Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
February 15, 2017
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If you would like to support my work, please visit my Virtual Tip Jar at
Paypal. It's here: https://paypal.me/FreeWillAstrology
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See a pretty version of this newsletter: http://bit.ly/2lEaPeh
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What's the difference between the old edition and the Revised and
Expanded version of my book *PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR
PARANOIA*?
The revised and expanded version has over 63,500 new words and 73
new illustrations -- 55% additional material beyond what the first edition
had. Basically, there's a whole extra new book crammed into it.
There are 2 extra chapters, 18 completely new pieces, plus 14 new
Sacred Advertisements. Many of the original pieces of the book were
revised and expanded, as well. There are 73 new illustrations.
A central piece in the book, "Glory in the Highest," is nine times longer
than it was in the original.
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The newer edition of *PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA* is
available here:
Amazon: http://bit.ly/Pronoia
Powells: http://bit.ly/PronoiaPowells
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/PronoiaBN
Below is an excerpt. It's from the piece called "Subterranean Pronoia
Therapy."
1. The greatest gift you can give might be the gift that you yourself were
never given. Give that gift.
The most valuable service you have to offer your fellow humans may be
the service you have always wished were performed for you. Offer that
service.
An experience that wounded you could move you to help people who've
been similarly wounded. Heal yourself by healing others.
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2. Declare amnesty for the part of you that you don't love very well.
Forgive that poor sucker. Hold its hand and take it out to dinner and a
movie. Tactfully offer it a chance to make amends for the dumb things it
has done.
And then do a dramatic reading of this proclamation by the playwright
Theodore Rubin: "I must learn to love the fool in me -- the one who feels
too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and
loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt,
promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries. It alone protects me
against that utterly self-controlled, masterful tyrant whom I also harbor
and who would rob me of human aliveness, humility, and dignity but for
my fool."
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3. No matter how holy and good, everyone in the world has a portion of
the world's sickness inside them. It's known by many names: neurosis,
shadow, demon, devil. Many people try to deny that it inhabits them.
Others acknowledge its power so readily that they allow themselves to be
overwhelmed and distorted by it.
At the Beauty and Truth Lab, we take a position between those two
positions. We accept the fact that the evil is part of us, but treat it with
compassionate amusement and flexible vigilance. Our stance is partly that
of loving parents and partly that of warriors.
Once you make a commitment to explore the mysteries of pronoia, your
shadow will try to play tricks on you that it has never tried before. How
will you respond? We recommend an aggressive, tender, improvisational
approach. Be ready for anything. Avoid both blithe excesses of tolerance
and grave fundamentalism.
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4. Philosopher William James proposed that if our culture ever hoped to
shed the deeply ingrained habit of going to war, we'd have to create a
moral equivalent. It's not enough to preach the value of peace, he said.
We have to find other ways to channel our aggressive instincts in order to
accomplish what war does, like stimulate political unity and build civic
virtue.
Astrology provides a complementary perspective. Each of us has the
warrior energy of the planet Mars in our psychological makeup. We can't
simply repress it, but must find a positive way to express it. How might
you go about this project?
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5. In his book "The Thought of the Heart and the Soul of the World,"
psychologist James Hillman writes: "The question of evil refers primarily
to the anaesthetized heart, the heart that has no reaction to what it
faces, thereby turning the variegated sensuous face of the world into
monotony, sameness, oneness."
What would you have to do in order to triumph over this kind of evil in
yourself?
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6. "The problem, if you love it, is as beautiful as the sunset," wrote J.
Krishnamurti. "The obstacle is the path," says the Zen proverb. What
frustrating puzzle do you love the best?
