Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
November 28, 2018
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PRAYER
I pray that all those who, like me, have been lucky enough to receive a
multitude of life's blessings
might express humble gratitude for their good fortune
by summoning maximum levels of empathetic passion and compassionate
zeal
and campaigning for justice and sanctuary and beauty and love and
financial security and health care
for those who are less privileged than we are
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HALLOWED BE THY NAMES
Our mother who art underfoot,
hallowed be thy names.
Thy seasons come, thy will be done,
within us as around us.
Thank you for our daily bread, our water, our air
and our lives and so much beauty;
lead us not into selfish craving and the destructions
that are the hungers of the glutted,
but deliver us from wanton consumption
of thy vast but finite bounty.
For thine is the only sphere of life we know,
and the power and the glory, forever and ever.
Amen
Mother's Prayer, adapted by Rebecca Solnit
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PRACTICAL MAGICK
Adapted from Aleister Crowley and Jonathan Zap:
1. Magick is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity
with Will.
2. Every intentional act is a Magickal Act.
3. A person who is doing her True Will has the rhythm of the Universe to
assist her.
4. Every force in the Universe is capable of being transformed into any
other kind of force by using suitable Magick. There is thus an
inexhaustible supply of any particular kind of force that we may need.
5. A person may attract to herself any force of the Universe by making
herself a fit receptacle for it, establishing a connection with it, and
arranging conditions so that its nature compels it to flow toward her.
6. A person's sense of herself as separate from, and opposed to, the
Universe is a bar to her conducting its currents. It insulates her.
7. The most important preliminary to any Magickal operation is to make
sure that its object is not only harmonious with, but necessary to, your
Great Work.
Experiment: Say this to demons and trolls: "I am a monster of love and
goodness who will defeat all threats to my integrity."
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YOUR ILLUSIONS
Some of your illusions seeped into you before you learned to talk. Others
sneaked into you later, while you were busy figuring out how to become
yourself. Eventually, you even made conscious choices to adopt certain
illusions because they provided you with comfort and consolation.
There's no need to be ashamed of this. It's a natural part of being a
human being.
Now here's the good news: You have the power to shed at least some of
your illusions in ways that don't shatter your foundations.
To begin the process, declare this intention at noon every Sunday for the
next six months: "I am calling on all the power I have at my disposal, both
conscious and unconscious, to dissolve my illusions."
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LOVING THE CHANGES?
Whether you're a fan of a monotheistic God or a pluralistic
Goddess, you've undoubtedly noticed a deeply rooted quirk about
the Divine Temperament: an extreme fondness for change. The
Creator really likes to keep things moving right along.
Earlier in my life, I bore a grudge against this incorrigible
inclination. But after repeatedly having my karma crumpled for
resisting it, I realized I'd better get used to it. In recent years,
I've come a long way in retraining myself to be cheerfully
cooperative with the primal flux.
As a reward, the Cackling Goddess (my current favorite name for
the Sublime Mystery) has blessed me with a relentless series of
opportunities to prove how well I've learned my lesson. She just keeps
throwing changes my way, daring me to adjust with as much skill and
grace as I can muster.
And you?
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CONGRATULATIONS!
Congratulations. Every cell in your perfect animal body is beginning to
purr with luminous gratitude for the enormity of the riches you endlessly
receive.
You are becoming aware that each of your heart's beats originates as a
gift of love directly from the Goddess herself.
Any residues of hatred that had been tainting your libido are leaving you
for good.
You are becoming telepathically linked to the world's entire host of secret
teachers, pacifist warriors, philosopher clowns, and bodhisattvas disguised
as convenience store clerks.
In other words, you're on the verge of détente with your evil twin. And
you're ready to submit to a multiple-choice test, which goes like this:
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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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Nadia Murad Basee Taha and Denis Mukwege were jointly awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a
weapon of war and armed conflict? https://tinyurl.com/y9yut8ht
France Is The First Country To Ban All Five Bee-Killing Pesticides
https://tinyurl.com/y99lpetg
What a Society Designed for Well-Being Looks Like. Economic justice goes
a long way toward improving mental health up and down the
socioeconomic ladder.
https://tinyurl.com/yar4ddhn
(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 November 29
Copyright 2018 by Rob Brezsny
http://www.freewillastrology.com/horoscopes/
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Blackjack is a card game popular in
gambling casinos. In the eternal struggle to improve the odds of winning
big money, some blackjack players work in teams. One teammate secretly
counts the cards as they're dealt and assesses what cards are likely to
come up next. Another teammate gets subtle signals from his card-
counting buddy and makes the bets. A casino in Windsor, Ontario pressed
charges against one blackjack team, complaining that this tactic was
deceptive and dishonest. But the court decided in the team's favor, ruling
that the players weren't cheating but simply using smart strategy. In the
spirit of these blackjack teams, Sagittarius, and in accordance with
astrological omens, I urge you to better your odds in a "game" of your
choice by using strategy that is almost as good as cheating but isn't
actually cheating.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): What has become of the metaphorical
seeds you planted during the weeks after your last birthday? Have your
intentions flourished? Have your dreams blossomed? Have your talents
matured? Have your naive questions evolved into more penetrating
questions? Be honest and kind as you answer these inquiries. Be
thoughtful and big-hearted as you take inventory of your ability to follow
through on your promises to yourself. If people are quizzical about how
much attention you're giving yourself as you take stock, inform them that
your astrologer has told you that December is Love Yourself Better
Month.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): If you want to play the drinking game called
Possum, you and your friends climb up into a tree with a case of beer and
start drinking. As time goes by, people get so hammered they fall out of
the tree. The winner is the last one left in the tree. I hope you won't
engage in this form of recreation anytime soon—nor in any other activity
that even vaguely resembles it. The coming weeks should be a time of
calling on favors, claiming your rewards, collecting your blessings, and
graduating to the next level. I trust your policy will be: no trivial pursuits,
no wasted efforts, no silly stunts.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In his song "Happy Talk," Academy Award-
winning lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II offered this advice: "You gotta have
a dream. If you don't have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come
true?" Where do you stand in this regard, Pisces? Do you in fact have a
vivid, clearly defined dream? And have you developed a strategy for
making that dream come true? The coming weeks will be an excellent
time to home in on what you really want and hone your scheme for
manifesting it. (P.S. Keep in mind Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's idea: "A goal
without a plan is just a wish.")
