Needed: More Love Insurrectionaries

Wanted: More Holy Ruckus Healings

My think tank, the Beauty and Truth Lab, received a letter from an organization that calls itself The Clandestine Luminous Indigenous Mutant Ingenious Beauty Transgressors in Charge of the Stealth Revolution.

Below is what it said:

Dear Beauty and Truth Lab

Congratulations on your constructive actions on behalf of our holy earth.

We need more unruly insurrectionaries like you to perpetrate holy ruckus healings—in both The Overt Real World and The Other Real World—what some call the Dreamtime, The Other Side of the Veil, or the astral plane.

We also need rowdy insurgents like you to perpetrate greater unity between the two realms. That’s a key element in our crusade to abolish global ecocide.

You are perfect candidates for these assignments. Why? First, you are exemplars of Herman Melville’s exhortation that ideally a person should be a "patriot to heaven."

Second, you fulfill poet Gary Snyder’s covenant:

I pledge allegiance to the soil

one ecosystem

in diversity

under the sun

with joyful interpenetration for all.

Third, you embody Edward Abbey’s promise:

My loyalties will not be bound by national borders or limited in the spiritual dimension by one language or culture.

I pledge my allegiance to the damned human race, and my everlasting love to the green hills of Earth, and my intimations of glory to the singing stars, to the very end of space and time.

But we trust you understand that as solid as your contributions have been, we need you to intensify your efforts. And we need you to keep at the work for the rest of your long lives and beyond. The environmental emergency took decades to generate, and it will require decades to fully undo.

Please keep the list below in a prominent place in your homes so you may always remain alert to the damage we must ceaselessly undo. To wit:

      • decimation of wildlife habitats  

      • decline of biodiversity

      • extinctions of species

      • diminishing reserves of fresh water

      • air pollution

      • pollution of rivers and lakes

      • acidification of the oceans

      • overfishing

      • proliferation of invasive species

      • desertification

      • loss of wetlands

      • warming of the earth  

      • wildlife trading

      • increasing ultraviolet radiation as the ozone layer thins

      • agricultural monoculture and widespread use of antibiotics and toxic pesticides

      • ocean damage from industrial wastes, agricultural pollution, plastic debris, and overfishing

      • declining populations of wildlife, most urgently bee and other insects, frogs, and birds

      • the holocaust committed against domesticated animals

Now here are our homework questions for you.

1. How can we influence people to stop their desecration and extermination of nature?

2. How can we motivate people to stop committing genocide against animal and plant species?

With love and gratitude,

On behalf of The Clandestine Luminous Indigenous Mutant Ingenious Beauty Transgressors in Charge of the Stealth Revolution

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REVOLUTION OF FEELING

Below is the text that the Beauty and Truth Lab and I have been working on in response to the letter we got: articulating strategies to achieve the abolition of ecocide. 

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Dear Clandestine Luminous Indigenous Mutant Ingenious Beauty Transgressors of the Stealth Revolution:

Thank you for your kind acknowledgment of our work and your encouragement to work even harder. Challenge accepted! 

To prepare the context for our 15-point program, we quote literary scholar M. H. Abrams. In his essay “This Green Earth: The Vision of Nature in the Romantic Poets," he wrote:  

Scientists have taken the lead to persuade us, by an appeal to facts, of the threat to the natural world. Is it enough to know the facts? Or will it take a revival and dissemination of the Romantic vision of nature to enable us, in Shelley’s phrase, “to imagine that which we know.  

It's likely that only such a motive power—such an emotive power—will release the energies, the invention, and the will to make the sacrifices needed if we are to salvage this no-longer-quite-so-green earth while it is still fit to live on. 

In this spirit, we offer our ideas about ways to abolish ecocide:

1.   We gather persuasive and beautifully articulated scientific evidence about how much harm human activity inflicts on other life forms. As we express these facts, we show the grief we feel. We sob uninhibitedly.

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2.   We define the degradation of the environment as a sacrilegious desecration. We exalt and promote the spiritual teachings of Patriarch Bartholomew of the Orthodox Christian Church, who said, "To commit a crime against the natural world is a sin. For humans to cause species to become extinct and to destroy the biological diversity of God's creation; for humans to contaminate the Earth's waters, land, air, and life with poisonous substances: These are sins."

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3. We decry the fact that by damaging nature, we defile our love for our families. We point out that by leaving behind a ruined paradise, we express disrespect, even contempt, for our descendants  

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4. We stage public funeral processions for species that have gone extinct. We hire professional ritualists to make the ceremonies highly entertaining and professional filmmakers to record them. Each event features ululators who howl and wail with musical grief. We create a Reality TV show that broadcasts the events. 

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5. We elect and support politicians who give dramatic tax breaks to individuals and businesses that incorporate sustainability into all their affairs. 

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6. We mock and satirize and debunk and delegitimize the unethical greed that leads us to consume so many of the earth's resources and produce so much waste. We ridicule it. Denounce it. Taunt it. Jeer at it. Sneer at it. Skewer it. Laugh at it. Humiliate it. Vilify it. Trash it. Defame it. Revile it. 

