What's Trying to Get Born Within You?
Find the Hidden Seed
“Before success comes in anyone's life, they are sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and, perhaps, some failure.
“When defeat overtakes a person, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to quit. That is exactly what the majority of people do.
“More than 500 of the most successful people this country has ever known told me their greatest success came just one step beyond the point at which defeat had overtaken them.”
—Napoleon Hill
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I DON'T THINK I'M BORING
I don't think I'm boring. I have an abundant curiosity and I love to learn new things. I've worked at many different jobs, have read widely, and enjoy interacting with a broad range of humans.
Yet now and then I've had temporary relationships with people who regarded me as uninteresting. They didn't see much of value in me.
I tend to believe it was mostly their fault—they couldn't see me for who I really am—but it may have also been the case that I lived down to their expectations. Their inclination to see me as unimportant and uninteresting may have influenced me to be dull.
I bring this up so as to encourage you to remove yourself from situations where you have trouble being and feeling your true self.
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WHAT'S TRYING TO GET BORN?
Anne Lamott writes: When a lot of things start going wrong all at once, it is to protect something big and lovely that is trying to get itself born—and that this something needs for you to be distracted so that it can be born as perfectly as possible.
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HOW TO GET WHAT YOU WANT
If I ever produce a self-help manual called *The Reverse Psychology of Getting Everything You Want,* it will discuss the following paradoxes:
a. People are more willing to accommodate your longings if you're not greedy or grasping.
b. A good way to achieve your desires is to cultivate the feeling that you have already achieved them.
c. Whatever you're longing for has been changed by your pursuit of it. It's different from what it was when you felt the first pangs of desire. To make it yours, then, you'll have to modify your ideas about it.
d. Be careful what you wish for because if your wish does materialize it will require you to change in ways you didn't foresee.
Any others you can think if?
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BRAINWASH YOURSELF!
Brainwash yourself before someone nasty beats you to it. Study the difference between wise suffering and dumb suffering until you get it right. Commit crimes that don't break any laws. Build illusions that make people feel so beautiful they shed their illusions.
Pretend to be crazy so you can get away with doing what's right. Sing anarchist lullabies to homosexual eagles. Love your enemies in case your friends turn out to be jerks. Review in detail the history of your life, honoring every moment as if you were conducting a benevolent Judgment Day.
Eat money. Fuck gravity. Drink the sun. Dream like a stone.
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THE WORLD MIGHT BE A POEM
I sense the world might be more dreamlike, metaphorical, and poetic than we currently believe—but just as irrational as sympathetic magic when looked at in a typically scientific way. I wouldn't be surprised if poetry—poetry in the broadest sense, in the sense of a world filled with metaphor, rhyme, and recurring patterns, shapes, and designs—is how the world works. The world isn't logical, it's a song.
—David Byrne
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Western science and religion have differing views on how the universe was created, but they agree that it happened a long time ago.
The mystery schools of the West, on the other hand, assert that the universe is re-created anew in every moment through the divine erotic play of God and
Goddess.
They say that if we humans treat lovemaking as an experimental sacrament, we can attune ourselves to the union of the two primal deities and, in a sense, participate in the ongoing creation of the world.
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Why is it so hard for Westerners of the last two centuries to feel the intimate presence of the divine intelligences? Every other culture in the history of the world has had a more vital connection with the realm of spirit.
According to poet Gary Snyder, California's Yana Indians explained it this way: The gods have retreated to the volcanic recesses of Mt. Lassen, passing the time playing gambling games with magic sticks.
They're simply waiting for such a time when human beings will "reform themselves and become 'real people' that spirits might want to associate with once again."
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The degree in which a poet's imagination dominates reality is the exact measure of her importance and dignity.
—George Santayana
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The sun shines not on us but in us. The rivers flow not past, but through us. Thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our bodies, making them glide and sing.
The trees wave and the flowers bloom in our bodies as well as our souls, and every bird song, wind song, and tremendous storm song of the rocks in the heart of the mountains is our song, our very own, and sings our love.
—John Muir
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Guess what: God created beings not to act in a morality play but to experience what is unfathomable, to elicit what can become, to descend into the darkness of creation and reveal it to him, to mourn and celebrate enigma and possibility. The universe is a whirling dervish, not a hanging judge in robes.
—Richard Grossinger
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Funny how people get upset that gender is a social construct. EVERYTHING is a social construct. Ask a frog what day of the fucking week it is.
—Marsixm
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Each morning is all mornings.
The oak tree's shadow is the messiah.
The elephant shrew and the supernova are equals.
The Honda Accord is as natural as the Grand Canyon.
The skin is a temporary boundary, and so is the planet's surface.
The swallowtail butterfly is a savant.
Logic is crazy love.
The bat-eared fox is a razor-backed musk turtle.
Jubilation is an ecologically sound strategy.
No one knows how to sing the end of time because there is no end of time.
The critically endangered white rhinoceros is a forgotten birthday.
The vulnerable arctic wolf is emancipated from sin.
Purity is a sacrilegious vortex of panic.
Listening is the apotheosis of arrogance.
