Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
April 10, 2013
+
See a pretty version of this newsletter: http://bit.ly/Ya81iF
+
My book
*PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA*
is available at Amazon: http://bit.ly/Pronoia
or Powells: http://bit.ly/PronoiaPowells
Here's an excerpt:
THE LITERARY EQUIVALENT OF A SEX-CHANGE
(To read the entire text of this piece, go here: http://bit.ly/SexChange)
When I was 19, while other man-boys my age were dreaming of becoming
doctors and lawyers and rock stars, a curious ambition overtook me: I
decided I wanted to be a feminist when I grew up. As I pursued that goal
over the years, I devoted many meditations to imagining what it's like to
be a woman. While writing my second book, *The Televisionary Oracle,* I
lived part-time inside the psyche of the heroine for five years.
But I have always been perfectly happy to be a heterosexual man. The
prospect of dressing in women's clothes, for costume parties or any other
reason, has never appealed to me. I'm mildly interested in the stories of
those who have decided to change their sex with the intervention of
surgery and drugs, but the fantasy of becoming a transgender person has
never flitted across my mind's eye.
My identity as an author, on the other hand, has not been as clear-cut. I
have sometimes felt like a storyteller trapped in the body of a journalist.
On other occasions, it's more the reverse. I imagine I'm an essayist stuck
inside the persona of a poet, or else maybe a scholar lurking within the
form of a wacky visionary.
The confusion doesn't stop there. My heart tells me I'm a mystical seeker
who was born to explore spiritual themes, even as my head says I'm an
artistic intellectual whose task it is to illuminate the mysteries of concrete
reality here on the material plane.
So while I've never dreamed of being a transgender person, I have
sometimes fantasized about getting a mythical *trans-genre* operation --
a procedure that would cure me of the nagging sense that I'm not the
writer I'm supposed to be.
My wish was finally fulfilled during the four and a half years I worked on
my new book, *PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia.* It taught me not
to struggle against my contradictions, but rather to celebrate them. It
didn't give me the literary equivalent of a sex-change, but rather
bestowed on me a poetic license to be the authorial equivalent of a
hermaphrodite . . . .
TO READ THE REST OF THIS ESSAY, GO HERE: http://bit.ly/SexChange
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Get the Free Will Astrology app: http://bit.ly/FWAapp
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Are you in quest of an Intimate Ally? A Soul Friend? A Wild Confidante?
Check out Match.com via Free Will Astrology's link:
http://bit.ly/SoulMatch
Look for a Co-Pilot, Co-Conspirator, or Collaborator . . . an Agent to
represent you or a Disciple to worship you . . . a Secret Sharer who'll
listen better than anyone or an Amazing Accomplice with whom you can
practice the Art of Liberation.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
THE ART OF THINKING ABUNDANTLY
Seattle to Build Nation's First Food Forest
The city's new seven-acre park will be filled with hundreds of different
edible plants, and everything from pears to herbs will be free for the
taking.
http://tinyurl.com/bw56ty3
PEOPLE YOU DON'T KNOW ARE WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES TO CREATE
THINGS THAT MAY HELP YOU
Researchers at Stanford University announced they've created genetic
receptors that can act as a sort of "biological computer," potentially
revolutionizing how diseases are treated.
http://tinyurl.com/blhhz2y
BLESSINGS COME IN MANY FORMS
Life gives us the exact teacher we need at every moment . . .
http://tinyurl.com/d4h6cr8
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.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning April 11
Copyright 2013 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
ARIES (March 21-April 19): German theologian Martin Luther (1483-
1546) was a central figure in the rebellion against the Catholic Church
that led to the Protestant Reformation. You'll never guess where he was
when he was struck by the epiphany that became the core axiom of his
new religion. I'll tell you: He was sitting on the toilet in the Wittenberg
Monastery. The Holy Spirit gave him the crucial knowledge then and there,
or so he testified. In this spirit, Aries, keep a very open mind about where
you will be and what you will be doing when your illuminations arrive this
week.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Your task is to uncover the semi-happy
ending that was hidden back in the story's beginning. Once you do that,
you may be able to create a graceful and honorable climax. In fact, I don't
think you will be able to bring about the semi-happy ending any other
way. It's crucial that you return to the original flash of inspiration -- the
time when all the plot lines that eventually developed were first
germinating. You need to remember fate's primal promise. You've got to
read the signs you missed in the early going.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): If you play poker, the odds are one in 649,740
that you will get a royal flush. That's an ace, king, queen, jack and ten of
one suit. As for drawing a straight flush -- any five consecutive cards of
one suit -- the odds are one in 72,192. Judging from the current
astrological omens, Gemini, I'd say your chance of getting one of those
hands is far better than usual -- maybe one in 88,000 for the royal flush
and one in 8,888 for the straight flush. But those still aren't great odds.
