Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
November 11, 2020
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See a pretty version of this newsletter: https://bit.ly/VictoryOfLove
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GRATITUDE FEST
Would you like to make yourself smarter and more beautiful? Are you
interested in increasing your capacity for ecstasy and improving your
health? Consider the possibility of celebrating regular Gratitude Fests.
During these celebrations of appreciation, you could confer praise and
respect on the creatures, both human and otherwise, that have played
seminal roles in inspiring you to become yourself. You would devote
yourself to invoking and expressing thanks.
Who teaches and helps you? Who sees you for who you really are? Who
nudges you in the direction of your fuller destiny and awakens you to your
signature truths? Who loves you brilliantly?
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SEEK TEACHINGS EVERYWHERE
As a bee seeks nectar from all kind of flowers, seek teachings everywhere.
Like a deer that finds a quiet place to graze, seek seclusion to digest all
that you have gathered. Like a madman beyond all limits, go wherever you
please and live like a lion completely free of all fear.
—ancient Tibetan text
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THE HISTORY OF YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH DESIRE
Imagine it's 30 years from now. You're looking back at the history of your
relationship with desire. There was a certain watershed moment when you
clearly saw that some of your desires were mediocre, inferior, and
wasteful, while others were pure, righteous, and invigorating.
Beginning then, you made it a life goal to purge the former and cultivate
the latter.
Thereafter, you occasionally wandered down dead ends trying to gratify
yearnings that weren't worthy of you, but usually you wielded your
passions with discrimination, dedicating them to serve the highest and
most interesting good.
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THE UNIVERSE IS MADE OF STORIES
The poet Muriel Rukeyser said the universe is composed of stories, not of
atoms. The physicist Werner Heisenberg declared that the universe is
made of music, not of matter.
And we believe that if you habitually expose yourself to toxic stories and
music, you could wind up living in the wrong universe, where it's
impossible to become the gorgeous genius you were born to be.
That's why we implore you to nourish yourself with delicious, nutritious
tales and tunes that inspire you to exercise your willpower for your
highest good.
Listen to this as a spoken-word piece: https://bit.ly/1OUgPUt
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DOUBLE HAPPINESS
There is a Chinese character that means "Double Happiness." It's my
emblem right now.
First happiness: Joe Biden won the presidency, earning more than 75
million votes—4.4 million more votes than the departing tyrant. That's by
far the most in history, and will be even greater when the count is
finished.
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Second Happiness: I am absolutely ecstatic that we Americans have elected
our first Black and Asian Woman Vice-President: Kamala Harris.
Let's keep in mind that as a Senator, Harris's "Lifetime Progressive
Score" rating has been a gloriously high 95.83%, just one percentage
point less than Bernie Sanders' rating.
See "Progressive Score" ratings for Senators here:
https://tinyurl.com/y33jh2hc
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TRIPLE HAPPINESS?
A Third Happiness will arrive if the people of Georgia elect two
Democratic Senators in the state's run-off election on January 5: Jon
Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.
I think this should be our top priority. When Ossoff and Warnock are
sworn in, the Senate will have 50 Senators who vote with Democrats and
50 who vote with Republicans. Vice-President Kamala Harris will have
the tie-breaking vote in any deadlocks.
Mitch McConnell will then NOT have the power to block President Biden's
agenda, as he worked so hard to do against President Obama.
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What can we do to help ensure this Third Happiness happens?
We can donate money to the Democratic Senate candidates:
Raphael Warnock: https://tinyurl.com/y5d3kf2u
Jon Ossoff: https://tinyurl.com/y32y3etk
Another good place to donate to help Georgia's Democratic Senate candidates
is to Stacey Abrams' FairFight: https://fairfight.com/
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If you're interested in writing postcards to Georgia voters for the runoff
election on January 5, check out https://postcardstoswingstates.com.
They give good guidance on how to proceed.
