Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
November 5, 2008
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http://FreeWillAstrology.com
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"The Net of Indra is a profound and subtle metaphor for the structure of
reality. Imagine a vast net; at each crossing point there is a jewel; each
jewel is perfectly clear and reflects all the other jewels in the net, the way
two mirrors placed opposite each other will reflect an image ad infinitum.
"The jewel in this metaphor stands for an individual being, or an individual
consciousness. Every jewel is intimately connected with all other jewels in
the universe, and a change in one jewel means a change, however slight,
in every other jewel."
- Stephen Mitchell, *The Enlightened Mind*
For more on the Net of Indra: http://tinyurl.com/5q7wf8
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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
The piece below borrows from material in the book.
PRAYER OF GRATITUDE
TO THE TRICKY GODDESS OF BENEVOLENT MISCHIEF
All hail the Tricky Goddess of Benevolent Mischief, also known as the
Cosmic Instigator of Healing Trouble. Let us praise and ratify her
ingenious plan to turn the status quo upside-down.
The vivid exposure of greed, corruption, and delusion among the top
echelons of the American political and financial hierarchy is a blessing on
all of humanity.
The eruption of fertile chaos is making it difficult to carry on with
business as usual, and we could not have received a more energizing gift.
A prayer:
Oh Wise Trickster Goddess, You Compassionate Conjurer of Relentless
Change, You Righteous Rascal in Charge of Keeping a Steady Flow of
Sacred Uproar Pouring into Our Lives:
Please continue to influence the masters of plutocracy and war and their
media minions to be ever-more obvious as they spin out their perversions
of your glorious creation. In this way, more and more of our sleeping tribe
will wake up to the Open Secret of your glorious creation!
Inspire the enforcers of mass hallucination to display their hypocrisy in an
ever-escalating melodrama of spittle flecks and sour faces, as in a
slapstick morality play from the Middle Ages, so that we, their once-
captive audience, may convulse with purgative guffaws that shatter the
mass hallucination.
And if you don't mind, Sweet Divine Rebel Goddess, please conspire with
us to ensure that the breakdown in the Way Things Have Always Been
Done will lead to fresh, hot, tidal-wave breakthroughs of beauty, truth,
justice, equality and love everywhere we turn.
*
And now, in my capacity as Humble Witness to the Invisible Government
of Sweaty Meditation, I hereby declare the entire North American
continent a Temporary Autonomous Zone.
As formulated by writer Hakim Bey, a Temporary Autonomous Zone (TAZ)
is any festive event that liberates the imaginations of everyone present,
thereby making it possible for life to be penetrated by the Marvelous.
Authority and dignity and routine have no place at a TAZ; an uninhibited
quest for rabble-rousing conviviality must be the only guideline. (See
more at http://tinyurl.com/9ozz4.)
Here are a few suggestions, mostly from Bey, to get you started in
creating your own local celebration of TAZ. Feel free to dream up your
own, and make sure to tell me about them. (Send your emails to
uaregod@comcast.net.)
Organize a strike in your school or workplace on the grounds that it does
not satisfy your need for indolence and spiritual beauty. Burglarize
houses, but instead of stealing, leave behind beautiful and confusing gifts.
Spread gossip about the unsung genius of people who don't get nearly
enough credit for their good work.
Take a few friends and a boom box to an all-night grocery store and
engage in ecstatic, whirling dervish-style dancing in the aisles until you're
thrown out. Scrawl the following graffiti in courthouse lavatories and on
playground walls: "I dare you to scare yourself with how beautiful you
are."
Pick people at random and convince them they're the heirs to an
enormous, useless, and amazing fortune -- say, 5,000 square miles of
Antarctica, or an aging circus elephant, or a leper colony in India, or a
collection of alchemical manuscripts. Later they will come to realize that
for a few moments they believed in something extraordinary, and will
perhaps be driven to cultivate a more intense quest for exhilarating
adventures.
Scrawl the following poem by Hafiz (translated by Daniel Ladinsky) in
courthouse lavatories, on playground walls, and through e-mail lists:
AT THIS PARTY
I don't want to be the only one here
Telling all the secrets --
Filling up all the bowls at this party,
Taking all the laughs.
