Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
October 3, 2018
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See a pretty version of this newsletter: https://bit.ly/YouAreLuminous
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I love creating a collection of twelve horoscopes each week for my
readers. The *Good Times* newspaper in Santa Cruz, California published
my first batch in January 1978, and I would love to keep writing them
until at least January of 2038.
In order to live up to that challenge with integrity, I will have to continue
doing what I have been doing since January 1978: relentlessly reinvent
the way I create them. When I look back at the horoscopes I composed in
1978 and 1985 and 1992 and 2000 and 2008, I am amazed at how
different they are from the way I approach my craft now. I could swear it
was another person who wrote them.
And that's how it should be. It's good evidence that I'm living up to my
ideal of how to be a creative artist. Experimenting with endless revision.
Being willing to dispense with the old formulas, even those that have
worked pretty well, so as to welcome the surprises life offers. Killing off
the old ways so that new ways can emerge.
That's not just a sound strategy for me to pursue as a creative writer. It's
also a cornerstone of my plan to master the art of being a human being.
The blunt fact is that life has an extreme fondness for change. The
Creator likes to keep things moving right along.
So if I hope to cooperate and even collaborate with the Primal Flux, I have
to be adept at transformation. I have to celebrate the central formula of
Hermetic magick: "Dissolution is the secret of the Great Work." Breaking
down psychological fixations is an indispensable spiritual discipline, says
the wisdom of the ages. Killing off one's illusions is a prime duty of a
devotee of magick.
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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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THE MIDDLE PATH
Don't pretend you can't see the messy darkness. Admit to its presence.
Accept its reality. But don't get tangled up in it, either.
Gaze into the abyss so as to educate yourself about its nature, but don't
become entranced by its hypnotic power.
Scheme to reclaim your power from soul-sucking influences. But don't
turn the process into a blood-and-thunder showdown that wreaks epic
chaos.
You may be amazed at how much protection and relaxation you can
generate for yourself simply by being a poised lover of life who is free of
melodramatic reactions.
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GRATITUDE
I'm grateful that, after an early life of being silenced, sometimes violently,
I grew up to have a voice, circumstances that will always bind me to the
rights of the voiceless.
—Rebecca Solnit
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I was very poor for a number of years—a real starving artist—and when I
finally emerged from poverty, I never lost my empathy for those whose
lack of money forces them to the margins. I'm grateful for my time of
indigence.
—Me
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THE INTELLIGENCE OF LOVE
"Love is the only way to grasp another human being in the innermost core
of his personality. No one can become fully aware of the very essence of
another human being unless he loves him. By his love he is enabled to see
the essential traits and features in the beloved person; and even more, he
sees that which is potential in him, which is not yet actualized but yet
ought to be actualized.
"Furthermore, by his love, the loving person enables the beloved person
to actualize these potentialities. By making him aware of what he can be
and of what he should become, he makes these potentialities come true."
— Holocaust survivor, Viktor E. Frankl, "Man's Search for Meaning"
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PRONOIA IS FUELED BY . . .
Pronoia is fueled by a drive to cultivate happiness and a determination to
practice an aggressive form of gratitude that systematically identifies the
things that are working well. But it is not a soothing diversion meant for
timid Pollyannas strung out on optimistic delusions. It's not a feel-good
New Age fantasy used to deny the harsh facts about existence. Those of
us who perceive the world pronoiacally refuse to be polite shills for
sentimental hopefulness.
On the contrary, we build our optimism not through a repression of
difficulty, but rather a vigorous engagement with it. We understand that
the best way to attract blessings is to grapple with the knottiest enigmas.
Each fresh puzzle is a potential source of future bliss—an exciting
teaching that may usher us to our next breakthrough.
Do you want to be a pronoiac player?_Blend anarchistic rebelliousness
with open-hearted exuberance. Root your insurrectionary fervor in
expansive joy instead of withering hatred. Enjoy saying "no!" but don't
make it the wellspring of your vitality. Be fueled by blood-red yeses that
rip against the grain of comfortable ugliness.
