Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
February 20, 2008
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http://FreeWillAstrology.com
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"People with a psychological need to believe in marvels are no more
prejudiced and gullible than people with a psychological need not to
believe in marvels."
- Charles Fort
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An article in the Santa Cruz publication *Good Times* includes a good
summary of my views about the nature of astrology. Check it out:
http://tinyurl.com/yq5jw8
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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
Here's an excerpt:
THE RICH GET RICHER
"Dear Beauty and Truth Laboratory: Help! My old Buick's transmission is
dead, my credit cards are maxed, my kid's got to see the dentist real bad,
and the one-speed bike I ride everywhere is about to collapse. I'm working
two low-paying jobs already, although I just applied for a more lucrative
gig as a strip-club dancer, only I'm having so much mysterious pain in my
joints I'm not sure how sexy my gyrations will be. Please clue me in to
some tricks that will help me keep a pronoiac attitude in the midst of the
mess that is my life. —Pickled"
Dear Pickled: Here's the first thing I want to tell you: Pronoia does not
assume that material comfort is a sign of divine favor. The universe is an
equal-opportunity provider, conspiring to shower blessings on every one
of us in the same abundance. But while the blessings *may* come in the
form of money and possessions, they're just as likely to consist of other
gifts that aren't as concrete.
Here's a hypothetical example. Let's say you have the gift of feeling at
home in the world no matter where you are. The universe has determined
that it's the exact skill you need in order to fulfill the specific purpose you
came to earth to carry out. Having a prestigious job and big salary, on the
other hand, might be exactly what you don't need.
The question of what gifts are essential revolves around your precise role
in the universal conspiracy to perpetrate blessings.
The second meditation I'll offer you is a passage from the Gospel of
Matthew: "Whoever has, shall be given more and more, while whoever has
nothing, even what he has will be taken away from him."
Pronoiac translation: Whatever you choose to focus your attention on,
you will get more of it. If you often think of everything you lack and how
sad you are that you don't have it, you will tend to receive prolific
evidence of how true that is. As you obsess on all the ways your life is
different from what you wish it would be, you will become an expert in
rousing feelings of frustration and you will attract experiences that assist
you in rousing frustration.
If, on the other hand, you dwell on the good things you have already had
the privilege to experience, you will expand your appreciation for their
blessings, which in turn will amplify their beneficent impact on your life.
You will also magnetize yourself to receive further good things, making it
more likely that they will be attracted into your sphere. At the very least,
you will get in the habit of enjoying yourself no matter what the outward
circumstances are.
Bear in mind that you are a great wizard. You can use your powers to
practice white magic on yourself instead of the other kind. The most basic
way to do that is to concentrate on naming, savoring, and feeling
gratitude for the blessings you do have -- your love for your kid, the
pleasures of eating the food you like, the sight of the sky at dusk, the
entertaining drama of your unique fate. Don't ignore the bad stuff, but
make a point of celebrating the beautiful stuff with all the exuberant
devotion you can muster.
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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
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OTHER PRONOIA RESOURCES:
CHANGE YOUR MIND, CHANGE THE WORLD
"A New Vision of Reality and a New Myth to Live By" by Stan Grof
http://tinyurl.com/39jcuz
LET'S STUDY WHAT GIVES US PLEASURE SO WE CAN HAVE MORE OF IT
"The Science of the Orgasm"
http://tinyurl.com/yp74x6
(You may have to register with the L.A. Times to access this story.)
PRONOIAC INVENTIONS
Seven Technologies That Can Help Save the Earth
http://tinyurl.com/2a22yc
(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.
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning February 21
Copyright 2008 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Many people sincerely think that they will be
called before God to account for themselves on Judgment Day. If you
yourself have held that belief, you can stop worrying about it. The fact is
that you were essentially called before God on Judgment Day last week
(though it might have happened while you were asleep and dreaming),
and everything went great! You passed your test! Your score wasn't
perfect, and there were some demerits in your final evaluation, but the
most important thing is that you made it! There will, therefore, be no
more Judgment Days for you in the future. God found you worthy, and
now you can go on living your life without fear or guilt. Congrats, Pisces!
You're free!
ARIES (March 21-April 19): I'm 99 percent positive that in the coming
week you will not wind up in a hand-to-hand battle on top of a speeding
truck with a rogue agent of the secret government. It's also highly
unlikely that the next time you open your closet door you will be forced
to engage in magical combat with a well-dressed goblin from the fifth
level of hell. On the other hand, Aries, it might actually be wise for you to
instigate a fair fight in a safe place with a good person who is basically
your ally. You two need to air out some buried tensions in order to get
the most out of your future collaborations.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): "Diplomacy is letting someone else have your
way," said Lester Pearson, a Taurus politician from Canada who won the
Nobel Peace Prize. If I'm reading the astrological omens correctly, Taurus,
the aptitude he described will be your specialty in the coming weeks. You
will have a sixth sense about how to tactfully maneuver adversaries and
colleagues alike into arriving at conclusions that will promote your goals.
To maximize the likelihood that you'll be a benevolent manipulator, not a
selfish one, try to arrange it so that getting your way will help others get
their way as much as possible.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): "Where my heart lies," wrote Robert Browning
in his prayerful poem, "let my brain lie also." That's my wish for you to
experience in the coming weeks, Gemini. It's not a wistful, ineffectual
wish, either: My astrological analysis indicates that the cosmos will be
conspiring to unify more than a few of your fragmented parts. In fact, I
predict that your thoughts and feelings will converge in a vigorous
collaboration that will ultimately generate excellent karma for you and
others.
