Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
January 22, 2020
FreeWillAstrology.com
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"Do not be daunted by the insurmountability of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work but neither are you free to abandon it."
— The Talmud
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Dear Readers,
I've gathered all of the long-term, big-picture horoscopes I wrote for you in recent weeks, and bundled them in one place. Here's a compendium of your forecasts for 2020:
bit.ly/2020BigPicture
In addition to these, I've created EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES that go even further in Exploring Your Long-Term Destiny in 2020.
What will be the story of your life in the coming months? What new influences will be headed your way? What fresh resources will you be able to draw on? How can you conspire with life to create the best possible future for yourself?
To listen to these three-part, in-depth reports, go here:
freewillastrology.sparkns.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, Part 3.)
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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NAIVE OPTIMISM VERSUS CRAFTY OPTIMISM
Some people who know about my book Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia refuse to read it because they assume it's rooted in naive optimism and dumb hope. It's not, of course, which they would know if they simply read the first part of the first piece in the book, which goes as follows:
This is a perfect moment. It's a perfect moment for many reasons, but especially because you and I are waking up from our sleepwalking, thumbsucking, dumb-clucking collusion with the masters of illusion and destruction.
Thanks to them,
from whom the painful blessings flow,
we are waking up.
Their wars and tortures,
their crimes against nature,
extinctions of species
and brand new diseases.
Their spying and lying
in the name of the father,
sterilizing seeds and
trademarking water.
Molestations of God,
celebrations of shame,
stealing our dreams and
changing our names.
Their cunning commercials
and blood-sucking hustles,
their endless rehearsals
for the end of the world.
Thanks to them,
from whom the awful teachings flow,
we are waking up.
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In my book, I draw on the work of Martin Seligman, who founded the branch of psychology known as Positive Psychology. He has explained how Positive Psychology is different in significant ways from mere positive thinking, which can indeed be rooted in naive optimism and dumb hope..
Seligman writes, "Positive Psychology says that in spite of the many advantages of positive thinking, there are times when negative thinking is to be preferred.
"Although there are many scientific studies that correlate positivity with later health, longevity, sociability, and success, the balance of the evidence suggests that in some situations negative thinking leads to more accuracy.
"Where accuracy is tied to potentially bad outcomes, we should all be pessimists.
"With these benefits in mind, Positive Psychology aims for the optimal balance between positive and negative thinking. Many leaders in the Positive Psychology movement have spent decades working on the 'negative' side of things. Positive Psychology is a supplement to negative psychology, not a substitute."
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WISDOM AND FUN
A reader scolded me, telling me that none of us should ever answer the question "Who am I?" We should always leave it an open question, he declared, and never speculate on what the answers might be.
I said, "I don't agree. It's fun and useful to come up with provisional answers to the question 'Who am I?", knowing that no answer is the final, definitive one."
He said, "Wisdom has nothing to do with fun."
I said, "For me, wisdom and fun are inextricably related and inseparable."
I said, "I get new answers to the question 'Who am I?' all the time, and will continue to do so forever."
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MY POEM CAN BE YOUR POEM
I am a blast of sun
as it love-cracks the horizon
I am a bat careening precisely
to pounce like a shadow
on a resting spider
I am a midnight echoing
with hilarious coyote cries
I am a dusk fog that a strong man
gets lost in on the way home
I am two white-throated, white-bellied swifts
that mate as we fly
I am a broken necklace of pearls
fallen behind a dresser
I am the aroma of parched earth
as it's drenched with generous rain
I am a supermassive black hole
at the galactic center
I am a half-eaten doughnut in the dumpster,
brushed with tomato pulp
I am the glint of icicles
drooping from a fungus-wounded pine tree
and I am the pine tree and the fungus
I am a swoon of light that the moon
scatters on the creek mud at low tide
and the parade of five tiny crabs
that worship the luminosity
I am a persimmon on a tree
that is perfectly ripe to eat right now
I am a woman jogging fearlessly
through the birch tree forest
because all the predatory males
have disappeared
I am mushrooms
gleefully feasting on dead leaves
and flinging millions of spores
out on the genius wind
Why?
