What Use Is This Howling Tenderness?

It can shatter barriers to sacred intimacy!

Jun 06, 2023

What use is this howling tenderness?

—eighth-century Tamil poet Andal

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Howling tenderness is useful because it has the power to shatter barriers that have prevented us from exploring the frontiers of sacred intimacy.

—me

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INFLUENCES THAT BOOST YOUR INTELLIGENCE

Consider the hypothesis that certain influences, companions, and environments tend to make you smarter, while others render you—if you’ll pardon my bluntness—dumber. If there’s even a crumb of truth to this, shouldn’t we find out which is which?

Here are a few things likely to sap our intelligence: sleep deprivation; movies and TV shows crammed with clichés; people who automatically agree with everything we say and do.

The following influences may boost our brainpower: good sex with a loving lover; music that simultaneously moves our analytical intelligence and our emotional intelligence; people who like us and enjoy inspiring us.

I invite you to make your own lists.

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Art by Sarrita King

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WINNING WITH INTEGRITY

Here are tips on the subject of "Winning With Integrity: Getting What You're Worth Without Selling Your Soul"—from a book by the same name authored by sports agent Leigh Steinberg.

• Align yourself with people who share your values.

• Learn all you can about the other party.

• Create a climate of cooperation, not conflict.

• Learn to listen.

• Convince the other party you have an option, even if you don't.

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PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT DISTURBS THE HEART

“Beware of what disturbs the heart," said Ibn Mas’ud, a companion of the prophet Mohammed. "If something unsettles your heart, then abandon it.”

My wise friend Artemisia has a different perspective. She advises, "Pay close attention to what disturbs the heart. Whatever has the power to unsettle your heart will show you a key lesson you must learn, a crucial task you'd be smart to undertake."

Here's my synthesis of Ibn Mas’ud and Artemisia: Do your very best to fix the problems revealed by your unsettled heart. Learn all you can in the process. Then, even if the fixes aren't totally perfect, move on. Graduate from the problems for good.

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LESSONS THAT COME THROUGH BLESSINGS

"Life always gives us exactly the teacher we need at every moment," said Zen teacher Charlotte Joko Beck. "This includes every mosquito, every misfortune, every red light, every traffic jam, every obnoxious supervisor (or employee), every illness, every loss, every moment of joy or depression, every addiction, every piece of garbage, every breath."

While I appreciate Beck's advice, I'm perplexed why she put such a heavy emphasis on lessons that arise from difficult events.

In the years ahead, I bet you will be proof that this is shortsighted. At least 51 percent of your teachers and lessons are likely to be expansive, benevolent, and generous.

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YOUR IMPORTANT RENDEZVOUS

Naturalist Henry David Thoreau may have been exaggerating when he bragged that he had relationships with specific trees in the wilderness.

It's possible he was invoking poetic license when he claimed to have hiked many miles in inclement weather to visit them.

But maybe not. Given his eccentric, almost romantic adoration of wild things, he might have been reporting the literal truth.

I’d love to see you summon that level of commitment to your important rendezvous. Keep in mind that your “most important rendezvous” are just as likely to be with wild things, unruly wisdom, or primal breakthroughs as they are pillars of stability, committee meetings, and business-as-usual.

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NAMING THE BOULDERS

During regular hikes along my favorite trails, I’ve gotten to know the local boulders quite intimately.

It might sound daft, but I’ve come to love them. I’ve even given some of them names. “Slow Blast” is one of my confidants. “Soul Waker” and “Tremble Story” and “Memory Song” are old friends. There are many others.

They symbolize stability and constancy to me. When I gaze at them or sit on them, I feel my resolve grow stronger.

They teach me about how to be steadfast and unflappable in all kinds of weather. I draw inspiration from the way they are so purely themselves, forever true to their own nature.

I recommend this practice to you.

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BENEVOLENT CHAOS MAGICK

In my secret heart of hearts, I regard my book Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia as a book teeming with benevolent chaos magick — and infused with the principles of the perennial spiritual wisdom as taught in the mystery schools of Western Hermetic Qabalah and Tarot.

So it's gratifying to see that Spoonbill Bookstore in Brooklyn shelves my book in a category where I think it belongs. See the photo.

I'm not a fan of Aleister Crowley the man, but I deeply appreciate his contributions to Western Hermetic Qabalah and Tarot.

Here’s an excerpt from Pronoia in which I address this issue:

When I first happened upon the term “pronoia” in the 1990s, I recognized that it echoed the spiritual teachings of Hermeticism, which I had been studying for over two decades.

This tradition, taught in the mystery schools of the West for centuries, is a synthesis of Qabalah, astrology, alchemy, Tarot, and magick. One of its core principles is that despite superficial appearances to the contrary, all of creation is on our side; that the very structure of reality ensures our eventual liberation from suffering; that life is a divine conspiracy to awaken us to our godlike nature and become co-administrators of the divine plan for evolution.

