Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
January 23, 2019
See a pretty version of this newsletter: https://bit.ly/YourNewGrace
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I've gathered together all of the long-term, big-picture horoscopes I wrote
for you in the past few weeks, and bundled them in one place. Go here to
read a compendium of your forecasts for 2019:
https://bit.ly/YourGloriousStory2019
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In addition to these, I've created three-part, in-depth EXPANDED AUDIO
HOROSCOPES about Your Long-Range Future. They go even further in
exploring your prospects and challenges in 2019.
Who do you want to become in the coming months? Where do you want
to go and what do you want to do? How can you exert your free will to
create adventures that'll bring out the best in you, even as you find
graceful ways to cooperate with the tides of destiny?
To listen to these three-part, in-depth reports, go here:
https://freewillastrology.sparkns.com
Register and/or log in through the main page, and then access the
horoscopes by clicking on "Long Range Prediction." (Choose from Part 1,
Part 2, Part 3.)
If you'd like a boost of inspiration to fuel you in your quest for beauty and
truth and love and meaning, tune in to my meditations on your Big-Picture
outlook.
Each of the three-part reports is seven to nine minutes long. The cost is
$6 per report. There are discounts for the purchase of multiple reports.
P.S. You can also listen to a short-term Expanded Audio Horoscope for
the coming week.
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THE SPIRITUAL PATH OF INTIMACY
In the old-fashioned patriarchal vision of myth, the hero is typically a
solitary male who renounces intimate companionship to pursue his
glorious, arduous quest. Along the way, sporadic help may arrive from an
ineffable muse or deity.
But there are alternative scenarios for the hero's journey. In the tantric
tradition, for instance, a seeker's connection with a beloved human
companion is essential to his or her spiritual inquiry.
Some early Christians described Jesus and Mary Magdalene as equal
collaborators. Sufi mystic poet Rumi may not have actually made love
with his teacher Shams (then again, he might have), but it's clear the two
men sought divine communion together, not through lonely solo work.
Some modern teachers have also broken from the narrow perspective.
The quest for illumination, they say, can thrive on the challenges of loving
and living with an actual person. In John Welwood's *Love and
Awakening*, the author re_imagines relationship as an "alliance of
warriors" devoted to awakening each other's "holy longing."
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MY OFFICE
I really enjoy writing horoscopes for you. It's an interesting way to
express my love for you! It's also a fun way to keep reimagining and
reinventing the way I understand the ever-changing world.
Here's a photo of me in the sunny office where I create them:
https://bit.ly/2CvfHbF
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DON'T BE DAUNTED
"Do not be daunted by the insurmountability of the world's grief. Do
justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to
complete the work but neither are you free to abandon it."
— The Talmud
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DELICACIES
My diet is almost always organic and vegetarian and uncanned, but I'm
breaking my routine to sample these delicacies:
https://tinyurl.com/yamk88l8
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DIMINISHING MISOGYNY
One of my main life goals is to do what I can to dramatically diminish
misogyny. To that end, I ask my male readers to consider the testimony
offered in this article: "On Being a Woman in America While Trying to
Avoid Being Assaulted": https://tinyurl.com/yb8tusj4
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EBULLIENT PROTEST SONGS
Here's a favorite new song from an activist poet and rapper who lives on
the Feminist Planet I emigrated to a while back.
I'd love to hear more ebullient protest songs like this. If you know of any,
please tell me. Truthrooster@gmail.com
Listen: https://tinyurl.com/yc5ofp4c
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INTERNATIONAL CRYING WEEK
This is International Crying Week. You have a poetic license to sob, mourn,
lament, blubber, and weep because of deep sadness or unreasonable joy
or cathartic epiphanies or compassion for the suffering of others or
visions of the interconnectedness of all life.
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In his book "Crying: the Natural and Cultural History of Tears," Tom Lutz
asserts that people don't cry as much as they used to. The English of the
Victorian era, supposedly renowned for their stuffy behavior, put us to
shame with their abundant outpouring of tears.
So what's our excuse? There's as much, if not more, to be mournful
about nowadays; and we certainly don't suffer from a lack of events to
spur our cathartic joy and empathy.
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Walk into the hills or woods and find a large rock jutting up out of the
earth in a place that makes you feel at home. Sit down on or next to that
rock and let go of the tightly wound emotions you've been holding onto.
Sob or sigh or babble until you achieve a spiritual orgasm that will clear
your mind of all its gunk and free you to make the decision you've been
postponing.
Ever hereafter you will call this the Crying Rock, and you will go there
whenever you need the kind of release that only a beloved natural power
spot can facilitate.
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My friend Marika regards her crying spells as surrogate orgasms. They
bring a surging release of pent-up emotions, and leave her deeply relaxed
and in love with life.
