Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter January 1, 2020

 Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
 January 1, 2020
 FreeWillAstrology.com

+

EXPLORE THE BIG PICTURE OF YOUR LIFE

with my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES for the Coming Year.

freewillastrology.sparkns.com

What new influences and opportunities will be headed your way in 2020? What fresh resources will you be able to draw on? How can you conspire with life to create the best possible future for yourself?

Beginning this week, and for the next two weeks as well, I'm exploring the BIG PICTURE of your life in my Expanded Audio Horoscopes. If you slip into a philosophical, visionary mood at the end of each year, you might appreciate my perspectives on your long-term outlook.

To listen to your BIG PICTURE horoscopes online, go to freewillastrology.sparkns.com

Register and/or log in through the main page, and then click on the link "Long Term Prediction for 2020."

+

The cost for the Expanded Audio Horoscopes is $6 per sign. (You can get discounts for multiple purchases.)

You can also listen over the phone by calling 1-877-873-4888.
The cost is $1.99 per minute.

Each forecast is 7-9 minutes long.

P.S. You can still access last week's sneak-peek at 2020. In these expanded audio horoscopes, I describe some major themes I think you'll be working and playing with in 2020. After you register and/or log in, click on "Last Week (Dec. 24, 2019)."

+   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +  +  +  +  +  +

YOUR VOWS

I invite you to say this:

I love everything about me

I love my uncanny beauty and my bewildering pain

I love my hungry soul and my wounded longing

I love my flaws, my fears, and my scary frontiers

I will never forsake, betray, or deceive myself

I will always adore, forgive, and believe in myself

I will never refuse, abandon, or scorn myself

I will always amuse, delight, and redeem myself

+   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +  +  +  +  +  +

WHAT WILL 2020 BRING?

2020: we're hydrated, having good sex with people who deserve us, eating veggies, hiking, leaving behind toxic relationships, communicating our feelings, saying no, respecting the planet and the animals on it, spoiling ourselves with love, and smashing the patriarchy.

—Candace Reels, the Female Collective

+   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +  +  +  +  +  +

YOU ARE MAKING THE WORLD

Every minute of every hour of every day you are making the world, just as you are making yourself, and you might as well do it with generosity and kindness and style.

—Rebecca Solnit

+   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +  +  +  +  +  +

WILD STREAK OF WICKED LUCK

True or false: A wild streak of wicked luck is about to visit you, killing off your meek visions and making space for braver fantasies.

+   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +  +  +  +  +  +

HOLINESS IS AN INFINITE COMPASSION FOR OTHERS

"Holiness is an infinite compassion for others," wrote author and activist Olive Schreiner. "The soul is awakened through service," said author Erica Jong. I agree with them.

So maybe the quest for "enlightenment" is at least as much about helping to alleviate the world's suffering as it is about attaining a transcendent level of awareness or making pious displays of devotion to some deity.

+   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +  +  +  +  +  +

MY CONFESSION

Here’s a confession: I have taken a vow to foster beauty, truth, love, justice, equality, tolerance, creativity, playfulness, and hope. To do this work is one of my life goals. I approach it with the devotion of a monk and the rigor of a warrior.

Does that mean I ignore difficulty and suffering and cruelty? Of course not. I’m trying to diminish the power of those problems, so I sure as hell better know a lot about them.

On the other hand, my main focus is on redemption and exaltation. It would be an inept use of my precious life energy to dwell incessantly on detailed descriptions of the world’s poisons. I’d rather channel at least 51 percent of my love and power into finding and providing antidotes for them.

+   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +  +  +  +  +  +

WORKING ON PROBLEMS IS A HIGH ART

It may actually be dangerous to have nothing to worry about, no problems to solve, no friction to heat you up. That state can stimulate an unconscious yearning for any old dumb trouble that might stir up some excitement.

"We should feel excited about the problems we confront and our ability to deal with them," says Robert A. Wilson. "Solving problems is one of the highest and most sensual of all our brain functions."

+   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +  +  +  +  +  +

DEAR BELOVED EGO

My Facebook friend Dawn Robertson wrote a thank-you note to her ego, and I like it! Here's what she said:

Dear Beloved Ego,

I’m sorry the conscious and spiritual communities have given you such a bad rap.

