horoscope

A few weeks ago, Rob Brezsny suggested that now is a good time for Aquarians to eat of a figurative forbidden fruit and take advice from a serpent. I still haven’t figured out what the hell that means.

This week, he wants us to step beyond taking advice to metaphorically embrace, ride with, play with, and learn from the serpent. This is also a provident time for other hippy-dippy tasks, such as conversing with ancestors and wrestling with high-end questions. “Dare to shed mediocre pleasures so you can better pursue spectacular pleasures,” he says. “Experiment only with smart gambles and high-integrity temptations, and flee the other kinds.”

That’s always good advice. Humans tend to indulge the lowest common denominator – trash reading, trash eating, hate watching – and the internet, with its ever-present dopamine hits, has only made this easier. I’ve made the effort to spend less time doom scrolling and skimming trashy books and more time engaged in writing and learning. I’m choosier about my downtime activities. That covers the “mediocre pleasures” so now I have to find some smart gambles and high-integrity temptations.

Finally, Brezsny offers this advice: If you challenge the past to a duel, be well-armed with the future.

In his advice for Aquarians, Rob Breszny frequently urges us to find mentors and champions, as though it were that easy. This week, he cites the example of President George Washington’s older brother Lawrence (??) as someone whose influence was crucial in the life of a younger man.

He asks if we have someone in our life comparable to Lawrence Washington, who was an influential landowner, soldier, and politician, and I have to admit I do not.

Do I have an advocate? Someone working behind the scenes on my behalf? If I do, they are being awfully canny about it.

The astrological omens suggest now is a good time for Aquarians to find a champion and ask them for a special favor.

If you’re reading this, Champ, hit me up!

Did the serpent tempt Eve with an apple in the Garden of Eden, or did he use a fig? Scholars debate the issue, but for our purposes, only the forbidden nature of the fruit matters. Is there a metaphorical forbidden fruit in your emotional life? If so, astrologer Rob Brezsny says now is a good time to sample it.

Frankly, at my age, I can’t think of one. I don’t consider myself a self-indulgent person, but neither do I have significant temptations that I’m frightened to indulge. This bit of star-influenced poetic advice may be too vague for me to interpret, even at my most generous.

Of course, I may be taking the term “forbidden fruit” too literally. Brezsny quotes the serpent as saying, “When you eat the fig, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God.” Is there a bit of knowledge or wisdom that could help me be more intuitive, insightful, or far-seeing?

Got me.

On the other hand, Brezsny’s second piece of advice may be more relevant, as he writes, “A serpent may have wise counsel for you.”

Serpents. I know plenty of those.

Today’s post title inspired by this little jam:

Here is another astrology post that could double as a writing prompt.

A few years ago, an Indonesian man married a rice cooker. We were warned that gay marriage was a slipper slope, but we had no idea! I don’t know why Khoirul Anam acted out a wedding with a kitchen appliance, nor am I inclined to research it, but it does raise questions. I’ve read of people marrying trees and ghosts, which in contrast are less unlikely spouses than rice cookers. At least the tree is alive and the ghost was presumably human at some point.

But I digress…

This week, Rob Brezsny suggests that Aquarians wed our fortunes to a valuable resource, with or without literal nuptials. He asks if there is a material object that brings out the best in us. And if there’s not, now would be a good time to get one.

What brings out the best in me? My answer is – and will always be – writing. That’s not a material object, per se, but it’s non-human, so I suppose it counts, and it is my most valuable resource. I am more myself when I write. I’m happier, I’m (relatively) saner. I’m more balanced and grounded. I actually like the world better (it knows what it did…).

Can I marry my writing? I hitched myself to writing when I was a child, but never had a ceremony. I’ve spent my life nurturing it and celebrating it, and now late in the game, the bond is stronger than it’s ever been. I’m a much better spouse than I ever was.

Maybe it’s time to buy a ring.

Astrologer Rob Breszny says that despite believing in the power of the stars, ancient Romans likely never asked “What’s your sign?” That idiom is a more modern invention, fitting for the times in which it emerged.

Using that as a jumping off point, Brezsny suggests updating any popular ideas or symbols we rely on. This makes sense. After all, I’m no longer the same person who attached meaning to that idea or symbol in the first place. A fresh take on personal mythology could ensure the concepts continue to serve me in the future.

Putting my own spin on this, I find myself asking: What do I believe?

If you’re following me here, it should be clear that I believe in the power of the written word. When I was a young writer, I embraced writing as a sacred act of communication – with myself and with the world. Writing is how I explored my questions about life and shared what I knew with someone else who might be facing the same conundrum.

When I wrote, I felt less alone in the world and less insignificant. If anyone read what I wrote, I hoped they would feel some connection. I wanted to reach people like me to let them know they weren’t alone and I wanted to reach people unlike me, so that we could find something in common and better understand each other.

I don’t feel that same urgency these days. I write to please myself, but have given up on ever understanding the world. It would be great to have readers, but I hope they are a lot nicer and better centered than the train wrecks who populate my stories.

Perhaps rather than a refresh, I need to look back at the meaning I used to attach to my writing. Instead of reinventing the wheel, maybe I should dust off the old one and see how it spins. The old boy might have something worth saying yet.

Fun fact: the purest honey on the planet can be sourced from the Pitcairn Islands, population 47. Because there are so few people, there is little pollution, meaning the local bees bring only the best spit to the hive.

