| Bio/Wiki | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Robbie |
| Profession(s) | Astrologer, Poet, Singer, Author |
| Physical Stats | |
| Height (approx.) | 5' 10" (178 cm) |
| Eye Colour | Blue |
| Hair Colour | Grey |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 24 June 1956 (Sunday) |
| Age (as of 2025) | 69 Years |
| Birthplace | California, United States of America |
| Zodiac sign | Cancer |
| Nationality | American |
| Hometown | San Rafael, California |
| College/University | • Goddard College, Vermont • University of California (UCLA), Santa Cruz |
| Educational Qualification | A degree in Astrology |
| Religious Views | Atheist |
| Political Inclination | Democrat |
| Hobbies | Reading, Writing, Travelling |
| Social Media | • Instagram • YouTube |
| Relationships & More | |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Affairs/Girlfriends | Ro Loughran |
| Marriage Date | 29 April 1988 |
| Family | |
| Wife/Spouse | Ro Loughran (astrologer) |
| Children | Son- None Daughter- Zo Brezsny  |
| Parents | Father- Bob Brezsny (passed away in December 2019) Mother- Felice Brezsny  |
| Siblings | Sister(s)- 4 |
| Other Relatives | Great Grandfather- Edward Brezsny (revolutionary feminist writer, member of the Polish resistance from 1939-1945) |
| Style Quotient | |
| Car Collection | Buick Wildcat |
| Money Factor | |
| Salary/Fees (approx.) | • Expanded audio horoscopes - $7/piece • On phone horoscope consultancy - $1.99/minute • Daily text message horoscopes - 57 cents/day |
Some Lesser Known Facts About Rob Brezsny
- Rob’s ancestors belonged to Poland. His grandfather immigrated to the United States in the late 1940s, following the end of German occupation in Poland and the start of the Soviet occupation.
- His interest in astrology began during his teenage years. He claims he has been receiving visions of the future in his dreams since he was 13 years old. To keep track of these dreams, he started maintaining a journal.
- While studying, Rob developed an interest in music. The pop music and hippie culture of the 1960s and 1970s in the US inspired many people to enter the music industry, and Rob was greatly influenced by this.
- At the age of 18, Rob began reading feminist literature and decided to take up the feminist cause. He not only organised but also led numerous pro-feminism rallies demanding equal rights for women.
- During one such rally, he was shot at with a sawed-off double-barreled shotgun; however, he was saved as the shot was misplaced and the shell’s shrapnel hit him on his back pocket, where he was keeping a 24-page poem. In an interview, he talked about it and said,
A doctor told me that I avoided serious injury after a seemingly random sawed-off shotgun shooting following a student feminist protest in Durham, N.C., because the buckshot struck my rear end, where I had a 24-page poem folded in my back pocket. Poetry saved my ass.”
- In an interview, Rob revealed that his anti-Vietnam War sentiments led him to start writing anti-war songs for bands on a freelance basis. He also participated in several anti-war protests in Washington, D.C., outside the White House.
Rob’s photo taken in the early 1970s
- In the early 1970s, he and his family relocated to Santa Cruz, California, to explore more options in music composition.
Rob’s photos from his early music days
- Later, he joined the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he initially pursued his education under government-funded grants and scholarships.
- Thereafter, he enrolled in the government food stamp services, which helped him get food during his time at the university.
- To look after other expenses, he started working part-time as an apple orchard labourer, a model for a painting artist, and a dishwasher at a small restaurant. He spoke of it in an interview and said that he felt belittled to work such jobs, and said,
Despite assistance from the welfare state, though, I was still compelled to degrade myself with actual part time jobs. Among my humiliations were stints washing dishes at restaurants and posing as a model for artists and putting in time as a farm laborer in apple orchards.”
- Despite working several jobs at the same time, he did not earn enough to pay for his rent, travel expenses, and food outside of the university.
- To save more money, Rob moved out of his rented apartment and relocated to a makeshift living space in an old abandoned building’s basement.
- Since Rob had a passion for music, he bought a second-hand piano, which was quite old and had three keys missing. He mentioned that during the winters, when he couldn’t afford a heater, he would warm his hands by playing his “rebellious composed songs” on the piano. He said,
I lived in a moldy basement with nothing but a temperamental space heater to warm my fingers as I composed rebellious anthems on my dinky electric piano with three broken keys.”
- As he continued his studies, his monetary situation worsened over time. It deteriorated to such an extent that he had to resort to scavenging for leftovers from a dining area in Santa Cruz’s shopping centre. He also sat on sidewalks asking people for food and wore clothes which he purchased from the back of a warehouse named the Bargain Barn, which provided five pounds of recycled clothes for a dollar.
A photo of Rob Brezsny taken when he was in his early 20s
- After completing his formal education, he furthered his interest in music by starting a music band, Kamikaze Angel Slander, where he wrote songs and later went on to become its lead singer. The first song he wrote and performed with the band was at a friend’s birthday party. Talking about it, in an interview, he said,
When we played our first gig at a friend’s party, our set consisted of five songs I had written in North Carolina, covers of two David Bowie tunes, and four epics my band mates and I had whipped up, including The Prisoner Is in Control.”
