Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology Newsletter
"I hunger for your sleek laugh and your hands the color of a furious
harvest. I want to eat the sunbeams flaring in your beauty."
-Pablo Neruda
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January 18, 2006
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http://www.freewillastrology.com
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EXPLORE THE BIG PICTURE OF YOUR LIFE
with my Expanded Audio Horoscopes for the Coming Year
How can you best cooperate with the opportunities and challenges that
2006 will bring you? What are the blessings that life is likely to offer you
as a spur to your growth? Would you like some inspiration as you survey
your destiny from the mountaintop perspective?
To access my IN-DEPTH, LONG-TERM AUDIO FORECASTS FOR YOUR LIFE IN
2006, go here:
http://snipurl.com/krjm
Click on your astrological sign, then choose either part 1, part 2, or part 3
of my BIG PICTURE look at your future--or even all three parts, if you're
feeling adventurous.
You can also choose to listen to my short-range outlook for the coming
week.
The Expanded Audio Horoscopes cost $6 apiece if you access them on
the Web via RealAudio.
You can also hear them over the phone for $1.99 per minute.
From the United States, call
1-900-950-7700
or
1-877-873-4888.
If you live in Canada, call
1-888-499-4425.
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You can hear an interview with me done by New Dimensions radio.
Go to their website at http://www.newdimensions.org
and scroll down a bit. Click on "Rob Brezsny - Moving From Spectator to
Creator"
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Here are my upcoming public appearances.
LEARNING ANNEX WORKSHOP
Wednesday, January 25
6:45 - 9:30 PM
San Francisco
For more info: http://snipurl.com/lgsc
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BODHI TREE Bookstore
Friday, February 3
7:30 PM
8585 Melrose Avenue
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 659-1733
http://www.bodhitree.com
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COPPERFIELD'S Bookstore
Thursday, February 9
7:00 PM
Montgomery Village
2316 Montgomery Dr.
Santa Rosa, CA 95405
(707) 578-8938
http://copperfields.booksense.com
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*PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA:
How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings*
available at http://snipurl.com/krjj
or find out more at http://www.freewillastrology.com
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Below is an essay that I didn't include in my book, but it's in close
alignment with the book's spirit.
WAR! FAMINE! PESTILENCE! EARTHQUAKES! CRIME! SCANDAL!
The ubiquity of headlines like these suggests that nihilism is the pet
philosophy of the storytellers known as "journalists." But they're not the
only fabulists to thrive on dread and despair. A majority of the prophets
down through the ages have been allergic to the possibility that the
future might hold anything besides endlessly tragedy and disaster.
The sixteenth century's creepy horror-meister Nostradamus wasn't the
first, but he has been one of the most enduring. Ghoulish modern
soothsayers have refined and expanded the scare-the-crap-out-of-'em
tradition. For instance, in the last 40 years, hundreds of self-proclaimed
prophets have foreseen cataclysmic "earth changes" that will flush away
America's West Coast and create beach-front property in Nebraska.
A multitude of their colleagues agree that most of humanity will be wiped
out any minute now, but they see the death blow coming via other
means. Lethal solar flares, nuclear war, and fresh plagues are old
standbys, though newcomers worm their way onto the list periodically,
including my personal favorite: an evil artificial intelligence that achieves
sentience on the Internet.
As entertaining as modern prognosticators' curses can be, however, their
track record is as abysmal as Nostradamus's. The fact that Nebraska is
still without a seacoast should be enough evidence to send many of them
into disgraced hiding.
Amazingly, the ineptitude of the frightful omen-slingers has not
diminished their appeal. Their newsletters and websites proliferate. They
have spawned the runaway popularity of syndicated radio shows rooted in
edge-of-the-seat invocations of imminent global disasters. Tally up the
New Age devotees of spooky woo-woo and the Christian fundamentalist
worshipers of divine uh-oh and you've got a cast of millions.
Cultured, rational folks like you and I chuckle. How can so many people
believe in so much nonsense? And yet as the tears of ridicule splash down
from my cheeks onto today's *New York Times,* a heretical theory
bubbles up into view. Maybe the boogie-man prophets captivate so many
imaginations because there are far more influential minds constantly at
work nurturing the conditions necessary for apocalyptic thinking to
bloom.
In our culture, cynicism has come to be regarded as a sign of intellectual
vigor. It's smart to expect and look for the worst in everything. Optimism
is thought to be the province of sentimental fools with no talent for
critical thinking. Entropy and disintegration are inherently more interesting
subjects to explore than redemption and renewal, availing greater
opportunities to show off one's acumen.
And soothsayers are really just bit players in the spreading of these
memes. The most potent disseminators are the storytellers known as
journalists. They comprise the engine of the myth-making machinery.
