Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology Newsletter
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September 7, 2005
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http://www.freewillastrology.com.
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Check out the interview that Rob McConnell of the X-Zone Radio Show did
with me:
http://www.xzone-radio.com/archives.htm
When you reach the above page,
scroll down to the "Friday, September 2" listing
and click on "Play Now."
The interview with me starts 15:30 minutes into the program.
In the interview, I talk about the issue of pronoia in relation to the tragedy
in New Orleans.
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Read a story about me published in the *Ventura County Reporter*:
http://freewillastrology.com/beauty/pagan.shtml
(Originally published at http://www.vcreporter.com)
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PUBLIC APPEARANCES:
I'll be doing two gigs in the upcoming days:
EARTHDANCE
Friday, September 16 at 3:30
Main Stage
Laytonville, California
For more info: http://www.earthdance.org
GATEWAYS BOOKS
Thursday, September 15 at 7:00 pm
Santa Cruz, California
1126 Soquel Avenue
http://www.gatewaysbooks.com/
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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"
PRONOIA'S VILLAINS
According to Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges, Judas was actually a
more exalted hero than Jesus. He unselfishly volunteered to perform the
all-important villain's role in the resurrection saga, knowing he'd be reviled
forever. It was a dirty job that only a supremely egoless saint could have
done. Jesus suffered, true, but enjoyed glory and adoration as a result.
Let's apply this way of thinking to the task of understanding the role
that seemingly bad people play in pronoia.
Interesting narratives play an essential role in the universal conspiracy to
give us exactly what we need. All of us crave drama. We love to be
beguiled by twists of fate that unfold the stories of our lives in
unpredictable ways. Just as Judas played a key role in advancing the tale
of Christ's quest, villains and con men and clowns may be crucial to the
entertainment value of our personal journeys.
Try this: Imagine the people you fear and dislike as pivotal characters
in a fascinating and ultimately redemptive plot that will take years or even
lifetimes for the Divine Wow to elaborate.
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There is another reason to love our enemies: They force us to become
smarter. The riddles they thrust in front of us sharpen our wits and sculpt
our souls.
Try this: Act as if your adversaries are great teachers. Thank them for
how crucial they've been in your education.
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Consider one more possibility: that the people who seem to slow us down
and hold us back are actually preventing things from happening too fast.
Imagine that the evolution of your life or our culture is like a pregnancy: It
needs to reach its full term. Just as a child isn't ready to be born after
five months of gestation, the new world we're creating has to ripen in its
own time. The recalcitrant reactionaries who resist the inevitable birth are
simply making sure that the far-seeing revolutionaries don't conjure the
future too suddenly. They serve the greater good.
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To read other pieces from the book, go here:
http://freewillastrology.com/beauty/beauty.main145.shtml
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:
MAGAZINE:
Utne Reader: http://www.utne.com/
BOOK:
*Love and the World : A Guide to Conscious Soul Practice*
by Robert Sardello
POEMS:
*The Gift* by Hafiz, translated by Daniel Ladinsky
http://www.poetseers.org/the_poetseers/hafiz/h_p/gift
FILM:
*Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress*
DVD
*Worldspirit* by Alex Grey and Kenji Williams
http://www.magneticpresence.com/projects/products.html
WEBSITE:
Heroic Stories: http://www.heroicstories.com/
(Note: I endorse these because I like them. They're not advertisements,
and 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 8
Copyright 2005 by Rob Brezsny
http://www.freewillastrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
ARIES (March 21-April 19): When I was 19, a masked gunman pumped a
load of buckshot into my hip after a student demonstration. To this day, I
have 43 pieces of metal in my body. What kind of metal? That's an
important question. Until I find out the answer, I can never get an MRI.
Medical technicians tell me that unless they're sure the shards in me
aren't the kind of metal that could be moved by the MRI's strong
magnetic field, they can't risk it. In a worst-case scenario, the shards
might move so much they'd cause internal bleeding. And that's the story
of how unknown factors from a past event are still affecting my life
today. I believe you're now facing a comparable situation, Aries, though in
a more metaphorical way. Go get the answers you need.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): From the window of my office I look down on
a blackberry bush whose berries are now ripening. In the last 20 minutes,
I've watched a sparrow figure out the best way to feast. At first the bird
tried to land on the flimsy branches of the bush, but after a few tries it
realized they couldn't hold its weight. Its revised strategy was to grab a
single berry in mid-swoop and alight on the branch of a nearby apple tree
so it could relax with its meal. It did this ten times. I recommend a similar
approach to you, Taurus. According to my astrological analysis, you won't
be able to enjoy your treats in the place where you find them. You'll have
to pluck them, fly away, and savor them at a distance. Like the sparrow,
you should keep returning for refills.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): America's first President George Bush, a Gemini
who reigned from 1988 to 1992, had almost as quirky and paradoxical a
mind as his son, who is the current leader of the free world. "I have
strong opinions of my own," Bush the First once said, "but I don't always
agree with them." Let that quizzical gem be your watchword in the
coming days, Gemini. Disavow three strong opinions you've been proud of
in the past, but which you no longer agree with. Try to get it through
your beautiful head that you're not the person you were when you first
acquired those old beliefs, and it's time to leave them behind.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): A lot of the teens I know have tattoos, but
not my neighbor's 16-year-old daughter Lucretia. Fear of boredom is the
main reason. "If I got a tattoo today, I'd be tired of it in six months," she
explained to me. "And then what would I do? Undergo the torture of
having it erased? I just can't deal with anything that would be a
permanent part of me." Make her your role model this week, Cancerian.
