Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
May 26, 2021
FreeWillAstrology.com
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Proposed Experiment: Compose a declaration describing an experience, state of mind, or project you'll be most excited to cultivate at the center of your life during the next six months—starting now.
Write it out in longhand on a piece of paper. Put that statement in a place where you will see it regularly.
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MODESTLY RADICAL HYPOTHESES ABOUT WONDER
1. If everything seems to be under control, we're probably not moving fast enough.
2. If we're not pretty much always a bit confused, most likely we're not thinking deeply enough.
3. If we're not feeling forever amazed, maybe we're not seeing wildly enough.
4. The truth is fluid, slippery, vagrant, scrambled, promiscuous, kaleidoscopic, and outrageously abundant. And yet it's worth trying to corral!
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KEY TO THE FUTURE
The key to the future of the world is finding the optimistic stories and letting them be known.
—Pete Seeger
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MODESTLY RADICAL HYPOTHESES ABOUT LOVE
Love thrives when neither partner takes things personally, so it's wise for us to cultivate a devotion to forgiveness and divest ourselves of the urge to blame.
Love is a game in which the rules keep changing, so it's wise for us to be crafty and improvisational as we stay alert for each unexpected twist of fate.
Love enmeshes us in your partner's unique set of karmic complications, so it's wise to make sure we're very interested in his or her problems.
Love is a laboratory where we can uncover secrets about ourselves that have previously been hidden, so it's wise to be ravenously curious.
Love is never a perfect match of totally compatible saints, so it's wise for us to not let sterile fantasies seduce us away from flawed but fecund realities.
Love is not a low-maintenance machine, so it's wise for us to work hard on cultivating its unpredictable organic wonders.
Love is not a wholly-owned subsidiary of DreamWorks or Disney, so it's wise for us to not allow our romantic story be infected by the entertainment industry's simplistic, sentimental myths about intimate relationships.
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WHY PERFECTION SUX
Homework: Write an essay on at least two of the following topics:
1. "How I Used My Nightmares to Become Smart and Strong"
2. "How I Exploited My Problems to Become a Spiritual Freedom Fighter"
3. "How I Fed and Fed and Fed My Monsters Until They Ate Themselves to Death"
4. "How I Turned Envy, Frustration, and Smoldering Anger into Generosity, Compassion, and Fiery Success"
5. "Why Perfection Sux"
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WE ARE THE SUN
The sun shines not on us but in us. The rivers flow not past, but through us. Thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our bodies, making them glide and sing.
The trees wave and the flowers bloom in our bodies as well as our souls, and every bird song, wind song, and tremendous storm song of the rocks in the heart of the mountains is our song, our very own, and sings our love.
—John Muir
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LOVE MAKES YOU SMART?
This is my hypothesis: That in order to understand anything or anyone, you have to love it. And by love it, I don’t mean feel romantic passion for it or from it, or any other version of love that is tinged with expectation or sentimentality. This is a kind of love that’s characterized by compassion, empathy, and lovingkindness.
To open yourself up with love to an iris or redwood tree or hermit crab is to assert that you find those life forms worthy enough to bestow blessings upon; and furthermore, that you find them worthy enough to communicate with.
Because when you open yourself to a creature or living thing with love in order to understand it, you make it possible for that singuklare form of intelligence to communicate with you — most likely in its own language, which is not English, nor even verbal; and through the lens of its own unique intelligence, which is not (in the case of the iris, redwood, or crab) the intelligence that is housed in a human brain.
When you open yourself in love in order to understand a creature or living thing, you are telling that creature or living thing not only that you want to perceive its essence, but that you are also willing and even interested in being influenced by its essence, being changed by its essence.
You’re telling it that you’re receptive to be touched by its specific intelligence speaking through its special language — not your own intelligence and language.
This gives the creature or living thing — iris, redwood, or crab — a great gift: which consists, in part, of the opportunity to give you a great gift.