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
The number of jobs supported by the wind industry has cracked the
100,000 mark. The milestone means wind power now employs more
workers than nuclear, natural gas, coal, or hydroelectric power plants. And
one out of every four of those wind workers are employed in the state of
Texas.
http://tinyurl.com/zlyq3f3
The Evolution of Gratitude
http://tinyurl.com/jgfwyu6
How to Combat America's Creativity Crisis
http://tinyurl.com/zrppobl
(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 February 16
Copyright 2017 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Here's your mantra for the next three
weeks: "I know what I want, and I know how to glide it into my life." Say
this out loud 11 times right after you wake up each morning, and 11
more times before lunch, and 11 more times at bedtime. "I know what I
want, and I know how to glide it into my life." Whenever you do this little
chant, summon an upflow of smiling confidence -- a serene certainty that
no matter how long the magic might take, it will ultimately work. "I know
what I want, and I know how to glide it into my life." Don't let any little
voice in your head undermine your link to this simple truth. Lift your heart
to the highest source of vitality you can imagine.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): "We cannot simply sit and stare at our
wounds forever," writes Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami. "We must
stand up and move on to the next action." That's your slightly scolding
but ultimately inspirational advice, Pisces. According to my astrological
analysis, you have done heroic work to identify and investigate your
suffering. You have summoned a tremendous amount of intelligence in
order to understand it and further the healing. But right now it's time to
turn your focus to other matters. Like what? How about rebirth?
ARIES (March 21-April 19): By my estimates, 72 percent of you Aries are
in unusually good moods. The world seems friendlier, more cooperative.
Fifty-six percent of you feel more in love with life than you have in a long
time. You may even imagine that the birds and trees and stars are flirting
with you. I'm also guessing that 14 percent of you are weaving in and out
of being absurdly, deliriously happy, sometimes without any apparent
explanation. As a result of your generosity of spirit, you may be the
recipient of seemingly impossible rewards like free money or toasted ice
cream or unconditional tenderness. And I bet that at least ten percent of
you are experiencing all of the above.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I am launching a campaign to undo obsolete
stereotypes about you Bulls. There are still backwards astrologers out
there who perpetrate the lie that many of you are stingy, stolid, stubborn
slowpokes. As an antidote, I plan to heighten everyone's awareness of
your sensual, soulful sweetness, and your tastefully pragmatic sensitivity,
and your diligent, dynamic productivity. That should be easy in the
coming weeks, since you'll be at the height of your ability to express
those superpowers. Luckily, people will also have an enhanced capacity to
appreciate you for who you really are. It will be a favorable time to clarify
and strengthen your reputation.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Will Giovanni surreptitiously replace
Allesandra's birth control pills with placebos? Will Camille take a hidden
crowbar to her rendezvous with the blackmailer? Will Josie steal Jose's
diary and sell it on eBay? Given the current astrological omens, you may
have an unconscious attraction to soap opera-type events like those. The
glamour of melodrama is tempting you. But I'm hoping and predicting that
you will express the cosmic currents in less toxic ways. Maybe you'll hear
a searing but healing confession after midnight in the pouring rain, for
instance. Perhaps you'll break an outworn taboo with ingenious grace, or
forge a fertile link with a reformed rascal, or recover a lost memory in a
dusty basement.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): All naturally-occurring matter on earth is
composed of 92 basic elements arranged in various combinations. Since
some of these appear in trace amounts, they took a long time for humans
to discover. In the 18th and 19th centuries, chemists were exuberant
when they tracked down seven of the 92 in a single location: an
underground mine on the Swedish island of Ytterby. That small place was
a mother lode. I'm predicting a metaphorically similar experience for you,
Cancerian: new access to a concentrated source that will yield much
illumination.
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MY OTHER HOROSCOPES
Factual information and reasonable thinking alone are not sufficient to
guide you through life's labyrinthine tests. You need and deserve regular
deliveries of uncanny revelation.
One of your inalienable rights as a human being should therefore be to
receive mysteriously useful omens on a regular basis. In this spirit, I offer
you the free weekly horoscopes you read here.
If you ever want more, and think it's worth paying for, try my EXPANDED
AUDIO HOROSCOPES. They're four-to-five-minute meditations on the
current state of your destiny and where you're headed.
