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Horoscopes by Rob Brezsny


Week of November 8th, 2012

♈ ARIES

(March 21-April 19)
The data that's stored and disseminated on the Internet is unimaginably voluminous. And yet the 540 billion trillion electrons that carry all this information weigh about the same as a strawberry. I'd like to use this fun fact as a metaphor for the work you're doing these days -- and the play, too. Your output is prodigious. Your intensity is on the verge of becoming legendary. The potency of your efforts is likely to set in motion effects that will last for a long time. And yet, to the naked eye or casual observer, it all might look as simple and light as a strawberry.


What exactly are you looking for? How would you describe the experiences you want more than anything else? It's possible my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE could give you additional help in figuring that out.

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Is the world a dangerous, chaotic place with no inherent purpose, running on automatic like a malfunctioning machine and fundamentally inimical to your happiness? Or are you surrounded by helpers in a friendly universe that gives you challenges in order to make you smarter and wilder and kinder and trickier? Trick questions! The answers may depend, at least to some degree, on what you believe is true.

Formulate a series of experiments that will allow you to objectively test the hypothesis that the universe is conspiring to help you.
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The preceding oracle comes from my book, PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.

♉ TAURUS

(April 20-May 20)
What if you have a twin sister or brother that your mother gave up for adoption right after you were born and never told you about? Or what if you have a soul twin you've never met -- a potential ally who understands life in much the same ways that you do? In either case, now is a time when the two of you might finally discover each other. At the very least, Taurus, I suspect you'll be going deeper and deeper with a kindred spirit who will help you transform your stories about your origins and make you feel more at home on the planet.


Want to hear more about the subconscious factors and hidden forces that may be influencing your life? Listen to your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE.

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Entomologist Justin O. Schmidt drew up an index to categorize the discomfort caused by stinging insects. The attack of the bald-faced hornet is "rich, hearty, slightly crunchy. Similar to getting your hand mashed in a revolving door." A paper wasp delivers pain that's "caustic and burning," with a "distinctly bitter aftertaste. Like spilling a beaker of hydrochloric acid on a paper cut." The sweat bee, on the other hand, can hurt you in a way that's "light, ephemeral, almost fruity. A tiny spark has singed a single hair on your arm."

In bringing this to your attention, I want to inspire the pronoiac rebel in you. Your homework is to create an equally nuanced and precise index of three experiences that feel really good.
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The preceding oracle comes from my new book, PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.

♊ GEMINI

(May 21-June 20)
I urged my readers to meditate on death not as the end of physical life, but as a metaphor for shedding what's outworn. I then asked them to describe the best death they had ever experienced. I got a response that's applicable to you right now. It's from a reader named Judd: "My best death was getting chicken pox at age 13 while living in the Philippines. My mother banished me to the TV room. I was uncomfortable but hyperactive, lonely and driven to agony by the awful shows. But after six hours, something popped. My suffering turned inside out, and a miracle bloomed. I closed my eyes and my imagination opened up like a vortex. Images, ideas, places, dreams, people familiar and strange -- all amazing, colorful, and vibrant -- flowed through my head. I knew then and there that no material thing on this Earth could hook me up to the source of life like my own thoughts. I was free!"


To further explore the ripening blessings and interesting challenges in your life, tune in to your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE.

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"Two chemicals called actin and myosin evolved eons ago to allow the muscles in insect wings to contract and relax," writes Deepak Chopra in The Book of Secrets. "Today, the same two proteins are responsible for the beating of the human heart."

If you use your imagination, you can sense the connection between the flight of a dragonfly and the intelligent organ that renews its commitment to keeping you alive every second of your life. So use your imagination.
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The preceding oracle comes from my book, PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.

♋ CANCERIAN

(June 21-July 22)
Conservationists are surprised by what has been transpiring in and around Nepal's Chitwan National Park. The tigers that live there have changed their schedule. Previously, they prowled around at all hours, day and night. But as more people have moved into the area, the creatures have increasingly become nocturnal. Researchers who have studied the situation believe the tigers are doing so in order to better coexist with humans. I suspect that a metaphorically similar development is possible for you, Cancerian. Meditate on how the wildest part of your life could adapt better to the most civilized part -- and vice versa. (Read more.)


Need more whacks applied to your mental blocks? More caresses bestowed upon your growing edge? Listen to your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE.

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The primary meaning of the word "healing" is "to cure what's diseased or broken." Medical practitioners focus on sick people. Philanthropists donate their money and social workers contribute their time to helping the underprivileged. Psychotherapists wrestle with their clients' traumas and neuroses. I'm in awe of them all. The level of one's spiritual wisdom, I believe, is more accurately measured by helping people in need than by meditation skills, shamanic shapeshifting, supernatural powers, or esoteric knowledge.