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Every year the bird known as the Arctic tern
experiences two summers and enjoys more daylight than any other
animal. That's because it regularly makes a long-distance journey from the
Arctic to the Antarctic and back again. Let's designate this hardy traveler
as your inspirational creature for the next eleven months. May it help
animate you to experiment with brave jaunts that broaden and deepen
your views of the world. I don't necessarily mean you should literally do
the equivalent of circumnavigating the planet. Your expansive adventures
might take place mostly in inner realms or closer to home.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): When the American Civil War began in 1861,
the United States fractured. Four years later, the union was technically
restored when the northern states defeated the southern states. At that
time, African American slavery became illegal everywhere for the first
time since the country's birth decades earlier. But there was a catch. The
southern states soon enacted laws that mandated racial segregation and
ensured that African Americans continued to suffer systematic
disadvantages. Is there a comparable issue in your personal life? Did you
at sometime in the past try to fix an untenable situation only to have it
sneak back in a less severe but still debilitating form? The coming weeks
will be an excellent time to finish the reforms; to enforce a thorough and
permanent correction.
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ASTROLOGY FOR YOUR SOUL
Astrology is not a science. It's an elegant system of symbols, an
art form with a special capacity to feed your soul and educate
your imagination. When used with integrity, it engenders poetic
approaches for deepening your connection to life's great mysteries,
not predictions of literal events.
It's meant to open your mind to the mythic patterns that underlie
the surface-level interpretations of what you're all about, not
compete with scientists' logical analyses of why things are the way
they are.
ASTROLOGY IS NOT A SCIENCE! Nor is depth psychology,
mythology, dream interpretation, or poetry. It makes as much sense
to criticize astrology for not being scientific as it does to deride a
Kandinsky painting because it isn't the binomial theorem. We need
both: the mytho-poetic and the logically analytical.
If you ever want more information and inspiration generated in this spirit -
- beyond the horoscopes you're reading here -- keep in mind that every
week I also offer EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES for you. They're four-to-
five-minute meditations on the current state of your destiny.
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
https://freewillastrology.sparkns.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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GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Does an elusive giant creature with a long neck
inhabit the waters of Loch Ness in northern Scotland? Alleged sightings
have been reported since 1933. Most scientists dismiss the possibility
that "Nessie" actually exists, but there are photos, films, and videos that
provide tantalizing evidence. A government-funded Scottish organization
has prepared contingency plans just in case the beast does make an
unambiguous appearance. In that spirit, and in accordance with
astrological omens, I recommend that you prepare yourself for the arrival
in your life of intriguing anomalies and fun mysteries. Like Nessie, they're
nothing to worry about, but you'll be better able to deal gracefully with
them if you're not totally taken by surprise.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Does moss really "eat" rocks, as Cancerian
author Elizabeth Gilbert attests in her novel *The Signature of All Things*?
Marine chemist Martin Johnson says yes. Moss really does break down and
release elements in solid stone. Gilbert adds, "Given enough time, a colony
of moss can turn a cliff into gravel, and turn that gravel into topsoil."
Furthermore, this hardy plant can grow virtually everywhere: in the tropics
and frozen wastes, on tree bark and roofing slate, on sloth fur and snail
shells. I propose that we make moss your personal symbol of power for
now, Cancerian. Be as indomitable, resourceful, and resilient as moss.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Let's shout out a big "THANKS!" and
"HALLELUJAH!" to the enzymes in our bodies. These catalytic proteins do
an amazing job of converting the food we eat into available energy.
Without them, our cells would take forever to turn any particular meal
into the power we need to walk, talk, and think. I bring this marvel to your
attention, Leo, because now is a favorable time to look for and locate
metaphorical equivalents of enzymes: influences and resources that will
aid and expedite your ability to live the life you want to live.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): "Every dreamer knows that it is entirely
possible to be homesick for a place you've never been to, perhaps more
homesick than for familiar ground," writes author Judith Thurman. I'm
guessing you will experience this feeling in the coming weeks. What does
it mean if you do? It may be your deep psyche's way of nudging you to
find an energizing new sanctuary. Or perhaps it means you should search
for fresh ways to feel peaceful and well-grounded. Maybe it's a prod to
push you outside your existing comfort zone so you can expand your
comfort zone.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Venice, Italy consists of 118 small islands that
rise from a shallow lagoon. A network of 443 bridges keeps them all
connected. But Venice isn't the world champion of bridges. The American
city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania holds that title, with 446. I nominate
these two places to be your inspirational symbols in the coming weeks.
It's time for you build new metaphorical bridges and take good care of
your existing metaphorical bridges.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): To aid and support your navigation through
this pragmatic phase of your astrological cycle, I have gathered counsel
from three productive pragmatists. First is author Helen Keller. She said
she wanted to accomplish great and noble things, but her "chief duty"
was "to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble." Second,
author George Orwell believed that "to see what is in front of one's nose"
requires never-ending diligence. Finally, author Pearl S. Buck testified that
she didn't wait around until she was in the right mood before beginning
her work. Instead, she invoked her willpower to summon the necessary
motivation.
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Homework: Hug yourself as you tell yourself your biggest secret.
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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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