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, but may be obscured at Northern latitudes. 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 chthonic 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.

Traditionally, this is when some of the heaviest work of the agricultural 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 Thanksgiving feasting goes on now. Preserved meat and fruit only last so long.

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.

Note: I have no idea who originally wrote this. Erika sent it to me years ago and I still think it’s as funny as it is insightful!

Inga's Celebration Calendar

October 22^nd - The Sun enters that portion of the ecliptic named for Scorpio. This is the time when we all think about hibernating. I tend to sleep more, think more, and actually do less. This is a season of transformation and it can require adjustment and acclimating to the changing energy.  

October 23^{rd -} National Mole Day: No, this is not a chthonic version of Ground Hog Day. It actually celebrates Avogadro's number. 

October 25^{th -} St Crispin’s Day: It is time to watch Henry the Fifth again to hear that wonderful speech! 

October 27^th - A full moon in Taurus and a Lunar Eclipse: The Moon and Sun are opposite each other in the sky. The Moon reflects all of the Sun's light. Perform rituals for protection, clarity of vision, and consecration, get your hair cut if you want it to grow back thicker. Feelings are heightened; matters appear larger than life. 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 29th - The Iroquois Feast of the Dead. This is one of many cultures that celebrates their ancestors at this time. Celebrations honoring departed loved ones and family members are found as far back as ancient Egyptian times and usually take place between the Autumn equinox and the Winter Solstice.    

October 31^st - Daylight Savings Time ends at 2:00 AM: Read the archived article about Daylight Savings Time located in our Library. 

October 31st - Hallowe’en, Hallowmas, Samhain and my favorite name, Shadowfest, in the Northern Hemisphere, Beltane in the Southern Hemisphere: This is Summer’s End, the beginning of the Winter’s quarter of the year, the portion of the year dedicated to the night forces. The 31st, according to tradition, is the night when the dead are able to walk among us. Kind of silly since they walk among us all the time but maybe this night is when we are supposed to be more aware of them.

Commemorate this time by listening to Mozart's Requiem and lighting a candle to honor your ancestors, your teachers, those explorers who have gone before us and who walk among us this night.  Watch some movies dealing with the supernatural: Sixth Sense, Stir of Echoes, The Gift and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. AMC always has its monster fest showing old ones like The Fly, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Dr. Cyclops, The Frankenstein movies, etc. 

Click here to see the AMC listings on their website.

October 31st to November 2^{nd -} The three-day feast of El Dias de los Muertas: The celebration is designed to honor the dead who, it is believed, return to their earthly homes on Halloween. Many families construct an altar in their homes to honor deceased relatives and decorate it with candy, flowers, photographs, samples of the deceased's favorite foods and drinks, and fresh water. Often, a washbasin and towel are left out so that the spirit can wash before indulging in the feast. Candles and incense are burned to help the deceased find the way home. Relatives clean the gravesites of their departed family members. This can include planting new flowers, cutting weeds, making repairs, and painting. The grave is then decorated with flowers, wreaths, or paper streamers. On November 2, relatives gather at the gravesite to picnic and reminisce. Some gatherings will even include tequila and a mariachi band!

November 1st - All Saints’ Day and a Full Moon.

November 2^{nd -} All Souls’ Day and Election Day in the US.

November 4^{th -} Mischief Night (British).

November 5th is the First Friday of the month and the Dunthor Open House: Click here to see details below. It also commemorates Guy Fawkes Day Britian. Mischief Night and Guy Fawkes Day have pretty much replaced Halloween in England according to my correspondent. Henry the VIII broke with the Roman Catholic Church when the Pope would not sanction his divorce of Catherine of Aragon and established his own State religion. His daughter, with Catherine of Aragon, Queen Mary reinstated Catholicism. Then after Mary’s death, his Second Daughter, Queen Elizabeth I reinstated The Church of England and drove Catholic practice back underground.

A league of Jesuits who wanted to remove the Protestant King James from power apparently approached Fawkes, who was known as a catholic zealot as well as a war hero having served with the Spanish army. The plot was discovered and Fawkes was tortured to give up his accomplices. On November 5, 1606, Fawkes was executed after being convicted of High Treason for attempting to blow up England's parliament building.

