Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
August 9, 2017
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If you would like to support my ongoing work, please visit my Virtual Tip
Jar at Paypal. It's here: https://paypal.me/FreeWillAstrology
You can also contribute to my work by buying the Expanded Audio
Horoscopes I create every week. These forecasts are different in tone and
content from the written horoscopes I provide here. They're my four- to
five-minute-long ruminations about the current chapter of your life story.
They're available at http://RealAstrology.com.
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See a pretty version of this newsletter: http://bit.ly/2fiqFJS
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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.
Let me remind you who you really are: You're an immortal freedom fighter
who longs to liberate all sentient creatures from their suffering. You're a
fun-loving messiah who devoutly wants to help all of your fellow messiahs
claim the ecstatic awareness that is their birthright.
Try to remember. You're a vortex of fluidic light that has temporarily
taken on the form of a human being, suffering amnesia about your true
origins. And why did you do that? Because it was the best way to forge
the identity that would make you such an elemental force in our 14-
billion-year campaign to bring heaven all the way down to earth.
I'm not speaking metaphorically here. You are a mutant deity in disguise --
not a Buddha or a Christ exactly, but of the same lineage and conjured
from the same fire. You have been around since the beginning of time and
will be here after the end. Every day and in every way, you're getting
better at playing the preposterously amusing master game we all dreamed
up together before the Big Bang bloomed.
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Lately, I must admit, our work has seemed almost comically impossible.
Many of us have given in to the temptation to believe that everything is
upside-down and inside-out. Ignorance and inertia, partially camouflaged
as time-honored morality, seem to surround us. Pessimism is enshrined as
a hallmark of worldliness. Compulsive skepticism masquerades as
perceptiveness. Mean-spirited irony is chic. Stories about treachery and
degradation provoke a visceral thrill in millions of people who think of
themselves as reasonable and smart. Beautiful truths are suspect and ugly
truths are readily believed.
So no, at this peculiar turning point in the evolution of our 14-billion-year-
old master game, it's not easy to carry out our mission. We've got to be
both wrathful insurrectionaries and exuberant lovers of life. We've got to
cultivate cheerful buoyancy even as we resist the temptation to swallow
thousands of delusions that have been carefully crafted and seductively
packaged by those messiahs among us who bravely volunteered to play
the role of know-it-all deceivers.
We have to learn how to stay in a good yet unruly mood as we overthrow
the sour, puckered mass hallucination that is mistakenly referred to as
"reality."
Maybe most importantly, we have to be ferociously and single-mindedly
dedicated to the cause of beauty and truth and love even as we keep our
imaginations wild and hungry and free. We have to be both disciplined and
rowdy.
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What can we do to help each other in this work? Read more here:
http://bit.ly/LiberateYourImagination
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GIFTS FOR YOU?
Here are the gifts I want to give you: green velvet gloves, a canoe made
out of jewels, a donkey clown piñata full of crickets, toasters made of
pure gold falling through the sky at the end of magenta parachutes, a
going-steady ring from a vending machine at the drug store, a protective
gargoyle from the Chartres Cathedral, an antique hammer and sickle, a
strawberry chocolate cake baked in the shape of a question mark, fistfuls
of sparklers, a bottle of holy water from the River Jordan, photos of
lightning on a giant poster, ruby slippers, a map of human DNA drawn up
by the Human Genome Project, a refrigerator magnet cast in the likeness
of the Dalai Lama, and a mask of your face fashioned from purple day-glo
Play-Doh.
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HIDING, By David Whyte:
HIDING is a way of staying alive. Hiding is a way of holding ourselves until
we are ready to come into the light. Even hiding the truth from ourselves
can be a way to come to what we need in our own necessary time.
Hiding is one of the brilliant and virtuoso practices of almost every part of
the natural world: the protective quiet of an icy northern landscape, the
held bud of a future summer rose, the snow bound internal pulse of the
hibernating bear.
Hiding is underestimated. We are hidden by life in our mother's womb
until we grow and ready ourselves for our first appearance in the lighted
world; to appear too early in that world is to find ourselves with the
immediate necessity for outside intensive care.