Thank you for caring how others perceive me.

Thank you for letting me believe I can actually make a difference in the world - whether true or not.

Thank you for not letting me hide beyond humility to make myself small.

Thank you for the selfies and self promotion.

Thank you for pushing me to crave validation through my acts of service.

Thank you for allowing me to be a unique human who can be self interested at times.

Thank you for delightfully reminding me I have a story during the good times and the bad.

Thank you for the drive to be “successful” and allowing that marker to be fluid.

Thank you for pushing me to take myself more seriously.

Thank you for helping guide me to make decisions and revealing my fears.

Thank you for questioning the bullshit around me while others may following along sheeply.

Thank you for letting me be human and messy.
 

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
 

MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:

How to Build a Creative Ecology. There appear to be a few basic conditions that can help give rise to places where artists can make a living.
tinyurl.com/waqwdra

Those ubiquitous flimsy shopping sacks are vanishing from country after country, leaving less plastic in our seas, our trees and our own digestive systems.
tinyurl.com/w3k4g65

An A+ for accountability? How one school grades students’ “character data” as much as their homework, and gets a decent report card on future success
tinyurl.com/sjcw5f7
 

(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.
 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
 Week beginning January 2

Copyright 2019, 2020 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
 

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

I'm going to speculate that sometime in the next six months, you will experience events that years from now you'll look back on as having been the beginning of a fresh universe for you. What should you call this launch? I suggest you consider elegant terms like "Destiny Rebirth" or "Fate Renewal" rather than a cliché like the "Big Bang." And how should you celebrate it? As if it were the Grand Opening of the rest of your long life.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

In 2020, I believe you will be able to summon the insight and kismet necessary to resolve at least one long-running problem, and probably more. You'll have an enhanced ability to kick bad habits and escape dead-ends and uncover liberating truths about mysteries that have flustered you. Frustrations and irritations you've grudgingly tolerated for far too much time will finally begin to wane. Congratulations in advance, Aquarius! The hard work you do to score these triumphs won't always be delightful, but it could provide you with a curiously robust and muscular kind of fun.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

Let's say you wanted to dress completely in silk: shirt, pants, vest, scarf, socks, shoes, hat, underwear all made of silk. And let's say your dream was to grow and process and weave the silk from scratch. You'd start with half an ounce of silkworm eggs. They'd hatch into 10,000 silkworms. Eventually those hard-working insects would generate five pounds of silk—enough to create your entire outfit. So in other words, you'd be able to generate an array of functional beauty from a small but concentrated amount of raw material. By the way, that last sentence is a good description of what I think your general approach should be in 2020. And also by the way, dressing in silk wouldn't be too crazy an idea in the coming months. I hope you'll have fun cultivating your allure, style, and flair.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

"We are all hostages of the joy of which we deprive ourselves,' wrote poet Odysseus Elytis. Isn't that an astounding idea? That we refuse to allow ourselves to experience some of the bliss and pleasure we could easily have; and that we are immured inside that suppressed bliss and pleasure? I call on you, Aries, to rebel against this human tendency. As I see it, one of your main tasks in 2020 is to permit yourself to welcome more bliss, to aggressively seize more pleasure, and thereby free yourself from the rot of its nullification.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

At age 22, Taurus-born Dutch citizen Willem de Kooning sneaked into the United States. He was a stowaway on an Argentina-bound freighter, and stealthily disembarked when the ship made a stop in Virginia. As he lived in America during subsequent decades, he became a renowned painter who helped pioneer the movement known as abstract expressionism. His status as an illegal immigrant rarely presented any obstacles to his growing success and stature. Not until age 57 did he finally became an American citizen. I propose we make him one of your role models in 2020. May he inspire you to capitalize on being a maverick, outsider, or stranger. May he encourage you to find opportunities beyond your safety zone.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

When British novelist E. M. Forster was in his late 30s, he had sex with another person for the first time. Before that he had published five novels. After that, he produced just one more novel, though he lived till age 91. Why? Was he having too much fun? Looking back from his old, age, he remarked that he would "have been a more famous writer if I had published more, but sex prevented the latter." I suspect that sensual pleasure and intimacy will have the exact opposite effect on you in 2020, Gemini. In sometimes mysterious ways, they will make you more productive in your chosen sphere.
 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

EXPLORING YOUR LONG-RANGE FUTURE

Would you like some inspiration as you muse and wonder about your upcoming adventures in 2020?

