Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
September 22, 2010
FreeWillAstrology.com
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There's a new release from the soundtrack for my book. It's called
"HEALING SHOCKS."
You can listen to it and read it in its entirety here:
bit.ly/HealingShocks
HEALING SHOCKS
Many of us are essentially asleep, even as we walk around in
broad daylight. We're so focused on the restless narratives and
repetitive fantasies unfurling in our heads that we only dimly
perceive the larger story raging in all of its chaotic beauty
around us.
To have any hope of permanently breaking out of our fuzzy trance,
we require regular shocks. A single jolt might cause us to briefly
come to attention and see the miracle of creation for what it
is, but once the red alert has passed, we relax back into our
fixation on the dreamy tales our mind never stops telling us.
In the course of its conspiracy to shower us with blessings,
life does its best to provide us with a steady flow of healing
shocks. But because it tends to err on the side of tenderness,
its prods may be too gentle, allowing us to ignore them. Gradually,
life will up the ante, trying to find the right mix of toughness
and love, as it encourages us to WAKE UP!
But our addiction to the phantasmagoria is tenacious. The stream-of-conscious
narratives and ever-bubbling fantasies, even when they're racked
with torment and terror, are perversely entertaining. And so we
may avoid responding to the kind shocks for so long that life
finally has to resort to stronger medicine. Then we might get
sick or lose our job or muck up our closest relationship.
It doesn't have to be that way . . . .
TO READ (and hear) THE REST OF THIS PIECE (and listen to it,
too), GO HERE:
bit.ly/HealingShocks
Or buy the book! It's called PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR
PARANOIA and is available here: bit.ly/Pronoia
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"However smart we be, however rich and clever or loving
or charitable or spiritual or impeccable, it doesn't help us at
all. The real power comes in to us from the beyond. Life enters
us from behind, where we are sightless, and from below, where
we do not understand. And unless we yield to the beyond, and take
our power and might and honor and glory from the unseen, from
the unknown, we shall continue empty." - D.H. Lawrence
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
KINDNESS INVADES CAPITALISM
A cafe where you pay what you want.
tinyurl.com/2fmbwf5
PRONOIA INVOKES INGENUITY
All vibrations are good vibrations in the world of energy harvesting.
tinyurl.com/24d9tmn
SOMETIMES BEAUTY IS HIDDEN FROM THE NAKED EYE
Snap peas get an MRI
insideinsides.blogspot.com/
(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 September 23
Copyright 2010 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Albert Einstein was extremely famous during his lifetime. Although
he had no publicity machine promoting him, his face became an
iconic symbol for genius. "Einstein" was, in effect,
a brand name that made people think of creativity, wisdom, and
imagination. There were times that bothered him. "I am no
Einstein," he said, preferring to be his raw self rather
than the idol on a pedestal. I offer his example up to you, Libra.
You can benefit from slipping away from, ignoring, and even rebelling
against your image right now. Return to the source of your ever-evolving
life energy.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
My proposed assignment for you would be fun, but it wouldn't
be easy. It would require you to dissolve at least one of your
fixations, escape at least two of your habits, and override at
least three of your dogmatic beliefs. I'll completely understand
if you're not up for the challenge. But if you're game, read the
following excerpt of a poem by Pablo Neruda (translated by Alastair
Reid), and incorporate its attitude into your daily rhythm. "I
have a mind to confuse things, unite them, make them new-born,
mix them up, undress them, until all light in the world has the
oneness of the ocean, a generous, vast wholeness, a crackling,
living fragrance."
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
I love to listen to DJ Schmeejay on San Francisco radio station
KUSF. Like a throwback to the Golden Age of FM radio in the 1970s,
he plays a "visceral, cinematic" mix that delights you
with a flow of unpredictable juxtapositions. Unlike some music
experts who harbor haughty elitist prejudices, the dude is an
open-minded aficionado. His playlist may include a psychedelic
tune, flapper-jazz, a pretty pop song, a barbershop quartet, 1960s
folk, polka, and trip-hop. He understands that good entertainment
keeps you guessing about what's going to come next. I urge you
to borrow his approach as you cruise and schmooze in the coming
weeks. Charm people with good surprises. Expand your bag of tricks,
and use everything in it.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
I'm not a big believer in the idea that dreams are prophetic.
