Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
DECEMBER 5, 2007
FreeWillAstrology.com
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"The soul can become a reality again only when each of us
has the courage to take it as the first reality in our own lives,
to stand for it and not just 'believe' in it."
- James Hillman
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My book
"PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR
PARANOIA:
How the Whole World Is Conspiring
to Shower You with Blessings"
is available for sale at
tinyurl.com/qaj62
To read news and features from
the book, go here:
tinyurl.com/lhwx2
Here's an excerpt:
APOCALYPSE VERSUS APOCALYPSE
The chauvinism I suffer from is a peculiar variety. I don't have
delusions of grandeur about my religion, country, or football
team, but rather of the era I live in. I fantasize that our moment
in history is more important than all the others. Those of us
alive today are on the cusp of a radical turning point in the
evolution of humanity. Or so I like to imagine.
It's embarrassing. It associates me with wacky millenarians of
all stripes, from histrionic New Age prophets to fundamentalist
Christians who fanatically anticipate the "end times."
And as much as I would like to imagine my views are subtler and
more rational than those of the superstitious extremists, I must
admit that I sometimes catch myself dreaming of how deliriously
interesting it would be if the mass hallucination that is mistakenly
referred to as "reality" really did mutate "in
the twinkling of an eye," as the Bible insinuates.
Did I scoff at the scaremongers who shivered at the approach
of Y2K? Well, yeah, I mostly did. But there was also a Drama King
in a dark corner of my psyche who indulged in perversely thrilling
chimeras about the possibility that the melodramatic doomsayers
might be right. A similar reflex put me in alignment with the
Nostradamus wannabes who forecast "earth changes" and
a global economic depression in the face of the massive conjunction
of planets in the astrological sign of Taurus in May 2000.
In recent years, a month rarely goes by when my inner Drama King
doesn't pounce on some new sign of imminent upheaval. Endgame
scenarios are no longer solely the province of certifiable cranks
and paranoids. Scientists speculate on the odds of the earth getting
blasted by an asteroid similar to the one that apparently wiped
out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Medical researchers raise
the specter of novel strains of the flu turning into out-of-control
pandemics. Seemingly sane politicians and journalists insist on
cramming our imaginations full of visions of terrorist-delivered
suitcase nukes and killer bioweapons.
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But there is another part of me, a voice that feels older and
wiser, who suspects that even if we are on the verge of an evolutionary
turning point, even if those of us who are alive today will experience
the End of Life as We Know It, it just won't be as simple and
obvious and bad as the literalist prophets fantasize. The transformation
will not come via some cataclysmic overnight worldwide presto-chango.
It is this same part of me--the older, wiser voice--that's distrustful
of our culture's predilection for seeing the worst in everything.
How did hopelessness come to be regarded as a mark of sophisticated
realism? Why are Things Falling Apart thought to be inherently
more gripping than Things Being Reborn?
Luckily, the jingoistic part of me that yearns to be alive when
Everything Changes can find a common ground with the Zen master
in me who regards the entropy-obsessed, all-or-nothing mindset
as a unique signature of the civilization that's dying. Together
these two aspects of my psyche can collaborate to conclude the
following:
WE ARE IN FACT LIVING THROUGH THE APOCALYPSE RIGHT NOW.
But it's nothing like the end of the world visualized by any of
the usual suspects. It's different in four ways.
1. It's a slow, gradual apocalypse.
2. The apocalypse is usually invisible, erupting into our conscious
awareness only on rare occasions.
3. The apocalypse is as much about rebirth as collapse.
4. The primary way most of us experience the apocalypse is through
the intimate events of our personal lives.
I'll explore these four points in more detail.
1. THE APOCALYPSE IS HAPPENING IN SLOW MOTION. It has been going
on for decades and will continue to unfold for many years. Sudden,
sensational punctuations arise now and then to expedite it, but
for the most part it ferments continuously in the background.
Most days bring no emergency that is beyond our capacity to bear,
but the cumulative effects of the transfigurations that relentlessly
weave themselves into our lives have turned every one of us into
heroes whose courageous endurance dwarfs the valor of legends
like Gilgamesh, Odysseus, Arthur, and Joan of Arc.
2. THE APOCALYPSE IS FOR THE MOST PART INVISIBLE. Here's the
most extreme evidence: Few of us have registered the fact that
we're in the midst of the largest mass extinction of life on Earth
since the demise of the dinosaurs. This is the conclusion of the
American Institute of Biological Sciences, a professional society
of 5,000 scientists. Think of it: About 40 animal and plant species
are dying off every day--a rate unmatched in 65 million years.
