aquarius, in the hope that they'll inspire you to
compose your own list. It's an ideal time for you to get very specific about
how you plan to achieve happiness and fulfillment.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): It's check-in time, Pisces. What progress
have you been making in your work on this year's major assignment? As I
suggested last December, 2004 will be prime time for learning much,
much more about the arts of intimacy. So have you been shedding bad
habits and unripe attitudes that in the past interfered with your ability to
get the closeness you want? Have you sought teaching from experts who
are wise about relationships? Have you vowed to seek unions only with
emotionally intelligent people who take responsibility for their own
darkness?
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HOMEWORK: If you became ruler of the world, what three decrees would
you issue immediately to begin the mass healing? Tell me about it by
going to www.freewillastrology.com and clicking on "Email Rob."
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WANT TO GET YOUR CHART DONE?
I'm not doing charts these days. But I recommend my colleague,
RO LOUGHRAN. Her website is at
http://www.astrology-psychotherapy.com/
*
You can also do your own chart with AstroGraph's TimePassages, the
software I use to cast charts. TimePassages is suitable for both novices --
it provides written interpretations of your aspects -- as well as
professionals who need calculations of natal charts, transits, and more.
TimePassages is at http://www.astrograph.com. Click on "Order."
Or go directly to the order page at
http://www.astrograph.com/cgi-
bin/soft_form.cgi?from=FreeWillAstrology?where=soft_form
And please put "Rob Brezsny" or "Free Will Astrology" in the "Referral"
box.
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Contents of Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2004 Rob Brezsny
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