Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
May 2, 2018
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See a pretty version of this newsletter: http://bit.ly/YouMakeHolyChoices
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Homework: Write essays on one or more of these 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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FREEDOM FROM FEAR?
Visualize your greatest fear. How much of it is based on a possibility that
the dreaded experience could actually happen? What part of your
foreboding, on the other hand, is fueled by your active imagination, your
habitual propensity to worry, and the pervasive angst the media and
entertainment industry have infected you with?
Once you've meditated on those questions, try this one: What would it be
like to live utterly without fear for 24 hours? No fear about what people
think of you, no fear that you're not good enough, no fear of losing what
you treasure, no fear of your hair looking bad, no fear at all.
Surprise! You can! Pick a day sometime soon when you will celebrate
Freedom from Fear Day.
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I LOVE YOU
I love your pilgrim soul and I love your ever-deepening eyes.
I love how unflinchingly you peer into the heart of your own darkness.
I love how you're making yourself more and more receptive to truths in
their wild states.
I love how you can dive into your in passion but never shirk your
commitment to the good and the true.
I admire the way you never bear a grudge against the mountains that are
in your way, but rather just set to work getting around them.
I love your commitment to deciphering the code you left for yourself
before you came into this life.
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INSTRUCTIONS FOR HAVING A LIFE
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
— Mary Oliver, from "Sometimes"
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A GOOD FATHER
"When one has not had a good father, one must create one," said
Friedrich Nietzsche. What does that mean? How might you "create" a
good father?
You could develop a relationship with an admirable older man who is an
inspiring role model.
You could read books by men whose work stirs you to actualize your own
potentials.
If you have a vigorous inner life, you could build a fantasy dad in your
imagination.
Here's another possibility: Cultivate in yourself the qualities you think a
good father should have.
Your ideas?
Even if you actually had a pretty decent father, I'm sure he wasn't
perfect. So it still might be interesting to try out some of these ideas.
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WANT TO GET YOUR ASTROLOGICAL CHART READ?
If you want your personal chart done, I recommend a colleague whose
approach to reading astrology charts closely matches my own. She's my
wife, RO LOUGHRAN. She's at http://www.roloughran.com.
Ro utilizes a blend of well-trained intuition, emotional warmth, and
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.
In addition to over 30 years of astrological experience, Ro has been a
licensed psychotherapist for 17 years. She integrates psychological
insight with astrology's cosmological perspective.
Ro is based in California, but can do phone consultations and otherwise
work with you regardless of geographic boundaries.
Check out Ro's website at http://www.roloughran.com
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
13 Climate Justice Leaders Imagined as Comic Superheroes.
https://tinyurl.com/y76k255m
6 Habits to Add More Compassion to Your Life. Compassion is like a
muscle that, as any other, can be strengthened with relevant exercises.
https://tinyurl.com/y7m5x4p4
New Zealand bans all new offshore oil exploration as part of carbon-
neutral future.
https://tinyurl.com/y7nggm96
(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 May 3
Copyright 2018 by Rob Brezsny
http://www.freewillastrology.com/horoscopes/
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): These days you have an enhanced ability to
arouse the appreciation and generosity of your allies, friends, and loved
ones. The magnetic influence you're emanating could even start to evoke
the interest and inquiries of mere acquaintances and random strangers.
Be discerning about how you wield that potent stuff! On the other hand,
don't be shy about using it to attract all the benefits it can bring you. It's
OK to be a bit greedier for goodies than usual as long as you're also a bit
more compassionate than usual.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I bet that a healing influence will arrive from an
unexpected direction and begin to work its subtle but intense magic
before anyone realizes what's happening. I predict that the bridge you're
building will lead to a place that's less flashy but more useful than you
imagined. And I'm guessing that although you may initially feel jumbled by
unforeseen outcomes, those outcomes will ultimately be redemptive.
Hooray for lucky flukes and weird switcheroos!
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Born under the astrological sign of Cancer,
Franz Kafka is regarded as one of the twentieth century's major literary
talents. Alas, he made little money from his writing. Among the day jobs
he did to earn a living were stints as a bureaucrat at insurance companies.
His superiors there praised his efforts. "Superb administrative talent,"
they said about him. Let's use this as a take-off point to meditate on your
destiny, Cancerian. Are you good at skills you're not passionate about?
