Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
April 1, 2020
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See a pretty version of this newsletter: https://bit.ly/CrisisHealing
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My Expanded Audio Horoscopes offer suggestions about how you might
make best use of your time as you navigate your way through our Shared
Healing Crisis: https://FreeWillAstrology.com/horoscopes/audio
BRIEF EXCERPT: During this sequestered phase, this transition period,
you may have more time than usual to think about the big picture of your
destiny . . . to meditate on where exactly you are in the story of your life .
. . to brainstorm about what will be the best use of your time and energy
when the crisis has calmed down.
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THE VALUE OF SOME ORDEALS
In 1963, the authoritarian government of the Soviet Union decided that
feisty, rebellious young poet Joseph Brodsky was not making sufficient
contributions to society.
He was sentenced to exile in an unheated farmhouse without plumbing
north of the Arctic Circle, where his job was to break rocks and shovel
manure.
Those 18 months turned out to be wonderful for him. Every night he spent
hours reading great poetry, learning English, and honing his craft.
It was a key phase of a career that eventually won him a Nobel Prize for
Literature.
Do you have a comparable opportunity in the works?
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THE SEA REBORN IN YOU
To those of you
who can't hear the sea
today,
to those of you
who are cooped up,
confined,
locked away—
I pray your muses will arrive,
addressing your shrouded hearts,
transmitting the starry echoes of the wave,
the soft crackle of foam and sand,
the rustling sparkle of salt,
the grey songs of the sea-birds
and the sea well be reborn in you,
throbbing, dying,
throbbing, dying
throbbing
—my adaptation of a Neruda poem
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STAY HOME!
The taverns are full of gadabouts making merry this eve. And though I may
press my face against the window like an urchin at a confectioner's, I am
tempted not by the sweetmeats within. A dram in exchange for the pox is
an ill bargain indeed.
— from the diary of London-based Samuel Pepys during the Great Plague
of 1665
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DON'T GIVE UP YOUR SOCIAL DISTANCING
Epidemiologist Jonathan Smith writes: We are in the infancy of this
epidemic’s trajectory. That means even with these measures we will see
cases and deaths continue to rise in the coming weeks.
This may lead some people to think that the social distancing measures are
not working. But the fact is, they are working. They may feel futile. They
aren’t. You will feel discouraged. But this is normal epidemic trajectory.
We need everyone to hold the line as the epidemic inevitably gets worse.
Stay strong and with solidarity knowing with absolute certainty that what
you are doing is saving lives, even as people begin getting sick and dying.
You may feel like giving in. Don’t.
Read the short essay: https://tinyurl.com/sxls5tf
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WANT TO GET YOUR PERSONAL 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. Her website is 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 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.
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YOUR HOROSCOPE
by Rob Obvious
ARIES: You'll be spending a lot of time in your home. (At least you should
be!)
TAURUS: You'll be spending a lot of time in your home. (At least you
should be!)
GEMINI: You'll be spending a lot of time in your home. (At least you should
be!)
CANCER: You'll be spending a lot of time in your home. (At least you should
be!)
LEO: You'll be spending a lot of time in your home. (At least you should
be!)
VIRGO: You'll be spending a lot of time in your home. (At least you should
be!)
LIBRA: You'll be spending a lot of time in your home. (At least you should
be!)
SCORPIO: You'll be spending a lot of time in your home. (At least you
should be!)
SAGITTARIUS: You'll be spending a lot of time in your home. (At least you
should be!)
CAPRICORN: You'll be spending a lot of time in your home. (At least you
should be!)
AQUARIUS: You'll be spending a lot of time in your home. (At least you
should be!)
PISCES: You'll be spending a lot of time in your home. (At least you should
be!)
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MAKING FRIENDS WITH YOUR INNER DEMONS?