- After leaving the Kamikaze Angel Slander in the late 1970s, Rob started another band named Tao Chemical.
- In 1983, Brezsny released an album with his band, Tao Chemical. The group worked twice with the author William Burroughs, gave three special performances at Soledad Penitentiary at the institution’s request, and undertook a continuous performance lasting 71 hours.
A poster of Tao Chemical
- In January 1984, Rob founded Free Will Astrology, through which he has published over 120 articles on various platforms.
- In 1989, he ran for a post of the member of the Santa Cruz city council; however, he lost the election. To fund his campaigning, Rob used to sell food in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven store for 25 cents per plate.
- While campaigning, he published an article in a newspaper listing reasons why people should not vote for him. In an interview, he said that he was overconfident in winning the elections, and that is why he wrote the article.
- In 1986, he left Tao Chemical and became part of another band named World Entertainment War. The band was disbanded after recording four albums in 1993. The band was doing well and had signed a deal with the famous MCA Records.
A photo of the members of the World Entertainment War
- During this time, he wrote a song titled “Dark Ages,” which was later recorded by the well-known band Jefferson Starship for their 1995 album Deep Space/Virgin Sky.
- Due to his lack of success in the music industry, he even thought of disbanding the group and finding a way to earn a sustainable wage to support him and his family. He claimed once that he spent more on making music than he and his bandmates earned by releasing it.
- One of his music pieces earned him a nomination for a “Bammie,” an award often regarded as California’s equivalent of the prestigious Grammys. The band’s reach and recognition grew even further under the guidance of the legendary Bill Graham, a celebrated figure in the rock music world renowned for his unmatched skill in promotion and showmanship.
- His interest in writing on astrology arose when he read a newspaper’s editorial accidentally while searching for an ad in the miscellaneous section to buy an old bike after his bike was stolen. The advertisement was for a column writer to publish articles on astrology.
- Before he began writing about astrology, he used to dislike it. However, after starting to work in the field, he became a student of it. He previously considered astrology a “dirty job” because he believed it promoted superstition among its followers.
- He was initially sceptical of writing for a column; however, he was motivated to do so by the fact that he would be paid every week, as it was a weekly column, and it would help him alleviate poverty. Upon accepting the job, he started receiving $15 each week as salary.
- Soon, his writing gained prominence among readers, and the newspaper’s owner offered him a raise and a promotion within the company.
- He developed a writing pattern based on the fact that he wrote poetry both inside and outside of academic settings. Some of his poems were emotional speeches performed between rock songs, while others were more polished pieces written for creative writing classes.
- As his interest in astrology furthered, he started meditating to enter a state of trance. He used to smoke psychedelic substances such as pot, hashish, and also consume LSD pills to achieve his goals. However, owing to the risk of developing a substance abuse habit, he stopped this method.
- He then started following the works of William Blake, a 19th-century visionary revolutionary and author. His book, A Vision of the Last Judgment, became one of his favourite books that helped him improve his premonition sighting.
- Rob Brezsny’s horoscope columns are written in the first person, creating a more personal and engaging tone. His style is notably more literary and poetic than that of conventional horoscopes, often blending creative expression with astrological insight.
- By 1990, Rob began to attract clients as his articles gained immense popularity not only in California but also beyond the state.
- In 1995, Rob Brezsny helped create an independent science fiction film called The Drivetime. He worked on both the writing of the film’s story and the development of its soundtrack. His contributions added to the film’s creative vision and overall atmosphere.
- In 2000, after many years as a rock musician, Brezsny began a new project called “Sacred Uproar”. It was a lively pagan revival that mixed joyful prayers, unusual meditations, fun rituals, and music designed to inspire and uplift people. The show aimed to give audiences an experience that was both entertaining and spiritually meaningful.
- Rob Brezsny’s docufiction memoir, The Televisionary Oracle, was released in the same year. Novelist Tom Robbins praised the work, stating, “I have seen the future of American literature, and its name is Rob Brezsny.”
- In 2008, Jefferson Starship included their version of “In a Crisis,” originally by World Entertainment War, on the album titled Jefferson’s Tree of Liberty.
- In October 2009, he started his journey on YouTube, and as of August 2025, he has over 2.62K subscribers. He, however, is not very active on it and has only 21 videos on the channel.
- His astrology columns have been praised by many American newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, The Utne Reader, and The Weekly.
- In September 2015, he was invited to perform at the Symbiosis Festival at the Woodward Reservoir in Oakdale, California.
Rob Brezsny at the Symbiosis Festival in Oakland, California, United States of America
- Brezsny has written several books, including Images Are Dangerous (1985), the novel The Televisionary Oracle (2000), and the self-help book Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings (2005).
A collage of the books published by Rob
- He does not support Donald Trump and has often spoken against his policies, especially the ones focused on allowing ICE to deport people. He also once spoke against the use of excess force by the police on protestors during the California mass protest.
Rob Brezsny’s Instagram post on the California protests
- Rob Brezsny also takes a keen interest in Western and Eastern theosophies and is a member of several theosophical societies located in and out of the US. He was introduced to the subject by Peter Kubaska, who went on to become the president of the Theosophical Society.