The original Guy Fawkes Day was celebrated right after his execution. The first bonfires, which were called "bone fires” were set up to burn statues of saints, religious effigies and symbolic "bones" of the Catholic pope. It was not until two centuries later that effigies of the pope were replaced with those of Guy Fawkes.

November 7^{th -} The Mayan Day of the Dead: Yes, another culture that celebrates their ancestors.

November 8th - The peak of the Taurids Meteor shower.

November 8^th - You are all welcome to attend a presentation I am giving with Ann Christa McCormick:

Seasonal Holistic Living

Mother Nature intended for us to live our lives guided by the energies of the Seasons. In this fast-paced day and age, people feel uprooted from the grounding energies of the earth and yearn for a sense of serenity. Rediscover Ancient Wisdom for a life filled with ease and contentment. Space is limited. Reserve your spot today! 

• Where:  Beacon Hill, Seattle (Call or Email for Details)

• Ann: 206-322-7964

• E-mail Ann

• Holistic Whole Foods Coaching

• When:  Monday, November 8^th from 7-8:30 pm

• Class Fee:  $15 ($10 discount for Ann and Inga’s Current Clients)

November 10^{th -} Martin Luther’s Birthday: Not Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. but the German priest who translated the bible into German and initiated the protestant reformation.  

November 11^{th -} General G. S. Patton’s Birthday & Veteran’s Day: We Americans honor our ancestors too (at least the ones who died in wars.)

November 12th - The Greek and Roman celebration dedicated to the goddesses of Plenty, Fortune and Piety which climax tomorrow on the Ides of November with the Festival of Jupiter.  

November 15^{th -} The New Moon: The Moon and Sun are conjunct in the sky. The moon is dark and gradually increases to a crescent. Begin a new project, ask for new vision, get beauty treatments, cut your hair (if you want fast re-growth), get medical treatment, and make long-term relationship plans. 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. 

November 16^{th -} Inga's birthday!

November 16^th - The first Knitting Get-Together: Attention all who knit (or crochet, embroider, want to learn, etc...) Kindel and Inga are starting a knitting group. Mark your calendars for the third Tuesday of every month, starting in November, from 6:30 - 8:00 at Inga's house. Please call Inga to sign up at 206-459-6963. Hope to see you there! -- Kindel

November 16^th and 17^{th -} The peak of the Leonids meteor showers. Click here to check out Gary W. Kronk’s Comets & Meteor Showers Calendar.

November 21^{st -} The Sun moves into Sagittarius

Stone of the Sign - Bloodstone

Here is a really nice bloodstone cabochon wrapped in 14k rolled gold wire. Bloodstone has been associated with Scorpio and Pisces since ancient times. Wear it to acclimate yourself to this season and time of year. Wear it to align your energies with the spiritual forces and realms. Program it to bring chthonic knowledge and transformational power into your life. Gold is a soft metal that has been used for adornment since antiquity. It is easy to form into complex jewelry. According to tradition, it can balance the body’s energy fields. Wearing gold is said to remove negative energy from the chakras. It will enhance the energy of the stones it is worn with. It brings wealth, happiness and positive energy into one’s life.

On sale this month for 65.00 USD

Click here to see this item and more in my Jewelry Catalog.

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

Inga's Space
This is a very fishy picture: If you look carefully, you can see both the loach in the fish tank and Malcolm watching it! The fish in my living room aquarium are called Dojo or Weather loaches. They aren’t colorful or tropical looking but they are very active and fairly personable. Read about Dojo loaches at Loaches Online.

Here is a cool thing I found. Click the link to see: The Earth Moon Viewer.

You can view either a map of the Earth showing the day and night regions at this moment, or view the Earth from the Sun, the Moon, the night side of the Earth, above any location on the planet specified by latitude, longitude and altitude, from a satellite in Earth orbit, or above various cities around the globe. The “Your Sky” link makes custom star maps for any location on Earth at any date and time. You can also download some amazing screensavers if your household IT professional will let you. Mine gets really prickly about that sort of thing.