Our serpent thoughts keep us linked to original mirth.
The bumble bee redeems our unfertilized prophecies.
—Me
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I often describe astrology as being "applied poetry" (as opposed to "applied science").
—Susan Mengel Abnos Lederer
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DANCE LIKE EVERYONE IS WATCHING
Supaman is an Apsáalooke rapper and fancy dancer. He founded the Native American hip-hop group Rezawrecktion.
He says: "They say to dance like nobody is watching. I think that implies that we are afraid or ashamed to dance in front of the people. I say dance like everybody watching. Dance like your children are watching, your ancestors, your family.
"Dance for those who are hurting, those who can't dance, those who lost loved ones and those who suffer injustices throughout the world. Let every step be a prayer for humanity!
"Most of ail dance for the Creator, who breathed into your soul so you may celebrate this gift of life! "
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FRRREEEEEEE !!!!
I have made it possible for subscribers to my newsletter to pay a subscription fee to me for my newsletter, BUT ONLY IF THEY WANT TO AND CAN AFFORD TO!
I have offered my astrology newsletter free of charge for the past 20 years, and I will continue to do so for the next 20 years at least.
If, however, you are sufficiently prosperous and feel comfortable about donating money to me, I welcome it. Please know, though: I am TOTALLY FINE if you don't donate.
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CALIFORNIANS, PLEASE VOTE TO KEEP GOVERNOR NEWSOM
PLEASE, fellow Californians, cast your vote to keep Gavin Newsom in office as Governor. He ain't perfect, but he's pretty good—and he's far, far better than all the alternatives.
The election is September 14, but you can cast your vote by mail now.
If Newsom doesn't receive at least 50% of the vote, he will be removed. The challenger who receives the most votes will finish out Newsom's term in office, even if that candidate receives only 25% of the vote. That's pathologically anti-democratic.
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SHEDDING OUTWORN SELF-IMAGES
Jungian analyst Arnold Mindell believes you can achieve optimum physical health if you're devoted to shedding outworn self-images. He says, "You have one central lesson to learn to continuously drop all your rigid identities. Personal history may be your greatest danger."
Kate Bornstein, author of Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us, agrees. Raised as a male, she later became a female, but ultimately renounced gender altogether. "I love being without an identity," she says. "It gives me a lot of room to play around."
What identities might be healthy for you to lose? Describe all the fun you'd have if you were free of them.
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Emotional intelligence is more important for being a successful entrepreneur than mental ability, meta-analysis finds. https://tinyurl.com/ym5fywez
Often by Hand, Scientists Work to Turn the Tide of Oyster and Seagrass Decline in Chesapeake Bay. https://tinyurl.com/sbmk9as8
Lullabies Can Actually Improve the Health of Premature Babies in Hospital –And Their Family’s Health Too. https://tinyurl.com/yj748k43
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For a lot more pronoiac resources and ideas, read my book Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings
Available at Bookshop.org: https://tinyurl.com/548hp8y8
Available at Powells: https://bit.ly/PowellsPronoia
Available at Barnes & Noble: https://tinyurl.com/PronoiaBN
Available at Amazon: https://bit.ly/Pronoia
A free preview of the book is available here: https://tinyurl.com/PronoiaPreview
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Please tell me your own nominations for PRONOIA RESOURCES: Truthrooster@gmail.com.
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning September 2
Copyright 2021 by Rob Brezsny
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): "I often wonder who I am and where is my country and where do I belong and why was I ever born at all," wrote Virgo author Jean Rhys (1890–1979). I don't think you will be agitated by those questions during the next eight weeks, Virgo. In fact, I suspect you will feel as secure in your identity as you have in a long time. You will enjoy prolonged clarity about your role in the world, the nature of your desires, and how you should plan your life for the next two years. If for some inexplicable reason you're not already enjoying these developments, stop what you're doing and meditate on the probability that I am telling you the bold truth.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Several states in the US have statutes prohibiting blasphemy. Saying "God damn it" could theoretically get you fined in Massachusetts, South Carolina, and Wyoming. In the coming days, it's best to proceed carefully in places like those, since you've been authorized by cosmic forces to curse more often and more forcefully than usual. Why? Because you need to summon vivid and intense protests in the face of influences that may be inhibiting and infringing on your soul's style. You have a poetic license to rebel against conventions that oppress you.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Everyone dreams at least three dreams per night. In a year, your subconscious mind generates over 1,100 dreams. About this remarkable fact, novelist Mila Kundera writes, "Dreaming is not merely an act of coded communication. It is also an aesthetic activity, a game that is a value in itself. To dream about things that have not happened is among humanity's deepest needs." I bring this to your attention, Scorpio, because September is Honor Your Dreams Month. To celebrate, I suggest the following experiments. 1. Every night before sleep, write down a question you'd like your dreams to respond to. 2. Keep a notebook by your bed and transcribe at least one dream each time you sleep. 3. In the morning, have fun imagining what the previous night's dreams might be trying to communicate to you. 4. Say prayers of gratitude to your dreams, thanking them for their provocative, entertaining stories.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In her autobiography Changing, Sagittarian actor Liv Ullmann expresses grief about how she and a loved one failed to communicate essential truths to each other. I propose we regard her as your anti-role model for the rest of 2021. Use her error as your inspiration. Make emotionally intelligent efforts to talk about unsaid things that linger like ghostly puzzles between you and those you care about.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): "I could do with a bit more excess," writes author Joanne Harris. "From now on I'm going to be immoderate—and volatile," she vows. "I shall enjoy loud music and lurid poetry. I shall be rampant." Let me be clear, Capricorn: I'm not urging you to be immoderate, volatile, excessive, and rampant every day for the rest of your long life. But I think you will generate health benefits and good fortune if you experiment with that approach in the coming weeks. Can you think of relatively sane, sensible ways to give yourself this salubrious luxury?
