Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
July 22, 2015
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See a pretty version of this newsletter: http://bit.ly/1DptXuY
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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
Below are excerpts.
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Attention, please. This is your ancestors speaking. We've been trying to
reach you through your dreams and fantasies, but you haven't responded.
That's why we've commandeered this space. So listen up. We'll make it
brief. You're at a crossroads analogous to a dilemma that has baffled your
biological line for six generations. We ask you now to master the turning
point that none of us have ever figured out how to negotiate. Heal
yourself and you heal all of us. We mean that literally. Start brainstorming,
please.
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How can we outwit and escape the numbing trance that everyday routine
seems to foster? What can we do to stay alert to the subtle miracles and
intriguing mysteries and numinous beauty that surround us on all sides?
Some possibilities:
1. Make it a daily practice to refresh the ways we perceive the world.
2. Scan regularly for opportunities to play and for creatures that like to
play.
3. Assume that the entire world is a constantly changing source of
oracular revelation that has meaning for us.
4. Experiment with what happens when we use empathy and intuition to
imagine how animals and other people experience life.
5. Don't take things too seriously or too personally or too literally.
6. Expose ourselves regularly to provocative myths and intriguing
symbols. Seek out stories that bend and twist our beliefs. Be open to
exploring events and phenomena that elude rational explanation.
7. Regularly give our unconscious minds the message that we want to feel
deeply.
8. Cultivate a willingness, eagerness, and receptivity to being surprised.
9. Others?
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I invite you to experiment with the theme "Healthy Obsessions." Not
"Melodramatic Compulsions" or "Exhausting Crazes" or "Manias That Make
You Seem Interesting to Casual Bystanders," but "Healthy Obsessions."
To do it well, you will have to take really good care of yourself as you
concentrate extravagantly on tasks that fill you with zeal. This may
require you to rebel against the influences of role models, both in your
actual life and in the movies you've seen, who act as if getting sick and
imbalanced is an integral part of being true to one's genius.
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Alice finds her way to Wonderland by falling down a rabbit hole. Dorothy
rides to Oz on a tornado. In C. S. Lewis's "The Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe," Lucy stumbles into the magical land of Narnia via a portal in
the back of a large clothes cabinet.
In the sequels to all these adventures, however, the heroines must find
different ways to access their exotic dreamlands. Alice slips through a
mirror next time. Dorothy uses a Magic Belt. Lucy leaps into a painting of
a schooner that becomes real.
Moral of the story: The next time you seek passage into a magic interlude
or alternate reality, the doorway may be unlike anything you've
experienced before.
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"Creativity is conceived as a reproductive act with a tangible result -- a
child, a book, a monument -- that has a physical life going beyond the life
of its producer. Creativity, however, can be intangible in the form of a
good life, or a beautiful act, or in other virtues of the soul such as
freedom and openness, style and tact, humor, kindness."
- James Hillman
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Reading the news makes us feel like the world is falling apart: that we're
on the verge of a total collapse. But in fact, we're living through what is,
by objective metrics, the best time in human history. People have never
lived longer, better, safer, or richer lives than they do now. Read more:
http://tinyurl.com/o58aqcc
Here's a summary of the findings:
1. We're living longer than ever
2. Global GDP has surged.
3. Extreme poverty is in free fall.
4. Death from war are at historical lows.
5. Deaths from HIV/AISA are declining.
6. Many other diseases are declining.
7. The spread of democracy has made the world safer and freer.
8. More people than ever before have enough to eat.
9. Fewer mothers are dying in childbirth.
10. MThe child mortality rate is collapsing.
11. More kids than ever are going to school.
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More good news:
About That Overpopulation Problem: Research suggests we may actually
face a declining world population in the coming years.
http://tinyurl.com/a7c5gq7
Overcrowding? Nah — the World's Population May Actually Be Declining.
