Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology Newsletter
"Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question,
'Is it politic?' Vanity asks the question, 'Is it popular?' But, conscience
asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must
take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must
take it because one's conscience tells one that it is right."
- Martin Luther King Jr.
August 16, 2006
http://www.freewillastrology.com
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ROB'S UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
Boulder Book Store
Wednesday, August 16
7:30
1107 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
303.447.2074
http://boulderbookstore.com
Matter Bookstore
Thursday, August 17
7 p.m.
144 N. College Avenue
Fort Collins, CO 80524
www.wolverinefarmpublishing.org
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Dan Furst, one of the best astrology writers out there, has an interesting
article about the Saturn-Neptune opposition at
http://www.hermes3.net/aug106.htm
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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"
available at http://snipurl.com/krjj
or find out more at http://www.freewillastrology.com
+
SHADOW SCHOOL
You're a gorgeous mystery with a wild heart and a lofty purpose. But like
all of us, your psyche also harbors a portion of the world's sickness: a
mess of repressed longings, enervating wounds, ignorant delusions, and
unripe powers. It has been known by many names, including demon and
devil. Psychologist Carl Jung called it the shadow. He believed it was the
lead that the authentic alchemists of the Middle Ages sought to
transmute into gold.
*
"I am superior to you only in one point," Narcissus tells Goldmund in
Hermann Hesse's novel Narcissus and Goldmund. "I'm awake, whereas you
are only half awake, or completely asleep sometimes. I call a man awake
who knows in his conscious reason his innermost unreasonable force,
drives, and weaknesses, and knows how to deal with them."
*
Astrologer Steven Forrest has a different name for the shadow: stuff.
"Work on your stuff," he says, "or your stuff will work on you." He means
that it will sabotage you if you're not aggressive about identifying,
negotiating with, and transforming it.
*
"You have to recognize the demons or else they'll annoy you like
mosquitoes. But if you acknowledge their existence, if you say, 'All right,
here's a cookie, go sit in the corner,' then you can go about your work
and you don't have to go into depression because of it." --James
Broughton, as told to interviewer Jack Foley in The Alsop Review, "Big
Joy: Octogenarian--An Interview with James Broughton,"
http://tinyurl.com/k4ech
*
"The unconscious sends all sorts of vapors, odd beings, terrors, and
deluding images up into the mind; for the human kingdom, beneath the
floor of the comparatively neat little dwelling that we call our
consciousness, goes down into unsuspected Aladdin caves. There not
only jewels but also dangerous jinn abide: the inconvenient or resisted
psychological powers that we have not thought or dared to integrate into
our lives." --Joseph Campbell, *The Hero With a Thousand Faces*
*
The shadow is not inherently evil. If it is ignored or denied, it may become
monstrous to compensate. Only then is it likely to "demonically possess"
its owner, leading to compulsive, exaggerated, "evil" behavior.
*
"Whatever is rejected from the self, appears in the world as an event,"
said Jung. If you disown a part of your personality, it'll materialize as an
unexpected detour.
Everyone who believes in the devil is the devil.
*
"Nothing determines who we will become so much as those things we
choose to ignore." --Sandor McNab
*
"There is no generally effective technique for assimilating the shadow. It
is more like diplomacy and is always an individual matter. First one has to
accept and take seriously the existence of the shadow. Second, one has
to become aware of its qualities and intentions. This happens through
conscientious attention to moods, fantasies, and impulses. Third, a long
process of negotiation is unavoidable." --Daryl Sharp, Jung Lexicon: A
Primer of Terms and Concepts; also available at http://tinyurl.com/znxn3
*
"The shadow is not only the dark underside of the personality. While much
of it consists of inferior, primitive, unadapted, and awkward qualities, it
also contains vitalizing instincts, sleeping abilities, and positive moral
qualities that have long been buried or never been conscious. These
unacknowledged personal characteristics are often seen or hallucinated in
others through the mechanism of projection." --Daryl Sharp, Jung Lexicon:
A Primer of Terms and Concepts; also available at
http://tinyurl.com/znxn3
*
"The best political, social, and spiritual work we can do is to withdraw the
projection of our shadow onto others." --Carl Jung
*
"Suffering can't be avoided," James Broughton told Jack Foley. "The way
to happiness is to go into the darkness of yourself. That's the place the
seed is nourished, takes its roots and grows up, and becomes ultimately
the plant and the flower. You can only go upward by first going
downward." --James Broughton, as told to interviewer Jack Foley in The
Alsop Review, "Big Joy: Octogenarian--An Interview with James
Broughton," http://tinyurl.com/k4ech
*
The alchemists said the magic formula for enlightenment was Visita
Inferiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem, or "Seek out the
lower reaches of the earth, perfect them, and you will find the hidden
stone" (the treasured Philosopher's Stone). Jungian psychologists might
describe the process this way: Find the ignorant, wounded parts of your
psyche, perfect them, and you will awaken your hidden divinity.
