Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology Newsletter
"I don't love you as if you were a rose of salt,
topaz or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as one loves certain dark things,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul."
-Pablo Neruda, translated by Stgephen Tapscott
*100 Love Sonnets*
http://tinyurl.com/gt5ya
August 9, 2006
http://www.freewillastrology.com
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ROB'S UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
Boulder Book Store
Wednesday, August 16
7:30
1107 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
303.447.2074
http://boulderbookstore.com
Matter Bookstore
Thursday, August 17
7 p.m.
144 N. College Avenue
Fort Collins, CO 80524
www.wolverinefarmpublishing.org
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Here's an excerpt from my book
"PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA:
How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings"
available at http://snipurl.com/krjj
or find out more at http://www.freewillastrology.com
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APOCALYPSE VERSUS APOCALYPSE
The chauvinism I suffer from is a peculiar variety. I don't have delusions of
grandeur about my religion, country, or football team, but rather of the
era I live in. I fantasize that our moment in history is more important than
all the others. Those of us alive today are on the cusp of a radical turning
point in the evolution of humanity. Or so I like to imagine.
It's embarrassing. It associates me with wacky millenarians of all stripes,
from histrionic New Age prophets to fundamentalist Christians who
fanatically anticipate the "end times." And as much as I would like to
imagine my views are subtler and more rational than those of the
superstitious extremists, I must admit that I sometimes catch myself
dreaming of how deliriously interesting it would be if the mass
hallucination that is mistakenly referred to as "reality" really did mutate
"in the twinkling of an eye," as the Bible insinuates.
Did I scoff at the scaremongers who shivered at the approach of Y2K?
Well, yeah, I mostly did. But there was also a Drama King in a dark corner
of my psyche who indulged in perversely thrilling chimeras about the
possibility that the melodramatic doomsayers might be right. A similar
reflex put me in alignment with the Nostradamus wannabes who forecast
"earth changes" and a global economic depression in the face of the
massive conjunction of planets in the astrological sign of Taurus in May
2000.
In recent years, a month rarely goes by when my inner Drama King
doesn't pounce on some new sign of imminent upheaval. Endgame
scenarios are no longer solely the province of certifiable cranks and
paranoids. Scientists speculate on the odds of the earth getting blasted
by an asteroid similar to the one that apparently wiped out the dinosaurs
65 million years ago. Medical researchers raise the specter of novel
strains of the flu turning into out-of-control pandemics. Seemingly sane
politicians and journalists insist on cramming our imaginations full of
visions of terrorist-delivered suitcase nukes and killer bioweapons.
*
But there is another part of me, a voice that feels older and wiser, who
suspects that even if we are on the verge of an evolutionary turning
point, even if those of us who are alive today will experience the End of
Life as We Know It, it just won't be as simple and obvious and bad as the
literalist prophets fantasize. The transformation will not come via some
cataclysmic overnight worldwide presto-chango.
It is this same part of me--the older, wiser voice--that's distrustful of our
culture's predilection for seeing the worst in everything. How did
hopelessness come to be regarded as a mark of sophisticated realism?
Why are Things Falling Apart thought to be inherently more gripping than
Things Being Reborn?
Luckily, the jingoistic part of me that yearns to be alive when Everything
Changes can find a common ground with the Zen master in me who
regards the entropy-obsessed, all-or-nothing mindset as a unique
signature of the civilization that's dying. Together these two aspects of
my psyche can collaborate to conclude the following:
WE ARE IN FACT LIVING THROUGH THE APOCALYPSE RIGHT NOW.
But it's nothing like the end of the world visualized by any of the usual
suspects. It's different in four ways.
1. It's a slow, gradual apocalypse.
2. The apocalypse is usually invisible, erupting into our conscious
awareness only on rare occasions.
3. The apocalypse is as much about rebirth as collapse.
4. The primary way most of us experience the apocalypse is through the
intimate events of our personal lives.
I'll explore these four points in more detail.