I've recorded thousands of my own dreams, and just three of them
have foreshadowed waking life events that actually occurred. However,
I have often found it valuable to regard my dreams as pointers
on how to develop unripe aspects of myself. For example, when
I was 19 I had a series of dreams suggesting that the best way
to become a writer was simply to write at least three hours every
day. I acted on those prompts, and they worked. I bring this to
your attention, Capricorn, because it's prime time for you to
tap into your own dreams for tips on how to create your best possible
future.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
In his opening comments on an episode of his TV show, Stephen
Colbert announced, "I have butterflies in my stomach. I just
ate a cocoon quesadilla." If I'm reading the omens correctly,
you, too, will soon have fluttering sensations in your gut, but
not because of your food choices. Rather, you're likely to be
quivery and atwitter due to encounters with the Great Unknown
-- arrivals from beyond the Wild Blue Yonder that will blow your
mind and recalibrate your philosophy of life. Don't worry. Your
appointments with the numinous are likely to be stirring, even
awe-inspiring, but not frightening. P.S. You should celebrate
the fact that you feel free enough to go exploring so far and
wide.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
"If we wish to outline an architecture that conforms to
the structure of our soul," wrote Friedrich Nietzsche, "it
would have to be conceived in the image of the labyrinth."
I take this to mean that clarity, assuredness, and single-mindedness
are luxuries the ego may indulge in, but they are not the natural
state of our deepest selves. Rather, at our cores, in the essential
primal source that sustains us, we are complicated and meandering
. . . mysterious and exploratory . . . curious and questioning.
In other words, it's perfectly healthy to be in a labyrinthine
state of mind. I hope this meditation helps you enjoy your upcoming
Season of Soul.
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WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES ARE LIKE?
To get an idea of how my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES might make
you feel, tune in to my podcast, "Fear Versus Intuition."
It's here: bit.ly/FearVersusIntuition
"Fear Versus Intuition" is a meditation about the difference
between your fearful fantasies and your authentic, accurate intuitions.
My approach there has a close resemblance to the style of my
weekly EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES. Go here to access them:
RealAstrology.com
The weekly forecasts are also available by phone:
1-877-873-4888
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ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Rightwing talk show host Rush Limbaugh is a person whose ideas
and attitudes repel me. But in the dream I had last night, I enjoyed
hanging out with him. He was affable and humorous. We had several
fun adventures together. Here's how I interpret the dream: It
doesn't necessarily mean that Limbaugh is a better human being
than my bias allows me to imagine. Rather, I think I'm becoming
more relaxed about people I disagree with. I'm less susceptible
to being motivated by hatred. I'm able to maintain a live-and-let-live
approach to things that used to knock me off center. You're now
set up for a similar shift, Aries. I hope you take advantage.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
You have entered a phase in your astrological cycle when your
best lessons will come from doing hard work. I mean that in the
most literal way: intensifying your commitment to doing your job
with maximum integrity and intelligence and excellence. But I
also mean that you should concentrate on what needs fixing, refinement,
and upkeep in other areas of your life. Could your best relationships
use some tweaks that would pump up the collaborative energy? Would
you consider making a course correction in your spiritual path?
Is there any part of your rhythm that could use more discipline
and organization?
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
I'm getting excited to see what you'll create in the coming weeks.
You're slipping into the most expressive groove you've been in
for a while. I'm guessing that any minute now your imagination
will start churning out a wealth of fresh perspectives and new
approaches. Half-rotting problems that have just sat there immobile
for weeks or even months will begin morphing into opportunities
as you zap them with your frisky grace. Misunderstandings that
have festered far too long will get cleansed and salved by your
tricky ingenuity. Get the party started!
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
As I stood by the creek at dusk, the silhouette of a woman in
a kayak came flowing my way. The last crease of the orange sun
hovered on the horizon behind her. I spied the reflection of the
planet Venus shimmering in the violet water before I saw it in
the sky. The temperature was balmy. A translucent spider floated
nearby at the end of an airborne silk strand. Nine geese in v-formation
trumpeted as they soared overhead. When the woman got close enough
for us to see each other's faces, she addressed me. "We win!"
she exclaimed jubilantly, then paddled onward. I agreed. We were
basking in a great victory, paradise having temporarily descended
into our midst. This is the kind of triumph I expect you'll be
capable of achieving several times over in the coming week.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Focus on what's small and slippery, Leo. Turn your gaze away
from what's big and obvious. Exult in the salamander on the rock
and a friend who has a new trick and the guilty pleasure you just
discovered; excuse yourself from obsessing about the state of
the economy, the meaning of life, and the clash between science
and religion. Your pleasurable duty is to love what's in the midst
of changing, and not fixate on trying to make arrangements that
will supposedly last forever. Don't just grudgingly attend to
the mercurial details; dive in as if playing with them were your
central purpose.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
"Artists suffer for their work, but they don't mind,"
read the headline in the San Francisco Chronicle. The
attached article featured brief interviews with five artists who
all said they enjoy doing their creative work so much that they
gladly put up with the privations it causes them. That's the spirit
I'd like you to embrace in the coming weeks, Virgo. See if you
can immerse yourself in a labor of love with so much enthusiastic
devotion that you drive away some of your aches and anxieties.
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HOMEWORK:
Confess, brag, and expostulate about what inspires you to love.
Go to Freewillastrology.com
and click "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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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2010 Rob Brezsny
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