Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
March 17, 2021
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See a pretty version on this newsletter: https://bit.ly/SweetWonder
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We have to create. It is the only thing louder than destruction.
—Andrea Gibson
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FREE YOUR BODY
Free your body. Don't ruminate and agonize about it. Do it simply and
easily. LOVE YOUR BODY!
Be brave and forceful, gentle and graceful. Free your sublimely
imperfect, riotously intelligent body. Allow it to be itself in all of its
mysterious glory. Love your body exactly as it is.
Praise your body. Thank your body. Tell it you adore its uncanny majesty .
. . you yearn to learn more of its secrets ... you promise to treat it as your
beloved ally.
Be in love with your body—no shame, no apology. Be in awe of your body's
unfathomable power to endlessly carry out the millions of chemical
reactions that keep you alive and thriving.
How can you not be overwhelmed with reverence for your hungry,
curious, resourceful, unpredictable body?
Study your body's magic. Exult in the blessings it bestows on you.
Celebrate and beautify its fierce animal elegance.
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SIMPLE GOALS
What are the qualities of a person who embodies sublime feminine
intelligence, as I personally aspire to do?
* They are progressive: committed to social and economic justice; lovers
of equality; in service to all those people who are under-served; in
service to the health of the natural world; in service to diminishing the
power of militarism, plutocracy, bigotry, misogyny, and racism
* They have a Bodhisattva's orientation: that none of us is really free
unless we all are free; that the supreme goal, above all others, is to
reduce the suffering in the world
* They have a holistic understanding of the interconnectedness of all
things
* They listen well to others who act respectfully
* They are willing to expand and adjust their understandings of the world
if they encounter new information that renders their previous beliefs as
being too narrow or obsolete
* They are inclusive: willing to consider the needs of as many people as
possible, not just those of their own tribe
* They are emotionally intelligent; they understand that it is as crucial to
develop a mature relationship with our feeling nature as it is to be
intellectually smart
* They are not fundamentalists and authoritarians who believe that only
their truths are true; are rather willing to consider additional points of
view as having value; are willing to consider the perspective that
"everyone has a piece of the truth, but no one has the entire truth"
* They are storytellers who understand, as the poet Muriel Rukeyser
said, that "the world is made of stories, not atoms"
* They understand that to accomplish practical changes that serve the
greatest good requires hard work in the trenches of political struggle,
often having to deal with people who have different beliefs
* They are nuanced, not simplistic; respect dialog, not pronouncements
from on high; seek consensus, not doctrinaire obeisance; understand that
perfectionism is the enemy of the good; radiate kindness and avoid
polarization
* Love is their primary motivation
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WHAT LIFE STORY
WILL YOU CREATE FOR YOURSELF
IN THE COMING MONTHS?
Get inspired by listening to my 3-part EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES
about your LONG-RANGE FUTURE.
These forecasts will be available for just one more week.
Who do you want to become between now and January 2022? Where do
you want to go and what do you want to do? How can you exert your free
will to create adventures that'll bring out the best in you, even as you find
graceful ways to cooperate with the tides of destiny?
To listen to these three-part, in-depth reports, go here:
https://RealAstrology.com
Register and/or log in through the main page, and then access the
horoscopes by clicking on "Long Range Prediction." Choose from Part 1,
Part 2, and Part 3. Each part is a standalone report, not dependent on the
other two.
If you'd like a boost of inspiration to fuel you in your quest for beauty and
truth and love and meaning, tune in to my meditations on your Big-
Picture Outlook.
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Each of the three-part reports is seven to nine minutes long. The cost is
$6 per report. There are discounts for the purchase of multiple reports.
P.S. You can also listen to a short-term Expanded Audio Horoscope for the
coming week.
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FULFILL YOUR SOUL'S CODE
The real alchemists (not the materialists trying to turn lead into gold)
said the magic formula for enlightenment was "Seek out the lower reaches
of the earth, perfect them, and you will find the hidden stone"—the
treasured philosopher's stone.
