Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
February 24, 2021
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See a pretty version of this newsletter:
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A person must break with the illusion that her life has already been
written and her path already determined.
—Marc-Alain Ouaknin
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Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations.
—Dr. Mae C. Jemison
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LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT ASTROLOGY REALLY IS
The inexplicable thing about "scientists" who deride astrology as being a
"pseudo-science" is that they haven't engaged in the most fundamental
principle of science, which is to actually investigate the subject they
aspire to understand.
If these faux scientists took the trouble to research the subject, they
would know that Western astrology's best practitioners don't claim that
astrology is a science—which means that it can't be a pseudo-science!
The lyrical and practical truth is that astrology is a blend of psychology,
story-telling, and mythology. In the words of Carl Jung, founder of
analytical psychology, astrology "is the sum of all the psychological
knowledge of antiquity."
In my words, astrology is a symbol system that when used with integrity,
engenders soulful approaches for deepening our connection to life's great
mysteries—not predictions of literal events.
Psychologist James Hillman spoke of the joyous work of learning our
soul's code—the blueprint of our destiny. That's what astrology does best.
To imagine that this can be done in a scientific way is irrelevant and
delusional.
Astrology is meant to open our minds to the mythic patterns that underlie
the surface-level interpretations of what we're all about. It's not meant to
compete with scientists' rational, logical analyses of how the world works.
And of course we need both: the mytho-poetic and the logically analytical. I
can't imagine any truly intelligent person who would think that one or the
other is better or more important.
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To be consistent, the "scientists" who say that astrology is a pseudo-
science should also say that psychologist Carl Jung, mythologist Joseph
Campbell, and storyteller Ursula K Le Guin were practicing pseudo-
science.
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It's usually not productive to engage in a conversation with people who
long ago decided that astrology is superstitious nonsense. Their minds are
as irrevocably and self-satisfyingly closed as an evangelical Christian
who already knows forever that there's no such thing as human-caused
climate change.
So I usually expect that any rational ideas I serve up to self-styled
skeptics about astrology will have the same impact as if I were explaining
the nuances of abortion rights at a convention of political conservatives.
But here's a start: Many people who dismiss astrology with kneejerk
derision have done no actual research on the subject! They don't know that
four of history's greatest astronomers were practicing astrologers:
Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, Tycho Brahe, and Pierre Gassendi.
Most of the deriders haven't read smart astrological philosophers like
Dane Rudhyar and Alice O. Howell and Steven Arroyo and Liz Greene and
Richard Tarnas. They aren't aware that pioneering psychologist Carl Jung
cast horoscopes and used astrology extensively.
The deriders don't know that astronomer Martha Maiden, who was a
program executive at NASA for years and achieved such prominence that
she now has an award named after her (https://tinyurl.com/y4yz9ypn),
is an excellent astrologer. (I know because I went to Duke University with
her and we studied astrology together.)
The closest approach that fraudulent "skeptics" usually make to exploring
the ancient art of astrology is to glance at a newspaper or internet
horoscope column. To match their carelessness, I might make a drive-by
of a strip mall and declare that the profession of architecture is shallow
and debased.
THAT'S NOT HOW TO DO SCIENCE! To do science you don't casually gather
anecdotal evidence from your random personal experiences. You make a
point to investigate a subject with rigor and vigor, going to primary
sources.
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Yes, there are many mediocre and incompetent and irresponsible
astrologers out there—just as there are mediocre and incompetent and
irresponsible practitioners in every field of human endeavor.
Here's Brezsny's Pseudo-Scientific Maxim: In any occupation, 70% of the
practitioners are average to mediocre, 15% are bad, and 15% are
excellent.
The lazy scientists who ignorantly criticize astrology focus on the worst
of the astrologers.
If I chose to focus on the work of bad scientists, my opinion of science
would be very low.
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Many of the lazy "scientists" don't even know that constellations have no
bearing or place in Western astrology.