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Every creature and living thing is a node in the Divine Consciousness, is a special case of the intelligence of the All, and longs to express itself in such a way as to give you a present.
I mean that literally. Everything LONGS to express itself so that you can take it in. And everything LONGS to thereby give you the gift of itself.
This is not a selfish longing to be seen for itself so much as a longing to give you the special wisdom and beauty that it alone possesses and channels: a longing to give the unique glimpse at the Divine Consciousness that comes through it alone.
In giving your loving attention to the iris or redwood or crab, you are showing it that you want to understand it. This allows the iris or redwood or crab, in turn, to give you the tremendous and mysterious gift of its special intelligence, expressed through its unique language.
The gift you receive is double: You’re able to get out of yourself, able to transcend your narrow interests and intelligence sufficiently to learn how to understand the iris or redwood or crab in its native tongue.
The second gift is that you’re able to harvest the actual benefits of the “information” that the iris’s intelligence and language convey (and redwood’s and crab’s), whether than information comes in the form of an intuition about the nature of reality, or an opening in yourself of the part of the universal God hologram that corresponds to the iris or redwood or crab.
(Yes, you are a tiny hologram of the Universal Projector, the One and Only Hologram, but sometimes, in order to “turn on” parts of the Universal Hologram within you, you have to open to those parts in the physical world."
This is an important part of my strategy to enter into a variety of altered states in my quest to viscerally commune with the Divine Consciousness, a.k.a the mind of Goddess.
If I can learn to speak the language of the iris and redwood and crab, and somehow awaken in myself the part of my intelligence that is like an iris’s and redwood’s and crab’s (and it’s all there, since I contain or rather am a hologram of the All-in-One), then I have in effect achieved an altered state.
I have jolted myself out of my normal human humdrum awareness and added to my repertoire a fresh perspective, an additional mode of perceiving and understanding the world: as the iris or redwood or crab does.
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Let’s say I can do this every day, in little or big ways.
At least once every day, and sometimes more on my freer days, I can open my heart-brain with love in the attempt to understand the essence of the iris or redwood or crab (or the cat named Truly or my neighbor Patricia or the gopher snake I encountered on the trail while hiking) — and can thereby allow those life forms to do what comes naturally for them, to do what they were made to do, which is to unveil themselves to me in glorious extravagant fullness, with their own love nature bursting . . .
and so the iris or redwood or crab or cat or human or snake can initiate me into the mysteries of their intelligence, teach me how to experience the world as they do, and bestow on me the power to alter my state of awareness — giving me yet more tools for knowing Goddess’s mind not just conceptually but with gnosis – with visceral understanding.
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Tell your friends and relations they can sign up for my newsletter here: newsletter.freewillastrology.com
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WE ARE DISSIDENT BODHISATTVAS
We are dissident bodhisattvas rebelling against those forces that feed fear and ignore love.
We are spiritual freedom fighters rising up to protect nature and foment peace and demand justice.
We are subversive mystics stoking the cool blue fires of poetry and lobbying for the liberated imagination.
We are militant ecstatics invoking the transformative powers of pleasure to sanctify and beautify our one and only Earth.
We are mutinous purveyors of grace who redistribute the wealth so that all creatures may have the means to thrive.
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
12 Critically Endangered Red Wolf Pups Are Born in North Carolina – A Conservation Baby Boom
tinyurl.com/yx9vht8t
When One City Gave People Cash, They Went Out and Got Jobs. Residents of Stockton, California who received $500 a month disproved the notion that handouts make people lazy.
tinyurl.com/b7pxsb3
With an Indigenous Woman in Charge of the Interior Department, Is Justice on the Horizon for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People?