My translation: Engage in a relationship with the ignorant and unripe
parts of yourself, refine them and love them, and you will awaken your
hidden divinity; you will fulfill your soul's code.
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35 PRACTICAL STEPS MEN CAN TAKE
TO SUPPORT FEMINISM
by Pamela Clark
1. Do 50% (or more) of housework.
2. Do 50% (or more) of emotional support work in your intimate
relationships and friendships.
3. Consume cultural products produced by women.
4. Give women space.
5. … but insert yourself into spaces where you can use your maleness to
interrupt sexism.
6. When a woman tells you something is sexist, believe her.
7. Educate yourself about sexual consent and make sure there is clear,
unambiguous communication of consent in all your sexual relationships.
8. Be responsible for contraception.
10. Have progressive name politics.
11. If you have children, be an equal parent.
12. Pay attention to and challenge informal instances of gender role
enforcement.
13. Be mindful of implicit and explicit gendered power differentials in
your intimate/domestic relationships with women…whether a partner or
family members or roommates.
14. Make sure that honesty and respect guide your romantic and sexual
relationships with women.
15. Don’t be an online bystander in the face of sexism.
16. Be responsible with money in domestic/romantic relationships.
17. Be responsible for your own health.
18. Don’t ogle or make comments about women. (i.e., Keep your tongue in
your mouth and comments to yourself.)
19. Pay attention to the sex of experts and key figures presenting
information to you in the media.
20. Ensure that some of your heroes and role models are women.
21. Praise the virtues and accomplishments of women in your life to
others.
22. Have integrity with your male friends. (i.e., Don’t be a "bro.")
23. Don’t treat your spouse like a "nag." If she is "nagging," you are
probably lagging.
24. Know that acknowledging your own sexist opinions and stereotypes
you hold is not enough. Do something about them.
25. Befriend women.
26. Find female mentors/leaders. (i.e., Be subordinate to women.)
27. When in a romantic relationship, be responsible for events and
special dates associated with your side of the family.
28. Don’t police women’s appearance.
29. Offer to accompany female friends if they have to walk home alone at
night…or in a public space where they may be likely to feel unsafe.
30. Inject feminism into your daily conversations with other men.
31. If you have a tendency to behave inappropriately toward women when
you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, do not consume drugs or
alcohol.
32. Be aware of the physical and emotional space you occupy, and don’t
take up more space than you need.
33. Walk the walk about income inequality.
34. Get in the habit of treating your maleness as an unearned privilege
that you have to actively work to cede rather than femaleness being an
unearned disadvantage that women have to work to overcome.
35. Self-identify as a feminist.
Here's Pamela Clark's original article on the 35 Steps:
https://tinyurl.com/43zf86bx
Pamela Clark's follow up to her original article:
https://tinyurl.com/3vua68d7
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GOOD NEWS !
There was much good news last week! Like these stories:
* $1.9 Trillion Virus Relief Plan Will Vastly Expand the U.S. Safety Net
* The new bill cements one of the largest injections of federal aid since
the Great Depression. The plan provides more direct payments, extends
federal jobless benefits and gives billions of dollars to distribute
vaccines, among other relief.
* Obamacare is about to get a lot more affordable.
* Polls show the new law has widespread support among Americans.
* The bill makes student debt forgiveness tax-free.
Plus:
* Marcia Fudge Becomes First Black Female Housing Secretary
* Michael Regan becomes the first Black man to run the EPA. He intends to
act aggressively in carrying out President Biden’s climate change agenda.
* Biden orders 100 million more vaccine shots from Johnson & Johnson
* Biden said the United States will have enough vaccine to administer to
all American adults by the end of May.
* Merrick Garland Confirmed as Attorney General
* Passage of the Biden plan reflects the triumph of precisely the view that
only active and competent government can get us out of the mess we’re in
now. The willingness of Democrats to speed through a program of this size
reflects the final shrugging off of Reagan-era constraints that made even
liberal politicians gun-shy about government activism.