Many don't know, therefore, that their argument about the "signs being
wrong" and there being a 13th sign, Ophiuchus, are not based on even a
shred of truth about what astrology is.
Read more about this subject here: https://tinyurl.com/5b76g22g
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Science can play a valuable role in checking the excesses of astrologers
and other magical thinkers. For example, I've been grateful for those
times when patient astronomers have refuted the irresponsible prophets
who claim that some upcoming planetary configuration will somehow
detonate natural disasters on Earth.
On the other hand, many scientists critique astrology in equally careless
ways, making groundless assertions.
I prefer to take a middle path between the two extremes, borrowing from
the best of both the rational and mystical approach and avoiding the worst.
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The ill-informed "skeptics" often say that astrologers think the stars and
planets emit invisible beams that affect people's lives.
But in his book *Cosmos and Psyche*, brilliant astrologer Richard Tarnas
(who is also a renowned cultural historian) says the planets don't emit
invisible forces that shape our destinies as if we were puppets. Rather,
they are symbols of the unfolding evolutionary pattern. Just as clocks tell
time but don't create it, the heavenly bodies show us the big picture but
don't cause it.
Quoting Greek philosopher Plotinus, Tarnas writes, "The stars are like
letters that inscribe themselves at every moment in the sky. Everything
in the world is full of signs. All events are coordinated. All things depend
on each other. Everything breathes together."
Which prompts me to say: So it's not just the distant globes whose
movements and relationships serve as divinatory clues.
If you're sufficiently attuned to the gestalt of creation and pay close
enough attention to its unfolding details, you can read the current mood of
the universe in the arrangement of red onions in the grocery store bin or
the fluttering of sunlight and shadow on the mimosa tree or the scatter of
soap suds in your sink after you've finished washing the dishes.
Can you do it? Discern the signature of creation at this or any other
perfect moment? Peer into the secret heart of the collective unconscious?
Guess what the Goddess is thinking?
Hint: You will have to switch on a dormant capacity, transforming your
imagination from a mere fantasy-generator into an organ of perception.
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According to the Western Hermetic tradition, which is my spiritual path,
there are aspects of each planet within us. So for example, Mars, the
heavenly body in the sky way out there, is the visible manifestation of an
archetype that permeates the Great Everywhereness, including human
beings.
The rocky planet Mars doesn't beam out vibes that manipulate our
behavior. But we can analyze the movements of the planet Mars to
speculate on how the Mars archetype is at work at any particular time and
in any particular person.
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A fellow astrologer asked me why I even care about what science thinks
about astrology. Here's what I said:
Because I love science and its methodology and because a lot of people who
pay attention to what I write also love science and its methodology. I want
to talk to them about the excesses and distortions of science, in the hope
that this will help in some small way to shore up the integrity of science
and its capacity to accept other modes of intelligence and knowing as valid.
In the US, science is under threat from fascist and paranoid and delusional
views of the world. We need science to be as strong and vital as possible in
the face of that danger.
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The scientific method is a fantastic way of learning about the world, and I
eagerly use it daily. But it's not the only valid way to learn about the
world. To dismiss other ways of learning about the world as "pseudo-
scientific" is reductionist and fundamentalist.
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Astrology doesn't use—can't use—the scientific method. The scientific
method is an empirical method of acquiring knowledge that has
characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century.
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Some people believe unquestioningly in the truth and power of astrology.
They imagine it's an exact science that can unfailingly discern character
and predict the future. Other people believe all astrology is nonsense.
They think that everyone who uses it is deluded or stupid.
I say that both of these groups are wrong. Both have a simplistic,
uninformed perspective. The more correct view is that some astrology is
nonsense and some is a potent psychological tool. Some of it's based on
superstition and some is rooted in a robust mythopoetic understanding of
archetypes.