Another provocative quote:

“Compared with the background of religion, magic and mysticism, the fundamental doctrines of astrology are pure science.” - Neugebauer

Letters from our Readers

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 Risha:

Heaven in Europe is a place where:

The French are the chefs

The Germans make the cars

The English are the police

The Swiss the Administrators

And the Italians, the lovers!        

Hell in Europe is a place where:

The English are the chefs

The French make the cars

The Germans are the police

The Italians are the administrators

And the Swiss, the lovers!

The Irish just like to drink and be merry, in heaven or in hell.

Laura sent this one:

(Note from Inga: I checked it out on the Urban Legends site and it is rated “True”.)

One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name.

Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down.

It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.

That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.

On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?" she heard whispered. "I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't know others liked me so much." were most of the comments.

No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.

Several years later, one of the students was killed in Viet Nam and his teacher attended the funeral of that special student. She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. He looked so handsome, so mature.

The church was packed with his friends. One by one those who loved him took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin.

As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to her. "Were you Mark's math teacher?" he asked. She nodded: "yes." Then he said: "Mark talked about you a lot."

After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went together to a luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting to speak with his teacher.

"We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. "They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it."

Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times The teacher knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him.

"Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's mother said. "As you can see, Mark treasured it."

All of Mark's former classmates started to gather around. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, "I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my desk at home."

Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album"

"I have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's in my diary."

Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me at all times," Vicki said and without batting an eyelash, she continued: "I think we all saved our lists."

That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.

The Monthly Dunthor Open House

Please come join in the community that has been created over the years with the friends we've made through Inga's Earth Magic. You'll find insight, sharing, healing and fellowship and you are most welcome. 

• 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!

The Duncan Domain

I just recently traded in my Honda Gold Wing motorcycle for something sportier, less American and more European. The following account is of my first day ride on my new Honda to Mt. St. Helens in October 2004. You'll have to excuse all the motorcycle jargon. I wrote it for my fellow motorcyclists but hopefully, you'll enjoy the story nonetheless. -- sbd */:-)

What does one do with a brand new 2004 Honda ST1300? Well, for starters, the motor needs to be broken in, the tires need scrubbing and the rider and the bike need to get acquainted. So you hope for a dry day, an iffy thing in mid-October in Puget Sound, and we've already figured that the last good weekend of the year has occurred before the cold, dark and wet weather sets in. But when Mother Nature blesses us with such a gift on a Friday, you call some riding buddies, play hooky from work and then head for Windy Ridge in the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. The road up to Windy Ridge is exciting enough but lately, the volcano has been more active than usual. Our favorite ride in the State will soon be closed until late Spring due to weather, or an eruption, or both.

So after meeting for breakfast at the Hob Nob in Tacoma, Joe, Stew and I head out to Randle, Washington. Along the way, we ride through dense fog enabling me to verify that the ST's fairing provides excellent weather protection. In comparison, the fairing on the GL1800 I just traded in was huge and my ST1100's fairing was pretty sizable as well. I'm amazed at how minimal it is on the ST1300 and yet how well it works. I wonder if Honda spent a fair amount of time in the wind tunnel. With the windshield down, the bike sure seems to cut through the wind instead of pushing through it like the big Wing did.

I quickly learn that I need to wear ear plugs unless the ST's electric windshield is all the way up. I had gotten out of the habit from riding behind that massive fairing on the Goldwing. This will prove to be a royal pain in the ass on this ride as I consistently don't remember to put the earplugs in after each break until after everyone has donned their gear and fired up their bikes. After awhile, Joe starts keeping an eye on me and whistles loudly while pointing to his ears as I grab my helmet to make sure I've put them in. (Thanks, Joe!) I find myself riding along with the windshield all the way down. It feels great to be back in the wind again like on the VFRs I've owned. The only drawback is that my helmet's faceplate is getting plastered with bug guts, something I've not had to deal with for quite some time. Reminds me of crossing Montana on our way to Little Bighorn on my '97 VFR750 with my faceplate literally covered in bug guts and having to crane my head to peer out the last remaining clear spot until we got to the next gas station.

