Libra is the one sign of the Zodiac represented by an inanimate object: the scales. The Sun moves into the constellation Libra on the day of the autumnal equinox. Libra is elegant and charming, a lover of harmony. Libra has excellent judgment and leadership ability despite its impatience with criticism. Libra is able to see both sides of any issue, exhibiting impartiality bordering on indecisiveness. It is a Cardinal, Air sign; hence it is masculine in nature.

The monthly installment of The Great Astrological Light Bulb Joke:

Q. How many Librans does it take to change a light bulb?

A. Er, two, or maybe one. No, on second thought, make that two. Is that OK with you?

Note: I have no idea who originally wrote this. Erika sent it to me ages ago and I still think it’s as funny as it is insightful! -- Inga >^..^<

September 23^{rd -} The Sun enters Libra. This is the Fall Equinox and the holiday of Mabon. The glyph for Libra represents the setting sun expressing the balance between night and day: Equinox. Mabon mirrors the Spring Equinox (Oestara) with the Light and Dark forces of the Universe switching ascendancy. 

September 25^th is a New Moon. The Moon and Sun are conjunct in the sky. The moon is dark and gradually increases to a crescent. This is the time to begin a new project, a ritual or to ask for a new vision. 

Names for the September Moons include Harvest Moon, Wine Moon, Singing Moon, Sturgeon Moon, Haligmonath (Holy Month), Witumanoth (Wood Month), Moon When Deer Paw the Earth.

To learn more about actively using the Moon's energy in your life, see The Moon Through the Signs and Moon Phases. These guides are located in our Library.

October 3^rd is the Get Together and Dunthor Open House, 7pm to whenever. For those coming to the next get-together, here is an assignment for those who wish to play a game. This game is known as the The Pig Personality Test:

Take a blank sheet of paper and draw a pig. Yes, a pig.

Now, remember to bring your pig to the party.

All will be explained at around 8pm or so.

October 9^th is Leif Ericson Day. Yes, it is official as of 2002. Click here to learn more about him on the Leif Ericson website. If October 9^th is not Leif Ericson Day in your calendar then consider e-mailing the publisher of your calendar to inform them that this is an official holiday and they had best comply with the presidential decree. 

October 10^th is a Full Moon. The Moon and Sun are opposite each other in the sky. The Moon reflects all of the Sun's light. This is the time to perform rituals for protection, clarity of vision and consecration.

Names for the October Moons include Blood Moon, Harvest Moon, Shedding Moon, Winterfelleth (Winter Coming), Windermanoth (Vintage Month), Falling Leaf Moon, Ten Colds Moon, Moon of the Changing Season. 

To learn more about actively using the Moon's energy in your life, see The Moon Through the Signs and Moon Phases. These guides are located in our Library.

October 13^th is Columbus Day. By 1492, people had lived in the Western Hemisphere for tens of thousands of years. There is plenty of evidence that there was contact by Asians and Europeans during much of this time. But none was as well documented as Christopher Columbus' claim of Central America for Spain.

October 14th is a Partial Solar Eclipse. See the article about viewing it at the Sky and Telescope website. 

October 21^st is the peak of the Orionids meteor showers. The Orionids are part of the tail of Halley’s comet. You should be able to see 20 meteors per hour at peak.  

October 23^rd - The Sun enters Scorpio  

Rhodonite is a vitreous triclinic crystal. It is pink to brownish-red with black manganese oxide veins running through it.

Rhodonite, according to tradition, resonates with Libra and can help to calm and balance both individuals and relationships.

Wear it when the moon is in Libra or for socializing with friends. Wear it or meditate on it to open to the energy of the heart charka. Gemstone lore says that it helps with confusion, focus, peace and love.

Pendant: Rhodonite cabachon in sculpted jeweler’s brass setting - $35.00

To learn more about how to use Gemstones in your daily life, see "What Gemstones Should I Wear?" guide in our Library.

Click here to learn more about purchasing Inga's Earth Magic Jewelry.

Some Science Facts:

Science doesn’t prove anything. The Scientific Method is a method of creating standardized, evidence-based experiments in order to disprove hypotheses. That is all it is. A theory, like the theory of relativity or gravity, is a hypothesis that has been accepted as true because evidence based experiments have not proven it false, yet. There was a theory that the sound barrier couldn’t be broken, until it was. There was a theory that the Earth was flat, until she wasn’t anymore.  

Science is evidence based from a talk by Lorne, an MD from my hypnobirthing group…

“There is room in medicine for both evidence-based medicine and for original thinking. Evidence based medicine is just that, medicine based on a number of studies which seem to point to the same information, it still does not mean that the information is correct.”

“For example: 400 independent studies could show that when tar on roads melts in Africa, the incidence of malaria increases. The only thing this proves is that the question is being asked wrong 400 times.”

