Your newsletter is always on point, and this one was even pointier, lol. Thanks for your grounded and centered wisdom and expansive horoscopes as always!
Wow! A commonsense answer to a frequently asked question. I so agree with what you've said here. Thank you. Will copy it and keep it for future reference when someone challenges me.
The earlier comment on this article by Michelle Tellez touched upon an idea I wish to suggest more soundly among reasons for uncomfortable or seemingly tragic events in people's lives: Karma, things our souls have learned and those things we have not yet learned or things we did maybe centuries ago to harm someone. Could not the karma of our reincarnating*, eternal souls be a factor in this topic? The quantum reality of spacetime continuum is still not a fully opened book for all in these mortal coils.
((*Whether or not we souls evolve beyond the cycle of lives, the wheel of reincarnations - whether our souls grow wiser to be released from reincarnating is not anything I contemplate as necessary or 'good', for each day is filled with curious and beautiful paradox, imho. Albeit, Yeshua of Nazareth indicated that we can be released from the cycle of rebirths.))
Using the example of John the Baptist who was beheaded, having beheaded the prophets of Baal when his soul was incarnate as Elijah 900 years earlier as we are told by a sage, I can't quit my understanding of karmic direction shown in the geometries of our planetary nativities and through transits, solar arcs, midpoint pictures, etc. I cannot give up my vision of a good scale of justice, "a perfect set of books" with little quirks of imperfection ticked to make some sparkle among the beauty.
You probably have written previously about not finding reincarnation to be a valid way of viewing our evolution and 'lessons' through the great 'school of life' contained in astrology ... and if so, my deep apologies for intruding here. Apologies for having missed your commentary about rebirth of soul somewhere in the past.
I've long reveled in your delightful writing and made subscriptions and donations over decades but rarely make responses or comments. But from the depth of heart: Thank you for all you have contributed to my perception and my courage.
Recently I was lucky enough to hear renowned poet, Naomi Shihab Nye. She lives in my city. She attended my chosen spiritual gathering, Celebration Circle. She was there to celebrate Poetry Month. Her ties to the Middle East keep her reminding the rest of us how brutal life is there. For a moment, I felt powerless and frustrated. I would never choose that life for anyone and yet, there is little I can do to change their circumstance. I walk a different path. I made the decision that I was honor bound to enjoy every moment of my life, difficult or beautiful, because my difficult is someone’s dream.
In my next life, I may not be so fortunate. That is a problem for another time.
I have been inquiring over the past year or so more deeply than ever the meaning of good and evil and why this duality is allowed.
I leave it to you, Rob, to consider sharing your thoughts on that in a future Substack post.
I’ll just say from my experience, we need the contrast in order to understand how good really looks, feels and should be.
And without the contrast as you say today such as by problems that help our souls to remain alert on the 3-D level re: this issue, is how my (our) good can really be appreciated!
Otherwise, we would stagnate and not know the true meaning of liberation and freedom from Shadow of all kinds.
For me in this incarnation, the worst so far has been the loss of my mom almost 40 years ago and now in hindsight and with much inner work and learning I’ve found true peace for what was absolutely painful at the time.
I wanted so badly that she should survive and thrive though in her reality she was ready to leave this earth then.
Now I know not only from this example but from the small and the big moments you mention in your post today - how I am learning to let go of my need to control the external around me!
It’s easier when we’re not greatly suffering to know this but again even in the small challenges the more I (humans) embrace letting go of being a victim the less victimization worldwide will occur in my belief!
As always, I treasure these weekly readings and your profound, wise advice!
Thank you for responding to Rachel’s comments with such wisdom and grace. Her feelings are understandable as she is suffering deeply from the knowledge of these events, as we all are, and we can be tender with those feelings.
I love this, Rob. Thank you, and it does feel so consistent with Pronoia too:
“If every moment is a guru, as Beck suggests, then surely the curriculum includes grace as well as grit. Generosity is as valuable as challenge. Astonishment might educate us as well as irritation.”
