Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology Newsletter
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August 25, 2004
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http://www.freewillastrology.com
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SEE YOU AT BURNING MAN
If you're going to BURNING MAN this year, consider coming to my
performance on Friday, September 3 between 4 and 6 pm. It'll be at
PLANET WOW, which will be located at this address: Esplanade and 3:30.
For more info on BURNING MAN, see the website at
http://www.burningman.com
PLANET WOW is at http://www.planetwow.org
See you there,
Rob
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning August 26
Copyright 2004 by Rob Brezsny
www.freewillastrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Last June, a rickety raft carrying 42
destitute African refugees washed ashore on a posh nude beach in Spain.
Visualize that scene, Aries. It will serve as an apt metaphor for your life
in the coming week. A forlorn, vulnerable part of your life will come face
to face with a luxurious, beautiful part. And what will unfold in the wake
of this juxtaposition? Let's hope it will be similar to the scene in Spain,
where the naked sunbathers leaped into action and got help and care for
the refugees.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): "Beginner's mind" was originally a Zen
practice. Many artists and thinkers now use it to stimulate their
creativity. To achieve this blessed state, you dispense with all your
preconceptions and enter each situation as if you're seeing it for the first
time. "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities," wrote
Shunryu Suzuki in his book, *Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind,* "but in the
expert's there are few." As much as I love beginner's mind, though, I have
an even more important assignment for you this week, Taurus: Cultivate a
*beginner's heart.* Approach every encounter with love as if you're
feeling it for the first time.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): While visiting relatives in Fort Collins,
Colorado, I borrowed a ten-speed and rode down the most delightful urban
bike path in the world. As I pedaled for miles past parks, wetlands, and
fields of wild flowers, I felt gratitude for the visionary planners who had
created such a sanctuary in the midst of a city of 120,000 people. I hope
you can be like that bike path in the coming week, Gemini: a source of
relaxing beauty at the heart of the hubbub; a calming yet inspiring
influence that motivates the people around you to act with maximum
integrity.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Staring into my computer screen is not
necessarily the best way to get inspired for the task of creating your
horoscope. After analyzing the astrological omens, I often wander out into
nature in quest of inspiration. Today's jaunt took me all the way to Mt. San
Pedro, a place I'd never explored before. Upon reaching the top, I found a
panoramic vista that revealed three of the bridges that cross San
Francisco Bay. As I surveyed those monumental connecting links, my
intuition turned to you. A sudden breeze came up, and I heard a voice in
my head say, "It's weaving time for the Crabs. Tell them to splice and
unify and join together."
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In 2001, Mitzi Nichols of Virginia Beach
anonymously donated one of her kidneys to a stranger. She got paid nothing
for this rare act of generosity, and after recovering from surgery went
back to her job as a cashier at a gift shop. It took the universe three years
to figure out a way to compensate her properly. This past June, she won
$500,000 in the Virginia state lottery. I call this to your attention, Leo,
because I believe you're in a phase when your acts of no-strings-attached
largesse will generate karma similar to what Nichols set in motion three
years ago. Like her, however, your rewards may not arrive right away,
and they might come from sources with no apparent link to the recipients
of your kindness.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Your life will always be unfinished business,
Virgo. From now until the day you die many years hence, you will be a
work in progress. There will never come a time when you have
everything figured out. I urge you, therefore, to find a way to feel at peace
with this incompleteness--or better yet, to love and celebrate it. Luckily
for you, the coming weeks will bring you some of the sweetest, juiciest
imperfections ever.
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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.