More: http://bit.ly/W8Iian
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PRONOIAC TESTIMONY
I see disaster everywhere; I also see generosity and resistance
everywhere.
—Rebecca Solnit
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MY HERO
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford is my hero. May her epic courage catalyze a
turning point in the inevitable dismantling of rape culture and the rigorous
healing of toxic masculinity.
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
How to Cut Poverty Now.
https://tinyurl.com/y7beg8kv
What a Society Designed for Well-Being Looks Like.
https://tinyurl.com/yar4ddhn
Why We Need to Stop Saying "Man Up." This outdated, gender-specific,
and illogical phrase is disrespectful and avoids the real issue.
https://tinyurl.com/y9e4n2h6
(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.
Read old but still useful archives of Pronoia Resources:
https://pronoiaresources.com
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning October 4
Copyright 2018 by Rob Brezsny
http://www.freewillastrology.com/horoscopes/
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson
offers this observation: "When you look for things in life like love,
meaning, motivation, it implies they are sitting behind a tree or under a
rock. [But] the most successful people in life recognize that in life they
create their own love, they manufacture their own meaning, they
generate their own motivation." I think Tyson's simple wisdom is exactly
what you need to hear right now, Libra. You're primed for a breakthrough
in your ability to create your own fate.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Japanese entrepreneur Hiroki Terai has
created a business that offers crying therapy. His clients watch short
videos specially formulated to make them weep. A professional helper is
on hand to gently wipe their tears away and provide comforting words.
"Tears have relaxing and healing effects," says an Okinawan musician who
works as one of the helpers. Hiroki Terai adds, "It has been said that one
drop of tear has the effect of relieving stress for a week." I wish there
were a service like this near where you live, Scorpio. The next two weeks
will be a perfect time to relieve pent-up worry and sadness and anxiety
through cathartic rituals like crying. What other strategies might work for
you?
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Fling out friendly feelers! Sling out
interesting invitations! Figure out how to get noticed for all the right
reasons! Make yourself so interesting that no one can resist your
proposals! Use your spunky riddle-solving powers to help ease your tribe's
anxieties. Risk looking odd if that will make you smarter! Plunk yourself
down in pivotal places where vitality is welling up! Send out telepathic
beams that say, "I'm ready for sweet adventure. I'm ready for invigorating
transformation!"
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): "Someone spoke to me last night, told me
the truth," writes poet Doeianne Laux. "I knew I should make myself get
up, write it down, but it was late, and I was exhausted from working. Now
I remember only the flavor." I offer these thoughts, Capricorn, in the hope
that they'll help you avoid Laux's mistake. I'm quite sure that crucial
insights and revelations will be coming your way, and I want you to do
whatever's necessary to completely capture them so you can study and
meditate on them at length.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): As a young man, Aquarian poet Louis Dudek
struck up a correspondence with renowned poet Ezra Pound, who was 32
years older. Dudek "admired him immensely," and "loved him for the joy
and the luminosity" of his poetry, but also resented him "for being so
magnificent." With a mix of mischief and adulation, Dudek wrote a poem
to his hero. It included these lines: "For Christ's sake, you didn't invent
sunlight. There was sun dazzle before you. But you talk as if you made
light or discovered it." I hope his frisky tone might inspire you to try
something similar with your own idols. It would be healthy to be more
playful and lighthearted about anything or anyone you take too seriously
or give enormous power to.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In his book *Till We Have Faces*, C. S. Lewis
writes, "Holy places are dark places. It is life and strength, not knowledge
and words, that we get in them. Holy wisdom is not clear and thin like
water, but thick and dark like blood." In that spirit, and in accordance with
astrological omens, I suggest you seek out dark holy places that evoke
wonder and reverence, even awe. Hopefully, you will be inspired thereby
to bring new beauty into your life. You'll be purged of trivial concerns and
become receptive to a fresh promise from your future life.
