Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
May 9, 2012
+
See a pretty version of this newsletter: http://bit.ly/LiyI21
+
The revised and expanded version of my book *PRONOIA IS THE
ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA* is available at Amazon: http://bit.ly/Pronoia
and also at Powells:
http://bit.ly/PronoiaPowells
Much of the material below appears in the book:
+
Q & A
To read the entirety of this Q & A, go here:
http://bit.ly/FWA-QandA
QUESTION. How can an intelligent, educated person possibly believe
astrology has any merit?
ROB BREZSNY. Many of the debunkers who're responsible for trying to
discredit astrology have done no research on the subject. They haven't
read smart astrological philosophers like Dane Rudhyar, don't know that
seminal astronomer Johannes Kepler was a skilled astrologer, and aren't
aware that eminent psychologist C.G. Jung cast horoscopes and believed
that "astrology represents the summation of all the psychological
knowledge of antiquity." The closest approach the fraudulent "skeptics"
usually make to the ancient art is to glance at a tabloid horoscope
column. To match their carelessness, I might make a drive-by of a strip
mall and declare that the profession of architecture is shallow and
debased.
That's one reason why these ill-informed "skeptics" spread so many
ignorant lies. For instance, they say that astrologers think the stars and
planets emit invisible beams that affect people's lives. The truth is, many
Western astrologers don't believe any such thing. Astrologer Richard
Tarnas says it well: Just as clocks tell time but don't create it, the
heavenly bodies show us the big picture but don't cause it.
+
QUESTION. Because you pack your column with doses of humor and wild
imagery, some people think you don't take astrology seriously.
ROB. On the contrary, I think this proves how much respect I have for
astrology -- I mean REAL astrology. Not astrology as a superstitious belief
system that generates boring predictions in dead language about trivial
events that only our neurotic egos are obsessed with; but rather
astrology as a mytho-poetic symbol system that expands your
imagination about the big cycles of your life, liberates you from the
literalistic trance that the daily grind tends to trap you in, and opens you
up to the understanding that you're much more beautiful and full of
potential than you've been taught to believe.
+
QUESTION. You have said that you believe in astrology "about 80
percent." What's up with the other 20 percent?
ROB. I use the same 80-20 approach with every belief system I love and
benefit from: science, psychology, feminism, and various religious
traditions like Buddhism and Christianity and paganism. I take what's
useful from each, but am not so deluded as to think that any single
system is the holy grail that the physicists call the "Theory of
Everything." Unconditional, unskeptical faith is the path of the fanatic and
fundamentalist, and I aspire to be a rowdy philosophical anarchist, aflame
with objectivity and committed to the truth that the truth is always
mutating.
+
QUESTION. But don't you risk playing the same role the tabloid
astrologers do: enticing people to take on a superstitious approach to life
and seducing them into believing their fate is determined by supernatural
forces beyond the influence of their willpower?
ROB. I call what I do predicting the present, not forecasting the future. My
goal is to awaken my readers to the hidden agendas, unconscious forces,
and long-term cycles at work in their lives so that they can respond to
the totality of what's happening instead of to mere appearances. I want
to be a friendly shocker who helps unleash their imaginations, giving them
the power to create their destinies with the same liberated fertility that
great artists summon to forge their masterpieces.
+
QUESTION. How do you write your column? Do you use actual astrological
data, or just go into a trance and let your imagination run wild?
TO READ THE REPLY TO THIS QUESTION, AS WELL AS THE REST OF THIS
Q & A,, go here: http://bit.ly/FWA-QandA
+
"You Taste Delicious," a song from *PRONOIA*'s soundtrack
There are two versions, one sung by me:
http://bit.ly/zRAgQF
The other version is sung by Adrienne Shamszad: http://bit.ly/wWENP6
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
YOUR MINIMUM DAILY REQUIREMENT OF BEAUTY
Rosette Nebula: a "stellar nursery" that resembles a flower
http://tinyurl.com/6ry6sjb
http://tinyurl.com/7jcjjk2
PEOPLE YOU NEVER HEARD OF ARE PERFORMING AMAZING ACTS OF
COMPASSION
Flying free health care to those in need
http://tinyurl.com/7esb88e
PRONOIAC BEAUTY MEETS PRONOIAC SUSTAINABILITY
Designing the world's greenest new building standards.
http://tinyurl.com/6v7mzpv
THE EVIDENCE KEEPS ACCUMULATING
A compendium of pronoiac news.
