Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
JANUARY 19, 2011
FreeWillAstrology.com
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BRAINSTORM ABOUT THE BIG PICTURE OF YOUR LIFE
with the help of my three-part
EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES
for the Coming Year
RealAstrology.com
You can still listen to my long-range, in-depth explorations
of your destiny in 2011. Each report in the three-part series
is about 7-9 minutes long.
What will be the story of your life in 2011? How can you exert
your free will to create the adventures that will bring out the
best in you, even as you find graceful ways to cooperate with
the tides of destiny?
If you'd like a high-octane boost of inspiration to fuel you
in your quest for beauty and truth and love and justice and meaning,
tune in to my meditations on your long-term outlook.
A new short-range forecast for this week is also available.
To find out more about Your BIG PICTURE horoscopes, go to RealAstrology.com.
You can also listen over the phone by calling 1-877-873-4888.
The cost is $6 per sign on the Web, or $1.99 per minute by phone.
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Here We Go Again with the "Zodiac Is Wrong" Scam
(There's more info about this issue on my site: bit.ly/AstroHoax)
News Flash: The zodiac isn't wrong. Your sign isn't changing.
Ignore the misinformation.
Every year or so, another astronomer erupts into the mainstream
media with a portentous announcement about how, due to the precession
of the equinoxes, the astrological signs are no longer aligned
with the actual constellations. Often the supposed 13th constellation,
Ophiuchus, is also invoked as a further proof of how delusional
astrologers are.
What it means, according to these experts, is that astrology
is invalid. Most of the people who think they're Tauruses are
actually Aries. Most Scorpios are really Libras. And so on.
That latest offering is from Parke Kunkle, a board member of
the Minnesota Planetarium Society. "When [astrologers] say
that the sun is in Pisces," he speculated, "it's really
not in Pisces." His supposition hit the Internet recently,
on Gawker (bit.ly/i1VxqE) and
the Minneapolis Star Tribune (bit.ly/f7hWwW),
among other places.
I understand that scientists like him would prefer not to lower
themselves to the task of actually doing research about how astrology
works. But if they're going to question its foundations, they
should at least learn it well enough to know what they're talking
about.
Here, briefly, is the lowdown on what certain astronomers are
too lazy to find out for themselves.
The astrological signs are not defined by the constellations you
see in the sky. In antiquity, when both astrological and astronomical
thinking were based on insufficient data, the names of the constellations
happened to be paired with the astrological signs. Today, those
pairings are no longer in sync: Astrological signs do not line
up with the constellations in the same way they did way back then,
due to the precession of the equinoxes.
Modern Western astrologers understand this perfectly. It 's irrelevant
to their work because the information upon which they base their
hypotheses does not involve a study of distant stars or constellations.
Rather, their data have to do with the movements of the planets
in our own solar system within a zone of influence defined by
the relationship between the Earth and Sun.
The key demarcation points in that relationship are the equinoxes
and solstices. At the Northern Hemisphere's vernal equinox, which
occurs on about March 20th of each year, the Sun enters into the
sign of Aries. At the Northern Hemisphere's summer solstice, the
sun enters into the sign of Cancer. The locations of the constellations
are irrelevant; the "influence of the stars" isn't considered.
To reiterate: Western astrologers don't work with stars or constellations.
Their focus is our solar system. They study the patterns of the
planets and the moon as they pass through 12 zones defined by
the relationship between the Earth and sun. Those zones have the
same names as constellations because of a historical quirk, but
they are unrelated to the constellations.
When Parke Kunkle triumphantly says, "There is no physical
connection between constellations and personality traits,"
as if he has finally stamped out the delusions of us astrologers,
he doesn't realize that we agree with him completely. We don't
deal with constellations.
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
AN OBVIOUS SECRET TO FEELING GOOD
Want to be happier? Pay Attention.
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A SMALLER KILLING MACHINE: CAN I GET A "HALLELUJAH"?
It's about time: Defense Secretary Robert Gates Proposes Military
Budget Cuts
tinyurl.com/ShrinkTheMilitary
THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER MODES OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND TYPES OF INTELLIGENCE
BESIDES THE DOMINANT ONES
"Awakening the Cosmic Serpent: Shamanism and Plant Teachers
in This Transformative Time": a class offered by my favorite
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bit.ly/CosmicSerpent
(Note: I endorse these because I like them. They 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 January 20
Copyright 2011 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
In the early 20th century, many women at the beach covered most
of their bodies with swimsuits made of wool. If they went in the
water, they'd emerge about 20 pounds heavier. Swimming was a challenge.
Your current psychic state has resemblances to what you'd feel
like if you were wearing drenched woolen underwear and a drenched
woolen clown suit and a drenched woolen robe. My advice? Take
it off; take it all off. The astrological omens are clear: Whatever
your reasons were for being in this get-up in the first place
are no longer valid.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
In comedian Sarah Silverman's memoir, The Bedwetter: Stories
of Courage, Redemption, and Pee, she confesses that she was
still wetting her bed at age 19. Depression was a constant companion
throughout adolescence, and she took a lot of Xanax. Yet somehow
she grew into such a formidable adult that she was able to corral
God himself to write the afterword for her book. How did she manage
that? "This is so trite," she told Publishers Weekly,
"but . . . sex." I predict that a comparable reversal
of fortune is ahead for you, Pisces. Some part of your past will
be redeemed, quite possibly with the sexy help of a divine ally.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
The age-old question comes up for review once again: Which should
predominate, independence or interdependence? The answer is always
different, of course, depending on the tenor of the time and the
phase of your evolution. But in the coming weeks, at least, my
view is that you should put more emphasis on interdependence.
