Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
April 6, 2011
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See a pretty version of this newsletter here: http://bit.ly/fak6tw
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The piece below is excerpted from my book
*PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA*
available at Amazon: http://bit.ly/Pronoia
or Powells: http://bit.ly/PronoiaPowells
Here's an excerpt:
ECSTATIC STUDY GUIDE
Strategies for plying a chronic, low-key, blissful union with everything
you're not
1. Writing on Salon.com, Scott Rosenberg recalled how in his youth he
loved to play the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. "You'd
have to choose not one but two 'alignments' for your character," he
mused. "Good and evil, of course, but also 'law' and 'chaos.' And among
the people I ran with, 'chaotic/good' was the thing to be, because it let
you trust other people and still have fun."
Try out the "chaotic/good" approach for the character you play in your
actual life.
2. The water you drink is three billion years old, give or take five million
years. The stuff your body is made of is at least 10 billion years old,
probably older, and has been as far away as 100,000 light-years from
where it is right now. The air you breathe has, in the course of its travels,
been literally everywhere on the planet, and has slipped in and out of the
lungs of almost every human being who has ever lived.
Would you act differently if you had a visceral sense of how eternal and
infinite you are? What unprecedented behavior might you express?
Visualize a waking dream in which you remember the water you floated in
three billion years ago. Imagine you can see the light that shone on you
100,000 light-years ago.
3. We tried to get our manifesto "Bigger, Better, More Original Sins"
excerpted in *Taboo Busters,* a zine published by American expatriates in
Berlin. Unfortunately, the editors didn't like the spin we put on the
subject of taboos. They're fixated on depraved vices and sickening
violations and contrived rejections of conventional values: smuggled
photos of dead celebrities lying in morgues, for instance; paintings of
religious scenes that use the artist's blood or other bodily fluids; hospital
scenes of Iraqi children with gangrenous stumps where their limbs once
were; performance artists who do Marquis de Sade imitations.
Our approach is different. We're connoisseurs of taboo-busting that yields
uplifting pleasures; we identify and initiate transgressions that don't hurt
anyone and expand our intelligence and improve the world. Here are a few
examples: midwife Ida May Gaskin's suggestion that a partner can
expedite the birth process by giving erotic pleasure to the woman in
labor; our idea that satirizing one's own cherished beliefs is the most
honest form of mockery; the Menstrual Temple of the Funky Grail's
classes that teach men how to symbolically menstruate in order to learn
to love rather than fear the Dark Goddess; my ability to use principles
formulated by people I mostly disagree with, as in the case of St. Paul's "I
die daily."
Are there examples of this kind of taboo-busting in your life? Make a list
of uplifting transgressions that expand your intelligence and push you in
the direction of cosmic consciousness and improve the world.
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PRONOIA RESOURCES:
*YES!* magazine was long ago inducted into the Pronoia Hall of Fame. Of
all the publications out there, it best embodies the meme we pronoiacs
aspire to -- CRAFTY OPTIMISM.
Not infrequently, I steal stuff I've found in *YES!* to list here in my
Pronoiac Resources.
I've arranged with the people over at *YES!* to maker it easier for you to
subscribe to their magazine. See the offer below. I'm doing this because I
genuinely love their influence on the world. They're not paying me
anything to do it.
Go here for the offer: http://bit.ly/hH1e1d
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*YES!* Magazine
Special Subscription Discount for Free Will Astrology Readers
http://bit.ly/hH1e1d
The theme of the current issue is ANIMALS and our relationship with
them.
Our culture treats animals as food, pets, pests, property, and curiosities.
We've spoiled their habitats, endangering tens of thousands of species
and our own future. The new issue of YES! Magazine shows that if we
learn to understand animals, we can protect and restore the planet we all
share.
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
DISEASE FIGHTERS GET MORE RESOURCES
Lots more funding for young scientists exploring radical new directions in
cancer research.
http://tinyurl.com/26mgc32
ANOTHER OUTBREAK OF ENLIGHTENED PRACTICES
West African farmers have succeeded in cutting the use of toxic
pesticides, increasing yields and incomes and diversifying farming
systems.
http://tinyurl.com/46wffxo
SAVE THE BEES!
*Queen of the Sun*: What are the bees telling us? Critics call the film
"entertaining, gorgeous, and relevant . . . You are engulfed by wonder."
http://www.queenofthesun.com/
THE EVIDENCE KEEPS ACCUMULATING
http://pronoiaresources.com/
(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 April 7
Copyright 2011 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
ARIES (March 21-April 19): When he was three years old, actor Charlie
Sheen got a hernia from yelling too much and too loud. I definitely don't
encourage you to be like that. However, I do think it's an excellent time to
tune in to the extravagant emotions that first made an appearance when
you were very young and that have continued to be a source of light and
heat for you ever since. Maybe righteous anger is one of those vitalizing
emotions, but there must be others as well -- crazy longing, ferocious joy,
insatiable curiosity, primal laughter. Get in touch with them; invite them
to make an appearance and reveal the specific magic they have to give
you right now.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The hydrochloric acid in our digestive system
is so corrosive it can dissolve a nail. In other words, you contain within
you the power to dematerialize solid metal. Why is it so hard, then, for
you to conceive of the possibility that you can vaporize a painful memory
or bad habit or fearful fantasy? I say you can do just that, Taurus --
especially at this moment, when your capacity for creative destruction is
at a peak. Try this meditation: Imagine that the memory or habit or
fantasy you want to kill off is a nail. Then picture yourself dropping the
nail into a vat of hydrochloric acid. Come back every day and revisit this
vision, watching the nail gradually dissolve.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Now and then I include comments in these
horoscopes that might be construed as political in nature. For instance, I
have always endorsed a particular candidate in the American presidential
elections. Some people are outraged by this, saying, in effect, "How dare
you?! What do your political opinions have to do with my life?!" If you feel
that way, you might want to stop reading now. It's my sacred duty to tell
you that the twists and turns of political and social issues will be making
an increasingly strong impact on your personal destiny in the months
ahead. To be of service to you, I will have to factor them into my
meditations on your oracles. Now let me ask you: Is it possible that your
compulsive discontent about certain political issues is inhibiting your
capacity for personal happiness?
