Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology Newsletter
+
May 4, 2005
*
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning May 5
Copyright 2005 by Rob Brezsny
http://www.freewillastrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The planning for a typical wedding lasts from
7 to 12 months. Getting ready for the birth of a child usually requires
every minute from the time people find out they're pregnant until the
delivery day. I foresee you experiencing an event in early 2006 that will
resemble both of these happy yet challenging events. It might be
something like the birth or dramatic renewal of a relationship. Or it could
be the launch of a partnership that will ask everything of you, and give
just as much. I suggest you start your preparations.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): On a family member's 60th birthday, the
Japanese celebrate a holiday known as *kanreki.* It's a time of rebirth,
when the celebrant ritually becomes a baby again and enters a second
childhood. Among the many gifts given on the occasion is a red kimono,
which signifies that in a sense the person is now freed from the
responsibilities of adulthood. I recommend that you treat yourself to a
similar rite of passage, Taurus. Even though you may not be turning 60,
you are at the beginning of an extraordinarily fresh new cycle. You
deserve a red kimono and at least a temporary respite from adult
burdens.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): It's time to declare amnesty for the part of you
that you don't love very well. Forgive that poor sucker. Hold its hand and
take it out to dinner and a movie. Tactfully offer it a chance to make
amends for the dumb things it has done. And then do a dramatic reading
of this proclamation by the playwright Theodore Rubin: "I must learn to
love the fool in me--the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes
too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control,
loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises,
laughs and cries. It alone protects me against that utterly self-controlled,
masterful tyrant whom I also harbor and who would rob me of human
aliveness, humility, and dignity but for my fool."
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Every hundred years, says a Scottish myth, a
scrap of paradise appears on earth for just one day. Hidden from the
profane world for decades at a time, this little town, known as Brigadoon,
briefly materializes out of the mists, becoming accessible to any lucky
person who happens by. I predict that something resembling Brigadoon
will appear to many members of the Cancerian tribe in the coming week.
To increase your chances for being in the right place at the right time,
you should not simply follow your heart. Rather, follow the most
audacious impulses of your heart, radiate mischievous warmth, and be
vigilant with your peripheral vision.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): According to legend, influential blues guitarist
Robert Johnson made a pact with the Devil in a crossroads. In exchange
for his soul, the Devil gave him tremendous musical skill, including an
unparalleled ability to affect his audiences emotionally. I predict that you
will soon be tempted to negotiate a comparable deal in a crossroads, Leo.
Please keep in mind that there will be some extremely fine print in the
proposed contract. Besides that, I want you to know that while the
progress you'd make with the Devil's help may initially be faster, in the
long run it wouldn't be anywhere near as great as what you can
accomplish without it.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Of all the world's landlocked countries, only
one maintains a navy: Bolivia. Until 1879, it had a seaport, but lost it in a
war with Chile. Over a century later, it has thousands of sailors but only a
single sea-worthy ship, which it keeps docked in Argentina a thousand
miles away. Its quixotic fixity of purpose seems to be a symbolic
declaration that it intends to someday once again have land bordering the
ocean. I see a certain resemblance between Bolivia and you right now,
Virgo. You also cling fiercely to a starry-eyed commitment that might
appear unrealistic to casual observers. The difference is that your dream,
as opposed to Bolivia's, is not entirely hopeless. You will receive a sign
this week that reveals why.
**********************************************
EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES
Every week, in addition to the written horoscopes you get in this
newsletter, I offer Expanded Audio Horoscopes.
They tend to be soothing and meditative, though now and then I invite
you to kick your own ass, too. My intention is for them to be healing and
inspirational at the same time.
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): "The proverb warns that 'You should not bite
the hand that feeds you.' But maybe you should, if it prevents you from
feeding yourself." So said the critic of psychiatry, Thomas Szasz. He was
urging us to think about how our dependence on seemingly benevolent
providers might paralyze our free will and interfere with our ability to take
care of ourselves. In the song, "The Hand That Feeds," Trent Reznor of
the band Nine Inch Nails expresses a further doubt about the proverb. He
suggests the hand that feeds us may supply us with stuff that doesn't
really nourish us and that is tainted by the supplier's questionable
motivations. "Will you stay down on your knees," he sings, or "will you
bite the hand that feeds you?" I present these views for your
consideration, Libra. It's a good time to re-evaluate your relationship with
authorities who purport to be helping you.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): For about half the year, Cambodia's Tonle
Sap River flows north. Soon after the beginning of the rainy season,
however, it reverses its direction and flows south for six months. I bring
this up, Scorpio, because the astrological omens suggest that you're now
in a phase comparable to the time when the river makes its turnaround.
The experience may feel a bit odd at first, but it's completely natural. Go
with the opposite flow.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): History's longest conflict between
nations was the Hundred Years' War, which England and France fought for
116 years between 1337 and 1453. The shortest war ever was between
Zanzibar and England in 1896. It lasted 38 minutes. Whether the
hostilities you enter into in the coming week will resemble the former or
the latter may all depend on two factors: 1. how open you are to learning
from the other side; 2. how willing you are to acknowledge your own role
in creating the circumstances that led to the dispute.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Studies show that judicious chocolate
consumption promotes longevity. People who ingest it three times a
month are more likely to live into their 90s than those who either refrain
from eating it or else gorge on it frequently. The astrological omens
suggest, however, that your health will be well-served by eating 300
percent more than the judicious amount this May, beginning with a virtual
orgy of chocolate feasting this week. I recommend that you also seek out
other experiences that generate feelings similar to those stirred by a
chocolate feast.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You now have the power to modify three
situations that are overdue for change. First, you could heal a nagging
ailment. Second, you could expand your awareness so much that you will
detect an important fact about your life that you've been oblivious to.
Third, you could end your preoccupation with a trivial problem, thereby
freeing up energy to be used for the first two tasks. But none of these
things will transpire, Aquarius, if you merely think about them and talk
about them. You need a special kind of jolt that bypasses your rational
faculties: a new medicine song. So call on all your resources--friends with
vast musical knowledge, Web radio stations like Radio Paradise or 3WK,
the playlists of people whose taste you like--to track down the tune that
will rejuvenate your soul. (Here's one suggestion: "Stones" by Sonic
Youth.)
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Sniffing basil and rosemary can make your
thinking processes more agile and effective, say aromatherapists. You
probably won't really need any such boost in the coming week, though,
since according to the astrological omens your mental faculties will be at
their peak. But on the other hand, why not go for the super-brain effect?
If you feed the odors of basil and rosemary to your already dexterous
mind, you may break through into a new order of intelligence, allowing
you to solve puzzles that have confounded you for months.
*********************************************
HOMEWORK:
What's the single most important question you have to find an answer to
in the next five years? Deliver your best guess to me. Testify by going to
http://www.freewillastrology.com and clicking on "Email Rob."
*********************************************
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
*********************************************
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/
Once you do subscribe, be sure to add my address,
televisionary@comcast.net, to your address book or spam filter
"whitelist" so that my newsletter won't be treated as spam and filtered
out. Or tell your company's IT group to allow this address to pass through
any filtering software they may have set up.
If my emails don't reach your inbox, you should also look in your "Bulk
Mail" or "Junk Mail" folder.
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
2005 Rob Brezsny
********************************************