FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning November 1
Copyright 2007 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*


SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): A drunk dominatrix sidled up to me at a party
and said, "Reverend, please absolve me of my sins." I'm not officially a
priest, but in the spirit of fun and games I replied, "Why, my dear? Have
you seen the error of your ways?" She spread her arms wide as she
bowed, hissing like a serpent through a toothy smile. "Not at all,
Reverend," she said. "I just want to clear the docket so I can go out and
commit a slew of fresh, new sins with crazy abandon." I sprinkled a few
drops of her Heineken on her head and channeled William Blake: "You'll
never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough.
The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom. If the fool would
persist in her folly she would become wise." And now, Scorpio, I'm
channeling the same blessing for you.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): "Dear Rob: Thanks for being in my
dream last night. We were in a beat-up, barely running old Chevy on a
windy, dusty trail. You explained that it would be highly beneficial for a
Sagittarian like myself to demolish this junker. With me behind the wheel
and you riding shotgun, we slowly and gently smashed it again and again
into the side of the cliff, cracking and denting and tearing it up. Then we
got out and hammered it with logs. I felt free when I woke up, like I'd
achieved some great feat. -Liberated Wrecker." Dear Liberated: I'm
pleased I could join in the work that you (and all Sagittarians) are best
suited for right now: creative destruction. It was smart of you to
dismantle a symbol of what you'll no longer settle for and that wouldn't
drive you to where you need to go anyway.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The number of TV channels we have to
choose from is growing steadily. Where I live, for example, there were a
mere 61 options in 2000. Now I can choose from 104. And yet surveys
show that most of us watch no more than 15 percent of what's available.
If you'd like to be in alignment with cosmic rhythms in the coming week,
Capricorn, you will make a concerted effort to sample a much larger
selection than you usually do -- of TV channels and everything else. I
suggest you expose yourself to an exuberant variety of foods,
personalities, landscapes, styles, and cultures. Take in sights and sounds
you don't normally even think of tuning in to.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Neurobiologists at a university in Berlin have
conducted experiments that strongly suggest fruit flies have free will. If
that awesome capacity can thrive in the tiny brains of short-lived insects,
I think it's safe to assume that you and I also have it -- and probably in
much larger amounts. In a separate study reported on by *Scientific
American,* researchers at the University of Kentucky demonstrated that
you can boost your willpower simply by using it a lot, in the same way
that you strengthen a muscle by exercising it. I present you with these
two bolts of good news, Aquarius, just in time for the Build-Your-Free-Will
phase of your astrological cycle.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): "As a European in the movie industry," writes
actor W. Morgan Sheppard, "I've learned to think in terms of questions (as
in European films) rather than in terms of answers (as in American films).
That's why I love this quote from the play 'Marat-Sade,' which I use when
I'm teaching acting: 'For me the last word cannot ever be spoken. I am
always left with a question that is open.'" I urge you to take your next
assignment from these thoughts, Pisces. According to my reading of the
astrological omens, answers are utterly useless to you in the coming days.
Certainty is a sham. What you desperately need are ripe, rounded,
provocative questions.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): A top official at the European Robotics
Research Network predicts that humans will "be having sex with robots"
sooner than anyone expected  -- probably within four years. I hope this
little shocker will help motivate you to follow my astrological advice for
the coming week, which is to flee in the opposite direction of that trend.
Start by phasing out any robotic, machine-like behavior that may have
crept into the way you make love. For that matter, deprogram yourself of
any automatic, lifeless habits that are infecting your approach to
expressing intimacy, tenderness, and togetherness.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Moths, hummingbirds, and bats love to drink
the nectar that flowers offer. In return, these pollinators are expected to
get some pollen stuck on their bodies and carry it away to fertilize other
plants. While the nectar is tasty, it's usually not pure sweetness. If it
were, the first pollinator to come along would suck it all dry, leaving
nothing for further visitors. And that wouldn't be good from the plant's
point of view, because it would limit the number of places where its pollen
would be disseminated. To keep nectar-drinking sessions short, therefore,
most plants include just a touch of bitterness in the blend. Regard this
entire scenario as a useful metaphor for you to keep in mind during the
coming weeks, Taurus.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh
told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that the governments of the U.S. and Israel were
slavering for a bombing raid on Iran. "The Israeli position is very firm," he
said. "They want us to go into Iran. And they want us to hit hard . . . If
you run into a lion, you either shoot it or ignore it. You don't pluck out its
eyebrows." Keep that last image in mind, Gemini. In the coming weeks, I
advise you to take a similar attitude toward the enemy within you. Don't
mess around with cosmetic changes or half-assed measures. Either go all
the way or don't go at all. (P.S. It's OK if you're not quite ready for a full-
scale showdown. You'll have another chance in January.)

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Best days this month for smart love, healing
beauty, and uplifting adventure: 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18,
19, 20, 23, 24. Best days for creative outbreaks and ingenious self-
expression: 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, 25. Best days to search for the
loot from a 1967 bank robbery hidden in a metal box stashed inside a
hollowed-out log in the woods: 2, 3, 9, 10, 11. Best days to dream about
a dancing rhinoceros whose careening around a giant ouija board gives
you information about an opportunity to manifest one of your most
ambitious dreams: 6, 7, 13, 15, 18, 21, 22.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): When a plant needs help, mused filmmaker David
Lynch, "the experienced gardener doesn't worry about the leaves. He
gets at the problem from the roots." That thought should be a central
guide for you in the coming week, Leo. Don't attack the symptoms of
your dilemma with money, tears, or accusations. Instead, find the hidden
causes and gently massage them with crafty compassion.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The owners of a parts supply store in South
Carolina billed the Pentagon $998,798 for sending two 19-cent washers
to a Texas army base. Let's install them as your symbolic reminder not to
overpay for anything in the coming week, no matter how crucial it may be
to your operations. And when I invoke that word "overpay," I'm referring
not only to forking over money, but also to giving away your emotional
energy, directing your attention, or offering up your help. Make sure that
you're getting equal value for your contributions.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In the realm of competitive swimming, it's a big
deal when an athlete shaves a fraction of a second off an existing world
record. At a championship meet in Melbourne earlier this year, Michael
Phelps was virtually canonized when he beat the previous mark for the
200-meter freestyle by two-tenths of a second. I predict that you will
achieve a comparable feat in the coming week, Libra. Some tiny
improvement you accomplish will make a major difference.