Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter October 20, 2010

Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
October 20, 2010
FreeWillAstrology.com

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"Today we are probably living in the most peaceful moment of our species' time on earth." -evolutionary psychologist Steven Pinker

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In the last two weeks, I've been exploring evidence that there's more pronoia lurking out there in the world than is generally recognized. This week, I continue my report. (To read Parts 1 and 2, go here: bit.ly/RichComfy and bit.ly/RichComfy2)

IS PRONOIA JUST FOR RICH, COMFORTABLE PEOPLE? Part 3

Excerpted from PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA
available at Amazon: bit.ly/Pronoia
or Powells: bit.ly/PronoiaPowells

There is considerable evidence that the agonies of war have aroused increasingly effective efforts to stop war.

In 2005, the Human Security Report presented detailed proof that the world has become dramatically more peaceful since the end of the Cold War. It said that the number of violent conflicts has declined by 40 percent, while acts of genocide have dropped by 80 percent. Weapons sales between countries have diminished 33 percent during the same time, and the number of refugees has fallen by 45 percent.

Meanwhile, coups d'état have decreased 60 percent since 1963, and the number of soldiers killed in battle has declined from an average of 38,000 per war in 1950 to 600 in 2002.

Shouldn't reports on these shocking developments have been at the top of the headlines for at least one news cycle? Wouldn't it make sense to declare a holiday and dance in the streets?

One of the primary causes of the plunge in violence, according to the Human Security Report, is the unprecedented upsurge of international peace activism, much of it spearheaded by the United Nations. Other factors it cites include the acceleration of democratization and the steep downswing of global poverty.

The main study was released in 2005, with updates issued in 2007 and 2008. Among the most recent findings: Deaths caused by terrorism have decreased 40 percent; support for al-Qaeda in the Arab world has diminished precipitously; and the number of wars in sub-Saharan Africa was cut in half between 1999 and 2006, while fatalities from those conflicts dropped 98 percent. More info is here: humansecurityreport.info

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Is there other evidence that the global culture of war and violence is receding? If so, it would be a cause for jubilee in the developing nations. To the degree that civilization is consumed with fighting, less energy and fewer resources are available to lift up the disadvantaged. As the richest and most powerful part of the human enterprise, the West is the dominant force in determining which way the scale leans: toward an obsession with conflict and supremacy or a focus on peace and well-being. So where do we stand?

According to evolutionary psychologist Steven Pinker, the human race has been growing progressively kinder and gentler since the onset of the Age of Reason in the early seventeenth century. "Today," he writes, "we are probably living in the most peaceful moment of our species' time on earth." In numerous ways, violence and cruelty are decreasing. (You can read his full argument in his article "We're Getting Nicer Every Day": bit.ly/NicerDaily1)

One measure of the change is the steep decline in the homicide rate. In the 14th century, for example, there were 24 murders for every 100,000 people in England. By 1960, that figure had shrunk to 0.6 per 100,000. A similar decrease occurred throughout Western Europe.

As further proof of his theorem, Pinker also cites shifts in the ways wars have been waged. The mass conflicts of the last hundred years wrought catastrophic casualties, and yet they were far less efficient killers than the tribal clashes that dominated the centuries before modern warfare.

In the old days, violence was more consuming. A greater percentage of the men were soldiers, the battles were more numerous, and the death rates during combat were higher. "If the wars of the twentieth century had killed the same proportion of the population that die in the wars of a typical tribal society," says Pinker, "there would have been two billion deaths, not 100 million."

A third sign of waning cruelty is the dramatic drop-off in torture. Two thousand years ago, many cultures considered torture to be a legitimate element of their system of criminal justice. To the Romans, crucifixion served as a rightful punishment and an effective deterrent. The Egyptians preferred baking wrong-doers to death in the fire of the desert sun.

Throughout the Middle Ages and as late as the 18th century, the courts of Europe relied on torture as a means of wresting revelations from the accused. The Roman Catholic Church authorized its use in 1252 and didn't officially rescind the order until 1816. If you're ever in Amsterdam, you might want to visit the Torture Museum to get a look at the actual devices used during those many centuries, like the Judas Cradle, which forced the victim to sit on a pointed, pyramid-shaped chair.