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If you'd like to read more of my thoughts about astrology, check out this
interview with me: https://tinyurl.com/y7qbxmbm
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Four books about Carl Jung's writings on astrology:
https://tinyurl.com/3woyapou
and
https://tinyurl.com/59ga4x48
and
https://tinyurl.com/4uxz3yo3
and
https://tinyurl.com/1hs1uvum
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Volunteers in Texas Saved Thousands Of Sea Turtles From The Shocking
Cold Weather.
https://tinyurl.com/4oknmk2o
Honoring The Black Astrophysicist at NASA Whose Innovative Space
Telescope is Still on the Moon (1939-2020).
https://tinyurl.com/ycu6lem9
Paris is Turning Its Dark Underground Parking Lots into Organic
Mushrooms Farms.
https://tinyurl.com/43ohkuta
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For a lot more pronoiac resources and ideas, read my book *Pronoia Is the
Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World is Conspiring to Shower You
with Blessings*
Available at Barnes & Noble: https://tinyurl.com/PronoiaBN
Available at Amazon: https://bit.ly/Pronoia
A free preview of the book is available here:
https://tinyurl.com/PronoiaPreview
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Please tell me your own nominations for PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Truthrooster@gmail.com.
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning February 25
Copyright 2021 by Rob Brezsny
https://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Piscean author Anais Nin was a maestro of
metamorphosis, a virtuoso of variation, an adept at alteration. She
regarded her ceaseless evolution as a privilege and luxury, not an
oppressive inconvenience. "I take pleasure in my transformations," she
wrote. "I look quiet and consistent, but few know how many women there
are in me." Her approach is a healthy model for most of you Pisceans—and
will be especially worth adopting in the coming weeks. I invite you to be a
Change Specialist whose nickname is Flux Mojo.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): I invite you to think about one or two types
of physical discomforts and symptoms that your body seems most
susceptible to. Next I encourage you to meditate on the possibility that
there are specific moods or feelings associated with those discomforts and
symptoms—perhaps either caused by them or the cause of them. The next
step is to formulate an intention to monitor any interactions that might
transpire between the bodily states and emotional states. Then make a plan
for how you will address them both with your own healing power
whenever they visit you in the future.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Poet Billy Collins describes "standing on
the edge of a lake on a moonlit night and the light of the moon is always
pointing straight at you." I have high hopes that your entire life will be
like that in the coming weeks: that you'll feel as if the world is alive with
special messages just for you; that every situation you're in will feel like
you belong there; that every intuition welling up from your subconscious
mind into your conscious awareness will be specifically what you need at
the moment it arrives.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You're entering a potentially heroic phase of
your astrological cycle. The coming weeks will be a time when you'll
hopefully be motivated to raise your integrity and impeccability to record
levels. To inspire you, I've grabbed a few affirmations from a moral code
reputed to be written by a 14th-century Samurai warrior. Try saying
them, and see if they rouse you to make your good character even better.
1. "I have no divine power; I make honesty my divine power." 2. "I have
no miracles; I make right action my miracle." 3. "I have no enemy; I make
carelessness my enemy." 4. "I have no designs; I make 'seizing
opportunity' my design." 5. "I have no magic secrets; I make character my
magic secret." 6. "I have no armor; I make benevolence and righteousness
my armor."
CANCER (June 21-July 22): "The only way to live is by accepting each
minute as an unrepeatable miracle," writes Cancerian author and
Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield. I disagree with him. There are many
other modes of awareness that can be useful as we navigate our
labyrinthine path through this crazy world. Regarding each minute as an
opportunity to learn something new, for instance: That's an excellent way
to live. Or, for another example, treating each minute as another chance to
creatively express our love. But I do acknowledge that Kornfield's
approach is sublime and appealing. And I think it will be especially
apropos for you during the coming weeks.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The coming weeks will be a poignant and healing
time for you to remember the people in your life who have died—as well
as ancestors whom you never met or didn't know well. They have clues to
offer you, rich feelings to nourish you with, course corrections to
suggest. Get in touch with them through your dreams, meditations, and
reminiscences. Now read this inspiration from poet Rainer Maria Rilke:
"They, who passed away long ago, still exist in us, as predisposition, as
burden upon our fate, as murmuring blood, and as gesture that rises up
from the depths of time." (Translation from the German by Stephen
Mitchell.)
