The Benevolent Sorcery of Play

Friendly, Uplifting Shocks Every Day

LOVE OF PLAY

Dear Lucky Fluxers and Plucky Luxers—

We invite you to serve as rebel practitioners of Holy Play. We invite you to embody, illustrate, and teach the spiritual art of fooling around and goofing around and fucking around with serious intention—not just now and then, but 24 hours a day, seven days a week, forever and ever, amen.

PLAY, in its most exalted form, is not the opposite of work or the enemy of focus. It’s not a trivial diversion, a meaningless indulgence, or an escape from responsibility.

Real PLAY is a sovereign mode of being and knowing. It’s the way your soul breathes and sings when it’s not constricted by fear or shame.

It’s the improvisational genius of your inner trickster and child-sage, the spontaneous prayer that bursts forth when you're not trying extra hard to be profound. It’s the whirling, wondering language of your intuition when it’s in dialog with the Big Mystery.

PLAY is rehearsal for reality and the remaking of reality. It’s myth-making in motion, shapeshifting on purpose. It’s how coyotes do science and how cats preach philosophy. It’s how we make love to uncertainty, how we compose unexpected music out of paradox, how we bless the world by delighting in it.

There is, of course, a danger in us encouraging you to be so wildly disciplined in your devotion to sublime frolic and majestic gambol: We may seem like fanatics in the grip of dogmatic ferocity.

And the very nature of Holy Play is that it steadily sabotages fanaticism and dogmatic ferocity. MUST steadily sabotage fanaticism and dogmatic ferocity.

So that's the absurd contradiction we hope you have the savvy to straddle and embrace. Can you be captivated and consumed as you rigorously apotheosize plain old ordinary play into Holy Play—and yet also proceed with the light-hearted self-mockery that will prevent you from taking yourself too seriously? We think you can.

To walk the sacred tightrope of Holy Play is to laugh while fumbling, to detour flamboyantly and call it research, to be both wisdom-seeker and prankster in the same plot twist.

Holy Play could be your default setting, your way of worshiping and meditating at all times and in all places. And that requires you to be constantly alert for the possible necessity of revolting against Holy Play as your default setting.

Cool, calm, humorless objectivity is sometimes the enemy, but you may occasionally have to inhabit cool, calm, humorless objectivity to avoid being tyrannized by Holy Play.

The curious, amused, frisky, looking-for-the-creative-openings attitude is the healing agent in most settings. But it can become toxic if it's a fundamentalist compulsion.

Play must remain free to reinvent itself at any moment. If it becomes rote, if it starts to wear the uniform of duty, if it forgets to surprise even itself, it risks becoming the very rigidity it was born to dissolve.

Capiche?

We know that you capiche. We're just stating the obvious, aren't we? But it's good to get this all down in writing, to serve as an informally formal anti-manifesto.

One more thing: Some Hindus call this 24/7 meditation practice Lila. They know the universe is recreated every moment by the creative play of Brahman.

Medieval European mystics called it Ludus amoris, or the Game of Love. God loves to play, they said. God plays in a spirit of love with the intention to make more and more love.

We imagine the eternal play that arises anew in every instant as the ArtGamePerformanceRitual performed by the Vast Sentient Conscious Intelligence Who Lives Everywhere and Everywhen. “Goddess” is our favorite name for that Magnificence.

What could be more fun and intelligent and useful than to give yourself joyfully to this performance?

THE BENEVOLENT SORCERY OF PLAY

LIFE YEARNS TO PLAY.
Our sympathy goes out to the educated cynics who reject delight, who stay loyal instead to their numb anguish—faithful stewards of sorrow, allergic to frolic.

LIFE EXULTS IN PLAY.
We mourn the humorless devotees who exile joy, who feed their spiritual greed with grave meditations and sanctimonious solemnity.

LIFE FLOURISHES THROUGH PLAY.
We grieve for the imagination-dead sweethearts who cling to the masks they have forged, asleep to the erotic pleasure of molting—unaware that transformation could be so much fun.