tinyurl.com/cymu3ac6
University Cancels $700,000 in Debt for Graduates Hit By Pandemic
tinyurl.com/7j2mdy86
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For more pronoiac resources and ideas, read my book Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings
Available at Bookshop.org: tinyurl.com/548hp8y8
Available at Barnes & Noble: tinyurl.com/PronoiaBN
Available at Amazon: bit.ly/Pronoia
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Please tell me your own nominations for PRONOIA RESOURCES: newsletter@freewillastrology.com
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning May 27
Copyright 2021 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Here's the definition of an emotional support animal: "a companion animal that provides therapeutic benefit to a person with a mental or psychiatric disability." I don't mean to be flippant, but I think every one of us has at least one mental or psychiatric disability that would benefit from the company of an emotional support animal. If you were ever going to acquire such an ally, the coming weeks would be prime time to do so. I encourage you to also seek out other kinds of help and guidance and stimulation that you'd benefit from having. It's the resource-gathering phase of your cycle. (PS: Cesar Chavez said: "You are never strong enough that you don't need help.")
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
A blogger named Valentine Cassius reports, "A tiny old woman came into the deli where I work and ordered a 'wonderful turkey sandwich.' When asked what she wanted on the sandwich other than turkey, she said 'all of your most wonderful toppings.'" Here's my response to that: The tiny old woman's approach usually isn't very effective. It's almost always preferable to be very specific in knowing what you want and asking for it. But given the current astrological omens, I'll make an exception for you in the next three weeks. I think you should be like the tiny old woman: Ask life, fate, people, spirits, and gods to bring you all of their most wonderful toppings.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
"I am tired of trying to hold things together that cannot be held," testifies Cancerian novelist Erin Morgenstern. "Tired of trying to control what cannot be controlled." Here's good news for her and all Cancerians. You have cosmic permission to surrender—to no longer try to hold things together that can't be held or try to control what can't be controlled. Maybe in a few weeks you will have gained so much relaxed new wisdom that you'll be inspired to make fresh attempts at holding together and controlling. But that's not for you to worry and wonder about right now. Your assignment is to nurture your psychological and spiritual health by letting go.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Philosopher Georges Bataille wrote, "The lesson of Wuthering Heights, of Greek tragedy and, ultimately, of all religions, is that there is an instinctive tendency towards divine intoxication which the rational world of calculation cannot bear. This tendency is the opposite of Good. Good is based on common interest, which entails consideration of the future." I'm going to dissent from Bataille's view. I agree that we all have an instinctive longing for divine intoxication, but I believe that the rational world needs us to periodically fulfill our longing for divine intoxication. In fact, the rational world grows stale and begins to decay without these interludes. So the truth is that divine intoxication is crucial for the common good. I'm telling you this, Leo, because I think the coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to claim a healthy dose of divine intoxication.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Virgo actor Ingrid Bergman (1915–1982) won the most prestigious awards possible for her work in films, TV, and theater: Oscars, Emmys, and a Tony. She was intelligent, talented, and beautiful. Life was a challenge when she was growing up, though. She testified, "I was the shyest human ever invented, but I had a lion inside me that wouldn’t shut up." If you have a sleeping lion inside you, Virgo, I expect it to wake up soon. And if your inner lion is already wide awake and you have a decent relationship with it, I suspect it may soon begin to come into its fuller glory.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Libran author Antonio Tabucchi described the frame of mind I recommend for you in the coming days. I hope you'll be eager to embrace his far-reaching empathy. Like him, I trust you will expand your capacity to regard the whole world as your home. Here's Tabucchi's declaration: "Like a blazing comet, I’ve traversed infinite nights, interstellar spaces of the imagination, voluptuousness and fear. I’ve been a man, a woman, an old person, a little girl, I’ve been the crowds on the grand boulevards of the capital cities of the West, I’ve been the serene Buddha of the East. I’ve been the sun and the moon."
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YOU NEED MAGIC EVERY DAY
Every day, you have to wade through a relentless surge of soul-less facts. The experience tends to shut down your sense of wonder.
Every day, you're over-exposed to cynical narratives that have been sucked free of delight and mystery. That's why you have to make such strenuous efforts to keep your world enchanted.