On the other hand, getting a flush -- all five cards of the same suit -- is
normally one in 509, but these days it's pretty likely for you. The moral of
the story, not just for when you're playing cards, but in whatever you do:
Expect really good luck, but not miraculous, out-of-this-world luck.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): "Wherever you stand, be the soul of that
place," wrote the poet Rumi. This is excellent advice for you right now,
Cancerian. You are nearing the peak of your power to express yourself
with beautiful accuracy. You have more skill than usual at understanding
and conveying the interesting truth. As a result, you're in a position to
wield extra influence. People are receptive to being moved by your heart-
felt intelligence. So please do more than simply push for greater
efficiency, order, and discipline. Those things are good, but I hope you will
also be a radiant role model who exemplifies what it means to be soulful.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Golden Rock is a Buddhist holy site in Burma. It's a
small pagoda built on top of a giant boulder that in turn seems to be
precariously balanced at the edge of a down-sloping bed of rock. How
does the boulder remain stationary? Why doesn't it roll off the edge? It
appears to defy gravity. Legend says that it's held in place by a single
strand of hair from the Buddha's head. I suspect that many of you Leos
will soon have access to a tricky asset with resemblances to that magic
strand. True, it might be merely metaphorical. But if used correctly, it
could become a key element in a future foundation.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): It's Soul-Searching Season: a good time to go
in search of your soul. To aid your quest, I'll offer a few lines from "A Few
Words on the Soul," a poem by Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska. "We
have a soul at times," she says. "No one's got it non-stop, for keeps. Day
after day, year after year may pass without it. For every thousand
conversations, it participates in one, if even that, since it prefers silence.
It's picky: our hustling for a dubious advantage and creaky machinations
make it sick. Joy and sorrow aren't two different feelings for it. It attends
us only when the two are joined. We can count on it when we're sure of
nothing and curious about everything. It won't say where it comes from
or when it's taking off again, though it's clearly expecting such questions.
We need it but apparently it needs us for some reason too." (Translation
by Stanislaw Baranczak and Clare Cavanagh. Read the whole poem here:
http://tinyurl.com/SearchSoul.)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
IF YOU WANT MORE FREE WILL ASTROLOGY,
TRY THE EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES
The horoscopes you read in this newsletter may be plenty for your needs.
But if you'd like to experience more of my thoughts about your current
situation, you might want to try my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES.
They're 4 to 5 minute meditations on the state of your life and where
you're going.
Sign in or register and access them here:
http://RealAstrology.com
The weekly forecasts are also available by phone:
1-877-873-4888
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): "I do not believe in God," said Mexican painter
Diego Rivera, "but I believe in Picasso." My poet-musician friend Tanya has
a similar philosophy. "I don't believe in God, or even Goddess, for that
matter," she says. "But I do believe in Patti Smith." Do you have a God-
substitute, Libra? Or, if you do have faith in a Cosmic Wow, is there also a
more approachable, second-tier source of divinity you love? According to
my reading of the astrological omens, you would really benefit from
feeling an intimate kind of reverence right now -- a tender devotion for
something higher and brighter that awakens the sleeping part of your lust
for life.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): This would be an excellent time to stage
staring contests with yourself in the mirror. There's a high likelihood that
you will win every time. I think you'll also have great success whenever
you try to read your own mind. According to my analysis of the
astrological omens, you've got an uncanny knack for plucking buried
secrets and self-deceptions out of their hiding places. One more thing,
Scorpio: Have you ever considered how fun it might be to wash your own
brain and kick your own butt? Now would be an excellent time to
experiment with those radical acts of healing.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): "It's so hard to forget pain, but it's even
harder to remember sweetness," writes novelist Chuck Palahniuk. "We
have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace." Your
assignment in the coming days, Sagittarius, is to prove Palahniuk wrong.
As the surges of sweetness flow through you, as your secret joy ripens
into bright blooming bliss, imprint the sensations on your memory. Vow to
remember them for the rest of your life. Make these breakthrough
moments into talismans that will serve as magical spells whenever you
need rejuvenation in the future.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein had his
priorities straight. This is what he said about his profession: "In philosophy
the race is won by the one who can run slowest -- the one who crosses
the finish line last." It's my belief, Capricorn, that a similar rule should
apply to you in the coming days -- no matter what project you're working
on or goal you're trying to accomplish. Proceed slowly enough to be
absolutely thorough, meticulous, and conscientious. As you make your
way to the finish line, be as deep as you dare.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In Samuel Beckett's novel *Molloy,* the
main character talks about a long overland journey he took on foot and by
bicycle. Before the trip, he had read somewhere that when people are lost
in a forest, they often imagine they're moving in a straight line when in
fact they're going in a circle. That's why, during his own travels, he
intentionally walked in a circle, hoping thereby to go straight. Although
this might sound like a loopy strategy, Aquarius, I think it will make sense
for you to adopt in the coming week. Your apparent path may be very
different, maybe even opposite, to your actual path.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Are you in competition with someone who is
doing mediocre work? Do you find it incomprehensible that anyone would
pay attention to that weak expression instead of flocking to your
beautiful vibe? If so, here's my advice. Withdraw your attention from your
inferior opponent. Don't waste a minute feeling jealous or resentful or
incredulous. Instead, concentrate your energy on making your production
so strong and smart and irresistible that you simply overshadow and
overwhelm your rival's.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Homework: I'm guessing that many of you will soon be discovering
secrets about where you came from. Report results to
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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++