You're in the most transitory phase of your astrological cycle. For best
results, revel in the parade of flashy beauty and captivating diversions,
but don't get too attached to any single one.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You are becoming very relaxed. All tension is
flowing out of you. Your worries are dissolving. With each breath, your
body feels a growing sense of peace and well-being. Your mind is
expanding naturally, allowing you to experience a harmonious attunement
with life. In response, deep sources of practical intelligence are welling up
into your awareness, filling you with good ideas about your long-term
financial future. Soon you will begin writing down a ten-step master plan
that will go a long way toward making you into a money magnet in the
next 18 months.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You don't want to have to answer to the past,
right? It's a waste of time. Nor do you even feel like rebelling against the
way things used to be or rejecting the stale old expectations people
would like to hold you to. I don't blame you, Virgo--especially now, as you
enter the frontier zone where the possibilities are limited only by your
imagination. The way I see it, it's your sacred duty to shake off all the
sacred duties from yesteryear as you go forth to create the future.
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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): The Gobi Desert in Central Asia is one of the
world's biggest and most inhospitable wastelands. Temperatures there
range from -40 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit. And yet not far below the
endless sand is a vast water table. Well-diggers strike water nine out of
ten times they drill. I regard the Gobi as an apt metaphor for your current
situation, Libra. While it may be true that you're currently surrounded by
arid extremes, a wealth of revivifying emotional riches lies just below the
surface.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Please don't sit on your ass any more than
you have to in the coming week. That's always a good rule to observe,
but it's especially important to honor it now. The cosmic truth of the
matter, Scorpio, is that you can't possibly make the right decisions if your
physical energy is stagnant or if your field of vision is unchanging. For the
sake of your future, for the health of your emotions, for the love of God,
get out into the wild open spaces. And if that's not feasible, at least
saunter around the neighborhood more than usual. Here's your motto,
courtesy of St. Augustine: *Solvitur ambulando,* which is Latin for "It is
solved by walking."
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): The entertainment industry foists a lot
of garbage on us. Stupid sex, gratuitous fear, and ugly violence are the
norm. TV and film executives defend themselves against critics who
accuse them of pandering to the lowest common denominator. "We
merely give people what they want," they say. To put that lame excuse in
context, I'll quote Henry Ford, the automotive pioneer: "If I had asked
people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." I hope
that perspective inspires you to aim higher in the coming week,
Sagittarius. Don't give anyone (including yourself) what they're
accustomed to desiring; give them something better and more beautiful.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Back when it was still a fledgling business
in the 1950s, the McDonald's hamburger franchise caught the attention
of a salesman named Ray Kroc. He joined the team as an executive, and
soon began thinking about buying the company outright. His advisors
counseled him against it, but Kroc said he had "a feeling in his funny
bone" that it was the right thing to do. Years later, he had become a
billionaire, renowned as one of the world's titans of industry. I'm not
necessarily saying you will amass a comparable fortune, Capricorn, but
decisions you make in the coming weeks could be as life-changing as
Kroc's--and maybe even instrumental in ensuring that you fulfill the
mission you came to Earth to carry out. Trust the feelings in your funny
bone.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I'm taking a risk with the message I have for
you this week. My intention is not to flatter you or inflate your ego, and I
know that some of you may be tempted to do just that when you read
what I have to say. *Please* resist that temptation. My advice is not
meant to jack up your pride but rather is designed to boost your
confidence. I want to impress on you how important it is not to seek
solutions to your problems from experts, teachers, or anyone beside
yourself. Ready for your assignment? Speak the following sentence 20
times a day for the next week: *I am the answer.*
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): I predict that a new fashion trend will arise in
the coming months: the intentional cultivation of "sacred acne" as a form
of facial decoration. Hip magazines will offer instructions on how to
compel pimples to appear in the shape of mythological emblems and
religious symbols. I also predict, Pisces, that before the end of 2005 you
will figure out how to take advantage of a quality you've always
considered a liability. This seeming weakness or unloveliness may even
become a spiritual asset. The transformation begins now.
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HOMEWORK:
Make a guess about where you'll be and what you'll be doing ten years
from today. Testify by going to http://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 CD and promoting
my new book.
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.
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
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I totally respect your privacy. I'll never sell or give away your address to
anyone.
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2005 Rob Brezsny
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