Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Frrreee Will Astrology Newsletter
February 7, 2007
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"For one human being to love another is the most difficult task. It's the
work for which all other work is mere preparation."
-Rilke
"Some day after we have mastered the winds, the waves and gravity, we
will harness for God the energies of love; and then for a second time in
the history of the world, humans will have discovered fire."
-Teillard de Chardin
"Everything I understand, I understand only because I love."
-Leo Tolstoy
"If you do not love too much, you do not love enough."
-Pascal
"Until you have loved, you cannot become yourself."
-Emily Dickinson
"He is not a lover who does not love forever."
-Euripides
"Lord, grant that I might not so much seek to be loved as to love."
-St. Francis of Assisi
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WHAT'S TO COME?
BRAINSTORM ABOUT THE BIG PICTURE OF YOUR LIFE
with the help of my
Expanded Audio Horoscopes for the Coming Year
Go to http://RealAstrology.com
You can still listen to my long-range, in-depth explorations of your destiny
in 2007. Each report in the three-part series is about 6-8 minutes long.
What will be the story of your life in 2007? How can you exert your Frrreee
will to create the adventures that'll 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, both on the
Web and at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.
To find out more about Your BIG PICTURE horoscopes, go to
http://RealAstrology.com.
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The piece below is excerpted 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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22ND-CENTURY PRONOIA THERAPY
Part Two
Experiments and exercises in becoming a bewilderingly enlightened,
ecstatically grateful, unselfishly proud Master of Fiendishly Benevolent
Tricks
12. The time: 2003. The place: a New York restaurant. The scenario: A
talking carp began shouting at an Hispanic food preparer who was about
to turn it into a meal. The restaurant owner came in to investigate and
became a second witness to the event. He determined that the carp was
offering religious advice in Hebrew.
*The New York Times* reported the story, and soon a local Hasidic sect
was proclaiming the fish's message to be a direct communication from
God. Though many people laugh with derision when they hear this tale, I
retain an open mind. The Divine Trickster has appeared to me in equally
unusual forms. What about you? Are you crazy enough to listen to the
wisdom of a talking carp? If not, what have you got to lose?
13. In Kevin Smith's movie *Dogma,* pop singer Alanis Morissette played
God. Anthony Quinn was Zeus in the TV show Hercules, and comedian
George Burns performed the role of God in three movies, always "without
makeup," as he bragged. Your assignment is to choose the person you'd
like to portray God or Goddess in the movie of your life.
14. It came to pass that the Goddess appeared to me in a vision and told
me of a rooster who'd soon win a cock fight in rural Maurice, Louisiana.
"Bet on Cocky Wizard," she urged, "and you will double your money."
"But Shining Lady," I protested, "aren't cock fights cruel and illegal?" And
She said unto me, "I will protect you from karmic harm as long as you
promise Me that you will donate your earnings to beauty and truth fans
who want more money in order to be better servants of pronoia."
Obeying Her command, I bet on Cocky Wizard, and just as she predicted,
won $30.
Which is why I now say that whosoever among you are the first five
worthy people to tell me why you deserve it, I will mail you a dollar
blessed with the Goddess's Juju. Write to P.O. Box 150628, San Rafael,
CA 94915.
15. 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?"
How would your life change if you made this idea your working
hypothesis?
16. In some ancient Greek dramas, a god showed up out of nowhere to
cause a miraculous twist at a crucial point in the tale. This divine intrusion
was referred to as *theos ek mechanes,* literally "god from a machine,"
because the symbolic figure of the god was lowered onto the stage by a
crane. In modern usage, the term is Latin--*deus ex machina*--and refers
to a story in which a sudden event unexpectedly brings about a resolution
to a baffling problem.
Write a tale in which you're the beneficiary of such an intervention.
17. In Frederick Buechner's book *On the Road with the Archangel,* the
star is the archangel Raphael. This supernatural helper has a tough gig:
gathering the prayers of human beings and delivering them to God. Here's
how he describes the range of pleas he hears: "'There are prayers of such
power that you might say they carry me rather than the other way
around. There are prayers so apologetic and shamefaced and half-hearted
that they all but melt away in my grasp like sad little flakes of snow. Some
prayers are very boring.'"
Compose a prayer that's so powerful and entertaining that it could thrill
an archangel.
18. 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 meaningless. APRIL FOOL! In fact,
anyone who says he or she knows what God is or isn't, doesn't. Confess
what you don't know about God.
19. In 2003, astronomers discovered a shiny red planet-like world orbiting
the sun beyond Pluto. They called it Sedna, a name they said was derived
from the Inuit deity that created the Arctic's sea creatures.
But the truth about the myth of Sedna is more complicated. She is the
Dark Nurturer, embodiment of the wild female potencies that are feared
yet sorely needed by cultures in which the masculine perspective
dominates. Dwelling on the edge of life and death in her home at the
bottom of the sea, Sedna is both a daunting freak and a primal source of
abundance. Shamans from the world above swim down to sing her songs
and comb her long black hair. If they win her favor, she gives them magic
to heal their suffering patients.
