Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
FEBRUARY 20, 2008
FreeWillAstrology.com
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"People with a psychological need to believe in marvels
are no more prejudiced and gullible than people with a psychological
need not to believe in marvels."
- Charles Fort
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An article in the Santa Cruz publication Good Times
includes a GOOD summary of my views about the nature of astrology.
Check it out:
tinyurl.com/yq5jw8
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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
Here's an excerpt:
THE RICH GET RICHER
"Dear Beauty and Truth Laboratory: Help! My old Buick's
transmission is dead, my credit cards are maxed, my kid's got
to see the dentist real bad, and the one-speed bike I ride everywhere
is about to collapse. I'm working two low-paying jobs already,
although I just applied for a more lucrative gig as a strip-club
dancer, only I'm having so much mysterious pain in my joints I'm
not sure how sexy my gyrations will be. Please clue me in to some
tricks that will help me keep a pronoiac attitude in the midst
of the mess that is my life. - Pickled"
Dear Pickled: Here's the first thing I want to tell you: Pronoia
does not assume that material comfort is a sign of divine favor.
The universe is an equal-opportunity provider, conspiring to shower
blessings on every one of us in the same abundance. But while
the blessings may come in the form of money and possessions,
they're just as likely to consist of other gifts that aren't as
concrete.
Here's a hypothetical example. Let's say you have the gift of
feeling at home in the world no matter where you are. The universe
has determined that it's the exact skill you need in order to
fulfill the specific purpose you came to earth to carry out. Having
a prestigious job and big salary, on the other hand, might be
exactly what you don't need.
The question of what gifts are essential revolves around your
precise role in the universal conspiracy to perpetrate blessings.
The second meditation I'll offer you is a passage from the Gospel
of Matthew: "Whoever has, shall be given more and more, while
whoever has nothing, even what he has will be taken away from
him."
Pronoiac translation: Whatever you choose to focus your attention
on, you will get more of it. If you often think of everything
you lack and how sad you are that you don't have it, you will
tend to receive prolific evidence of how true that is. As you
obsess on all the ways your life is different from what you wish
it would be, you will become an expert in rousing feelings of
frustration and you will attract experiences that assist you in
rousing frustration.
If, on the other hand, you dwell on the good things you have
already had the privilege to experience, you will expand your
appreciation for their blessings, which in turn will amplify their
beneficent impact on your life. You will also magnetize yourself
to receive further good things, making it more likely that they
will be attracted into your sphere. At the very least, you will
get in the habit of enjoying yourself no matter what the outward
circumstances are.
Bear in mind that you are a great wizard. You can use your powers
to practice white magic on yourself instead of the other kind.
The most basic way to do that is to concentrate on naming, savoring,
and feeling gratitude for the blessings you do have -- your love
for your kid, the pleasures of eating the food you like, the sight
of the sky at dusk, the entertaining drama of your unique fate.
Don't ignore the bad stuff, but make a point of celebrating the
beautiful stuff with all the exuberant devotion you can muster.
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SACRED ADVERTISEMENT
"The Rich Get Richer" is brought to you in part by
the gesture recorded in a photograph of the Dalai Lama playfully
messing with Desmond Tutu's cap at a gathering of Nobel Peace
Prize winners.
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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:
CHANGE YOUR MIND, CHANGE THE WORLD
"A New Vision of Reality and a New Myth to Live By"
by Stan Grof
tinyurl.com/39jcuz
LET'S STUDY WHAT GIVES US PLEASURE SO WE CAN HAVE MORE OF IT
"The Science of the Orgasm"
tinyurl.com/yp74x6
PRONOIAC INVENTIONS
Seven Technologies That Can Help Save the Earth
tinyurl.com/2a22yc
(Note: I endorse these because I like them. They 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 February 21
Copyright 2008 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Many people sincerely think that they will be called before God
to account for themselves on Judgment Day. If you yourself have
held that belief, you can stop worrying about it. The fact is
that you were essentially called before God on Judgment Day last
week (though it might have happened while you were asleep and
dreaming), and everything went great! You passed your test! Your
score wasn't perfect, and there were some demerits in your final
evaluation, but the most important thing is that you made it!
There will, therefore, be no more Judgment Days for you in the
future. God found you worthy, and now you can go on living your
life without fear or guilt. Congrats, Pisces! You're free!
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
I'm 99 percent positive that in the coming week you will not
wind up in a hand-to-hand battle on top of a speeding truck with
a rogue agent of the secret government. It's also highly unlikely
that the next time you open your closet door you will be forced
to engage in magical combat with a well-dressed goblin from the
fifth level of hell. On the other hand, Aries, it might actually
be wise for you to instigate a fair fight in a safe place with
a good person who is basically your ally. You two need to air
out some buried tensions in order to get the most out of your
future collaborations.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
"Diplomacy is letting someone else have your way,"
said Lester Pearson, a Taurus politician from Canada who won the
Nobel Peace Prize. If I'm reading the astrological omens correctly,
Taurus, the aptitude he described will be your specialty in the
coming weeks. You will have a sixth sense about how to tactfully
maneuver adversaries and colleagues alike into arriving at conclusions
that will promote your goals. To maximize the likelihood that
you'll be a benevolent manipulator, not a selfish one, try to
arrange it so that getting your way will help others get their
way as much as possible.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
"Where my heart lies," wrote Robert Browning in his
prayerful poem, "let my brain lie also." That's my wish
for you to experience in the coming weeks, Gemini. It's not a
wistful, ineffectual wish, either: My astrological analysis indicates
that the cosmos will be conspiring to unify more than a few of
your fragmented parts. In fact, I predict that your thoughts and
feelings will converge in a vigorous collaboration that will ultimately
generate excellent karma for you and others.
