Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter November 7, 2007

Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
NOVEMBER 7, 2007
FreeWillAstrology.com

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"Only a naive and unhistorical mind can think that facts are more powerful than myths. All radical changes in human history are the results of the spread of a myth that, in a totally convincing manner, answers a crucially experienced need at a period of crisis."
-Dane Rudhyar, Culture, Crisis, and Creativity

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My book
"PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA:
How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings"
is available for sale at
tinyurl.com/qaj62

To read news and features from the book, go here:
tinyurl.com/lhwx2

Here's an excerpt:

YOUR LIFE WILL SUCK

If you choose to become a practitioner of pronoia, your life will suck. It has to suck.

Let me explain. As you cultivate the arts of gathering and redistributing the blessings that the universe is always conspiring to send your way, your life will suck in the best senses of the word.

First, your life will suck in the same way that you use a straw to compel a thick milk shake to disobey gravity and squirt into your mouth. Metaphorical translation: You'll work hard to pull toward you the resources you need, perhaps even exerting yourself with a force that goes against the natural flow.

Your pronoiac life will suck in a second way: like a powerful vacuum cleaner that inhales dirt from the floor and makes it disappear. You will have a sixth sense about getting rid of messes that are contaminating your clarity.

Here's a third interpretation: Once you commit yourself to the art of pronoia, you will most likely develop an unusually dynamic form of receptivity. Whether you're a man or woman, you'll be like a macho male with a willful intention to be like a welcoming female. As a result, you'll be regularly sucked into succulent opportunities you would never have come upon if you had let your pop nihilistic conditioning continue to dominate you. Your openness to uplifting adventures will make it easier for serendipitous miracles to find you and draw you in.

Let's take one more poetic leap of faith as we meditate on the metaphor. As you devote yourself to the art of making yourself available to the world's mysterious flood of blessings, your life will suck in the way that movements of the mouth and lips and tongue during close encounters with intimate partners stimulate pleasurable feelings.

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To read news and features from my book, go here: tinyurl.com/lhwx2

You can buy the book here:

AMAZON
tinyurl.com/qaj62

POWELLS
tinyurl.com/3dsx6q

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OTHER PRONOIA RESOURCES:

BOOKS TO SHATTER THE CONSENSUAL HALLUCINATION
Mind Before Matter, edited by John Mack
"Materialism is the dominant worldview in the West today. But it is only one worldview, and it doesn't completely work, even, ironically, being gradually undermined by the science that gave rise to it. This anthology of essays from significant figures in the world of science and consciousness studies sketches the framework for a new model of reality -- one based on the primacy of consciousness rather than of matter. It is a model we will need for survival on this planet. Mind Before Matter represents the first concerted salvo in a debate that could affect the worldview held by the modern, dominant culture."

MUSIC FROM MORE PRONOIAC PARTS OF THE WORLD
Rokku Mi Rokka by Youssou N'Dour

THE SPIRITUAL POWER OF TECHNOLOGY
Digital Dharma: A Users Guide to Expanding Consciousness in the Age of the Infosphere by Steven Vedro
tinyurl.com/yp4zbe
teleconsciousness.blogspot.com/
The book "explores the challenge and the joy in consciously embracing the spiritual truths and the 'shadow work' encoded in our cellphone and texting mania, our love/hate relationship with the foolish heart of television, the possibility of finding the truth over the internet, the challenge of deep-seeing brought to us by digital compression, and the glimpses of 'field awareness' inherent in pervasive wireless grid computing."

(Note: I endorse these because I like them. These are not advertisements, and I get no kickbacks.)

Please tell me your own personal nominations for PRONOIA RESOURCES.