1. THE APOCALYPSE IS HAPPENING IN SLOW MOTION. It has been going
on for decades and will continue to unfold for many years. Sudden,
sensational punctuations arise now and then to expedite it, but for the
most part it ferments continuously in the background. Most days bring no
emergency that is beyond our capacity to bear, but the cumulative
effects of the transfigurations that relentlessly weave themselves into our
lives have turned every one of us into heroes whose courageous
endurance dwarfs the valor of legends like Gilgamesh, Odysseus, Arthur,
and Joan of Arc.
2. THE APOCALYPSE IS FOR THE MOST PART INVISIBLE. Here's the most
extreme evidence: Few of us have registered the fact that we're in the
midst of the largest mass extinction of life on Earth since the demise of
the dinosaurs. This is the conclusion of the American Institute of
Biological Sciences, a professional society of 5,000 scientists. Think of it:
About 40 animal and plant species are dying off every day--a rate
unmatched in 65 million years. Shouldn't this be a recurring headline on
the front page of every major newspaper?
But the work-in-progress that is the apocalypse is not always cloaked.
Now and then a riveting event transfixes our collective emotions, driving
millions of us deep into a visceral encounter with the ongoing collapse.
For a brief interlude, the covert, slow-motion upheaval explodes into plain
view. In recent years, no event has done that more dramatically, at least
for Americans, than the mass murder perpetrated by kamikaze hijackers
on September 11, 2001.
3. THE APOCALYPSE IS AS MUCH ABOUT REBIRTH AS BREAKDOWN. The
English word "apocalypse" is derived from the Greek word for
"revelation." In the esoteric spiritual traditions of the West, "apocalypse"
has also come to denote a great awakening.
The apocalypse we're living through can be described by all three
meanings of the word: as the end of the world, a revelation, and an
awakening. Disintegration and renewal are happening side by side;
calamity and fertility; rot and splendor; grievous losses and surges of
invigorating novelty. Yes, the death of the old order is proceeding apace;
but it's overlapped by the birth pangs of an as-yet unimaginable new
civilization.
The devastation and regeneration often have no apparent link. But in the
case of 9-11, they seemed to be meshed. I received many e-mails from
people testifying about how the terrorist assault was a weird kind of gift.
In the aftermath, their petty worries evaporated and they stopped
wasting time on low-priority, dead-end desires. Roused by an electrifying
clarity of purpose, they began to live the life they'd previously only
fantasized they wanted. And they had direct perceptions--gut-level,
intuitive gnosis--that We Are All One.
It's as if millions of people had a simultaneous Near Death Experience and
harvested the epiphanies that typically come to those who have peered
over to the other side of the veil.
Here's another example of catastrophe and regeneration arising from a
single set of events, suggested by Caroline Myss in her book *Energy
Anatomy.* China's invasion and occupation of Tibet in the 1950s resulted
in the exile of the Dalai Lama, which ultimately brought that great soul's
influence, along with his elegant brand of Buddhism, to the entire world
with a breadth and depth that would never have happened otherwise.
4. MOST OF THE TIME WE EXPERIENCE APOCALYPSE NOT THROUGH BIG,
BAD EVENTS LIKE THE SEPTEMBER 11 MASSACRES, BUT THROUGH THE
DETAILS OF OUR PERSONAL LIVES. The sweeping but gradual revolution,
the agonizing decay of the old order and breathtaking bloom of the new,
are framed in the storylines of your most intimate dramas. Again and
again over the years, you're pushed to a brink that challenges you to
either rise to the occasion or else surrender to demoralizing chaos. The
crises may come in the form of divorce or illness or job loss, or even in
less dramatic events like a misunderstanding with a friend or the
inexplicable waning of a once-passionate dream.
Seeded inside each of these personal turning points is the crux of the
evolving global apocalypse: You get to choose whether you'll adjust by
taking a path that keeps you aligned with the values of the dying world or
else a path that helps you resonate with what's being born. In effect, you
get the chance to vote, with your entire life, for which aspect of the
apocalypse you want to predominate.
*
The apocalypse is being brought to you by the time you dreamed you
signed the Declaration of Independence with your non-dominant hand as
you ate fresh Peruvian figs flown to you on the backs of albatrosses.