Because I'm nimble with good cheer
Because I'm in love with color and sound
Because I followed the orders of my raucous heart
Because I changed and changed and changed
until I couldn't stop, didn't want to stop changing
And now I am alive everywhere and everywhen
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BELIEVING IN MARVELS
People with a psychological need to believe in marvels are no more prejudiced and gullible than people with a psychological need not to believe in marvels.
—author and researcher Charles Fort
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Trees Are Healing Our Planet. A recent study found that new forests might be our best shot at saving the world. A global guide to doing it right.
tinyurl.com/yxjd7h9k
Like a mirage, an ethereal woodland kingdom rises from the Egyptian sands to fight desertification
tinyurl.com/t8evzxz
Mexico’s tax on sugary drinks will save thousands of lives and millions of dollars. Ahhh… sweet social change.
tinyurl.com/y4feush9
(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 January 23
Copyright 2020 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
I'm a big fan of self-editing. For example, every horoscope I write evolves over the course of at least three drafts. For each book I've published, I have written but then thrown away hundreds of pages that I ultimately deemed weren't good enough to be a part of the finished text. And yet now and then, I have created a poem or song in one rapid swoop. My artistic artifact is exactly right the first time it flows out of me, with no further tinkering needed. I suspect you're now entering a phase like that, Aquarius. I'm reminded of poet Allen Ginsberg's operative principle: "first thought, best thought."
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Who don't you want to be, Pisces? Where don't you want to go? What experiences are not necessary in your drive to become the person you were born to be? I encourage you to ask yourself questions like those in the coming weeks. You're entering a phase when you can create long-term good fortune for yourself by knowing what you don't like and don't need and don't require. Explore the positive effects of refusal. Wield the power of saying NO so as to liberate yourself from all that's irrelevant, uninteresting, trivial, and unhealthy.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) declared that English writer Lord Byron (1788–1824) was the greatest genius of the 19th century. Here's an interesting coincidence: Byron regarded Goethe as the greatest genius of the 19th century. I bring this to your attention, Aries, in the hope that it will inspire you to create a similar dynamic in your own life during the coming months. As much as possible, surround yourself with people whom you think are wonderful and interesting and enlivening—and who think you are wonderful and interesting and enlivening.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Taurus-born Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) was a renowned German composer who lived most of his life is Germany and Austria. He became so famous and well-respected that England's Cambridge University offered him an honorary degree if he would visit the campus. But Brahms was too timid to risk crossing the English Channel by boat. (There were no airplanes and Chunnel in those days.) He declined the award. I beg you not to do anything even remotely like that in the coming weeks, Taurus. Please summon the gumption necessary to claim and gather in all you deserve.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
According to my analysis of the astrological omens, the coming weeks will be one of those rare times when you can safely engage with influences that might normally rattle you. You'll be protected as you wander into the unknown and explore edgy mysteries. Your intuition will be highly reliable if you make bold attempts to solve dilemmas that have previously confounded and frustrated you. If you've been waiting for the perfect moment to get a bit wild and exploratory, this is it.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851) is regarded as one of England's greatest painters. He's best known for his luminous and imaginative landscapes. His experimental use of light and color influenced the Impressionist painters who came after him. But the weird thing is that after his death, many of his works were lost for decades. In 1939, a famed art historian found over a hundred of them rolled up like tarpaulins in the basement of an art museum. Let's apply this event as a metaphor for what's ahead in your life, Cancerian. I suspect that buried or lost elements of your past will soon be rediscovered and restored. I bet it will be fun and illuminating!
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EXPLORING THE BIG PICTURE OF YOUR LONG-RANGE FUTURE
Would you like some inspiration as you muse and wonder about your upcoming adventures in 2020?
You can still listen to my long-range, in-depth explorations of your destiny in the coming months. Each report in the three-part series is 7 to 9 minutes long.
Go to freewillastrology.sparkns.com to register and/or sign in through the main page.
