HOROSCOPE
(October 15 Tuesday)
Neptune Makes Waves
The still water may run deep, but the lack of agitation also allows for toxic green and blue algae to proliferate, which can be fatal to drink and dangerous to touch. Like the lake, we need movement to stay fresh. The rain and rushing streams of life serve to revitalize. Avoid inactivity during this arrangement of Mercury and Neptune.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Just as you can learn a dance or a computer program, you can teach yourself to think differently. It takes practice, but with enough repetition you really will change your brain’s default mode of thinking. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). The words “quiet” and “confidence” go together. Insecurity, on the other hand, draws attention to itself, as it longs to be seen and begs to be validated. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Unfortunately, you won’t have that extra push from others and the weather today, emotional or otherwise. No matter. This is an opportunity to see what you can do without help. As the proverb goes, “If there is no wind, row.”
CANCER (June 22-July 22). Recognize the difference between a relationship and an entanglement. In a relationship, harmony and mutual support are the glue, whereas entanglements have more to do with circumstances and leverage.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You don’t always have to fill a role in another person’s life. Sometimes you can write your own. As you acknowledge and accept more of yourself, there will be more touchpoints for connection and sharing.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Among the most amazing talents of the human mind is its ability to ignore 90% of all sensory input. Today, you’ll be extremely effective as you focus yourself like a laser, blocking out more like 95%.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You will laugh at things they do not. No one is wrong; no one is right. Humor, attraction and most preferences on the table today are completely subjective, which makes it all the more satisfying when you find your tribe.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Longing, anticipation, wistfulness, burning passion are all emotions that have an elastic effect on time. Minutes of in-between time can feel like an eternity and/ or can be when the best things happen.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). When one person dances to music the other person doesn’t hear, the dancer comes off like a lunatic and the non-dancer a buzzkill. You stay neutral, assuming that everyone has their reasons for acting as they do.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). If only you could feel through another heart and know the depth of emotion there for you. Even if you could, it’s not the emotion that matters so much as what is done about it, and that much is readily apparent.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). It’s no accident that you have an atypical approach to your work. This is a purposeful departure reflecting a thoughtful philosophy. Stand up for your methods. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). People act differently in different environments.
Sure, the differences may be small, but they are worth understanding. To fully know someone, try to experience the person in different contexts.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Oct.15). This year, you’ll gain loyal admirers and be paid for your knowledge. Your versatility opens you to a variety of experiences that add to your personhood, making you both more interesting and more interested. You’ll spend your leisure in the thrill of society, and later, in the serenity of a pathless wood or stretch of shore. Gemini and Pisces adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 20, 1, 33, 10 and 19.
HALLOWEEN PANTHEON: WITCHES PART ONE: From tall black hats to small black cats, most of the characteristics associated with the traditional Halloween witch are shared with European beer makers of the Middle Ages. Breweries were dominated by women, who would learn a great deal about herbs and plants to make their ale. The cat was for keeping mice out of the grain. The hats were for advertising in the marketplace – it was known that a woman who stood out in the crowd due to her tall, pointy hat was likely selling drinks. Six-sided stars had to do with a rating system for the ale. Even the advanced age associated with witches tracks. In the mid-15th century, some villages banned women of childbearing age from making beer, so most of the hat wearers would have been over 40. When witch hunting started, it became a ploy to get women out of the lucrative beer business, which worked well. By the late 1700s, brewmasters were mostly men.
A recipe is very much like a spell. It is easy to see how the imagery of stirring over a cauldron while incanting ingredients could just be, well, cooking. Certainly, experimentation happened, and there were claims to the medicinal qualities of various ales.