I would like you
To start putting things on the table
That can also feed the soul
The way I do.
That way
We can invite
A hell of a lot more
Friends.
(The poem above is from the book *The Subject Tonight Is Love,* found
at http://tinyurl.com/6bjloc.)
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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:
THE ELATION OF CHANGE
"Election Hangover: 3 Things To Do the Morning After"
http://tinyurl.com/5wd9ek
ART IS A NECESSITY, NOT A LUXURY
"Reclaiming the Body as Home" by NalaWalla
"The arts must be restored to their central role in community life if we
are to achieve the goal of sustainable living."
http://tinyurl.com/5dt87f
OUR PRIORITIES ARE SHIFTING
"War on string may be unwinnable," says Cat General
http://tinyurl.com/6h8upg
(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 November 6
Copyright 2008 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): "Many times in my life," says philosopher
Eckhart Tolle, "it has been my experience that the most powerful starting
point for any endeavor is not the question 'What do I want?', but what
does Life (God, Consciousness) want from me? How do I serve the
whole?" I offer that meditation to you, Scorpio, as you slip into the heart
of the *reinvent yourself* phase of your cycle. It's time to stage a grand
reopening, launch a new (relation)ship, or instigate a fresh batch of good
trouble. As you whip up the initiatory energy, ask the Big Cosmic Thou
where it would like you to go and what it would love you to do.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): "Whenever I find myself growing grim
about the mouth," says Ishmael in Herman Melville's novel *Moby Dick,*
"whenever it is damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself
involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses . . . it [is] high time to get
to the sea as soon as I can." Use this passage as an inspirational kick-in-
the-ass, Sagittarius. There's no need for you to sink into the emotional
abyss Ishmael describes. Fix yourself before you're broken! Get to the sea
immediately, and prevent the grey glumness from taking over. If there's
no ocean nearby, then try the next best things: Walk along a river or lake.
Immerse yourself for long stretches in baths and saunas and heated pools.
Cry and sweat and come abundantly. Listen to music that makes you feel
like you're floating.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): This is the Week of the Upside-Down
Rainbow. It's a time when signs of good fortune are everywhere, but
always with some odd twist or anomalous feature. Should you worry that
the tweaks mean there's some mischief at work? Does it suggest you will
have to pay a price for the breakthroughs that are coming? I don't think
so. My interpretation of the upside-down rainbow (or the five-leaf clover
or the torn $10 bill you find on the street) is that you will be asked to
expand your capacities in order to take full advantage of the unusual
blessings.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Should you go with the flow or should you
try to wheedle, manipulate, and entice the flow to go with you? This is
one of those rare times when I advocate the latter approach. The flow is
currently in an indecisive state, when it could go one of several different
ways. You have cosmic authorization to nudge it in the direction that
looks to you like it will be the best for the most people.
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LISTEN TO AN EXPANDED HOROSCOPE
In addition to the horoscopes that you read here, I create additional in-
depth audio horoscopes for your inspiration.
They're not repeats or elaborations of the stuff you find here, but entirely
fresh explorations of your astrological omens, designed to help you tune
in to your soul's code.
Try them at http://RealAstrology.com.
They're available by phone at 1-877-873-4888
or 1-900-950-7700.
They're $6 if you access them on the Web, or $1.99 per minute over the
phone.
"Your audio horoscopes help me love myself better, and I mean that in a
non-narcissistic way."
-Deva P., Indianapolis
"I'm really grateful for the way you pick up my telepathic requests and
answer them in your expanded audio 'scopes."
-Marion H., Birmingham, AL
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PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In the sci-fi film *The Matrix,* a small band of
people have managed to escape from the collective hallucination that
most of their fellow humans are stuck inside. Though life is hard staying
free, there are some perks. They can, for instance, get downloads of data
directly into their brains that allow them to quickly master complex tasks.
In this way, the heroine, Trinity, learns to fly a helicopter in a few minutes.
I call your attention to these fictional events, Pisces, because I think
you're close to pulling off real-life accomplishments that resemble them.
