Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
August 22, 2007
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http://FreeWillAstrology.com
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"A religious person is one who contributes to the world some beauty,
some joy, some happiness, some celebration that was not there before."
- Osho
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Libras: Please see my note for you below, concerning last week's
horoscope.
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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:
DEVOTIONAL PRONOIA THERAPY (the second half)
Experiments and exercises in becoming a gracefully probing, erotically
funny, shockingly friendly Master of Orgasmic Empathy
10. The Doctrine of Original Sin? I spit on it. I reject it. I renounce it and
annihilate it from reality. In its place I offer the Doctrine of Original Fun.
This reformulation of the truth asserts that we are all born with a
mandate to have as much liberating joy as possible. Present three
arguments of pieces of evidence in support of the Doctrine of Original
Fun.
11. Describe to your best companion a detailed vision of his or her best
possible future.
12. "Man in his present state has as much desire to urinate as he has to
make vows to Artemis," says Edward Dahlberg in *The Sorrows of
Priapus.* In other words, most modern humans have no relationship with
wild female deities, nor would they ever conceive of a reason why that
might be fun or inspiring. But some of us know that Artemis is not dead,
is not just a figment of the archaic Greek mind. She is a living archetype
of wild but nurturing female energy. Goddess of the ever-changing moon,
strong protectress of the undomesticated soul, she gives sanctuary to all
who prize liberated fertility. Make a vow to her.
13. You understand that you can never own love, right? No matter how
much someone adores you today, no matter how much you adore
someone, you can't force that unique state of grace to keep its shape
forever. It will inevitably evolve or mutate, perhaps into a different version
of tender caring, but maybe not. From there it will continue to change,
either into yet another version of interesting affection, or who knows
what else?
Describe how you could get the hang of putting this tricky wisdom into
practice.
14. Norman Mailer has described marriage as "an excretory relationship, in
which you take all the crap you hide from the world and dump it on the
person closest to you. But the proviso is that you have to be willing to
take theirs."
Describe how you might work in a way opposite to Mailer's; that is
to say, train yourself to call up all the beauty you hide from the world and
offer it to the person closest to you.
15. If you're heterosexual, imagine what it would be like to be
homosexual. If you're homosexual, visualize yourself as a heterosexual. If
you're an androgynous bisexual nymphomaniac, try being celibate. You
get the picture: Escape your sexual imprint.
16. Get Steve Penny's booklet, *How to Have Great Laughing Sex,*
available at 7960 B Soquel Drive #77, Aptos, CA 95003. Try the
exercises, then write your own booklet called How to Have Great Laughing
Sex.
17. What could you do to to make your tenderness and carnality flow
from the same refined reflex? How might you strive to adore every
creature, every plant, every rock in the world with the same excitement
that you bestow upon the lover who excites you most? What prayers will
you unleash at the height of your orgasmic fervor to propitiate the
healing and success of people in need?
18. Write the following on a piece of paper and keep it under your pillow.
"I, [put your name here], do solemnly swear on this day [put date here]
that I will devote myself for a period of seven days to learning my most
important desire. No other thought will be more uppermost in my mind.
No other concern will divert me from tracking down every clue that might
assist me in my drive to ascertain the one experience in this world that
deserves my brilliant passion above all others."
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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
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OTHER PRONOIA RESOURCES:
THE CLOSEST THING TO PARADISE ON EARTH
Burning Man
http://burningman.com
SOULFUL AMBITION
100 Tips to Improve Your Life
http://tinyurl.com/yubgrh
SOULFUL SERVICE
10 Tips on What You Can Do Now to Preserve the Planet's Health
http://tinyurl.com/3x53sf
(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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NOTE TO LIBRAS:
Some of you were upset by last week's horoscope, worrying that it
portended doom and gloom. For all of you who felt that way, I'm
providing an expansion of my meaning below.
First, here's last week's Libra horoscope again:
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): If you don't want to peter out with a whimper
in September, you should exit with a bang as soon as possible. In another
couple of weeks, you'll have to answer to fate, whereas right now fate
still has to answer to you. So pull out your calendar and schedule splashy
goodbyes, last laughs, and colorful climaxes that leave no room for
misinterpretation. Give going-away gifts to part-time nemeses so that
they can't possibly go away mad. And make sure that the Day of
Reckoning happens on your home turf.