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To read other news and features from my book, go here:
http://snipurl.com/l9o3
or
http://freewillastrology.com/beauty/beauty.main145.shtml
To buy the book, use the links to Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble,
which are on my homepage at http://www.freewillastrology.com
Or cut and paste the direct links below:
AMAZON
http://snipurl.com/krjj
BARNES & NOBLE
http://snipurl.com/krjn
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OTHER PRONOIA RESOURCES:
FILMS
http://www.spiritualcinemacircle.com/
Like Netflix, only with movies that awaken you rather than dumb you
down
IMAGES OF DOORWAYS
http://tinyurl.com/f4dxt
POETRY
*Technicians of the Sacred* by Jerome Rothenberg
http://tinyurl.com/glpgf
MUSIC
*Surface Tension* by Sitka
http://cdbaby.com/cd/sitka
(Note: I endorse these because I like them. They're 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 August 10
Copyright 2006 by Rob Brezsny
http://www.freewillastrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In 1986, an accident at the Chernobyl power
plant in the Ukraine caused a nuclear meltdown. Radioactive waste
spewed into the air, making the area uninhabitable. Twenty years later,
humans are still absent, but wildlife is thriving. Native populations of
badgers, wild boars, and deer have multiplied, and species that had
disappeared before the disaster, like the lynx and eagle owl, have returned
in abundance. Birds are even nesting in the steel and concrete
"sarcophagus" built over the exploded reactor. This is not to say that
everything's peachy. There are many problems lingering from the original
devastation. I propose to you, Aries, that the situation in Chernobyl is a
metaphor for something in your personal life. A place within you that
endured a trauma has rebounded surprisingly, though it's still wounded.
Take inventory, then raise the ante on the healing process.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The UK is populated by hordes of
"overweight, alco-pop-swilling, sex-and-celebrity-obsessed television
addicts," according to the travel book *Rough Guide to England.* I
recommend, therefore, that you avoid traveling to that part of the world
if you're a sensitive person who's susceptible to taking on the attitudes
of the people around you. The astrological omens suggest that you
should take stringent measures to exorcise any impulses you might have
to indulge in excessive consumption of bad food, numbing intoxicants,
superficial sex, dumbed-down entertainment, and mindless gossip about
famous lightweights. For that matter, you should be ruthless in sealing
yourself off from influences that tend to bring out the worst and the
mediocre parts of you.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The wife of pro baseball pitcher Kris Benson
has made public her desire to experience a wide array of erotic diversity
while remaining faithful to her husband. "I would like to have sex with Kris
in every major league stadium in North America," Anna Benson told the
press. She's your role model for the coming week, Gemini. Your
assignment is to expand the variety and explore the frontiers of your
familiar pleasures.
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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. They're $6 if you
access them on the Web, or $1.99 per minute over the phone.
For Web access, go here:
http://www.relationshipnetwork.com/horo/index.asp?client_id=50700
From the United States, call
1-900-950-7700
or if you prefer to pay by credit card
1-877-873-4888
If you live in Canada, call 1-888-499-4425 to purchase a Block of Time
with your credit card.
"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): A reader named Amanda Jarosz has offered
an alternative to the traditional name for our astrological sign: *Canswer,*
a blend of "can" and "answer." It's not a viable long-term solution, but it
would make a lot of sense in the immediate future. Here's why. According
to my analysis of the omens, you'll be able to get a useful answer to just
about any question as long as you craft it with thoughtful precision. So
for example, "How can I get more love?" is a sloppy formulation that
won't yield fruitful insights, whereas "What long-term plan can I set in
motion that will help me earn more of the care and blessings I deserve
from doing what I'm good at?" will be a gem.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): A few weeks ago, eight-year-old Harrison
Vonderau was playing golf with his dad on a course in Cleveland when he
shot a hole-in-one. Father and son experienced an even more shocking
delight 20 minutes later when the boy scored yet another hole-in-one. It
was an almost unbelievable accomplishment for anyone, let alone a kid.
