Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
August 1, 2007
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http://FreeWillAstrology.com
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If you have an Amazon.com account, you can make an online search
inside my book PRONOIA by going here:
http://tinyurl.com/2v33bk
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THE WAY IT IS
There's a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn't change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can't get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time's unfolding.
You don't ever let go of the thread.
- William Stafford
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My book
"PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA:
How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings"
is available for sale at http://tinyurl.com/qaj62
To read news and features from the book, go here:
http://tinyurl.com/lhwx2
Here's an excerpt:
SACRED UPROAR
Pronoia is closer than your breath and older than death. It dreams like a
mountain, laughs like a river, prays like the sun, and sings the way the
animals think. It's always as fresh as the beginning of time.
*
Life is a vast and intricate conspiracy designed to keep us well supplied
with blessings. What kind of blessings? Palatial homes, attractive lovers,
lottery winnings, career success? Maybe. But just as likely: interesting
surprises, unexpected challenges, gifts we hardly know what to do with,
conundrums that force us to get smarter.
Novelist William Vollman referred to the latter types of blessings when he
said that "the most important and enjoyable thing in life is doing
something that's a complicated, tricky problem for you that you don't
know how to solve."
*
The Christian writer C.S. Lewis once said: "I thank God that He hasn't
given me all the things I've prayed for, because as I look back now I
realize it would have been disastrous to have received some of them."
Pronoia provides the gifts your soul needs, not necessarily those your ego
craves.
*
Pronoia works because there is a Divine Being who comprises the entire
universe. When I say, "Life is a conspiracy to shower us with blessings," I
understand that this Divine Being is the Chief Architect, Builder, and
Manager of the conspiracy, overseeing the evolution of 500 billion
galaxies and everything in them, yet also available as an intimate
companion and daily advisor to every one of us.
Some lovers of pronoia don't like this part of my rap. They want pronoia
to be free of anything that smacks of God. That's OK. No hard feelings.
*
The Maker of the conspiracy constantly tinkers, always keeping the big
picture in mind and moving in the direction of ultimate blessings for all
concerned.
But the Maker also loves getting help from us. To the degree that we co-
conspire, the inevitable blessings ripen more lyrically and in greater
fullness.
*
Pronoia asks us to be attuned to the shifting conditions of the Maker's
ever-fresh creation. It encourages us to be quite happy about regularly
divesting ourselves of the beliefs and theories that guided us yesterday
so that we can see clearly what's right in front of us today.
*
As much as we might be dismayed at the actions of our political leaders,
pronoia says that toppling any particular junta, clique, or elite is irrelevant
unless we overthrow the sour, puckered mass hallucination that is
mistakenly called "reality"--including the part of that hallucination we
foster in ourselves.
The revolution begins at home. If you overthrow yourself again and again,
you might earn the right to help overthrow the rest of us.
*
Pronoia will change your past if you let it. It's the language you study at
night in your dreams, the open secret of how to live forever, the last
judgment transformed into a daily gift.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
To read other news and features from my book, go here:
http://tinyurl.com/lhwx2
You can buy the book here:
AMAZON
http://tinyurl.com/qaj62
POWELLS
http://tinyurl.com/3dsx6q
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
OTHER PRONOIA RESOURCES:
SOUL ACTIVISM
*Unforgotten Wisdom: Reclaiming Our Indigenous Soul*
a soon-to-be-published book by Francis Weller
http://wisdombridge.net/embodiment_article.htm
"How can we feel empty when the world is so full? Our emptiness is our
failure to be in the world. Every piece of conditioning -- religious, social,
economic, political, educational -- that places us outside this abundance,
empties us.
"We are bereft of the fullness in great part because what we know as
alive, has been turned cold, objectified for study, researched as resource,
but where soul was to be found, where love was to be felt, we only
encountered abstraction.
"We are not apart from the world, prisoners in an internal landscape; we
are members in good standing with this breathing, animate earth.
"What the indigenous soul knows, and so eloquently recognizes, is our
kinship with clouds and wind, sunlight filtered through oak and Douglas
Fir, birdsong drifting over the day, ants moving along railings and stone,
comfrey blooming and self-heal offering its blue stalk to our eyes while
Barber's 'Adagio for Strings' plays in the background."
YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL! NOW WAKE UP!
Don't Ever Let Go of the Thread
http://wisdombridge.net/nc_commencement.htm
FRESH, HOT WISDOM
Wisdom Bridge: Modern Pathways to Our Indigenous Soul
http://wisdombridge.net/interviews.htm
BE YOURSELF -- ONLY MORE AND BIGGER
Drinking the Tears of the World: Grief as Deep Activism
http://wisdombridge.net/article_grief.htm
(Note: I endorse these because I like them. These are 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 2
Copyright 2007 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Barbara Sher's self-help tome is called *I Could Do
Anything If I Only Knew What It Was: How to Discover What You Really
Want and How to Get It.* In one sense it's designed for beginners --
young people who are just learning how to identify meaningful goals to
pursue. But in my opinion, every one of us periodically needs to revisit the
mode described in the book's title. For instance, maybe you've
accomplished a dream you've worked on for months or years, and require
a jumpstart as you seek your next big project. Or maybe some desire that
motivated you for a long time has faded in its intensity, and you're feeling
blah and apathetic, in need of redirection. Does any of this apply to you,
Leo? I bet it does.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The modern war between science and
spirituality seems laughable in light of the life of Sir Isaac Newton. His
discoveries in the realms of physics, mathematics, and astronomy were so
seminal and so numerous that he's regarded as the most influential
scientist in history. Many refer to him as the greatest genius who ever
lived. And yet Newton's central passions were alchemy and the Bible,
about which he wrote millions of words, far more than what he devoted to
his scientific interests. "Gravity explains the motions of the planets," he
wrote, "but it cannot explain who set the planets in motion. God governs
all things and knows all that is or can be done." I suggest you make
Newton your role model, Virgo. It's a favorable time to forge a new spirit
of cooperation between the two parts of your psyche -- let's call them
the rational and the transcendent -- which so many of today's thinkers
have told you cannot possibly co-exist.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I'd love to see you call your own bluff and blow
your own cover. I'm hoping you'll stop hiding your assets and keeping so
many secrets. And I really, really wish you would come out of the closet
not just about your unique gender identity, but also about the other
idiosyncratic twists and turns that make you who you are. Please stop
being afraid of revealing your beauty, Libra -- even the work-in-progress
aspects of your beauty. It's time to close the gap between the real you
and the images people have of you.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): [Editor's note: To prepare this horoscope, I
stole some of the lyrics from Yoko Ono's song "Revelations" and added
some words of my own.] Bless you for your anger, Scorpio. It's a sign of
zeal. If you transform it into creative fire, it will transmute your
relationship with any situation you're angry about. Bless you for your
greed. It's a sign of great capacity. Honor the law of karma by giving as
much as you want to get, and your greed will drive you to grow generous.
Bless you for your jealousy. It's a sign of immature empathy. Ripen it into
admiration and what you admire will become an inspiring part of your life.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
AUDIO LOVE LETTERS
In addition to the horoscopes that you're reading here, I create more in-
depth audio horoscopes for your inspiration. Find out more at
http://RealAstrology.com.
The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or
1-900-950-7700.