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MAYBE JOY AND BLISS ARE CATALYTIC SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES
Assume that pleasure and happiness doesn't interfere with your spiritual
growth, but may in fact stimulate it.
Proceed on the hypothesis that cultivating delight and wonder might 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
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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"I always feel like I know myself better after listening to your audio
'scopes."
—June Roseville, Austin, TX
"Your audio horoscopes calm me down when I'm too manic and pep me up
when I'm down."
—Arthur Trachten, Cleveland, OH
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VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I'm fond of 18th-century Virgo painter
Quentin de La Tour. Why? 1. He specialized in creating portraits that
brought out his subjects' charm and intelligence. 2. As he grew wealthier,
he became a philanthropist who specialized in helping poor women and
artists with disabilities. 3. While most painters of his era did self-
portraits that were solemn, even ponderous, de La Tour's self-portraits
showed him smiling and good-humored. 4. Later in his life, when being
entirely reasonable was no longer a top priority, de La Tour enjoyed
conversing with trees. In accordance with the astrological omens, I
propose that we make him your patron saint for now. I hope you'll be
inspired to tap into your inner Quentin de la Tour.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I'm not saying there's anything wrong with
your overall health, Libra—in fact, I expect it's probably quite
adequate—but from an astrological point of view, now is the right time to
schedule an appointment for a consultation with your favorite healer,
even if just by Zoom. In addition, I urge you to consult a soul doctor for a
complete metaphysical check-up. Chances are that your mental health is
in fair shape, too. But right now it's not enough for your body and soul to
be merely adequate; they need to receive intense doses of well-wrought
love and nurturing. So I urge you to ask for omens and signs and dreams
about what precisely you can do to treat yourself with exquisite care.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): "Love commands a vast army of moods,"
writes author Diane Ackerman. "Frantic and serene, vigilant and calm,
wrung-out and fortified, explosive and sedate." This fact of life will be
prominently featured in your life during the coming weeks. Now is a
fertile time to expand your understanding of how eros and romance work
when they're at their best—and to expand your repertoire of responses to
love's rich challenges. Don't think of it as a tough test; imagine it as an
interesting research project.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian poet and visual artist
William Blake (1757–1827) cultivated a close relationship with lofty
thoughts and mystical visions. He lived with his wife Catherine for the
last 45 years of his life, but there were times when he was so preoccupied
with his amazing creations that he neglected his bond with her. Catherine
once said, "I have very little of Mr. Blake's company. He is always in
Paradise." I hope that you won't be like that in the coming weeks.
Practical matters and intimate alliances need more of your attention than
usual. Consider the possibility, at least for now, of spending less time in
paradise and more on earth.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Poet Robert Graves regarded the
ambiguity of poetry as a virtue, not a problem. In his view, poetry's
inscrutability reflects life's true nature. As we read its enigmatic ideas
and feelings, we may be inspired to understand that experience is too
complex to be reduced to simplistic descriptions and overgeneralized
beliefs. In fact, it's quite possible that if we invite poetry to retrain our
perceptions, we will develop a more tolerant and inclusive perspective
toward everything. I'm telling you this, Capricorn, because whether or
not you read a lot of poetry in the coming weeks, it will be wise and
healthy for you to celebrate, not just tolerate, how paradoxical and
mysterious the world is.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The coming weeks will be a favorable time
to shed old habits that waste your energy, and create new habits that will
serve you well for months to come. To inspire and guide your efforts, I
offer these thoughts from author and naturalist Henry David Thoreau: "As
a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will
not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk
again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over
the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives."
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Homework: Complete this sentence: "Sooner or later the pandemic will
lose its power to limit us. When it does, I will _______________."
FreeWillAstrology.com
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Submissions sent to Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2021 Rob Brezsny
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