Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
October 16, 2019
FreeWillAstrology.com
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What if there's no contradiction between being your idiosyncratic self in love with your life and serving others with the best gifts you have to give?
What if exploring your inner world to activate your personal genius dovetails perfectly with fighting to recreate the soulless culture we're embedded in?
What if working on your own salvation makes you a more effective force in liberating others from their suffering?
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WE'RE ALL FAMILY
Quoting geneticists, Guy Murchie says we're all family. You have at least a million relatives as close as tenth cousin, and no one on Earth is any further removed than your fiftieth cousin.
Murchie also describes our kinship through an analysis of how deeply we share the air. With each breath, you take into your body 10 sextillion atoms, and—owing to the wind's ceaseless circulation—over a year's time you have intimate relations with oxygen molecules exhaled by every person alive, as well as by everyone who ever lived.
Right now you may be carrying atoms that were once inside the lungs of Malcolm X, Shakespeare, Joan of Arc, and Cleopatra.
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EXPERIMENTS
Be tastefully crazy and gracefully racy,
walk sleek and lithe like a supernatural champion,
think chunky and sing funky,
dream upside-down and breathe inside-out,
laugh incorrectly and change everything you look at,
be a wonder-plucker and a thunder-sucker,
expunge guilt with a tender vengeance
and erase shame like a legendary joker,
do no harm and take no shit
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PRIMAL LONGING
Recently I wrote about the pleasures that can come from cultivating a robust relationship with one’s primal longing. "What is a 'primal longing' exactly?" a reader asked me.
I replied: Your primal longing is the deepest yearning you have; the essential desire that brought you here to earth; the reason why you're alive; the goal that's most important for you to strive for this lifetime; your core driving force.
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FAKE ENLIGHTENMENT
If your quest for spiritual enlightenment doesn't enhance your ability to witness and heal the suffering of your fellow humans, then it's fake enlightenment.
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SEVEN BILLION, 700 MILLION RELIGIONS
There is no God. God is dead. God is a drug for people who aren't very smart. God is an illusion sold to dupes by money-hungry religions. God is a right-wing conspiracy. God is an infantile fantasy favored by superstitious cowards who can't face life's existential meaninglessness.
JUST KIDDING! The truth is, anyone who says he or she knows what God is or isn't, doesn't really know.
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What if the Creator is like the poet Rainer Maria Rilke's God: "like a webbing made of a hundred roots, that drink in silence"? What if the Source of All Life inhabits both the dark and the light, heals with strange splendor as much as with sweet insight, is hermaphroditic and omnisexual?
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What if the Source loves to give you riddles that push you past the boundaries of your understanding, forcing you to change the ways you think about everything? What if, as Rusty Morrison speculates in Poetry Flash, "the sublime can only be glimpsed by pressing through fear's boundary, beyond one's previous conceptions of the beautiful"?
Close your eyes and imagine you can sense the presence of this tender, marvelous, difficult, entertaining intelligence.
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In "Letters to a Young Poet," Rilke urged an aspiring bard to change the way he imagined the Supreme Being. "Why don't you conceive of God as an ally who is coming," Rilke said, "who has been approaching since time began, the one who will someday arrive, the fruit of a tree whose leaves we are? Why not project his birth into the future, and live your life as an excruciating and lyrical moment in the history of a prodigious pregnancy?"
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Philosopher Robert Anton Wilson proposed that the single greatest contribution to world peace would come from there being over seven billion different religions—a unique spiritual path for each person on the planet. The Beauty and Truth Lab urges you to get started on doing your part to make this happen. What will your religion be called? What rituals will you perform? Write down your three core tenets.
You'll also need a new name for the Creator. "God" and "Goddess" have been so overused and abused that most of us are numb to them. And given the spiritual opportunities that will open up for you as you explore pronoia, you can't afford to have an impaired sensitivity toward the Great Mystery.
Here's an idea to stimulate your search: The Russian word for God is "Bog." The Basques call the Supreme Being "Jingo." To purge your psychic dockets of built-up fixations about deity, you might try singing improvisational prayers to "Jingo Bog."