Here's another postcard-writing website:
https://www.facebook.com/TonyTheDemocrat.org/
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Author Asha Sanaker tells me this:
The voter registration cut-off for the Georgia run-off election is
December 8th. Which means all of the amazing Black women who were
responsible for flipping Georgia for Biden are going to be due our
unending thanks AGAIN. They are:
Stacey Abrams of Fair Fight, https://fairfight.com/
Tamieka Atkins of ProGeorgia, https://progeorgia.org/
Helen Bulter of the Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda,
http://www.thepeoplesagenda.org/
Deborah Scott of Georgia Stand-Up, https://www.georgiastandup.org/
Nsé Ufot of New Georgia Project, https://newgeorgiaproject.org/
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UNHAPPINESS
Over 71 million Americans voted for a misogynist, racist, homophobic,
transphobic, anti-immigrant bully—a vile, pathologically lying thug who
is the worst human being to have ever played a role in American life. And I
am genuinely dismayed, angry, and grief-stricken.
I seek consolation in the theory that a majority of the people who voted for
this loathsome character are themselves decent human beings.
But why did so many decent human beings endorse a dreadful, hate-filled
human being? I won't suppress my feelings about that heinous truth. It's
important that I acknowledge my feelings and make them part of the
reservoir of motivations from which I draw inspiration.
So no, I won't suppress my rage and anguish, but neither will I allow them
to dominate or obsess me. Rather, I will use them to redouble my devotion
to creating a culture built on progressive values.
Two quotes I use as guidance:
"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the
old, but on building the new."
—Dan Millman.
"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change
something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."
—Buckminster Fuller
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Bright spot: The 71+ million people who voted for Trump are just 29% of
the registered voters in the US, and only 21.3% of the total US population.
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EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Emotional intelligence is the single most underrated superpower in the
world.
One of the simplest and most effective ways to begin cultivating emotional
intelligence is to learn to communicate using "I" statements. More info
about that: https://tinyurl.com/MakingIstatements
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A reader asked me: "Do you think that cultivating emotional intelligence
increases our ability to communicate with community members who don’t
feel like 'our people'?"
Here's my response: Sure—if those people want to be communicated with
and aren't so hostile that they're not available for real conversation.
All my adult life, I've been open and welcoming to talk with and listen to
everyone and anyone, including people who don't share my political and
spiritual beliefs and who don't value psychological wisdom as being key to
living a good life.
That openness and welcome aren't always returned, though. And I don't try
to force an interaction with anyone who is closed to me.
Also: When someone's first comment to me is hostile and derisive, I
withdraw my openness and welcome.
The good news: I never take their rejection personally.
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Some Trump supporters assume that I have been "brainwashed by the
mainstream media."
Here's the truth: I have been pointedly critiquing the mainstream media
since 1981, when I came of age as a thinker and an artist. In fact,
analyzing the flaws of the mainstream media has been central to my work
as a philosopher and artist.
An important resource in my critique was Noam Chomsky's book
*Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media*.
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Furthermore, I have always made it a point to read rightwing media.
There's no echo chamber in my world.
I don't read every conservative publication every day, but I rotate through
the conservative media listed at this source:
https://tinyurl.com/y253pth7
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WHAT DOES LOVE MEAN?
What exactly does it mean to "love" someone who condones and enables
tyranny and cruelty? Of what does the love consist? How is it expressed?
A few people are telling me that we should love Trump supporters despite
the fact that they sanction his execrable words and actions.
I have always been careful never to wish ill on anyone, even those who do
cruel and destructive things and who collaborate with people who do cruel
and destructive things. I am not the administrator of Karma, and I can't
see the long-term, big-picture plans of Goddess. So I don't hate anyone. I
aspire to feel and express love.
On the other hand, that loving perspective doesn't mean that I allow haters
to have a negative impact in my life. I protect myself from them.
And I won't tell them it's OK to do cruel and destructive things or help
others do cruel and destructive things.
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BERNE SANDERS EXPRESSES GRATITUDE
Bernie Sanders Tweets: I want to thank progressive grassroots
organizations for their extraordinary efforts in helping to make Biden's
victory possible. Together, you built widespread support for Biden among
young people, people of color and the working class. Congratulations. Let's
keep going forward.
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AIN'T GOING TO HAPPEN
Some readers are still writing to me to demand that I never again write
about politics. So I will restate my perspective: That ain't going to happen!
Being a politically progressive activist has been an important part of my
life and work since I came of age. I wouldn't be my authentic self if I hid
my political views.