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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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CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Some religious traditions don't motivate you through the threat
of punishment and don't make you scared of God. Some corporations
don't rip off their workers, don't despoil the environment, and
don't have tyrannical bosses. Some politicians don't lie constantly,
haven't sold out their ideals, and aren't power-mad narcissists.
In light of these facts, Cancerian, please try to keep an open
mind about them all in the coming week, as well as about any
institution, idea, or person about which you have made dogmatic
generalizations. It's a perfect time to shake up and even purge
some of the personal biases that you have enthroned as absolute
truths.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
My friend Ronnie, the tattoo artist, told me that people who
come in to get their first tattoo are sometimes unprepared for
how much it hurts. Most are able to endure the razor-sharp ripping
of their flesh for the time it takes, though. There are some sissies
who can't, and they tend to be the biggest, baddest macho dudes.
Ronnie says she personally knows 15 rough, tough guys walking
around San Francisco with a fragment of a tattoo, having abandoned
the process in agony before it was done. Here's my question for
you, Leo: Is there any situation in your life that resembles a
half-completed initiation? Have you ever left midway through a
rite of passage? Now is a good time to make plans to go back and
finish what you started.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Every year, the Annals of Improbable Research gives out Ig Nobel
Prizes to researchers whose work "cannot or should not be
reproduced." Last year, awards were conferred upon chemists
who managed to extract vanilla flavoring from cow manure, scientists
who found that impotency drugs help hamsters to recover quickly
from jet lag, and linguists who discovered that rats can't distinguish
between someone speaking Dutch backward and someone speaking Japanese
backward. I sincerely hope you will do nothing in the coming weeks
that would resemble these efforts, Virgo. Please double-check
to make sure that your considerable mental talents are engaged
in tracking down out information that will be truly useful. Don't
get sidetracked by trivial data, irrelevant details, and wild
goose chases.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Leonardo da Vinci created a mural that his contemporaries regarded
as an even greater masterpiece than The Last Supper.
Painted on a wall in Florence's Palazzo Vecchio, The Battle
of Anghiari later vanished when the building was remodeled.
Some experts believe it still exists, however, hidden behind another
wall that bears a newer mural. Even as we speak, investigators
are using advanced technology to detect the possible presence
of Leonardo's missing tour de force. Let this serve as a metaphor
for the work you have ahead of you, Libra. It's a perfect time
to search for lost brilliance that's stuck behind a barrier or
buried treasure that has almost been forgotten. Once you find
it, then you can free it.
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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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SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Poet Sylvia Plath said she wasn't much impressed with the "photographic
mind which paradoxically tells the truth, but the worthless truth,
about the world." What she really loved was the "synthesizing
spirit, that 'shaping' force, which prolifically sprouts and makes
up its own worlds with more inventiveness than God." That's
the aspect of your psyche I hope will be in full bloom during
the coming weeks, Scorpio. It's a perfect time for you to enter
into an unprecedented phase of building. You're ripe to dream
up a host of creations for yourself -- to improvise and design
and compose.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
The average male owns 15 pairs of underwear, while the typical
female has 21. (The other three genders average 25, 31, and 13
respectively.) But those figures will almost certainly rise in
the coming weeks, as Sagittarians of every variety will be expanding
and enhancing their approach to covering their asses. Most of
you Centaurs will also be refining and evolving your attitude
toward the things that touch you most intimately, as well as deepening
and embellishing your relationship with the hidden aspects of
the image you present to the public eye.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Philosopher Robert Anton Wilson defined information as data and
ideas that are new to you. If it's something you already know,
then it's propaganda or dogma, not information. Philosopher Terence
McKenna had a similar view. He used the terms "information"
and "novelty" interchangeably. If you're not surprised,
he said, if your curiosity isn't piqued, then the messages streaming
your way don't qualify as information. I'd like you to make that
your gold standard in the coming weeks, Capricorn. Be voracious
for real information, and ruthlessly banish all the fake stuff
that's masquerading as real information. You will know you're
doing it right if you're never bored.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Astrologically speaking, this would be a perfect time for you
to get a brain implant that would allow you to google your own
unconscious and surf the Web with your mind alone. Unfortunately,
the actual technology to do that isn't available yet. But variations
on this theme could soon impact you. You're primed to make innovations
and play with possibilities that the rest of the world isn't ready
for. My advice is to go ahead and try them anyway. People may
be prodded by your pioneer spirit into helping you conjure up
the fresh-from-the-future resources you need.
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HOMEWORK:
What's your favorite excuse? Write it out and tape it to your
mirror. Try not to actually say it even once during the coming
week. testify 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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material.
Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2008 Rob Brezsny
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