Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
December 30, 2009
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EXPLORE THE BIG PICTURE OF YOUR LIFE
with my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES for the Coming Year.
http://RealAstrology.com
What new influences will be headed your way in 2010? What fresh
resources will you be able to draw on? How can you conspire with life to
create the best possible future for yourself?
Beginning this week, and for the next two weeks as well, I'm exploring the
BIG PICTURE of your life in my Expanded Audio Horoscopes. If you slip into
a philosophical, visionary mood at the end of each year, you might
appreciate my perspectives on your long-term outlook.
To listen to your BIG PICTURE horoscopes online, go to
http://RealAstrology.com.
You can also listen over the phone by calling 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-
950-7700
The cost is $6 per sign on the Web, or $1.99 per minute by phone.
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"The universe is nothing but your love making." - Deepak Chopra
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The revised and expanded version of my book *PRONOIA IS THE
ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA* is available at Amazon: http://bit.ly/Pronoia
Here's an excerpt:
Many people alive today are convinced that our civilization is in a dark
age, cut off from divine favor, and on the verge of collapse. But it's
healthy to note that similar beliefs have been common throughout
history.
As far back as 2800 BC, an unknown prophet wrote on an Assyrian clay
tablet, "Our earth is degenerate in these latter days. There are signs that
the world is speedily coming to an end." In the seventh century BC, many
Romans believed Rome would suffer a cataclysm in 634 BC.
Around 300 BC, Hindus were convinced they lived in an "unfortunate
time" known as the Kali Yuga -- the lowest point in the great cosmic
cycle. In 426 AD, the Christian writer Augustine mourned that this evil
world was in its last days. According to the Lotharingian panic-mongers
who lived more than a 1,000 years ago, human life on earth would end on
March 25, 970.
Astrologers in 16th-century London calculated that the city would be
destroyed by a great flood on February 1, 1524. American minister
William Miller proclaimed the planet's "purification by fire" would occur in
1844. Anglican minister Michael Baxter assured his followers that the
Battle of Armageddon would take place in 1868. The Jehovah's Witnesses
anticipated the End of Days in 1910, then 1914, then 1918, then 1925.
John Ballou Newbrough ("America's Greatest Prophet") promised mass
annihilation and global anarchy for 1947.
The website "A Brief History of the Apocalypse" at tinyurl.com/yqb83n
lists over 200 visions of doom that have spilled from the hysterical
imaginations of various prophets in the last two millennia.
Our age may have more of these doomsayers per capita than previous
eras, although the proportion of religious extremists among them has
declined as more scientists, journalists, and storytellers have taken up the
singing of humanity's predicted swan song.
In her book *For the Time Being,* Annie Dillard concludes, "It is a
weakening and discoloring idea that rustic people knew God personally
once upon a time but that it is too late for us. There never was a more
holy age than ours, and never a less. There is no whit less enlightenment
under the tree by your street than there was under the Buddha's bo
tree."
I invite you to go sit under that tree by your street.
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW LUCKY YOU ARE
About once a month, a miracle will happen to you
http://bit.ly/7IbwE0
YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW AMAZING YOU ARE
Do you have any idea how many millions of years of amazing events it
took to create you?
http://wimp.com/bigbang/
http://bit.ly/8eDv0T
YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW POWERFUL YOU ARE
How the brain got liberated
http://bit.ly/6f9lzn
(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 December 31
Copyright 2009 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): "I am a man of fixed and unbending
principles," said American politician Everett Dirksen, "the first of which is
to be flexible at all times." That's the kind of playful and resilient spirit I
urge you to aspire to in 2010, Capricorn. I think you're most likely to have
a successful year if you regularly explore the joys of improvisation. The
more empirical and less theory-bound you're willing to be, the better
you'll feel. Practicing the art of compromise doesn't have to be galling, I
promise you; it may even turn out to be more fun and educational than
you imagined possible.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Who and what do you hold most dear,
Aquarius? I encourage you to get clear about that. Once you do, I hope
you'll make a vow to bestow extra care and attention on them in 2010 --
I mean literally write out a one-page oath in which you describe the inner
states you will cultivate in yourself while you're in their presence and the
specific actions you're going to take to help them thrive. Nothing else
you do will be more important to your success in 2010.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): The philosopher Nietzsche said there was no
middle ground: You either said "yes" to life or you said "no." You either
celebrated your vitality, enjoyed your power, and thrived on challenges, or
else you practiced constant self-denial, hemmed yourself in with deluded
rationalizations, and tormented yourself with indecision. I'm not so sure
it's always as clear-cut as that. While I'm usually in the "yes to life"
camp," I've gone through "no to life" phases, as well as some extended
"maybe to life" times. What about you, Pisces? Whatever you've done in
the past, I hope that in 2010 you will take maximum advantage of the
cosmic rhythms, which will be encouraging you to give life a big,
resounding, ongoing YES.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): One of my favorite landscape painters makes
a livable wage from selling her art. She has had many gallery showings and
has garnered much critical acclaim. That's the good news. The bad news
is that she feels obligated to keep churning out more landscape paintings
-- even when her muse nudges her to take a detour into, say, abstract
expressionism or surrealistic portraits. Galleries don't want anything from
her except the stuff that has made her semi-famous. "Sometimes I
fantasize about creating a series of 'Sock Puppet Monkeys Playing
Poker,'" she told me. If she were an Aries, I'd advise her to do what I think
you should do in 2010: Listen to what your version of the sock puppet
monkeys are urging you to do.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): My Taurus friend Jill had a dream in which she
stopped by a blackberry bush on a summer afternoon. All the ripe
blackberries were too high on the bush, just out of reach. She stood there
gazing longingly up at them for a long time. Finally three people in
medieval garb came by, as if having stepped out of a deck of Tarot cards
-- a warrior, magician, and priestess. "I really want those blackberries,"
she said to them. "Could you give me a boost?" They stooped down to
make their backs available. She climbed up, but still couldn't reach the
berries. "Oh well, we tried," she said. "Follow us," said the priestess, and
she did. After a while they came to another bush whose blackberries were
lower and easy to pluck. Then the four shared the feast. After analyzing
the omens for 2010, Taurus, I've come to the conclusion that Jill's dream
is an apt metaphor for your best possible destiny in 2010.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): "We should not think of our past as definitely
settled, for we are not a stone or a tree," wrote poet Czeslaw Milosz. "My
past changes every minute according to the meaning given it now, in this
moment." I suggest you make abundant use of this wisdom in 2010.