*
"The great epochs in our lives are at the points when we gain the courage
to rebaptize our badness as the best in us." --Friedrich Nietzsche
*
In the best-known version of the Greek myth, Persephone is dragged
down into the underworld by Hades, whose title is "Pluto." But in earlier,
pre-patriarchal tales, she descends there under her own power, actively
seeking to graduate from her virginal naiveté by exploring the intriguing
land of shadows.
"Pluto" is derived from the Greek word plutus, meaning "wealth."
Psychologist James Hillman says this refers to the psyche-building riches
available in Pluto's domain. Hades, he says, is "the giver of nourishment to
the soul."
*
The goddess Hecate also lives in the underworld. According to poet
Robert Graves, she is the mistress of sorcery, "the goddess of ghosts and
night-terrors, of phantoms and fearful monsters." On the other hand, he
notes, Hecate "presides at seed time and childbirth; she grants
prosperity, victory, plentiful harvests to the farmer and rich catches to
the fisherman."
How can a single deity embody such seemingly contradictory archetypes?
Graves: She symbolizes "the unconscious in which beasts and monsters
swarm. This is not the living hell of the psychotic, but a reservoir of
energy to be brought under control, just as Chaos was brought to cosmic
order under the influence of the spirit."
*
In the New World, it won't be your material wealth that will win you the
most bragging points. Nor will it be the important people you know or the
deals you've swung or the knowledge you've amassed or your mate's
attractiveness. What will bring you most prestige and praise in the
civilization to come will be your success in transmuting lead into gold--
how thoroughly you have integrated your shadow and tapped into its
resources.
*
Here's a corollary to Jesus's injunction to love thy neighbor as thyself: "I
will love the dark, difficult side of my neighbor--not just the attractive,
friendly side--and I will encourage it to express itself in constructive
ways."
*
"If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere
insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate
them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and
evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to
destroy a piece of his own heart?"
--Alexander Solzhenitsyn, *The Gulag Archipelago*
*
Ancient legend says that a giant cobra--normally a fearsome predator--
shielded Buddha with its expansive hood as he meditated in the wilderness
during a terrible week-long storm.
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To read other news and features 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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
OTHER PRONOIA RESOURCES:
MAGAZINE
Yes!
http://www.yesmagazine.org/
"Supporting you in creating a more just, sustainable, and compassionate
world"
ARTICLE
"The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community" by David Korten
http://tinyurl.com/r622u
EVENT
http://tinyurl.com/krp2r
Four days of lectures on the subject of psychedelic culture at the Burning
Man festival, from Wednesday, August 30 through Saturday, September
2. Presented at the Entheon Village, Esplanade and 4:00. The series
includes "Cancel the Apocalypse" by Daniel Pinchbeck and
"Being 100% Consciously At Cause For Your Life Experience" by Rafael
Aisner.
(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 August 17
Copyright 2006 by Rob Brezsny
http://www.freewillastrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
ARIES (March 21-April 19): I was at an airport bookstore. A businessman
near me plucked Chuck Palahniuk's *Haunted* from the shelf and said to
his companion, "I've heard this book makes some people actually vomit.
Listen to this passage." He read it aloud. It was about a guy who eats ten
freeze-dried turkey dinners, and dies when his stomach literally explodes.
Moments after reciting this gruesome tale, the businessman collapsed and
went into convulsions. I knelt down and cradled his head. A saleswoman
called paramedics, and 15 minutes later he was fine. "That never
happened to me before," he said. "I don't have epilepsy. It must have
been a reaction to what I read." The moral of the story, Aries: Words will
have potent effects on you in the coming days. You should therefore
surround yourself not with Palahniuk-type curses but with good news and
uplifting stories and people who dispense articulate blessings.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I heard a guy on the radio tell the following
story. He and his wife stopped to enjoy a sunset. After a few minutes,
they noticed that its breathtaking beauty remained static; the scene
wasn't evolving. Upon further investigation, they registered the
embarrassing fact that they had actually been admiring an image on a
billboard. Make sure a similar event doesn't happen to you, Taurus. Avoid
getting hooked on substitutes, stand-ins, or simulacrums. Insist on the
real thing.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In her song "Deeper Well," Emmylou Harris says
she's "looking for the water from a deeper well." Make that your
assignment, Gemini. And if you're feeling brave, extend your search to an
even more challenging quest: what Harris refers to as searching for a
"holier grail." According to my reading of the omens, your biggest,
brightest dream isn't as big and bright as it could be. Raise your
standards.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): The omens suggest that you're most likely to
be happy and healthy in the coming weeks if you treat the whole world as
your classroom. Thank God, then, that you won't suffer anytime soon
from sophophobia (a fear of learning) or optophobia (fear of opening
one's eyes). It's my duty to inform you, however, that you could
experience politicophobia (fear of politicians) or myxophobia (fear of
slime). Ironically, that would be quite lucky, because it's crucial that you
avoid manipulative power-brokers and mud-slinging know-it-alls who might
confuse you about the educational experiences you need to pursue.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): "Raising kids is like making pancakes," muses
Brian Copeland in his show *Not a Genuine Black Man.* "You always mess
up the first one." A similar idea might apply to a certain multi-pronged