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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Creativity expert Roger von Oech takes issue
with the old saw that a chain is no stronger than its weakest links. He
thinks they're indispensable. "Many systems have weak links designed
into them," he says. They're called 'fuses.' When a system gets overloaded,
the fuse blows and saves the rest of the system." Judging from the
astrological omens, Libra, I'm pretty sure you'll soon get to play the role
of a fuse yourself. Whatever group or structure you're part of needs to
break down for the sake of its long-term health--and you're the best
candidate to lead the way.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): *New York Times* rock critic Jon Pareles
bemoans the withering of the Beastie Boys' comic feistiness. As they've
become politically aware and socially responsible, the white hip hop
artists have toned down their anarchist braggadocio and shameless
troublemaking. Now the fun is almost gone. Pareles says it has been "like
having the Three Stooges decide they want to become a panel of appellate
judges." I wonder if it might have been possible for the Beastie Boys to
evolve a more positive and compassionate outlook without losing their
deliciously scandalous spunk. I pose a similar question to you, Scorpio:
Can you imagine becoming both kinder and wilder?
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): It's time for you to intensify your
levels of Sagittariusness--to become even more of a Sagittarius than
you've ever been before. Here are a few tips on how to proceed. 1. Always
keep your basket overflowing with options. 2. Don't laugh unless you
really mean it, and then unleash a belly laugh. 3. Embrace optimism for
both its beauty and its tactical advantage. 4. Be fiercely allergic to fraud
and injustice. 5. When pursuing a goal, crank open your peripheral
vision and be prepared to get from A to Z in an A-J-C-X-E-Q-R-B-Z
fashion. 6. Add new stamps to your passport regularly. 7. Know how to
have fun even when life sucks. 8. Remember that you'll regret adventures
you didn't do more than those you did do.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The astrologer Forest Fickling did a
statistical study of 50,000 people, analyzing the data to determine which
signs were the best and worst in various categories. He found that
Capricorns work the hardest, accomplish the most in the shortest time,
and daydream the least. But I hope you'll rebel against these natural
inclinations in the coming weeks. Between now and September 16, I think
you'll achieve the greatest success possible if you daydream a lot more and
don't work as hard as usual.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Soon I'll begin my annual pilgrimage to the
world's wackiest utopia, the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert. Of
the many ways it refreshes my spirit, the most important is its absence
of money, advertisements, and commerce. The temporary community of
30,000 people is run as a gift economy. Nothing is for sale. No one can
buy anything. When goods and services are exchanged, it's because they're
given freely. I wish that you, Aquarius, could experience the
unprecedented relaxation that settles in when you're utterly free of being
hustled. I wish you could live for a time without worrying about finances.
I especially wish you could do this now, when you have a prime
astrological opportunity to reinvent your relationship with money. If you
can't make it to Burning Man, what else might help you in this noble
task?
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): It's your Unbirthday season, Pisces--that
upside-down, backwards, yet oddly full-of-grace time halfway between
your last birthday and your next. I can't buy each of you an Unbirthday
present, but if I could, it would be a gift certificate to the Pirate Supply
Store in San Francisco. There you could buy Jolly Roger flags, eyepatches,
plundered treasure chests, lessons in how to whistle while eating
saltines, tubs of lard (good for hair-styling and skin moisturizing as well
as cooking), and a broadside featuring the text, "The Journey of the Fishes
Overland." Believe it or not, all these would be quite practical. They'd
inspire you to cultivate a devil-may-care mood, which would be perfect
during your Unbirthday season. (A Web version of the store is at
www.826valencia.org/store/, and no, I don't get a kickback.)
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HOMEWORK:
Tell how everyone in the world should be more like you. Testify 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. In addition to writing my weekly column
and expanded audio horoscopes, I'm also working on a book and CD.
But I can recommend a colleague whose astro-aesthetics closely match my
own. She's RO LOUGHRAN.
Ro utilizes a blend of well-trained intuition, emotional warmth, and a
high degree of technical proficiency in horoscope interpretation; she is
skilled at exploring the mysteries of your life's purpose and nurturing
your connection with your own inner wisdom. In addition to over 20 years
of astrological experience, Ro is also a licensed psychotherapist, allowing
her to integrate psychological insight with the cosmological perspective
that astrology offers.
Ro is based in California, but can do phone consultations and otherwise
work with you regardless of geographic boundaries.
Ro's website is at
http://www.astrology-psychotherapy.com/
She can also be reached at roloughran@comcast.net
Namaste,
Rob
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2004 Rob Brezsny
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