Shouldn't this be a recurring headline on the front page of every
major newspaper?
But the work-in-progress that is the apocalypse is not always
cloaked. Now and then a riveting event transfixes our collective
emotions, driving millions of us deep into a visceral encounter
with the ongoing collapse. For a brief interlude, the covert,
slow-motion upheaval explodes into plain view. In recent years,
no event has done that more dramatically, at least for Americans,
than the mass murder on September 11, 2001.
3. THE APOCALYPSE IS AS MUCH ABOUT REBIRTH AS BREAKDOWN. The
English word "apocalypse" is derived from the Greek
word for "revelation." In the esoteric spiritual traditions
of the West, "apocalypse" has also come to denote a
great awakening.
The apocalypse we're living through can be described by all three
meanings of the word: as the end of the world, a revelation, and
an awakening. Disintegration and renewal are happening side by
side; calamity and fertility; rot and splendor; grievous losses
and surges of invigorating novelty. Yes, the death of the old
order is proceeding apace; but it's overlapped by the birth pangs
of an as-yet unimaginable new civilization.
The devastation and regeneration often have no apparent link.
But in the case of 9-11, they seemed to be meshed. I received
many e-mails from people testifying about how the terrorist assault
was a weird kind of gift. In the aftermath, their petty worries
evaporated and they stopped wasting time on low-priority, dead-end
desires. Roused by an electrifying clarity of purpose, they began
to live the life they'd previously only fantasized they wanted.
And they had direct perceptions--gut-level, intuitive gnosis--that
We Are All One.
It's as if millions of people had a simultaneous Near Death Experience
and harvested the epiphanies that typically come to those who
have peered over to the other side of the veil.
Here's another example of catastrophe and regeneration arising
from a single set of events, suggested by Caroline Myss in her
book Energy Anatomy. China's invasion and occupation
of Tibet in the 1950s resulted in the exile of the Dalai Lama,
which ultimately brought that great soul's influence, along with
his elegant brand of Buddhism, to the entire world with a breadth
and depth that would never have happened otherwise.
4. MOST OF THE TIME WE EXPERIENCE APOCALYPSE NOT THROUGH BIG,
BAD EVENTS LIKE THE SEPTEMBER 11 MASSACRES, BUT THROUGH THE DETAILS
OF OUR PERSONAL LIVES. The sweeping but gradual revolution, the
agonizing decay of the old order and breathtaking bloom of the
new, are framed in the storylines of your most intimate dramas.
Again and again over the years, you're pushed to a brink that
challenges you to either rise to the occasion or else surrender
to demoralizing chaos. The crises may come in the form of divorce
or illness or job loss, or even in less dramatic events like a
misunderstanding with a friend or the inexplicable waning of a
once-passionate dream.
Seeded inside each of these personal turning points is the crux
of the evolving global apocalypse: You get to choose whether you'll
adjust by taking a path that keeps you aligned with the values
of the dying world or else a path that helps you resonate with
what's being born. In effect, you get the chance to vote, with
your entire life, for which aspect of the apocalypse you want
to predominate.
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The apocalypse is being brought to you by the time you dreamed
you signed the Declaration of Independence with your non-dominant
hand as you ate fresh Peruvian figs flown to you on the backs
of albatrosses.
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To read news and features from my book, go here: tinyurl.com/lhwx2
You can buy the book here:
AMAZON
tinyurl.com/qaj62
POWELLS
tinyurl.com/3dsx6q
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OTHER PRONOIA RESOURCES:
ENLIGHTENMENT TIPPING POINT: DEMOCRATIZE ENLIGHTENMENT!
We are waking up from the global dark night of the soul, right?
www.onemillionawake.com
* What if there were a million Enlightened Beings in the World,
awake to their true nature as pure consciousness, free from mentally
imposed limitations and belief systems?
* What if a million of us declared our rapturous recognition of
the Divine Wow, our ecstatic gratitude for the One Intelligence
That Pervades the Universe and Recreates It Fresh Every Moment?
* What if we dedicated ourselves to the Awakening of all of humanity?
* What if you are one of us -- one of these million Geniuses of
Love? You can be. Simply decide that's what you want.
* What if the one million grew to ten million, then grew to a
hundred million? Because we willed it.