The discovery of Sedna is one of many omens signaling our collective
readiness to welcome back the long-repressed influence of the Dark
Nurturer.
Another omen is a book I wrote, *The Televisionary Oracle.* You can buy
it at http://tinyurl.com/3yfezl, or read it for fFrrreee at
http://tinyurl.com/3c2j4x. (Scroll down to start Chapter One.)
Do you have room for the Dark Nurturer in your religion? Compose a
prayer asking for her love.
20. Thousands of scientists are engaged in research to crack the code of
the aging process. Their coming breakthroughs may allow you to live a
healthy and vigorous life well into your 90s--and even beyond.
How can you contribute to this worthy cause? What might you do to
promote your longevity? Brainstorm about possible strategies.
And now I drink a toast to your coffin. May it be fashioned of lumber
obtained from a hundred-year-old cypress tree whose seed will germinate
this year.
21. Let's move on to discuss the possibility that sooner or later, the
physical body you inhabit will expire. Your heart will shut down. Blood will
no longer course through your veins. The fleshly vehicle you knew as your
home for so many years will rot. Is this the ultimate proof, as some
people bitterly proclaim, that there is no God and that pronoia is a lie?
I say no. I say that the Creator includes death as an essential part of
evolution's master plan. Lifetime after lifetime, our immortal souls take on
a series of temporary forms as we help unfold, in our own small ways, the
inconceivably complex plot of the divine drama. Each time we die, it's
hard and sad to our time-bound egos. But from the perspective of the
part of us that has always been and will always be, it's simply part of the
epic adventure.
Assume, for argument's sake, that what I've just said is a fact. Describe
how different your life would be if you not only believed but perceived the
truth that your essential self will never die, but will inhabit many bodies
and live many lives on earth.
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To read other news and features from my book, go here:
http://snipurl.com/l9o3
You can buy the book here:
AMAZON
http://snipurl.com/krjj
BARNES & NOBLE
http://snipurl.com/krjn
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OTHER PRONOIA RESOURCES:
BOOK
*A Thousand Names for Joy: Living in Harmony with the Way Things Are*
by Byron Katie
http://tinyurl.com/2lzkhq
BOOK
*The Power of Nice: How to Conquer the Business World With Kindness*
by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval
http://tinyurl.com/2mx6wa
VIDEOS
Dissident Mind-Expansion Streams, from Alex Grey to Carl Jung
http://tinyurl.com/yqg73j
(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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FRRREEEE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning February 8
Copyright 2007 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Happy Valentine Daze, Aries! On this lover's
holiday, let's see what we can do to purge some of your old romantic
karma. With a cleaner slate, you'll be freer to create the kind of love you
really want in the future. To begin, write a list of the worst sins you've
committed against your ex-intimates. Include behavior that was ignorant,
cruel, or unconscious. Next, think of atonements you might make for the
hurtful things you did. For instance, you could send your ex an "I'm sorry
for the craziness our relationship caused you" letter. Finally, Aries, forgive
yourself of your errors.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Happy Valentine Daze, Taurus! During this
lover's holiday, I encourage you to devote yourself full-time to acting like
a person who's in love. Even if you're not currently in the throes of
passion for a special someone, pretend you are. Everywhere you go,
exude that charismatic blend of shell-shocked contentment and blissful
turmoil that comes over you when you're infatuated. Let everyone you
meet soak up the delicious wisdom you exude. Dispense frrreee blessings
and extra slack like a rich saint high on natural endorphins. (I assure you
that this assignment is in perfect accord with the astrological omens.)
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Happy Valentine Daze, Gemini! I hope you'll be
*very* specific about what you want from intimacy and collaboration in
the coming months. To get you in the mood, I've written a personal ad for
you to use. Or create your own, borrowing from the spirit of mine. Here
you go. *Slapstick thinker with refined sensibilities seeks a saint-like sinner
with insanely cool style for a long-distance joyride towards the outskirts
of Nirvana. Established meditation practice and a good bedside manner
are desirable. Would it be too much to ask that you might also have a
high level of emotional intelligence without boring me to death with your
maturity? Is it possible that you'll be an entertaining talker who also
knows how to listen with your wild heart turned up all the way? Let's keep
reinventing ourselves forever.*
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Happy Valentine Daze, Cancerian! I sing a sly
WOW toward the sky and murmur a resonant YOW toward the earth in
rowdy reverent gratitude for the wonders that come your way from the
special people in your life. I send out a special YAYA and GAGA to that
Mysterious Other who has the power to challenge you, teach you,
confound you, inspire you, and love you almost as well as you love
yourself. Long may your story unfold in all of its enigmatic glory! Long
may you liberate each other from your suffering!