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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning November 8

Copyright 2007 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

I believe that doing the challenging assignments I'm about to describe will put you in alignment with cosmic rhythms, and make it more likely that you will attract grace and synchronicity into your life. You are, of course, under no obligation to carry them out. That's because you have free will, and are always at liberty to choose a path that leads you away from grace and synchronicity. With that as a caveat, here are the roles I believe you should play in the coming week if you'd like to thrive: a catalytic X-factor; a tender wild card; a friendly shocker; a nonviolent bombshell; an agent provocateur who loves all you survey.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

You now have a talent for seeing what has been invisible. You're good at ferreting out secrets and uncovering hidden agendas. In fact, you can generate good fortune for yourself by articulating the confusing truths and unconscious feelings that have been simmering in the shadows. There's another task for which you have an exceptional aptitude, Sagittarius: drawing long-term cycles to a graceful finish. You have the power to climax meandering dramas that have been resistant to closure; you can find resolution where everyone said there could only be messy ambiguity.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

An atheist won't be elected President of the United States anytime soon. Polls show that every other minority is viewed more favorably than the God-is-a-fraud crowd. I think that's a shame. Even though I myself am a big fan of the Creator, I'm sure She loves cynics who don't believe in her just as much as She loves the most pious worshipers. Furthermore, I suspect that Her good will is sorely tested by the "religious" fanatics who spread hatred in Her name. So what does this have to do with your current horoscope? This: My analysis of the astrological omens suggests that you'd be wise to do as I just did, which is to declare your support for people whose ideas you disagree with.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

Last week, my STARmeter ranking on the Internet Movie Database (imdb.com) shot up 56 percent. I don't know why. Maybe the movie I helped make in the 1990s finally got distributed in Eastern Europe or something. Even if you've never been involved in the motion picture industry, Aquarius, I'm betting your unofficial STARmeter will soon zoom up, too. The astrological omens suggest it may even be time for your 15 minutes of fame. At the very least, you'll find yourself in the spotlight or rising in the popularity polls or gossiped about twice as much as usual.

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AUDIO LOVE LETTERS

In addition to the horoscopes that come to you in this newsletter, I create more in-depth audio horoscopes for your inspiration. I think of them as my love letters to you. They're $6 if you access them on the Web, or $1.99 per minute over the phone.

Try them at RealAstrology.com.

They're available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.

"I always feel like I know myself better after listening to your audio 'scopes."
-June R., Austin, TX

"Your audio horoscopes calm me down when I'm too manic and pep me up when I'm down."
-Arthur T., Cleveland, OH

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PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

The Arctic is heating up faster than the rest of the planet. As the ice melts, the far north's oil, natural gas, and diamonds are becoming more accessible to greedy humans. Russia has already planted its flag on the sea floor, hoping to lay claim to territory that has belonged to no one in particular up until now. Canada, America, and Denmark have also become players in this modern land grab. I predict that you will soon be dealing with a situation that has metaphorical resemblances to this development. Frozen assets will become available, and several parties will be caught up in a rush to appropriate them. If you truly believe you'd make best use of those riches, by all means formulate an aggressive action plan immediately.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

Read these lines by Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai, translated by Chana Block and Stephen Mitchell: "A flock of sheep near the airport or a high voltage generator beside the orchard: these combinations open up my life like a wound, but they also heal it. That's why my feelings always come in twos." Draw inspiration from this passage. Rather than experiencing the riddles and contradictions of your life merely as painful schisms, think of them also as mysterious unifications.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

During the lead up to Pennsylvania's election of a U.S. Senator in 2006, the leftist Green Party in Pennsylvania tried hard to get its candidate on the ballot. Facing almost insurmountable odds to raise the necessary funds, it turned to an unlikely source: conservative Republicans, who gladly and fiendishly contributed money in the hope that the Green Party's nominee would siphon votes away from their far more viable competitor, the Democratic candidate. I expect you may be able to pull off a similar coup in the coming weeks, Taurus: getting an adversary or opponent to aid and abet your cause.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

Do you have a pet pig? If so, it'll be a good week to imitate what Homer Simpson did in The Simpsons Movie: Hold your animal friend upside-down and help it simulate the act of creeping along the ceiling, all the while singing a "Spiderpig" version of the Spiderman theme song. And if none of that seems meaningful or relevant to you, please at least try to induce a lucid dream of yourself crawling along the inside of the vault in the Sistine Chapel, or hauling your luggage across the underside of a cloud, or gliding as slowly as a sloth out to the end of a big limb on an oak tree. You need action that's simultaneously high up and reversed, Gemini. You've got to be grounded yet rebellious as you soar. Or you need to defy gravity as you take baby steps. Or something like that.