X-TREME KISSING
The Love Art Laboratory
tinyurl.com/2xkr8g
"What happens when former porn star, sexologist and performance
artist Annie Sprinkle falls madly in love with experimental artist,
professor, and sexy dyke playboy Elizabeth Stephens? The Love
Art Laboratory, a seven-year wedding performance."
FILM
What Would Jesus Buy?
www.revbilly.com
(Note: I endorse these because
I like them. These are not advertisements,
and I get no kickbacks.)
Please tell me your own personal
nominations for PRONOIA RESOURCES.
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning December 6
Copyright 2007 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
A man in Santiago, Chile won $250,000 in a contest held by his
bank. There was only one catch: In accepting the money, Mario
Habit had to abide by the bank's stipulation that he spend all
of his winnings in one day. Summoning a manically relaxed concentration,
he succeeded, paying off his substantial debts while also buying
two cars and three apartments. I believe a comparable opportunity
is about to come your way, Sagittarius. You will be offered a
new resource or blessing that has to be used quickly in order
for it to be fully available and effective.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
The phrase "new roses" can serve as an antidote to
neurosis in the coming days -- as a kind of magical spell. Invoke
it whenever you're in danger of getting undermined by either your
own neurosis or someone else's. If you notice, for instance, that
your subconscious mind is spiraling down into a sour fantasy stirred
up by one of your habitual fears, start muttering a cheerful round
of "new roses, new roses, new roses." If your allies
engage in compulsive behavior that they tend to get stuck in when
stress overflows, chant "new roses, new roses, new roses"
in a blithe, sing-song tone.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Few people realize that in the 15th century the Buddha was canonized
as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. He was officially called
Saint Josaphat, a name that's derived from the word "bodhisattva,"
which refers to a deeply compassionate person devoted to becoming
an enlightened being. Virtually every element of Josaphat's life
story as reported by the Church is a duplicate of the original
legends about the Buddha. I expect to see a comparable theme unfold
in your life in the coming weeks, Aquarius. I bet you will get
credit or receive an honor or be given an acknowledgement that
seems rather accidental, or comes from an unexpected source. Like
the Buddha, you will richly deserve the reward, even though it
may feel odd or askew at first.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
How would you go about relocating Tanzania's Mt. Kilimanjaro
to the south of France? How might you undo and fix the debacle
of America's occupation of Iraq? What steps could you take to
creatively disrupt the pathological family patterns that have
knocked you off-center for years? In 2008, I predict that you
will have extraordinary potential to solve impossible problems
like those. More than ever before, you will be able to attract
the help and summon the inspiration necessary to accomplish goals
that have previously seemed beyond your power. And it all starts
now, Pisces.
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EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES
In addition to the horoscopes that come to you in this newsletter,
I create audio horoscopes for your inspiration. They discuss themes
and cover material that I don't have room to deal with in the
written horoscopes.
They're $6 if you access them on the Web, or $1.99 per minute
over the phone.
Try them at RealAstrology.com.
By phone: 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.
"I always feel like I know myself better after listening
to your audio 'scopes."
- June R., Austin, TX
"Your audio horoscopes calm me down when I'm too manic and
pep me up when I'm down."
- Arthur T., Cleveland, OH
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ARIES (March 21-April 19):
This would be an excellent time for you to visit terminally ill
patients in a hospice or go on a tour of a maximum security prison.
To take maximum advantage of the current cosmic opportunities,
you might also travel to the Slum Theme Park in Americus, Georgia,
where Habitat for Humanity has built replicas of the leaky-roofed,
earthen-floored, bug-infested huts that so many millions of the
world's poor call home. In other words, Aries, I recommend that
you give yourself firsthand exposure to people whose problems
are much more demanding than yours. To do so at this juncture
in your life's journey would provide a helpful shock that would
inspire you to conquer the personal challenge you find most daunting.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
20): These last two weeks before the solstice will stir up a
vortex of novelty in your depths. Among the sparkly surprises
swirling around down there will be some shimmering intuitions
about your life in 2008. So stay on high alert, Taurus. Snag every
one of those prophetic glimpses. Here are questions to focus your
attention: What new interests are gestating within you? How is
life asking you to modify your ideas about who you are? What do
you suspect will be your best three creations in the coming year?