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Happy Valentine Daze, Leo! I predict that more
love will flow into your life in the future. Why? Because beginning now,
you will remove the obstructions that have been interfering with that
flow. That's not all. More love will flow into your life because you'll decide
that you are actually very lovable--more lovable than you've previously
acknowledged. That's not all. More love will flow into your life because
you will vow to invoke in yourself a tremendous surge of willpower that
will make you hungry to give love, to bestow blessings, and to extend
favors. You'll derive deep pleasure, a real libidinous thrill, from radiating
generous emotions in all directions.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): "You've been walking the ocean's edge,
holding up your robes to keep them dry," writes Coleman Barks in his
translation of the 13th-century poet Rumi. What he means is that you've
been too tentative and inhibited in your relationship with the tidal forces
of love; you've been holding back from giving your total devotion to the
primal power that fuels the universe. "You must dive naked under and
deeper under," Barks and Rumi continue, "a thousand times deeper!"
Consider taking the poets' advice, Virgo. If you can't manage diving a
thousand times deeper, try to least make it a hundred times. Happy
Valentine Daze!
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Happy Valentine Daze, Libra! After careful
meditation about what advice might help you expand your experience of
intimacy, I've decided to offer you the following meditation. "Love
sometimes gets tired of speaking sweetly. It wants to rip to shreds all
your erroneous notions of truth that make you fight within yourself, and
with others." So writes Daniel Ladinsky in his translation of a poem by
Hafiz. Love, he continues, "sometimes wants to do us a great favor: hold
us upside down and shake all the nonsense out." That's a pretty good
description of where I think you are in your current relationship with love,
Libra. I hope you're brave enough to cooperate with its gift.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Happy Valentine Daze, Scorpio! I dare you to
up the ante in your relationship with a special someone who both
frustrates and inspires you. One way to do that might be to say the
following to that person: "We are pain and what cures pain, both. We are
the sweet cold water and the jar that pours. I want to hold you close like
a lute, so that we can cry out with loving. Would you rather throw stones
at a mirror? I am your mirror and here are the stones." (This passage was
written by the 13th-century poet Rumi and translated by Coleman Barks.)
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): "From studying the samurai art of
kendo," writes a reader named Amanda, "I've learned that some of
history's most fearsome warriors derived their great strength from
sublime tenderness." Your assignment during this season of love,
Sagittarius, is to act on that advice in every way you can imagine. I want
you to be a sensitive juggernaut of courage and daring in the coming
months, and I believe the best way to do that is to intensify your
commitment to mastering the art of ingenious intimacy. Happy Valentine
Daze!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Would you like some inspiration as you muse and wonder about your
upcoming adventures in 2007?
You can still listen to my long-range, in-depth explorations of your destiny
in 2007. Each report in the three-part series is about 6-8 minutes long.
Go to http://RealAstrology.com
for these EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Happy Valentine Daze, Capricorn. I dare
you to say the following to a special someone with whom you want to be
closer: "Your face is true and your hair is perfect and I love you. You make
boats in my dreams and you speak without words and I love you. Your
fears unnerve me and your questions amuse me and I love you. I love you
not only for who you are, but for the interesting person I become when
I'm with you. I say I love you and love you and love you until the words
become the constant song of your voice in my head and the original ache
of memory in my soul. I love you more than life and death, more than
everything that's in between the light and the dark. Do you believe me?
Try harder. Do you believe me now? I'm always with you, which is why I
know you will never abandon yourself."
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Happy Valentine Daze, Aquarius! During this
lover's holiday, I'm praying for you to have mind-boggling communions
with smart-mouthed, quick-thinking virtuosos who are at least as brilliant
as you. To be frank, I don't care whether or not these communions are
with attractive members of your favorite gender. In accordance with the
promises of your current astrological omens, I just want to see you
stimulated to the point of spiritual and intellectual rapture by
kaleidoscopic give-and-take sessions.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Happy Valentine Daze, Pisces! My team of
Prayer Warriors and I are sending you surges of the smartest love we can
conjure up. Through the sweet fierce force of our high-tech magic, we've
transformed our hearts into the equivalents of 100,000-watt
broadcasting towers that are dosing you with wave after wave of primal
adoration and appreciation. Open yourself to our gift, please. It's as real
as a thunderstorm, as potent as the Buddha's libido. If you've felt that no
one could ever see you for who you really are, let us prove you wrong. If
you've fantasized that no one will ever be completely on your side,
surrender to the overwhelming evidence that we are your shockingly
friendly allies.
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HOMEWORK: Send your letters, notes, haikus, rants, dreams, and whoops
to the beloved of your choice, including yourself. It's an old-fashioned
Shout Out, a chance to share your feelings for your snuggle-bunny /
freaky consort / sweetiekins / co-conspirator. Go to
http://FreeWillAstrology.com and click on "Email Rob."
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WANT TO GET YOUR CHART DONE?
I'm not doing personal charts these days, but I highly recommend my
favorite 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
http://www.YourSoulJourney.com
She can also be reached at roloughran@comcast.net
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P.S. I totally respect your privacy. I'll never sell or give away your address
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Submissions sent to the Frrreee Will Astrology Weekly Newsletter
or in response to "homework assignments" may be
published in a variety of formats at Rob Brezsny's discretion,
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Contents of the Frrreee Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2007 Rob Brezsny
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