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
112 bits of good news to keep us sane.
https://tinyurl.com/6ea6mm83
Indigenous Tribes Are Unearthing Traditional Crops. A seed banking
cooperative is making sure age-old agricultural practices don’t get lost.
https://tinyurl.com/rpw82d68
Four-Day Work Weeks Are Here to Stay. Some companies that reduced
employee hours during the pandemic are keeping the shorter work week
in place — even as they reinstate full pay.
https://tinyurl.com/zzxfetya
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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 March 18
Copyright 2021 by Rob Brezsny
https://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Poet Ocean Vuong speaks of the Hawaiian
word *kipuka*. It refers to a patch of earth that doesn't get covered with
lava when an active volcano exudes its molten material. "Before the lava
descended," Vuong writes, "that piece of land was insignificant, just
another scrap in an endless mass of green." But now that piece of land is
special, having endured. I encourage you to identify your metaphorical
equivalent of *kipuka*, Aries. It's an excellent time to celebrate the
power and luck and resilience that have enabled you to persevere.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): "Extraordinary things are always hiding in
places people never think to look," writes Taurus author Jodi Picoult.
Luckily for you, Taurus, in the near future you'll be prone to look in
exactly those places—where no one else has thought to look. That means
you'll be extra likely to find useful, interesting, even extraordinary
things that have mostly been hidden and unused. You may also discover
some boring and worthless things, but the trade-off will be worth your
effort. Congratulations in advance on summoning such brave curiosity.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): "When we ask for advice, we are usually
looking for an accomplice," said Gemini author Saul Bellow. So if you have
come here today to read my horoscopes, it's possible that you're seeking
an accomplice to approve of you making a decision or a move that you have
already decided to do. OK. I'll be your accomplice. But as your accomplice,
the first thing I'll do is try to influence you to make sure your upcoming
actions serve not only your own selfish interests (although there's
nothing wrong with that), but also serve the interests of people you care
for. The weeks ahead will be a favorable time to blend self-interest and
noble idealism.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): A character in Barbara Kingsolver's novel
*The Lacuna* is told to "go rub his soul against life." Now I'll advise you
to do the same. Why? While it's true that you have a beautiful soul, you
sometimes get in the habit of hiding it away or keeping it secret. You feed
it a wealth of dreams and emotions and longings, but may not go far enough
in providing it with raw experience out in the messy, chaotic world. In
my judgment, now is one of those times when you would benefit from
rubbing your soul against life. Please note: I DON'T mean you should go in
search of rough, tough downers. Not at all. In fact, there are plenty of
pleasurable, safe, educational ways to rub your soul against life.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): If you love the work of self-help author Paulo
Coelho, you might be inclined to adopt his motto as your own: "Being
vulnerable is the best way to allow my heart to feel true pleasure." But
maybe you wouldn't want to adopt his motto. After all, what he's suggesting
requires a great deal of courage and daring. Who among us finds it easy and
natural to be soft and receptive and inviting? And yet according to my
analysis of the astrological omens, this is exactly what your assignment
should be for the next two weeks. To help motivate yourself, remember
the payoff described by Coelho: the possibility that your heart will feel
true pleasure.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo author Michael Ondaatje celebrates "the
hidden presence of others in us—even those we have known briefly. We
contain them for the rest of our lives, at every border we cross." As you
approach your own upcoming border-crossing, dear Virgo, I encourage
you to tune into memories about seven specific people who over the course
of your life have provided you with the most joy and the most interesting
lessons. Close your eyes for 20 minutes and imagine they are all gathered
together with you in your favorite sanctuary. Remember in detail the
blessings they bestowed on you. Give thanks for their influences, for the
gifts they gave that have helped you become your beautiful self.
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EXPLORING THE BIG PICTURE OF YOUR LONG-RANGE FUTURE
My long-range, big-picture EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES for the
coming months are still available, but only for one more week.
