Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
February 6, 2008
+
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
+
"The best thing for being sad is to learn something. That is the only thing
that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you
may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may
miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil
lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds.
There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags
and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never
exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and
never dream of regretting."
- spoken by Merlyn the Magician in T. H. White's, *The Once and Future
King*
+
WHAT'S TO COME?
BRAINSTORM ABOUT THE BIG PICTURE OF YOUR LIFE
with the help of my
Expanded Audio Horoscopes for the Coming Year
Go to http://RealAstrology.com
You can still listen to my long-range, in-depth explorations of your destiny
in 2008. Each report in the three-part series is about 6-9 minutes long.
What will be the story of your life in 2008? How can you exert your free
will to create the adventures that'll bring out the best in you, even as you
find graceful ways to cooperate with the tides of destiny?
If you'd like a high-octane boost of inspiration to fuel you in your quest
for beauty and truth and love and justice and meaning, tune in to my
meditations on your long-term outlook.
A new short-range forecast for this week is also available, both on the
Web and at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.
To find out more about Your BIG PICTURE horoscopes, go to
http://RealAstrology.com.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
Here's an excerpt:
SUBTERRANEAN PRONOIA THERAPY
Experiments and exercises in becoming a rebelliously kind, affably
unpredictable, insanely poised Master of Supernal Mischief.
[continued from last week's newsletter]
8. Declare amnesty for the part of you that you don't love very well.
Forgive that poor sucker. Hold its hand and take it out to dinner and a
movie. Tactfully offer it a chance to make amends for the dumb things it
has done. And then do a dramatic reading of this proclamation by the
playwright Theodore Rubin: "I must learn to love the fool in me—the one
who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins
sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and
gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries. It alone
protects me against that utterly self-controlled, masterful tyrant whom I
also harbor and who would rob me of human aliveness, humility, and
dignity but for my fool."
9. Some readers of my weekly column complain when I draw inspiration
from a public figure they consider a bad person. Once I cited philosopher
Bertrand Russell, and Pat G. went ballistic: "Russell was a terrible father!
How dare you give him any credence?" Another time I invoked the
wisdom of ex-U.S. president Teddy Roosevelt. "What possessed you to
quote such a militaristic bully?" wrote Arthur H. Here's how I respond to
these grumbles: If I refused to learn from people unless I agreed with
everything they had ever said and done, I would never learn from anyone.
What about you? Have you set up your life so that everyone is either on
or off your good list? If so, try something new: Cultivate a capacity to
derive help and insight from people who aren't perfect.
10. "We are attracted to people who express the qualities we deny or
repress in ourselves," says creativity expert Shakti Gawain. Using this idea
as your hypothesis, take an inventory of the people you're most drawn
to. Ask yourself whether they have talents and dreams that you wish
could come alive in you. If you find this to be the case, consider the
possibility that it's time to claim those talents or dreams as your own.
11. Philosopher William James proposed that if our culture ever hoped to
shed the deeply ingrained habit of going to war, we'd have to create a
moral equivalent. It's not enough to preach the value of peace, he said.
We have to find other ways to channel our aggressive instincts in order to
accomplish what war does, like stimulate political unity and build civic
virtue.
Astrology provides a complementary perspective. Each of us has the
warrior energy of the planet Mars in our psychological make-up. We can't
simply repress it, but must find a positive way to express it. How you
might go about this project?
12. Dealing with your shadow may require superhuman levels of patient
objectivity. The experience may be like having to maintain a neutral tone
of voice as you speak the language of diplomacy during negotiations with
the inscrutable leader of a guerrilla enemy that is carrying out covert
attacks against your most vulnerable sanctuaries.
On rare occasions, though, you may get a more direct opportunity to
disarm your shadow. The following anecdote is an example. Study it as a
metaphor for the approach you might try one day.
While still a young man, the medieval English king Richard was captured
and imprisoned by his enemy Modard. For many days he languished alone
in his cell, barely fed and having no blanket to warm him at night.
One morning he awoke to the sound of growling. His jailers had brought a
full-grown male lion to the cell. They opened the door and brought the
beast in, whereupon they cut off the leather muzzle binding its jaws and
scurried out, leaving Richard to fend for himself against the lion.
Freed from its constraint, the beast reared back and unleashed a roar.
Without wasting a moment in useless fear, Richard leaped forward and
jammed his arm down the throat of the lion. Thrusting all the way into its
chest, he ripped out its heart, killing it instantly.
13. In a radio interview, a former remote-viewer for the U.S. military was
asked how his personal life had changed as his psychic skills had grown.
"There were secrets my conscious and subconscious minds had been
waiting for years to tell each other," he said, "and as my telepathic power
improved, I found they no longer wanted to wait."
Try to accomplish this yourself. Imagine that the barriers between your
everyday awareness and your deep self are crumbling. Act as if you are
developing an ever-increasing ability to read your own mind.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
To read 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:
WHAT IF YOU ACTUALLY SEARCHED FOR HAPPINESS?