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.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning May 10
Copyright 2012 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Taurus actor Daniel Day Lewis will star as
American president Abraham Lincoln in a film to be released later this
year. Hollywood insiders report that Lewis basically became Lincoln
months before the film was shot and throughout the entire process.
Physically, he was a dead ringer for the man he was pretending to be.
Even when the cameras weren't rolling, he spoke in the cadences and
accent of his character rather than in his own natural voice. It might be
fun for you to try a similar experiment in the coming weeks, Taurus.
Fantasize in detail about the person you would ultimately like to become,
and then imitate that future version of you.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The idea of a housewarming party comes from
an old British tradition. People who were moving would carry away embers
from the fireplace of the home they were leaving and bring them to the
fireplace of the new home. I recommend that you borrow this idea and
apply it to the transition you're making. As you migrate toward the
future, bring along a symbolic spark of the vitality that has animated the
situation you're transitioning out of.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): My friend Irene has a complicated system for
handling her cats' food needs. The calico, Cleopatra, demands chicken for
breakfast and beef stew at night, and all of it absolutely must be served
in a pink bowl on the dining room table. Caligula insists on fish stew early
and tuna later. He wants it on a black plate placed behind the love seat.
Nefertiti refuses everything but gourmet turkey upon waking and beef
liver for the evening repast. If it's not on the basement stairs, she won't
touch it. I'm bringing your attention to this, Cancerian, because I think
you could draw inspiration from it. It's in your interests, at least
temporarily, to keep your loved ones and allies happy with a coordinated
exactitude that rivals Irene's.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The moon's pale glow shimmers on your face as
you run your fingers through your hair. In your imagination, 90 violins play
with sublime fury, rising toward a climax, while the bittersweet yearning in
your heart sends warm chills down your spine. You part your lips and open
your eyes wide, searching for the words that could change everything.
And then suddenly you remember you have to contact the plumber
tomorrow, and find the right little white lie to appease you-know-who, and
run out to the store to get that gadget you saw advertised. Cut! Cut!
Let's do this scene again. Take five. It's possible, my dear, that your
tendency to overdramatize is causing you to lose focus. Let's trim the 90
violins down to ten and see if maybe that helps.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): "We all need a little more courage now and
then," said poet Marvin Bell. "That's what I need. If you have some to
share, I want to know you." I advise you to adopt his approach in the
coming days, Virgo. Proceed on the assumption that what you need most
right now is to be braver and bolder. And consider the possibility that a
good way to accomplish this goal is by hanging around people who are so
intrepid and adventurous that their spirit will rub off on you.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In the Byrds' 1968 song "Fifth Dimension," the
singer makes a curious statement. He says that during a particularly lucid
state, when he was simply relaxed and paying attention, he saw the great
blunder his teachers had made. I encourage you to follow that lead, Libra.
According to my analysis of the astrological omens, now would be an
excellent time for you to thoroughly question the lessons you've
absorbed from your important teachers -- even the ones who taught you
the best and helped you the most. You will earn a healthy jolt as you
decide what to keep and what to discard from the gifts that beloved
authorities have given you.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
YOU'VE ALWAYS GOT MORE HELP AVAILABLE THAN YOU IMAGINE
What do you want to be when you grow up? Is it possible that you will
eventually develop beautiful capacities and sublime understandings that
you can't even imagine right now?
I might be able to help you move in the direction of becoming more of the
person you were born to be.
Tune in to my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES
Find out more at http://RealAstrology.com.
The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888.
"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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): What are the most beautiful and evocative
songs you know? What are the songs that activate your dormant wisdom
and unleash waves of insight about your purpose here on earth and
awaken surges of gratitude for the labyrinthine path you have traveled to
become the person you are today? Whatever those tunes are, I urge you
to gather them all into one playlist, and listen to them with full attention
while at rest in a comfortable place where you feel perfectly safe.