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AUDIO HOROSCOPES

In addition to the horoscopes that you're reading here, I create audio horoscopes for your amusement and inspiration. Find out more at RealAstrology.com.

The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.

"You told me the truth when no one else in my life would."
-Darren H., Minneapolis

"Your wake-up calls keep me from getting stale."
-Arris T., Aspen, CO

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CANCER (June 21-July 22):

Though Wales is at the same latitude as Siberia, it's free of frigid tundra. Still, its climate isn't exactly balmy. Cool, cloudy, damp days are common. That's why Welsh horticulturalists cheered with shocked exultation last summer, when three outdoor banana plants produced fruit at the National Botanical Garden. It was an unprecedented miracle. I predict a comparable development for you, Cancerian. A source that has never been more than lukewarm will get downright tropical. An influence that has been inhospitable to your passion will become fertile and welcoming. As a result, you will bloom in a way you never have before.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

"A British study revealed that the average man spends a full six months of his life staring at women in a slack-jawed trance of frustrated desire," reported The Week magazine. That's the bad news. The good news? The omens suggest you have an extraordinary capacity right now to break any slack-jawed trance of frustrated desire you've been oppressed by. That's true whether you're a hetero man or any other kind of Leo. So identify the sad, unrequited longing that evokes your most poignant disappointment, and rise up to overthrow it. You've got the power to declare your independence.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

Lieutenant General Ricardo S. Sanchez, who was the supreme commander of U.S. troops in Iraq from June 2003 to July 2004, thinks his government has made tragic mistakes. Citing "a catastrophically flawed war plan," he said, "There has been a glaring display of incompetent strategic leadership from our national leaders." Sanchez is your role model for the coming week, Virgo. I hope he inspires you to do one of three things: (1) raise a critique of a group or institution you've been an instrumental part of; (2) rebel against the faulty execution of an idea you support; (3) put your service to moral truth above blind loyalty.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

It will be a good week to build your spiritual prowess by dancing on burning embers without getting scorched, by smashing bricks with your forehead without getting a headache, or by parachuting out of a plane without scaring yourself to death. But there are other, less physical ways to jolt yourself into a higher state of awareness; you don't need to risk injury in order to boost your ability to see the big picture. For example, you could push through the terror you feel about asking for what you really want. You could overcome your fear of being honest with people you care about. You could stride into a place where you once experienced a defeat, and take the forceful action necessary to render that loss irrelevant.

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HOMEWORK:

Tell what techniques you've discovered about feeding honey to crocodiles. Go to FreeWillAstrology.com and click on "Email Rob."

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WANT TO GET YOUR CHART DONE?

I'm not doing personal charts, but I highly recommend my astrological colleague, RO LOUGHRAN. Her approach closely matches my own. In our many discussions about astrology over the years, we've had a major influence on each other's work.

Ro utilizes a blend of well-trained intuition, emotional warmth, and a high degree of technical proficiency in horoscope interpretation; she is skilled at exploring the mysteries of your life's purpose and nurturing your connection with your own inner wisdom.

Ro is based in California, but can do phone consultations and otherwise work with you regardless of geographic boundaries.

Ro's website is at YourSoulJourney.com

She can also be reached at roloughran@comcast.net

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Submissions sent to the Free Will Astrology Weekly 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 such submissions for length, style, and content. Requests for anonymity will be honored with submissions; otherwise, reader names, screen names, or initials will be used. Please be sure to note your preference when sending to us. We are not responsible for unsolicited submission of any creative material.

Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright 2007 Rob Brezsny

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