Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
March 2, 2016
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See a pretty version of this newsletter: http://bit.ly/1Qc0qyn
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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.
YOU ARE ALWAYS IN LOVE
You have always been in love. You will always be in love. In fact, it is
impossible for you NOT to be in love. You'd be unable to get out of bed
each morning unless there were someone or something that roused your
heart and stirred your passionate imagination.
So please admit that you are alive because of love; that you are MADE of
love.
I invite you to write a list of the five things you love most, and devote
some time in the coming days to expressing your appreciation.
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DROP YOUR RIGID IDENTITIES
Jungian analyst Arnold Mindell believes you can achieve optimum physical
health if you're devoted to shedding outworn self-images. He says, "You
have one central lesson to learn to continuously drop all your rigid
identities. Personal history may be your greatest danger."
Kate Bornstein, author of *Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest
of Us,* agrees. Raised as a male, she later became a female, but
ultimately renounced gender altogether. "I love being without an
identity," she says. "It gives me a lot of room to play around."
What identities might be healthy for you to lose? Describe all the fun
you'd have if you were free of them.
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GETTING EVERYTHING YOU WANT
If I ever produce a self-help manual called *The Reverse Psychology of
Getting Everything You Want,* it will discuss the following paradoxes:
a. People are more willing to accommodate your longings if you're not
greedy or grasping.
b. A good way to achieve your desires is to cultivate the feeling that you
have already achieved them.
c. Whatever you're longing for has been changed by your pursuit of it. It's
different from what it was when you felt the first pangs of desire. To
make it yours, then, you'll have to modify your ideas about it.
d. Be careful what you wish for because if your wish does materialize it
will require you to change in ways you didn't foresee.
Any others you can think of?
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YOU'RE SMARTER THAN YOU KNOW
How does it make you feel when I urge you to confess profound secrets
to people who are not particularly interested? Does it make you want to:
a. cultivate a healthy erotic desire for a person you'd normally never be
attracted to in a million years;
b. stop helping your friends glamorize their pain;
c. imitate a hurricane in the act of extinguishing a forest fire;
d. visualize Buddha or Mother Teresa at the moment of orgasm;
e. steal something that's already yours.
The right answer, of course, is any answer you thought was correct.
Congratulations. You're even smarter than you knew.
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"You've probably heard the rumor that 'Life is suffering' is Buddhism's
first principle, the Buddha's first noble truth. It's a rumor with good
credentials, spread by well-respected academics and Dharma teachers
alike, but a rumor nonetheless.
"The truth about the noble truths is far more interesting. The Buddha
taught four truths — not one — about life: 1. There is suffering. 2. There
is a cause for suffering. 3. There is an end of suffering. 4. There is a path
of practice that puts an end to suffering.
"These truths, taken as a whole, are far from pessimistic. They're a
practical, problem-solving approach — the way a doctor approaches an
illness, or a mechanic a faulty engine. You identify a problem and look for
its cause. You then put an end to the problem by eliminating the cause."
- Thanissaro Bhikkhu, http://tinyurl.com/yeu7nj3
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
How Brazilian Women Are Using Graffiti to End the Cycle of Domestic
Violence. From street art to law reform, women across Brazil are taking a
stand against gender-based violence.
http://tinyurl.com/jz5w49u
Boston Reduces Veteran Homelessness by 85%, Housing 533 Vets in 18
Months.
http://tinyurl.com/h478xhw
Largest Desalination Plant in Western Hemisphere Opens in Thirsty
California.
http://tinyurl.com/j869qtk
(Note: I endorse these because I like them. They aren't advertisements,
and I get no kickbacks.)
Please tell me your own nominations for PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Truthrooster@gmail.com.
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning March 3
Copyright 2016 by Rob Brezsny
http://www.freewillastrology.com/horoscopes/
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Unless you work at night and sleep by day,
you experience the morning on a regular basis. You may have a love-hate
relationship with it, because on the one hand you don't like to leave your
comfortable bed so early, and on the other hand you enjoy anticipating
the interesting events ahead of you. But aside from your personal
associations with the morning, this time of day has always been a potent
symbol of awakenings and beginnings. Throughout history, poets have
invoked it to signify purity and promise. In myth and legend, it often
represents the chance to see things afresh, to be free of the past's
burdens, to love life unconditionally. Dream interpreters might suggest
that a dream of morning indicates a renewed capacity to trust oneself. All
of these meanings are especially apropos for you right now, Pisces.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Actress Blythe Baird writes about the problem
that arises when her dog sees her eating a peanut butter and chocolate
chip bagel. Her beloved pet begs for a piece and becomes miserable when
it's not forthcoming. Baird is merely demonstrating her love, of course,
because she knows that eating chocolate can make canines ill. I suspect
that life is bestowing a comparable blessing on you. You may feel mad
and sad about being deprived of something you want. But the likely truth
is that you will be lucky not to get it.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): "I do not literally paint that table, but rather
the emotion it produces upon me," French artist Henri Matisse told an
interviewer. "But what if you don't always have emotion?" she asked him.