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7. We cultivate devotional adoration for the interconnected web of life. What does that mean? How do we do that? A good place to start is with Stephen Mitchell’s description of Indra’s Net, a mythological metaphor in Hinduism and Buddhism: 

The Net of Indra is a profound and subtle metaphor for the structure of reality. Imagine a vast net; at each crossing point there is a jewel; each jewel is perfectly clear and reflects all the other jewels in the net, the way two mirrors placed opposite each other will reflect an image ad infinitum.  

The jewel in this metaphor stands for an individual being, or an individual consciousness. Every jewel is intimately connected with all other jewels in the universe, and a change in one jewel means a change, however slight, in every other jewel. 

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8. We rejoice in the fact that there are myriad other forms of consciousness and intelligence besides the human variety. We strive to cultivate loving relationships with them. 

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9. We gather abundant evidence that spending time in wild places enhances our mental hygiene and physical health. We start here: 

https://tinyurl.com/NatureIsNurturing 

https://tinyurl.com/NatureNourishes 

https://tinyurl.com/NatureNutrifies 

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10. We value the feminine and nonbinary as much as the masculine. Note this does not mean belittling or wounding the masculine. Rather, our intent is to celebrate all 77 genders as being equal in power and importance.

How does this abolish ecocide? It heals the gross distortion in the earth’s archetypal balance, which has wreaked havoc for over 4,000 years. It reifies the truth that managing and mastering nature is dangerous without a reverence for nature. 

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11. We think with our hearts and feel with our heads. Meaning: We infuse our analytical incisiveness with emotional intelligence. We bring thoughtfulness to bear on our feelings.  

How does this abolish ecocide? It’s an antidote for the psychological dissociation that fuels our alienation from nature, that cuts us off from the innate love our bodies instinctively have for other bodies and life forms. 

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12. We remain in regular, relaxed, intimate connection with The Other Real World—the Dreamtime, The Other Side of the Veil, the astral plane. We find ways to express what we learn there to enhance our souls’ destinies in The Overt Real World. 

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13. We bring the sacred I <–> Thou dynamic to bear on all our relationships, not merely the human variety, not just the animal kind. We venerate all living things as soulful geniuses we must love if we hope to understand them. 

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14. We regard curiosity and empathy as superpowers. We are as eager to learn the mysteries of receptive intimacy as to wield our bold sovereignty.  

Why does this abolish ecocide? Because it rigorously attunes us to the preciousness of The Other—and makes us less likely to abuse and damage The Other. 

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15. We use our dreams, imaginations, meditations, rituals, sex, dancing, trances, drugs, and magick to become one with, inhabit the actual bodies of, plants, animals, fungi, protists, archaea, bacteria, and viruses. 

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Dear Readers:

I’ve been writing my horoscope column for decades, but have never published a book on astrology—until SOON!

I’m gearing up to publish my book ASTROLOGY IS REAL: REVELATIONS FROM MY LIFE AS A HOROSCOPE COLUMNIST.

It blends memoir, essays about astrology, and oracles for YOU, dear reader.

The book will emerge this summer. In the meantime, I’m serializing it on Substack for paid subscribers. It’s available as a bonus newsletter once a week, delivered Tuesday.

Here’s a link: https://tinyurl.com/RealAstrology18

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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

Week beginning June 15

Copyright 2023 by Rob Brezsny

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Among her many jobs, my triple Gemini friend Alicia has worked as a deep-sea rescue diver, an environmental activist, a singer in a band, a dog food taster, an art teacher for kids, and a volunteer at a sleep lab researching the nature of dreams. Do I wonder if she would be wise to commit herself to one occupation? Not really. I respect her decision to honor her ever-shifting passions. But if there will ever come a time when she will experiment with a bit more stability and constancy, it may come during the next 11 months. You Geminis are scheduled to engage in deep ruminations about the undiscovered potentials of regularity, perseverance, and commitment.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): As religious sects go, the Shakers are the most benign. Since their origin in the 18^th century, they have had as many women as men in leadership roles. They practice pacifism, disavow consumerism, and don’t try to impose their principles on others. Their worship services feature dancing as well as singing. I’m not suggesting you become a Shaker, Cancerian, but I do hope that in the coming months, you will place a premium on associating with noble groups whose high ideals are closely aligned with your own. It’s time to build and nurture your best possible network.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): For years, Mario A. Zacchini worked at a circus as a “human cannonball.” On thousands of occasions, he was shot out of a cannon at 90 miles per hour. “Flying isn’t the hard part,” he testified. “Landing in the net is.” His work might sound dangerous, but he lived to age 87. Let’s make Mario your role model for a while, Leo. I hope he will inspire you to be both adventurous and safe, daring but prudent. I trust you will seek exhilarating fun even as you insist on getting soft landings.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): One of my favorite astrology teachers, Stephen Arroyo, notes, "Most people have a strong opinion about astrology, usually quite extreme, even though 95 percent have never studied it whatsoever." Of course, astrology is not the only subject about which people spout superficial ideas based on scant research. Viral epidemiology is another example. Anyway, Virgo, I am asking you to work hard to avoid this behavior during the rest of 2023. Of all the zodiac signs, you have the greatest potential to express thoughtful ideas based on actual evidence. Be a role model for the rest of us! Show us what it means to have articulate, well-informed opinions.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Meditation teacher Cheri Huber wrote a book called Be the Person You Want to Find. This would be an excellent title for your life story during the next ten months. I hope you will soon ruminate on how to carry out such a quest. Here are two suggestions. 1. Make a list of qualities you yearn to experience in a dear ally and brainstorm about how to cultivate those qualities in yourself. 2. Name three high-integrity people you admire. Meditate on how you could be more like them in ways that are aligned with your life goals.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Now is a good time to take stock of how you have fared in the Dating and Mating Games through the years. Why? Because you are entering a new chapter of your personal Love Story. The next two years will bring rich opportunities to outgrow stale relationship patterns and derive rich benefits from novel lessons in intimacy. An excellent way to prepare is to meditate on the history of your togetherness. PS: The term "fate bait" refers to an influence that draws you toward the next turning point of your necessary destiny. Be alert for fate bait.