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EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES
In addition to the horoscopes that come to you in this newsletter, I create
audio horoscopes for your inspiration. They discuss themes and cover
material that I don't have room to deal with in the written horoscopes.
They're $6 if you access them on the Web, or $1.99 per minute over the
phone.
Try them at http://RealAstrology.com.
By phone: 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.
"I always feel like I know myself better after listening to your audio
'scopes."
-June R., Austin, TX
"Your audio horoscopes calm me down when I'm too manic and pep me up
when I'm down."
-Arthur T., Cleveland, OH
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CANCER (June 21-July 22): Some religious traditions don't motivate you
through the threat of punishment and don't make you scared of God.
Some corporations don't rip off their workers, don't despoil the
environment, and don't have tyrannical bosses. Some politicians don't lie
constantly, haven't sold out their ideals, and aren't power-mad
narcissists. In light of these facts, Cancerian, please try to keep an open
mind about them all in the coming week, as well as about *any*
institution, idea, or person about which you have made dogmatic
generalizations. It's a perfect time to shake up and even purge some of
the personal biases that you have enthroned as absolute truths.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): My friend Ronnie, the tattoo artist, told me that
people who come in to get their first tattoo are sometimes unprepared
for how much it hurts. Most are able to endure the razor-sharp ripping of
their flesh for the time it takes, though. There are some sissies who can't,
and they tend to be the biggest, baddest macho dudes. Ronnie says she
personally knows 15 rough, tough guys walking around San Francisco with
a fragment of a tattoo, having abandoned the process in agony before it
was done. Here's my question for you, Leo: Is there any situation in your
life that resembles a half-completed initiation? Have you ever left midway
through a rite of passage? Now is a good time to make plans to go back
and finish what you started.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Every year, the Annals of Improbable Research
gives out Ig Nobel Prizes to researchers whose work "cannot or should
not be reproduced." Last year, awards were conferred upon chemists who
managed to extract vanilla flavoring from cow manure, scientists who
found that impotency drugs help hamsters to recover quickly from jet lag,
and linguists who discovered that rats can't distinguish between someone
speaking Dutch backward and someone speaking Japanese backward. I
sincerely hope you will do nothing in the coming weeks that would
resemble these efforts, Virgo. Please double-check to make sure that
your considerable mental talents are engaged in tracking down out
information that will be truly useful. Don't get sidetracked by trivial data,
irrelevant details, and wild goose chases.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Leonardo da Vinci created a mural that his
contemporaries regarded as an even greater masterpiece than *The Last
Supper.* Painted on a wall in Florence's Palazzo Vecchio, *The Battle of
Anghiari* later vanished when the building was remodeled. Some experts
believe it still exists, however, hidden behind another wall that bears a
newer mural. Even as we speak, investigators are using advanced
technology to detect the possible presence of Leonardo's missing tour de
force. Let this serve as a metaphor for the work you have ahead of you,
Libra. It's a perfect time to search for lost brilliance that's stuck behind a
barrier or buried treasure that has almost been forgotten. Once you find
it, then you can free it.
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AUDIO HOROSCOPES
In addition to the horoscopes that you're reading here, I create audio
horoscopes for your amusement and 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.
"Your audio horoscopes work better than my therapist and cost me five
percent of what he charges." - Chris M., San Francisco
"You've helped me remember important things about myself that I'd
forgotten." -Ruth V., Toronto
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SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Poet Sylvia Plath said she wasn't much
impressed with the "photographic mind which paradoxically tells the truth,
but the worthless truth, about the world." What she really loved was the
"synthesizing spirit, that 'shaping' force, which prolifically sprouts and
makes up its own worlds with more inventiveness than God." That's the
aspect of your psyche I hope will be in full bloom during the coming
weeks, Scorpio. It's a perfect time for you to enter into an unprecedented
phase of building. You're ripe to dream up a host of creations for yourself
-- to improvise and design and compose.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): The average male owns 15 pairs of
underwear, while the typical female has 21. (The other three genders
average 25, 31, and 13 respectively.) But those figures will almost
certainly rise in the coming weeks, as Sagittarians of every variety will be
expanding and enhancing their approach to covering their asses. Most of
you Centaurs will also be refining and evolving your attitude toward the
things that touch you most intimately, as well as deepening and
embellishing your relationship with the hidden aspects of the image you
present to the public eye.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Philosopher Robert Anton Wilson defined
information as data and ideas that are new to you. If it's something you
already know, then it's propaganda or dogma, not information.
Philosopher Terence McKenna had a similar view. He used the terms
"information" and "novelty" interchangeably. If you're not surprised, he
said, if your curiosity isn't piqued, then the messages streaming your way
don't qualify as information. I'd like you to make that your gold standard
in the coming weeks, Capricorn. Be voracious for real information, and
ruthlessly banish all the fake stuff that's masquerading as real
information. You will know you're doing it right if you're never bored.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Astrologically speaking, this would be a
perfect time for you to get a brain implant that would allow you to google
your own unconscious and surf the Web with your mind alone.
Unfortunately, the actual technology to do that isn't available yet. But
variations on this theme could soon impact you. You're primed to make
innovations and play with possibilities that the rest of the world isn't
ready for. My advice is to go ahead and try them anyway. People may be
prodded by your pioneer spirit into helping you conjure up the fresh-from-
the-future resources you need.
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HOMEWORK: What's your favorite excuse? Write it out and tape it to your
mirror. Try not to actually say it even once during the coming week.
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, 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
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P.S. 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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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2008 Rob Brezsny
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