Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
September 12, 2018
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See a pretty version of this newsletter: https://bit.ly/YourSecretTalents
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I invite you to keep a running list of all the ways life delights you and
helps you and energizes you. Describe everyday miracles you take for
granted . . . the uncanny powers you possess . . . the small joys that
occur so routinely you forget how much they mean to you . . . the steady
flow of benefits bestowed on you by people you know and don't know.
What works for you? What makes you feel at home in the world?
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ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED
"I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life - and I've never let
it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do."
—Georgia O'Keeffe
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LOVERS OF LIFE
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 it's hard work to be lovers of life -- taboo, against-the-grain work.
We've got to be both wrathful insurrectionaries and crafty optimists.
We've got to cultivate cheerful buoyancy even as we resist the
temptation to swallow thousands of delusions that have been carefully
forged and seductively packaged by those among us who have 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 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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WANT TO GET YOUR ASTROLOGICAL CHART READ?
If you want your personal chart done, I recommend a colleague whose
approach to reading astrology charts closely matches my own. She's my
wife, RO LOUGHRAN. She's at http://www.roloughran.com.
Ro utilizes a blend of well-trained intuition, emotional warmth, and
technical proficiency in horoscope interpretation. She is skilled at
exploring the mysteries of your life's purpose and nurturing your
connection with your own inner wisdom.
In addition to over 30 years of astrological experience, Ro has been a
licensed psychotherapist for 17 years. She integrates psychological
insight with astrology's cosmological perspective.
Ro is based in California, but can do phone consultations and otherwise
work with you regardless of geographic boundaries.
Check out Ro's website at http://www.roloughran.com
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A THOUSAND THINGS YOU CAN LOVE
Remember that at any given moment there are a thousand things you can
love.
—David Levithan
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UNVANQUISHABLE
As long as you can go on creating new roles for yourself, you are not
vanquished.
_Gail Godwin
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"ASTONISH ME!"
Sergei Diaghilev was a Russian ballet impresario who founded Ballets
Russes, one of the 20th century's great dance companies. At one point in
his career he met French playwright Jean Cocteau. Diaghilev dared
Cocteau to write a piece for a future Ballets Russes production. "Astonish
me!" he said.
It took seven years, but Cocteau met the challenge. He created Parade, a
ballet that also featured music by Eric Satie and sets by Pablo Picasso.
Now let's imagine I'm Diaghilev and you're Cocteau. I've just told you,
"Astonish me!" How will you respond? What surprising beauty will you
come up with? What marvels will you unleash?
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
7 Strategies to Turn Trauma Into Strength. Survivors discover surprising
benefits in the process of healing from a traumatic event.
https://tinyurl.com/y8so69xx
It's Young Black Women's Turn in Michigan. At 23, Myya Jones is running
for state representative. She's at the forefront of a wave of Black women
running for office.
https://tinyurl.com/y7thd3jj
One of my heroes and favorite writers is Rebecca Solnit. She's a
multifaceted thinker with a soulful approach to politics and a potent
emotional intelligence. Her cagey and tender analysis of the Crazy Mess
We're All In buoys my poetry and educates my sense of wonder. I
joyously recommend you follow her on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/rebecca.solnit
She has also written a number of books: https://tinyurl.com/ycejaouu
and has written regularly for Harper's magazine:
https://tinyurl.com/ycejaouu
(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 September 13
Copyright 2018 by Rob Brezsny
http://www.freewillastrology.com/horoscopes/
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Your keynote is the Japanese word *shizuka*.
According to photographer Masao Yamamoto, it means "cleansed, pure,
clear, and untainted." One of his artistic practices is to wander around
forests looking in the soil for "treasures" that emanate *shizuka*. So in
his definition, the term isn't about being scrubbed or sanitized. Rather,
he's interested in pristine natural phenomena that are unspoiled by
civilization. He regards them as food for his soul. I mention this, Virgo,
because now is an excellent time for you to get big doses of people and
places and things that are cleansed, pure, clear, and untainted.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran blogger Ana-Sofia Cardelle writes
candidly about her relationship with herself. She keeps us up to date with
the ever-shifting self-images that float through her awareness. Here's one
of her bulletins: "Stage 1. me: I'm the cutest thing in the world. Stage 2.
me, two seconds later: no, I'm a freaking goblin. Stage 3. me, two
seconds after that: I'm the cutest goblin in the world." I'm guessing that
many of you Libras have reached the end of your own personal version of
Stage 2. You've either already slipped into Stage 3, or soon will. No later
than October 1, you'll be preparing to glide back into Stage 1 again.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): "There's no such thing as love," said Scorpio
painter Pablo Picasso, "there are only proofs of love." I'm tempted to
believe that's true, especially as I contemplate the current chapter of
your life story. The evidence seems clear: you will thrive by engaging in
practical demonstrations of how much you care. You'll be wise to tangibly
help and support and encourage and inspire everyone and everything you
love. To do so will make you eligible for blessings that are, as of this
moment, still hidden or unavailable.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): According to a Pew Research Study,
nearly 75 percent of Americans say they talk to God, but only 30 percent
get a reply. I'm guessing the latter figure will rise dramatically for
Sagittarian Americans in the next three weeks, however. Why? Because
the astrological indicators suggest that authorities of all kinds will be
more responsive than usual to Sagittarians of all nationalities. Help from
higher powers is likely to be both more palpable and more forthcoming.