Here are a few other fresh names to inspire you:
Blooming HaHa
Divine Wow
Whirl-ZapGush
Sublime Cackler
Chthonic Riddler
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Read more of these excerpts from my book Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings: bit.ly/FreshGod
Or buy the book: bit.ly/Pronoia
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Forbidden knowledge & illegal truth
Defiant compassion & outlaw gratitude
Friendly shocks & fertile chaos
Sacred transgression & tumultuous beauty
Spiritual anarchy & liberated morality
Joyful wrath, adoring pranks, & taboo justice
Outrageous prayers & tender apocalypses
Venerable violations & seething exaltations
Zen pride & redemptive charisma
Unopinionated perceptions & shrewd innocence
Flagrant exaltation & notorious lucidity
Fanatical balance & insane poise
Rigorous flexibility & robust humility
Militant ecstasy & raucous resonance
Shadowy clarity & illuminating ambiguity
Open-hearted rage & luminous teasing
Mystical activism & crazy logic
Devout breakdowns & restorative deviance
Radical curiosity, fierce inquiry, & voracious listening
(The above is excerpted from the Chaos Magick manual disguised as a self-help book, Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: bit.ly/Pronoia)
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Putting Parks over Pavement. Urban neighborhoods that were severed decades ago by massive highways are finally being sewn back together by public spaces designed to reconnect and heal.
tinyurl.com/yy74ugrg
Donors have given $17 million to start the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins Medicine, making it the first such research center in the U.S. and the largest research center of its kind in the world.
tinyurl.com/yx9utscp
An all-female Anti-Poaching Unit in South Africa called Black Mambas. They reduced the number of incidents of snaring and poaching by as much as 76 percent (nationalgeographic.com)
tinyurl.com/y3x7tnep
(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 October 17
Copyright 2019 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
In ancient holy texts from India, soma was said to be a drink that enhanced awareness and alertness. According to modern scholars, it may have been a blend of poppy, ephedra, and cannabis. In Norse mythology, the beverage called the Mead of Suttungr conferred poetic inspiration and the ability to solve any riddle. One of its ingredients was honey. In Slavic folklore, raskovnik is an herb with the magic power to unlock what's locked and uncover hidden treasures. It's not a four-leaf clover, but resembles it. I invite you Libras to fantasize about using these three marvels. To do so will potentize your imagination, thereby boosting the cosmic forces that will be working in your favor to enhance your awareness, confer inspiration, solve riddles, unlock what's locked, and find hidden treasures.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Inventor Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983) was a visionary genius in numerous fields, including architecture, design, engineering, and futurism. In the course of earning 40 honorary doctorates, he traveled widely. It was his custom to wear three watches, each set to a different time: one to the zone where he currently was, another to where he had recently departed, and a third to where he would journey next. "I know that I am not a category," he wrote. "I am not a thing—a noun. I seem to be a verb." I recommend his approach to you in the coming weeks, Scorpio. Be a verb! Allow your identity to be fluid, your plans adjustable, your ideas subject to constant revision.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
"Art is good for my soul precisely because it reminds me that we have souls in the first place," said actress Tilda Swinton. How about you, Sagittarius? What reminds you that you have a soul in the first place? Beloved animals? Favorite music? A stroll amidst natural wonders? Unpredictable, fascinating sexual experiences? The vivid and mysterious dreams you have at night? Whatever stimuli bring you into visceral communion with your soul, I urge you to seek them out in abundance. It's Soul-Cherishing and Soul-Enhancing Time for you.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
The coming weeks will be a favorable time to arrange a series of high-level meetings between your body, mind, and soul. You might even consider staging an extravagant conference-like festival and festival-like conference. The astrological omens suggest that your body, mind, and soul are now primed to reveal choice secrets and tips to each other. They are all more willing and eager than usual to come up with productive new synergies that will enable each to function with more panache and effectiveness.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
"I believe in inhabiting contradictions," writes Aquarian author and activist Angela Davis. "I believe in making contradictions productive, not in having to choose one side or the other side. As opposed to choosing either or choosing both." I think Davis's approach will work well for you in the coming weeks. It's not just that the contradictions will be tolerable; they will be downright fertile, generous, and beneficent. So welcome them; honor them; allow them to bless you with their tricky opportunities and unexpected solutions.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Piscean pianist Frédéric Chopin (1801–1849) was a poetic genius whose music was full of sweetness and grace. "Without equal in his generation," said more than one critic. Today, more than 170 years after his death, his work remains popular. Recently an Italian sound designer named Remo de Vico created an original new Chopin piece that featured all 21 of the master's piano nocturnes being played simultaneously. (You can hear it here: tinyurl.com/NewChopin.) As you might imagine, it's a gorgeous mess, too crammed with notes to truly be enjoyable, but interesting nevertheless. I'll counsel you to avoid a similar fate in the coming weeks, Pisces. It's fine to be extravagant and expansive and multifaceted; just don't overdo it.
