Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
April 3, 2013
+
See a pretty version of this newsletter: http://bit.ly/XalBW7
+
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY APP
Get the free app for Free Will Astrology:
http://bit.ly/FWAapp
It's compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.3 or
later.
If you've already downloaded the app, be sure to update to the latest
version in the App Store.
(I'm still working on the app for Androids!)
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
My book
*PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA*
is available at Amazon: http://bit.ly/Pronoia
or Powells: http://bit.ly/PronoiaPowells
Here are excerpts:
LETTERS TO THE BEAUTY AND TRUTH LAB, Part 1
We who are devoted to pronoia created the Beauty and Truth Lab and
not the Beauty and Truth Think Tank because we want to put our ideas to
the test in the field -- to apply them in unpredictable situations beyond
our control and see whether they're useful to people who aren't
necessarily steeped in the mystique of pronoia.
One way we've gone about that is to encourage the public to testify and
ask questions about their practical experiences with pronoia. Below is Part
1 of a collection of exchanges that have unfolded since we began
discussing pronoiac themes on the BeautyandTruth.com website and in
the weekly astrology newsletter.
+
DEAR BEAUTY AND TRUTH LAB: I'm a very analytical person, with a
doctorate in nuclear physics and a high-tech job. All my training and
business savvy tell me that Rob Brezsny's astrology column is
superstitious mumbo jumbo, yet every time I've faced a crisis in the last
10 years, his horoscopes have provided accurate wisdom and counsel
when things seemed darkest.
The same is true about the book *Pronoia.* The scientist in me knows
that you Beauty and Truth Lab people are utopian nutcases. It's
absolutely demented to regard the universe as friendly and to fantasize
that there's some vast, invisible conspiracy of blessing-bestowers. And
yet I have to confess that whenever I try the pronoiac strategies you
describe, my life veers in the direction of synchronicity and delight.
On the one hand, none of this makes any sense. On the other hand, I
don't care that it doesn't make any sense. Somehow I'm able to draw
sustenance from something whose power I don't understand or even
believe in. In any case, thank you! - Humble Genius
DEAR HUMBLE GENIUS: You've described a quality that we aspire to in our
efforts to cultivate pronoia: the ability to be helped by powers that are
beyond our understanding.
+
DEAR BEAUTY AND TRUTH LAB: Does pronoia make you feel like you're
falling in love? Not just with a person but with life itself? And can that be
scary? Is it possible that you might feel a chord of gorgeous terror
resound in your gut when you entertain the thought that every person
and even every animal and plant and rock in the world is ganging up to
make your life interesting -- almost more brilliantly interesting than you
can bear? Does pronoia threaten to cause all perceptions, all sensations,
all interactions to verge on being orgasmic?
I've been heading in this direction lately and it's freaking me out. Can
extreme happiness be dangerous to my well-being? - Butchtastic
DEAR BUTCHTASTIC: First thing we'll say is that while pronoia inevitably
feeds the soul, it doesn't necessarily further the agendas of the ego. The
anxiety that's welling up may be the result of your old self-image clinging
to the shrunken expectations it had gotten used to thinking of as
essential to its identity.
The second thing is that when people invite pronoia to take over their
perceptual filters, they often feel as if they're falling in love with a Scary
Yet Friendly Vastness that kicks their butts until they wake up to the
secret beauty they've been ignoring.
+
DEAR BEAUTY AND TRUTH LAB: I'm battling mixed emotions. On the one
hand, I have frequent surges of intense compassion that make me want to
build houses for poor folks. On the other hand, I'm beset by flashes of
vanity that make me want to spend my money on Prada shoes and
expensive jewelry rather than on trips to Third World countries to help
Habitat for Humanity. Is it crazy and self-defeating to want both things?
- Torn and Guilty
DEAR TORN AND GUILTY: Try honoring both your urge to express beauty
and your desire to aid your fellow humans. We have a vision of you
wearing a gold tiara and Prada's Sculpted d'Orsay pumps as you wield
your hammer, framing a wall for a new house in Haiti.
+
DEAR BEAUTY AND TRUTH LAB: In your book *Pronoia,* you say, 'The
universe always gives us exactly what we need, exactly when we need it.'
