Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
OCTOBER 22, 2008
FreeWillAstrology.com
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"If you're really listening, if you're awake to the poignant
beauty of the world, your heart breaks regularly. In fact, your
heart is made to break; its purpose is to burst open again and
again so that it can hold ever-more wonders."
-Andrew Harvey, The Return of the Mother
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Dear Readers,
Before the last U.S. presidential election in 2004, What
Is Enlightenment? magazine posed the following query to five
religious leaders: "Many people argue that the upcoming presidential
election is the most important in our lifetime. Do you agree?"
Four of the respondents said, in effect, "Yes, because George
Bush is bad for America and the world."
But the fifth religious leader, Zen Buddhist Jan Chozen Roshi,
replied, "I don't know. Our existence is so short, it's like
a dust mote in the eye of God. To say that the time in which my
dust mote existed was the most important is a self-centered view."
Roshi's wisdom reminded me of an anecdote told by Henry Kissinger,
an American politician who was Secretary of State in the 1970s.
Kissinger once asked Chinese premier Zhou Enlai what he thought
of the French Revolution, which had happened two centuries earlier.
"Too soon to tell," Chou answered.
I always like to keep these ideas in mind, even in times of relative
peace and calm. But I'm especially fond of focusing on the very
big picture when divine chaos is whirling around -- like now.
It helps keep me humble, and discourages me from any temptation
I might have to believe I know the Whole Truth about anything,
let alone about the mysterious long-term processes at work in
the evolution of the human race.
There's another factor that makes me cautious about getting embroiled
in partisan politics and the narrow-minded hostility that fuels
it. One of my main goals in life is to love everyone with passionate
intensity -- no exceptions. Not just the people I find beautiful
and helpful and interesting and attractive. But also the people
I don't like and the people who don't like me and the people I
disagree with and the people who can't or won't do anything for
me.
In order to become the gorgeous genius I aspire to be, in order
to fulfill the unique destiny I came to Earth to embody, I have
to hold EVERYONE in my heart with compassion and empathy. As I
contemplate how every single part of creation is interconnected,
I've got to be aware that the creatures I'm allergic to and inclined
to feel alienated from are also part of the great web of life.
That's my spiritual goal; it's essential to awakening my best
self and cultivating a connection to Spirit. It's also my selfish
goal; it's critical to my physical and mental health. Hatred always
sickens me. Love always invigorates me.
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On the other hand:
I was born at a specific moment in history with a unique outlook
and a particular assignment. I can't help but be passionate about
the truth as I see it.
And the truth as I see it is that we need far more beauty and
truth and freedom and joy and play and love in the world.
We need far more female power, right-brain thinking, and raw
compassion.
We need a national health care system that ensures every American
has a safety net.
We need absolute equality for people of all genders, including
the right to get married.
We need to shrink the military dramatically and bring our people
home from Iraq as soon as possible.
We need to make it a top priority to build a sustainable culture,
and make a vigorous commitment to clean energy and environmental
regeneration.
We need to create an economy that works for the vast majority
of Americans, not just the plutocrats at the top of the economic
hierarchy. We need aggressive remedies to shrink the growing income
gap between rich and poor.
Barack Obama isn't in perfect alignment with all my goals, but
he is by far the candidate who is closest to my views about what
needs to be done.
That's why I say:
BARACK OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT
If the spirit moves you, read this article from The New Yorker,
which I largely endorse:
tinyurl.com/4ev99m
P.S. It's crucial to keep in mind that Obama can't single-handedly
and magically heal all the havoc inflicted on America and the
world by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his henchmen. The resuscitation
will have to be accomplished primarily by we-the-people, and as
much on the local level as in the federal realm.
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PRONOIA RESOURCES:
"Vote for Hope"
The best Obama song out there, by M.C. Yogi
tinyurl.com/4hdl95
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American
Dream
by Barack Obama
tinyurl.com/4jbkdu
Change We Can Believe In: Barack Obama's Plan to Renew America's
Promise
by Barack Obama
tinyurl.com/4kxgj6
(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 23
Copyright 2008 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
What do you tend to do when you're squeezed between the demands
of authority and the healthy need to rebel? How do you respond
when the past and future are at odds? What resources do you draw
on when the person you have always been starts to evolve into
an interesting new form that you don't recognize? You've come
to a fork in the road, Scorpio, when you will be asked to deal
with these questions on a larger scale than before. My advice?
Study your past so thoroughly that you'll be able to keep it from
repeating itself, and open your mind to possibilities you've rarely
considered.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
The world is poised at the threshold of a great choice: Should
we stick with what has worked for us, even though it's not working
any more? Or should we experiment with possibilities that may
work for us in the future, even though they don't have a track
record? You, Sagittarius, can and should be a leader in this epic
adventure. The best way to do that is to summon your dormant courage
as you apply the big questions I just posed to the specific circumstances
of your personal life.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
The planet Saturn symbolizes the preservative and conservative
tendencies of evolution. It teaches us to learn from the past
and keeps us from rushing into the frontier before we're ready.
Uranus, on the other hand, represents future shocks, both the
disturbing and benevolent kinds. It disturbs our sleep in order
to wake us up and energizes us to reinvent ourselves on the fly.
What happens when these two planets slip into an intimate dynamic,
as they are now? Will one of them prevail over the other in a
great battle? Or will they coordinate their efforts artfully in
a riveting, gorgeous dance? Amazingly enough, the outcome depends
in part on you.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
No faking allowed, Aquarius. I mean it. You must do no pretending,
tell no dirty lies, and never act as if you know things you don't
truly know. Instead, say exactly what you mean; be more real than
you have ever dared to be; be nothing more and nothing less than
who you actually are. Why is this authenticity crusade so important
right now? Because in the coming weeks, you'll be setting your
life's tone for months to come. You will be planting more seeds
than you can imagine.