The world's population isn't growing nearly as fast as it once did. In fact,
experts say the number of humans could fall within our lifetimes.
http://tinyurl.com/b32u4hg
The Rapid Slowdown of Population Growth
http://tinyurl.com/o5rv9ej
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In calling attention here to some of the surprisingly good news about the
world, I of course don't mean to imply that paradise is at hand. My
recognition of the underreported progress and miracles is not equivalent
to an endorsement of evil-doers. And I trust that after reading these
words you won't go numb to the suffering of others and stop agitating on
their behalf.
Just the opposite: I hope that you will be energized by the signs of
creeping benevolence and waxing intelligence. As you absorb the evidence
that an aggressive strain of compassion is loose in the world, maybe you
will conclude that activism actually works, and you'll be motivated to give
yourself with confidence to the specific role you can play in manifesting
the ultimate goal: to create a heaven on earth in which everyone alive is a
healthy, free, self-actualized, spiritually enlightened millionaire dedicated
to living sustainably.
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(Note: I endorse these pronoiac resources 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 July 23
Copyright 2015 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): A researcher at the University of Amsterdam
developed software to read the emotions on faces. He used it to analyze
the expression of the woman in Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting, the
*Mona Lisa.* The results suggest that she is 83 percent happy, 9 percent
disgusted, 6 percent fearful, and 2 percent angry. Whether or not this
assessment is accurate, I appreciate its implication that we humans are
rarely filled with a single pure emotion. We often feel a variety of states
simultaneously. In this spirit, I have calculated your probably mix for the
coming days: 16 percent relieved, 18 percent innocent, 12 percent
confused, 22 percent liberated, 23 percent ambitious, and 9 percent
impatient.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): "What makes you heroic?" asked philosopher
Friedrich Nietzsche. Here's how he answered himself: "simultaneously
going out to meet your highest suffering and your highest hope." This is
an excellent way to sum up the test that would inspire you most in the
coming weeks, Virgo. Are you up for the challenge? If so, grapple with
your deepest pain. Make a fierce effort to both heal it and be motivated
by it. At the same time, identify your brightest hope and take a decisive
step toward fulfilling it.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Actress and musician Carrie Brownstein was
born with five planets in Libra. Those who aren't conversant with
astrology's mysteries may conclude that she is a connoisseur of elegance
and harmony. Even professional stargazers who know how tricky it is to
make generalizations might speculate that she is skilled at cultivating
balance, attuned to the needs of others, excited by beauty, and adaptive
to life's ceaseless change. So what are we to make of the fact that
Brownstein has said, "I really don't know what to do when my life is not
chaotic"? Here's what I suspect: In her ongoing exertions to thrive on
chaos, she is learning how to be a connoisseur of elegance and harmony
as she masters the intricacies of being balanced, sensitive to others,
thrilled by beauty, and adaptive to change. This is important for you to
hear about right now.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You're entering a volatile phase of your
cycle. In the coming weeks, you could become a beguiling monster who
leaves a confusing mess in your wake. On the other hand, you could
activate the full potential of your animal intelligence as you make
everything you touch more interesting and soulful. I am, of course,
rooting for the latter outcome. Here's a secret about how to ensure it: Be
as ambitious to gain power over your own darkness as you are to gain
power over what happens on your turf.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I'm a big fan of the attitude summed up
by the command "Be here now!" The world would be more like a
sanctuary and less like a battleground if people focused more on the
present moment rather than on memories of the past and fantasies of the
future. But in accordance with the astrological omens, you are hereby
granted a temporary exemption from the "Be here how!" approach. You
have a poetic license to dream and scheme profusely about what you
want your life to be like in the future. Your word of power is *tomorrow.*
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): A philanthropist offered $100,000 to the
Girls Scouts chapter of Western Washington. But there were strings
attached. The donor specified that the money couldn't be used to
support transgender girls. The Girl Scouts rejected the gift, declaring their
intention to empower every girl "regardless of her gender identity,
socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation." Do you have
that much spunk, Capricorn? Would you turn down aid that would infringe
on your integrity? You may be tested soon. Here's what I suspect: If you
are faithful to your deepest values, even if that has a cost, you will
ultimately attract an equal blessing that doesn't require you to sell out.