*The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in
the World* by Eric Weiner
http://tinyurl.com/226uet
WHAT IF YOU ACTUALLY STUDIED HAPPINESS?
World Database of Happiness
http://tinyurl.com/246zun
THE FUTURE OF SPIRITUALITY?
*Suicide Dictionary: The History of Rainbow Abbey*
by Paul Lonely
http://www.suicidedictionary.com/
The title is a bit misleading. *Suicide Dictionary* is a "contemporary
Upanishads that captures the beauty of both western intellectuality and
eastern (or mystical) spirituality in a single literary framework."
(Note: I endorse these because I like them. They are not advertisements,
and I get no kickbacks.)
Please tell me your own personal nominations for PRONOIA RESOURCES.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning February 7
Copyright 2008 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): "To be young, really young, takes a very
long time," said Picasso. I agree. It's not easy to hone your ability to see
the world fresh over and over again. You've got to work for years to
immunize yourself against the millions of people who think they're got
everything figured out. To cultivate an ingenious and fully awakened
innocence, you have to continually shed your temptation to rely on
habitual responses, never ceasing from the effort to greet every
experience with a beginner's mind. This playful approach to life goes
against the grain of every religious teaching, every political system, and
every ideology, which means that only the fiercest individualists with a
highly developed sense of self can summon the courage to do it. It so
happens, Aquarius, that you're now primed to make rapid progress in this
noble undertaking.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Whether or not you're a Catholic, I
recommend a good stiff dose of confession for you. It's the most
effective action you can take to clear out your psychic congestion and
prepare the way for an influx of cathartic realizations. So find someone
who won't judge you for your so-called sins, and tell him or her about
things you've done in the past year that make you feel squeamish or
guilty. If there is no such person, confess to a beloved animal, a favorite
tree, a passing cloud, or the morning sun.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): "Men should be barred from holding public
office for 100 years," says billionaire Ted Turner. "Men have been running
the world for too long and they've made a mess of it." If women were in
charge, he adds, "It would be a much more peaceful, prosperous,
equitable world in a very short period of time. You'd have a huge shift
away from military budgets and into education and health care." I agree
with everything Turner said except when he implied that men should be
*prohibited* from serving. That's totalitarian, the exact opposite of what I
trust a feminine majority would usher in. From an astrological perspective,
by the way, 2008 is prime time to move forcefully in the direction of
bringing more women into power. And it so happens that Aries people of
both genders are best able to lead the way. To jumpstart your ability to
fulfill this potential, I urge you to take three actions in the coming week
to foster female authority. Men, you may devote two of these to boosting
your inner woman.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Musician Chuck Prophet has artistic integrity
even if he isn't a mega-star. He keeps making records that are inspired by
his creative urges rather than by a lust for fame and riches. At age 43, he
still tours all over creation, performing in small and mid-size clubs. "I have
a dark need to drive around the world in a van like I'm 22," he told the
*San Francisco Chronicle.* "And I'm good at it, too. I'm good at staring
out of a window for long stretches." Prophet's your role model in the
coming week, Taurus. I hope he inspires you to do whatever's necessary
as you go about the business of promoting what you love to do with
dogged integrity.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
EXPLORING YOUR LONG-RANGE FUTURE
Would you like some inspiration as you muse and wonder about your
upcoming adventures in 2008?
You can still listen to my long-range, in-depth explorations of your destiny
in 2008. Each report in the three-part series is about 6-8 minutes long.
Go to http://RealAstrology.com
for these EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES
A new short-range forecast for this week is also available, both on the
Web and at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I've got some of the strangest good news
you've ever heard. Ready to open your mind to the odd opportunities?
Get this: 1. Your wild speculations could serve you better than your
educated guesses. 2. Your experimental urges might be smarter than your
cautious plans. 3. Your "stumbles" may lead you to brilliant detours. 4.
You just may be able to create lucky breaks out of apparent mistakes.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): The World Dream Bank (WorldDreamBank.org)
collects tales recorded by spirited dreamers. I'd like to call your attention
to one of those dreams, because you'll benefit from entertaining similar
themes. Here's a paraphrased report: "I dreamed I was a telepathic
teenage unicorn with five hearts. My lesbian twin, an untameable mare
from the Middle of Nowhere Desert, came to join me, as did my best
friend, a cute Tyrannosaurus Rex doctor on roller skates. We built a boat
and sailed off into a warm red sea, headed towards a rite of passage that
we looked forward to as a fun adventure. We passed a buoy with a sign
that said, 'Beware of Insane Swimming Bunnies.' We weren't scared in the
least. We had packets of magic confetti that we knew would make the
bunnies sane."
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Tibetans use the phrase "Gadrii nombor shulen
jongu," which literally means "to give a green answer to a blue question."
