Scorpio is the one constellation in which, I think, the pattern of stars actually looks like its name. The distinctive hook of the Scorpion's sting is visible in Southern skies, while at Northern latitudes may be obscured. At the heart of the Scorpion is Antares, the brightest star in this part of the sky. Babylonian, Egyptian and even Central American Astrologers all associated Scorpio with the underworld and cthonic forces. The eagle, viper and scorpion have all been used to symbolize Scorpio. It is a feminine, fixed, water sign, classically ruled by Mars and more recently assigned to Pluto.

Scorpio’s colors are maroon and crimson; its stones are garnet, obsidian, and lava rock.

The monthly installment of The Great Astrological Light Bulb Joke:

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

A. That information is strictly secret and shared only with the Enlightened Ones in the Star Chamber of the Ancient Hierarchical Order.

Or, here in Seattle, let the rain begin! This month marks the transition from colorful Autumn into the cold and dark of Winter's season. Traditionally, this is when some of the heaviest work of the pastoral year begins. The harvest is stored away, the farm animals are measured against their feed and decisions are made about how many to keep and how many to slaughter and eat. This is why so much feasting goes on now. Preserved meat and fruit only last so long.

October 25th - 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 ritual involving a new project, to ask for new vision. In honor of Scorpio, ask where transition is needed in your life. This moon cycle is a traditional time to begin automatic writing, ouija board and card reading. The veils between the seen and unseen universes are believed to be more permeable during this moon cycle. Make sure you have your psychic protection ritual down-pat before trying anything new.

October 26th - Daylight Savings Time ends

Click here for the best explanation I can find of Daylight Savings Time: Saving Time, Saving Energy - Daylight Saving Time, Its History and Why We Use It by Bob Aldrich, Former Information Officer, California Energy Commission

October 31st - Samhain, Shadowfest, The Day of the Dead, All Soul's Eve or Hallowe'en

The night when the ghosts walk, when you can contact Hecate at a crossroads and ask her about your future. Samhain is the New Year's Eve of the old Celtic calendar. Bonfires were lit to scare away the demons who would come to feed upon the ghosts (and any living beings who were abroad) Food and lanterns were placed at crossroads to make the departed spirits feel at home.

Click here to read about Hallowe’en on Encarta. 

Click here to read: Modern Misconceptions about Samhain/Halloween from a Neopagan standpoint.

Here is an excellent “Evolution of the Holiday” article from The History Channel. 

November 1st - All Saint's Day, Dia De Los Muertas

The time of Scorpio is when many different cultures in the Northern Hemisphere have some kind of remembrance of the dead. See more in the 2001 Scorpio issue in the newsletter archives.

November 4th - General Election Day

Check this link for Washington State voting and registration information.

November 7^th is the First Friday of the month and therefore, our Open House and Get Together

Starting at 7pm. Bring your pig drawing! For those who missed last month, let me introduce The Pig Personality Test. Take a blank sheet of paper and draw a pig. Yes, a pig.

November 8^th is a Full Moon and a Lunar Eclipse

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.

An eclipse of the Moon (or lunar eclipse) can only occur at Full Moon, and only if the Moon passes through some portion of the Earth's shadow.

Click to read Lunar eclipses for beginners.

Click here to read the Eclipse Chaser’s Journal.

November 11th - Veteran's Day

“Wars are not acts of God. They are caused by man, by man-made institutions, by the way in which man has organized his society. What man has made, man can change." -- Frederick Moore Vinson (1890-1953) -Speech at Arlington National Cemetery (Memorial Day, 1945)

Excellent Veteran's Day links: www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/1465/vetdaylinks.html

November 16th - Inga's Birthday!

Lordy, Lordy, Inga is forty…one!

November 22^nd – The Sun enters Sagittarius

Garnet is the most popular of the colored gemstones. It is prized for its beautiful colors, which range from cherry red to orange-red to brown-red to deep burgundy. To jewelers, it is the birthstone for January, because it goes so well with the black, white and grey colors of winter. Astrologically, it resonates to Scorpio and was believed to bring its wearer good health and protection while traveling.

Garnets were worn in antiquity as emblems of truth and faith. Wear them to align your energies with the spiritual forces and realms. Program them to bring chthonic knowledge and transformational power into your life. 

Chthonic [thónnik] adjective meaning: of the underworld or relating to the underworld as described in Greek mythology [Late 19th century. Formed from Greek khth  n "earth."] Encarta® World English Dictionary

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.

Getting ready for Christmas? I have some new items on Ebay. Also, think about Astrology or Hypnosis Gift Certificates for friends and family. Our gift certificates are beautiful, colorful, and can be mailed anywhere. So no matter where your friends live, you can give them a one-hour phone or in-person consultation with Inga for $52.00.

Also, Willow Whisper and I have jewelry listed at http://www.handcraftedjewelry.com. This is a really cool source for an unbelievable array of jewelry from, so far, 163 different artists.  

I invite all you artists and crafters to bring your wares to the November and December Get Togethers. I remember that last year Amy brought monster tails, Kindel brought bath salts, Deb brought goddesses, and Cynthia brought hats. Don’t be shy, show off your stuff, sell some to your friends, and help Inga complete her Christmas shopping without leaving the house!

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 Scott:

+ All the problems we face in the United States today can be traced to an unenlightened immigration policy on the part of the Native American Indians.-- Pat Paulsen

+ Definition of an optimist: A man who gets treed by a lion but enjoys the scenery.

+ Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty. -- John Ruskin

From Nancy:

Emperor's Seed

An emperor in the Far East was growing old and knew it was time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his children, he decided to do something different.

He called all the young people in the kingdom together one day. He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you."

The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed today, one very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next emperor!"

One boy named Ling was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the story. She helped him get a pot and planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it carefully.

Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about 3 weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks went by. Still nothing.

By now, others were talking about their plants but Ling didn't have a plant, and he felt like a failure. 6 months went by; still nothing in Ling's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing.

Ling didn't say anything to his friends. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow. A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for inspection.

Ling told his mother that he wasn't going to take an empty pot but his Mother said he must be honest about what happened. Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his Mother was right.

He took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other youths. They were beautiful, in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kids laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, "Hey. Nice try."

When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown," said the emperor. "Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!"

All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. "The emperor knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!"

When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. "My name is Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down.

He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, "Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!" Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor?

Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds, which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you.

Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!"

From Inga:

This is from a crochet newsletter I get. This woman covered a Russian tank in Irish lace. She calls it “Guns and Rosettes”.

And here are some fun quotes:

·        Never try to teach a pig to sing, it wastes your time and annoys the pig

·        Never wrestle with a pig, you both get dirty and the pig likes it

·        Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes ... Art is knowing which ones to keep.

We've always wondered what would happen if we got the friends we've made through Inga's Earth Magic (IEM) into a room together. Why? Because every one of us has a unique gift to offer to the world. And if we get enough of us in one place at the same time, something magical is bound to occur.

• 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 beer!

I'm still off working on a special project. -- sbd */:-)

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