According to my reading of the astrological omens, you will have
unprecedented power to re-vision and reinterpret your past. Keep the
following question in mind as you go about your work: "How can I
recreate my history so as to make my willpower stronger, my love of life
more intense, and my future more interesting?"
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EXPLORING YOUR LONG-RANGE FUTURE
Would you like some inspiration as you muse and wonder about your
upcoming adventures in 2010?
In this week's EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, I offer you Part One of a
long-term, in-depth exploration of your destiny in the coming year.
Part Two and Part Three will be available in the next two weeks.
Find out how to access them online at http://RealAstrology.com.
They are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-
7700.
The cost is $6 per sign on the Web, or $1.99 per minute by phone.
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CANCER (June 21-July 22): I think everyone should always have an
improbable quest playing at the edges of their imagination -- you know,
some heroic task that provokes deep thoughts and rouses noble passions
even if it also incites smoldering torment. I'm talking about an
extravagant dream that's perhaps a bit farfetched but not entirely insane;
a goal that constantly rouses you to stretch your possibilities and open
your mind further; a wild hope whose pursuit makes you smarter and
stronger even if you never fully accomplish it. The coming year would be
an excellent time to keep such an adventure at the forefront of your
awareness.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): A guy who goes by the name of "Winter" has
made it his goal to visit every Starbucks in the world. According to his
website, he has thus far ordered drinks in 9,874 stores. His project
contrasts dramatically with an acquaintance of mine who calls herself
"Indian Summer." She is in the midst of a global pilgrimage to the
hundreds of sites listed in Colin Wilson's book *The Atlas of Holy Places
and Sacred Sites,* including cave paintings, dolmens, medicine wheels,
and temples. Guess which of these two explorers I'm nominating to be
one of your inspirational heroes in 2010.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Scientific studies have proved what we all
knew already: A person who's only mildly interesting to you will probably
become more attractive if you drink a couple of pints of beer. What if I
told you, Virgo, that in 2010 you could regularly create the same effect
without drinking the beer? I have it on good astrological authority that
this will be the case. Due to fundamental shifts in your relationship with
the life force, and having nothing to do with how much alcohol you
consume, the entire world will often be at least 25 percent more
attractive to you than it ever was before.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Your limitations will be among your greatest
assets in 2010. Yes, you heard me right, Libra; I'm not speaking ironically
or sarcastically. During the coming months, you will be able to benefit
from circumstances that you might otherwise imagine would prevent you
from operating with maximum freedom. It might require you to look at
the world upside-down, or work in reverse to your habitual thought
patterns, but you could actually generate interesting opportunities, vital
teachings, and maybe even financial gain by capitalizing on your so-called
liabilities.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): "Dear Rob: I sure don't like so much God
stuff mixed into my horoscopes. Can you cut it out, please? I understand
it's common for the masses to believe in an Ultra Being, but you? Pul-
lease. You're smarter than that. I just can't abide all the 'Divine Wow' this
and 'Cackling Goddess' nonsense that you dispense; it doesn't jibe with
the practical, sensible, unsuperstitious, non-mushy world I hold dear. -Sally
Scorpio." Dear Sally: I predict that many Scorpios will have sensational,
ongoing, up-close and personal communion with the Divine Wow in 2010.
You're free, of course, to call it something else, like an unprecedented
eruption of creative energy or a breakthrough in your ability to access
your own higher powers.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You Sagittarians may wander farther and
wider than the other signs of the zodiac, and you may get itchier when
required to stay in one place too long, but you still need a sense of
belonging. Whether that comes from having a certain building where you
feel comfortable or a wilderness that evokes your beloved
adventurousness or a tribe that gives you a sense of community, you
thrive when you're in regular touch with a homing signal that keeps you
grounded. According to my analysis, 2010 will be prime time for you to
find or create or renew your connection to a source that serves this
purpose well.
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HOMEWORK: Make a list of your anti-resolutions. What weird habits,
incorrigible vices, dissident uprisings, and controversial actions do you
promise to cultivate in 2010? Report your results 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
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2009 Rob Brezsny
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