Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology Newsletter
"If you desire to know where your spiritual work lies, look to your
emotional pain."
--Alan Cohen, "Wisdom of The Heart"
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October 18, 2006
http://freewillastrology.com
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MY UPCOMING PUBLIC APPEARANCES
AMBIOTICA, a salon and party in San Francisco:
I will be on a panel discussing PRONOIA at 10 pm, and will do a
performance of SACRED UPROAR at 1 a.m.
There'll also be a host of other fascinations, including performances in the
dream theater, DJs, smart drinks, and excerpts from the upcoming
documentary film *Entheogen: Awakening the Divine,* featuring some of
my personal favorite culture heroes Daniel Pinchbeck, Stan Grof, Alex
Grey, Terrence McKenna, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Ralph Metzner, and Rick
Tarnas
AMBIOTICA
New Edge Salon and Party
Saturday October 21, 2006
Anon Gallery
285 Ninth Street
San Francisco
9:30 pm - 3 am
$15 at the door
FOR MORE INFO, GO HERE:
http://tinyurl.com/yc2tjy
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Here are excerpts from my book
"PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA:
How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings"
available at http://tinyurl.com/qaj62
or find out more at http://www.freewillastrology.com
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DEVOTIONAL PRONOIA THERAOY
Experiments and exercises in becoming a gracefully probing, erotically
funny, shockingly friendly Master of Orgasmic Empathy
[continued from last week]
11. Some hetero men believe they won't find romantic happiness unless
they hook up with a woman who resembles a supermodel. Their libidos
were imprinted at a tender age by our culture's narrow definition of what
constitutes female beauty. They steer clear of many fine women who
don't fit their ideal.
The addiction to a physical type is not confined to them, though. Some
straight women, for instance, wouldn't think of dating a bald, short guy,
no matter how interesting he is. And there are people of every sexual
persuasion who imagine that their attraction to the physical appearance
of a potential partner is the single most important gauge of compatibility.
This delusion is the most common cause of bad relationships.
The good news is that anyone can outgrow their instinctual yearning for a
particular physical type, thereby becoming available for union with all of
the more perfect partners who previously didn't look quite right.
What's the state of your relationship with this riddle? Describe how you
might ripen it; speculate on how you can move it to the next level of
maturity.
12. Compose and cast a love spell on yourself.
13. "Man in his present state has as much desire to urinate as he has to
make vows to Artemis," says Edward Dahlberg in *The Sorrows of
Priapus.* In other words, most people have no relationship with wild
female deities, nor do they ever conceive of a reason why that might be
fun or inspiring. But some of us know that Artemis is not dead, is not just
a figment of the archaic Greek mind. She is a living archetype of wild but
nurturing female energy. Goddess of the ever-changing moon, sinewy
protectress of the undomesticated soul, she gives sanctuary to all who
prize liberated fertility. Make a vow to her.
14. You understand that you can never own love, right? No matter how
much someone adores you today, no matter how much you adore
someone, you can't force that unique state of grace to keep its shape
forever. It will inevitably evolve or mutate, perhaps into a different version
of tender caring, but maybe not. From there it will continue to change,
either into yet another version of interesting affection, or who knows
what else?
Describe how you could get the hang of putting this tricky wisdom into
practice.
15. Norman Mailer has described marriage as "an excretory relationship, in
which you take all the crap you hide from the world and dump it on the
person closest to you. But the proviso is that you have to be willing to
take theirs."
Describe how you might work in a way opposite to Mailer's; that is to say,
train yourself to call up all the beauty you hide from the world and offer it
to the person closest to you.
16. If you're heterosexual, imagine what it would be like to be
homosexual. If you're homosexual, visualize yourself as a heterosexual. If
you're an androgynous bisexual nymphomaniac, try being celibate. You
get the picture: Escape your sexual imprint for a while.
17. In the Western hermetic version of the Qabalah, every Hebrew letter
is paired with a number, and so every word is also a number derived from
the addition of its letters. Gematria is the practice of finding hidden
resonance between words that have similar numerical values. Of the many
poetic truths revealed through this art, one of our favorites is this: The
Hebrew words for both 'serpent' and 'messiah' add up to 358.
Let's suppose this can be interpreted to mean that the snaky potency of
your reproductive drive is potentially the source of your salvation. What
implications might that have for how you live your life?
18. Get Steve Penny's booklet "How to Have Great Laughing Sex,"
available at 7960 B Soquel Drive #77, Aptos, CA 95003 or
http://laughingsex.com. Try the exercises, then write your own essay
called "How to Have Great Laughing Sex."