In addition to the forcible extractions of information, which were conducted covertly, European cities also staged public spectacles that featured excruciating executions. Some victims were burned alive and others were hanged, then cut up. "Softly, softly, gallows are everywhere and numerous are the executioners," wrote Erasmus of Rotterdam in the 16th century.

For hundreds of years, in numerous places on the planet, torture was routine, legal, and commonly accepted. But it's not any more. We shouldn't underestimate how miraculous a change this is. While sickening outbreaks still take place -- witness the abuses that occurred at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq beginning in 2004 -- they incur widespread moral outrage when they're discovered, and there is an international system of laws in place to discourage them.

So let's see: Pinker's research suggests that over the course of the last 600 years, the murder rate has declined 97 percent. The percentage of deaths during wartime has decreased by 95 percent. We can't be sure of the exact reduction in torture, but we know it's no longer a commonplace feature of the judicial system, and few of us have attended a public hanging.

Pinker says that social scientists are having to come to a conclusion that goes against the grain of the conventional wisdom: "Far from causing us to become more violent, something in modernity and its cultural institutions has made us nobler." What is that something?

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To read Part One of the series, go here: bit.ly/RichComfy

To read Part Two of the series, go here: bit.ly/RichComfy2

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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:

LOTS OF PEOPLE ARE WORKING REALLY HARD TO CHANGE THE WORLD FOR THE BETTER
Scotland to Run Off 100% Renewable Energy by 2025
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BEAUTIFY YOUR BRAIN WITH THESE AMAZEMENTS
World's Most Beautiful Lakes
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SURPRISING AND SECRET HELPERS ACTUALLY EXIST
"Use of the word 'miracle' is not an overstatement"
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EVALUATE THE ACCUMULATING EVIDENCE FOR YOURSELF
An antidote to paranoia
pronoiaresources.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 October 21

Copyright 2010 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

"If you're strong enough there are no precedents," said novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald. I think that describes you in the immediate future, Scorpio. I bet you won't have to answer to ghosts or pay homage to the way things have always been done. You'll be free to ignore icons that the conventional wisdom idolizes, and there'll be no need for you to give undeserved respect to experts who have stopped being relevant. By my astrological reckoning, you will be so smart and plucky and energetic that you can work wonders simply by emptying your mind, starting from scratch, and making things up as you go along.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

Scientists have discovered an exotic animal that feeds on the bones of dead whales lying on the ocean floor. Known informally as the bone-eating snot-flower worm, it looks like a frilly pink plume growing up out of sheer bone. Believe it or not, Sagittarius, you could take a cue from this creature in the coming weeks. It will be a favorable time for you to draw sustenance from the skeletal remains of big things that were once vital.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

What is the wild and instinctual nature? Radiance magazine posed that question to storyteller Clarissa Pinkola Estes. Here's her reply: "to establish territory, to find one's pack, to be in one's body with certainty and pride regardless of the body's gifts and limitations, to speak and act in one's behalf, to be aware, alert, to draw on the innate feminine powers of intuition and sensing, to come into one's cycles, to find what one belongs to." I would love to see you specialize in these wild and instinctual arts in the coming weeks, Capricorn. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you are ready to tap into the deeper reserves of your animal intelligence. Your body is primed to make you very smart about what you need and how to get what you need.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

When I think of the extraordinary feats of strength you will be capable of in the coming weeks, my mind turns to a Chinese martial artist named Dong Changsheng. Last May, he attached one end of a rope to his eyelids and the other end to a small airplane, then pulled the thousand-pound load 15 feet in a minute. I don't think your demonstration of power will be as literal as his, and I suspect it will be more useful and meaningful. But in certain respects it could be just as amazing.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

Scottish scientists decided to see if they could find evidence for the existence of the Loch Ness monster. They took a research submarine down into the murky depths, scanning with sonar. The prehistoric creature was nowhere in sight, but a surprising discovery emerged: Thousands of golf balls litter the bottom of the loch, presumably because the place has been used as an unofficial driving range for years. I predict that you will soon experience a reverse version of this sequence, Pisces: You will go in search of your personal equivalent of lost golf balls -- some trivial treasure -- but on the way you will have a brush with a living myth.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

"There's one ultimate goal during sex," says Cosmopolitan magazine, a renowned source of erotic guidance for women. That is "to be as sensually stimulated as possible." I don't quite agree with that assessment. Having emotionally pleasing fun should also be an important consideration, as well as creating a playful ambiance and invoking spiritual grace. But sensual stimulation is good, too. So what, in the view of Cosmopolitan, is the key to cultivating maximum bliss? "Having lots of steamy info at your disposal." That's definitely sound advice for you right now, Aries. You're in a favorable phase for finding out more about everything that will enhance your access to delight, including the sexual kind.