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
I love how electrifyingly your intelligence works, Gemini --
how fast you can comprehend things that other people require many
twists and turns to grasp. But I don't love how your quick mind
sometimes alienates you from those who are moving more slowly
than you, and I don't love it when that undermines your ability
to capitalize on your brilliance. Fortunately, I don't think this
will be a problem in the coming days. From what I can tell, you
will have uncanny fun without making any karmic messes as your
brainpower generates breathtaking feats of voluminous understanding.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Hell isn't an imaginary place dreamed up to scare the faithful,
according to Pope Benedict XVI. He says sinners are actually tortured
by fire for all eternity. My opinion is that his crazy talk is
less worthy of consideration than the rants of the homeless guy
downtown who thinks evil reptilian extraterrestrials have taken
over George Bush's brain. To prime you for this week's advice,
I ask you to purge any tendency you might have to believe in cartoony
notions of hell like the Pope's. That will free you to meditate
on the possibility that we do in fact ultimately suffer for the
pain we cause others. Not by being literally tortured in a demonic
realm, not at the hands of a "devil," but rather by
the ugliness we have unleashed inside us. It's a good week for
you to spend quality time in your personal hell, Cancerian, making
up for any hurtful or greedy or unconscious things you may have
done in 2007. (P.S. You're not any guiltier than the rest of us;
it's just that this is a good time for you to atone.)
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AUDIO HOROSCOPES
In addition to the horoscopes that you're reading here, I create
audio horoscopes for your amusement and inspiration. Find out
more at RealAstrology.com.
The audio horoscopes are also
available by phone at 1-877-873-4888
or 1-900-950-7700.
"Your audio horoscopes work better than my therapist and
cost me five percent of what he charges."
- Chris M., San Francisco, CO
"You've helped me remember important things about myself
that I'd forgotten."
- Ruth V., Toronto
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LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
To many Tibetan Buddhists, the snow lion is a symbol of fearless
joy, which is a cornerstone of their spiritual practice. I trust
that in 2007 you have learned a lot about this sublime quality,
and I hope you will make it the basis of your daily rhythm in
2008. These last two weeks before the solstice will be an excellent
time to integrate all the teachings you've absorbed about fearless
joy, and to prime yourself to take your mastery to the next level.
What other terms can you come up with to describe this superpower?
How about "brave bliss," "aggressive happiness,"
or "fierce pleasure"?
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
In some places, you can't buy a gun 15 minutes after you get
an itch to hold it in your hand. In America, for example, a few
of the states force you to delay your purchase for a short time.
Many countries also require couples seeking marriage licenses
to endure a cooling-off period of a few days before they can officially
tie the knot. I urge you to adopt this approach to making important
decisions, Virgo. Impose a waiting period on yourself if you're
thinking about acquiring heavy artillery, intensifying your relationship
commitment, altering your consciousness, or initiating any other
big action.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
You're coming to the climax of the season of fertile tension
and productive arguments. (Let's hope you haven't allowed it to
devolve into the season of fruitless disputes and awkward silence.)
As you prepare to harvest the full potential of the opportunities
that have been made available, I offer you three pieces of advice
from the French essayist Joseph Joubert. (1) "Never cut what
you can untie." (2) "It is better to debate a question
without settling it than to settle a question without debating
it." (3) "The aim of argument, or of discussion, should
not be victory, but progress."
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
You won't believe how talented you're going to be at blending
pragmatism and idealism in the coming days, Scorpio. You may be
amazed at your knack for being down to earth and up in the clouds
at the same time. Among the feats you could accomplish are the
following: making money from doing what you love; acquiring crucial
nuts and bolts for a long-deferred fantasy; and turning lead into
gold just in time to make a big down payment on a dream boat,
dream home, or dream trip.
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HOMEWORK:
Write a one-page summary of the great task you plan to accomplish
in 2008. Share it by going to FreeWillAstrology.com
and clicking on "Email Rob."
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WANT TO GET YOUR CHART DONE?
I'm not doing personal charts, but I highly recommend my astrological
colleague, RO LOUGHRAN. Her approach closely matches my own. In
our many discussions about astrology over the years, we've had
a major influence on each other's work.
Ro utilizes a blend of well-trained
intuition, emotional warmth, and
a high
degree of 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.
Ro is based in California, but
can do phone consultations and
otherwise
work with you regardless of geographic
boundaries.
Ro's website is at YourSoulJourney.com
She can also be reached at roloughran@comcast.net
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Will Astrology Weekly Newsletter
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology
Newsletter are Copyright
2007 Rob Brezsny
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