LIFE HONORS PLAY.
But we don’t pity, mourn, or grieve for ourselves. Instead, we play. We play every day in every way. We pray to play and play to pray. We sway to the splay of the runaway hoorays.

LIFE SANCTIFIES PLAY.
Play is our open secret.
Our mischievous duty.
Our ecstatic reverence.
Our rowdy medicine.
Our holy disobedience.
Our disciplined improvisation.

LIFE CONSPIRES TO PLAY.
With perpetually updated devotion, we invite life to teach us the latest and greatest secrets we can use to ply the benevolent sorcery of play.

LIFE AUTHORIZES RELENTLESS PLAY.
We everlastingly improvise blithe experiments to perpetrate galvanizing marvels and fun miracles.

LIFE IS VORACIOUS FOR PLAY.
The sorcery of play steeps us in exuberant beauty, jaunty truth, and resurrectional love. It trains us to be alert for how every living thing can titillate us with unpredictable guidance. It steadily deflects our false will and unhooks us from our counterfeit selves.

LIFE PRESCRIBES FREE PLAY.
The witchery of play doesn’t peddle love spells or hexes.
Doesn't manipulate others' thoughts or foretell lucrative business deals.
Is not the tainted wizardry of faux magi who scour the astral realms for glamorous abracadabra but mistreat the people in their daily rhythms.

PLAY DEPROGRAMS LIFE.
The endless holiday of play never gets us entangled with perverse quests for a godlike ego or a renounced ego. No delusions of grandeur. No pride in emptiness.

LIFE IS ALWAYS LEARNING TO PLAY. As benevolent sorcerers of play, we assume everything we behold is inherently designed to encourage our liberation.

LIFE ENDLESSLY DREAMS OF PLAYING. We invite it to guide us with its unpredictable intimacy, to teach us more and more about how to change with artful grace.

LIFE REVOLUTIONIZES PLAY AND PLAY REVOLUTIONIZES LIFE. We trust it to show us how to break holes in the sour, shriveled consensual hallucination called "reality." We pray for it to help us escape to our lost homes in as-yet uncreated frontiers.

LIFE CELEBRATES PLAY. We dare it to crack us open with vivacious love and fond amusement.

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WHAT IS SACRED?

Friedrich Nietzsche declared the sacred was anything that you cannot or will not laugh at.

We can’t believe Nietzsche really meant that. He must have been in a satirical mood at the time.

We have the opposite view.

If we can’t riddle a fucking ruckus or crunk a lucky upthrust about a jumble-jamble we regard as holy, then it ain’t holy.

It’s got to have the power to convulse our gravity, tickle our morbidity, and cackle our bondage.

JUST PAST THE INFINITE

Just past the Infinite
out beyond the underworld
of fun and games
where heaven and hell overlap,
where the World Riddle
is always a new-born heresy,

you and I are bustling and hustling
—so much to do!
Where to begin?
How to choose?

Crack open the sleep mirror
so we can see
through our deeper eyes.

Cleanse all the holy water
at least twice
to ensure it’s purged
of toxic perfection.

Make amends
to the doppelgangers
whose names we “borrowed”
for far too long,
whose skin we tattooed
from the inside
with symbols of our bones.

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We won’t be martyrs, though—
won’t be grumbling saints
who take care
of everyone’s business
like fucking drones.

We’ll be healers of broken souls
for an eon or two,
do a good job, yeah,
but we don’t want to have to worry
about their pain forever,
especially if they’re addicted to it.
There are too many other
excruciatingly fascinating tasks
to be astonished by.

We’ve got to
steal the celestial trumpet
from the stingy angel
and blurt out jubilees
that superficially sound like warnings.
Must titillate the fear out of everyone!

Add goddamn maggot-trails of graffiti
to the master codices of the fossilized gods
so they don’t seem
to make so much goddamn sense.

( How did those senile ghosts last so long
in the stone hearts of stragglers
who have no idea how dead they are?) 

