Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology Newsletter
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August 31, 2005
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http://www.freewillastrology.com.
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Read a story about me published in *Metro Santa Cruz*:
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cruz/08.24.05/brezsny-0534.html
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Read my article "The Literary Equivalent of a Sex Change" on
Powells.com:
http://www.powells.com/essays/brezsny.html%3CBR%3E
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Check out the podcast interview that R.U. Sirius did with me. [Caution:
contains liberated language]:
http://www.mondoglobo.net/
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Here's an excerpt from my book
"PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA:
How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings"
THE UNIVERSE IS MADE OF STORIES
The poet Muriel Rukeyser said the universe is composed of stories, not of
atoms. The physicist Werner Heisenberg declared that the universe is
made of music, not of matter.
And we believe that if you habitually expose yourself to toxic stories and
music, you could wind up living in the wrong universe, where it's
impossible to become the gorgeous genius you were born to be.
That's why we implore you to nourish yourself with delicious, nutritious
tales and tunes that inspire you to exercise your willpower for your
highest good.
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"The only war that matters is the war against the imagination.
All other wars are subsumed by it."
-Diane Di Prima, "Rant," from Pieces of a Song
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Astrologer Caroline Casey offers an apt metaphor to illustrate how crucial
it is for us to hear and read good stories. She notes that if we don't have
enough of the normal, healthy kind of iodine in our bodies, we absorb
radioactive iodine, which has entered the food chain through nuclear test
explosions conducted in the atmosphere. Similarly, unless we fill ourselves
up with stories that invigorate us, we're more susceptible to sopping up
the poisonous, degenerative narratives.
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Novelist Ursula K. Le Guin decries the linear perspective that dominates
modern storytelling. She says it's "like an arrow, starting here and going
straight there and THOK! hitting its mark." Furthermore, she complains,
plots are usually advanced through conflict, as if interesting action can't
possibly arise from any other catalyst.
I invite you to rebel against these oppressive conventions. Wean yourself
from tales that have reductive plot lines fueled primarily by painful
events. Celebrate the luminous mysteries that have shaped your own life
story: the meandering fascinations that didn't lead to tidy conclusions,
the wobbly joys that fed your soul but didn't serve your ego's ambitions,
the adventures whose success revolved around brain-teasing
breakthroughs instead of exhausting triumphs over suffering.
. . . To read the rest of
"THE UNIVERSE IS MADE OF STORIES," go here:
http://www.freewillastrology.com/beauty/
To buy the book, use the links to Amazon.com and Powells, which are on
my homepage at http://www.freewillastrology.com
Or cut and paste the direct links below:
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-
/1583941231/qid=1123690660/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-1737423-
7631942?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
POWELLS
http://www.powells.com/biblio/2-1583941231-2
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OTHER PRONOIA RESOURCES:
WEBSITE:
Swami Beyondananda: http://www.wakeuplaughing.com
BOOK:
*It's Getting Better All the Time: Greatest Trends of the Last 100 Years*
by Stephen Moore and Julian L. Simon
POEM:
"Ode to Gaiety" by James Brougton:
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Metro/1170/gaiety.htm
FILM:
*The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill*
MUSIC
*There Will Be a Light" by Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama
(Note: I endorse these because I like them. I get no kickbacks.)
Now please tell me your own personal nominations for PRONOIA
RESOURCES.
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning September 1
Copyright 2005 by Rob Brezsny
http://www.freewillastrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Here's how rock critic Aidin Vaziri described
the stage set when hip-hop artist 50 Cent played in San Jose: "an urban
wasteland that looked like it was designed by Disney (complete with an
overturned police car, graffiti-covered trashcans and the decapitated
head of the Statue of Liberty)." I hope you don't take this the wrong way,
Aries, but there's a certain resemblance between that environment and
yours. The so-called chaos you're surrounded by is either imaginary or
artificial or both. It may be seductively well-made, and therefore hard to
resist, but you can walk away from it any time you choose.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You have the potential to be a great wizard in
the coming week. Here's how to fulfill that promise: (1) Renounce
grandiose fantasies of transforming lead into gold or frogs into soul
mates. (2) Think small, be specific, get extremely pragmatic, and don't
make up stories based on inconclusive evidence. (3) Take everything
that's dreamy and hard-to-pin-down and bring it down to earth. (4) Don't
bitch about the limitations; *love* them and use them to your advantage.
(5) Treat idealism as a distraction unless it can be translated into
concrete acts that do some good for actual human beings.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): A respected medical journal reports that one
out of four people thinks that "scientists have already found a cure for
cancer, but that this cure is being withheld by the health care industry
because it makes more money treating the illness." There are a lot of
paranoid theories like this going around. Millions believe in the existence
of elite puppet masters who manipulate our shared resources to serve
their own power and wealth rather than the public good. I'm not smart or
crazy enough to evaluate these theories. But I do know that for you right
now, Gemini, it's crucial to be extremely skeptical of every authority,
expert, and leader. You should express similar discernment toward those
who present themselves as hip, high-status, or special. It will be to your
advantage to disrespect hierarchies and become a devotee of pure
democracy.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): "All I learned in college," says my friend
Davey, "was how to beat the system by using its own rules against it."