In addition, my spiritual values are deeply interwoven and aligned with
my political principles. The two are impossible to separate. Every
political view I express is a direct and specific reflection of my deepest
spiritual understandings.
My spirituality IS political and my politics ARE spiritual.
Readers who tell me not to express my political ideas might as well tell
me not to express my spiritual ideas.
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If you'd like to donate to my well-being:
1. Visit my Gift Page — https://paypal.me/GiftsForRob — and contribute
to me now and then via the "Friends and Family" option.
2. Commit to offering me a regular donation through my Patreon page at
https://Patreon.com/FreeWillAstrology
3. Send checks or cash to me at P.O. Box 4400, San Rafael, CA 94913.
4. Buy my Expanded Audio Horoscopes and/or Daily Text Message
Horoscopes. Go here: https://RealAstrology.com
P.S.: No pressure, though! I understand that some of you don't have enough
money yourself, and it wouldn't make sense for you to give some to me.
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Unphotoshopped images of 32 beautiful places:
https://tinyurl.com/kaal4j8
How Costa Rica Slowed, Stopped, Then Reversed Deforestation in Their
Rainforests.
https://tinyurl.com/y52r497q
"It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they
seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in
spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart."
—Anne Frank
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
November 12
Copyright 2020 by Rob Brezsny
https://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): "I hold a beast, an angel, and a madman in
me," wrote Scorpio poet Dylan Thomas (1914–1953) in a letter to a
friend. That sounds like a lot of energy to manage! And he didn't always do a
good job at it—although he did at times tap into his primal wellspring to
create some interesting poetry. I'm going to use Thomas's words in your
horoscope, because I think that in the coming weeks you can be a subtle,
refined, and mature blend of a beast, angel, and madperson. Be your wisest
wild self, dear Scorpio!
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Activist and author Rebecca Solnit
writes, "The grounds of my hope have always been that history is wilder
than our imagination of it and that the unexpected shows up far more
regularly than we ever dream." In my astrological estimation, her
grounds for hope should also be yours in the coming weeks. The future is
more wide-open than you might think. The apparent limitations of the
past are at least temporarily suspended and irrelevant. Your fate is
purged of some of your old conditioning and the inertia of tradition. I
encourage you to make a break for freedom. Head in the direction of the
Beautiful Unknown.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The famous Leaning Tower of Pisa doesn't
stand straight, but tilts at an angle. Why? The soil it was built on is soft
on one side. So the marble-and-limestone structure began to tip even
before it was finished. That's the weird news. The good news is that the
tower has remained standing for more than eight centuries—and has stayed
intact even though four major earthquakes have rolled through the area.
Why? A research team of engineers determined it's because of the soft
foundation soil, which prevents the tower from resonating violently with
the temblors. So the very factor that makes it odd is what keeps it strong.
Is there a comparable phenomenon in your life? I believe there is. Now is
a good time to acknowledge this blessing—and enhance your use of it.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Even if you tend to pay more attention to
what's going wrong than what's going right, I ask you to change your
attitude for the next three weeks. Even if you believe that cynicism is an
intelligent perspective and a positive attitude is a wasteful indulgence, I
encourage you to suspend those beliefs. As an experiment—and in
accordance with astrological potentials—I invite you to adopt the words of
activist Helen Keller as your keynote: "Every optimist moves along with
progress and hastens it, while every pessimist would keep the world at a
standstill. The consequence of pessimism in the life of a nation is the same
as in the life of the individual. Pessimism kills the instinct that urges
people to struggle against poverty, ignorance and crime, and dries up all
the fountains of joy in the world."
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Researchers in the UK found that 62
percent of the adult population brags that they've read classic books that
they have not in fact read. Why? Mostly to impress others. George
Orwell's *1984* is the top-rated book for fake claims, followed by
Tolstoy's *War and Peace*, James Joyce's *Ulysses*, and the Bible. I
hope you won't engage in anything like that type of behavior during the
weeks ahead. In my opinion, it's even more crucial than usual for you to
be honest and authentic about who you are and what you do. Lying about it
might seem to be to your advantage in the short run, but I guarantee it
won't be.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): "Love can’t always do work," wrote novelist
Iris Murdoch. "Sometimes it just has to look into the darkness." From
what I can tell, you've been doing that recently: looking into the darkness
for love's sake. That's a good thing! You have been the beneficiary of the
blessings that come through the contemplation of mysteries and enigmas.