But I also believe in a second kind of healing that is largely unrecognized: to supercharge what is already healthy; to lift up what's merely sufficient to a sublime state. Using this definition, describe two acts of healing: one you would enjoy performing on yourself and another you'd like to provide for someone you love.
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The preceding oracle comes from my book, PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.

♌ LEO

(July 23-August 22)
What is a dry waterfall? The term may refer to the location of an extinct waterfall where a river once fell over a cliff but has since stopped flowing. Döda Fallet in Sweden is such a place. "Dry waterfall" may also signify a waterfall that only exists for a while after a heavy rain and then disappears again. One example is on Brukkaros Mountain in Namibia. A third variant shows up in Cliffs Beyond Abiquiu, Dry Waterfall, a landscape painting by Georgia O'Keeffe. It's a lush rendering of a stark landscape near the New Mexico town where O'Keeffe lived. Soon you will have your own metaphorical version of a dry waterfall, Leo. It's ready for you if you're ready for it.


Where do you want to go? Who do you want to be? For more clues, tune in to your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE.

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"Creativity is like driving a car at night," said E. L. Doctorow. "You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way." I would add that life itself is like driving a car at night. You're often in the dark except for what's right in front of you. At least that's usually the case.

But for a few shining hours sometime this week, I predict you'll be able to see the big picture of where you're headed. It will be as if the whole world is suddenly illuminated by a prolonged burst of light; as if you're both driving your car and also watching your your journey from high above. Write about what you see.
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The preceding oracle comes from my book, PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.

♍ VIRGO

(August 23-September 22)
You are getting to where you need to be, but you're still not there. You have a good share of the raw materials you will require to accomplish your goal, but as of yet you don't have enough of the structure that will make everything work. The in-between state you're inhabiting reminds me of a passage from the author Elias Canetti: "His head is made of stars, but not yet arranged into constellations." Your next assignment, Virgo, is to see what you can do about coalescing a few constellations.


Would you like to hear me say some more about your ever-evolving destiny? Check out your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE.

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Imagine that the whole world belongs to you. The birch trees in New Hampshire's White Mountains are yours, and so are the cirrus clouds in the western sky at dusk and the black sand on the beaches of Hawaii's Big Island. You own everything, my dear sovereign -- the paintings in all the museums of the world, as well as the Internet and the wild horses and the eight-lane highways.

Please take good care of it all, OK? Be an enlightened monarch who treats your domain with reverent responsibility. And make sure you also enjoy the full measure of fun that comes with such mastery. Glide through life as if all of creation is yearning to honor and entertain you.
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The preceding oracle comes from my book, PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.

♎ LIBRA

(September 23-October 22)
Doctors used to believe that ulcers were caused by stress and spicy foods. But in the 1980s, two researchers named Barry Marshall and Robin Warren began to promote an alternative theory. They believed the culprit was H. pylori, a type of bacteria. To test their hypothesis, Marshall drank a Petri dish full of H. pylori. Within days he got gastric symptoms and underwent an endoscopy. The evidence proved that he and his partner were correct. They won a Nobel Prize for their work. (And Marshall recovered just fine.) I urge you to be inspired by their approach, Libra. Formulate experiments that allow you to make practical tests of your ideas, and consider using yourself as a guinea pig.


Need more help deciphering the riddles and enigmas that are fueling your amazing story? Listen to your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE.

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Here's an experiment worth trying: Don't try to analyze the Great Mystery. Instead, be the Great Mystery. Don't go with the Flow; be the Flow. Don't struggle and strain to put yourself in harmony with the Creative Surge of the Divine Wow. Be the Creative Surge of the Divine Wow.
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The preceding oracle comes from my book, PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.

♏ SCORPIO

(October 23-November 21)
This is not prime time for you to rake in rewards, collect hard-earned goodies, and celebrate successes you've been building towards for a long time. It's fine if you end up doing those things, but I suspect that what you're best suited for right now is getting things started. You'll attract help from unexpected sources if you lay the groundwork for projects you want to work on throughout 2013. You'll be in alignment with cosmic rhythms, too. Your motto comes from your fellow Scorpio, writer Robert Louis Stevenson: "Judge each day not by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant."


No one knows you better than you do, but maybe I can help you dig up even more self-knowledge. Listen to your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE.

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Jungian analyst Arnold Mindell explores the relationship between mind and body. He thinks you can achieve optimal physical health if you're devoted to shedding outworn self-images. In his book The Shaman's Body, 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 boy, she later became a woman, 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 would be healthy, even ecstatic, for you to lose? Describe the fun you'd have if you were free of them.
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The preceding oracle comes from my book, PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.

