What are the sources that heal and nourish you? Where do you go to renew yourself? Who are the people and animals that treat you the best and are most likely to boost your energy? I suggest that in the coming week you give special attention to these founts of love and beauty. Treat them with the respect and reverence they deserve. Express your gratitude and bestow blessings on them. It's the perfect time for you to summon an outpouring of generosity as you feed what feeds you.

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Here's a gathering of all the Big-Picture horoscopes I've written for you this year. Check to see if they're relevant to the way your destiny has been evolving. You can also still hear a LONG-RANGE AUDIO PREVIEW for the REST of 2014 and beyond. Sign up and/or log in here, then click on "Long-Term Forecast for Second Half of 2014." If you'd just like a report for the short-term, click on "This week (July 8, 2014)."

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SACRED ADVERTISEMENT. The oracle below is excerpted from my book PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.
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Quoting geneticists, Guy Murchie says we're all family. You have at least a million relatives as close as tenth cousin, and no one on Earth is any farther removed than your 50th cousin.

Murchie also describes our kinship through an analysis of how deeply we share the air. With each breath, you take into your body 10 sextillion atoms, and--owing to the wind's ceaseless circulation--over a year's time you have intimate relations with oxygen molecules exhaled by every person alive, as well as by everyone who ever lived. Right now you may be carrying atoms that were once inside the lungs of Malcolm X, Christopher Columbus, Joan of Arc, and Cleopatra.

Why do birds fly? First, that's how they look for and procure food. Second, when seasons change and the weather grows cooler, they may migrate to warmer areas where there's more to eat. Third, zipping around in mid-air is how birds locate the materials they need to build nests. Fourth, it's quite helpful in avoiding predators. But ornithologists believe there is yet another reason: Birds fly because it's fun. In fact, up to 30 percent of the time, that's their main motivation. In accordance with the astrological omens, Taurus, I invite you to match the birds' standard in the coming weeks. See if you can play and enjoy yourself and have a good time at least 30 percent of the time.

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Here's a gathering of all the Big-Picture horoscopes I've written for you this year. Check to see if they're relevant to the way your destiny has been evolving. You can also still hear a LONG-RANGE AUDIO PREVIEW for the REST of 2014 and beyond. Sign up and/or log in here, then click on "Long-Term Forecast for Second Half of 2014." If you'd just like a report for the short-term, click on "This week (July 8, 2014)."

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SACRED ADVERTISEMENT. The oracle below is excerpted from my book PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.
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More and more creative people find they do their best work when they're feeling healthy and secure. We know writers who no longer need to be drunk or in agony in order to shed the numbness of their daily routine and tap into the full powers of their imagination. We have filmmaker friends whose best work flows not from the depths of alienated self-doubt but rather from the heights of well-earned bliss. Singer-songwriter P.J. Harvey is the patron saint of this new breed. "When I'm contented, I'm more open to receiving a lot of inspiration," she has testified. "I'm most creative when I feel safe and happy."

Is there an important resource you don't have in sufficient abundance? Are you suffering from the lack of an essential fuel or tool? I'm not talking about a luxury it would be pleasant to have or a status symbol that would titillate your ego. Rather, I'm referring to an indispensable asset you need to create the next chapter of your life story. Identify what this crucial treasure is, Gemini. Make or obtain an image of it, and put that image on a shrine in your sanctuary. Pray for it. Vividly visualize it for a few minutes several times a day. Sing little songs about it. The time has arrived for to become much more serious and frisky about getting that valuable thing in your possession.

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Here's a gathering of all the Big-Picture horoscopes I've written for you this year. Check to see if they're relevant to the way your destiny has been evolving. You can also still hear a LONG-RANGE AUDIO PREVIEW for the REST of 2014 and beyond. Sign up and/or log in here, then click on "Long-Term Forecast for Second Half of 2014." If you'd just like a report for the short-term, click on "This week (July 8, 2014)."

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SACRED ADVERTISEMENT. The oracle below is excerpted from my book PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.
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The sage and her student were standing by a pool discussing longing and ambition.

"What do you want more than anything else?" the sage asked.

"To perfect my ability to love all of creation the way I love myself," the young man replied.

At that moment, the sage tackled the student and shoved his head beneath the water. Accustomed to letting his teacher shape the unpredictable contours of his education, he did not resist.

One minute went by. Then another. The student began to struggle and kick. His teacher was strong.

Finally she released her grip and the student surfaced, fighting for breath.

"What did you want more than anything else during these last few minutes?" the sage inquired.

"Nothing else was in my mind except the desire for air," gasped the student.

"Excellent," beamed the sage. "As soon as you are equally single-minded in your desire to perfect your ability to love all of creation the way you love yourself, you will achieve your goal."