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I LOVE YOU!
It has been a while since I told you that I love you. So I'm doing it now. I LOVE YOU.
And that's why I continue to offer these weekly horoscopes to you free of charge, with no strings attached. That's why I work so hard to be a playful therapist and an edgy mentor for you. That's why I am so tenacious in my efforts to serve you as a feminist father figure and a kindly devil's advocate and a sacred cheerleader.
Again, I don't expect anything in return from you. But if you would like to express your appreciation, you could do so by offering a similar type of well-crafted care to people in your own sphere.
There is also something you could do to support me -- and help yourself at the same time! -- and that is to buy my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES for you. They're four-to-five-minute meditations on the current state of your destiny.
These forecasts are different in tone and format from the written horoscopes you read here in the newsletter.
To listen to your Expanded Audio Horoscope online, go to freewillastrology.sparkns.com
Register and/or log in through the main page.
You can also listen over the phone by calling 1-877-873-4888.
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The cost is $6 per sign on the On the Web. (Discounts are available for bulk purchases.) You can also access them for $1.99 per minute by phone
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ARIES (March 21-April 19):
"We can't change anything until we get some fresh ideas, until we begin to see things differently," wrote Aries psychologist James Hillman. I agree. And that's very good news for you Aries people. In my view, you are more attracted to and excited by fresh ideas than any other sign of the zodiac. That's why you have the potential to become master initiators of transformation. One of my favorite types of plot twists in your life story occurs when you seek out fresh ideas and initiate transformations not only in your own behalf, but also for those you care about. I bet the coming weeks will bring at least one of those plot twists.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Metaphorically speaking, Taurus, you are now crossing a bridge. Behind you is the intriguing past; in front of you, the even more intriguing future. You can still decide to return to where you came from. Or else you could pick up your pace, and race ahead at twice the speed. You might even make the choice to linger on the bridge for a while; to survey the vast vistas that are visible and contemplate more leisurely the transition you're making. Only you know what's best for you, of course. But if you asked me, I'd be in favor of lingering on the bridge for a while.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
As I write this, I'm sitting in a café near two women at another table. One sports a gold cashmere headscarf and pentagram necklace. The other wears a dark blue pantsuit and a silver broach that's the glyph for Gemini the Twins. HeadScarf shuffles a deck of Tarot cards and asks PantSuit what she'd like to find out during the divination she is about to receive. "I would very much like you to tell me what I really really want," PantSuit says with a chuckle. "I'm sure that once I find out that big secret, I'll be able to accomplish wonders." I hope the rest of you Geminis will be on a similar mission in the coming weeks. Do whatever it takes to get very clear about what you want most.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Ancient Greek philosopher Socrates was meandering through an Athenian marketplace, gazing at the appealing and expensive items for sale. "How many things there are in this world that I do not want," he exclaimed with satisfaction. I recommend you cultivate that liberated attitude. Now is a perfect time to celebrate the fact that there are countless treasures and pleasures you don't need in order to be charmed and cheerful about your life. For extra credit, add this nuance from Henry David Thoreau: People are rich in proportion to the number of things they can afford to let alone.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
I invite you to try this exercise. Imagine that one springtime you grow a garden filled with flowers that rabbits like to nibble: petunias, marigolds, gazanias, and pansies. This is a place whose only purpose is to give gifts to a wild, sweet part of nature. It's blithely impractical. You do it for your own senseless, secret joy. It appeals to the dreamy lover of life in you. Got all that, Leo? Now, in accordance with current astrological omens, I suggest you actually try to fulfill a fantasy comparable to that one in the coming weeks.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
My Virgo friend Lola got a text-message from her Scorpio buddy Tanya. "Why don't you come over and chill with me and my demons? It'll be entertaining, I promise! My inner jerks are howlingly funny tonight." Here's what Lola texted back: "Thanks but no thanks, sweetie. I've been making big breakthroughs with my own demons—giving them the attention they crave without caving in to their outrageous demands—and for now I need to work on stabilizing our new relationship. I can't risk bringing extra demons into the mix." I suspect this is an accurate description of what could be happening for you, Virgo.
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HOMEWORK:
"I have thousands of opinions still—but that is down from millions—and, as always, I know nothing." So said Harold Brodkey. And you? FreeWillAstrology.com
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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 2019 Rob Brezsny
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