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Want to get an idea of what my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES are
like?
Tune in to my free podcast, "Fear Versus Intuition."
It's at tinyurl.com/3j8huc.
My approach there has a close resemblance to the style of my
weekly pay-for-view offerings.
Find out more about how to buy my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES at
RealAstrology.com.
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PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Uranus symbolizes your instinct for freedom, your drive to express
your dormant genius, and your attunement with your intuition.
Saturn represents structure and responsibility; when it's prominent,
it's time to get back to basics and cut down on distractions and
excesses. So what should you do when these two planets are in
exact opposition, as they are now? Here's one hint: We're all
being squeezed between a mandate to head toward the frontier and
the pressure to play it safe. To keep from being paralyzed, some
of us may have to choose one way over the other. In my opinion,
you Pisceans are likely to profit by choosing the Uranian path.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
The government of my home country America spends an obscene fortune
on its armed forces -- as much as do all the other nations of
the world combined. In fact, we are by far the most weaponized
empire in the history of the world. Our 761 military bases in
over 100 countries dwarf the comparatively puny garrisons of the
Roman and British empires at their peak, with 37 and 36 bases
respectively. If our military costs were cut down to a more reasonable
amount -- say the same as that of China (whose population is more
than four times the size of ours) -- we'd have a trillion-dollar
bonus to deal with the financial infection that erupted here and
sent toxic ripples throughout the world. Maybe we'd even have
enough left over to seed a national health care system. Keeping
that in mind as a metaphor, Aries, make this your hypothesis:
By reducing the hostility, combativeness, and judgmental ire that
you personally generate, you'll be far more likely to navigate
your way toward prosperity.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
The days leading up to America's presidential election feature
a rare opposition between Saturn and Uranus. Since Saturn symbolizes
the past and Uranus the future, we might expect there to be a
showdown between what has been and what will be, not only on a
collective level but also in our personal realms. In what areas
of your life do you think that will materialize, Taurus? Identify
those hotspots, then get to work coordinating synergistic interactions
between the seemingly contrary forces.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Write the number ten followed by eleven zeroes. Our Milky Way
Galaxy has that many stars. Write a ten followed by twelve zeroes.
That's the size of America's national debt in dollars. Now promise
me that for the next month, you will avoid absorbing any scary,
overwhelming data like the kind I just threw at you. Worrying
about the big financial picture would not only be fruitless, it
would also distract you from your main tasks, which are as follows:
Regard the crisis as an excellent opportunity to shed materialistic
obsessions and live more humbly and creatively. Sublimate your
buy-ological urges into biological urges. Stretch yourself to
get into closer touch with your spiritual core.
#####################################
Want to get an idea of what my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES are
like?
Tune in to my free podcast, "Fear Versus Intuition."
It's at tinyurl.com/3j8huc.
My approach there has a close resemblance to the style of my
weekly pay-for-view offerings.
Find out more about how to buy my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES at
RealAstrology.com.
#####################################
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
As the stock markets came crashing down, a different kind of
global devastation received scant notice. The World Conservation
Congress revealed that 25 percent of the planet's mammal species
and one out of eight birds are on close to extinction. We're not
just talking about exotic animals in remote hideaways, but rabbits
and deer and cardinals and turtledoves. As you meditate on how
to reinvent yourself in the wake of the financial shifts, Cancerian,
please hold a vigil in your heart for the endangered creatures.
The two crises are related, after all. The greed to turn everything
into a means of generating money has led humans to both despoil
nature and risk the crazy gambles that have savaged the economy.
The more you understand that, the better your intuition will be
as you make personal decisions affecting your future relationship
with money.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
TV's "The Daily Show" did a mock biography of your
fellow Leo, Barack Obama, poking fun at the adoration he inspires
in millions of people around the world. Every time he speaks,
said the narrator, "an angel has an orgasm." According
to my analysis, you now have a scaled-down version of that power.
You may not incite the same intensity of pleasure in the heavenly
hosts, but you could definitely unleash eruptions of raw enthusiasm
in numerous humans. I suggest that like Obama, you channel it
in service to a cause beyond your own selfish interests.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
When the planet Uranus comes into play, as it is now, it's a
good time to initiate experiments that will expedite the arrival
of future blessings. Pushing beyond comforting habits, you thrive
by going in quest of bracing truths, unfashionable beauty, and
wild justice. The symbolic nature of Saturn is different. It invites
you to creatively limit and discipline yourself so that fate isn't
forced to limit and discipline you in unpleasant ways. It so happens,
Virgo, that Uranus and Saturn are now poised in opposition to
each other. Will they work at cross-purposes, spawning a sticky
mess? Or is there a way for you to get them to work together?
More than you imagine, you have the power to affect how they interact
in your personal sphere.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
"I cannot tell if the day is ending, or the world, or if
the secret of secrets is inside me again." So wrote Jane
Kenyon, translating Russian poet Anna Akhmatova. At this juncture
in history, that's a feeling many of us have. Part of the time
we're on the verge of freaking out, half-expecting some new calamity
to befall the world. Other times we're awash in wonder and awe,
catching glimpses of the miraculous flow that's hidden just below
the surface of everyday chaos; we're tantalizingly close to understanding
that everything is proceeding exactly as it should. In the coming
weeks, this excruciating poignancy will peak, especially for you.
Regard it as a gift -- as a difficult blessing that has the potential
to free you of your illusions.
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HOMEWORK:
Write an essay entitled "How I'm Going to Get Stronger,
Smarter, and More Soulful During the Financial Chaos." Send
a copy of your thoughts to me 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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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2008 Rob Brezsny
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