"The universe is not made of molecules," said the poet Muriel Rukyser. "It
is made of stories." Subtly and relentlessly, the journalists weave our
universe from narratives of turbulence, loss, decay, and corruption. The
poet John Keats said that if something is not beautiful, it is probably not
true, but our chief storytellers suggest the opposite: If something is not
ugly, it is probably not true.
The Nostradamus wannabes are easy to dismiss. Their spectacularly
idiotic fantasies are laughable. But journalists churn out measured,
seemingly believable doses of doom and gloom. No single mini-
armageddon is too much to swallow, but the sum total of their agitated
drone adds up in the long run to a far more powerful prophetic vision than
the silly New Age and fundamentalist seers: MEDIAPOCALYPSE.
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To read related pieces from my book, go here:
http://snipurl.com/l9o3
or
http://freewillastrology.com/beauty/beauty.main145.shtml
To buy the book, use the links to Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble,
which are on my homepage at http://www.freewillastrology.com
Or cut and paste the direct links below:
AMAZON
http://snipurl.com/krjj
BARNES & NOBLE
http://snipurl.com/krjn
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OTHER PRONOIA RESOURCES:
FILM
*The New Heroes*
http://thenewheroes.org/stories.asp
A PBS series that travels the globe to explore the ideas and impact of
"social entrepreneurs" who are making the world a better place.
WEBSITE
The Evolver Project
http://www.evolverproject.com/index2.html
"It's no longer about knowing what's wrong. It's about becoming what's
right. It's about integrating logic and heart, vision and will. It's about
making life juicier by making good ideas real. A new world is springing up
around us -- of visionary politics and liberating hacks, earthly communities
and galactic highs."
VISIONARY AUTHOR
Daniel Pinchbeck, author of *Breaking Open the Head*:
http://www.breakingopenthehead.com
VISIONARY AUTHOR
Erik Davis, author of *Techgnosis*:
http://www.techgnosis.com
DREAMS
The Lucidity Institute
Center for Lucid Dream Research
http://www.lucidity.com
(Note: I endorse these because I like them. They're not advertisements,
and I get no kickbacks.)
Please tell me your own personal nominations for PRONOIA RESOURCES.
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning January 19
Copyright 2006 by Rob Brezsny
http://www.freewillastrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In my book *Pronoia Is the Antidote for
Paranoia,* there's a 1500-word piece extolling a few of the many ways in
which I feel that living on this planet is a glorious privilege. You're in a
phase of your astrological cycle when it makes perfect sense for you to
write something similar. To be in maximum alignment with cosmic luck,
therefore, you should sit down and compose a list of everything that
works well for you, delights you, and helps you feel at home in the world.
Call it your "Joy Manifesto."
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): For the last nine years the daffodils in my
yard have blossomed in mid-February. This time around, however, their
yellow blooms sprouted in the first week of January. Another sign of
global warming? I don't know. So far the flowers' early arrival hasn't been
a problem. They're still going strong, showing a hardy resistance to
sporadic bursts of cold and rain. According to my astrological analysis,
Taurus, you have also ripened a bit prematurely. Ahead of schedule,
you've accomplished your upgrade and are ready to try your hand at a
spicier challenge. Like the daffodils, you will probably do fine. Just one
piece of advice, though: Don't scrimp on your efforts to protect and
nurture yourself.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Having ridden my mountain bike through Marin
County's hills for years, I've watched Mt. Tamalpais go through endless
changes. Depending on the weather, the season, and the time of day, it
has been a different mountain on each occasion I've seen it. When the
low-slung sun illuminates the thin layer of mist covering it late on a winter
afternoon, for example, I can't believe it's the same mountain that lies
beneath a full moon beaming down on it through a hole in the streaming
clouds on a summer night. The poet in me says I'd be justified in giving it
a new name on each of the thousands of times I've been in its presence.
If you're honest, Gemini, you know that my relationship with Mt.
Tamalpais is very much like your experience of the people you see every
day. They're always fresh, always different from who they were last time.
This is an ideal time to acknowledge and celebrate that mystery.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Two people in Evansville, Indiana were
exploring an office building they wanted to buy. To the surprise of the
owner, they discovered the structure had a second story that had been
closed up for decades. The three of them gained access to the hidden
area and found business papers that had last touched human hands in
1931. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, Cancerian, you
will soon make a similar find. Sealed-off parts of your world you didn't
know existed will become available for your inspection.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The Galactic Question Center at
Galquest.blogspot.com asks you to imagine the following scenario: Upon
awakening one morning, you find that you are lying on top of a mile-high
pole that is 24 feet in diameter. Next to you is a can of unopened chicken
soup, a tube of strong glue, a half-mile long rope, and a German shepherd
dog. Can you come up with a way to get yourself back down to the
ground? I don't think you will face this exact predicament in the coming
week, Leo, but it has a metaphorical resemblance to a knotty riddle you'll
be presented with. Fortunately, you have the brain power to solve it.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Burton Butler is Northern California's top
Skunk Whisperer. Because he has developed a special rapport with skunks,
he's often called on by spooked suburbanites to safely remove the
critters when they take up residence in basements and garages. I believe
you will have an analogous talent in the coming weeks, Virgo. Due to your
smart, unsentimental brand of sensitivity, you will be able to defuse
potentially smelly problems with little or no damage to either the stinker
or stinkees.