I think you'll reap huge benefits from wholeheartedly blending
your energies with allies whose power and intelligence match yours.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
I find many of you Tauruses to be excessively self-effacing.
It's a trait that can be both endearing and maddening. Even as
my heart melts in the presence of Bulls who are underestimating
their own beauty, I may also feel like grabbing them by the shoulders
and shaking some confidence into them, barraging them with frustrated
exhortations like "Believe in yourself as much as I believe
in you, for God's sake!" But I'm guessing I won't be tempted
to do that anytime soon. You appear to be due for a big influx
of self-esteem.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
It will be good week to let your mind go utterly blank while
slouching in front of a TV and sipping warm milk, or to spend
hours curled up in a ball under the covers on your bed as you
berate yourself with guilty insults for the mistakes you've made
in your life. NOT! I'm kidding! Please don't you dare do anything
like that. It would be a terrible waste of the rowdy astrological
omens that are coming to bear on you. Here are some better ideas:
Go seek the fire on the mountain! Create a secret in the sanctuary!
Learn a trick in the dark! Find a new emotion in the wilderness!
Study the wisest, wildest people you know so that you, too, can
be wildly wise!
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
This would be an excellent week to grieve madly and deeply about
the old love affairs that shattered your heart. I've rarely seen
a better astrological configuration than there is now for purging
the residual anguish from those old romantic collapses. So I suggest
you conduct a formal ritual that will provide total exorcism and
bring you maximum catharsis. Maybe you could build a shrine containing
the photos and objects that keep a part of you stuck in the past,
and maybe you could find the bold words and innovative gestures
that will bid goodbye to them forever. Do you have any intuitions
about how to create a rousing healing ceremony?
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EXPLORING YOUR LONG-RANGE FUTURE
Would you like some inspiration as you muse and wonder about
your upcoming adventures in 2011?
You can still listen to my long-range, in-depth explorations
of your destiny in 2011. Each report in the three-part series
is about 7-9 minutes long.
Go to RealAstrology.com
to sign in and access the EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES
A new short-range forecast for this week is also available.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
The History cable TV channel has a reality TV show called
"Ice Road Truckers." It documents the exploits of drivers
who haul heavy loads in their 18-wheelers for long distances across
frozen rivers and lakes and swamps in Alaska and northwest Canada.
They bring supplies to remote outposts where humans work exotic
jobs like mining diamonds and drilling for natural gas. If you
have any truck-driving skills, Leo, you'd be a good candidate
to apply for a gig on the show. According to my analysis of the
astrological omens, your levels of courage and adventurousness
will be at an all-time high in 2011. May I suggest, though, that
you try to make your romps in the frontier more purely pleasurable
than what the ice road truckers have to endure?
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Pop chanteuse Katy Perry is renowned not only for her singing
ability but also for her physical appearance. Her preternatural
ability to sell her musical products can be attributed in part
to her sparkling good looks and charisma. That's why it was amusing
when her husband, the trickster Russell Brand, Twittered a raw
photo of her that he took as she lifted her head off the pillow,
awakening from a night of sleep. (See it at tinyurl.com/RealKaty.)
Without her make-up, Katy's visage was spectacularly ordinary.
Not ugly, just plain. In accordance with the astrological omens,
Virgo, I urge you to do what Russell Brand did: expose the reality
that lies beneath and behind the glamorous illusion, either in
yourself or anywhere else you find a need.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
While I was growing up, I was taught to regard my analytical
mind as a supreme tool for understanding reality. I've never stopped
believing that. However, I eventually realized I had to add the
following corollaries if I wanted to thrive: 1. My imagination
and intuition are as essential to my success as my analytical
mind; 2. I need to regularly express my playful, creative urges,
and that requires me to sometimes transcend my analytical mind;
3. to maintain my emotional well-being, I have to work with my
dreams, which occur in a realm where the analytical mind is not
lord and king. Does any of this ring true for you, Libra? Now
is an excellent time to cultivate other modes of intelligence
besides your analytical mind.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
If you're planning on spending any time hibernating during the
next few months, this would be an excellent time to do it. Your
reaction time is slowing down, which is a very healthy thing.
Meanwhile, your allergy to civilization is acting up, your head
is too full of thoughts you don't need, and your heart craves
a break from the subtle sorrows and trivial tussles of daily life.
So go find some sweet silence to hide inside, Scorpio. Treat yourself
to a slow-motion glide through the eternal point of view.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
"Dear Rob: All my life I've been passionate about the big
picture -- learning how the universe works, meditating on why
things are the way they are, and probing the invisible forces
working behind the scenes. Too often, though, I'm so enamored
of these expansive concepts that I neglect to pay enough humble
attention to myself. It's embarrassing. Loving the infinite, I
scrimp on taking care of the finite. Any advice? - Larger Than
Life Sagittarian." Dear Larger: You're in luck! Members of
the Sagittarian tribe have entered a phase when they can make
up for their previous neglect of life-nourishing details. In the
coming weeks, I bet you'll find it as fun and interesting to attend
to your own little needs as you normally do to understanding the
mysteries of the cosmos.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
All the most credible studies say that the crime rate is steadily
decreasing, and yet three out of every four people believe it's
rising. What conclusions can we draw from this curious discrepancy?
Here's one: The majority of the population is predisposed towards
pessimism. In my astrological opinion, Capricorn, you can't afford
to be victimized by this mass psychosis. If you are, it will interfere
with and probably even stunt the good fortune headed your way.
I'm not asking you to be absurdly optimistic. Just try to root
out any tendencies you might have to be absurdly gloomy.
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HOMEWORK:
Look in the mirror and tell yourself an edgy but fun truth you've
never spoken. If you care to share, write Truthrooster@gmail.com.
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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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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2011 Rob Brezsny
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