According to my reading of the astrological omens, you need a
concentrated dose of the deepest, richest, most healing emotions you
can tap into.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Tourists rarely go to the South
American nation of Guyana. That's mostly because much of it is virgin rain
forest and there are few amenities for travelers. In part it's also due to
the reputation-scarring event that occurred there in 1978, when cult-
leader Reverend Jim Jones led a mass suicide of his devotees. Last year,
after travel writer Jeff Greenwald announced his trip to Guyana, his
friends responded with a predictable joke: "Don't drink the Kool-Aid!" -- a
reference to the beverage Jones spiked with cyanide before telling his
followers to drink up. But Greenwald was glad he went. The lush, tangled
magnificence of Guyana was tough to navigate but a blessing to the
senses and a first-class adventure. Be like him, Sagittarius. Consider
engaging with a situation that offers challenging gifts. Overcome your
biases about a potentially rewarding experience.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): "You have more freedom than you are
using," says artist Dan Attoe. Allow that taunt to get under your skin and
rile you up in the coming days, Capricorn. Let it motivate you to lay claim
to all the potential spaciousness and independence and leeway that are
just lying around going to waste. According to my understanding of the
astrological omens, you have a sacred duty to cultivate more slack as if
your dreams depended on it. (They do!)
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): If you've been tuning in to my horoscopes
during the past months, you're aware that I have been encouraging you
to refine and deepen the meaning of home. You know that I have been
urging you to get really serious about identifying what kind of
environment you need in order to thrive; I've been asking you to integrate
yourself into a community that brings out the best in you; I've been
nudging you to create a foundation that will make you strong and sturdy
for a long time. Now it's time to finish up your intensive work on these
projects. You've got about four more weeks before a new phase of your
life's work will begin.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Is your BS-detector in good condition? I hope
so, because it's about to get a workout. Rumors will be swirling and
gossip will be flourishing, and you will need to be on high alert in order to
distinguish the laughable delusions that have no redeeming value from the
entertaining stories that have more than a few grains of truth. If you pass
those tests, Pisces, your reward will be handsome: You'll become a
magnet for inside information, valuable secrets, and unusual but useful
clues that come from unexpected sources.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In one of your past lives, I think you must
have periodically done something like stick your tongue out or thumb
your nose at pretentious tyrants -- and gotten away with it. At least
that's one explanation for how confident you often are about speaking up
when everyone else seems unwilling to point out that the emperor is in
fact wearing no clothes. This quality should come in handy during the
coming week. It may be totally up to you to reveal the truth about an
obvious secret or collective delusion. Can you figure out a way to be
relatively tactful as you say what supposedly can't or shouldn't be said?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Homework: What were the circumstances in which you were most
amazingly, outrageously alive? Testify at FreeWillAstrology.com.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NEED TO CHANGE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS?
To join or leave the email list for this newsletter, or to change the address
where you receive it, go to:
http://www.freewillastrology.com/newsletter/
Once you do join, check all the below points to make sure you'll actually
receive the newsletter:
1. Add my address, televisionary@comcast.net, to your address book so
that the newsletter won't be treated as spam and filtered out.
2. Adjust your spam filter so it doesn't treat my address as a source of
spam.
3. Tell your company's IT group to allow my address to pass through any
filtering software they may have set up.
4. If my newsletters don't reach your inbox, look in your "Bulk Mail" or
"Junk Mail" folder.
5. The problems may not have to do with anything you do, but may
originate with your email provider. It may be using a "content filter" that
prevents my newsletter from ever reaching you at all. If you suspect
that's the case, complain. Tell your email provider to stop blocking my
newsletter from reaching you.
P.S. I totally respect your privacy. I'll never sell or give away your address
to anyone.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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,
including but not limited to newsletters, books, the Free Will
Astrology column, and Free Will Astrology website. We reserve
the right to edit such submissions for length, style, and content.
Requests for anonymity will be honored with submissions;
otherwise, reader names, screen names, or initials will be used.
Please be sure to note your preference when sending to us. We
are not responsible for unsolicited submission of any creative
material.
Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2012 Rob Brezsny
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++