19. What could you do to make your tenderness and carnality flow from
the same refined reflex? How might you strive to adore every creature,
every plant, every rock in the world with the same excitement that you
bestow upon the lover who excites you most? What prayers will you
unleash at the height of your orgasmic fervor to propitiate the healing
and success of people in need?
20. Write the following on a piece of red paper and keep it under your
pillow. "I, [put your name here], do solemnly swear on this day [put date
here] that I will devote myself for a period of seven days to learning my
most important desire. No other thought will be more uppermost in my
mind. No other concern will divert me from tracking down every clue that
might assist me in my drive to ascertain the one experience in this world
that deserves my brilliant passion above all others."
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To read other news and features from my book, go here:
http://snipurl.com/l9o3
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:
PRIMORDIAL GOSSIP
News on emergent culture for psychonauts and visionary activists
http://eblips.net
GETTING SMARTER ABOUT HOW TO DO RELATIONSHIPS
The books and classes offered by Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks are great
resources.
Their website:
http://tinyurl.com/ylw55x
Two of their many books:
*Conscious Loving: The Journey to Co-Committment*
*Attracting Genuine Love*
MUSIC
*Bring Me the Workhorse* BY My Brightest Diamond
(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 October 19
Copyright 2006 by Rob Brezsny
http://www.freewillastrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
ARIES (March 21-April 19): "Do you know what insomniac dyslexic
philosophers do?" asked one of the 20th century's great thinkers,
Terence McKenna. "They stay up all night wondering if dog really exists."
That just happens to be your assignment, Aries--whether or not you're an
insomniac dyslexic philosopher. It's time, in other words, for you to
intensify your exploration of life's deepest questions--even as you
remember to do so with sparkling good humor and the intention not to
take yourself too damn seriously.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In Buddhist tradition, bodhisattvas are
seekers who put their service to others above their personal goals--even
above their quest for the supreme peace that comes from enlightenment.
In the eight-century prayer "The Bodhisattva Path," poet Shantideva
wrote, "May I be the doctor and the medicine/ for all sick beings in the
world/ until everyone is healed." That's a high standard to live by. In
asking you to try it out for a limited time, I'm not expecting perfection.
But my analysis of the astrological omens suggests that the people in
your life fervently need you to be a source of strong medicine. More than
that, you need to initiate the changes in your life that will ensue if you
make yourself into a soothing balm, a potent remedy, a love tonic.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): When East Timor gained its independence from
Indonesia after a long, bloody struggle, the United Nations temporarily
took control of the new nation, inundating it with aid and support. But the
international agency's work was short-lived, lasting just three years, and
ultimately became known as Quickfixville. The errors resulting from its
hurried efforts have been hard to undo. Don't make a similar gaffe in the
coming weeks, Gemini. It's not enough merely to have good intentions. Be
deliberate and thorough as you undertake your corrective actions.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): It's almost time to bring an end to your phase
of resting and recouping. The self-protective mode has served you well,
but if you stay in it much longer it'll begin to backfire. Soon you'll need a
wake-up call, an inflammatory summoning. If I were there with you, I might
even sing you the opposite of a lullaby--a disturbing yet inspiring rant
designed to rouse and agitate and excite you.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I was sitting in San Francisco's Cafe Gratitude,
meditating on your horoscope. In my notebook I'd doodled a giant hand
reaching down to earth from the clouds. It was holding a silver platter
that bore a book whose title was "Fresh Instructions." This gift was being
offered to a half-lion, half-human creature that represented you. Shortly
after I finished this drawing, a woman came through the front door of the
restaurant and sat at a nearby table. Her t-shirt had a message that was
the perfect caption for the image I'd made: "Maybe God has bigger plans
for you than you have for yourself."
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The 5.5 million people who live in Papua New
Guinea speak 820 different languages, or one per every 6,707 people.
Two villages within an hour's walking distance of each other may use
utterly different tongues. The situation there has a certain metaphorical
resemblance to the current state of your fate, Virgo. The various parts of
your world aren't communicating with as much fluidity and frequency as
they should be. Your job in the coming weeks is to serve as a master
translator, spreading understanding among them. It's time to unite the
fragments.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Uber-model Elle McPherson has been nicknamed
"The Body" for 20 years. But now an almost equally legendary star of the
fashion runway, Heidi Klum, is trying to horn in on the title. She, too, has
begun to call herself "The Body," enraging McPherson and her team. While
these two superegos fight it out, I'm going to borrow their trademark and
apply it to you Libras for the next three weeks. Why? Because your
physical organism will be at the peak of its health and attractiveness. If
you listen closely to its signals, it will give you good ideas about actions
you can take to further promote your well-being. Even more than usual, it
will be a source of wisdom and pleasure. You will have every right,
therefore, to call yourself "The Body."