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): While wading through the internet's wilder terrain, I found a provocative quote alleged to have been uttered by the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. He supposedly said, "My ultimate goal is to look totally hot, but not be unapproachable." I confess that in the past I have sometimes been fooled by fake quotes, and I suspect this is one. Still, it's amusing to entertain the possibility that such an august personage as Socrates, a major influencer of Western culture, might say something so cute and colloquial. Even if he didn't actually say it, I like the idea of blending ancient wisdom with modern insights, seriousness with silliness, thoughtful analysis with good fun. In accordance with astrological omens, I recommend you experiment with comparable hybrids in the coming weeks. (PS: One of your goals should be to look totally hot, but not be unapproachable.)
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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 online, go to https://RealAstrology.com
Register and/or log in through the main page.
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The cost is $6 per sign online. (Discounts are available for bulk purchases.)
You can also listen over the phone by calling 1-877-873-4888. The cost is $1.99 per minute. Each forecast is 4-5 minutes long.
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PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): "If you don't know what you want," writes Piscean novelist Chuck Palahniuk, "you end up with a lot you don't." Very true! And right now, it's extra important to keep that in mind. During the coming weeks, you'll be at the peak of your ability to attract what you want and need. Wouldn't you prefer to gather influences you really desire—as opposed to those for which you have mild or zero interest? Define your wants and needs very precisely.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries poet Anna Kamienska wrote, "I've learned to value failed conversations, missed connections, confusions. What remains is what's unsaid, what's underneath. Understanding on another level of being." In the coming weeks, I suggest you adopt her perspective as you evaluate both past and present experiences. You're likely to find small treasures in what you'd assumed were wastelands. You may uncover inspiring clues in plot twists that initially frustrated you. Upon further examination, interludes you dismissed as unimportant or uninteresting could reveal valuable wrinkles.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): After studying your astrological omens, I've decided to offer you inspiration from the ancient Roman poet Catullus. I hope the extravagant spirit of his words will free you to be greedy for the delights of love and affection. Catullus wrote, "Give me a thousand kisses, then a hundred; then another thousand, then a second hundred; then yet another thousand." I'll add the following to Catullus's appeal: Seek an abundance of endearing words, sweet favors and gifts, caresses and massages, help with your work, and fabulous orgasms. If there's no one in your life to provide you with such blessings, give them to yourself.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini author Elif Batuman writes that the Old Uzbek language was rich in expressions about crying. There were "words for wanting to cry and not being able to, for loudly crying like thunder in the clouds, for crying in gasps, for weeping inwardly or secretly, for crying ceaselessly in a high voice, for crying in hiccups, and for crying while uttering the sound 'hay hay.'" I recommend all of these to you in the coming days, as well as others you might dream up. Why? It's prime time to seek the invigorating release and renewal that come from shedding tears generated by deep and mysterious feelings.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): A blogger named MythWoven imagines an "alternate universe where I literally go to school forever (for free) so I can learn about art and literature and history and languages for 100 years. No job skills. No credit requirements. No student loans. Just learning." I have longings like hers. There's an eternal student within me that wants to be endlessly surprised with exciting information about interesting subjects. I would love to be continually adding fresh skills and aptitudes to my repertoire. In the coming weeks, I will give free rein to that part of me. I recommend you do the same, my fellow Cancerian.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In 2016, the International Garden Photograph of the Year depicted lush lupine flowers in New Zealand. The sea of tall purple, pink, and blue blooms was praised as "an elegant symphony" and "a joy to behold." What the judges didn't mention is that lupine is an invasive species in New Zealand. It forces native plant species out of their habitat, which in turn drives away native animal species, including birds like the wrybill, black stilt, and banded dotterel. Is there a metaphorically comparable phenomenon in your life, Leo? Problematic beauty? Some influence that's both attractive and prickly? A wonderful thing that can also be troublesome? The coming weeks will be a favorable time to try to heal the predicament.
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Homework. What's your greatest blessing? Newsletter@FreeWillAstrology.com
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Submissions sent to Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter or in response to "homework assignments" may be published in a variety of formats at Rob Brezsny's discretion, including but not limited to newsletters, books, the Free Will Astrology column, and Free Will Astrology website. We reserve the right to edit submissions for length, style, and content.
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright 2021 Rob Brezsny
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Thank you.