Who do you want to become between now and January 2022? Where do
you want to go and what do you want to do? How can you exert your free
will to create adventures that'll bring out the best in you, even as you find
graceful ways to cooperate with the tides of destiny?
Go to https://RealAstrology.com to register and/or sign in through the
main page.
Then access the horoscopes by clicking on "Long Range Prediction." Choose
from Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. Each part is a standalone report, not
dependent on the other two.
Each of the three-part reports is seven to nine minutes long. The cost is
$6 per report. There are discounts for the purchase of multiple reports.
A new short-range forecast for this week is also available.
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"I almost always come away from listening to your audio horoscopes with
greater clarity about what's best for me to give my attention to next."
—Jada Washington, New York
"I love how your audio horoscopes stimulate my idealism and also help me
think about the practical actions I can take to support my idealism."
—Rita Mashner, Tampa
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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): "A balance that does not tremble cannot weigh.
A person who does not oscillate cannot live." So wrote biochemist Erwin
Chargaff, who did crucial research leading to the discovery of DNA's
double helix structure. Since you're the zodiac's expert on balance and
oscillation, and because these themes will be especially meaningful for
you in the coming days, I'll ask you to meditate on them with extra focus.
Here's my advice: To be healthy and resilient, you need to be aware of
other possibilities besides those that seem obvious and simple and
absolutely true. You need to consider the likelihood that the most correct
answers are almost certainly those that are paradoxical and complicated
and full of nuance.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In her poem "Sandra," Scorpio poet Ariana
Reines testifies that she has too many feelings—and that's not a problem.
On the contrary. They are her wealth, she says, her "invisible splendor."
I invite you to regard your own "too many feelings" in the same way,
especially in the coming weeks. You will have opportunities to harness
your flood of feelings in behalf of transformative insights and holistic
decision-making. Your motto: Feelings are healing.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Historian and author Thomas Berry
described "wildness" as the source of our "authentic spontaneities." He
said it's "the wellspring of creativity" at the root of our lust for life.
That's a different definition from the idea that wildness is about being
unruly, rough, and primitive. And Berry's definition happens to be the
one that should be central to your work and play in the coming weeks.
Your assignment is to be wild: that is, to cultivate your authentic
spontaneities; to home in on and nourish the creative wellspring of your
lust for life.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Some of the great discoveries in the
history of physics have been made while the trailblazing physicists are
lolling in bed or in the bathtub. They have done the research and carried
out the rigorous thinking, and are rewarded with breakthroughs while
relaxing. I think that will be your best formula for success in the coming
weeks. Important discoveries are looming. Interesting innovations are
about to hatch. You're most likely to gather them in if you work intensely
on preparing the way for them, then go off and do something fun and
rejuvenating.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): My typical horoscope is an average of 108
words long. In that limited space, I can't possibly tell you all the themes
and threads that will be active for you during the upcoming phase of your
cycle. I have to make choices about what to include and what not to include.
This time I'll focus on the fact that you now have an opportunity to deepen
your relationship with your sense of smell—and to purposefully nourish
your sense of smell. Your homework: Decide on at least five scents with
which you will cultivate an intimate, playful, delightful connection in the
coming days. (PS: You may be surprised at how this practice will deepen
your emotional connection with the world.)
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): No one had ever proven that there was such
a thing as electromagnetic waves until Piscean physicist Heinrich Hertz
(1857–1894) did so in 1886. He was the innovator who first
transmitted and received controlled radio waves. Alas, he didn't think his
breakthrough was useful. In 1890, he confessed, "I do not think that the
wireless waves I have discovered will have any practical application."
But other scientists were soon capitalizing on his work to communicate
long distances. Radio broadcasts were born. I will encourage you not to
make a Hertzian-type mistake in the coming months. Always follow
through on your initial labors. Have faith that the novelties you dream up
will eventually have practical value.
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Homework. If you believed everything you see in the "news," you'd be so
full of despair you couldn't move. Describe how you protect yourself.
Truthrooster@gmail.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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