Hiding done properly is the internal faithful promise for a proper future
emergence, as embryos, as children or even as emerging adults in retreat
from the names that have caught us and imprisoned us, often in ways
where we have been too easily seen and too easily named.
We live in a time of the dissected soul, the immediate disclosure; our
thoughts, imaginings and longings exposed to the light too much, too
early and too often, our best qualities squeezed too soon into a world
already awash with too easily articulated ideas that oppress our sense of
self and our sense of others.
What is real is almost always to begin with, hidden, and does not want to
be understood by the part of our mind that mistakenly thinks it knows
what is happening. What is precious inside us does not care to be known
by the mind in ways that diminish its presence.
Hiding is an act of freedom from the misunderstanding of others,
especially in the enclosing world of oppressive secret government and
private entities, attempting to name us, to anticipate us, to leave us with
no place to hide and grow in ways unmanaged by a creeping necessity for
absolute naming, absolute tracking and absolute control.
Hiding is a bid for independence, from others, from mistaken ideas we
have about our selves, from an oppressive and mistaken wish to keep us
completely safe, completely ministered to, and therefore completely
managed.
Hiding is creative, necessary and beautifully subversive of outside
interference and control. Hiding leaves life to itself, to become more of
itself. Hiding is the radical independence necessary for our emergence into
the light of a proper human future.
Excerpted from 'HIDING' in "CONSOLATIONS: The Solace, Nourishment and
Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words"
- 2015 © David Whyte
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Sweden Opens World's First Mall for Repaired and Recycled Goods
http://tinyurl.com/y73d3l88
Europe's First Ad-Free City Replaced Billboards With Trees
http://tinyurl.com/y9mjr7nk
In Poor Guatemalan Villages, These Teens are Taught to Be the Teachers
http://tinyurl.com/y9pa47zm
(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 August 10
Copyright 2017 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Each of us comes to know the truth in our own
way, says astrologer Antero Alli. "For some it is wild and unfettered," he
writes. "For others it is like a cozy domesticated cat, while others find
truth through their senses alone." Whatever your usual style of knowing
the truth might be, Leo, I suspect you'll benefit from trying out a
different method in the next two weeks. Here are some possibilities:
trusting your most positive feelings; tuning in to the clues and cues your
body provides; performing ceremonies in which you request the help of
ancestral spirits; slipping into an altered state by laughing nonstop for five
minutes.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Would you scoff if I said that you'll soon be
blessed with supernatural assistance? Would you smirk and roll your eyes
if I advised you to find clues to your next big move by analyzing your
irrational fantasies? Would you tell me to stop spouting nonsense if I
hinted that a guardian angel is conspiring to blast a tunnel through the
mountain you created out of a molehill? It's OK if you ignore my
predictions, Virgo. They'll come true even if you're a staunch realist who
doesn't believe in woo-woo, juju, or mojo.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): This is the Season of Enlightenment for you.
That doesn't necessarily mean you will achieve an ultimate state of divine
grace. It's not a guarantee that you'll be freestyling in satori, samadhi, or
nirvana. But one thing is certain: Life will conspire to bring you the excited
joy that comes with deep insight into the nature of reality. If you decide
to take advantage of the opportunity, please keep in mind these thoughts
from designer Elissa Giles: "Enlightenment is not an asexual, dispassionate,
head-in-the-clouds, nails-in-the-palms disappearance from the game of
life. It's a volcanic, kick-ass, erotic commitment to love in action, coupled
with hard-headed practical grist."
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Some zoos sell the urine of lions and tigers
to gardeners who sprinkle it in their gardens. Apparently the stuff scares
off wandering house cats that might be tempted to relieve themselves in
vegetable patches. I nominate this scenario to be a provocative metaphor
for you in the coming weeks. Might you tap into the power of your inner
wild animal so as to protect your inner crops? Could you build up your
warrior energy so as to prevent run-ins with pesky irritants? Can you call
on helpful spirits to ensure that what's growing in your life will continue to
thrive?
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): The fates have conspired to make it
right and proper for you to be influenced by Sagittarian author Mark
Twain. There are five specific bits of his wisdom that will serve as
benevolent tweaks to your attitude. I hope you will also aspire to express
some of his expansive snappiness. Now here's Twain: 1. "You cannot
depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." 2.