I have a different view. I often find that I disagree with what the Universe
decides is best for me. But that usually turns out to be a good thing. It's
fun for me to always be arguing with God! I learn a lot and generate a lot
of high energy from trying to outmaneuver the divine will. What do you
think about that? - Cagey Dissident
DEAR CAGEY: Congratulations! You are the thousandth dissident to testify
that pronoia is not, in fact, the One Truth and the Only Way -- thereby
proving to our satisfaction that we have successfully prevented our
beloved Beauty and Truth Lab from being a shill for a fundamentalist
ideology. Please accept our most fantastic thanks. Your prize will be on its
way to you soon!
+
DEAR BEAUTY AND TRUTH LAB: The chemo treatments burned out all the
math skills in my brain, which were already pretty meager. On the other
hand, they awakened my ability to feel perfectly at ease while in the midst
of paradoxical situations that everyone else finds maddening and
uncomfortable.
The chemo also made me ridiculously tolerant of people's contradictions,
sometimes even their hypocrisies, and freed me to enjoy life as an
entertaining movie with lots of interesting plot twists rather than as a
pitched battle between everything I like and everything I don't like. I
guess I could say that my cancer helped turn me into a pronoiac! - The
Chaos Artist Formerly Known as Risa Kline
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
PEOPLE YOU NEVER HEARD OF ARE WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES TO
HEAL THE EARTH
19-Year-Old Develops Ocean Cleanup Array That Could Remove More than
Seven Million Tons Of Plastic From the World's Oceans
http://tinyurl.com/d85pnb2
SOMETIMES CONSTRUCTIVE OPTIMISM IS THE MOST REBELLIOUS THING
YOU CAN DO
Ron Finley plants vegetable gardens in South Central LA -- in abandoned
lots, traffic medians, along the curbs. Why? For fun, for defiance, for
beauty and to offer some alternative to fast food in a community where
"the drive-thrus are killing more people than the drive-bys."
http://tinyurl.com/cfoysbc
FREE MARVELOUS BEAUTY
NASA is giving away a free e-book containing satellite photos of the
gorgeous Earth. It's called "Earth as Art."
http://tinyurl.com/c92brfh
(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 April 4
Copyright 2013 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
ARIES (March 21-April 19): "Art cannot be modern," said Austrian painter
Egon Schiele. "Art is primordially eternal." I love that idea. Not all of the
artifacts called "art" fit that scrupulous definition, of course. Katy Perry's
music and the film *Wreck It Ralph* may have some entertainment value,
but they're not primordially eternal. I bring this up, Aries, because I think
you have entered a particularly wild and timeless phase of your own
development. Whether or not you are literally an artist, you have a
mandate to create your life story as a primordially eternal work of art.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): "All my best ideas come from having no
answer," said pioneer filmmaker John Cassavetes, "from not knowing." I
hope that testimony cheers you up, Taurus. As hard as it may be for you
to imagine, you are on the verge of a breakthrough. As you surf the
chaotic flow and monitor the confusing hubbub, you are brewing the
perfect conditions for an outburst of creativity. Rejoice in the blessing of
not knowing!
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): *Sant* is a Hindi word that comes from a
Sanskrit verb meaning "to be good" and "to be real." Personally, I know a
lot of people who are either real or good. But few are both. The good
ones tend to be overly polite, and the real ones don't put a high priority
on being nice. So here's your assignment, Gemini: to be good and real; to
have compassionate intentions even as you conduct yourself with a high
degree of authenticity; to bestow blessings everywhere you go while at
the same time being honest and clear and deep. According to my reading
of the astrological omens, you have the power to pull off this strenuous
feat.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Let's take a look back at the first three
months of 2013. How have you been doing? If I'm reading the astrological
markers accurately, you have jettisoned a portion of the psychic gunk
that had accumulated in you during the past six years. You have partially
redeemed the shadowy side of your nature and you have to some degree
ripened the most immature part. There's also the matter of your heart.
You have managed some healing of a wound that had festered there for a
long time. So here's my question for you: Is it possible for you to do more
of this good work? The target date for completion is your birthday.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Naturalist Charles Darwin formulated the theory of
evolution, which has been one of history's most influential hypotheses. A
crucial event in his early development as a scientist was a five-year boat
trip he took around the world when he was in his twenties. The research
he conducted along the way seeded many of his unique ideas. The writing
he did established his reputation as a noteworthy author. And yet before
his journey, his father tried to talk him out of embarking, calling it a "wild
scheme" and "a useless undertaking." Did your parents or other
authorities ever have a similar response to one of your brilliant projects?