Since 1981, Chinese law has stipulated that every healthy person between the ages of 11 and 60 should plant three to five trees per year. This would be a favorable week for Chinese Cancerians to carry out that duty. For that matter, now is an excellent time for all of you Cancerians, regardless of where you live, to plant trees, sow seeds, launch projects, or do anything that animates your fertility and creativity. You now have more power than you can imagine to initiate long-term growth.

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Here's a gathering of all the Big-Picture horoscopes I've written for you this year. Check to see if they're relevant to the way your destiny has been evolving. You can also still hear a LONG-RANGE AUDIO PREVIEW for the REST of 2014 and beyond. Sign up and/or log in here, then click on "Long-Term Forecast for Second Half of 2014." If you'd just like a report for the short-term, click on "This week (July 8, 2014)."

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SACRED ADVERTISEMENT. The oracle below is excerpted from my book PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.
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Go to the ugliest or most forlorn place you know--a drugstore parking lot, the front porch of a crack house, a toxic waste dump, or the place that symbolizes your secret shame--and build a shrine devoted to beauty, truth, and love.

Here are some suggestions about what to put in your shrine: a silk scarf; a smooth rock on which you've inscribed a haiku or joke with a felt-tip pen; coconut cookies or ginger candy; pumpkin seeds and an origami crane; a green kite shaped like a dragon; a music CD you love; a photo of your hero; a votive candle carved with your word of power; a rubber ducky; a bouquet of fresh beets; a print of Van Gogh's "Starry Night."

The weeks preceding your birthday are often an excellent time to engage the services of an exorcist. But there's no need to hire a pricey priest with dubious credentials. I can offer you my expert demon-banishing skills free of charge. Let's begin. I call on the spirits of the smart heroes you love best to be here with us right now. With the help of their inspirational power, I hereby dissolve any curse or spell that was ever placed on you, even if it was done inadvertently, and even if it was cast by yourself. Furthermore, the holy laughter I unleash as I carry out this purification serves to expunge any useless feelings, delusional desires, bad ideas, or irrelevant dreams you may have grown attached to. Make it so! Amen and hallelujah!

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Here's a gathering of all the Big-Picture horoscopes I've written for you this year. Check to see if they're relevant to the way your destiny has been evolving. You can also still hear a LONG-RANGE AUDIO PREVIEW for the REST of 2014 and beyond. Sign up and/or log in here, then click on "Long-Term Forecast for Second Half of 2014." If you'd just like a report for the short-term, click on "This week (July 8, 2014)."

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SACRED ADVERTISEMENT. The oracle below is excerpted from my book PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.
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Late at night when there's no traffic, stride down the middle of an empty road that by day is crawling with cars. Dance, careen, and sing songs that fill you with pleasurable emotions. Splay your arms triumphantly as you extemporize prayers in which you make extravagant demands and promises. Give pet names to the trees you pass, declare your admiration for the workers who made the road, and celebrate your sovereignty over a territory that usually belongs to heavy machines and their operators.

You know what it's like to get your mind blown. And I'm sure that on more than one occasion you have had your heart stolen. But I am curious, Virgo, about whether you have ever had your mind stolen or your heart blown. And I also wonder if two rare events like that have ever happened around the same time. I'm predicting a comparable milestone sometime in the next three weeks. Have no fear! The changes these epiphanies set in motion will ultimately bring you blessings. Odd and unexpected blessings, probably, but blessings nonetheless. P.S.: I'm sure you are familiar with the tingling sensation that wells up in your elbow when you hit your funny bone. Well, imagine a phenomena like that rippling through your soul.

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Here's a gathering of all the Big-Picture horoscopes I've written for you this year. Check to see if they're relevant to the way your destiny has been evolving. You can also still hear a LONG-RANGE AUDIO PREVIEW for the REST of 2014 and beyond. Sign up and/or log in here, then click on "Long-Term Forecast for Second Half of 2014." If you'd just like a report for the short-term, click on "This week (July 8, 2014)."

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SACRED ADVERTISEMENT. The oracle below is excerpted from my book PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.
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Contrary to what some translations of the Bible say, it won't be the meek who shall inherit the earth. On the other hand, the arrogant power mongers won't collect the legacy either. Neither the indecisive wimps nor the acquisitive bullies will contribute much to creating the New World.

Who, then, will inherit the earth? What kind of human beings are best-equipped to thrive in the evolving game of life? We say it will be the well-disciplined pleasure-seekers who are in vigorous dialogue with their own dark sides, who balance the masculine and feminine aspects of their natures, and who master the fine arts of working at their play and playing at their work.

Assume our definition has some validity for you. What would you have to do to become more like one of the inheritors of the earth?

