Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
December 2, 2015
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See a pretty version of this newsletter: http://bit.ly/1PX8DHn
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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.
The phrase "new roses" can serve as an antidote to neurosis -- as a kind
of magical spell. You might invoke it when you're in danger of getting
undermined by either your own neurosis or someone else's.
If you notice, for instance, that your subconscious mind is spiraling down
into a sour fantasy stirred up by one of your habitual fears, you could
mutter a cheerful round of "new roses, new roses, new roses."
If your allies slip into the same compulsive behavior that they tend to get
stuck in whenever stress overflows, you could chant "new roses, new
roses, new roses" in a tuneful, affectionate tone.
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You don't have to tone down or apologize for your prowess, because you
love it when other people shine. You exult in your own excellence without
regarding it as a sign of inherent superiority. As you ripen more and more
of your latent aptitude, you inspire the rest of us to claim our own
idiosyncratic magnificence.
You're a star -- and so am I. My success encourages your brilliance, and
vice versa. Your charisma enhances my power -- and vice versa.
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Life is a vast and intricate conspiracy designed to keep us well-supplied
with blessings. What kind of blessings? Ten million dollars, a gorgeous
physique, a perfect marriage, a luxurious home, and high status? Maybe.
But just as likely: interesting surprises, dizzying adventures, gifts you
hardly know what to do with, and conundrums that dare you to get
smarter. Novelist William Vollman referred to the latter types of blessings
when he said that "the most important and enjoyable thing in life is doing
something that's a complicated, tricky problem for you that you don't
know how to solve."
The Christian writer C. S. Lewis said: "I thank God that He hasn't given me
all the things I've prayed for, because as I look back now I realize it would
have been disastrous to have received some of them."
Pronoia provides the boons and prods your soul needs, not necessarily
those your ego craves.
Pronoia doesn't promise uninterrupted progress forever. It's not a slick
commercial for a perfect summer day that never ends. Grace emerges in
the ebb and flow, not just the flow. The waning reveals a different kind of
blessing than the waxing.
But whether it's our time to ferment in the valley of shadows or rise up
singing in the sun-splashed meadow, fresh power to transform ourselves
is always on the way. Our suffering won't last, nor will our triumph.
Without fail, life will deliver the creative energy we need to change into
the new thing we must become.
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"If you're really listening, if you're awake to the poignant beauty of the
world, your heart breaks regularly. In fact, your heart is made to break; its
purpose is to burst open again and again so that it can hold ever-more
wonders."
-Andrew Harvey, *The Return of the Mother*
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"To feel the love of people whom we love is a fire that feeds our life. But
to feel the affection that comes from those we do not know, from those
unknown to us, who are watching over our sleep and solitude, over our
dangers and our weakness -- that is something still greater and more
beautiful because it widens the boundaries of our being, and unites all
living things."
-Pablo Neruda, *The Book of Virtues*
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"No work is more worthwhile than to be a sign of divine joy and a fountain
of divine love."
-Andrew Harvey
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"We live in a world of theophanies. Holiness comes wrapped in the
ordinary. There are burning bushes all around you. Every tree is full of
angels. Hidden beauty is waiting in every crumb. Life wants to lead you
from crumbs to angels, but this can happen only if you are willing to
unwrap the ordinary by staying with it long enough to harvest its
treasure."
-Macrina Wiederkehr
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"Start doing the things you think should be done, and start being what
you think society should become. Do you believe in free speech? Then
speak freely. Do you love the truth? Then tell it. Do you believe in an
open society? Then act in the open. Do you believe in a decent and
humane society? Then behave decently and humanely."
- Adam Michnik
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"Give us this day our daily hunger," prayed French philosopher Gaston
Bachelard. "Give us this day our holy longings," prayed me.
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This is what my Goddess friend Durga told me, and I believe her:
"1. I vow to Siamese-twin together my bad-ass, no-hype, wide-eyed self
with my tricky, strategic, puzzle-loving self.
"2. I vow to rage on like a dancing warrior in the urban wilderness, keeping
peak experiences and total slaphappy victory at the top of my priority
list, while at the same time I play hide-and-seek with the dark delicious
secrets that fuel my soul's lust for wicked meaning.