"Education consists mainly in what we have unlearned." 3. "It is curious
that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral
courage so rare." 4. "When in doubt, tell the truth." 5. "Thunder is good,
thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the work."
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): "My grandfather used to tell me that if you
stir muddy water it will only get darker," wrote I. G. Edmonds in his book
*Trickster Tales.* "But if you let the muddy water stand still, the mud will
settle and the water will become clearer," he concluded. I hope this
message reaches you in time, Capricorn. I hope you will then resist any
temptation you might have to agitate, churn, spill wine into, wash your
face in, drink, or splash around in the muddy water.
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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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"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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AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In 1985, Maurizio Cattelan quit his gig at a
mortuary in Padua, Italy and resolved to make a living as an artist. He
started creating furniture, and ultimately evolved into a sculptor who
specialized in satirical work. In 1999 he produced a piece depicting the
Pope being struck by a meteorite, which sold for $886,000 in 2001. If
there were ever going to be a time when you could launch your personal
version of his story, Aquarius, it would be in the next ten months. That
doesn't necessarily mean you should go barreling ahead with such a
radical act of faith, however. Following your bliss rarely leads to instant
success. It may take years. (16 in Cattelan's case.) Are you willing to
accept that?
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Tally up your physical aches, psychic bruises,
and chronic worries. Take inventory of your troubling memories, half-
repressed disappointments, and existential nausea. Do it, Pisces! Be
strong. If you bravely examine and deeply feel the difficult feelings, then
the cures for those feelings will magically begin streaming in your
direction. You'll see what you need to do to escape at least some of your
suffering. So name your griefs and losses, my dear. Remember your near-
misses and total fiascos. As your reward, you'll be soothed and relieved
and forgiven. A Great Healing will come.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): I hope you're making wise use of the surging
fertility that has been coursing through you. Maybe you've been
reinventing a long-term relationship that needed creative tinkering.
Perhaps you have been hammering together an innovative business deal
or generating new material for your artistic practice. It's possible you
have discovered how to express feelings and ideas that have been half-
mute or inaccessible for a long time. If for some weird reason you are not
yet having experiences like these, get to work! There's still time to tap
into the fecundity.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano defines
"idiot memory" as the kind of remembrances that keep us attached to
our old self-images, and trapped by them. "Lively memory," on the other
hand, is a feisty approach to our old stories. It impels us to graduate from
who we used to be. "We are the sum of our efforts to change who we
are," writes Galeano. "Identity is no museum piece sitting stock-still in a
display case." Here's another clue to your current assignment, Taurus,
from psychotherapist Dick Olney: "The goal of a good therapist is to help
someone wake up from the dream that they are their self-image."
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Sometimes, Gemini, loving you is a sacred
honor for me -- equivalent to getting a poem on my birthday from the
Dalai Lama. On other occasions, loving you is more like trying to lap up a
delicious milkshake that has spilled on the sidewalk, or slow-dancing with a
giant robot teddy bear that accidentally knocks me down when it suffers
a glitch. I don't take it personally when I encounter the more challenging
sides of you, since you are always an interesting place to visit. But could
you maybe show more mercy to the people in your life who are not just
visitors? Remind your dear allies of the obvious secret -- that you're
composed of several different selves, each of whom craves different
thrills.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Liz, my girlfriend when I was young, went to
extreme lengths to cultivate her physical attractiveness. "Beauty must
suffer," her mother had told her while growing up, and Liz heeded that
advice. To make her long blonde hair as wavy as possible, for example,
she wrapped strands of it around six empty metal cans before bed,
applied a noxious spray, and then slept all night with a stinky, clanking
mass of metal affixed to her head. While you may not do anything so
literal, Cancerian, you do sometimes act as if suffering helps keep you
strong and attractive -- as if feeling hurt is a viable way to energize your
quest for what you want. But if you'd like to transform that approach, the
coming weeks will be a good time. Step One: Have a long, compassionate
talk with your inner saboteur.
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Homework: When they say "Be yourself," which self do they mean?
Testify at 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,
including but not limited to newsletters, books, the Free Will
Astrology column, and Free Will Astrology website. We reserve
the right to edit submissions for length, style, and content.
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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