Seven Days has published plenty of writers over its 30-year history, but only one has had a byline in every single issue since September 6, 1995: Rob Brezsny, author of “Free Will Astrology,” formerly “Real Astrology.”
Whether you believe in the influence of heavenly bodies on individual human lives, the weekly horoscope column is a reliably delightful, surprisingly informative read at the back of our newspaper. Also: It’s the only syndicated writing that remains in our pages. When we launched Seven Days, Brezsny’s unique voice was in almost every alternative weekly in the country. By 2010, a record 120 publications carried his work.
The column, which he started in 1980, is still drawing readers to our paper. Last Wednesday, Seven Days and the California columnist both got shout-outs in a science story published by the Atlantic. The piece, by Zoë Schlanger, began: “This week, a friend sent me our horoscope — we’re both Gemini — from Seven Days, a beloved Vermont weekly, because, improbably, it was about the sea slug I’d been telling her about just days before.
“‘The sea slug Elysia chlorotica is a small, unassuming creature that performs a remarkable feat: It eats algae and steals its chloroplasts, then incorporates them into its own body,’ the horoscope explained.”
The story, “The Sea Slug Defying Biological Orthodoxy,” goes on to describe how the organism adapts by nourishing itself the way a plant does. But Schlanger wasn’t done with Brezsny. “The horoscope took this all as a metaphor: Something I’d ‘absorbed from another’ is ‘integrating into your deeper systems,’ it advised. ‘This isn’t theft, but creative borrowing.’ And in that single line, the horoscope writer managed to explain symbiosis — not a metaphor at all, but an evolutionary mechanism that may be more prevalent across biology than once thought.”
On the day her story was published, Schlanger kindly emailed a link to the piece and asked us to share it with Brezsny. He emailed: “I was glad, as I always am, to have my ideas streaming out to a larger audience.”
The night before, I’d had a late dinner at Frankie’s restaurant in Burlington. While I was waiting for my partner, Tim, to arrive, the host started chatting me up. I didn’t identify myself right away, and, to my delight, she brought up Seven Days before I did. Sage Karp, a 23-year-old Champlain College grad who is earning a master’s in psychology at Saint Michael’s, told me how much she appreciates the paper, including the food coverage; she said numerous Seven Days articles are on display in the restaurant’s server station. She also mentioned the I Spys and — it must have been cosmic kismet — Brezsny’s horoscope. She said it’s the first thing she reads when she picks up the paper.
Of course, I wanted to tell her that Frankie’s won our coveted Daysies award for best new restaurant — announced today, along with the totality of the winners, in All the Best, the special publication in this week’s issue. But that info was still on the down-low. Had I been free to blab, I would have congratulated her, before and after our fabulous meal.
While our readers’ choice competition is meant to recognize the best of Vermont, the Daysies focus annual attention on everyone’s efforts to make this state great. The project is a love letter to the local economy, which these days needs all the affection it can get.
Maybe a little stardust, too. Coincidentally, the theme of this year’s contest is the zodiac. You’ll notice that illustrator Sean Metcalf, who just won a big award from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for his work on last year’s “Fabulous Las Daysies” magazine, has left Vegas for a destination even more otherworldly.
We’re expecting lots of astrological signs of the time and constellation costumes at Friday night’s Daysies party on the Burlington waterfront. At ECHO, it’s open to all finalists, winners, Seven Days advertisers and their guests.
My horoscope last week seemed to anticipate the celebration, and I’m one of a large number of Aries on the Seven Days staff. Referencing Hindu cosmology and the Sanskrit term for divine play, Brezsny, a Goddard College alum, advised all who share my sign: “Life is giving you a big wink and saying, ‘It’s playtime!’ You can start this fresh phase by making a list of all the experiences that bring you fun, recreation and entertainment. I hope you emphasize these pursuits in the coming weeks.”
To that end, for inspiration and guidance, nothing beats All the Best.
This article appears in Jul 30 – Aug 5, 2025.
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