"Listening to your calming yet exciting audio horoscopes is sort of like
French-kissing Jesus." -Ariana B., Baltmore, MD
"I love the way you help me wake up from the daily trance." -Amy G.,
Sacramento
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Your astrological omens are similar to
those experienced by Oscar-winning actress Judi Dench back in February
2002. At that time, she was moved to make a dramatic revelation to film
mogul Harvey Weinstein. In the midst of a party, she pulled down her
pants to reveal her naked ass, revealing a temporary lipstick tattoo that
read "I love Harvey Weinstein." I'm guessing you might be inspired to
unveil a comparable surprise in the coming days, Sagittarius. At the very
least, I expect you'll find some intriguing ways to express your affection
and demonstrate your ardor.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Here are a few of the improvements I
expect you to have accomplished by the end of August: a panoramic view
of what's beneath the tip of the iceberg; a more useful relationship with
obsession; the cutting of a knot that has tied you up for far too long; the
resurrection of a seemingly extinct dream; the beginning of the end of
what you love to hate; and hot discussions about the Three Things That
Have Rarely or Never Been Talked About.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): It's the Season of Burning, Churning
Yearning. Here are three of the most important things I've ever told you
about how to get what you need. (1) If you don't precisely articulate your
conscious desires, your unconscious patterns will come true instead. (2) If
you want your conscious desires to trump your unconscious patterns,
speak or write your conscious desires every day. (3) It's better to have
three huge, soaring, potent desires than 25 puny, scrabbling, half-assed
desires.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Ron is down to six cups of coffee a day,
which is much healthier than his previous 15-cup habit. We, his friends,
might wish it wasn't because he joined an ascetic cult that wants him to
get into top physical shape in order to fight the evil reptilian
extraterrestrials that have taken over the bodies of corporate and
governmental leaders. But hey, whatever works. Likewise, Pisces, this is a
favorable time for you to resort to just about any legal measure in order
to break the grip of your bad habits -- even if that involves substituting
some rather exotic new habits for the ones you need to eliminate.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This weekly newsletter, which includes my written horoscopes and
excerpts from my books, is always free.
Here are the paid services I provide:
My EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES are weekly spoken-word reports on
your destiny. They're three to four minutes long, and are available at
http://RealAstrology.com.
The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or
1-900-950-7700.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Would you like to shed your soul's baby fat
without having to go on a diet? Do you want to supercharge your immune
system, improve your memory for the events that really matter, and build
the spiritual power of your sexual feelings? Are you interested in
postponing forehead wrinkles, getting glimpses of your beautiful future,
and diminishing your fascination with the media's nihilism? The secrets to
pulling off these possibilities will be more available to you than ever
before in the coming weeks. And what's the best way to ensure you'll
gather them in? Open your heart. I mean *really* open your heart -- with a
relentlessly tender intensity.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): For a limited time only, you have cosmic
permission to suck your thumb and drool freely and murmur "gaga" over
and over again. More than that: You have a poetic license to spend
expansive periods rocking back and forth while curled into the fetal
position, either under the covers or on the beach, while singing little
made-up songs about everything you love. The moment has arrived, in
other words, to give yourself permission to melt into a pool of primal goo
as you commune with the music of the spheres and tune in to the hymn
of your deepest longings.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): My Gemini friend Risa is brilliant and
sophisticated. She speaks four languages fluently, and is one of the few
people I've met who understands the theory of relativity. So then why is
she fascinated with bad reality TV shows like "The Girls Next Door," which
follows the lives of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends? How could she possibly
enjoy monster truck rallies, which she attends now and then? What
purpose is there in her encyclopedic knowledge of the toys favored by
children in Kazakhstan, the diets of German racehorses, and the clubs of
Chinese women devoted to reproducing antique European lace doilies? As
an astrologer, I don't find this mysterious. I'm aware that for many
Geminis, *everything* is potentially interesting, even information other
people regard as trivial. It's all raw data to be used in the infinitely fun
game of playing with ideas. And that has never been a more apt
description of your tribe than it is now.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): "I tell young people that the greatest
paintings in museums are made with minerals mixed in oil smeared on
cloth with the hair from the back of a pig's ear," says artist James
Rosenquist. I hope that thought incites you to achieve pragmatic
breakthroughs in the coming weeks, Cancerian. It's time to play in the
mud and risk making a mess, if necessary, in order to translate your
beautiful visions into earthy realities.
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HOMEWORK: I dare you to give a compliment to someone you've never
complimented before. Testify by going to http://FreeWillAstrology.com
and clicking on "Email Rob."
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WANT TO GET YOUR CHART DONE?
I'm not doing personal charts these days, but I highly recommend my
favorite astrological colleague, RO LOUGHRAN. Her approach closely
matches my own. In our many discussions about astrology over the years,
we've had a major influence on each other's work.
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.YourSoulJourney.com
She can also be reached at roloughran@comcast.net
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2007 Rob Brezsny
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