During your extended extra time at home, it might be a good time to get
better acquainted with your inner demons. Check out this cartoon:
https://tinyurl.com/DemonsPlayNice
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A CHARM AGAINST THE LANGUAGE OF POLITICS
Say over and over the names of things,
the clean nouns: weeping birch, bloodstone, tanager,
Banshee damask rose. Read field guides, atlases,
gravestones.
At the store, bless each apple by kind:
McIntosh, Winesap, Delicious, Jonathan.
Enunciate the vegetables and herbs: okra, calendula.
Go deeper into the terms of some small landscape:
spiders, for example. Then, after a speech on
compromising the environment for technology,
recite the tough, silky structure of webs:
tropical stick, ladder web, mesh web, filmy dome, funnel,
trap door. When you have compared the candidates’ slippery
platforms, chant the spiders: comb footed, round headed,
garden cross, feather legged, ogre faced, black widow.
Remember that most short verbs are ethical: hatch, grow,
spin, trap, eat. Dig deep, pronounce clearly, pull the words
in over your head. Hole up
for the duration.
~ Veronica Patterson
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SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL ALTERNATIVE NEWSPAPER!
Alternative newsweeklies like the "Stranger" in Seattle and the "Austin
Chronicle" in Texas and the "City Pages" in Minneapolis have published
my syndicated column "Free Will Astrology" for years.
I'm profoundly grateful for their support of my work! Because of them,
I've been able to reach a large audience with my writing, and have earned
a decent living.
In the wake of our Shared Global Crisis, these fine publications are
suffering financially. All the businesses in town are closed! And so of
course they're not advertising in the newspapers.
I know that any help I can offer them now will be modest, but at least it's
something: I've told all of them that they can publish Free Will Astrology
for free during the month of April.
It's a financial loss for me, but hopefully it will help them stay healthy
and thriving.
Here's the story of Seattle's "Stranger": https://tinyurl.com/u3yppfr
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GARUDA AND THE VIRUS
I know it's "only" metaphorical, symbolic, mythical, psycho-spiritual,
and magickal, but I and my 3.78 trillion allies in the astral realm just
exhorted and invoked the god Garuda to curtail the coronavirus.
View Garuda: https://tinyurl.com/ruhmawk
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IN A CRISIS
Listen here to my song "In a Crisis": https://tinyurl.com/s7hfq3u
Here are some of the lyrics:
In a crisis we cut away
What we don't need anymore
In the good times we fight our way
We fight our way inside
In a crisis we cut away
What we don't need anymore
In the good times we find our way
We find our way back home
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
14 Stories of Good news Amidst the Pandemic:
Shelter Animals Are Being Taken Home in Droves as Hundreds of People
Volunteer to Foster Pets
https://tinyurl.com/rdeaoqc
Across Canada, Scaremongering Becomes ‘Caremongering’ as Citizens Help
Each Other In Challenging Times
https://tinyurl.com/unnn7d7
Homeless People From California to France Are Being Given Emergency
Shelter During COVID-19 Response
https://tinyurl.com/vf2lfph
OANN Stores are Handing Out Free Fabric Supplies at Curbside to Anyone
Sewing Face Masks at Home
https://tinyurl.com/szqgfbc
Neighborhood Comes Together for Hilarious Dino-Themed Social
Distancing Parade
https://tinyurl.com/shv66cq
People Are Now Stocking Little Free Libraries With Toilet Paper and Food
for Neighbors in Need
https://tinyurl.com/tfntkes
After Couple Publishes 3D-Printing Guide for Face Masks, Hundreds of
Volunteers Start Making Them for Free
https://tinyurl.com/taq6rj9
Chinese Company Ships Crates of Masks to Italy Covered in Italian Poetry:
We Are ‘Leaves of the Same Tree’
https://tinyurl.com/rjwe36p
Jimmy Fallon Asks Twitter to Describe Their Quarantine in Six
Words—and the Results Are Hilarious
https://tinyurl.com/wsbptp8
TV Medical Dramas Are Donating All Their Gowns, Gloves, and Masks to
Real Hospitals Fighting COVID-19
https://tinyurl.com/rr7f747
Businesses Are Giving Away All Their Excess Toilet Paper to People in
Need During COVID-19 Shutdowns
https://tinyurl.com/syckroe
After Rediscovering Warehouse Treasure Trove of 50,000 Face Masks,
IKEA Donates Them All to Hospital
https://tinyurl.com/rkousef