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 Expanded Audio Horoscopes provide me with the Rest of the Story.
I'm not necessarily a believer in the scientific accuracy of astrology, but I
do think you've got a lot of practical wisdom to impart."
- M. Tennenbaum, New York
"No one knows more about me than me. But you're right up there near
the top of the list of people who do understand something about how I
tick. How is that possible?"
- R. Goren, Albuquerque
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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, and Part 3.
Each part is a standalone report, not dependent on the other two.
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LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The next four weeks will be an excellent time to
upgrade your understanding of the important characters in your life. In
fact, I suspect you will generate good fortune and meaningful
synchronicities whenever you seek greater insight into anyone who
affects you. Get to know people better, Leo! If there are intriguing
acquaintances who pique your curiosity, find out more about them. Study
the oddballs you're allergic to with the intention to discern their hidden
workings. In general, practice being objective as you improve your skill at
reading human nature.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In 1787, English captain Arthur Phillip led an
eight-month naval expedition to the southeastern part of the continent
now known as Australia. Upon arrival, he claimed the land for England,
despite the fact that 250,000 Aboriginal people were living there, just as
their ancestors had for 2,000 generations. Two hundred years later, an
Aboriginal activist named Burnum Burnum planted the Aboriginal flag on
the White Cliffs of Dover, claiming England for his people. I encourage you
to make a comparably artful or symbolic act like Burnum's sometime
soon, Virgo -- a ritual or gesture to assert your sovereignty or evoke a
well-deserved reversal or express your unconquerable spirit.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): The ancient Roman rhetorician Quintilian
authored a twelve-volume textbook on the art of oratory. As ample as it
was, it could have been longer. "Erasure is as important as writing," he
said. According to my reading of the astrological omens, that counsel
should be a rewarding and even exciting theme for you in the coming
weeks. For the long-term health of your labor of love or your masterpiece,
you should focus for a while on what to edit out of it. How could you
improve it by making it shorter and more concise?
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Do you know about the long-running kids'
show *Sesame Street*? Are you familiar with Big Bird, the talking eight-
feet-tall yellow canary who's one of the main characters? I hope so,
because your horoscope is built around them. In the *Sesame Street*
episode called *Don't Eat the Pictures,* Big Bird solves a riddle that frees
a 4,000-year-old Egyptian prince from an ancient curse. I think this
vignette can serve as a model for your own liberation. How? You can
finally outwit and outmaneuver a very old problem with the help of some
playful, even child-like energy. Don't assume that you've got to be
relentlessly serious and dour in order to shed the ancient burden. In fact,
just the opposite is true. Trust blithe and rowdy spirits.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Your lessons in communication are
reaching a climax. Here are five tips to help you do well on your "final
exam." 1. Focus more on listening for what you need to know rather than
on expressing what you already know. 2. Keep white lies and convenient
deceptions to a bare minimum. 3. Tell the truth as strong and free as you
dare, but always -- if possible -- with shrewd kindness. 4. You are more
likely to help your cause if you spread bright, shiny gossip instead of the
grubby kind. 5. Experiment with being unpredictable; try to infuse your
transmissions with unexpected information and turns of phrase.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The meaning of the Latin phrase *crambe
repetita* is "cabbage reheated, twice-cooked." I urge you to avoid
partaking of such a dish in the coming weeks, both literally and
figuratively. If you're truly hungry for cooked cabbage, eat it fresh.
Likewise, if you have a ravenous appetite for stories, revelations,
entertainment, and information -- which I suspect you will -- don't accept
the warmed-over, recycled variety. Insist on the brisk, crisp stuff that
excites your curiosity and appeals to your sense of wonder.
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Homework: Imagine you have time-traveled to one of your favorite places
in the year 2020. What do you see? I'm at Truthrooster@gmail.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,
including but not limited to newsletters, books, the Free Will
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Requests for anonymity will be honored. We are not responsible for
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2017 Rob Brezsny
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