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EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES GO FURTHER

In addition to the horoscopes that come to you in this newsletter, I create more in-depth audio horoscopes for your inspiration. I think of them as my love letters to you. They're $6 if you access them on the Web, or $1.99 per minute over the phone.

Try them at http://RealAstrology.com.

They're available by phone at 1-877-873-4888
or 1-900-950-7700.

"Your audio horoscopes help me love myself better, and I mean that in a non-narcissistic way."
-Deva P., Indianapolis

"I'm really grateful for the way you pick up my telepathic requests and answer them in your expanded audio 'scopes."
-Marion H., Birmingham, AL

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TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

When the tide is coming in, the creek I live next to flows vigorously toward the south. When the tide's going out, the water reverses its course and heads swiftly north. Every day, there's an in-between time when the creek seems confused. Some currents creep south and others slink north, while here and there eddies whirl in circles. According to my understanding of the astrological omens, Taurus, you are temporarily in a phase that resembles my creek's time of contrary flows. It's a perfectly natural place to be.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

In fifth grade I was in love with Calley, who was the by far prettiest girl in the school. Sadly, she didn't return my affection, so I had to be content with adoring her from afar. Eventually I moved away and lost touch. Since then I've wondered if she suffered the fate that befalls too many gorgeous women: relying so entirely on her looks to make her way in the world that she never developed many skills. But recently I tracked Calley down via Google and discovered that she had beaten the curse: She has carved out a career as an activist bringing first-rate education to poor children. My question to you is this, Gemini: Are there any qualities you regarded as assets earlier in your life but that eventually turned into liabilities? Any strengths that became weaknesses? And what are you doing to adjust? It's a good time to address these themes.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

Think back to the last half of 1998. What was going on in your life back then? According to my astrological projections, you were probably carrying out experiments in a wild frontier . . . or getting your mind rearranged by rousing teachings and provocative revelations . . . or breaking through artificial limits that had been quashing your freedom . . . or all of the above. Now you've come around again to a similar phase of your grand cycle. Are you ready for action? If you'd like to gather up all the grace flowing in your vicinity, start having fun with escapes, experiments, and expansions.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

"I wish I treated my feet with the same tender loving care as I do my face," wrote Catherine Saint Louis in The New York Times. "But I don't." She quotes a study that says more than half of all women are embarrassed about their feet, and notes that Facebook has many "I Hate Feet" groups. You Leos can't afford to be under this spell right now. Even more than usual, it's crucial for you to be well-grounded. So I suggest you maneuver yourself into a state of mind where earthiness is beautiful and appealing to you. Find ways to celebrate your body and improve your relationship with it. How to start? Love your feet better.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

At this phase of my life, I'm not canvassing door-to-door asking people to donate money to save old growth forests. I'm not a member of groups fighting for an end to the war in Afghanistan or agitating in behalf of animal rights. My struggle for social and environmental justice is waged primarily through the power of my writing. I subscribe to the attitude of author Ingrid Bengis, who said, "Words are a form of action, capable of influencing change." In the coming weeks, I suggest you increase your awareness of how you could transform your world with the power of your language. Is it possible to increase your clout through the way you communicate?

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

In the weeks ahead, Libra, you're going to be tested on your follow-through. People will want you to work harder on what has previously come fairly easily. You will be pressured to make good on your promises; you'll be asked to refine the details that are central to the success of the good new ideas that are floating around. As much as you might be tempted to slip away and fly off in pursuit of things that are more fun, I encourage you to stick with the program. You can't imagine how important it is for you to learn how to be a more committed builder.

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HOMEWORK:

What kind of teacher do you need most? What is the ignorance that's causing you to suffer? Write: Truthrooster@gmail.com.

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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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Submissions sent to the Free Will Astrology Weekly 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 such submissions for length, style, and content. Requests for anonymity will be honored with submissions; otherwise, reader names, screen names, or initials will be used. Please be sure to note your preference when sending to us. We are not responsible for unsolicited submission of any creative material.

Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright 2010 Rob Brezsny

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