In this week's EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, I offer you a long-term, in-depth exploration of your destiny in the coming months. This is Part One of a three-part series.

Part Two and Part Three will be available in the next two weeks.

Access them online at freewillastrology.sparkns.com. Register and/or sign in.

They are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888.

+

You can also still access my sneak-peek at 2020 from a week ago. To hear these, click on "Last Week (Dec 24, 2019)."

+

The cost is $6 per sign on the Web (discounts are available for bulk purchases), or $1.99 per minute by phone.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

"Every part of our personality that we do not love will regress and become hostile to us," wrote poet Robert Bly. I don't know anyone who doesn't suffer from this problem at least a little. That's the bad news. The good news for us Cancerians (yes, I'm a Crab!) is that 2020 will be a favorable time to engage in a holy crusade to fix this glitch: to feel and express more love for parts of our personality that we have dismissed or marginalized. The result? Any self-sabotage we have suffered from in the past could dramatically diminish.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

As a young adult, Leo-born Raymond Chandler worked as a fruit-picker, tennis racquet-stringer, and bookkeeper. At age 34, he began a clerical job at the Dabney Oil Syndicate, and eventually rose in the ranks to become a well-paid executive. The cushy role lasted until he was 44, when he was fired. He mourned for a while, then decided to become an author of detective fiction. It took a while, but at age 50, he published his first novel. During the next 20 years, he wrote six additional novels as well as numerous short stories and screenplays—and in the process became popular and influential. I present this synopsis as an inspirational story to fuel your destiny in 2020.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

The fame of Virgo-born Italian poet Ludovico Ariosto (1474–1533) has persisted through the ages because of Orlando Furioso, an epic poem he authored. It tells the story of the Christian knight Orlando and his adoration for a pagan princess. This great work did not come easily to Ariosto. It wasn't until he had written 56 versions of it that he was finally satisfied. I suspect you may harbor an equally perfectionist streak about the good works and labors of love you'll craft in 2020. May I suggest you confine your experiments to no more than ten versions?

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

Leonardo da Vinci worked on his painting The Last Supper from 1495 to 1498. It's a big piece—about 15 by 29 feet. That's one reason why he took so long to finish. But there was another explanation, too. He told his patron, the Duke of Milan, that he sometimes positioned himself in front of his painting-in-progress and simply gazed at and thought about it, not lifting a brush. Those were times he did some of his hardest work, he said. I trust you will have regular experiences like that in 2020, Libra. Some of your best efforts will arise out of your willingness and ability to incubate your good ideas with concentrated silence and patience.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

By 1895, Henry James had already published 94 books. He was renowned in the U.S. and England, and had written the works that would later lead to him being considered for a Nobel Prize. Then, at age 52, although he was not physically fit, he decided to learn how to ride a bicycle. He paid for lessons at a bicycle academy, and cheerfully tolerated bruises and cuts from his frequent falls as an acceptable price to pay for his new ability. I admire James' determination to keep transforming. Let's make him a role model for you in 2020. May he inspire you to keep adding new aptitudes as you outgrow your previous successes.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

When Sagittarian composer Ludwig van Beethoven created the Eroica symphony in the early 1800s, many observers panned it. They said its rhythms were eccentric, that it was too long. One critic said it was "glaring and bizarre," while another condemned its "undesirable originality." This same critic concluded, "Genius proclaims itself not in the unusual and fantastic but in the beautiful and sublime." Today, of course, Eroica has a different reputation. It's regarded as a breakthrough event in musical history. I'll go on record here, Sagittarius, to say that I suspect you created your own personal version of Eroica in 2019. 2020 is the year it will get the full appreciation.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

HOMEWORK:

Make three predictions about your life in 2020. Share if you like! Go to FreeWillAstrology.com and click on the icon for the envelope.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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, including but not limited to newsletters, books, the Free Will Astrology column, and Free Will Astrology website. We reserve the right to edit submissions for length, style, and content. Requests for anonymity will be honored. We are not responsible for unsolicited submission of any creative material.

Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright 2019 and 2020 Rob Brezsny

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++