(P.S. The Girls Scouts subsequently launched an Indiegogo campaign that
raised more than $300,000.)
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LOVE YOUR LIFE! How's your fight for freedom going? Are you making
progress in liberating yourself from your unconscious obsessions, bad
habits, and conditioned responses? Are you turning out to be the hero of
your own life?
For assistance and inspiration, tune in to my EXPANDED AUDIO
HOROSCOPES.
These forecasts are different in tone and format from the written
horoscopes you read here in the newsletter. They're longer and more
leisurely in tone. They tend to bring out more of the patient counselor in
me, and have a bit 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.
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"Your Expanded Audio Horoscopes seem to have the effect of activating
my inner teacher. Thanks!" - Eleanor A., Toronto
"Your expanded audio horoscopes are the next best thing to actually
having you here next to me to remind me who I really am." - Alyssa R.,
Des Moines, Iowa
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AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Consider the possibility of opening your
mind, at least briefly, to provocative influences you have closed yourself
off from. You may need to refamiliarize yourself with potential resources
you have been resisting or ignoring, even if they are problematic. I'm not
saying you should blithely welcome them in. There still may be good
reasons to keep your distance. But I think it would be wise and healthy for
you to update your relationship with them.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Over 10,000 species of mushrooms grow in
North America. About 125 of those, or 1.25 percent, are tasty and safe
to eat. All the others are unappetizing or poisonous, or else their edibility
is in question. By my reckoning, a similar statistical breakdown should
apply to the influences that are floating your way. I advise you to focus
intently on those very few that you know for a fact are pleasurable and
vitalizing. Make yourself unavailable for the rest.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The Latin motto "Carpe diem" shouldn't be
translated as "Seize the day!", says author Nicholson Baker. It's not a
battle cry exhorting you to "freaking grab the day in your fist like a
burger at a fairground and take a big chomping bite out of it." The proper
translation, according to Baker, is "Pluck the day." In other words, "you
should gently pull on the day's stem, as if it were a wildflower, holding it
with all the practiced care of your thumb and the side of your finger,
which knows how to not crush easily crushed things -- so that the day's
stem undergoes increasing tension and draws to a tightness, and then
snaps softly away at its weakest point, and the flower is released in your
hand." Keep that in mind, Aries. I understand you are often tempted to
seize rather than pluck, but these days plucking is the preferable
approach.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): When I talk about "The Greatest Story Never
Told," I'm not referring to the documentary film about singer Lana Del
Rey or the debut album of the rap artist Saigon or any other cultural
artifact. I am, instead, referring to a part of your past that you have never
owned and understood . . . a phase from the old days that you have
partially suppressed . . . an intense set of memories you have not fully
integrated. I say it's time for you to deal with this shadow. You're finally
ready to acknowledge it and treasure it as a crucial thread in the drama of
your hero's journey.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The ancient Greek philosopher Thales is
credited as being one of the earliest mathematicians and scientists. He
was a deep thinker whose thirst for knowledge was hard to quench. Funny
story: Once he went out at night for a walk. Gazing intently up at the sky,
he contemplated the mysteries of the stars. Oops! He didn't watch where
he was going, and fell down into a well. He was OK, but embarrassed.
Let's make him your anti-role model, Gemini. I would love to encourage
you to unleash your lust to be informed, educated, and inspired -- but
only if you watch where you're going.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Charles Darwin is best known for his book
*The Origin of Species,* which contains his seminal ideas about
evolutionary biology. But while he was still alive, his best-seller was *The
Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms.* The
painstaking result of over forty years' worth of research, it is a tribute to
the noble earthworm and that creature's crucial role in the health of soil
and plants. It provides a different angle on one of Darwin's central
concerns: how small, incremental transformations that take place over
extended periods of time can have monumental effects. This also happens
to be one of your key themes in the coming months.
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Homework: Write a fairy tale or parable that captures what your life has
been like so far in 2015. Share with me at FreeWillAstrology.com.
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2015 Rob Brezsny
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