ASTROLOGY FOR THE SOUL
As I compose horoscopes, I like to imagine how I might inspire you, my Beloved Champions, to know and fulfill your soul’s code. I would love you to get a steady gaze at and ever-increasing access to your life's blueprint.
My aspiration is to see you ripen into the most interesting and colorful version of your deep self.
Maybe it will take a year. Maybe it will require five years, even longer. But in a sense, it’s irrelevant how long it will take. That’s not your concern, or at least it’s not under your control. What you can manage, and what is your concern, is to develop a vigorous, rigorous drive to live the life that best expresses your soul’s code.
How do you do that? The most important thing is to know the destiny that your soul yearns to live.
Please note that the destiny your soul yearns to live may be at least somewhat different from the destiny your ego wants to live. It probably is at least somewhat different.
For example, in the case of my story, my ego longed to be a famous rock star, whereas my soul mostly just wanted to create and play and perform music. And I got what my soul wanted, but only got a part of what my ego wanted.
To be candid, I have come to believe that if my ego had gotten what it wanted—if I had become a famous rock star—it would have been harder for my soul to get what it wanted, which was simply to exult in making music.
When we talk about ambition and the drive for success and the pursuit of excellence, it is crucial to discriminate between the soul’s ambitions and the ego’s ambitions, between the soul’s drive for success and the ego’s drive, between the soul’s pursuit of excellence and the ego’s pursuit.
How does all that play out in you? Maybe your ego wants to own 10 million dollars and have a stunningly attentive lover and win awards for the work you do.
Your soul, on the other hand, may be less interested in that stuff. Your soul might want to create elegant environments, or heal the wounds you suffered in childhood, or get into a dynamic relationship that teaches you how to love. Your soul might want to conquer your fears or travel widely or develop a close connection with nature.
So here’s the thing: If you want to develop an indomitable drive to create the destiny you want, make sure it’s the destiny your soul yearns for. As long as you are obsessed with your ego’s goals, you may never be able to access the core fuel of your ambition.
There may, of course, be an overlap between the destiny your ego wants and the destiny your soul wants. If your soul wants to heal the wounds you suffered in childhood, such a longing could be compatible with your ego’s desire to be rich and famous. Maybe you could write a bestselling book about how you healed the wounds you suffered in childhood.
But the soul’s vision must be primary: your highest priority.
To derive the best inspiration from my horoscopes, I encourage you to emphasize your soul’s ambition. Do everything you can to supercharge your soul’s desire to succeed and strengthen your soul’s drive for excellence.
WHAT IS THE SOUL?
Here's a problem: Many ultra-rationalists and fundamentalist materialists imagine "soul" to be imaginary and delusional.
Even to believers, it may be hard to define. Some regard it as a ghostly blob of magic stuff within us that keeps us connected to the world of dreams and the divine realms.
So what is the soul?
Is it an amorphous metaphor for the secret source of our spiritual power? Is it a myth that people entertain because they desperately want to believe there is more to them than just their physical bodies?
Here's what I suspect: The soul is a perspective that pushes us to go deeper and see further and live wilder. It's what stokes our imagination to flesh out our raw experience, transforming that chaotic stuff into rich storylines that animate our love of life.
With the gently propulsive force of the soul, we probe beyond the surface level of things, working to find the hidden meaning and truer feeling.
Just as astrology is real and true, but not real and true like the Golden Gate Bridge or the binomial theorem, so is the soul.
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"If you need to visualize the soul," wrote novelist Tom Robbins, "think of it as a cross between a wolf howl, a photon, and a dribble of dark molasses. But what it really is, as near as I can tell, is a packet of information.
"It's a program, a piece of hyperspatial software designed explicitly to interface with the Mystery. Not a mystery, mind you, the Mystery. The one that can never be solved."
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As part of our ongoing crusade to wrestle the English language into a more formidable servant of the ecstatic impulse, I'm pleased to present alternate designations for "soul."
See if any of the following concoctions feel right coming out of your mouth:
• undulating superconductor;
• nectar plasma;
• golden lather;
• smoldering crucible;
• luminous caduceus.