Then access the Long-Term, Big-Picture EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES by clicking on "Long Range Prediction." Choose from Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
The cost for the Expanded Audio Horoscopes is $6 per sign. (You can get discounts for multiple purchases.)
A new short-range forecast for this week is also available.
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"Your Expanded Audio Horoscopes provide me with the Rest of the Story. I'm not necessarily a believer in the scientific accuracy of astrology, but I do think you've got a lot of practical wisdom to impart."
- M. Tennenbaum, New York
"No one knows more about me than me. But you're right up there near the top of the list of people who do understand something about how I tick. How is that possible?"
- R. Goren, Albuquerque
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LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
In my early adult life, I lived below the poverty line for many years. How did that impact me? Here's one example: I didn't own a mattress from ages 23 to 39, but rather slept on a two-inch thick foam pad that lay directly on the floor. I'm doing better now, thank you. But my early experiences ensured that I would forever have profound empathy for people who don't have much money. I hope this will serve as inspiration for you, Leo. The next seven weeks will be the Empathy Building Season for you. The cosmos will reward you if you build your ability to appreciate and understand the pains and joys of other humans. Your compassion will be tonic for both your mental and physical health.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Ancient Greek author Theophrastus was a scientist before the concept of "scientist" existed. His writings on botany were influential for hundreds of years after his death. But some of his ideas would be considered unscientific today. For example, he believed that flute music could heal sciatica and epilepsy. No modern research suggests that the charms of the flute can literally cure physical ailments like those. But there is a great deal of evidence that music can help relieve pain, reduce anxiety, reduce the side effects of drugs, assist in physical therapy, and even make you smarter. And my reading of the current astrological omens suggests that the therapeutic effects of music will be especially dramatic for you during the next three weeks.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
"Learning to love is difficult, and we pay dearly for it," wrote the serious and somber author Fyodor Dostoevsky. "It takes hard work and a long apprenticeship," he added. All that's true, I think. To hone our ability to express tenderness and warmth, even when we're not at our best, is the most demanding task on earth. It requires more courage than that of a soldier in the frenzy of battle, as much imagination as a poet, and diligence equal to that of an architect supervising the construction of a massive suspension bridge. And yet on the other hand—contrary to what Dostoevsky believed—sometimes love is mostly fun and inspiring and entertaining and educational. I suspect that the coming weeks will be one of those phases for you.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
How well do you nurture yourself, dear Scorpio? How diligent are you in providing yourself with the sustenance that ensures your body, mind, and soul will thrive? Are you imaginative in the ways that you keep yourself excited about life? Do you take strong measures to avoid getting attached to mediocre pleasures, even as you consistently hone your focus on the desires that lead you to joy and deep satisfaction? The coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to meditate on these questions.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Seven books of the Bible's Old Testament refer to a magical place called Ophir. It was a source of exotic finery and soulful treasures like gold, peacocks, jewels, frankincense, and precious sandalwood. One problem: No one, not even a Biblical scholar, has ever figured out where it was. Zimbabwe? India? Tunisia? Its location is still unknown. I am bringing this to your attention because I suspect that in 2020 there'll be a good chance you'll discover and gain access to your own metaphorical Ophir: a fount of interesting, evocative resources. For best results, be primed and eager to offer your own skills and riches in exchange for what this fount can provide to you.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Capricorn filmmaker Steven Soderbergh says it's crucial for us to have a well-developed story about who we are and what we're doing with our lives. It's so important, he feels, that it should be the trigger that flings us out of bed every morning. We've got to make our story so vivid and interesting that it continually motivates us in every little thing we do. Soderbergh's counsel is always good to keep in mind, of course, but it will be even more so for you in the coming months. Why? Because your story will be expanding and deepening, and you'll need to make the necessary adjustments in how you tell your story to yourself.
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HOMEWORK:
I've gathered all of the long-term, big-picture horoscopes I wrote for you in the past few weeks, and bundled them in one place: bit.ly/2020BigPicture
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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 2020 Rob Brezsny
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