♐ SAGITTARIUS

(November 22-December 21)
On a beach, a man spied a pelican that was barely moving. Was it sick? He wanted to help. Drawing close, he discovered that ants were crawling all over it. He brushed them off, then carried the bird to his car and drove it to a veterinarian. After a thorough examination, the doctor realized the pelican was suffering from a fungus that the ants had been eating away -- and probably would have removed completely if the man hadn't interfered. Moral of the story: Sometimes healing takes place in unexpected ways, and nature knows better than we do about how to make it happen. Keep that in mind during the coming weeks, Sagittarius.


Wouldn't you love to learn more about who you really are? What better adventure is there than learning about your soul's code? For more hints, listen to your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE.

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"You can't wait for inspiration," proclaimed writer Jack London. "You have to go after it with a club." That sounds too violent to me, though I agree in principle that aggressiveness is the best policy in one's relationship with inspiration.

Try this: Don't wait for inspiration. Go after it with a butterfly net, lasso, sweet treats, fishing rod, court orders, beguiling smells, and sincere flattery.
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The preceding oracle comes from my book, PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.

♑ CAPRICORN

(December 22-January 19)
A farmer in Japan found a 56-leaf clover. Well, actually, he bred it in his garden at home. It took effort on his part. Presumably, it provided him with 14 times the luck of a mere four-leaf clover. I don't think your good karma will be quite that extravagant in the coming week, Capricorn, but there's a decent chance you'll get into at least the 16-leaf realm. To raise your odds of approaching the 56-leaf level of favorable fortune, remember this: Luck tends to flow in the direction of those who work hard to prepare for it and earn it.


I hope the oracle above provides you with the inspiration you need to do what you've got to do and change what needs to be changed. But if you need more clues, listen to your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE, where I go further in exploring your mysteries.

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Become a rapturist, which is the opposite of a terrorist: Conspire to unleash blessings on unsuspecting recipients, causing them to feel good.

Before bringing your work as a rapturist to strangers, practice with two close companions. Offer them each a gift that fires up their ambitions. It should not be a practical necessity or consumer fetish, but rather a provocative tool or toy. Give them an imaginative boon they've been hesitant to ask for, a beautiful thing that expands their self-image, a surprising intervention that says, "I love the way you move me."
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The preceding oracle comes from my book, PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.

♒ AQUARIUS

(January 20- February 18)
The largest bell in the world is located in Moscow, Russia. Called the Tsar Bell, it's made of bronze, weighs 445,170 pounds, and is elaborately decorated with images of people, angels, and plants. It has never once been rung in its 275 years of existence. Is there anything comparable in your own life, Aquarius? Some huge presence that has never actually been used? The time is near when that stillness may finally come to an end. I suggest you decide how this will occur rather than allowing fate to choose for you.


For more help in understanding your relationship with the game of life, tune in to your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE.

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What is the holiest river in the world? Some might say the Ganges in India. Others would propose the Jordan River or the River Nile. But I say the holiest river is the one that's closest to where you are right now.

Go to that river and commune with it. Throw a small treasure into it as an offering. Next, find a holy sidewalk to walk on, praise the holiness in a bus driver, kiss a holy tree, and shop at a holy store.
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The preceding oracle comes from my book, PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.

♓ PISCES

(February 19-March 20)
Are you interested in experiencing a close brush with a holy anomaly or a rowdy blessing or a divine wild card? If not, that's perfectly OK. Just say, "No, I'm not ready for a lyrical flurry of uncanny grace." And the freaky splendor or convulsive beauty or mystical mutation will avoid making contact with you, no questions asked. But if you suspect you might enjoy communing with a subversive blast of illumination -- if you think you could have fun coming to terms with a tricky epiphany that blows your mind -- then go out under the night sky and whisper a message like this: "I'm ready for you, sweetness. Find me."


Would you like further inspiration as you scheme and dream to make the most of life's sometimes puzzling opportunities? Listen to your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE.

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SACRED ADVERTISEMENT
Are other people luckier than you? If so, psychologist Richard Wiseman says you can do something about it. His book The Luck Factor presents research that proves you can learn to be lucky. It's not a mystical force you're born with, he says, but a habit you can develop. How? For starters, be open to new experiences, trust your gut wisdom, expect good fortune, see the bright side of challenging events, and master the art of maximizing serendipitous opportunities.

Name three specific actions you'll try in order to improve your luck.
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The preceding oracle comes from my book, PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.


Listen to Rob's Expanded Audio Horoscopes, updated weekly.



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