Another friend, Ariane, weeps now and then out of self-pity, but more
often her sobs are triggered by overwhelming beauty, like the sight of the
last dragonfly of Indian summer alighting beside her as she gazes on Mt.
Tamalpais at dusk and feels the first kick of the growing baby inside her
belly.
Myself, I experience my tears as a well-earned triumph, whether they're
driven by loss or fullness; they're the sign of the inner work I've done to
feel things deeply.
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Rambunctious singer Tom Waits is not known for his scientific research,
but a few years ago he made a valuable contribution in the quest to
measure sadness.
Holding a spoon to his cheek during an especially blue period of his life, he
found that it takes 121 teardrops to fill a teaspoon.
Building on his work, I've discovered that crying for joy causes a spoon to
overflow after only 98 tears, suggesting that they're bigger.
I invite you to do further studies on this subject. Tap into watery
breakthroughs of several varieties, ranging from the relatively poignant to
the outrageously sublime.
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In Janet Fitch's novel *White Oleander*, a character makes a list of
"twenty-seven names for tears," including "Heartdew. Griefhoney.
Sadwater. Die tränen. Eau de douleur. Los rios del corazón."
(The last three can be translated as "The Tears," "Water of Pain," and
"The Rivers of the Heart.")
I invite you to emulate this playfully extravagant approach to the art of
crying. Now is an excellent time to celebrate and honor your sadness, as
well as all the other rich emotions that provoke tears. You'll be wise to
feel profound gratitude for your capacity to feel so deeply.
For best results, go in search of experiences and insights that will unleash
the full cathartic power of weeping. Act as if empathy is a superpower.
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
How Beauty Is Making Scientists Rethink Evolution: The extravagant
splendor of the animal kingdom can't be explained by natural selection
alone — so how did it come to be?
https://tinyurl.com/ya3behph
When Crafts Become Activism: With a unique "gentle protest" approach,
new craftivists are channeling homespun energy into social justice.
https://tinyurl.com/y8roogo6
Women won big in Mexico's elections — taking nearly half the legislature's
seats.
https://tinyurl.com/y94jxjsz
Sucking carbon dioxide from air is cheaper than scientists thought.
Estimated cost of geoengineering technology to fight climate change has
plunged since a 2011 analysis.
https://tinyurl.com/ydyy6a3h
(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 January 24
Copyright 2019 by Rob Brezsny
https://FreeWillAstrology.com/horoscopes/
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): A motivational speaker and author named
Nick Vujicic was born without arms or legs, although he has two small,
unusually shaped feet. These facts didn't stop him from getting married,
raising a family of four children, and writing eight books. One book is
entitled *Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life*. He's
a positive guy who has faith in the possibility of miracles. In fact, he says
he keeps a pair of shoes in his closet just in case God decides to bless him
with a marvelous surprise. In accordance with current astrological omens,
Aquarius, I suggest you make a similar gesture. Create or acquire a
symbol of an amazing transformation you would love to attract into your
life.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): About 11 percent of the Philippines'
population is comprised of Muslims who call themselves the Bangsamoro.
Many resist being part of the Philippines and want their own sovereign
nation. They have a lot of experience struggling for independence, as
they've spent 400 years rebelling against occupation by foreign powers,
including Spain, the United States, and Japan. I admire their tenacity in
seeking total freedom to be themselves and rule themselves. May they
inspire your efforts to do the same on a personal level in the coming year.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): We might initially be inclined to ridicule Stuart
Kettell, a British man who spent four days pushing a Brussels sprout up
3,560-foot-high Mount Snowden with his nose. But perhaps our opinion
would become more expansive once we knew that he engaged in this
stunt to raise money for a charity that supports people with cancer. In
any case, the coming weeks would be a favorable time for you, too, to
engage in extravagant, extreme, or even outlandish behavior in behalf of a
good or holy cause.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The Taurus guitar wizard known as
Buckethead is surely among the most imaginative and prolific musicians
who has ever lived. Since producing his first album in late 2005, he has
released 306 other albums that span a wide variety of musical genres —
an average of 23 per year. I propose that we make him your patron saint
for the next six weeks. While it's unlikely you can achieve such a gaudy
level of creative self-expression, you could very well exceed your previous
personal best in your own sphere.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Novelist Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock
Holmes, a fictional character who personifies the power of logic and
rational thinking. And yet Doyle was also a devout spiritualist who pursued
interests in telepathy, the occult, and psychic phenomena. It's no surprise
that he was a Gemini, an astrological tribe renowned for its ability to
embody apparent opposites. Sometimes that quality is a liability for you
folks, and sometimes an asset. In the coming weeks, I believe it'll be a
highly useful skill. Your knack for holding paradoxical views and expressing
seemingly contradictory powers will attract and generate good fortune.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): In 2006, a 176-year-old tortoise named
Harriet died in an Australian zoo owned by "Crocodile Hunter" and TV
personality Steve Irwin. Harriet was far from her original home in the
Galapagos Islands. By some accounts, evolutionary superstar Charles
Darwin picked her up and carried her away during his visit there in 1835. I
propose that you choose the long-lived tortoise as your power creature
for the coming weeks. With her as inspiration, meditate on questions like
these: 1. "What would I do differently if I knew I'd live to a very old age?"