The people experiencing those wartime events in horror, in captivity, Etc. maybe had nothing to gain from it, although several survivors have made grand contributions to society they themselves noted they would most likely have not done had they not had the experiences they did. However, there are many more who have learned from such events and are making an effort to better the world, even if it is not readily in evidence these days.
To say nothing could be taught from those experiences is complete madness and shows a lack of willingness to learn.
Astrology has a structural version of this. The transits arriving at your chart aren't random they're already woven into the natal pattern, just waiting to clock in. Saturn is the planet most explicitly framed as teacher slow, friction-based, but every planetary contact teaches in the Joko Beck sense, including the ones that feel like just a bad day. What changes when you sit with a Saturn return or a Pluto opposition is exactly what Joko Beck names: events stop reading as interruptions and start reading as the curriculum.
Joko Beck was my mother’s Zen master (mistress?) who ordained her as a nun. I’m smiling at all the obstacles my mother threw at me, and still does from the Other Side. Still learning to love
The astrology that takes this question literally is Jeffrey Wolf Green's evolutionary lineage. Their reading: South Node = the soul's prior-life identity and orientation that you're meant to evolve away from in this lifetime, and Pluto's house = the deepest karmic territory the soul came in to work through. So when life keeps handing you the same "teaching" in different costumes, the astrological reading is that you're being routed back to your South Node and Pluto-house material until something shifts.
The frame is satisfying because it predicts the pattern Brezsny is describing. The painful and the enjoyable both get sorted under "soul-narrative content," which makes the lessons feel less random and more like a curriculum. South Node in 7th + Pluto in 8th reads very different from South Node in 10th + Pluto in 4th, even when both are getting "the teachings life gives us."
Your newsletter is always on point, and this one was even pointier, lol. Thanks for your grounded and centered wisdom and expansive horoscopes as always!
Wow! A commonsense answer to a frequently asked question. I so agree with what you've said here. Thank you. Will copy it and keep it for future reference when someone challenges me.
The earlier comment on this article by Michelle Tellez touched upon an idea I wish to suggest more soundly among reasons for uncomfortable or seemingly tragic events in people's lives: Karma, things our souls have learned and those things we have not yet learned or things we did maybe centuries ago to harm someone. Could not the karma of our reincarnating*, eternal souls be a factor in this topic? The quantum reality of spacetime continuum is still not a fully opened book for all in these mortal coils.
((*Whether or not we souls evolve beyond the cycle of lives, the wheel of reincarnations - whether our souls grow wiser to be released from reincarnating is not anything I contemplate as necessary or 'good', for each day is filled with curious and beautiful paradox, imho. Albeit, Yeshua of Nazareth indicated that we can be released from the cycle of rebirths.))
Using the example of John the Baptist who was beheaded, having beheaded the prophets of Baal when his soul was incarnate as Elijah 900 years earlier as we are told by a sage, I can't quit my understanding of karmic direction shown in the geometries of our planetary nativities and through transits, solar arcs, midpoint pictures, etc. I cannot give up my vision of a good scale of justice, "a perfect set of books" with little quirks of imperfection ticked to make some sparkle among the beauty.
You probably have written previously about not finding reincarnation to be a valid way of viewing our evolution and 'lessons' through the great 'school of life' contained in astrology ... and if so, my deep apologies for intruding here. Apologies for having missed your commentary about rebirth of soul somewhere in the past.
I've long reveled in your delightful writing and made subscriptions and donations over decades but rarely make responses or comments. But from the depth of heart: Thank you for all you have contributed to my perception and my courage.
Thank you Rob. Grace and Grit🌟the sand in the oyster shell
Recently I was lucky enough to hear renowned poet, Naomi Shihab Nye. She lives in my city. She attended my chosen spiritual gathering, Celebration Circle. She was there to celebrate Poetry Month. Her ties to the Middle East keep her reminding the rest of us how brutal life is there. For a moment, I felt powerless and frustrated. I would never choose that life for anyone and yet, there is little I can do to change their circumstance. I walk a different path. I made the decision that I was honor bound to enjoy every moment of my life, difficult or beautiful, because my difficult is someone’s dream.
