Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
December 22, 2010
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A PREVIEW OF YOUR DESTINY IN 2011
Want to get a head start on your future? This week my EXPANDED AUDIO
HOROSCOPES offer you a teaser look at some major themes you'll be
working and playing with in 2011.
Beginning next week, I will devote three consecutive weeks to an in-depth
discussion of your long-range outlook for the coming year.
Part One of my FORECAST FOR 2011 will be available beginning Tuesday,
December 28.
Part Two will be available on Tuesday, January 4.
Part Three will be available on Tuesday, January 11.
To access the Expanded Audio Horoscopes, go to
http://RealAstrology.com.
The cost is $6 per sign on the Web, or $1.99 per minute by phone.
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See a pretty version of this newsletter: http://bit.ly/dYnqB4
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Excerpted from *PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA*
available at Amazon: http://bit.ly/Pronoia
or Powells: http://bit.ly/PronoiaPowells
LET'S EXPOSE THE OBVIOUS MIRACLES, Part 6
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.
Oddly, no major prophets forecast cataclysm for the years between 1930
and 1945. Is there any time in history that was more deserving of being
called the "Apocalypse" than that period? The Great Depression was the
most widespread, long-lasting economic disaster ever. During World War
II, 50 million civilians and 25 million soldiers were killed.
John Ballou Newbrough ("America's Greatest Prophet") wasn't impressed
with the tragedy of that era. After the war, he 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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READ PART 1 OF THE SERIES "Let's Expose the Obvious Miracles":
http://bit.ly/ObviousMiracle1
PART 2: http://bit.ly/ObviousMiracle2
PART 3: http://bit.ly/ObviousMiracle3
PART 4: http://bit.ly/ObviousMiracle4
PART 5: http://bit.ly/ObviousMiracle5
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
HUMANS ARE CAPABLE OF AMAZING FEATS
Just a reminder that humans were able to send a probe almost a billion
miles to Saturn and have it send back beautiful and useful images.
http://tinyurl.com/23t4srm
NATURE'LL MAKE YOU HOLY
18 Natural Spots That Evoke Reverence and Awe
http://tinyurl.com/33jeclp
TRACKING ANOTHER BIZARRE, INEXPLICABLE PHENOMENON
Teens Are the Happiest People in Canada
http://tinyurl.com/2avwa3j
(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 23
Copyright 2010 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I have tracked down a formula that I think
should be one of your central ongoing meditations in 2011. It's from
newsman David Brinkley: "A successful person is one who can lay a firm
foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her." In the coming
months you will be extra smart about knowing which of these bricks to
use and how exactly to position them in your foundation. And more than
that, Capricorn: You will have special insight not only about bricks that
have been flung fairly recently, but also about those that have been
hurled at any time in your life.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The city of Stockholm, Sweden consists of
14 islands that are spanned by more than 50 bridges. It's a beautiful,
clean, culturally rich place that's ranked among the best urban centers in
the world. I'm hoping that in the coming year you will develop a certain
resemblance to it. With a little luck and a clear intention to forge strong
new links, you will connect the many fragmented areas of your life,
creating a unified network that ensures each part is humming in
resonance with the whole. In fact, let's call 2011 your Bridge-Building
Year.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): At age 19, I wanted to be a poet when I grew
up. My goal was to write a poem every day forever. And yet I had almost
no ambition to get published. I was satisfied to bask in the ecstatic
epiphany that accompanied each fresh poetic eruption. Then one day I
was browsing in a bookshop and saw a flyer for a big upcoming poetry
reading. It included every major poet in my then-hometown of Santa Cruz
-- except me. I was shocked and hurt. Why was I left out? Eventually I
realized it was because all the other poets listed had written a book. From
that moment on I was obsessively driven to publish my own tome. A year
later, after much hard work, it came to pass. I would love to see you
experience a similar wake-up call in 2011, Pisces: a friendly jolt that
motivates you to rise to the next level.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): "There's always one moment in childhood
when the door opens and lets the future in," wrote novelist Graham
Greene. I'll add to that: There are at least three moments in adulthood
when a new door opens and invites the rest of the future in. Judging by
the astrological omens, I'm guessing that one such breakthrough lies
ahead for you in 2011. What can you do to expedite and encourage fate's
summons? Here's one possibility: Surrender to the naked truth of what
you love.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): If oil companies were given permission to sink
their drilling rigs into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the petroleum
they produced would ultimately lower gasoline prices by four cents per
gallon. To my mind, that's not a good trade-off. Let this scenario serve as
a cautionary metaphor for you in 2011, Taurus. Don't share your pristine
wilderness or soulful beauty with exploitative types who offer iffy
rewards. Instead, hold out for those who appreciate you profoundly and
whose own gifts help you to thrive.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Freud said that among all human endeavors,
there were three "impossible professions" that inevitably yielded
unsatisfying results. They were child-rearing, the governing of nations,
and psychoanalysis. My own experiences don't entirely confirm this. My
parents raised me pretty well and I've given my daughter a decent
upbringing. Of the nine psychotherapists I've consulted in my life, two
were excellent healers and none were damaging. But even those relatively
winning projects were sometimes fraught with unsolvable riddles, chronic
frustrations, and maddening uncertainties. I bring this up, Gemini, because
I think 2011 will be a time when you will generate far more gratification
and success than usual in your own versions of "impossible professions."