It's what happens when a person offers a reply that is unrelated to the
question that has been asked. This is an apt description of a certain
situation you're either dealing with now or will soon be. It may be that
someone close to you is responding with irrelevant answers to your
piercing inquiries. Or it might be that you have misunderstood a mystery
that a friend has presented to you. A third possibility: A question you've
been asking yourself is the wrong question. (Thanks to the book
*Toujours Tingo* for the Tibetan phrase: http://tinyurl.com/2sgv6z.)
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): "Success means controlling your own time,"
observed actor Rod Steiger. "If you gain control over 60 percent of the
time in your life, you are really successful." In 2008, Virgo, you will have
far more power than you've had before to fulfill this definition of success.
And right now you happen to be in a phase of your astrological cycle
when your hard work toward this goal will have maximum impact. The
ironic fact of the matter is that it's an ideal time to slave away in behalf
of greater freedom.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
LET'S IMAGINE WHAT BEAUTIFUL MYSTERIES
MIGHT COME YOUR WAY IN 2008
What hidden factors will be massaging your destiny in 2008? Could you
use some hints about how to prepare for the adventures awaiting you in
the next 12 months?
You can still listen to my long-range, in-depth explorations of your destiny
in 2008. Each report in the three-part series is about 6-8 minutes long.
Go to http://RealAstrology.com
for these EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES
A new short-range forecast for this week is also available, both on the
Web and at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): "When it comes time to do your own life,"
wrote author Rosellen Brown in her book *Civil Wars,* "you either
perpetuate your childhood or you stand on it and finally kick it out from
under." According to my analysis of the omens, Libra, you will, sometime
in 2008, reach the pivotal point Brown referred to. And the coming weeks
could be a big turning point. So which way will you go?
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): *The Onion* newspaper cites a government
study showing that America's top product isn't cars, corn, pot, or porn,
but rather rich, buttery goodness. "Soaring demand among consumers for
the melt-in-your-mouth sensation of buttery goodness meant that more
then 32 million tons were manufactured and consumed last year," the
report said. I advise you to make that experience a top priority in the
coming week, Scorpio -- even if you're normally a bigger fan of what *The
Onion* terms "crispety-crunchitiness" or "chewy, double-stuffed
deliciousness." According to my analysis of the cosmic omens, you're
most likely to thrive if you pursue silky, smooth, velvety, plush feelings of
every kind.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): The world's record for skipping stones
across the water belongs to Russel Byars. In July 2007, he threw a stone
that bounced along the surface of the Allegheny River 51 times before it
sank. If that mark is destined to be broken, it may be done by a
Sagittarius in the coming week. Your tribe will have an exceptionally light
touch. You'll have a knack for getting things to do what they supposedly
can't do, even to the point of seeming to violate the law of gravity. You'll
be at the peak of your ability to perform amusing tricks, pull off good
mischief, and accomplish odd little miracles.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): After studying your planetary aspects, I
got on my bicycle and took a vow to scour the world for an omen that
would embody their meaning. Within a few minutes, I spied what my
intuition immediately knew I was looking for: a carport with grass growing
on the roof. Here are two interpretations of the oracle: 1. It's now
possible for something to grow in a place that you thought was barren
and/or over your head. 2. Fertility will abound in a high place that isn't
usually hospitable to sprouting seeds.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
HOMEWORK: What symbol best represents your deepest desire? Go to
http://FreeWillAstrology.com and click on "Email Rob."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
WANT TO GET YOUR CHART DONE?
I'm not doing personal charts, but I highly recommend my 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://YourSoulJourney.com
She can also be reached at roloughran@comcast.net
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NEED TO CHANGE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS?
To join or leave the email list for this newsletter, or to change the address
where you receive it, go to:
http://www.freewillastrology.com/newsletter/
Once you do join, check all the below points to make sure you'll actually
receive the newsletter:
1. Add my address, televisionary@comcast.net, to your address book so
that the newsletter won't be treated as spam and filtered out.
2. Adjust your spam filter so it doesn't treat my address as a source of
spam.
3. Tell your company's IT group to allow my address to pass through any
filtering software they may have set up.
4. If my newsletters don't reach your inbox, look in your "Bulk Mail" or
"Junk Mail" folder.
5. The problems may not have to do with anything you do, but may
originate with your email provider. It may be using a "content filter" that
prevents my newsletter from ever reaching you at all. If you suspect
that's the case, complain. Tell your email provider to stop blocking my
newsletter from reaching you.
P.S. I totally respect your privacy. I'll never sell or give away your address
to anyone.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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,
including but not limited to newsletters, books, the Free Will
Astrology column, and Free Will Astrology website. We reserve
the right to edit such submissions for length, style, and content.
Requests for anonymity will be honored with submissions;
otherwise, reader names, screen names, or initials will be used.
Please be sure to note your preference when sending to us. We
are not responsible for unsolicited submission of any creative
material.
Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2008 Rob Brezsny
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++