Pronoia was a more simplistic and pop culture-worthy meme for expressing this same set of ideas: seemingly a perfect fit for me.

I had long been an aspiring Hermetic magician disguised as a rock musician and horoscope columnist. I'd built my entire career on translating esoteric spiritual themes into entertaining forms that could be enjoyed by people who'd never heard of a mystery school. Pop culture was my milieu.

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WE ARE IN LOVE WITH COLOR AND SOUND — by me

We are a throb of sun as it love-cracks the horizon

We are a swoon of buttered light the moon scatters on the creek mud at low tide, and we are the parade of five fiddler crabs that worship the luminosity

We are black trumpet mushrooms feasting on dead oak and beech leaves, and we are flinging millions of spores out on the genius wind

We are grasshoppers bounding like dry shadows to devour a dead bee caught in an unraveled spider web

We are silver-haired bats careening out of our underworld cave, an abandoned uranium mine

We are midnight in late summer echoing with the hilarious yowls of coyotes gathered among the eucalyptus trees

We are the November dusk fog that a seven-year-old with chattering teeth gets lost in on the way home

We are the glint of icicles drooping from a fungus-besieged pine tree, and we are also the pine tree and the fungus

We are the dust cloud at the heart of the Milky Way, and we taste like raspberries and smell like rum

We are white-throated, white-bellied swifts that drink, eat, sleep, and mate as we fly

We are a broken necklace of gold South Sea pearls fallen behind an antique dresser made from mahogany grown in the Yucatan

We are the aromas of parched central Nebraska loam as it's drenched with summer rain

We are a half-eaten jelly doughnut in the rusty dumpster behind the homeless shelter, and we are grazed with the pulp of a wormy tomato

We are a Hispanic midwife jogging fearlessly through the birch tree forest because the man who beat her is in jail

We are a clingstone peach on a tree, and we are perfectly ripe to eat right now

Why?

Because we are nimble with good cheer

Because we are in love with color and sound

Because we followed the orders of our raucous hearts

Because we changed and changed and changed

until we couldn't stop, didn't want to stop changing

And now we are alive everywhere and everywhen

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Art by Oree Origonol, https://oreeoriginol.art/

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MYSTERIOUS GIFT

As I hike through the wilderness at dusk, the crickets always seem to be humming in the distance. No matter where I go, their sound is farther off, never right up close to me. How can that be? Do they move away from me as I approach? I doubt it. I sense no leaping insects in the underbrush.

Here’s how this pertains to you: My relationship with the crickets’ song is similar to a certain mystery in your life. There’s an experience that calls to you but forever seems just out of reach. You think you’re drawing nearer, about to touch it and be in its midst, but it inevitably eludes you.

But is this a problem? Maybe not. It might even be a treasure, a sublime joy, a gift from life to you.

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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

Free Will Astrology horoscopes are magic spells cast for your inspiration, healing, and liberation.

Week beginning June 8

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): "All the things I wanted to do and didn’t do took so long. It was years of not doing." So writes Gemini poet Lee Upton in her book *Undid in the Land of Undone*. Most of us could make a similar statement. But I have good news for you, Gemini. I suspect that during the rest of 2023, you will find the willpower and the means to finally accomplish intentions that have been long postponed or unfeasible. I'm excited for you! To prepare the way, decide which two undone things you would most love to dive into and complete.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Cancerian author Denis Johnson had a rough life in his twenties. He was addicted to drugs and alcohol. Years later, he wrote a poem expressing gratitude to the people who didn't abandon him. "You saw me when I was invisible," he wrote, "you spoke to me when I was deaf, you thanked me when I was a secret." Now would be an excellent time for you to deliver similar appreciation to those who have steadfastly beheld and supported your beauty when you were going through hard times.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Don’t make a wish upon a star. Instead, make a wish upon a scar. By that I mean, visualize in vivid detail how you might summon dormant reserves of ingenuity to heal one of your wounds. Come up with a brilliant plan to at least partially heal the wound. And then use that same creative energy to launch a new dream or relaunch a stalled old dream. In other words, Leo, figure out how to turn a liability into an asset. Capitalize on a loss to engender a gain. Convert sadness into power and disappointment into joy.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): At age nine, I was distraught when my parents told me we were moving away from the small town in Michigan where I had grown up. I felt devastated to lose the wonderful friends I had made and leave the land I loved. But in retrospect, I am glad I got uprooted. It was the beginning of a new destiny that taught me how to thrive on change. It was my introduction to the pleasures of knowing a wide variety of people from many different backgrounds. I bring this to your attention, Virgo, because I think the next 12 months will be full of comparable opportunities for you. You don't have to relocate to take advantage, of course. There are numerous ways to expand and diversify your world. Your homework right now is to identify three.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Most of us continuously absorb information that is of little or questionable value. We are awash in an endless tsunami of trivia and babble. But in accordance with current astrological omens, I invite you to remove yourself from this blather as much as possible during the next three weeks. Focus on exposing yourself to fine thinkers, deep feelers, and exquisite art and music. Nurture yourself with the wit and wisdom of compassionate geniuses and brilliant servants of the greater good. Treat yourself to a break from the blah-blah-blah and immerse yourself in the smartest joie de vivre you can find.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Over 25 countries have created coats of arms that feature an eagle. Why is that? Maybe it’s because the Roman Empire, the foundation of so much culture in the Western world, regarded the eagle as the ruler of the skies. It’s a symbol of courage, strength, and alertness. When associated with people, it also denotes high spirits, ingenuity, and sharp wits. In astrology, the eagle is the emblem of the ripe Scorpio: someone who bravely transmutes suffering and strives to develop a sublimely soulful perspective. With these thoughts in mind, and in accordance with current astrological omens, I invite you Scorpios to draw extra intense influence from your eagle-like aspects in the coming weeks.