Shoot back and forth
through that portal
between death and rebirth
about a billion times
so we can report
to our people back home
with brisk, well-educated news
that’s not sludged up
with trivial secrets.

Worship the hell
out of the Philosopher Queen
who rules the Invisible Government
of the Blooming Haha.
Get her to help us
mutate the archetypes of bliss.
( Sorry we had to use
that word “archetypes”—
You must admit
it’s better than “syndromes.”) 

Sing our way into the magick dump
( it’s not free, you know) 
and consult the immortal peach pit oracle
in quest of a foolproof way
to trick the crabby beasts in charge
of the Grinding Wheels of Time.

Use cunning gibberish
to scramble
the naïve laws of “eternal summer”
and avoid
having to be cured
of remembering everything.
—Don’t want to have to eat
the oh-so-untasty
mold of compulsive forgiveness!

Then at last
there will be no need
to find the pearl of great price.
You will be
the pearl of great price,
and so will I.

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Here are the artists who created the art in this newsletter, from top image to bottom:

Tommi Lewis

Bruce Riley

Zsaj

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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

Week of July 3

CANCER (June 21-July 22): There’s a story from West African tradition in which a potter listens to the raw material she has gathered from the earth. She waits for it to tell her what it wants to become. In this view, the potter is not a dictator but a midwife. I believe this is an excellent metaphor for you, Cancerian. Let’s imagine that you are both the potter and the clay. A new form is ready to emerge, but it won’t respond to force. You must attune to what wants to be born through you. Are you trying to shape your destiny too insistently, when it’s already confiding in you about its preferred shape? Surrender to the conversation.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Here’s my odd but ultimately rewarding invitation: Tune in to the nagging aches and itches that chafe at the bottom of your heart and in the back of your mind. For now, don’t try to scratch them or rub them. Simply observe them and feel them, with curiosity and reverence. Allow them to air their grievances and tell you their truths. Immerse yourself in the feelings they arouse. It may take 10 minutes, or it might take longer, but if you maintain this vigil, your aches and itches will ultimately provide you with smart guidance. They will teach you what questions you need to ask and how to go in quest for the healing answers.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Wise gardeners may plan their planting by the moon’s phases. Through study of the natural world, they understand that seeds sown at the ripe moment will flourish, while those planted at random times may be less hardy. In this spirit, I offer you the following counsel for the coming weeks: Your attention to timing will be a great asset. Before tinkering with projects or making commitments, assess the cycles at play in everything: the level of your life energy, the moods of others, and the tenor of the wider world. By aligning your moves with subtle rhythms, you will optimize your ability to get exactly what you want.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In parts of Italy, grapevines were once trained not on wires or trellises, but on living trees, usually maples or poplars. The vines spiraled upward, drawing strength and structure from their tall allies. The practice kept grapes off the ground, improved air circulation, and allowed for mixed land use, such as growing cereals between the rows of trees and vines. In the coming weeks, Libra, I advise you to be inspired by this phenomenon. Climb while in relationship. Who or what is your living trellis? Rather than pushing forward on your own, align with influences that offer height, grounding, and steady companionship. When you spiral upward together, your fruits will be sweeter and more robust.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Migratory monarch butterflies travel thousands of miles, guided by instincts and cues invisible to humans. They trust they will find what they need along the way. Like them, you may soon feel called to venture beyond your comfort zone—intellectually, socially, or geographically. I advise you to rely on your curiosity and adaptability. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, the journey will lead you to resources and help you hadn’t anticipated. The path may be crooked. The detours could be enigmatic. But if you are committed to enjoying the expansive exploration, you’ll get what you didn’t even know you needed.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Your assignment is to uncover hidden treasures. Use the metaphorical version of your peripheral vision to become aware of valuable stuff you are missing and resources you are neglecting. Here’s another way to imagine your task: There may be situations, relationships, or opportunities that have not yet revealed their full power and glory. Now is a perfect moment to discern their pregnant potential. So dig deeper, Sagittarius—through reflection, research or conversation. Trust that your open-hearted, open-minded probing will guide you to unexpected gems.