I like to think I can contribute to the sacred cause of feeding your sense of wonder and enchantment. In fact, that's one of my prime motivations for offering you the free weekly horoscopes you read in this newsletter.
If you ever want more of that good stuff, and think it's worth paying for, please consider trying out my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES. They're four-to-five-minute meditations on the current state of your destiny.
To listen to your Expanded Audio Horoscope online, go to RealAstrology.com
Register and/or log in through the main page.
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The cost is $6 per sign online. (Discounts are available for bulk purchases.)
You can also listen over the phone by calling 1-877-873-4888. The cost is $1.99 per minute. Each forecast is 4-5 minutes long.
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"The best part about your audio horoscopes is that they pat me on the head and kick me in the butt at the same time."
—Rita Lazarus, San Diego
"Your audio oracles often go beyond helping me find the truth -- they inspire me to find the useful, practical truth."
—Patrick Kinder, Montreal
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SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Author James Frey writes, "I used to think I was tough, but then I realized I wasn’t. I was fragile and I wore thick armor. And I hurt people so they couldn’t hurt me. And I thought that was what being tough was, but it isn’t." I agree with Frey. The behavior he describes has nothing to do with being tough. So what does? That's important for you to think about, because the coming weeks will be an excellent time to be tough in the best senses of the word. Here are my definitions: Being tough means never letting people disrespect you or abuse you, even as you cultivate empathy for how wounded everyone is. Being tough means loving yourself with such unconditional grace that you never act unkind out of a neurotic need to over-defend yourself. Being tough means being a compassionate truth-teller.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Fragile intensity or intense fragility? Ferocious gentleness or gentle ferocity? Vulnerable strength or strong vulnerability? I suspect these will be some of the paradoxical themes with which you'll be delicately wrestling in the coming days. Other possibilities: sensitive audacity or audacious sensitivity; fluidic fire or fiery fluidity; crazy wisdom or wise craziness; penetrating softness or soft penetration; shaky poise or poised shakiness. My advice is to regard rich complexities like these as blessings, not confusions or inconveniences.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Birds that live in cities have come up with an ingenious adaptation. They use humans' abandoned cigarette butts to build their nests. Somehow they discovered that nicotine is an insectide that dispels pests like fleas, lice, and mites. Given your current astrological aspects, I'm guessing you could make metaphorically comparable adjustments in your own life. Are there ways you could use scraps and discards to your benefit?
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
A blogger named Raven testifies, "My heart is a toddler throwing a tantrum in a store and my brain is the parent who continues to shop." I'm pleased to inform you, Aquarius, that your heart will NOT act like that toddler in the coming weeks. In fact, I believe your heart will be like a sage elder with growing wisdom in the arts intimacy and tenderness. In my vision of your life, your heart will guide you better than maybe it ever has. Now here's a message to your brain: Listen to your heart!
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
The Voyager 1 space probe, launched by NASA in 1977, is now more than 14 billion miles from Earth. In contrast, the farthest humans have ever penetrated into the ground is 7.62 miles. It's the Kola Superdeep Borehole in northwest Russia. Metaphorically speaking, these facts provide an evocative metaphor for the following truth: Most humans feel more confident and expansive about exploring the outer world than their inner realms. But I hope that in the coming weeks you will buck that trend, as you break all previous records for curious and luxurious exploration into your deepest psychic depths.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
"Open your mouth only if what you are going to say is more beautiful than silence," declares an Arab proverb. That's a high standard to aspire to. Even at our very best, when we're soaring with articulate vitality, it's hard to be more beautiful than silence for more than, say, 50 percent of the time. But here's a nice surprise: You could exceed that benchmark during the next three weeks. You're primed to be extra expressive and interesting. When you speak, you could be more beautiful than silence as much as 80 percent of the time.
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HOMEWORK:
What image or symbol represents the fulfillment of your noble desires? Go to Newsletter@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 2021 Rob Brezsny
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