Unsolvable riddles, chronic frustrations, and maddening uncertainties
won't be completely absent, but they could very well be at an all-time
low.
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EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES
This week my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES offer you a teaser look of
some major themes you'll be working and playing with in 2011.
Beginning next week, I will devote three consecutive weeks to an in-depth
discussion of your long-range outlook for the coming 12 months.
To access the Expanded Audio Horoscopes, go to
http://RealAstrology.com.
They're $6 if you access them on the Web, or $1.99 per minute over the
phone: 1-877-873-4888.
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CANCER (June 21-July 22): "We have to believe in free will. We have no
choice." So said author Isaac Bashevis Singer. I encourage you to adopt
that puckish thought as your motto in 2011, my fellow Cancerian.
According to my reading of the astrological omens, this will be our year to
supercharge our willpower and intensify our ability to carry out our plans -
- but always with good humor and a highly tuned sense of irony. In fact,
one of the best ways to deepen our command over our own unconscious
impulses and the caprices of fate will be to take ourselves -- and
everything else, too -- less seriously.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The coming year will be a time to think big --
maybe even bigger than you've dared to think in over a decade. That
doesn't mean you should be rash, reckless, or unrealistic. On the contrary.
Your expansive dreams should be carefully wrought and anchored in a
detailed understanding of how things actually work. As an example of
what not to do, learn from Snoop Dogg. The rapper wanted to rent all 62
square miles of the small European nation of Liechtenstein so he could
film his music video there. Liechtenstein authorities turned him down, but
only because his team didn't ask far enough in advance. Had he been
better organized, the whole country could have been his.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): An Oregon man named Don Wesson stopped
his truck by the side of the road and took home a 40-pound rock that
caught his eye. That was more than a decade ago. For years he used it as
part of a border to prevent his dog from messing up his garden. Then he
saw a TV show about meteorites and brought the rock to scientists. They
told him it was a 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite that fell to earth long ago
and originally came from the asteroid belt. Other experts told him he
could probably sell the exotic artifact for as much as $40,000. I predict a
metaphorically similar development in your life during the coming year:
the discovery of a valuable old thing from far away that you will
underestimate at first.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Richard Grossinger is my friend, my teacher,
and the brilliant author of numerous books. (His latest is called *2013.*)
He is also a humble adept in the high art of gratitude. On his website, he
has a page devoted to expressing vivid appreciation for the 71 best
teachers of his life. (bit.ly/YourTeachers) His testimony is a riveting and
touching reminder of how each of us is a creation of all the important
people we've loved and hated. Compiling such a list should, I think, be a
rite of passage for anyone who aspires to be an authentic human being.
There will never be a better time than 2011 for you to do this work
yourself, Libra.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): "Just when I found out the meaning of life,"
said comedian George Carlin, "they changed it." I'm hoping that will be
one of your top inspirational jokes in 2011, Scorpio. If all goes well, you
will no longer be content with all your previous answers to the question
"What is the meaning of life?" -- either because "they changed it," as
Carlin suggested, or because it's no longer interesting or useful to you.
This is very good news, in my opinion. You will have the invigorating
privilege of going off in search of fresh answers to the riddle of the ages!
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): The United Nations has declared that
2011 will be the International Year of Chemistry -- a time to honor the
role chemistry plays in our lives. Meanwhile, you Sagittarians will be
celebrating your own personal Year of Chemistry, although in a different
sense of the word -- the sense that means natural attraction,
spontaneous connection, intuitive allure, and uncanny synchronicity. Don't
let this abundance of grace make you overconfident, and don't just sit
back and let it run wild. Be a master chemist intent on rigorously
cultivating the very best experiments.
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HOMEWORK: What would the people who love you best say is the most
important thing for you to learn? Testify at Truthrooster@gmail.com.
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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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to anyone.
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2010 Rob Brezsny
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