grapevine_5_1_2012_w.. - The Grapevine

10Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology The Grapevine for week of January 5 © Copyright 2011 Rob BrezsnyJanuary 5 - 19, 2012ARIES (March 21-April 19):"It is surely a great calamityfor a human being to have noobsessions," said poet Robert Bly.That's why he decided to learnto love his obsessions. I urge youto keep his approach in mindthroughout the coming months,Aries. You are likely to thriveto the degree that you preciselyidentify and vigorously harnessyour obsessions. Please noteI'm not saying you should allowyour obsessions to possess youlike demons and toss you aroundlike a rag doll. I'm not advisingyou to fall down in front of yourobsessions and worship them likeidols. Be wildly grateful for them;love them with your fiery heartfully unfurled; but keep themunder the control of your finemind.TAURUS (April 20-May 20):"Everyone is a genius, but if youjudge a fish by its ability to climba tree it will spend its whole lifebelieving it is stupid." Rumorhas it that this pithy observationwas uttered by Albert Einstein. Ibring it to your attention, Taurus,because you'll be smart to keepit in mind throughout 2012.According to my astrologicalanalysis, you will have anexcellent opportunity to identifyand hone and express yourspecific brilliance. So it is crucialthat you eliminate any tendencyyou might have to see yourself asbeing like a fish whose job it is toclimb a tree.GEMINI (May 21-June 20):In his book Priceless: How I WentUndercover to Rescue the World'sStolen Treasures, former FBIagent Robert K. Wittman tellsthe story of the world's secondlargest crystal ball. Worth$350,000 and once belonging tothe Chinese Dowager Empress,it was stolen from a museum.Wittman never located theactual robber, but years later hetracked down the crystal ball to aperson who had acquired it quiteinnocently and by accident. Shewas a young witch in New Jerseywho, unaware of its origins orvalue, kept it on her bedroomdresser with a baseball cap ontop of it. I suspect you may havea comparable adventure in thecoming months, Gemini. If youlook hard and keep an open mind,you will eventually recover lostriches or a disappeared prize inthe least likely of places.CANCER (June 21-July 22):It's impossible for the humanbody to run a mile in less thanfour minutes -- at least that'swhat the conventional wisdomused to say. And indeed, noone in history ever broke thatbarrier until May 6, 1954, whenRoger Bannister raced a mile inthree minutes, 59.4 seconds.Since then, lots of athletes havedone it and the record has beenlowered by another 17 seconds.In fact, the sub-four-minute mileis now regarded as a standardaccomplishment for middledistancerunners. I suspect thatin 2012 you will accomplish yourown version of Bannister's feat --a breakthrough that once seemedcrazy difficult or beyond yourcapacity.LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Backin 1958, 17-year-old Bob Heftcreated a 50-star American flagfor a high school project. Hawaiiand Alaska were being consideredfor U.S. statehood at that time,and a new design was needed toreplace the old 48-star flag. Heft'steacher originally gave him agrade of B- for his work. But whenhis model was later selected tobe the actual American flag, theteacher raised his grade to an A. Isuspect that a similar progressionis in store for you in the comingyear, Leo. Some work you did thatnever received proper credit willfinally be accorded the value itdeserves.VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept.22): Greek philosopher Platosuggested that we may becomemore receptive to spiritualbeauty by putting ourselves inthe presence of physical beauty.The stimulation we get wheninspired by what looks good mayhelp train us to recognize sublimetruths. I'm not so sure aboutthat. In my experience, peopleoften get so entranced by theiremotional and bodily responses toattractive sights and sounds thatthey neglect to search for higher,subtler sources of splendor.But I do believe you may be anexception to this tendency in thecoming months. That's why I'mgiving you the go-ahead -- indeed,the mandate -- to surroundyourself with physical beauty.LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Beforehe died in 1902, Libran cartoonistThomas Nast left a potent legacy.Among his enduring creationsKate’s Pantry Fair TradeCoffee Shop 183 Commercial St, Berwick •538.9405 • www.katespantry.cawere the modern image of SantaClaus, the iconic donkey forAmerica's Democratic Party, andthe elephant for the RepublicanParty. I'm guessing that 2012 isgoing to be a Thomas Nast kindof year for you Librans. The workyou do and the ripples you set inmotion are likely to last a longtime. So I suggest you choose theinfluences you unleash with greatcare and integrity.SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):"If you're in a good relationship,chances are you're bored out ofyour mind," spouts comedianChris Rock in his show NeverScared. "All good relationshipsare boring. The only excitingrelationships are bad ones.You never know what's goingto happen tomorrow whenyou're in a bad relationship.You never know when they'regonna walk through the doorand say, 'Hey, you gave me crabs.'That's exciting!" Rock is makinga satirical overstatement, butit does contain grains of truth.Which is why, in accordancewith the astrological omens, Ideliver the following request toyou: In 2012, cultivate stablerelationships that are boring in allthe best ways.SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec.21): Once every decade or so,you're asked to make a specialpoint of practicing forgivenessand atonement. According tomy reading of the astrologicalomens, that time will be the nextfew months. I think it'll be quiteimportant for you to cleansethe grungy build-up of regretsand remorse from your psyche.Ready to get started? Compose alist of the sins you could expiate,the karmic debts you can repay,and the redemptions you shouldinitiate. I suggest you make it intoa fun, creative project that youwill thoroughly enjoy.CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan.19): Happiness isn't a state youacquire by luck. It takes hard workand relentless concentration. Youhave to rise up and rebel againstthe nonstop flood of trivialchaos and meaningless eventsyou're invited to wallow in. Youhave to overcome the hard-corecultural conditioning that temptsyou to assume that suffering isnormal and the world is a hostileplace. It's really quite unnaturalto train yourself to be peacefuland mindful; it's essentiallya great rebellion against anunacknowledged taboo. Here'sthe good news: 2012 will be anexcellent time for you to do thiswork.AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb.18): More and more musiciansand authors are choosing toself-publish. That way theyretain the full rights to theircreative work, keeping it frombeing controlled and potentiallymisused by a record label orpublishing company. Oneexample is singer-songwriterTerri Hendrix, who owns all 14 ofher master recordings. She livesby the motto, "Own Your OwnUniverse." I urge you to adopt herapproach in 2012, Aquarius. Thecoming months will be prime timefor you to do all you can to takefull possession of everything youneed to become what you wantto be.PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):The coming months will be a timewhen you'll thrive by seeking outnovel ideas, using new words,and regarding your imaginationas an organ that's as importantto feed as your stomach. In thatspirit, I'm offering you a slew offreshly made-up terms that'll helptease your brain in ways that arein alignment with the upcomingastrological factors. They allcome from the very NSFWdictionary at http://tinyurl.com/Dixtionary. 1. Assymectricity:energy generated by lopsidedness.2. Enigmagnetic: a personwho attracts mysteries. 3.Indumbnitable: incapable of beingdumbed down. 4. Beneviolent:helpful chaos. 5. Fauxbia: a fakefear. 6. Craptometry: ability to seethrough all the BS. 7. Adoregasm:when you treasure someone tothe point of ecstasy.