Any communications you initiate with honchos, directors, and leaders
have a better-than-normal chance of being well-received.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): One day in October 1926, author Virginia
Woolf inscribed in her diary, "I am the usual battlefield of emotions." It
was a complaint, but also a brag. In fact, she drew on this constant
turmoil to fuel her substantial output of creative writing. But the fact is
that not all of us thrive on such ongoing uproar. As perversely glamorous
and appealing as it might seem to certain people, many of us can do fine
without it. According to my analysis, that will be true for you in the
coming weeks. If you have a diary, you might justifiably write, "Hallelujah!
I am NOT a battlefield of emotions right now!"
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Anthropologist Margaret Mead had definite
ideas about "the ways to get insight." She named them as follows: "to
study infants; to study animals; to study indigenous people; to be
psychoanalyzed; to have a religious conversion and get over it; to have a
psychotic episode and get over it." I have my own list of ways to spur
insight and inspiration, which includes: to do walking meditations in the
woods on a regular basis, no matter what the weather; to engage in long,
slow sex with a person you love; to spend a few hours reviewing in detail
your entire life history; to dance to music you adore for as long as you
can before you collapse from delighted exhaustion. What about you,
Aquarius? What are your reliable ways to get insight? I suggest you
engage in some of them, and also discover a new one. You're in the Flood
of Radical Fresh Insights Phase of your astrological cycle.
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MAYBE JOY AND PLEASURE ARE ESSENTIAL SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES
Assume that your drive to experience pleasure and happiness isn't a
barrier to your spiritual growth, but is in fact essential to it. Proceed on
the hypothesis that cultivating joy can make you a more ethical and
compassionate person. Imagine that feeling good has something
important to teach you every day.
For inspiration in practicing this approach, tune in to your 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.
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"The best part about your audio horoscopes is that they pat me on the
head and kick me in the ass at the same time." - Rita L., San Diego
"Your audio oracles go beyond helping me find the truth -- they inspire
me to find the WILD truth." - Patrick K., Montreal
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PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Stanley Kubrick made masterful films, but
most of them bore me. I regard John Ashbery as a clever and innovative
poet, but I've never been excited by his work. As for painter Mark Rothko,
I recognize his talent and intelligence, but his art leaves me empty. The
music of Norah Jones is pretty and technically impeccable, but it doesn't
move me. In the coming weeks, Pisces, I invite you to make the kinds of
fine distinctions I'm describing here. It will be important for you to be
faithful to your subjective responses to things, even as you maintain an
objective perspective about them and treat them with respect.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Author Anne Carson describes part of her
creative process in this way: "Sometimes I dream a sentence and write it
down. It's usually nonsense, but sometimes it seems a key to another
world." I suspect you might be able to benefit from using a comparable
trick in the coming days. That's why you should monitor any odd dreams,
seemingly irrational impulses, or weird fantasies that arise in you.
Although they may not be of any practical value in themselves, they could
spur a train of thought that leads you to interesting breakthroughs.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): "The idea of liberation through the
suppression of desire is the greatest foolishness ever conceived by the
human mind," wrote philosopher E. M. Cioran. I agree that trying to deny
or stifle or ignore our desires can't emancipate us. In fact, I'm inclined to
believe that freedom is only possible if we celebrate and honor our
desires, marvel at their enigmas, and respect their power. Only then can
we hope to refine them. Only then can we craft them into beautiful,
useful forces that serve us rather than confuse and undermine us. The
coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to engage in this spiritual
practice, Taurus.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): "Remember that sometimes not getting what
you want is a wonderful stroke of luck," says the Dalai Lama. Ain't that
the truth! When I was 22 years old, there were two different women I
desperately yearned for as if they were the Muse Queens of Heaven who
would transform me into a great artist and quench my infinite passion.
Fortunately, they both rejected me. They decisively set me free of my
bondage to them. Later, when I was older and wiser, I realized that
blending my fortunes with either of them would have led me away from
my true destiny. I got lucky! In a similar but less melodramatic way,
Gemini, I suspect you will also get lucky sometime soon.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): *Don'ts for Boys or Errors of Conduct
Corrected* was an advice book for boys published in 1902. Among many
other strictures and warnings, it offered this advice: "Don't giggle. For the
love of decency, never giggle." There was additional counsel in the same
vein: "Don't be noisy. The guffaw evinces less enjoyment than the quiet
smile." Another exhortation: "Don't tease. Be witty, but impersonal." In
accordance with astrological omens, I hereby proclaim that all those
instructions are utterly wrong for you right now. To sweetly align yourself
with cosmic rhythms, you should giggle and guffaw and tease freely. If
you're witty—and I hope you will be—it'll serve you well to be
affectionate and personable.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): "Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and
adding the meaningful," writes designer John Maeda. "The ability to
simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may
speak," says artist Hans Hofmann. "Simplicity strips away the superfluous
to reveal the essence," declares a blogger named Cheo. I hope these
quotes provide you with helpful pointers, Leo. You now have the
opportunity to cultivate a masterful version of simplicity.
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Homework: Make two fresh promises to yourself: one that's easy to keep
and one that's at the edge of your capacity to live up to.
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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
2018 Rob Brezsny
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