Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
June 3, 2015
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See a pretty version of this newsletter: http://bit.ly/1Jm2H66
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My book *PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA*
is available at Amazon: http://bit.ly/Pronoia
or Powells: http://bit.ly/PronoiaPowells
The e-book is available at http://bit.ly/eePronoia
Below are excerpts.
Here are three of our deepest spiritual aspirations, which we invite you to
steal for your own use:
1. to develop the capacity to thrive in the midst of raging contradictions;
2. to be discerning as we protect ourselves from people's flaws while at
the same time being generous as we celebrate their beauty;
3. to refrain from dividing the world into two groups, those who help and
agree with us and those who don't
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"I've been practicing radical authenticity lately," my friend Brandon told
me. "I'm revealing the blunt truth about unmentionable subjects to
everyone I know. It's been pretty hellish -- no one likes having the social
masks stripped away -- but it's been ultimately rewarding."
"I admire your boldness in naming the currents flowing beneath the
surface," I replied, "but I'm curious as to why you imply they're all
negative. To practice radical authenticity, shouldn't you also express the
raw truth about what's right, good, and beautiful? Shouldn't you unleash
the praise and gratitude that normally go unspoken?"
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"True life is lived when tiny changes occur," said Leo Tolstoy. I agree. It's
rare for us to undergo rapid, dramatic transformations in short periods of
time. That's why it's delusional to be forever pining for some big magic
intervention that will fix everything. The best way to alter our course is
slowly and gradually, by conscientiously revamping our responses to the
small daily details.
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"The lesson that life constantly enforces is 'Look underfoot.' You are
always nearer to the true sources of your power than you think. The lure
of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity is
where you are. Don't despise your own place and hour. Every place is the
center of the world."
- naturalist John Burroughs
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There is only One Being: the Living Intelligent Consciousness That
Pervades Every Cubic Inch of the Universe. Every seemingly separate
thing, from earthworm to human being to star, is a cell in the body of this
One and Only Great One.
All of us cells feel pain as long as we have forgotten we are part of the
One. But the forgetting was an essential rule that the One set up to begin
the master game. Because of our illusion that each of us is alone and
separate, we are under the impression that we must become distinctive
and unique. As we work to create ourselves, adding intricate
modifications to what we started out as, we give joy to The One,
expanding and deepening the meaning of the master game.
At the point when the sense of isolation is greatest in each cell -- which is
also the point when each cell experiences its uniqueness with maximum
acuity -- the pain of separation triggers the longing to remember where
we came from. Gradually, each of us figures out how to return home and
reunite consciously with the One. But something fundamental in us has
changed since we first fell under the spell of separateness. We have
added the beauty of our individuality, our gift to The One.
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Are you in quest of an Intimate Ally? A Soul Friend? A Wild Confidante?
Check out Matchmaker.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.
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
New Zealand legally recognizes animals as sentient beings.
http://tinyurl.com/lgll8up
These three colleges stopped investing in fossil fuels. One year later, their
endowments are doing just fine. Colleges argue that divestment is not
financially responsible, but those who've already done it say the risk is
minimal.
http://tinyurl.com/k8gajy4
France decrees new rooftops must be covered in plants or solar panels
http://tinyurl.com/okhljkt
(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 June 4
Copyright 2015 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Nobel Prize-winning physicists Wolfgang Pauli
and Niels Bohr were both amused at how counterintuitive their innovative
theories seemed. Once Pauli was lecturing a group of eminent scientists
about a radical new hypothesis. Bohr got out of his seat in the audience
and walked up to the front to interrupt his colleague. "We all agree that
your theory is crazy," Bohr told Pauli. "The question that divides us is
whether it is crazy enough to have a chance of being correct. My own
feeling is that it is not crazy enough." Pauli defended himself. "It *is*
crazy enough!" he said. But Bohr was insistent. "It's *not* crazy enough!"
he argued. I'm going to pose a comparable query to you, Gemini. Are your
new ideas and possibilities crazy enough to be true? Make sure they are.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): You've wandered into an awkward phase of
your cycle. Missed connections have aroused confusion. Disjointed events
have led to weirdness. I've got a suggestion for how you might be able to
restore clarity and confidence: Make a foray into a borderland and risk
imaginative acts of heroism. Does that sound too cryptic or spooky? How
about if I say it like this: Go on an unpredictable quest that will free your
trapped vitality, or try a mysterious experiment that will awaken your
sleeping magic. P.S. For best results, ask for help every step of the way.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): *Gesamtkunstwerk* is a German word that can be
translated as "total art work" or "all-embracing art form." It refers to a
creative masterpiece that makes use of several genres. The 19th-century
composer Richard Wagner had this in mind when he produced his opera
cycle *The Ring of the Nibelung,* which included orchestral music, singing,
theater, and literature. I'm invoking the spirit of *Gesamtkunstwerk* for
your use, Leo. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to synthesize
and coordinate all the things you do best, and express them with a
flourish.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): *Defender* was a popular video game that
young people played in video arcades during the 1980s. Fifteen-year-old
Steve Juraszek was profiled in *Time* magazine after he racked up a
record-breaking 16 million points while playing the game for 16 hours
straight. But when his high school principal found out that Juraszek had
skipped classes to be at the arcade, he was suspended. I'm wondering if
there may soon be a similar development in your own life, Virgo. Will you
have to pay a small price for your success? You should at least be
prepared to risk an acceptable loss in order to accomplish an important
goal.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): People I meet are sometimes taken aback by
the probing questions I ask them. Recently an acquaintance said to me,
"Why don't you feel driven to talk about yourself all the time, like
everyone else?" I told him the truth: "Being curious is just the way I was
made. Maybe it's because of my Mercury in Gemini, or my seventh-house
sun, or my three planets in Libra." I suspect that you are due to go
through a phase similar to the mode I'm so familiar with. If it doesn't
happen naturally, I suggest you coax it out. You need to be extra
inquisitive. You'll benefit from digging as deeply as you dare. The more
information you uncover, the better your decisions will be.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): I love to watch an evolved Scorpio get his or
her needs met by helping other people get their needs met. It's thrilling to
behold the paradoxical Scorpio assets in action: the combination of
manipulativeness and generosity; the animal magnetism working in service
to the greater good; the resourceful willpower that carries out hidden
agendas and complex strategies designed to make the world a better
place. I expect to see a lot of this idiosyncratic wisdom from you in the
coming weeks.