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My weekly Free Will Astrology horoscopes are not only formulated to
strengthen and liberate your free will. They're also free of charge. I plan
to continue offering them up to you gratis.
I would like to make money by following my bliss, though, which is why I
have two other horoscope features you can buy if you're so moved.
My DAILY TEXT MESSAGE HOROSCOPES are short, sweet bursts of
illumination delivered seven days a week to your cell phone or other
mobile device. You can sign up for them at http://realastrology.com. The
cost is $6.99 per week (billed monthly), or $4.99 per week (billed
monthly) if you choose to automatically renew your account.
My EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES are weekly spoken-word reports on
your destiny that are three to four minutes lonmg. They're available at
http://realastrology.com. The cost is $6 per reading, or $20 if you buy
four readings, and $60 if you buy 16 readings.
The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or
1-900-950-7700 for $1.99 per minute.
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SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In his book *A Whack on the Side of the
Head: How You Can Be More Creative,* Roger von Oech quotes one of his
clients, an architect: "Play is what I do for a living; the work comes in
organizing the results of the play." Make this your guiding principle in the
coming weeks, Scorpio. Ask the universe to give you lots of opportunities
to mess around and improvise blithely and resurrect your playing-in-the-
sandbox consciousness. Come up with good excuses to let your attention
wander and explore previously off-limits fun and games. A few weeks
from now, you can begin organizing all the good ideas that your frisky
experiments will generate between now and then.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): The phase you're entering may prove to
be ridiculously confounding--ridiculous both in the sense of absurdly
extreme and very funny. Yet the immediate future also promises to
provide you with unprecedented opportunities to outgrow limitations you
may have imagined were permanent. To honor this synergistic blend of
slapstick confusion and juicy potential, I'm offering you two pieces of
advice. The first is from Eleanor Roosevelt: "You must do the thing you
think you cannot do." The second is from Edward Teller: "When you get
to the end of all the light you know and it's time to step into the darkness
of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen:
either you will be given something solid to stand on, or you will be taught
how to fly."
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You may not have God on your side, but
you've got the next best thing. Invisible means of support will soon
become visible. Life may even give you permission to have your cake and
eat it too. I'll go so far as to speculate that you'll be the beneficiary of a
conspiracy to help you achieve goals you didn't even know you needed to
achieve. In light of the fact that you will have most of the help you could
possibly require, I can think of only one piece of advice that might prove
useful: Being a little rowdy or impish could give your goodness greater
impact.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): "What is Great Purple?" asks Japanese poet
Nanao Sakaki in his book *Let's Eat Stars.* Is it "a piece of purple sky
floating in my lover's eyes?" he speculates. "A cloud made of purple wine
passing over Mt. Fuji? The color of a full-blooming magnolia's root? The
shadow of a star visible only to birds? The light of the last water you
drink?" I invite you, Aquarius, to brainstorm your own answers to the
question "What is Great Purple?" According to my reading of the
astrological omens, you now have a special relationship not only with plain
old everyday purple, but with sublime, magnificent, life-changing PURPLE.
It's a perfect moment to develop a closer relationship with whatever
Great Purple means to you.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): "What's irritating about love is that it's a
crime that requires an accomplice," said French poet Baudelaire. This is a
perfect brainteaser for you to contemplate right now, Pisces. Start your
musings by trying to figure out what the hell he meant. Ask yourself, in
what sense is love a crime? Obviously, he's not saying it's literally a felony
or misdemeanor. Is he implying, then, that love, when practiced correctly,
disrupts routine, disorganizes the orderly flow, and violates conventional
wisdom? That's what I conclude, but you may have a different opinion.
Let's also meditate on why Baudelaire thought it's irritating that loves
requires an accomplice. Personally, I don't understand that. While I enjoy
breaking the rules of respectable behavior by myself, I also find it
exhilarating to have a co-conspirator. What do you say?
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HOMEWORK:
What's the most beautiful thing you've ever done? The most beautiful
thing you will do? Testify by going to http://www.realastrology.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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