You've been recalibrating your capacity to feel love and tenderness in the
midst of uncertainty. I suspect that it will soon be time to shift course,
however. You're almost ready to engage in the intimate work that has been
made possible by your time looking into the darkness.
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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.
To listen to your Expanded Audio Horoscope online, go to
https://RealAstrology.com
Register and/or log in through the main page.
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The cost is $6 per sign online. (Discounts are available for bulk
purchases.)
You can also listen over the phone by calling 1-877-873-4888. The cost
is $1.99 per minute. Each forecast is 4-5 minutes long.
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"Your expanded audio horoscopes help me remember the important things
I've forgotten and they help me forget about the unimportant things I don't
need to dwell on."
—Raven Hudson, Austin
"I love the soothing kindness of your audio horoscopes. I also love their
invigorating encouragement and surprising inspiration!"
—Franny Kaiser, Minneapolis
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TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Author Barbara Kingsolver says, "Don’t try
to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you
have to say." That's always valuable advice, but it'll be especially useful
to keep in mind during the coming weeks. You're probably going to feel
more pressure than usual to tell others what they wish you would tell
them; you may experience some guilt or worry about being different from
their expectations of you. Here's the good news: I'm pretty certain you can
be true to yourself without seeming like a jerk to anyone or damaging
your long-term interests. So you might as well say and do exactly what's
real and genuine.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): "The violets in the mountains have broken
the rocks," wrote playwright Tennessee Williams. I think that's a poetic
but accurate description of the feat you've been working on lately, Gemini.
You're gently smashing through stony obstructions. You've been calling on
your irrepressible will to enjoy life as you have outsmarted the rugged,
jagged difficulties. You're relying on beauty and love to power your efforts
to escape a seemingly no-win situation. Congratulations! Keep up the good
work!
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Cancerian rapper Vince Staples says, "I feel
like it’s impossible to be completely yourself." Why? Because ideally
we're always outgrowing who we have become; we're moving beyond the
successes we have already achieved. There is no final, whole, ideal "self"
to inhabit and express—only more and more of our selfness to create.
Staples suggests we'd get bored if we reached a mythical point where we
had figured out exactly who we are and embodied it with utter purity. We
always have a mandate to transform into a new version of our mystery.
Sounds like fun! Everything I just said, Cancerian, is an empowering
meditation for you right now.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): "I am my own sanctuary and I can be reborn as
many times as I choose throughout my life." Singer-songwriter Lady Gaga
said that, and now I offer it to you to use as your motto. According to my
analysis of the astrological omens, it's a fabulous time to be your own
sanctuary. I invite you to rebirth yourself at least twice between now and
the end of November. What's the first step you'll take to get started?
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The National Football League is a giant
socialist enterprise. It earns billions of dollars of revenue, and shares it
equally with each of its 32 teams. So the team in Green Bay, Wisconsin,
population 105,000, receives the same payout as the team in Chicago,
population 2.7 million. I advocate a comparable approach for you in the
coming weeks. Just for now, distribute your blessings and attention and
favors as evenly as possible, showing no favoritism toward a particular
child or friend or pet or loved one or influence. Be an impartial observer,
as well. Try to restrain biases and preferential treatment as you act with
even-handed fair-mindedness. Don't worry: You can eventually go back to
being a subjective partisan if you want. For the foreseeable future, your
well-being requires cordial neutrality.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): "Who is to decide between 'Let it be' and 'Force
it'?" asked Libran author Katherine Mansfield. I mention this because
you're now hanging out in the limbo zone between "Let it be" and "Force
it." But very soon—I'm sure you'll have a clear intuition about
when—you'll figure out how to make a decisive move that synthesizes the
two. You will find a way to include elements of both "Let it be" and "Force
it."
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Homework: What's the one thing you have never said to your best friend
that you really should say? FreeWillAstrology.com
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2020 Rob Brezsny
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