2. "What influence that was important to me when I was young do I want
to be important to me when I'm old?" 3. "In what specific ways can my
future benefit from my past?" 4. "Is there a blessing or gift from an
ancestor I have not yet claimed?" 5. "Is there anything I can do that I am
not yet doing to remain in good health into my old age?"
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EXPLORING THE BIG PICTURE OF YOUR LONG-RANGE FUTURE
Would you like some inspiration as you muse and wonder about your
upcoming adventures in 2019?
You can still listen to my long-range, in-depth explorations of your destiny
in the coming months. Each report in the three-part series is 7 to 9
minutes long.
Go to https://freewillastrology.sparkns.com
Register and/or log in through the main page, and then access the
horoscopes by clicking on "Long Range Prediction." (Choose from Part 1,
Part 2, Part 3.)
A new short-range forecast for this week is also available.
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"The best part about your audio horoscopes is that they pat me on the
head and kick me in the ass at the same time." - Rita L., San Diego
"Your audio oracles go beyond helping me find the truth -- they inspire
me to find the WILD truth." - Patrick K., Montreal
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LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): John Lennon claimed that he generated the
Beatles song' "Because" by rendering Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata"
backwards. Even if that's true, I don't think it detracts from the beauty of
"Because." May I suggest you adopt a comparable strategy for your own
use in the coming weeks, Leo? What could you do in reverse so as to
create an interesting novelty? What approach might you invert in order to
instigate fresh ways of doing things? Is there an idea you could turn
upside-down or inside-out, thereby awakening yourself to a new
perspective?
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The Tsonga language is spoken by more than
15 million people in southern Africa. The literal meaning of the Tsonga
phrase *I malebvu ya nghala* is "It's a lion's beard," and its meaning is
"something that's not as scary as it looks." According to my astrological
analysis, this will be a useful concept for you to be alert for in the coming
weeks. Don't necessarily trust first impressions or initial apprehensions.
Be open to probing deeper than your instincts might influence you to do.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): The old Latin verb *crescere* meant "to come
forth, spring up, grow, thrive, swell, increase in numbers or strength." We
see its presence in the modern English, French, and Italian word
"crescendo." In accordance with astrological omens, I have selected
*crescere* and its present participle *crescentum* to be your words of
power for the next four weeks. May they help mobilize you to seize all
emerging opportunities to come forth, spring up, grow, thrive, swell, and
increase in numbers or strength.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): When animals hibernate, their metabolism
slows down. They may grow more underfur or feathers, and some add
extra fat. To conserve heat, they may huddle together with each other. In
the coming weeks, I don't think you'll have to do what they do. But I do
suspect it will be a good time to engage in behaviors that have a
resemblance to hibernation: slowing down your mind and body; thinking
deep thoughts and feeling deep feelings; seeking extra hugs and cuddles;
getting lots of rich, warm, satisfying food and sleep. What else might
appeal to your need to drop out of your fast-paced rhythm and
supercharge your psychic batteries?
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): When people tell me they don't have
time to read the books I've written, I advise them to place the books
under their pillows and soak up my words in their dreams. I don't suggest
that they actually eat the pages, although there is historical precedent for
that. The Bible describes the prophet Ezekiel as literally chewing and
swallowing a book. And there are accounts of sixteenth-century Austrian
soldiers devouring books they acquired during their conquests, hoping to
absorb the contents of the texts. But in accordance with current
astrological omens, I suggest that in the next four weeks you acquire the
wisdom stored in books by actually reading them or listening to them on
audio recordings. In my astrological opinion, you really do need, for the
sake of your psychospiritual health, to absorb writing that requires
extended concentration.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Among the top "how to" search inquiries
on Google are "how to buy Bitcoin," "how to lose belly fat fast," "how to
cook spaghetti in a microwave," and "how to make slime." While I do think
that the coming weeks will be prime time for you to formulate and launch
many "how to" investigations, I will encourage you to put more important
questions at the top of your priority list. "How to get richer quicker"
would be a good one, as would "how to follow through on good
beginnings" and "how to enhance your value" and "how to identify what
resources and allies will be most important in 2019."
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Homework: Write yourself a nice long love letter full of praise and
appreciation. Send a copy to me if you like: 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
2019 Rob Brezsny
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