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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.
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"Your Expanded Audio Horoscopes seem to have the effect of activating
my inner teacher. Thanks!" - Eleanor A., Toronto
"Your expanded audio horoscopes are the next best thing to actually
having you here next to me to remind me who I really am." - Alyssa R.,
Des Moines, Iowa
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ARIES (March 21-April 19): *Electra* is an action-packed story written by
ancient Greek playwright Sophocles. It features epic characters taking
drastic action in response to extreme events. In contrast to that text is
Marcel Proust's novel *In Search of Lost Time*, which draws from the
sensitive author's experiences growing up, coming of age, and falling in
love, all the while in quest for meaning and beauty. Author Virginia Woolf
compared the two works, writing, "In six pages of Proust we can find
more complicated and varied emotions than in the whole of the
*Electra*." In accordance with astrological omens, I recommend that you
specialize in the Proustian mode rather than the Sophoclean. Your feelings
in the next five weeks could be as rich and interesting and educational as
they have been in a long time. Honor them!
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Researchers in Maryland have created a new
building material with a strength-to-weight ratio that's eight times better
than steel. It's an effective insulator, and in some forms can be bent and
folded. Best of all, it's biodegradable and cost-effective. The stuff is
called nanowood, and is derived from lightweight, fast-growing trees like
balsa. I propose that we make it your main metaphor for the foreseeable
future. Why? Because I think you're primed to locate or create your own
version of a flexible, durable, robust building block.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The U.S. Secretary of Defense paid an official
visit to Indonesia early this year. The government arranged for him to
observe soldiers as they demonstrated how tough and well-trained they
were. Some of the troops shimmied through broken glass, demolished
bricks with their heads, walked through fire, and bit heads off snakes. I
hope you won't try stunts like that in the coming weeks, Gemini. It will be
a favorable time for you to show off your skills and make strong
impressions. You'll be wise to impress important people with how creative
and resourceful you are. But there's no need to try too hard or resort to
exaggeration.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): i confess that i have a fuzzy self-image. With
odd regularity, i don't seem to know exactly what or who i am. For
example, i sometimes think i'm so nice and polite that i need to toughen
up. But on other occasions i feel my views are so outrageous and
controversial that i should tone myself down. Which is true? Often, i even
neglect to capitalize the word "i." You have probably experienced some of
this fuzziness, my fellow Cancerian. But you're now in a favorable phase
to cultivate a more definitive self-image. Here's a helpful tip: We
Cancerians have a natural talent for inspiring people to love us. This ability
will come in especially handy as we work on making an enduring upgrade
from i to I. Our allies' support and feedback will fuel our inner efforts to
clarify our identity.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): "I am a little afraid of love, it makes me rather
stupid." So said author Simone de Beauvoir in a letter she wrote to her
lover, Nelson Algren. I'm happy to let you know, Leo, that during the next
twelve months, love is likely to have the opposite effect on you.
According to my analysis of the astrological omens, it will tend to make
you smarter and more perceptive. To the degree that you expand your
capacity for love, you will become more resilient and a better decision-
maker. As you get the chance to express love with utmost skill and
artistry, you will awaken dormant potentials and boost your personal
power.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Your theme in the coming weeks is the art of
attending to details. But wait! I said "the art." That means attending to
details with panache, not with overly meticulous fussing. For inspiration,
meditate on St. Francis Xavier's advice, "Be great in little things." And
let's take his thought a step further with a quote from author Richard
Shivers: "Be great in little things, and you will be given opportunity to do
big things." Novelist Tom Robbins provides us with one more nuance:
"When we accept small wonders, we qualify ourselves to imagine great
wonders."
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Homework: At what moment in your life were you closest to being
perfectly content? Recreate the conditions that prevailed then. Testify at
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
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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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