If so, now would be a good time to heal the wound caused by their
opposition.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I've got three sets of affirmations for you,
Virgo. Say them out loud and see if they might work for you. 1. "I will be
engrossed in fascinating experiences that feed my curiosity, but I will not
be obsessed with grueling frustrations that drain my energy." 2. "I will be
committed to love if it opens my eyes and heart, but I will not be
infatuated with maddening conundrums that jiggle my fear." 3. "I will give
myself freely to learning opportunities that offer me valuable lessons I can
use to improve my life, but I will be skeptical toward rough-edged tests
that ask far more from me than they offer in return."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): "Pole of inaccessibility" is a term that explorers
use to identify places on the Earth that are hard -- and interesting! -- to
get to. On each continent, it's usually considered to be the spot that's
farthest from the coastline. For instance, there's a pole of inaccessibility
near the frozen center of Antarctica. Its elevation is over 12,000 feet and
it has the planet's coldest average temperatures. As for the oceanic pole
of inaccessibility, it's an area in the South Pacific that's most remote from
land. By my reckoning, Libra, you would benefit from identifying what
your own personal version of this point is, whether it's literal or
metaphorical. I think it's also a great time to transform your relationship
with it.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Every April, the ancient Romans celebrated a
festival known as Robigalia. Among the rites they performed were
ceremonies to exorcize the god of rust and mildew. I suggest you
consider reviving that old practice, Scorpio. You would benefit from
spending a few days waging war against insidious rot. You could start by
scrubbing away all the sludge, scum, and gunk from your home, car, and
workplace. Next, make a similar effort on a metaphorical level. Scour the
muck, glop, and grime out of your psyche.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): "You know that place between sleep and
awake, the place where you can still remember dreaming? That's where I'll
always love you. That's where I'll be waiting." Tinkerbell says that to Peter
Pan in J.M. Barrie's famous story. Sometime soon, I think you should
whisper words like those to a person or animal you love. It's time for you
to be as romantic and lyrical as possible. You need to bestow and attract
the nourishment that comes from expressing extravagant tenderness. For
even better results, add this sweetness from French poet Paul Valéry: "I
am what is changing secretly in you." And try this beauty from Walt
Whitman: "We were together. I forget the rest."
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Naturalist John Muir (1838-1914) had an
ecstatic relationship with the California wilderness. He studied it as a
scientist and he worshiped it as a mystical devotee. During the course of
his communion with the glaciers and peaks of the Sierra Nevada
mountains, he came close to seeing them as living entities that evolved
over long periods of time. "Glaciers move in tides," he wrote. "So do
mountains. So do all things." With Muir as your inspiration, I invite you to
identify the very gradual currents and tides that have flowed for years
through your own life, Capricorn. It's prime time to deepen your
understanding and appreciation of the big, slow-moving cycles that have
brought you to where you are today.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): American author William Faulkner won a
Nobel Prize for literature, an indication that he had abundant talent. The
prose he wrote was often experimental, cerebral, and complex. He was
once asked what he would say to readers who found it difficult to grasp
his meaning "even after reading it two or three times." His reply: "Read it
four times." My counsel to you, Aquarius, is similar. When faced with a
challenging event or situation that taxes your understanding, keep
working to understand it even past the point where you would normally
quit. There will be rewards, I promise.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): "Dear Rob: I just consulted an astrologer, and
he told me that my planets are very weak because they're in the wrong
houses and have bad aspects. Please tell me what this means. Am I
cursed? Is there any way to remedy my afflictions? - Paranoid Pisces."
Dear Pisces: Whoever told you that nonsense is an incompetent
astrologer. You shouldn't heed him. There's no such thing as one's
planets being weak or being in the wrong houses or having bad aspects.
There may be challenges, but those are also opportunities. Luckily, the
coming weeks will be prime time for you Pisceans to overthrow the
influence of inept "experts" and irresponsible authorities like him. Reclaim
your power to define your own fate from anyone who has stolen it from
you.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Homework: Imagine a bedtime story you'd like to hear and the person
you'd like to hear it from. 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
2013 Rob Brezsny
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++