In my next life, I may not be so fortunate. That is a problem for another time.
Dear Rob, et. al..:
I have been inquiring over the past year or so more deeply than ever the meaning of good and evil and why this duality is allowed.
I leave it to you, Rob, to consider sharing your thoughts on that in a future Substack post.
I’ll just say from my experience, we need the contrast in order to understand how good really looks, feels and should be.
And without the contrast as you say today such as by problems that help our souls to remain alert on the 3-D level re: this issue, is how my (our) good can really be appreciated!
Otherwise, we would stagnate and not know the true meaning of liberation and freedom from Shadow of all kinds.
For me in this incarnation, the worst so far has been the loss of my mom almost 40 years ago and now in hindsight and with much inner work and learning I’ve found true peace for what was absolutely painful at the time.
I wanted so badly that she should survive and thrive though in her reality she was ready to leave this earth then.
Now I know not only from this example but from the small and the big moments you mention in your post today - how I am learning to let go of my need to control the external around me!
It’s easier when we’re not greatly suffering to know this but again even in the small challenges the more I (humans) embrace letting go of being a victim the less victimization worldwide will occur in my belief!
As always, I treasure these weekly readings and your profound, wise advice!
I am listening, I promise...voice is loud and clear and pure... Pray for me mama Aquarian with all the VIRGO babies... we conspire for JOY
Love to conspire for JOY!
Thank you for responding to Rachel’s comments with such wisdom and grace. Her feelings are understandable as she is suffering deeply from the knowledge of these events, as we all are, and we can be tender with those feelings.
I love this, Rob. Thank you, and it does feel so consistent with Pronoia too:
“If every moment is a guru, as Beck suggests, then surely the curriculum includes grace as well as grit. Generosity is as valuable as challenge. Astonishment might educate us as well as irritation.”
The people experiencing those wartime events in horror, in captivity, Etc. maybe had nothing to gain from it, although several survivors have made grand contributions to society they themselves noted they would most likely have not done had they not had the experiences they did. However, there are many more who have learned from such events and are making an effort to better the world, even if it is not readily in evidence these days.
To say nothing could be taught from those experiences is complete madness and shows a lack of willingness to learn.
Astrology has a structural version of this. The transits arriving at your chart aren't random they're already woven into the natal pattern, just waiting to clock in. Saturn is the planet most explicitly framed as teacher slow, friction-based, but every planetary contact teaches in the Joko Beck sense, including the ones that feel like just a bad day. What changes when you sit with a Saturn return or a Pluto opposition is exactly what Joko Beck names: events stop reading as interruptions and start reading as the curriculum.
Joko Beck was my mother’s Zen master (mistress?) who ordained her as a nun. I’m smiling at all the obstacles my mother threw at me, and still does from the Other Side. Still learning to love
The astrology that takes this question literally is Jeffrey Wolf Green's evolutionary lineage. Their reading: South Node = the soul's prior-life identity and orientation that you're meant to evolve away from in this lifetime, and Pluto's house = the deepest karmic territory the soul came in to work through. So when life keeps handing you the same "teaching" in different costumes, the astrological reading is that you're being routed back to your South Node and Pluto-house material until something shifts.
The frame is satisfying because it predicts the pattern Brezsny is describing. The painful and the enjoyable both get sorted under "soul-narrative content," which makes the lessons feel less random and more like a curriculum. South Node in 7th + Pluto in 8th reads very different from South Node in 10th + Pluto in 4th, even when both are getting "the teachings life gives us."
Thanks, Rob!
I look forward to this every time! Thank you!
What a wonderful conversation this morning. Thank you. Your points aligned with my reactions so graciously. I hope you can feel my huge grin!