CANCER (June 21-July 22): If you were a poker player, the odds would
now be far better than usual that you'd be voted one of the "50 Sexiest
Poker Players in the World." If you were a physician volunteering your
services in Haiti or Sudan, there'd be an unusually high likelihood that
you'd soon be the focus of a feature story on a TV news show. And even
if you were just a pet groomer or life coach or yoga teacher, I bet your
cachet would be rising. Why? According to my reading of the omens, you
Cancerians are about to be noticed, seen for who you are, or just plain
appreciated a lot more than usual.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): No other country on the planet has a greater
concentration of artistic masterpieces than Italy. As for the place that has
the most natural wonders and inspiring scenery per square mile: That's
more subjective, but I'd say Hawaii. Judging from the astrological omens,
Leo, I encourage you to visit one or both of those two hotspots -- or the
closest equivalents you can manage. (If you already live in Italy or Hawaii,
you won't have far to go.) In my opinion, you need to be massively
exposed to huge doses of staggering beauty. And I really do mean that
you NEED this experience -- for your mental, physical, and spiritual well-
being.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Healer Caroline Myss coined the term
"woundology." It refers to the practice of using our wounds to get power,
sympathy, and attention. Why give up our pain when we can wield it to
manipulate others emotionally? "I am suffering, so you should give me
what I want." When we're in pain, we may feel we have the right to do
things we wouldn't otherwise allow ourselves to do, like go on shopping
sprees, eat tasty junk food, or sleep with attractive people who are no
good for us. In this scenario, pain serves us. It's an ally. Your assignment,
Virgo, is to get touch with your personal version of woundology. Now is a
good time to divest yourself of the so-called "advantages" of holding on
to your suffering.
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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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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): As an American who has lived most of my life
in the U.S., I write these horoscopes in English. But for years they have
also been translated into Italian for the zesty Italian magazine,
*Internazionale.* Over the years, my readership there has grown so
sizable that an Italian publisher approached me to create an astrology
book for Italians. Late last year *Robosocopo* appeared in Italy but
nowhere else. It was an odd feeling to have my fourth book rendered in
the Italian language but not in my native tongue. I suspect you'll be
having a comparable experience soon, Libra. You will function just fine in a
foreign sphere -- having meaningful experiences, and maybe even some
success, "in translation."
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You can gain more power -- not to mention
charisma, panache, and love -- by losing some of your cool. This is one
time when too much self-control could actually undermine your authority.
So please indulge in a bit of healthy self-undoing, Scorpio. Gently mock
your self-importance and shake yourself free of self-images you're
pathologically attached to. Fool with your own hard and fast rules in ways
that purge your excess dignity and restore at least some of your brilliant
and beautiful innocence.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): This week will be a time when you might
want to get a hold of a toy you loved when you were a kid, and actually
play with it again; a time when you could speak so articulately about an
idea you're passionate about that you will change the mind of someone
who has a different belief; a time when you may go off on an adventure
you feared you would regret but then it turns out later that you don't
regret it; a time when you might pick out a group of stars in the sky that
form the shape of a symbol that's important to you, and give this new
constellation a name; and a time when you could make love with such
utter abandon that your mutual pleasure will stay with you both for
several days.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The Norwegian film *Twigson* is about a
boy who feels so friendless and isolated that he seeks companionship with
a talking twig. In the coming weeks, I encourage you to be equally as
proactive in addressing the strains of your own loneliness. I'm not
implying that you are lonelier or will be lonelier than the rest of us; I'm
just saying that it's an excellent time for taking aggressive action to
soothe the ache. So reach out, Capricorn. Be humbly confident as you try
to make deeper contact.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): During one of 2010's Mercury retrograde
phases, astrologer Evelyn Roberts wrote on her Facebook page that she
was doing lots of things you're "not supposed to do" during a Mercury
retrograde: buying a new computer, planning trips, making contracts,
signing documents. Why? She said she always rebels like that, maybe
because of her quirky Aquarian nature. More importantly, she does it
because what usually works best for her is to pay close attention to
what's actually going on rather than getting lost in fearful fantasies about
what influence a planet may or may not have. During the current Mercury
retrograde, Aquarius, I recommend her approach to you.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Damon Bruce is a San Francisco sports talk
show host I listen to now and then. He told a story about being at a bar
and seeing a guy with a tattoo of a life-sized dollar bill on the back of his
shaved head. Bruce was incredulous. Why burn an image of the lowest-
denomination bill into your flesh? If you're going to all that trouble,
shouldn't you inscribe a more ambitious icon, like a $100 bill? My
sentiments exactly, Pisces. Now apply this lesson to your own life.
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Homework: Compose a sincere prayer in which you ask for something you
think you're not supposed to. Testify at Freewillastrology.com.
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2011 Rob Brezsny
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