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LISTEN TO AN EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE
Since I put all my heart and soul into the written horoscopes I send out in
this newsletter, they're pretty nutritious. You may never need any of the
other stuff I create.
But if you ever do crave an added boost, you may want to sample my
Expanded Audio Horoscopes. They're different in tone and intent than the
written scopes, imbued with a little more of the psychologist in me, and a
little less of the poet.
To listen to your Expanded Audio Horoscope online, go to
http://RealAstrology.com.
Register and/or log in through the main page.
You can also listen over the phone by calling 1-877-873-4888.
The cost is $6 per sign on the Web (discounts available for bulk
purchases), or $1.99 per minute by phone. Each forecast is 4-5 minutes
long.
The Expanded Audio Horoscopes work on most smart phones and tablets.
"I don't much believe in astrology. But that doesn't seem to get in the
way of me deriving a whole lot of benefits from your expanded audio
horoscopes."
- A. Arrosto, Indianapolis
"You have an amazing aptitude for cutting through the lies I tell myself.
Thanks for the gentle shocks."
- T. Preneris, Toronto
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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): "Would that life were like the shadow
cast by a wall or a tree," says the Talmud. "But it is like the shadow of a
bird in flight." That's a lyrical sentiment, but I don't agree with it. I've
come to prefer the shimmering dance over the static stance. The ever-
shifting play of light and dark is more interesting to me than the illusion of
stability. I feel more at home in the unpredictable flow than in the
stagnant trance of certainty. What about you, Sagittarius? I suggest that
in the immediate future you cultivate an appreciation for the joys and
challenges of the shimmering dance.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The core of your horoscope comes from
the poem "A Color of the Sky" by Tony Hoagland. Imagine that you are
the "I" who is saying the following: "What I thought was an end turned
out to be a middle. What I thought was a brick wall turned out to be a
tunnel. What I thought was an injustice turned out to be a color of the
sky." Please understand, Capricorn, that speaking these words might not
make total sense to you yet. You may have to take them on faith until
you gather further evidence. But I urge you to speak them anyway. Doing
so will help generate the transformations you need in order to make them
come true.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Lessons in luck are coming your way. Will
they help you attract more luck? Maybe. Will they show you how to make
better use of your luck? Maybe. A lot depends on your ability to
understand and love the paradox of luck. I've assembled a few enigmatic
teachings to prepare you. 1. "Luck is believing you're lucky." - Tennessee
Williams. 2. "It is a great piece of skill to know how to guide your luck
even while waiting for it." - Baltasar Gracián. 3. "Sometimes not getting
what you want is a brilliant stroke of luck." - Lorii Myers. 4. "The harder I
work, the luckier I get." - Samuel Goldwyn. 5. "You've got to try your luck
at least once a day, because you could be going around lucky all day and
not even know it." - Jimmy Dean. 6. "Go and wake up your luck." - Persian
proverb.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): The word "boudoir" means a woman's
bedroom. But hundreds of years ago, it had a more specific definition. It
was a room where a well-bred girl was sent when she was pouting.
"Boudoir" is derived from the French verb *bouder,* which means "to
sulk." If it were in my power, Pisces, I would send you to the sulking room
right now. In fact, I would encourage you to sulk. In my opinion, a good
long sulk would be just the right prescription for you. It would trigger
brainstorms about how to change the soggy, foggy conditions that
warranted your sulking in the first place.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The Persian scholar Avicenna was so well-
rounded in his knowledge that he wrote two different encyclopedias. Even
as a teenager he was obsessed with learning all he could. He got
especially consumed with trying to master Aristotle's *Metaphysics,*
which did not easily yield its secrets to him. He read it 40 times,
memorizing every word. When he finally understood it, he was so excited
he celebrated by giving out money and gifts to destitute strangers. I
suspect you will soon be having an equivalent breakthrough, Aries. At last
you will grasp a truth that has eluded you for a long time. Congratulations
in advance!
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): When it's rush hour in Tokyo, unwieldy
crowds of commuters board the trains and subways. They often need
help at squeezing in. Railway workers known as *oshiya,* or pushers,
provide the necessary force. Wearing crisp uniforms, white gloves, and
neat hats, they cram the last stragglers into each car. I foresee the
possibility of you being called on to perform a metaphorical version of the
service these pushers provide. Is there a polite and respectful way for you
to be indelicate in a worthy cause? Could you bring light-hearted tact to
bear as you seek an outcome that encourages everyone to compromise?
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Homework: I dare you to bestow a blessing on a person you've considered
to be beneath you. Testify at FreeWillAstrology.com
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2015 Rob Brezsny
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