PS: Here's Robbins's conclusion: "By waxing soulful you will have granted yourself the possibility of ecstatic participation in what the ancients considered a divinely animated universe."
I assert that "soul" is not a soggy buzzword owned and operated by lazy thinkers and superstitious supernaturalists.
As evidence this isn't the case, below I offer references to "soul" by great thinkers and feelers and writers. I will start with Walt Whitman:
I am the poet of the body, And I am the poet of the soul. The pleasures of heaven are with me, and the pains of hell are with me, The first I graft and increase upon myself —the latter I translate into a new tongue.
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How prompt we are to satisfy the hunger and thirst of our bodies; how slow to satisfy the hunger and thirst of our souls!
—naturalist Henry David Thoreau
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I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!
—Emily Bronte
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The soul should always be ready for the possibility that the divine may come to call at any moment, wrote poet Emily Dickinson. It's not a good idea to risk ignoring sacred intervention.
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This earth is honey for all beings, and all beings are honey for this earth. The intelligent, immortal being, the soul of the earth, and the intelligent, immortal being, the soul in the individual being—each is honey to the other.
—Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
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Movement never lies. It is a barometer telling the state of the soul's weather to all who can read it.
—dancer Martha Graham
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Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul.
—author Oscar Wilde
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"There is a saying that when the student is ready, the teacher appears," writes Clarissa Pinkola Estés. But the magic of that formula may not unfold with smooth simplicity, she says: "The teacher comes when the soul, not the ego, is ready. The teacher comes when the soul calls, and thank goodness—for the ego is never fully ready."
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Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.
—artist Pablo Picasso.
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The soul can split the sky in two and let the face of God shine through.
—poet Edna St. Vincent Millay
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"The works must be conceived with fire in the soul but executed with clinical coolness," wrote painter Joan Miró in describing his artistic process.
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The soul is a fire that darts its rays through all the senses; it is in this fire that existence consists; all the observations and all the efforts of philosophers ought to turn towards this ME, the center and moving power of our sentiments and our ideas.
—author Madame de Staël
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Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul.
—environmentalist Edward Abbey.
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I feel the flame of eternity in my soul.
—Helen Keller
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Man has no Body distinct from his Soul; for that called Body is a portion of Soul discerned by the five Senses, the chief inlets of Soul in this age.
—William Blake
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The words "passive" and "passion" come from the same Latin root, pati, which means "to endure." Waiting is thus both passive and passionate. It's a vibrant, contemplative work. It involves listening to disinherited voices within, facing the wounded holes in the soul, the denied and undiscovered, the places one lives falsely.
— author Sue Monk Kidd
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The soul moves in circles.
—philosopher Plotinus.
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Sensual pleasure passes and vanishes, but the friendship between us, the mutual confidence, the delight of the heart, the enchantment of the soul, these things do not perish and can never be destroyed.
—philosopher Voltaire in a letter to his partner Marie Louise Denis
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The soul on earth is an immortal guest.
—author Hannah More
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You will never be able to experience everything. So, please, do poetical justice to your soul and simply experience yourself.
—author Albert Camus
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I note the echo that each thing produces as it strikes my soul.
—novelist Stendhal
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When I consort with crowds, when I dwell amidst normal people, I am influenced by them. I adopt their habits; I neglect to use my mind in my unique ways. They seem to want to separate me from who I really am, steal my soul. Then I get mad and fearful, and have to withdraw to solitude to become good again.
—paraphrase of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche
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Rhythm is our universal mother tongue. It's the language of the soul.
—dancer Gabrielle Roth
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Were it not for the leaping and twinkling of the soul, human beings would rot away in their greatest passion, idleness.
—psychologist Carl Jung
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Soul is the place, stretched like a surface of millstone grit between body and mind, where such necessity grinds itself out
—author Anne Carson
Here’s the opening chapter of James Hillman’s book THE SOUL’S CODE: https://tinyurl.com/YourSoulCode
Hillman’s entire book, The Soul’s Code: https://tinyurl.com/LiveYourSoulCode
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USEFUL AND SOULFUL SECRETS
I periodically ask my teammates and beloved champions whether they have discovered any of the 3,333 Useful and Soulful Secrets about the Real Reality—as opposed to the 3,333 Obvious and Sentimental Secrets about the Fake Reality. Below are among my favorites.
