Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
November 20, 2019
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See a pretty version of this newsletter:
https://bit.ly/YourWondersAndMarvels
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In beauty I walk
In beauty I walk
My eyes see beauty
My thoughts find beauty
My feelings rouse beauty
My words name beauty
With beauty above me, I walk
With beauty below me, I walk
With beauty behind me and before me, I walk
With beauty all around me, I walk
Through the returning seasons, I walk in beauty
On the trail blessed with pollen, I walk in beauty
With mist falling and moon rising, I walk in beauty
It is finished in beauty
It is finished in beauty
—Diné prayer
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IMAGINARY PROBLEMS?
"If I had my life to live over," said Nadine Stair at age 85, "I would
perhaps have more actual problems, but I'd have fewer imaginary ones."
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HOLY GUARDIAN ANGEL
For those who practice the spiritual system
known as Western Hermetic Magick,
a crucial goal is to make conscious and intimate connection
with one's Holy Guardian Angel.
This higher intelligence
embodies the magician's essential
divine nature and True Will;
is the repository of the soul's code;
energizes the master plan
of the magician's best possible destiny.
To be in ongoing communion
with the Holy Guardian Angel
doesn't guarantee a faultless and easy life . . .
but does make possible
a thorough expression
of those unique personal talents and powers
that are most interesting to the magician
and most useful to the people
whose lives he or she touches.
(The Holy Guardian Angel is also the Inner Teacher.)
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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's website had a glitch last week, so if you tried to contact her and had a
problem, try again!
She 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 33 years of astrological experience, Ro has been a
licensed psychotherapist for 20 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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EXPERIMENT: Review in loving detail the history of your life. Remember
how and why you came to be where you are now.
Extra Credit: Figure out a way to feel gratitude for it all.
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ASPIRING MASTER OF CURIOSITY
I'm totally fine with readers who don't know I have other roles beyond that
of astrologer. I understand if you care nothing for the fact that I have
written a novel, a book of poetry, and a book informed by the philosophies
of crazy wisdom and chaos magick. It's not a problem for me if you're
uninterested in the music and spoken-word poetry I've created and
recorded during the last thirty years.
Here's what I do care about: I won't welcome into my various sanctuaries
anyone who tells me to stick to writing about astrology—who scolds me for
expressing my thoughts about all the other subjects in the world,
including politics, racism, militarism, plutocracy, sexism and misogyny.
The whole reason that I didn't work at day jobs and lived below the poverty
line for over 18 years was so I could have all the spare time I needed to
become well-read on a diverse range of issues and create art that is rooted
in wide-ranging research on everything that concerns the human soul.
It's true that I don't have formal educational credentials other than a BA in
Creative Writing from Goddard College. I'm a Rogue Scholar. A Rascal
Researcher. An Unlicensed Investigator. An Unauthorized Experimenter. A
PhD in the Great Unknown. An Aspiring Master of Curiosity.
How else could I be, given the fact that in my natal horoscope I have Sun
conjunct Uranus square Neptune and trine Jupiter?
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WORLD HAPPINESS REPORT
In posting this link to the World Happiness Report, I risk an onslaught of
derision from zealous cynics and rabid pessimists who regard any
reference to the beauty and joy of human life to be pathologically
treacherous—as if talking about about what's wonderful is a betrayal of
the sacrosanct mandate to be exclusively devoted to talking about what's
terrible.
Nonetheless, I will persist.
Here's the World Happiness Report:
https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2018/
The top countries in the happiness scale tend to have high values for the
key variables that have been found to support well-being: income, healthy
life expectancy, social support, freedom, trust and generosity.
P.S. The report says: "Latin Americans report high happiness
levels—substantially high both in comparison to other countries in the
world and to what income levels in the region would predict.
"It is clear that there is more to life than income and that there is
something to learn from the Latin American case about the drivers of
happiness."
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Greening the Desert With Wastewater. Like a mirage, an ethereal
woodland kingdom rises from the Egyptian sands to fight desertification.
https://tinyurl.com/t8evzxz
Free the Transit System! No, seriously. Like, actually make it free.
https://tinyurl.com/ssdbpjq
Doing the Right Thing is Good Business. These days, fossil fuels look like a
shakier investment than ever. As more investors decide the smart money
is on clean energy, a tipping point appears near.
https://tinyurl.com/v6wvp7z
(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 November 21
Copyright 2019 by Rob Brezsny
https://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian performance artist Marina
Abramovi_ observes that Muhammad, Buddha, Jesus, and Moses "all went
to the desert as nobodies and came back as somebodies." She herself spent a
year in Australia's Great Sandy Desert near Lake Disappointment, leading
her to exclaim that the desert is "the most incredible place, because there
is nothing there except yourself, and yourself is a big deal." From what I
can tell, Sagittarius, you're just returning from your own metaphorical
version of the desert, which is very good news. Welcome back! I can't wait
to see what marvels you spawn.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Upcoming events may bedevil your mind.
They may mess with your certainties and agitate your self-doubts. But if
you want my view about those possibilities, they're cause for celebration.
According to my analysis of the astrological indicators, you will benefit
from having your mind bedeviled and your certainties messed with and
your self-doubts agitated. You may ultimately even thrive and exult and
glow like a miniature sun. Why? Because you need life to gently but
firmly kick your ass in just the right way so you'll become alert to
opportunities you have been ignoring or blind to.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Every writer I've ever known says that a
key practice to becoming a good writer is to read a lot of books. So what
are we to make of the fact that one of the twentieth century's most
celebrated novelists didn't hew to that principle? In 1936, three years
before the publication of his last book, Aquarian-born James Joyce
confessed that he had "not read a novel in any language for many years."