According to my astrological omens – courtesy Rob Brezsny – now is a great time for Aquarians to be inspired by the Pitcairn Island bees and to search out the best and purest kind of inspiration.  “More than ever, you need to associate with influences that are potent, clear, genuine, raw, vibrant, natural, and full-strength,” Brezsny said.

That’s good advice, no matter your sign or the time of year. Garbage in, garbage out.

I’ve made an effort over the past year to reduce the amount of fluff, so that I have time for better input, whether that’s books, music, news, or even social media. After giving myself a few weeks to decompress from my former job and acclimate to the new, I’ve also been tapping into my creative work more and more. I have a rather ambitious schedule of projects to complete over the next 18 months, but my word count keeps grower and I’m about 2 weeks away from completing one novella and two short autobio pieces. Writing the novella has given me idea for two more set in the same world, which are outlined, and a lengthy list of jumping off points that I might return to later.

If you’re looking for good honey, look within.

I’ve been using Spotify more than normal and while I’m not a great fan of the compensation model for music artists, I have come across a lot of new and younger bands and songwriters. In addition to feeling creatively energized by some of the better ones, I’ve also felt inspired by (and maybe a bit jealous of) these younger artists making a career out of a home recording setup, an iPhone, and a YouTube channel. It really is a new world for creative people.

The chance of a younger artist becoming the next Michael Jackson or Madonna are low – no one sells 10 or 20 million physical copies of an album these days – but the barriers to entry are so low they are practically non-existent. That’s brought us the plague of “influencers” and social media “stars” (I’m not giving up my fuddy-duddy status entirely…) but it also has leveled the playing field for people with real talent. I’m not a 22-year old with a guitar, but I can still be inspired by unfiltered energy and enthusiasm.

Here’s an interesting science tidbit courtesy my weekly horoscope:

A few years ago, scientists at the University of California discovered a method for unboiling an egg. Through a combination of chemical treatment and a spin through a high-powered vortex machine, hard-boiled egg whites returned to their liquid state.

While the experiments involved eggs, the discovery is intended to help speed the processing of certain lab-created cancer proteins, which often turn to gunk during production. By proving that egg protein could be returned to a liquid state, scientists showed the process would also work for the cancer proteins, shaving weeks off the time needed to create and study them. You can read about it here.

Is there a life lesson here? Can we unboil metaphorical eggs with a similar mental process?

Like a lot of people, I get set in my ways, even when those ways don’t work as well as I’d like them to. Trying something new, upending my philosophies, or changing my outlook will require significant effort while providing no certainty of payoff.

But are those qualities baked in (pun intended)? Is it possible to tease out the helper proteins – creativity, health, balance, community – from all the useless gunk?

This week, I’ll be thinking about what’s not working for me anymore – processes, goals, results – and considering how to separate the good from the crap.

Rob Brezsny shares this story:

One morning, as a man gazed out his kitchen window, he spotted a brush fire burning in the hills. He called firefighters, but before they arrived, he realized that the fire was actually the rising sun lighting up the horizon.

“Double-check your initial impressions to make sure they are true,” Brezsny writes. “Most importantly, be aware that you may initially respond with worry to events that are actually wonderful or interesting.”

I didn’t wake up this morning to be personally attacked.

In previous posts, I’ve mentioned that our blog’s favorite astrologist Rob Brezsny occasional strikes a bit close to home in his forecasts for Aquarians. Most of the time, his horoscopes align with my thoughts simply because our philosophies overlap and we are asking similar questions and expressing similar desires about life.

He often comes up with something I need to hear in the moment, whether that’s encouragement, a reminder to have fun sometimes, or a call to deeper emotional exploration. Honestly, it’s no more magical than finding the occasional apt phrase in a quote-of-the-day desk calendar. But we are sympatico, so I enjoy his missives.

At other times, though, he hits the astrological bullseye. For example, for the week of July 23, Brezsny intuits that Aquarians may have recently completed a metaphorical “death march” over the past few weeks and are in need of some better news.

Indeed.

Fortunately, he says that Aquarians are about to begin experiencing far more enjoyable events. “Get ready for an entertaining meander through interesting terrains in fine weather,” he wrote. “Be alert for unpredictable encounters with inspiration and education.”

I’m ready!

Are Aquarians more prone than others to believe in conspiracy theories? I don’t believe this one is. I think most people are generally decent or want to be, and when social ills or political crises rear their heads, it’s because someone chose to be selfish and stupid instead. Never underestimate human incompetence.  I do notice patterns. Human nature doesn’t change much from generation to generation. “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes,” Mark Twain said (maybe). That’s because circumstances change, but people don’t.

This week, my horoscoptometrist Rob Brezsny says Aquarians are drawn to conspiracy theories, but he’d like us to eschew believing in shadowy figures pulling strings in favor a loving creator/universe/fill-in-the-blank who wants us to play, create art, and develop our sacred personal identity.

That’s a nice thought. I’ve known plenty of folks who subscribed to the opposite – that the universe was out to get them or knock them down, that they had to fight fate or God to get through even the most mundane tasks. While I sometimes grab the shit end of the stick, I’ve never reached for quite that level of defeatism and hubris.

I don’t believe that there are divine forces pushing me along or that I have some destined role I’m meant to play, but I prefer the happy path. It’s much more soothing to believe that someone out there wants what’s best for us and that I’m meant to be exactly where I am.

I can’t be anyplace else, can I?