Great Things to Do at Home While Quarantined: Let’s Be Pandemic-
Positive
https://tinyurl.com/qqzgq59
Corner Store Owner Gives Away More Than $6,000 in Free Goods to
Seniors Preparing for Quarantines
https://tinyurl.com/vt3wkpz
(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 April 2
Copyright 2020 by Rob Brezsny
https://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
ARIES (March 21-April 19): "If all the world's a stage, where the hell is
the teleprompter," asks aphorist Sami Feiring. In my astrological
opinion, you Aries are the least likely of all the signs to identify with that
perspective. While everyone else might wish they could be better
prepared for the nonstop improvisational tests of everyday life, most of
you tend to prefer what I call the "naked spontaneity" approach. If you
were indeed given the chance to use a teleprompter, you'd probably ignore
it. Everything I just said is especially and intensely true for you right
now.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): When Nobel Prize-winning Norwegian
author Knut Hamsun was 25 years old, a doctor told him that the
tuberculosis he had contracted would kill him within three months. But in
fact, Hamsun lived 67 more years, till the age of 92. I suspect there's an
equally erroneous prophecy or unwarranted expectation impacting your
life right now. A certain process or phenomenon that seems to be nearing
an end may in fact reinvent or resurrect itself, going on to last for quite
some time. I suggest you clear away any misapprehensions you or others
might have about it.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I invite you to remember what you were
thinking and feeling around your birthday in 2019. Were there specific
goals you hoped to accomplish between then and your birthday in 2020?
Were there bad old habits you aimed to dissolve and good new habits you
proposed to instigate? Was there a lingering wound you aspired to heal or
a debilitating memory you longed to conquer? The coming weeks will be an
excellent time to take inventory of your progress in projects like those.
And if you find that you have achieved less than you had hoped, I trust you
will dedicate yourself to playing catch-up in the weeks between now and
your birthday. You may be amazed at how much ground you can cover.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): I can't swim. Why? There was a good reason
when I was a kid: I'm allergic to chlorine, and my mom wouldn't let me
take swimming lessons at the local chlorine-treated pool. Since then, the
failure to learn is inexcusable, and I'm embarrassed about it. Is there an
equivalent phenomenon in your life, my fellow Cancerian? The coming
weeks might be an excellent time to meditate on how to correct the
problem. As for me, I'm studying two helpful Youtube videos that will
enable me to give myself solo self-administered swim lessons at the lake
when the weather is warmer and the coronavirus crisis has passed.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Is William Shakespeare the greatest author who
ever lived? French philosopher Voltaire didn't think so, calling him "an
amiable barbarian." Russian superstar author Leo Tolstoy claimed The
Bard had "a complete absence of aesthetic feeling." England's first Poet
Laureate John Dryden called Shakespeare's language "scarcely
intelligible." T. E. Lawrence, a.k.a Lawrence of Arabia, declared The Bard
had a second-rate mind. Lord Byron said, "Shakespeare's name stands too
absurdly high and will go down." His contemporary, the poet and
playwright Ben Johnson, asserted that he "never had six lines together
without a fault." I offer these cheeky views to encourage you Leos to enjoy
your own idol-toppling and authority-questioning activities in the coming
weeks. You have license to be an irrepressible iconoclast.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo-born Jack Ma is China's richest person
and one of the world's most powerful businessmen. He co-founded Alibaba,
the Chinese version of Amazon.com. He likes his employees to work hard,
but also thinks they should cultivate a healthy balance between work and
life. In his opinion, they should have sex six times a week, or 312 times a
year. Some observers have suggested that's too much—especially if you
labor 12 hours a day, six days a week, as Jack Ma prefers—but it may not
be excessive for you Virgos. The coming months could be a very erotic
time. But please practice safe sex in every way imaginable.