"3. I vow to deepen the collaborative efforts of my suck-out-the-marrow-
and-spit-out-the-bones craziness and my listen-carefully-to-the-flow-of-
the-underground-river caginess."
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Rojava is a Kurdish region in Northern Syria that's ruled by feminists .
Rojava's constitution enshrines gender equality and religious freedom.
Recruits to Rojava's 6,000-strong police force receive their weapons only
after two weeks of feminist instruction.
http://tinyurl.com/jx8c96f
Wind-power company to replace bird-killing Altamont turbines
http://tinyurl.com/oa5kq22
California bans antibiotics in meat.
http://tinyurl.com/jf48h6w
(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 December 3
Copyright 2015 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): "Like all explorers, we are drawn to
discover what's out there without knowing yet if we have the courage to
face it." Buddhist teacher Pema Chödrön said that, and now I'm telling
you. According to my divinations, a new frontier is calling to you. An
unprecedented question has awakened. The urge to leave your familiar
circle is increasingly tempting. I don't know if you should you surrender to
this brewing fascination. I don't know if you will be able to gather the
resources you would require to carry out your quest. What do you think?
Will you be able to summon the necessary audacity? Maybe the better
inquiry is this: Do you vow to use all your soulful ingenuity to summon the
necessary audacity?
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): "Once I witnessed a windstorm so severe
that two 100-year-old trees were uprooted on the spot," Mary Ruefle
wrote in her book *Madness, Rack, and Honey.* "The next day, walking
among the wreckage, I found the friable nests of birds, completely intact
and unharmed on the ground." I think that's a paradox you'd be wise to
keep in mind, Capricorn. In the coming weeks, what's most delicate and
vulnerable about you will have more staying power than what's massive
and fixed. Trust your grace and tenderness more than your fierceness and
forcefulness. They will make you as smart as you need to be.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Aztec king Montezuma II quenched his daily
thirst with one specific beverage. He rarely drank anything else. It was
ground cocoa beans mixed with chili peppers, water, vanilla, and annatto.
Spiced chocolate? You could call it that. The frothy brew was often
served to him in golden goblets, each of which he used once and then
hurled from his royal balcony into the lake below. He regarded this elixir as
an aphrodisiac, and liked to quaff a few flagons before heading off to his
harem. I bring this up, Aquarius, because the coming weeks will be one of
those exceptional times when you have a poetic license to be almost
Montezuma-like. What's your personal equivalent of his primal chocolate,
golden goblets, and harem?
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): "Unfortunately, I'm pretty lucky," my friend
Rico said to me recently. He meant that his relentless good fortune
constantly threatens to undermine his ambition. How can he be motivated
to try harder and grow smarter and get stronger if life is always
showering him with blessings? He almost wishes he could suffer more so
that he would have more angst to push against. I hope you won't fall
under the spell of that twisted logic in the coming weeks, Pisces. This is a
phase of your cycle when you're likely to be the beneficiary of an extra-
strong flow of help and serendipity. Please say this affirmation as often as
necessary: "Fortunately, I'm pretty lucky."
ARIES (March 21-April 19): "Charm is a way of getting the answer 'yes'
without having asked any clear question," wrote French author Albert
Camus. I have rarely seen you better poised than you are now to embody
and capitalize on this definition of "charm," Aries. That's good news,
right? Well, mostly. But there are two caveats. First, wield your mojo as
responsibly as you can. Infuse your bewitching allure with integrity.
Second, be precise about what it is you want to achieve -- even if you
don't come right out and tell everyone what it is. Resist the temptation to
throw your charm around haphazardly.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I suspect that in the coming days you will
have an uncanny power to make at least one of your resurrection
fantasies come true. Here are some of the possibilities. 1. If you're brave
enough to change your mind and shed some pride, you could retrieve an
expired dream from limbo. 2. By stirring up a bit more chutzpah that you
usually have at your disposal, you might be able to revive and even
restore a forsaken promise. 3. Through an act of grace, it's possible you
will reanimate an ideal that was damaged or abandoned.
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YOU NEED MAGIC EVERY DAY
Every day, you have to wade through a relentless surge of soul-less facts.