First, you're in an excellent position to slip away from certain illusions that
enslave some of the people around you. Second, you have an enormous
power to rapidly understand new information and acquire new skills.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Uranus is on the opposite side of the sun from
Saturn right now. To traditional astrologers, that's a stressful aspect. It
bespeaks a titanic clash between the forces of progress and the inertia of
the past. But there are mitigating factors. The expansive planet Jupiter is
trine to Saturn and sextile to Uranus, suggesting that unexpected grace
may provide beauty and healing during these strenuous moments of
truth. I predict that's what will occur in your personal life, Aries. You're
well-situated to navigate smartly through the brouhaha. For best results,
respect the old ways, but not so much that it slows down your exuberant
quest for the most interesting possible future.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Every year my friend Jim travels to Cabo San
Lucas in Baja California to participate in a deep-sea fishing competition.
He says the best way to catch the big fish is with actual bait in the form
of smaller fish. But marlins can be fooled into getting snagged with merely
pretty lures -- colorful fabrications that look like food but are actually
made of metal, wood, plastic, and rubber. Jim says that hammerhead
sharks, on the other hand, will never bite the fake bait. They're too smart,
insisting on the real thing. I suggest you use this information as an
allegory in the coming weeks, Taurus. You may find it to your advantage
to get yourself "caught" by a metaphorical fisherperson, but only if he or
she is offering you the authentic bait, not a simulation.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): When the air is pure and clean, a bee can smell
a flower from 3,281 feet. The presence of pollution severely cripples the
bee's awareness of floral scents, however, reducing its range to 650 feet.
Consider the possibility that this is a metaphor for what has been
happening to you recently, Gemini. Have you suffered a reduction in your
sensitivity to sources of nourishment? Are you oblivious to gifts and
blessings that could be available to you if you only knew about them?
According to my analysis of the astrological omens, this is quite possible.
Luckily, you're reading this horoscope, which will surely motivate you to
overcome the problem.
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LISTEN TO AN EXPANDED HOROSCOPE
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.
"The best part about your audio horoscopes is that they pat me on the
head and kick me in the ass at the same time." - Rita L., San Diego
"Your audio oracles go beyond helping me find the truth -- they inspire
me to find the WILD truth." - Patrick K., Montreal
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CANCER (June 21-July 22): Dolphins love erotic play, according to the
book *Dolphin Chronicles.* For almost a third of their waking life, they
caress and touch each other. They're ingenious about using their Frisbees,
plastic boats, and rubber balls as sex toys. Gender isn't much of an issue.
There's as much same-sex as opposite-sex cavorting. If you'd like to place
yourself in alignment with cosmic rhythms, Cancerian, you will consider
taking a page from the dolphin Kama Sutra in the coming days.
Remember, the key for them is simply to play freely without any specific
goal. Bliss comes as much from experimenting with creative intimacy as
from driving toward orgasm.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): One of my friends on Facebook describes her
vocation as "Hammer of the Gods." Her task in life, she says, is to be a
tool that the divine powers wield as they nail together raw materials to
make useful structures. While I don't know if that's also one of *your*
long-range goals, Leo, I do know that it describes a role you'd thrive in
during the coming weeks. So how about it? Are you ready to upgrade
your game in order to be the best hammer of the gods you can possibly
be?
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I'm not necessarily suggesting that you read
Al Franken's book *The Truth (with Jokes).* But I do recommend that you
make that title your motto in the coming week. According to my analysis
of the astrological omens, there will be no such thing as truth without
jokes, at least for you. Every situation you need to know more about will,
if you investigate it, reveal some amusing riddle. All the information that'll
be important for you to gather will lead you in the direction of laughter.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Some years back, I maxed out my credit cards
to pay for recording my band's CD. Soon afterwards, following a few
financial setbacks, I was close to declaring bankruptcy. Luckily, my
parents stepped in and bailed me out. (Thanks, Mom and Dad!) Since
then, I've rigorously kept my debts to a minimum. That policy has, on
occasion, cramped my style, but it looks pretty wise in light of the
current financial crunch. Please draw inspiration from my experience,
Libra. Take inventory of any patterns in your own life that may be
distorting your ability to get the money and resources you need. This is
an excellent time to flush your old conditioning and imprint yourself with
good, new habits.
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HOMEWORK: Tell me how this year's election process and its results are
changing your life. Go 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
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2008 Rob Brezsny
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