"All I learned in college," declares author Miravi Bhuna-Giva, "was how to
make up sh--." "All I learned in college," asserts late-night TV talk show
host Jimmy Kimmel, "was how to drink while standing on my head." All
these educational experiences are highly recommended for you in the
coming weeks, Cancerian. You're in a phase when you'll have luck and
grace if you act like an eager student, whether you're trying to perfect
the art of squeezing more perks out of the game of life or mastering
goofy tricks that will make more people want to invite you to their
parties.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Do you have total confidence in your ability to
swing lawn chairs around with your teeth? Can you safely eat broken
glass, withstand people riding bicycles over your belly, and smash bricks
with your head? If so, you don't need my advice this week. But if you're
not sure you're capable of pulling off the kinds of feats I named, please
resist the temptation to try them. For that matter, don't even think of
submitting to other strenuous tests that are far beyond your ability. This
is a time for you to lay low and recharge, not throw yourself into trials by
fire. Be modest and self-protective, not brazen and reckless.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You have weathered a turning point in your
relationship with darkness, and will never again be tempted by its strange
attractions. Did you hear what I said? You have had your last encounters
with hellish monsters that unleash torment for the fun of it. You will never
again get mixed up with events that resemble crawling through caverns
filled with the souls of the damned. In the future, you may on occasion
have weird dreams about owls and spiders and snakes, but they will be
*good* weird. Congrats, Virgo.
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EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES
In addition to the written horoscopes you get in this newsletter, I offer
Expanded Audio Horoscopes. They're $6 if you access them on the Web,
or $1.99 per minute 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): "If the Angel decides to come it will be
because you have convinced her, not by tears but by your humble resolve
to be always beginning; to be a beginner." So said the poet Rainer Maria
Rilke, as if speaking to your exact needs right now. Let me offer this
addendum: The Angel wants to come very badly. She is passionate about
offering you the novel assistance she has dreamed up just for you.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Painter Henri Matisse (1869-1954) departed
so recklessly from the traditions of his art form that some critics believed
he threatened to undermine civilization. That seems unbelievable to us
today. Can you imagine any modern painter, musician, writer, or filmmaker
being accorded power like that? I can't. Those whose creative expression
carries the greatest clout do their work in the areas of business and
technology. Having said that, I'll now make an exception: You currently
have the potential to wield a dramatic influence with your creativity in
every realm *except* business and technology.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): "Dear Rob: Two years ago I had intimate
relations with a mountain. I was driving toward the Cascades when I
became aware of a physical longing for Bonanza Peak, which lay ahead of
me. As I got closer, I rolled down the windows and sucked in the cool air. I
had the exact same sensation as loving someone so deeply that breathing
in their breath fills me with erotic images and naughty tingles and lusty
compassion. I thought you should know. -Earth Lover"
Dear Earth Lover: Thanks for your testimony. It's the perfect
message for Sagittarians to hear right now, so I'm advising them to learn
from your example.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): There's a connection between Al Qaeda
and actor Kevin Bacon, according to Tatsuya Ishida at www.sinfest.net. Al
Qaeda was trained by the CIA, he says, which was established by
President Harry Truman, who dropped the atom bomb which was cooked
up by the Manhattan Project, which was the name of a movie starring
John Lithgow, who was in the film "Footloose" with Kevin Bacon. I invite
you to make liberal use of this kind of logic in the coming days, Capricorn.
The astrological omens say it will be healthy for you to let your
imagination run away with you as long as you don't take as gospel truth
all the conclusions it leads you to. So please feel free to ramble down the
fine line between creative storytelling and total BS.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): When your plane takes off and the flight
attendants give you their lecture on what to do in case of emergency,
they often remind you that "your nearest exit may be behind you." That's
good advice for you to keep in mind during the coming week, Aquarius. I
don't mean to imply that you'll be facing some literal danger that will
require you to make a quick escape. What I do suggest is that you
remove yourself, at least temporarily, from a certain process that's
barreling full-speed ahead. The best way to do it is to go backward, into
the past, or in reverse.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): When I went to a hard-core rock festival
recently, all but one of the bands I heard made abundant use of the f-
word. They invoked it so often, both in their songs and between-song
patter, that it got boring. The lone group that departed from the norm
did express gleeful rage, but it was with a phrase I rarely hear anymore. "I
don't give a damn," the singer shouted at the end of one song. I laughed
at the archaic modesty of the expression, but it stayed with me more
than the histrionics the other bands preferred. That brings me to the
advice I have for you, Pisces: Get to the root of your anger and then
render it with an understated craft that sets it apart from the
overwrought venting that everyone has grown numb to.
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HOMEWORK:
What do you want so badly that you're driving it away? How can you fix
the problem? Testify by going to http://www.freewillastrology.com and
clicking on "Email Rob."
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2005 Rob Brezsny
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