Since 2008, Marvel Studios has produced nine movies based on characters from Marvel Comics. They're doing well. The Avengers earned $1.5 billion, making it the third-highest-grossing film of all time. Iron Man 3 brought in over a billion dollars, too, and Thor: The Dark World grossed $644 million. Now Marvel executives are on schedule to release two movies every year through 2028. I'd love to see you be inspired by their example, Libra. Sound fun? To get started, dream and scheme about what you want to be doing in both the near future and the far future. Then formulate a flexible, invigorating master plan for the next 14 years.

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Here's a gathering of all the Big-Picture horoscopes I've written for you this year. Check to see if they're relevant to the way your destiny has been evolving. You can also still hear a LONG-RANGE AUDIO PREVIEW for the REST of 2014 and beyond. Sign up and/or log in here, then click on "Long-Term Forecast for Second Half of 2014." If you'd just like a report for the short-term, click on "This week (July 8, 2014)."

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SACRED ADVERTISEMENT. The oracle below is excerpted from my book PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.
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Dear Beauty and Truth Lab: Can you tell me why my trivial prayers are often answered (please don't let the light turn red, please let there be enough milk for one cup of coffee, etc.), but never my big life-changing prayers (please send me a soul mate, please help me make money at what I love to do)? Are God's priorities screwed up, or is it me? - Dumb Luck Collector

Dear DLC: There's an old fairy tale in which two old folks are given three wishes by a magic dwarf, but impulsively waste them on the first silly whims that pop into their heads. I'll tell you what I would have told them: Proceed on the assumption that only a few of your fervent prayers will be granted. Don't use them up on pleas for convenience when you're tired, cranky, or desperate. A Tibetan proverb says, "The person who gets stuck on petty happiness will not attain great happiness."

While in Chicago to do a series of shows, comedian Groucho Marx was invited to participate in a séance. He decided to attend even though he was skeptical of the proceedings. Incense was burning. The lights were dim. The trance medium worked herself into a supernatural state until finally she announced, "I am in touch with the Other Side. Does anyone have a question?" Groucho wasn't shy. "What is the capital of North Dakota?" he asked. As amusing as his irreverence might be, I want to use it as an example of how you should NOT proceed in the coming week. If you get a chance to converse with higher powers or mysterious forces, I hope you seek information you would truly like to know.

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Here's a gathering of all the Big-Picture horoscopes I've written for you this year. Check to see if they're relevant to the way your destiny has been evolving. You can also still hear a LONG-RANGE AUDIO PREVIEW for the REST of 2014 and beyond. Sign up and/or log in here, then click on "Long-Term Forecast for Second Half of 2014." If you'd just like a report for the short-term, click on "This week (July 8, 2014)."

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SACRED ADVERTISEMENT. The oracle below is excerpted from my book PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.
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DEFINITION: Pronoia is the antidote for paranoia. It's the understanding that the universe is fundamentally friendly. It's a mode of retraining your senses and intellect so you're able to perceive that life always gives you exactly what you need, exactly when you need it.

HYPOTHESES: Evil is boring. Cynicism is idiotic. Fear is a bad habit. Despair is lazy. Joy is fascinating. Love is an act of heroic genius. Pleasure is our birthright. Receptivity is a superpower.

PROCEDURE: Act as if the universe is a prodigious miracle created for your amusement and illumination. Assume that secret helpers are working behind the scenes to assist you in turning into the gorgeous masterpiece you were born to be. Join the conspiracy to shower all of creation with blessings.

In one of her poems, Adrienne Rich addresses her lover: "That conversation we were always on the edge / of having, runs on in my head." Is there a similar phenomenon in your own life, Sagittarius? Have you been longing to thoroughly discuss certain important issues with a loved one or ally, but haven't found a way to do so? If so, a breakthrough is potentially imminent. All of life will be conspiring for you to speak and hear the words that have not yet been spoken and heard but very much need to be.

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Here's a gathering of all the Big-Picture horoscopes I've written for you this year. Check to see if they're relevant to the way your destiny has been evolving. You can also still hear a LONG-RANGE AUDIO PREVIEW for the REST of 2014 and beyond. Sign up and/or log in here, then click on "Long-Term Forecast for Second Half of 2014." If you'd just like a report for the short-term, click on "This week (July 8, 2014)."

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SACRED ADVERTISEMENT. The oracle below is excerpted from my book PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.
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"The secret of life," said sculptor Henry Moore to poet Donald Hall, "is to have a task, something you devote your entire life to, something you bring everything to, every minute of the day for your whole life. And the most important thing is--it must be something you cannot possibly do." What is that task for you?