The experience tends to shut down your sense of wonder.
Every day, you're over-exposed to cynical narratives that have been
sucked free of delight and mystery. That's why you have to make such
strenuous efforts to keep your world enchanted.
I like to think I can contribute to the sacred cause of feeding your sense
of wonder and enchantment. In fact, that's one of my prime motivations
for offering you the free weekly horoscopes you read in this newsletter.
If you ever want more of that good stuff, and think it's worth paying for,
please consider trying out my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES. They're
four-to-five-minute meditations on the current state of your destiny.
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.
The Expanded Audio Horoscopes work on most smart phones and tablets.
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"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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GEMINI (May 21-June 20): To the other eleven signs of the zodiac, the
Way of the Gemini sometimes seems rife with paradox and contradiction.
Many non-Geminis would feel paralyzed if they had to live in the midst of
so much hubbub. But when you are at your best, you thrive in the web of
riddles. In fact, your willingness to abide there is often what generates
your special magic. Your breakthroughs are made possible by your high
tolerance for uncertainty. How many times have I seen a Gemini who has
been lost in indecision but then suddenly erupts with a burst of crackling
insights? This is the kind of subtle miracle I expect to happen soon.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): In September of 1715, a band of Jacobite
rebels gathered for a guerrilla attack on Edinburgh Castle in Scotland.
Their plan was to scale the walls with rope ladders, aided by a double
agent who was disguised as a castle sentry. But the scheme failed before
it began. The rope ladders turned out to be too short to serve their
intended purpose. The rebels retreated in disarray. Please make sure
you're not like them in the coming weeks, Cancerian. If you want to
engage in a strenuous action, an innovative experiment, or a bold stroke,
be meticulous in your preparations. Don't scrimp on your props,
accouterments, and resources.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): If you give children the option of choosing
between food that's mushy and food that's crunchy, a majority will
choose the crunchy stuff. It's more exciting to their mouths, a more lively
texture for their teeth and tongues to play with. This has nothing to do
with nutritional value, of course. Soggy oatmeal may foster a kid's well-
being better than crispy potato chips. Let's apply this lesson to the way
you feed your inner child in the coming weeks. Metaphorically speaking, I
suggest you serve that precious part of you the kind of sustenance that's
both crunchy and healthy. In other words, make sure that what's
wholesome is also fun, and vice versa.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Your mascot is a famous white oak in Athens,
Georgia. It's called the Tree That Owns Itself. According to legend, it
belongs to no person or institution, but only to itself. The earth in which
it's planted and the land around it are also its sole possession. With this
icon as your inspiration, I invite you to enhance and celebrate your
sovereignty during the next seven months. What actions will enable you
to own yourself more thoroughly? How can you boost your autonomy and
become, more than ever before, the boss of you? It's prime time to
expedite this effort.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Police in Los Angeles conducted an experiment
on a ten-mile span of freeway. Drivers in three unmarked cars raced along
as fast as they could while remaining in the same lane. The driver of the
fourth car not only moved at top speed, but also changed lanes and
jockeyed for position. Can you guess the results? The car that weaved in
and out of the traffic flow arrived just slightly ahead of the other three.
Apply this lesson to your activities in the coming week, please. There will
be virtually no advantage to indulging in frenetic, erratic, breakneck
exertion. Be steady and smooth and straightforward.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You will generate lucky anomalies and helpful
flukes if you use shortcuts, flee from boredom, and work smarter rather
than harder. On the other hand, you'll drum up wearisome weirdness and
fruitless flukes if you meander all over the place, lose yourself in far-off
fantasies, and act as if you have all the time in the world. Be brisk and
concise, Scorpio. Avoid loafing and vacillating. Associate with bubbly
activators who make you laugh and loosen your iron grip. It's a favorable
time to polish off a lot of practical details with a light touch.
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Homework: What's the most selfish, narcissistic thing about you? Do you
think that maybe you should transform it? Testify at
FreeWillAstrology.com.
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Submissions sent to the Free Will Astrology Weekly Newsletter
or in response to "homework assignments" may be
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2015 Rob Brezsny
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