Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology Newsletter
+
July 21, 2004
+
http://www.freewillastrology.com
+
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week of July 22
Copyright 2004 by Rob Brezsny
www.freewillastrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
ARIES (March 21-April 19): A newlywed couple I know is planning to go
to Cuba for their honeymoon. That's pretty risky. The American
government has sternly discouraged us citizens from traveling there for
years, and President Bush recently laid down even further restrictions.
But I admire my friends' desire to combine their romantic getaway with
swashbuckling drama. It shows they intend to keep their relationship
feisty, free from the ravages of excess comfort and convention. I suggest
that you cook up a similar excursion, Aries. Love will thrive on
adventure, and vice versa.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): It's a perfect time to reinvent the past.
You'll unearth interesting discoveries if you explore the old days with a
critical, objective eye. Look for discrepancies between how you
remember things and what really happened. Consider the possibility that
some of your memories aren't really your own, but other people's
interpretations that you've unconsciously absorbed. By August 15, I hope
you'll be ready to correct the story you tell yourself about your history.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Responding to hate-mongers who want to ban
gay marriage, the American Anthropological Association said this: "The
results of a century of anthropological research on households and
families, across cultures and through time, provide no support for the
view that viable social orders depend on marriage as an exclusively
heterosexual institution." In fact, the evidence suggests the opposite: "A
vast array of family types, including families built on same-sex
partnerships, can contribute to stable and humane societies." Make these
thoughts your starting point, Gemini, as you re-imagine the kind of
family you want to create for yourself in the future. There's no need to be
loyal to *any* of the narrow dogmas your culture tries to foist on you
about the right way to live together with people you love.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Is there a lack of money in your life? If so,
and you do nothing but whine about it in the coming weeks, your energy
levels will decline. If, on the other hand, you develop a plan to pad your
bank account -- even if that plan doesn't ultimately work out -- you'll
become better looking and your health will improve. It's possible, of
course, that you're one of the lucky people whose financial life is
thriving. If so, and you do nothing but spend your money on yourself in
the coming weeks, your energy levels will decline. If, on the other hand,
you share your wealth, you'll become better looking and your health will
improve.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You'll be glad to know you're coming to the end of
the Suffering Season. If you've made it through these past few weeks with
your sense of humor intact, you now have cosmic permission to give
yourself a big shiny reward. To make the best of these last few days,
carry Henry Miller's declaration around with you: "Everything we shut
our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny,
denigrate, or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems painful
can become a source of beauty, joy, and strength, if faced with an open
mind. Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to
recognize it as such."
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Many creative people feel compelled to
mirror the pain they witness, making art that is as desolate as the
experience it represents. Greek poet Odysseus Elytis mourned this
phenomenon. He believed that artists in its grip are like people with
healthy legs who choose to limp along with broken crutches. "During the
time of Buchenwald and Auschwitz," he said, "Matisse painted the most
charming flowers and fruit ever made. They still speak more eloquently
than the most macabre descriptions of the period. Their creator was
faithful not to the tragedy but to the reaction that tragedy kindled in his
conscience." I call on you, Virgo, to respond as Matisse did when you
encounter people going through trials and tribulations in the coming days.
The best gifts you can give them are your joy and vitality.
**********************************************
EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES
Since I put all my heart and soul into the written horoscopes I send out in
this newsletter, they're pretty nutritious. You may never need any of the
other stuff I create.
But if you ever do crave an added boost, you may want to sample my
Expanded Audio Horoscopes. They're different in tone and intent than the
written scopes, imbued with a little more of the psychologist in me, and a
little less of the poet.
The Expanded Audio horoscopes cost $6 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
or if you prefer to pay by credit card
1-877-873-4888
If you live in Canada, call 1-888-499-4425 to purchase a Block of Time
with your credit card.
**********************************************
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): This week I'll give you nine of Darryl
Cherney's 20 "Rules of Activism." Honed during his many years of
protecting the environment, they should be useful to you as you fight for
justice and liberation in your own sphere. 1. Never turn down help. 2.
Don't believe your own BS. 3. Speak in plain language. 4. Find the truth in
what everyone says. 5. The most interesting things sometimes happen
last. 6. Advance planning is overrated. 7. Seize the moment. 8. You never
succeed the same way twice. 9. Surf the tidal wave.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The astrological omens suggest that I should
urge you to be far bolder than usual. They even seem to be saying that the
more brazen you are, the bigger your rewards will be. In fact, Scorpio, if
I'm reading the signs accurately, you might want to draw your inspiration
from the 40 starving artists in Paris who broke into an abandoned
building near the Louvre a few years back. They built studios inside and
have been squatting rent-free ever since. Now the city of Paris has bought
the building and is paying $3.5 million to renovate it so that the artists
can continue to thrive there. Be like them.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Developed by the Austrian philosopher
Rudolf Steiner, the Waldorf system of education is designed to cultivate
the soul as well as educate the intellect. Waldorf teachers say it's crucial
that young children aren't pushed to master academic subjects
prematurely. One sign that the time is ripe, they believe, is when a kid
begins to spontaneously draw butterflies. This suggests that his or her
soul has completed its chrysalis stage. I bring this up, Sagittarius,
because every time I turn my meditations to you lately, I get visions of
you drawing butterflies. Does it mean you've completed an adult version of
the soul's metamorphosis?
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Though musician Stevie Wonder has been
blind since birth, he has recently begun to drive a Rolls Royce. His "road"
is a flat, empty airfield where he's not in danger of crashing. I suggest you
Capricorns draw inspiration from his example in the coming weeks.
Create a safe place where you can experiment with an activity you've
always avoided because of a supposed handicap or lack of natural aptitude.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You've been suffering from an excess of
rational behavior and logical thinking, Aquarius. It's high time for some
poetry. I don't so much mean *reading* poetry as *being* and *doing*
poetry. Here are some ideas to get you started. Wash your feet in a river.
Lie on a green hill and sing lullabies to the person you'll be ten years
from now. Eat the petals of a pansy or violet or nasturtium. Thank your
mother for the pain she endured while birthing you. Give yourself a
secret name, then spell it out on the ground with pine needles. Assume you
have psychic abilities, and read people's minds. Sip tea in the rain. Dream
you're a hawk soaring over a volcano.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Joan Borysenko is a medical researcher and
psychologist who has written several books on how to synergize the
efforts of mind and body in cultivating good health. I respect her work,
but was appalled at a statement she made recently to an interviewer. "The
most sobering discovery," she said, "is that we will never truly heal the
wounds of our past." My own experience suggests that *some* people have
suffered *some* irremediable hurts. But on countless occasions, I've also
seen brave, dedicated souls completely fix what had been broken in them.
In fact, that precise possibility is now looming for you, Pisces. In the
coming weeks, you will have the power to make dramatic progress toward
a spectacular cure that will put you in better shape than you were before
you were wounded.
*********************************************
HOMEWORK:
What's the situation in your life where it's hardest for you to be loving?
Practice being a master of compassion there in the coming week. Report
your results to me by going to www.freewillastrology.com and clicking on
"Email Rob."
**********************************************
NEED TO CHANGE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS?
To subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, or to change the address
where you receive it, go to:
http://www.freewillastrology.com/newsletter/
I totally respect your privacy. I'll never sell or give away your address to
anyone.
*********************************************
Submissions sent to the Free Will Astrology Weekly 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 such submissions for length, style, and content.
Requests for anonymity will be honored with submissions;
otherwise, reader names, screen names, or initials will be used.
Please be sure to note your preference when sending to us. We
are not responsible for unsolicited submission of any creative
material.
Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2004 Rob Brezsny
********************************************