project you've been working on, Leo. I'm not saying you should abandon
or throw away your initial effort. On the contrary, like rookie parents
whose inexperience has slightly tweaked their first-born, you should be
thorough in trying to undo your mistakes. But I also suggest that you
immediately get started on the next creation in the series, being sure
you've learned all you can from the consequences of your earlier
ignorance.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): My old philosophy professor Norman O. Brown
would periodically interrupt his lectures, tilt his head upward as if tuning
into the whisper of some heavenly voice, and announce in a mischievous
tone, "It's time for your irregular reminder: We're already living after the
end of the world. No need to fret anymore." The implication was that the
worst had already happened. We had already lost most of the cultural
riches that had given humans meaning for centuries. All that was going to
be taken from us had already been taken. On the bright side, that meant
we were utterly free to reinvent ourselves. Living amidst the emptiness,
we had nowhere to go but up. What remained was alienating, but it was
also fresh. Use these ideas as seeds for your meditations, Virgo. You can
apply them to both your personal life and the world at large.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Novelist Jeanette Winterson told a TV
interviewer about her mother's strongest belief: "You can be happy, or
else you can be like normal people." This idea applies to you right now,
Libra--maybe more than you realize. From what I can tell, you're at a
crossroads in your relationship with happiness. You could go either way,
and it's mostly up to you: Will you tame your urges for wild joy, repress
your instincts to follow your lyrically crazy heart, and surrender to the dull
insanity of the maddening crowd? Or would you prefer the scarier, more
eccentric and action-packed route that will constantly push you to
enlarge your capacity to feel good?
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AUDIO LOVE LETTERS
In addition to the horoscopes that come to you in this newsletter, I create
more in-depth audio horoscopes for your inspiration. They're $6 if you
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"You told me the truth when no one else in my life would." -Darren H.,
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"Your wake-up calls keep me from getting stale." -Arris T., Aspen, CO
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SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Sculptor Luis Jimenez was renowned for
making large pieces with political themes that incited controversy. In "The
Barfly," created during the Vietnam War, he depicted the Statue of
Liberty as a drunken floozy. "Vaquero" shows a Mexican cowboy riding a
bucking stallion and waving a gun. It not only satirizes the pretentious
statues of military leaders on horses that are often found in parks; it's
also a reminder that the original cowboys of the American West were
Mexicans. "It's not my job to censor myself," Jimenez said. "An artist's
job is to constantly test the boundaries." Whether or not you're an artist
yourself, Scorpio, your next assignment is aligned with Jimenez's
approach: Don't censor yourself as you test the boundaries.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): There are now as many people working
at Wal-Mart stores as there are high-school teachers. Can anything be
done to change this depressing state of affairs? Well, it so happens that
the time is ripe for you Sagittarians to cultivate your skill at sharing what
you know. It's also an excellent phase to cultivate your ability to inspire
and energize your fellow humans. So if just one percent of you use this
pregnant moment as a springboard to launch careers as high-school
educators, Wal-Mart employees would no longer outnumber you and your
heroic colleagues. And even if you personally decide not to go in that
direction, I hope you at least think more about what you have to teach
the world, and take steps to give your gifts more aggressively.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Philosopher Robert Anton Wilson said that
"the universe acts like a chess game in which the player on the other side
remains invisible to us. By analyzing the moves, we can form an image of
the intellect behind them." The coming weeks will be an excellent time for
you to gain insights into that other chess player, Capricorn. You will have
an extraordinary capacity for setting aside your own subjective mind-
chatter and seeing the objective truth. You'll also be more skilled than
usual at understanding what's going on in the shadows and darkness. The
hidden world is whispering secrets in codes you can crack.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): It's time for you to fall in love, Aquarius--
though not necessarily with a person. You could swoon with infatuation
for a place where your heart feels free, for example. You could dive into
new music that liberates you from your past, or give yourself with
abandon to a fascinating task that brings out the best in you. You might
lose your heart to a mind-expanding mentor, a mysterious animal, or a
thrilling fight for justice. It really doesn't matter exactly how or what you
fall in love with, Aquarius, as long as it incites you to break open the
doors of perception.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Last week's symbol was a boot kicking with
futility at a closed door that was locked in response to your kicking; it
bespoke a frustrated strength that provoked even greater resistance.
This week's symbol will be dramatically different: bare feet climbing a rope
ladder to a dance floor on a roof where a telescope is trained on the
planet Jupiter. In this new phase, there will still be obstacles for you to
overcome. But the emphasis will be on craft and agility rather than force
and instinct. And this time around the most grounded part of you will find
lots of luck and slack.
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HOMEWORK:
What's the best surprise you could give yourself right now? 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
2006 Rob Brezsny
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