We think of this newsletter as a community forum. You, our friends and clients, are welcome to participate. We celebrate diversity and we'll print whatever you send in be it Wiccan, Christian, Pagan, New Age, etc., as long as it reflects Love. You may choose a one-time holiday to write about or have a regular column. We'll give you space and a byline! Please send in your own book reviews, ideas for rituals, ideas about stones, your journal excerpts, your experiences and most of all, ask us questions. We love answering questions!

From Teri:

Two Wolves Within Us

An old Cherokee was teaching his grandson about life.

"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.

"It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too.

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather,

"Which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Also from Teri:

I've been thinking about both of you so much.  Especially with the wonderful stories you shared with me about past lives.  Now I have one to share with you!

This past summer my husband and I really got a dose of the past life he may have had during WWII.  I don't know if I've told you that my husband has always been intrigued by WWII? I've often wondered if it was because he had been in that war during one of his past lives.  It is a long story, but we are now more convinced than ever that he may have been involved with B-17 bombers in some way.   

This issue came to the surface when we started researching names for a boat that we were buying to replace the tug.  While I focused on normal boat types of names, he started researching B-17 bomber names!  I couldn't understand what connection a B-17 bomber would have to a pleasure boat?  This whole situation was made even worse by the fact that I am profoundly anti-war.  After discussing it at length, we found that he had a really emotional response to needing to name our boat after a B-17 bomber that had been successful in it's missions.  My husband felt a deep commitment to name the boat in a way that would honor the crews who didn't make it back from the war.  During his name search he realized that he was focussed on not just any plane or bomber, there were many types of planes that flew during WWII -- it had to be a B-17 bomber.  After much discussion we both realized that the feelings of opposition I had against this, and the commitment he had to do this, went far deeper than just this lifetime.  I softened my stance regarding the issue and he narrowed the choices down to three different names.  Even though he wanted me to choose the final name, given the situation, I wanted him to make the final choice.  I encouraged him to choose the name that resonated the most within him. After he called me with the name he chosen, I shared with him that the name he picked was the same name that would make me well up with sadness and bring involuntary tears to my eyes each time it had been brought up before: Shoo Shoo Baby, a B-17 bomber that was named after an Andrews Sisters song from the early '40's.  I now wonder if a portion of my anti-war sentiments might be as a result of losing my husband during a lifetime in WWII?  It seems obvious that the B-17 bomber and/or the song named Shoo Shoo baby might have been involved in our lives before. 

Now that I have given it more thought, I feel pretty good about the name being carried on in a positive way.  So I don't have such an emotional welling of sadness, like I did before when I think about the name.  We also looked up the lyrics and part of the chorus goes, "Bye, bye baby! Your papa's gone off to the seven seas..."  So there is a nautical theme after all!

From Scott:

"Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country." -- Hermann Göring

From Trev:

"You don't lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case." -- Ken Kesey

From Kim:

What happens when creationists have a science fair?  

2nd Place: "Women Were Designed For Homemaking"

Jonathan Goode (grade 7) applied findings from many fields of science to support his conclusion that God designed women for homemaking: physics shows that women have a lower center of gravity than men, making them more suited to carrying groceries and laundry baskets; biology shows that women were designed to carry un-born babies in their wombs and to feed born babies milk, making them the natural choice for child rearing; social sciences show that the wages for women workers are lower than for normal workers, meaning that they are unable to work as well and thus earn equal pay; and exegetics shows that God created Eve as a companion for Adam, not as a co-worker.  

Also from Kim:

Sagittarius being eaten by Milky Way

Thursday, September 25, 2003 Posted: 12:51 PM EDT (1651 GMT)

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/09/25/space.cannibal.reut/index.html

For those who are worried about the astrological ramifications: They are referring to the Sagittarius galaxy, not the constellation. -- Inga >^..^< 

Many of you have expressed a desire for a greater sense of community with other open minded people. In response, we host our monthly Open House in order to foster such a community among our friends and clients. As you can imagine, the attendees are diverse and eclectic and the conversations can cover a lot of ground. The energy each month is totally different and that comes as no surprise as we are in a different sign each time. Come check it out!

• When: The 1st Friday of every month. Please join us for dinner. We start eating around 7 PM. Or join us for dessert later on!
• Where: Our place (click on LIBRARY in the navigation bar at the top of the screen and then MAP ROOM for directions)
• What to bring: Just your enthusiasm and love! There's a big pot of pasta on the stove, salad, bread and plenty of microbrews and red wine. If you have specific preferences, please bring whatever you'd like.
• How long: Until the good conversation ends! If you'd like, you can spend the night on one of the couches with the kitties or bring your sleeping bag and mat and camp out on the floor of Inga's office.
• RSVP: Just let us know in advance via e-mail or phone if you are coming and if you are bringing guests so we don't run out of food or drink.

The Duncan Domain

I'm off working on a special project. Hopefully I'll be ready to tell you about it in Scorpio. -- Scott Bruce Duncan */:-)

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