• Every conscious act is an act of magick.
• You will find beauty in everything when you look for it. Conversely, you have the power and the right to ignore beauty if you want to. But who wants to?
• In the long run, it’s healthiest to side with those who tell the most truth.
• Confucius said, “All wisdom is rooted in learning to call things by their right names.”
• Don’t stop learning just because you know it all.
• Truth is sometimes sneaky and mischievous, hiding in unexpected places. But that doesn’t mean that ALL truth is sneaky and mischievous, hiding in unexpected places.
• Ssshhhh! Communication doesn’t solve everything. Do your best to communicate, anyway.
• William James said, “I will act as if what I do makes a difference.”
• Don’t let yourself be trapped into being who you used to be if that’s not who you are anymore.
• Question yourself about your own motivations and possible self-deceptions. In so doing, you will develop an acute knack about when and how to question others about their motivations and possible self-deceptions.
• No one is ever able to tell the whole truth. That is a package of a trillion trillion trillion facts known only to the Eternal Intelligence formerly known as “God.”
• Be kind to yourself. That is not the same as indulging yourself or spoiling yourself. It means conducting your inner monologue as though you were counseling a friend whom you dearly love.
• Look for an oracle who asks you the right questions.
• Whatever your problems are, someone has it far worse and someone has it far better.
• Applaud creativity, even when its results bother you.
• Pretending you don’t feel how you feel doesn’t make you feel different.
• As Richard P. Feynman advised us, the first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.
• Thoughts are inevitable but believing them is optional.
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Links to all my other stuff: linktr.ee/robbrezsny
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
For the Week of August 21
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In Mesoamerican myth, the god Quetzalcoatl journeys to the underworld not to escape death, but to recover old bones needed to create new life. I propose you draw inspiration from this story, Virgo. In recent weeks, you have been gathering pieces of the past, not out of a sense of burdensome obligation, but as a source of raw material. Now comes the time for reassembly. You won’t rebuild the same old thing. You will sculpt visionary gifts for yourself from what was lost. You will use your history to design your future. Be alert for the revelations that the bones sing.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In the Hebrew language, the word for “face” is plural. There is no singular form for panim. I love that fact! For me, it implies that each of us has a variety of faces. Our identity is multifaceted. I think you should make a special point of celebrating this truth in the coming weeks, Libra. Now is an excellent time to explore and honor all of your many selves. Take full advantage of your inner diversity, and enjoy yourself to the max as you express and reveal the full array of truths you contain.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In the ancient Hindu holy text known as the Upanishads, ananda means bliss, though not so much in the sense of physical or psychological pleasure as of deep, ecstatic knowing. I believe you are close to attracting this glorious experience into your soul, Scorpio—not just fleetingly, but for a while. I predict you will glide into alignments that feel like coming home to your eternal and perfect self. Treasure these moments as divine gifts. Immerse yourself with total welcome and gratitude. Let ananda inform your next steps.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In Daoist cosmology, the nature of life is characterized by cyclical, flowing patterns rather than linear, static motions. In my study of its gorgeous teachings, I exult in how it inspires me to honor both contraction and expansion, the power of circling inward and reaching outward. With this in mind, Sagittarius, I invite you to make the spiral your symbol of power. Yes, it may sometimes feel like you’re revisiting old ground. Perhaps an ex will resurface, or an old goal will seek your attention. But I guarantee it’s not mere repetition. An interesting form of evolution is underway. You’re returning to longstanding challenges armed with fresh wisdom. Ask yourself: What do I know now that I didn’t before? How can I meet these interesting questions from a higher point of the spiral?