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EXTRA HELP

Would you enjoy getting further insights into the intriguing twists and turns of your amazing journey? Are you ready to seek more help from me in solving the riddles that confuse you?

Check out your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE at https://Realastrology.com

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Image: Andrew Brandou

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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian actor Samuel Jackson loves the color purple. He insists on it being featured in his films, and he often wears purple outfits. In Black Snake Moan, he plays a purple Gibson guitar. In the animated movie, Turbo, he voices the role of a purple racing snail. In his Star Wars appearances, he wields a purple light saber. Now I am endorsing his obsession for your use. Why? First, it’s an excellent time to home in on exactly what you want and ask for exactly what you want. Second, now is a favorable phase to emphasize purple in your own adventures. Astrologers say purple is your ruling color. It stimulates your natural affinity for abundance, expansiveness, and openness.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): People who understand the creative process say it’s often wise to stay mum about your in-progress work. You may diminish the potency of your projects if you blab about them while they’re still underway. I don’t think that’s true for all creative efforts. For example, if we collaborate with partners on an artistic project or business venture, we must communicate well with them. However, I do suspect the transformative efforts you are currently involved in will benefit from at least some secrecy for now. Cultivate the privacy necessary to usher your masterpiece to further ripeness.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Musician Frank Zappa (1940–1993) was a freaky rebel, iconoclastic weirdo, and virtuoso experimenter. Everything normal and ordinary was boring to him. He aspired to transcend all categories. And yet he refrained from taking psychedelic drugs and urged his fans to do the same. He said, “We repudiate any substances, vehicles, or procedures which might reduce the body, mind, or spirit of an individual to a state of sub-awareness or insensitivity.” Zappa might have added that some substances temporarily have a pleasing effect but ultimately diminish the life force. In my estimation, Aquarius, the coming weeks will be an excellent time to re-evaluate your relationship with influences that weaken the vitality of your body, mind, or spirit. It will also be a favorable period to seek new modes of lasting liberation.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): If you are at a festival or fair where you could win a lot of money by smashing watermelons with your head, I hope you won't do it. Same if you imagine you could impress a potential lover by eating 25 eggs in three minutes: Please don't. Likewise, I beg you not to let yourself be manipulated or abused by anyone for any reason. These days, it's crucial not to believe you can succeed by doing things that would hurt or demean or diminish you. For the foreseeable future, you will be wise to show what you do best and express your highest values. That's the most effective way to get what you want.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries-born Vincent van Gogh’s painting Potato Eaters shows five people in a dark room barely illuminated by lamplight. Seated around a small table, they use their hands to eat food they have grown themselves. Vincent wanted to convey the idea that they “dug the earth with the very hands they put into their bowls." I don’t expect you to do anything quite so spectacularly earthy in the coming weeks, Aries, but I would love to see you get very up close and personal with nature. I’d also love to see you learn more about where the fundamental things in your life originate. Bonus points if you seek adventures to bolster your foundations and commune with your roots.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Renowned Mexican artist Diego Rivera emerged from his mother's womb in 1886. But some observers suggest that Rivera's soul was born in 1920: a pivotal time when he found his true calling as an artist. During a visit to Italy, as he gazed at the murals of 15th-century mural painters, “he found the inspiration for a new and revolutionary public art capable of furthering the ideals of the ongoing revolution in his native land." (In the words of art historian Linda Downs.) I will be extra dramatic and speculate that you may have a comparable experience in the coming months, dear Taurus: a rebirth of your soul that awakens vigorous visions of what your future life can be.

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Homework: What do you wish you could get help to change about yourself? Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com

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