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EXPLORE THE BIG PICTURE OF YOUR LIFE

with my MID-YEAR AUDIO PREVIEW of YOUR DESTINY

for the REST of 2025:

https://RealAstrology.com

This week my Expanded Audio Horoscopes explore themes that I suspect will be important for you during the coming months.

What areas of your life are likely to receive unexpected assistance and divine inspiration?

Where are you likely to find most success?

How can you best cooperate with the cosmic rhythms?

What questions should you be asking?

To listen to my IN-DEPTH, LONG-TERM AUDIO FORECAST for YOUR LIFE, go here, then register and/or sign in:

https://RealAstrology.com

After you log in through the main page, click on the link "Long-Term Forecast for Second Half of 2025."

There’s also a short-term forecast for the more immediate future.

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The Expanded Audio Horoscopes cost $7 apiece. There are discounts for the purchase of multiple reports.

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CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The legendary jazz musician Louis Armstrong said, “If you have to ask what jazz is, you’ll never know.” What did he mean by that? That we shouldn’t try to use words to describe and understand this complex music? Countless jazz critics, scholars, and musicians might disagree with that statement. They have written millions of words analyzing the nature of jazz. In that spirit, I am urging you to devote extra energy in the coming weeks to articulating clear ideas about your best mysteries. Relish the prospect of defining what is hard to define. You can still enjoy the raw experience even as you try to get closer to explaining it.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In the Andean highlands, there’s a concept called ayni, a venerated principle of reciprocity. “Today for you, tomorrow for me,” it says. This isn’t a transactional deal. It’s a relational expansiveness. People help and support others not because they expect an immediate return. Rather, they trust that life will ultimately find ways to repay them. I suggest you explore this approach in the coming weeks, Aquarius. Experiment with giving freely, without expectation. Conversely, have blithe faith that you will receive what you need. Now is prime time to enhance and fine-tune your web of mutual nourishment.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): How often do I, your calm, sensible counselor, provide you with a carte blanche to indulge in exuberant gratification, a free pass for exciting adventures, and a divine authorization to indulge in luxurious abundance and lavish pleasure? Not often, dear Pisces. So I advise you not to spend another minute wondering what to do next. As soon as possible, start claiming full possession of your extra blessings from the gods of joy and celebration and revelry. Here's your meditation question: What are the best ways to express your lust for life?

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Greek philosopher Socrates declared, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” That extreme statement is a foundational idea of Western philosophy. It’s hard to do! To be ceaselessly devoted to questioning yourself is a demanding assignment. But here's the good news: I think you will find it extra liberating in the coming weeks. Blessings and luck will flow your way as you challenge your dogmas and expand your worldview. Your humble curiosity will attract just the influences you need.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Recently, I brought an amazing Taurus to your attention: the German polymath Athanasius Kircher, who lived from 1601 to 1680. Once again, I will draw on his life to provide guidance for you. Though he’s relatively unknown today, he was the Leonardo da Vinci of his age—a person with a vast range of interests. His many admirers called him “Master of a Hundred Arts.” He traveled extensively and wrote 40 books that covered a wide array of subjects. For years, he curated a “cabinet of curiosities” or “wonder-room” filled with interesting and mysterious objects. In the coming weeks, I invite you to be inspired by his way of being, Taurus. Be richly miscellaneous and wildly versatile.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): How does a person become a creative genius in their field? What must they do to become the best? In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell said that one way to accomplish these goals is to devote 10,000 hours to practicing and mastering your skill set. There’s some value in that theory, though the full truth is more nuanced. Determined, focused effort that’s guided by mentors and bolstered by good feedback is more crucial than simply logging hours. Having access to essential resources is another necessity. I bring these thoughts to your attention, Gemini, because I believe the coming months will be a favorable time to summon a high level of disciplined devotion as you expedite your journey toward mastery.

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