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To access my IN-DEPTH, LONG-TERM AUDIO FORECASTS FOR YOUR LIFE IN
2006, go here:
http://snipurl.com/krjm
Click on your astrological sign, then choose either part 1, part 2, or part 3
of my BIG PICTURE look at your future--or even all three parts, if you're
feeling adventurous.
You can also choose to listen to my short-range outlook for the coming
week.
The Expanded Audio Horoscopes cost $6 apiece if you access them on
the Web via RealAudio.
You can also hear them over the phone for $1.99 per minute.
From the United States, call
1-900-950-7700
or
1-877-873-4888.
If you live in Canada, call
1-888-499-4425.
**********************************************
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In the science fiction film *Contact,* Jodie
Foster plays a scientist who's chosen as an astronaut for a solo trip to an
alien world far from our solar system. As she careens through a
staggering array of sublime celestial phenomena, she muses aloud to
herself, half crying, "It's so beautiful . . . so beautiful . . . They should
have sent a poet." To properly understand and appreciate the experiences
that lie ahead for you, Libra, adopt her advice: Awaken the poet within
you, and let him or her lead the way as you go on your adventures. You
say you don't have an inner poet? I disagree. We all have one. It's the
part of you that thinks like the moon, dreams like the sun, and loves like
the earth.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In her *San Francisco Chronicle* column,
Leah Garchik reported that a woman shopping at a local Safeway grocery
store had heard "Blitzkrieg Bop," a snarling anthem by the Ramones,
playing over the loudspeaker. Was it an unfortunate development that
besmirched the integrity of the seminal punk band, or a welcome sign
that what was once raw rebel squawk is infiltrating the mainstream?
You're ready to entertain an analogous question that pertains to your own
personal quest for authenticity, Scorpio. Should you compromise a little
so as to inject your influence into a setting where it's desperately
needed? Or should you remain aloof and pure, content to affect mostly
just those who already agree with you?
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): This should not be a race-down-an-
eight-lane-superhighway kind of week, Sagittarius. From what I can tell,
it's got to be an exploratory-meander-down-a-bunch-of-dirt-roads kind of
week. In order to be exposed to what's important for you to learn, you'll
have to take the scenic route through back country. Please don't be in a
hurry. Regard the muddy patches and potholes as your allies. It's high
time to slow down and smell the cow manure, which might be more
accurately referred to as fertilizer.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): A psychologist in the U.K. believes that
January 24 is the "most depressing day of the year," at least in the
Northern Hemisphere. Cliff Arnall, whose specialty is seasonal disorders,
says this day is typically a low point, when glum feelings generated by
overcast weather, debt from the holidays, and broken New Year's
resolutions reach a crescendo. While this might hold true for the other
signs of the zodiac, Capricorn, it doesn't apply to you. The astrological
omens reveal you're at the peak of your cycle, when you can triumph
over challenges and accomplish breakthroughs that might normally be
impossible. I suggest you proceed as if long-standing limitations have
become irrelevant.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): A guy I met in a bar in New York's Lower
East Side discoursed at length on the psycho-spiritual meaning of *The
Wizard of Oz.* "The Wicked Witch of the West was Dorothy's greatest
teacher," he told me. "The witch's animosity compelled her to learn new
tricks, master her circumstances, and ultimately find her way home." I
hope that lately you have been benefiting from your own personal version
of the Wicked Witch, Aquarius, and I trust that you will soon graduate
from your need for the lessons he or she has provided.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Krakow, Poland hasn't had a full-time rabbi on
duty since the events of World War II decimated the once-thriving Jewish
population. Recently that changed with the arrival of Rabbi Avraham Flaks
from Israel. He has promised to help build solidarity in the small Jewish
community that has arisen since the fall of Communism and the end of
the Polish government's unofficial policy of anti-Semitism. I foresee a
comparable development in your own life, Pisces. You are poised to
experience a reawakening of spiritual impulses that have been dormant for
some time. If you follow the clues you'll be given, it's quite possible that a
teacher, leader, or other inspirational influence will come to catalyze
further excitement.
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HOMEWORK:
Describe the moment in your life when you were closest to being
perfectly content. Then make a vow to recreate, during the next three
weeks, the conditions that prevailed at that time. 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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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,
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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.
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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,
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Please be sure to note your preference when sending to us. We
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2006 Rob Brezsny
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