Are you admired and acknowledged for having qualities that aren't of
central importance to you? If so, the coming weeks and months will be a
favorable time to explore this apparent discrepancy. I believe you will
have the power to get closer to doing more of what you love to do.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): If you really wanted to, you could probably break
the world's record for most words typed per minute with the nose (103
characters in 47 seconds). I bet you could also shatter a host of other
marks, as well, like eating the most hot chiles in two minutes, or weaving
the biggest garland using defunct iPhones, or dancing the longest on a
tabletop while listening to a continuous loop of Nirvana's song "Smells
Like Teen Spirit." But I hope you won't waste your soaring capacity for
excellence on meaningless stunts like those. I'd rather see you break your
own personal records for accomplishments like effective communications,
high-quality community-building, and smart career moves.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Isaac Newton (1643-1727) was among
history's three most influential scientists. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
has been described as *the* central figure in modern philosophy. Henry
James (1843-1916) is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in
English literature. John Ruskin (1819-1900) was a prominent art critic
and social thinker. What did these four men have in common? They never
had sex with anyone. They were virgins when they died. I view this fact
with alarm. What does it mean that Western culture is so influenced by
the ideas of men who lacked this fundamental initiation? With that as our
context, I make this assertion: If you hope to make good decisions in the
coming weeks, you must draw on the wisdom you have gained from being
sexually entwined with other humans.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): "Every so often, a painter has to destroy
painting," said twentieth-century abstract expressionist painter Willem de
Kooning. "Cézanne did it. Picasso did it with Cubism. Then Pollock did it.
He busted our idea of a picture all to hell." In de Kooning's view, these
"destructive" artists performed a noble service. They demolished
entrenched ideas about the nature of painting, thus liberating their
colleagues and descendants from stale constraints. Judging from the
current astrological omens, Libra, I surmise the near future will be a good
time for you to wreak creative destruction in your own field or sphere.
What progress and breakthroughs might be possible when you dismantle
comfortable limitations?
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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
http://RealAstrology.com.
Register and/or log in through the main page.
You can also listen over the phone by calling 1-877-873-4888.
The cost is $6 per sign on the Web (discounts available for bulk
purchases), or $1.99 per minute by phone.
The Expanded Audio Horoscopes work on most smart phones and tablets.
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"I don't much believe in astrology. But that doesn't seem to get in the
way of me deriving a whole lot of benefits from your expanded audio
horoscopes."
- A. Arrosto, Indianapolis
"You have an amazing aptitude for cutting through the lies I tell myself.
Thanks for the gentle shocks."
- T. Preneris, Toronto
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SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Mayflies are aquatic insects with short life
spans. Many species live less than 24 hours, even though the eggs they
lay may take three years to hatch. I suspect this may be somewhat of an
apt metaphor for your future, Scorpio. A transitory or short-duration
experience could leave a legacy that will ripen for a long time before it
hatches. But that's where the metaphor breaks down. When your legacy
has fully ripened -- when it becomes available as a living presence -- I bet
it will last a long time.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): When a critic at *Rolling Stone*
magazine reviewed the Beatles' *Abbey Road* in 1969, he said some of
the songs were "so heavily overproduced that they are hard to listen to."
He added, "Surely they must have enough talent and intelligence to do
better than this." Years later, however, *Rolling Stone* altered its opinion,
naming *Abbey Road* the fourteenth best album of all time. I suspect,
Sagittarius, that you're in a phase with metaphorical resemblances to the
earlier assessment. But I'm reasonably sure that this will ultimately evolve
into being more like the later valuation -- and it won't take years.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): According to my analysis of the
astrological omens, love should be in full bloom. You should be awash in
worthy influences that animate your beautiful passion. So how about it?
Are you swooning and twirling and uncoiling? Are you overflowing with a
lush longing to celebrate the miracle of being alive? If your answer is yes,
congratulations. May your natural intoxication levels continue to rise. But
if my description doesn't match your current experience, you may be out
of sync with cosmic rhythms. And if that's the case, please take
emergency measures. Escape to a sanctuary where you can shed your
worries and inhibitions and maybe even your clothes. Get drunk on
undulating music as you dance yourself into a dreamy love revelry.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): "Life never gives you anything that's all bad
or all good." So proclaimed the smartest Aquarian six-year-old girl I know
as we kicked a big orange ball around a playground. I agreed with her!
"Twenty years from now," I told her, "I'm going to remind you that you
told me this heartful truth." I didn't tell her the corollary that I'd add to
her axiom, but I'll share it with you: If anything or anyone or seems to be
all bad or all good, you're probably not seeing the big picture. There are
exceptions, however! For example, I bet you will soon experience or are
already experiencing a graceful stroke of fate that's very close to being all
good.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): "Enodation" is an old, nearly obsolete English
word that refers to the act of untying a knot or solving a knotty problem.
"Enodous" means "free of knots." Let's make these your celebratory
words of power for the month of May, Pisces. Speak them out loud every
now and then. Invoke them as holy chants and potent prayers leading you
to discover the precise magic that will untangle the kinks and snarls you
most need to untangle.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): I hate rampant consumerism almost as much
as I hate hatred, so I don't offer the following advice lightly: Buy an
experience that could help liberate you from the suffering you've had
trouble outgrowing. Or buy a toy that can thaw the frozen joy that's
trapped within your out-of-date sadness. Or buy a connection that might
inspire you to express a desire you need help in expressing. Or buy an
influence that will motivate you to shed a belief or theory that has been
cramping your lust for life. Or all of the above! (And if buying these things
isn't possible, consider renting.)
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Homework: What's the most important question you need an answer for
in the next five years? Deliver your best guess to me.
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
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2018 Rob Brezsny
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