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ARE YOU THE HERO OF YOUR OWN LIFE?
"Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that
station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show." So begins
Charles Dickens' novel *David Copperfield*.
I'd like to inspire you to create a story of your own that begins with
similar words. That's why I provide these free horoscopes for you.
If you'd ever enjoy getting even more assistance from me, tune into your
EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE, which I create for you each week. They're
extended meditations on the current state of your destiny.
Lately I have been creating Special Editions of these horoscopes, offering
suggestions about how you might best use your time during the
coronavirus crisis.
To buy and 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. Each forecast is 4-5 minutes long.
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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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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): How hard are you willing to work on your
most important relationships? How might your life change for the better
if you gave them your most potent resourcefulness and panache? The next
eight weeks will be a favorable time for you to attend to these matters,
Libra. During this fertile time, you will have unprecedented power to
reinvigorate togetherness with imaginative innovations. I propose you
undertake the following task: Treat your intimate alliances as creative art
projects that warrant your supreme ingenuity.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): "I make mistakes," confessed author Jean
Kerr. "I’ll be the second to admit it." She was making a joke, contrasting
her tepid sense of responsibility with the humbler and more common
version of the idiom, which is "I make mistakes; I'll be the first to admit
it." In the coming weeks, I'll be fine if you merely match her mild level of
apology—just as long as you do indeed acknowledge some culpability in
what has gone amiss or awry or off-kilter. One way or another, you need
to be involved in atonement and correction—for your own sake.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): If you have been thinking of adopting a
child or getting pregnant with a new child, the coming weeks will be a
favorable time to enter a new phase of rumination about that possibility.
If you've been dreaming off and on about a big project that could activate
your dormant creative powers and captivate your imagination for a long
time to come, now would be a perfect moment to get more practical about
it. If you have fantasized about finding a new role that would allow you to
express even more of your beauty and intelligence, you have arrived at a
fertile phase to move to the next stage of that fantasy.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I suggest you make room in your life for a
time of sacred rejuvenation. Here are activities you might try: Recall
your favorite events of the past. Reconnect with your roots. Research your
genetic heritage. Send prayers to your ancestors, and ask them to converse
with you in your dreams. Have fun feeling what it must have been like
when you were in your mother's womb. Get a phone consultation with a
past life regression therapist who can help you recover scenes from your
previous incarnations. Feel reverence and gratitude for traditions that are
still meaningful to you. Reaffirm your core values—the principles that
serve as your lodestar. And here's the number one task I recommend: Find
a place of refuge in your imagination and memories; use your power of
visualization to create an inner sanctuary.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Are we just being poetic and fanciful when
we say that wonder is a survival skill? Not according to the editors who
assembled the collection of essays gathered in a book called *Wonder and
Other Survival Skills*. They propose that a capacity to feel awe and
reverence can help us to be vital and vigorous; that an appreciation for
marvelous things makes us smart and resilient; that it's in our selfish
interests to develop a humble longing for sublime beauty and an attraction
to sacred experiences. The coming weeks will be a favorable time for you
to dive deep into these healing pleasures, dear Aquarius.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): For decades, the city of Sacramento,
California suffered from severe floods when the Sacramento and American
Rivers overflowed their banks. Residents authorized a series of measures
to prevent these disasters, culminating in the construction of a 59,000-
acre floodplain that solved the problem. According to my analysis, the
coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to plan an equally
systematic transformation. It could address a big ongoing problem like
Sacramento's floods, or it could be a strategy for reorganizing and
recreating your life so as to gloriously serve your long-term dreams.
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Homework: It's a good time to think about Shadow Blessings:
https://tinyurl.com/ShadowBlessings
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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
2020 Rob Brezsny
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