Here's my take on the subject: More than any other sign of the zodiac, you
Aquarians have the potential to succeed despite not playing by conventional
rules. And I suspect your power to do that is even greater than usual these
days.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): "If you are lucky enough to find a way of
life you love, you have to find the courage to live it," wrote Piscean
novelist John Irving. In the coming weeks, Pisces, you will have the
power to get clearer than ever before about knowing the way of life you
love. As a bonus, I predict you will also have an expanded access to the
courage necessary to actually live that way of life. Take full advantage!
ARIES (March 21-April 19): "Beware of what disturbs the heart," said
Ibn Mas’ud, a companion of the prophet Mohammed. "If something
unsettles your heart, then abandon it." My wise Aries friend Artemisia
has a different perspective. She advises, "Pay close attention to what
disturbs the heart. Whatever has the power to unsettle your heart will
show you a key lesson you must learn, a crucial task you'd be smart to
undertake." Here's my synthesis of Ibn Mas’ud and Artemisia: Do your
very best to fix the problem revealed by your unsettled heart. Learn all
you can in the process. Then, even if the fix isn't totally perfect, move on.
Graduate from the problem for good.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Taurus social critic Bertrand Russell won
the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950. He's regarded as the founder of
analytic philosophy and one of the twentieth century's premier
intellectuals. But he went through a rough patch in 1940. He was adjudged
"morally unfit" to accept his appointment as a professor at the City
College of New York. The lawsuit that banned him from the job described
him as being "libidinous, lustful, aphrodisiac, and irreverent." Why?
Simply because of his liberated opinions about sexuality, which he had
conscientiously articulated in his book *Marriage and Morals*. In our
modern era, we're more likely to welcome libidinous, lustful,
aphrodisiac, and irreverent ideas if they're expressed respectfully, as
Russell did. With that as a subtext, I invite you to update and deepen your
relationship with your own sexuality in the coming weeks.
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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
https://freewillastrology.sparkns.com
Register and/or log in through the main page.
You can also listen over the phone by calling 1-877-873-4888.
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The cost is $6 per sign on the On the Web. (Discounts are available for
bulk purchases.) You can also access them for $1.99 per minute by
phone
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"Your audio horoscopes are somehow both a balm for my soul and a kick in
the ass. How do you do that?" - David G., Coral Gables, FL
"Your expanded audio horoscopes fill the gaps in my imagination. They
wake up the fun plot twists that have been just on the tip of my ability to
visualize." - Ani Kraft, Brattleboro, VT
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GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In her poem "What the Light Teaches," Anne
Michaels describes herself arriving at a lover's house soaked with rain,
"dripping with new memory." She's ready for "one past to grow out of
another." In other words, she's eager to leave behind the story that she and
her lover have lived together up until now—and begin a new story. A
similar blessing will be available for you in the coming weeks, Gemini: a
chance for you and an intimate partner or close ally to launch a new
chapter of your history together.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Some scientists deride astrology despite
being ignorant about it. For example, they complain, "The miniscule
gravitational forces beaming from the planets can't possibly have any
effect on our personal lives." But the truth is that most astrologers don't
believe the planets exert influence on us with gravity or any other
invisible force. Instead, we analyze planetary movements as evidence of a
hidden order in the universe. It's comparable to the way weather
forecasters use a barometer to read atmospheric pressure but know that
barometers don't cause changes in atmospheric pressure. I hope this
inspires you, Cancerian, as you develop constructive critiques of
situations in your own sphere. Don't rely on naive assumption and
unwarranted biases. Make sure you have the correct facts before you
proceed. If you do, you could generate remarkable transformations in the
coming weeks.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): As you glide into the Season of Love, I'd love you
to soak up wise counsel from the author bell hooks. (She doesn't capitalize
her name.) "Many people want love to function like a drug, giving them an
immediate and sustained high," she cautions. "They want to do nothing,
just passively receive the good feeling." I trust you won't do that, Leo.
Here's more from hooks: "Dreaming that love will save us, solve all our
problems or provide a steady state of bliss or security only keeps us stuck
in wishful fantasy, undermining the real power of the love—which is to
transform us." Are you ready to be transformed by love, Leo?
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Burrow down as deep as you dare, Virgo. Give
yourself pep talks as you descend toward the gritty core of every matter.
Feel your way into the underground, where the roots meet the foundations.
It's time for you to explore the mysteries that are usually beneath your
conscious awareness. You have a mandate to reacquaint yourself with
where you came from and how you got to where you are now.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): It's natural and healthy to feel both the longing
to connect and the longing to be independent. Each of those urges deserves
an honored place in your heart. But you may sometimes experience them
as being contradictory; their opposing pulls may rouse tension. I bring
this to your attention because I suspect that the coming weeks will be a
test of your ability to not just abide in this tension, but to learn from and
thrive on it. For inspiration, read these words by Jeanette Winterson.
"What should I do about the wild heart that wants to be free and the tame
heart that wants to come home? I want to be held. I don’t want you to come
too close. I want you to scoop me up and bring me home at night. I don't
want to tell you where I am. I want to be with you."
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The Louvre Museum in Paris displays
38,000 objects throughout its eighteen acres of floor space. Among its
most treasured thirteenth-century artworks is *The Madonna and Child
in Majesty Surrounded by Angels*, a huge painting by Italian painter
Cimabue. When a museum representative first acquired it in the
nineteenth century, its price was five francs, or less than a dollar. I urge
you to be on the lookout for bargains like that in the coming weeks.
Something that could be valuable in the future may be undervalued now.
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Homework: Possible definition of happiness: the state that results from
cultivating interesting, useful problems. What's your definition?
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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