Now here's my expansion of that horoscope:
It's of course possible I'm missing something about how my Libra
horoscope could be interpreted, but it all seems right in line with my long-
established philosophical approach, which is to tell my readers how to use
the cosmic rhythms to their advantage, and not wait around to be
buffeted this way and that by the accidents of fate.
The first line: "If you don't want to peter out with a whimper in
September, you should exit with a bang as soon as possible."
I'm saying that the work ahead for you is all about taking charge of your
destiny, defining the way things unfold, putting your mark on things --
rather than the alternative, which is to sit around passively waiting for
other people and other forces to control the way things unfold. I'm saying
the climax of this phase will be weak and not particularly valuable unless
you take strong measures to shape the climax in a timely way and in a
manner that serve your interests.
The second line: "In another couple of weeks, you'll have to answer to
fate, whereas right now fate still has to answer to you."
In other words, you can avoid having to answer to fate on its own terms if
you take charge of your circumstances and bend them to conform to
your vision of the best possible outcome.
The third line: "So pull out your calendar and schedule splashy goodbyes,
last laughs, and colorful climaxes that leave no room for
misinterpretation."
It's time for endings, a kind of phase that happens periodically for all of
us. The message here is to be conscious and purposeful as you bring to a
close any projects, efforts, or commitments that have reached their
natural conclusion, and that need to be finished off so that you can move
on to a new phase of development.
Fourth line: "Give going-away gifts to part-time nemeses so that they
can't possibly go away mad."
Try to maintain good relationships with adversaries and difficult people as
your connection with them ends.
Fifth line: "And make sure that the Day of Reckoning happens on your
home turf."
Again, in line with the theme sounded throughout the horoscope, work to
ensure that you have maximum power to shape climaxes, denouements,
and conclusions. Take charge of the way your life unfolds, and try to
shape it as much as possible in accordance with your vision. A Day of
Reckoning connotes a metaphorical harvest time, a turning point in which
climaxes arrive and decisions are made. It can be relatively bad or
relatively good, relatively successful or relatively unpleasant. My message
is to do your utmost to make sure it's good and successful.
Blessings,
Rob
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning August 23
Copyright 2007 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Are you ready to leave the past behind, drop
all your assumptions, welcome the return of your innocence, adopt a
beginner's mind, and start fresh everywhere? I hope so, because that's
what the universe will be nudging you to do. Here are some words of
wisdom to incite you and arouse you. (1) "You don't know what you can
get away with until you try." - Colin Powell. (2) "Never underestimate
your power to change yourself." - H. Jackson Brown, Jr. (3) "If
opportunity doesn't knock, build a door." - my friend Lucy Spinner. (4)
"God calls you to the place where your deep gladness and the world's
deep hunger meet." - Frederick Buechner.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): "Only the hand that erases can write the true
thing," wrote German mystic Meister Eckhart (1260–1328). I suggest you
make that your guiding thought in the coming days, Libra. The most
important work you have ahead of you will involve dissolution, demolition,
and deletion. I'll even go so far as to say that you're more likely to win big
if you're vigorously committed to losing big. "Give it up!" should be your
battle cry.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): On the Whosoever.org website, Thomas
Woodrooffe describes Mother Teresa's actions in Calcutta in 1993. She
tended intimately to the sick and dying without asking them their religious
beliefs or judging them for any behavior that might have played a part in
their illness. In contrast, fundamentalist missionaries were roaming
Calcutta's streets at the same time, handing out religious propaganda to
the diseased and destitute, warning them they'd face eternal damnation if
they'd didn't convert to the One True Way. Keep that difference in mind
during the coming weeks, Scorpio. You're in a phase of your astrological
cycle when you have tremendous power to heal people, fix misaligned
energy, and provide the kind of moral leadership that raises everyone's
integrity levels. Be like Mother Teresa, not the fundamentalist
missionaries.