This is how Matisse replied: "Then I do not paint. This morning, when I
came to work, I had no emotion. So I took a horseback ride. When I
returned, I felt like painting, and had all the emotion I wanted." This is
excellent advice for you to keep in mind, Taurus. Even more than usual,
it's crucial that you imbue every important thing you do with pure, strong
emotions. If they're not immediately available, go in quest of them.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Some night soon, I predict you'll dream of
being an enlightened sovereign who presides over an ecologically
sustainable paradise. You're a visionary leader who is committed to peace
and high culture, so you've never gone to war. You share your wealth with
the people in your kingdom. You revere scientists and shamans alike,
providing them with what they need to do their good work for the
enhancement of the realm. Have fun imagining further details of this
dream, Gemini, or else make up your own. Now is an excellent time to
visualize a fairy tale version of yourself at the height of your powers,
living your dreams and sharing your gifts.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): It's not always necessary to have an
expansive view of where you have been and where you are going, but it's
crucial right now. So I suggest that you take an inventory of the big
picture. For guidance, study this advice from philosopher Friedrich
Nietzsche: "What have you truly loved? What has uplifted your soul, what
has dominated and delighted it at the same time? Assemble these revered
objects in a row before you and they may reveal a law by their nature and
their order: the fundamental law of your very self."
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): "Your illusions are a part of you like your bones
and flesh and memory," writes William Faulkner in his novel *Absalom,
Absalom!* If that's true, Leo, you now have a chance to be a miracle
worker. In the coming weeks, you can summon the uncanny power to rip
at least two of your illusions out by the roots -- without causing any
permanent damage! You may temporarily feel a stinging sensation, but
that will be a sign that healing is underway. Congratulations in advance for
getting rid of the dead weight.
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WHY IS IT CALLED "FREE WILL" ASTROLOGY?
It's called Free Will Astrology because my goal is to create horoscopes
that nurture your free will!
And if you ever want more than the 'scopes you're reading here, keep in
mind that I also create EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES for you. They're
four-to-five-minute meditations on the current state of your destiny.
Need more help in figuring out the questions life is asking you? Crave
more support in your efforts to build your courage? Check out the
EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES.
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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"Your audio horoscopes help me love myself better, and I mean that in a
non-narcissistic way."
-Deva P., Indianapolis
"I'm really grateful for the way you pick up my telepathic requests and
answer them in your expanded audio 'scopes."
-Marion H., Birmingham, AL
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P.S. My long-range, big-picture audio horoscopes for the coming months
are still available. Register and/or log in through the main page, and then
access the horoscopes by clicking on "Long Range Prediction." (Choose
from Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.)
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VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): "There isn't enough of anything as long as we
live," wrote Raymond Carver. "But at intervals a sweetness appears and,
given a chance, prevails." According to my analysis of the astrological
omens, Virgo, you'll soon be gliding through one of these intervals. Now
and then you may even experience the strange sensation of being
completely satisfied with the quality and amount of sweetness that
arrives. To ensure optimal results, be as free from greed as you can
possibly be.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): "For a wound to heal, you have to clean it out,"
says author Yasmin Mogahed. "Again, and again, and again. And this
cleaning process stings. The cleaning of a wound hurts. Yes. Healing takes
so much work. So much persistence. And so much patience." According
to my analysis, Libra, you should be attending to this tough but glorious
task. Although the work might be hard, it won't be anywhere near as hard
as it usually is. And you are likely to make more progress than you would
be able to at other times.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): "The other day, lying in bed," writes poet
Rodger Kamenetz, "I felt my heart beating for the first time in a long
while. I realized how little I live in my body, how much in my mind." He
speaks for the majority of us. We spend much of our lives entranced by
the relentless jabber that unfolds between our ears. But I want to let you
know, Scorpio, that the moment is ripe to rebel against this tendency in
yourself. In the coming weeks, you will have a natural talent for
celebrating your body. You'll be able to commune deeply with its
sensations, to learn more abut how it works, and to exult in the pleasure
it gives you and the wisdom it provides.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In his "Dream Song 67," poet John
Berryman confesses, "I am obliged to perform in complete darkness
operations of great delicacy on my self." I hope you will consider
embarking on similar heroics, Sagittarius. It's not an especially favorable
time to overhaul your environment or try to get people to change in
accordance with your wishes. But it's a perfect moment to spruce up your
inner world -- to tinker with and refine it so that everything in there works
with more grace. And unlike Berryman, you won't have to proceed in
darkness. The light might not be bright, but there'll be enough of a glow
to see what you're doing.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Here's the dictionary's definition of the
word "indelible": "having the quality of being difficult to remove, wash
away, blot out, or efface; incapable of being canceled, lost, or forgotten."
The word is often used in reference to unpleasant matters: stains on
clothes, biases that distort the truth, superstitions held with unshakable
conviction, or painful memories of romantic break-ups. I am happy to let
you know that you now have more power than usual to dissolve seemingly
indelible stuff like that. Here's a trick that might help you: Find a new
teacher or teaching that uplifts you with indelible epiphanies.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): According to poet Tony Hoagland, most of
us rarely "manage to finish a thought or a feeling; we usually get lazy or
distracted and quit halfway through." Why? Hoagland theorizes that we
"don't have the time to complete the process, and we dislike the
difficulty and discomfort of the task." There's a cost for this negligence:
"We walk around full of half-finished experiences." That's why Hoagland
became a poet. He says that "poems model the possibility of feeling all
the way through an emotional process" and "thinking all the way through
a thought." The coming weeks will be a favorable time to get more in the
habit of finishing your own feelings and thoughts, Aquarius. It will also be
more important than usual that you do so! (Hoagland's comments
appeared in *Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts.*)
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Homework: Imagine gazing into the eyes of the person you were ten years
ago. What do you want to say to the Old You? Freewillastrology.com
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Submissions sent to Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
or in response to "homework assignments" may be
published in a variety of formats at Rob Brezsny's discretion,
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2016 Rob Brezsny
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