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Inuit artworks are often made from materials available in their environment, like driftwood, stones, walrus ivory, whale bones, and caribou bones and antlers. Even their tools are crafted from that stuff. In part, this is evidence of their resourcefulness, and in part, a reflection of how lovingly they engage with their environment. I recommend you borrow their approach, Capricorn. Create your practical magic by relying on what’s already available. Be enterprising as you generate usefulness and fun out of scraps and leftovers. Your raw material is probably better if it’s not perfect.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The medieval alchemists had a central principle, rendered in Latin as follows: Visita interiora terrae, rectificando invenies occultum lapidem. Translated, it means, "Seek out the lower reaches of the earth, perfect them, and you will find the hidden stone.” I invite you to go on a similar underground quest, Aquarius. The purpose is not to wallow in worry or sadness, but rather to retrieve a treasure. Some magnificence beneath your surface life is buried—an emotional truth, a creative impulse, a spiritual inheritance. And it’s time you went and got it. Think of it as a quest and a pilgrimage. The “hidden stone,” an emblem of spiritual riches, wants you to find it.
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PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In ancient Greece, the god Janus presided over doorways. He had two faces, one looking outward and forward, one gazing inward and backward. I believe this is your Janus phase, Pisces. Before you launch into your next fluidic quest, pause and take inventory. Peer behind you, not with regret but with curiosity and compassion. What cycle has fully ended? What wisdom has settled into your bones? Then face the future, not with shyness or foreboding, but with eager intention and confidence. What goals, rooted in who you are becoming, can inspire an exciting new plot thread?
ARIES (March 21-April 19): When glassmakers want to cool a newly blown piece, they don’t simply leave it out to harden. That would cause it to shatter from the inside. Instead, they place it in an annealing oven, where the temperature drops in measured increments over many hours. This careful cooling aligns the internal structure and strengthens the whole. Let’s invoke this as a useful metaphor, Aries. I absolutely love the heat and radiance you’ve expressed recently. But now it’s wise for you to gradually cool down: to allow your fervor to coalesce into an enduring new reservoir of power and vitality. Transform sheer intensity into vibrant clarity and cohesion.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): To paraphrase Sufi mystic poet Rumi: “Don’t get lost in your pain. Know that one day your pain will become your cure.” In my astrological opinion, Taurus, you have arrived at this pivotal moment. A wound you’ve had to bear for a long spell is on the verge of maturing into a gift, even a blessing. A burdensome ache is ready to reveal its teachings. You may have assumed you would be forever cursed by this hurt, but that’s not true! Now it’s your sacred duty to shed that assumption and open your heart so you can harvest the healing.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): As you enter a Tibetan Buddhist temple, you may encounter statues and paintings of fierce spirits. They are guardian figures who serve as protectors, scaring away negative and destructive forces so they can’t enter the holy precincts. In accordance with astrological omens, Gemini, I invite you to be your own threshold guardian. Authorize a wise and strict part of you to defend and safeguard what truly matters. This staunch action doesn’t have to be aggressive, but it should be informed with fierce clarity. You can’t afford to let the blithe aspect of your personality compromise your overall interests by being too accommodating. Assign your protective self to stand at your gate and say: “I protect this. I cherish this. I won’t dilute this.”
CANCER (June 21-July 22): "Dear Dr. Feelgood: Lately, you seem to be extra nice to us hypersensitive Crabs. Almost too kind. Why? Are you in love with a Cancerian woman, and you're trying to woo her? Did you hurt a Cancerian friend’s feelings, and now you’re atoning? Please tell me you're not just coddling us. —Permanently Drunk on a Million Feelings." Dear Drunk: You use your imagination to generate visions of things that don't exist yet. It's your main resource for creating your future. This is especially crucial right now. The coming months will be a fertile time for shaping the life you want to live for the next 10 years. If I can help you keep your imagination filled with positive expectations, you are more likely to devise marvelous self-fulfilling prophecies.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In traditional Chinese medicine, the heart is the seat of joy. It’s also the sovereign that listens to the wisdom of the other organs before acting. Dear Leo, as you cross the threshold from attracting novelty to building stability, I encourage you to cultivate extra heart-centered leadership, both for yourself and for those who look to you for inspiration. What does that mean? Make decisions based on love and compassion more than on rational analysis. Be in service to wholeness rather than to whatever might bring temporary advantage.
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Rob, Deeply grateful that I was lead to your work. This week I will seize this pivotal moment and step into the long awaited healing. Honored to be in this space.
Divine timing and all that. Thank you!