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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
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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): While I was out in the California
wilderness doing a vision quest, I came upon a painting in a cave that I
immediately sensed was an oracle for the current state of your life. In the
painting, there was a hunter who had dropped his bow and arrow on the
ground. He appeared to be dancing inside a circle of eagles. The birds
were also at ground level and had their wings spread, as if dancing with
the hunter. I encourage you to come up with your own interpretations of
this oracle, but here's how I see it: You need to commune with wildness in
a way you have never before imagined. The best way to proceed is to
empty your mind of all thoughts about what you can get out of the
experience, and instead cultivate the free-wheeling, no-expectations
attitude that comes when you're dancing uninhibitedly.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): "The harder that we love, the deeper we're
gonna feel," sings Keith Greeninger in a rootsy tune from his *Glorious
Peasant* CD. That's good advice for you right now, Capricorn, since what
you especially need to guide you during this phase of wandering and
exploration is ever-deeper and ever-more-nuanced feeling. I'll add a
corollary that may help as well: The softer you love, the smarter your
emotions will be. You can love harder and softer at the same time, right?
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): "The chemo treatments burned out all the
math skills in my brain, which were already pretty meager," said Risa, a
friend who survived cancer a few years ago. "On the other hand, they
awakened my ability to feel perfectly at ease while in the midst of
paradoxical situations that everyone else finds maddening and
uncomfortable. The chemo also made me ridiculously tolerant of people's
contradictions, sometimes even their hypocrisies, and freed me to enjoy
life as an entertaining movie with lots of interesting plot twists rather
than as a pitched battle between everything I like and everything I don't
like." I have really good news for you, Aquarius: If you make use of the
current cosmic opportunities, you can achieve Risa's state of mind
without the prod of anything even remotely as extreme as cancer or
chemotherapy.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): William Henry Harrison died in 1841, just a
month after he'd been inaugurated as U.S. president. When a messenger
went to Vice-President John Tyler to inform him he had ascended to the
highest office in the land, Tyler was down on his knees playing a game of
marbles. I'm guessing there'll be a similar scenario in your immediate
future, Pisces. Big magic may come to visit you while you're in a lowly
position. Or maybe an imposing invitation will arrive while you're in a
humble situation.
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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): You've been putting out and putting out and
putting out, Aries. Good work! I'm impressed with the blend of high-
minded generosity and ego-boosting self-expression you've synergized.
Now, however, it's time to make a transition. You need to start taking in
and taking in and taking in. Your radiance needs to be fed by other
radiances. Congratulate yourself for how aggressive you've been, then
cultivate an equally robust receptivity.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don't try to understand the Great Mystery in
the coming days, Taurus. Instead, *be* the Great Mystery. Don't go with
the Flow; *be* the Flow. Don't struggle and strain to put yourself in
harmony with the Creative Surge of the Divine Wow. *Be* the Creative
Surge of the Divine Wow. Do you catch my drift? It has never been more
important than it is now for you to be a uniter who is at one with
everything and everyone you encounter. This is the time and this is the
place for you to be an exhilarating and playful force of nature who's
madly in love with all of creation.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In the coming weeks I'd love you to learn more
about how to heal your own pain and wash your own brain and right your
own wrongs and sing your own songs. I'll be overjoyed if I see you grow in
your ability to unbreak your own heart and unfreeze your own assets and
unleash your own surprises and understand your own motives. This is, by
the way, not a prescription for loneliness, but rather for self-sufficiency.
In fact, the magic that has been missing from your collaborations with
others will probably appear as soon as you resolve to be your own guru.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): According to the Haggadah, an ancient Jewish
text, the first thing God made, before anything else, was the Torah. This
book was "written with black fire on white fire." The 22 letters of the
Hebrew alphabet became the raw materials out of which the Divine One
forged heaven and earth. Now you, Cancerian, have a chance to get
firsthand evidence of the power that language has to shape experience. In
the coming days, I suggest that you formulate what you say with great
precision. The words you use will have the power of the ancient magical
incantation, *abracadabra,* which is derived from the Aramaic word
meaning "I create as I speak."
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Many of us don't always know what we feel. At
times we may have a vivid sense that we feel *something,* but we're not
sure what it is. That's why musicians, writers, actors, and other creative
people play such a crucial role in our emotional lives. Their work can help
us articulate the mysteries unfolding within us. But here's the problem:
There are some artists out there who aren't very smart or original; they
express only the most hackneyed and superficial feelings. If we look to
them for illumination, we're cheated. So your next assignment, Leo, is to
home in on the enigmas that are swirling within you by seeking the
guidance and inspiration of only the very best artists: those who have
cultivated a high level of proficiency in their heroic struggle to find
meaning in the fascinating chaos that surrounds us.
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HOMEWORK: Take the quiz at http://tinyurl.com/2peocv. Send your
response to uaregod@comcast.net.
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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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