Harrison is your role model for the coming week, Leo. I predict that a
young part of you--either your inner child or your inner teenager--will
score an unlikely and spectacular coup, the equivalent of two holes-in-
one.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Of all the times in your life when you have
been in captivity, this has to be one of the least arduous and frustrating
ever. I'll go so far as to say that I have rarely seen a more beautiful
prisoner than you; for a drudge in bondage, you're ravishing. As hard as it
may be to contemplate, however, it's almost time to escape. Your dark
though sexy night of the soul will soon come to an end. Don't you dare
linger any longer than you have to.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): *USA Today* did a profile on business guru
Doug Hall, who's famous for his unconventional approaches to stimulating
creativity. One of his techniques is "left brain, right brain storming."
Transcending plain old everyday brainstorming, it's done with a team that
blends people who specialize in rational, linear thought (left brain) and
those who are skilled at letting their imaginations go a little crazy (right
brain). May I suggest you try it out? The coming week is a perfect time to
undo your attraction to what has always worked before, and start heading
in the direction of the unknown future.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Physicists at Washington University in St.
Louis have found that introducing disorder into certain messy situations
may actually spawn order. It happened as they worked with a network of
interconnected pendulums that were all waving around chaotically. When
they brought random forces to bear on the tumult, the pendulums locked
into sync. The physicists' results may not necessarily imply a universal law
you should invoke in every circumstance, but it does happen to be
applicable to you right now. The more unpredictable, effervescent, and
even unruly you are--especially in the face of confusing circumstances--
the better chance you will have of generating elegant success, and maybe
even some beauty, truth, and love as well.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In Britain's last census, 390,000 people
declared themselves to be members of the Jedi faith--a fictional religion
depicted in the Star Wars movies. That was heartening to those of us who
lobby for a wider array of belief systems. My ultimate hope, however, is
for there to be 6.5 billion different religions--a singular form of worship
for each person on the planet. It happens to be a perfect astrological
phase for you to advance that cause, Sagittarius: to break out of the
pack and fashion your own unique spiritual path. It's also an excellent time
to dream up a new political party that intimately reflects every one of
your idiosyncratic views, and to identify yourself as a member of a brand
new racial or ethnic group that has never before been defined. Whip up
your own niches!
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Recently my nine-year-old bike has
developed an unfortunate glitch. When I ride up hills, and only when I ride
up hills, the chain periodically gets lodged in the transmission mechanism.
If I act quickly, taking action the instant I hear the incipient grinding noise,
there's something I can do to fix the problem and keep from lurching to a
halt: I have to temporarily pedal backwards; doing that frees the chain
from its stuck place. So picture this scene: As I ascend, I'm able to push
forward for long stretches, but now and then have to pedal in reverse,
slipping backward a few feet. From what I can tell, Capricorn, this is similar
to the rhythm your life has right now. It's OK to bitch about it, as I do
during my travail, but you should also feel grateful for the way it's
building your strength and character. P.S. I predict you *will* reach the
top by September.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The often-inebriated Calamity Jane
character on HBO's TV show *Deadwood* uttered words that are
important for you to take to heart. I'll paraphrase her observation in order
to streamline her drunken syntax: "Every day you have to figure out how
to live all over again." Of course this is always true, Aquarius, but it's
even more intensely apt for you right now. The good news is that you'll
be unusually skilled at deciphering the ever-changing rules of the master
game, and you're also likely to have maximum fun while doing so.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): "Anger or bitterness toward those who have
hurt you will block your path to higher ground," said inspirational author
Vernon Howard. "You can have anger toward people or you can have
freedom from people, but you can't have both." I suggest you make that
one of your guiding thoughts in the coming week, Pisces. An undreamed-
of burst of liberation is now possible for you if you compel yourself to
experiment with radical generosity on the wild frontiers of forgiveness.
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HOMEWORK:
Imagine you have time-traveled to one of your favorite places in the year
2020. What do you see? Tell me by going to
http://www.freewillastrology.com and clicking on "Email Rob."
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WANT TO GET YOUR CHART DONE?
I'm not doing charts these days. In addition to writing my weekly column
and expanded audio horoscopes, I'm also working on a CD and promoting
my new book.
But I can recommend a colleague whose astro-aesthetics closely match
my own. She's RO LOUGHRAN.
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
http://www.yoursouljourney.com/
She can also be reached at roloughran@comcast.net
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anyone.
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2006 Rob Brezsny
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