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OUR COLLABORATION

I really do feel that you're here with me as I create these horoscopes. In a sense, you're my assistant. Our telepathic connection is utterly palpable and practical. The hopes and questions you project my way stream into my higher mind, coloring my psychic environment and enriching my desire to give you exactly what you need.

If you ever want more inspiration generated in that same collaborative spirit -- beyond the horoscopes you're reading here -- keep in mind that every week I also offer EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES for you. They're four-to-five-minute meditations on the current state of your destiny.

These forecasts are different in tone and format from the written horoscopes you read here in the newsletter. They're longer and more leisurely in tone.

To listen to your Expanded Audio Horoscope, go to https://RealAstrology.com

The cost is $7 per sign. (Discounts are available for bulk purchases.)

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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): "When I paint, my goal is to show what I found, not what I was looking for." So said artist Pablo Picasso. I recommend you adopt some version of that as your motto in the coming weeks. Yours could be, “When I make love, my goal is to rejoice in what I find, not what I am looking for." Or perhaps, “When I do the work I care about, my goal is to celebrate what I find, not what I am looking for." Or maybe, “When I decide to transform myself, my goal is to be alert for what I find, not what I am looking for."

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Vincent van Gogh painted Wheatfield with a Reaper, showing a man harvesting lush yellow grain under a glowing sun. Van Gogh said the figure was “fighting like the devil in the midst of the heat to get to the end of his task.” And yet, this was also true: “The sun was flooding everything with a light of pure gold." I see your life in the coming weeks as resonating with this scene, Capricorn. Though you may grapple with challenging tasks, you will be surrounded by beauty and vitality.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I suspect that your homing signals will be extra strong and clear during the next 12 months. Everywhere you go, in everything you do, you will receive clues about where you truly belong and how to fully inhabit the situations where you truly belong. From all directions, life will offer you revelations about how to love yourself for who you are and be at peace with your destiny. Start tuning in immediately, dear Aquarius. The hints are already trickling in.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): The renowned Mexican painter Diego Rivera (1886–1957) told this story about himself: When he was born, he was so frail and ill that the midwife gave up on him, casting him into a bucket of dung. Rivera's grandmother would not accept the situation so easily, however. She caught and killed some pigeons and wrapped her newborn grandson in the birds' guts. The seemingly crazy fix worked. Rivera survived and lived for many decades, creating an epic body of artistic work. I bring this wild tale to your attention, Pisces, with the hope that it will inspire you to keep going and be persistent in the face of a problematic beginning or challenging birth pang. Don't give up!

ARIES (March 21-April 19): "Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves," said psychologist Carl Jung. What was he implying? That we may sometimes engage in the same behavior that bothers us about others? And we should examine whether we are similarly annoying? That’s one possible explanation, and I encourage you to meditate on it. Here’s a second theory: When people irritate us, it may signify that we are at risk of being hurt or violated by them—and we should take measures to protect ourselves. Maybe there are other theories you could come up with, as well, Aries. Now here's your assignment: Identify two people who irritate you. What lessons or blessings could you garner from your relationships with them?

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In 1886, a wealthy woman named Sarah Winchester moved into a two-story, eight-room farmhouse in San Jose, California. She was an amateur architect. During the next 20 years, she oversaw continuous reconstruction of her property, adding new elements and revising existing structures. At one point, the house had 500 rooms. Her workers built and then tore down a seven-story tower on 16 occasions. When she died at age 83, her beloved domicile had 2,000 doors, 10,000 windows, 47 stairways, and six kitchens. While Sarah Winchester was extreme in her devotion to endless transformation, I do recommend a more measured version of her strategy for you—especially in the coming months. Continual creative growth and rearrangement will be healthy and fun!

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Homework: What broken thing could you repair so it’s even better than it was before it broke? Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com

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