Rob Brezsny

Rob Brezsny
OccupationAstrologer
Author
Musician
NationalityAmerican
Website
www.freewillastrology.com

Rob Brezsny is an American astrologer, author, and musician. His weekly horoscope column "Free Will Astrology" – formerly "Real Astrology" – has been published since 1980,[1] and by 2010 was syndicated in around 120 periodicals.[2]

Career[edit]

Brezsny uses first-person narrative in his horoscope columns, as well as a more literary approach than conventional horoscopes use.[3] He conceives of astrology not as a science but as "a poetic language of the soul", comparing it to "a Neruda poem, Kandinsky paintings or a Nick Cave song."[4] The Utne Reader described the column as "a blend of spontaneous poetry, feisty politics, and fanciful put-on",[3] and The New York Times called it "glib, hectoring, oblique", and said that it appeals primarily to urban professionals "who turn to it for irreverence as much as for insight." Brezsny is quoted as saying "I'm on a mission to save people from the genocide of the imagination," and told the Times that his "secret agenda" is "to be a poet who gets paid for writing poetry." Brezsny said "I predict the present. I don't believe in predicting the future." The head of the mainstream New York Astrology Center called Brezsny's column "silly".[1]

In the 1970s and 1980s, Brezsny was a singer and songwriter for Santa Cruz, California bands such as Kamikaze Angel Slander and Tao Chemical, and then, in the early 1990s, for the band World Entertainment War,[5] for whom Brezsny wrote the song "Dark Ages", which was later recorded by Jefferson Starship for their 1995 album Deep Space / Virgin Sky.[6][7] Jefferson Starship also recorded the World Entertainment War song "In A Crisis" on their 2008 album Jefferson's Tree of Liberty.[8]

Brezsny contributed to the writing and soundtrack of the 1995 science fiction independent film The Drivetime.[9]

Brezsny is author of the books Images Are Dangerous (1985);[10] The Televisionary Oracle (2000),[11] a novel;[12] and a self-help book,[13] Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings (2005), which derives its name from the concept of pronoia.[14][15]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Parks, Brian (April 24, 1994) "What Do The Stars Say?" The New York Times
  2. ^ Anderson, Mark C. (January 7, 2010). "Rob Brezsny on God, media and why we're better off than you think". Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Winn, Steven (August 1, 1997). "Subversive Stargazer Rob Brezsny". Utne Reader (September/October 1997).
  4. ^ McKinley, Jesse (January 14, 2011). "Horoscope Says: Zodiac Signs May Shift With Wobbling Earth". The New York Times. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  5. ^ Orion, Damon (October 21, 2009). "World War II". Good Times Santa Cruz. Nuz, Inc. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  6. ^ "World Entertainment War". AllMusic. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  7. ^ "Jefferson Starship "Deep Space/Virgin Sky" Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  8. ^ "Jefferson Starship "Jefferson's Tree of Liberty"". AllMusic. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  9. ^ Seid, Steve (ndg). "Film Programs: Size Matters Part II: Feature-Length Experimental Video: The Drivetime". Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  10. ^ Brezsny, Rob (1985). Images Are Dangerous. Santa Cruz, California: Jazz Press. ISBN 0937310220.
  11. ^ Brezsny, Rob (2000). The Televisionary Oracle. Frog Books. ISBN 1583940006.
  12. ^ Templeton, David (April 26, 2000). "Mining an Oracle". MetroActive. Metro Publishing, Inc. Retrieved May 23, 2008.
  13. ^ "Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia, Revised and Expanded" North Atlantic Books
  14. ^ Brezsny, Rob (2005). Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia. Frog Books. pp. 4–6. ISBN 1-58394-123-1.
  15. ^ Phelan, Sarah (August 24, 2005). "Grave Encounter". MetroActive. Metro Publishing, Inc. Retrieved May 23, 2008.
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