This would be a fun time for you to brainstorm about everything you have never been and will never be. I encourage you to fantasize freely about the goals you don't want to accomplish and the qualities you will not cultivate and the kind of people you will never seek out as allies. I believe this exercise will have a healthy effect on your future development. It will discipline your willpower and hone your motivation as it eliminates extraneous desires. It will imprint your deep self with a passionate clarification of pursuits that are wastes of your precious energy and valuable time.

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Here's a gathering of all the Big-Picture horoscopes I've written for you this year. Check to see if they're relevant to the way your destiny has been evolving. You can also still hear a LONG-RANGE AUDIO PREVIEW for the REST of 2014 and beyond. Sign up and/or log in here, then click on "Long-Term Forecast for Second Half of 2014." If you'd just like a report for the short-term, click on "This week (July 8, 2014)."

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SACRED ADVERTISEMENT. The oracle below is excerpted from my book PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.
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With luck and persistence, you will be able to claim the rewards promised you at the beginning of time -- not just any old beauty, wisdom, goodness, love, freedom, and justice, but rather exhilarating beauty that incites you to be true to yourself; crazy wisdom that immunizes you against the temptation to believe your ideals are ultimate truths; outrageous goodness that inspires you to experiment with boisterous empathy; generous freedom that keeps you alert for opportunities to share your wealth; insurrectionary love that endlessly transforms you; and a lust for justice that's leavened with a knack for comedy, keeping you honest as you work humbly to liberate everyone in the world from ignorance and suffering.

Expect nothing even as you ask for everything. Rebel against tradition with witty compassion, not cynical rage. Is there a personal taboo that no longer needs to remain taboo? Break it with tender glee. Do something playful, even prankish, in a building that has felt oppressive to you. Everywhere you go, carry gifts with you just in case you encounter beautiful souls who aren't lost in their own fantasies. You know that old niche you got stuck in as a way to preserve the peace? Escape it. At least for now, live without experts and without leaders -- with no teachers other than what life brings you moment by moment.

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Here's a gathering of all the Big-Picture horoscopes I've written for you this year. Check to see if they're relevant to the way your destiny has been evolving. You can also still hear a LONG-RANGE AUDIO PREVIEW for the REST of 2014 and beyond. Sign up and/or log in here, then click on "Long-Term Forecast for Second Half of 2014." If you'd just like a report for the short-term, click on "This week (July 8, 2014)."

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SACRED ADVERTISEMENT. The oracle below is excerpted from my book PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.
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"You can get a feel on Kaho'olawe of what it was like to live on Hawaii at the time of our ancestors," says Native Hawaiian Davianna McGregor. "We can practice our traditions there without it being a tourist attraction. It's one place we can go to be in communion with our natural life forces."
Each of us has a personal version of Kaho'olawe: a part of our psyche that has been stolen or colonized by hostile forces. To grow bolder in exploring pronoia, you'll need to take back yours.

Every year, the U.S. government spends $25,455 per capita on programs for senior citizens. Meanwhile, it allocates $3,822 for programs to help children. That's only 15 percent as much as what the elders receive. In the coming weeks, Pisces, I believe your priorities should be reversed. Give the majority of your energy and time and money to the young and innocent parts of your life. Devote less attention to the older and more mature aspects. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you need to care intently for what's growing most vigorously.

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Here's a gathering of all the Big-Picture horoscopes I've written for you this year. Check to see if they're relevant to the way your destiny has been evolving. You can also still hear a LONG-RANGE AUDIO PREVIEW for the REST of 2014 and beyond. Sign up and/or log in here, then click on "Long-Term Forecast for Second Half of 2014." If you'd just like a report for the short-term, click on "This week (July 8, 2014)."

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SACRED ADVERTISEMENT. The oracle below is excerpted from my book PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.
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I'm allergic to dogma. I thrive on riddles. Any idea I believe, I reserve the right to disbelieve as well. But more than any other vision I've ever tested, pronoia describes the way the world actually is. It's wetter than water, stronger than death, and truer than the news. It smells like cedar smoke in the autumn rain, and if you close your eyes right now, you can feel it shimmering like the aurora borealis in your organs and muscles. Its song is your blood's song.

Some people argue that life is strife and suffering is normal. Others swear we're born sinful and only heaven can provide us with the peace that passes understanding. But pronoia says that being alive on this rough green and brown planet is the highest honor and privilege. It's an invitation to work wonders and perform miracles that aren't possible in any nirvana, promised land, or afterlife.

I'm not exaggerating or indulging in poetic metaphor when I tell you that we are already living in paradise. Visualize it if you dare. The sweet stuff that quenches all of our longing is not far away in some other time and place. It's right here and right now.

Poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning knew the truth: "Earth's crammed with heaven."