We enter the LaGrande curves with little or no traffic but the road is wet and I'm still scrubbing new tires so I take it pretty easy. We emerge onto dry roads and we stop for coffee in Elbe. I notice that my butt doesn't hurt at all and I'm surprised because that's a first. I've had to buy aftermarket saddles for every Honda I've owned because the wienie stock seats are way too soft and I'd be in pain after 30 minutes. So not only is this saddle firm enough, it's adjustable. But let's remember that this is no innovation on Honda's part as they're just catching up with BMW's RT model. Nevertheless, I'm grateful. When brother Paul had an R1100RT and I had an ST1100, we traded back and forth to compare the two bikes. We finally decided that putting the superb Honda V4 in the BMW RT would result in the world's most perfect sport tourer. Well, Honda has finally combined the features of those two excellent bikes into the new ST except they dramatically improved the V4 before installing it. Very sweet!

Stew and I trade bikes after coffee and we south ride to Morton. Ahhh, the VFR! I've owned 2 out of the last 3 VFR models and I've ridden all 3. In my humble opinion, this '98 - '01 model is the best of the lot; that gear cam whine, the growl of that superb V4 motor, the easy ergonomics, and the top notch handling. I bring up the rear of the threesome and I'm busy crouching down, getting reacquainted. I swoop around a bit in my lane and then I want to play with that engine so I blast past Stew and Joe. Wow! That felt good! I slow down, wave the guys to pass me and then settle down to 7,000 - 8,000 RPMs. I love keeping this motor on the boil. We reach Morton and pull over to swap bikes. I'm grinning as I always do after riding Stew's VFR. Stew says that was lots of fun and after playing with that 1,300 cc V4, he wonders out loud why Honda doesn't drop the VTEC gimmick of the '02 model and just bore out the motor for the next VFR. Amen, brother!

We reach Randle and head south on Forest Road 25. That road is becoming increasingly hazardous due to a lack of maintenance and we slow way down to compensate. Since our Federal government is busy giving billions of taxpayer dollars to the military industrial complex and other assorted very rich people while giving little or none to the National Forest and Park Services, I expect the road to get a lot worse before it gets better. (Sorry. I'll get off my soapbox.) We head up Forest Road 99 to Windy Ridge where it is blocked off at the 10 mile mark to keep the public back 5 or 6 miles from the active volcano. The fog completely obscures our view of Mt. St. Helens and if you didn't know better, you'd have no idea that an active volcano was just beyond the ridge. I take a photo of the valley between us and the volcano. It is one of the areas where the blown down timber was removed after the 1980 eruption and new trees were planted.

A fellow rider pulls into the parking lot on an Yamaha FZ-1. The first thing he says upon removing his helmet was, "Are you guys playing hooky, too?". We discuss tires while inspecting my new Bridgestones and the consensus is that I've thoroughly scrubbed them in all the way to the edge along with scraping the right foot peg. He then reminds us of the Burger Buggy at the Eagle Cliff store in the midst of the forest between Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams. Lunch? Great idea! On the chance that they'll be open for business on a Friday afternoon, we head back down FR-99. I take the lead and now that the tires are scrubbed, I start practicing my Pridmore techniques on the linked 20 mph curves. The stock seat is just right for sliding a butt cheek off to get into a very proper body steering position. It works so well that I wonder if I'll need to get a set of knee pucks for track days??. I kid you not. With the motor in 2nd gear and with smooth throttle management, the engine and suspension set up perfectly for each turn. I ride through well planted and feeling really confident. The handling is superb! It sure seems to me that Honda took a VFR or a Blackbird and modified it to make the new ST vs. tinkering with the old ST. We reach FR-25 and head South to the Burger Buggy. After some mighty fine riding through the Cascade foothills on twisty roads covered with dry fallen leaves that swirl up beautifully as we ride through, we arrive at Northwoods to find the Burger Buggy open. We feast on man sized burgers, read articles from UK bike mags that I brought with and then head north again back to Randle.

We ride through the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, over rivers, around hills and along cliffs. The constant twists and turns in the road are rated 15 - 30 mph and give me plenty of opportunity to explore the design of my new ride. I'm really starting to get my technique dialed in and the more I do, the more the bike and I become one. After a particularly awesome piece of road consisting of one linked turn after the next, we pull over for a break. I pull my helmet off, take a few steps back from my ST and just stand there staring at it. Stew and Joe ask me what's up and I say in reverent tones, "My God! This bike is amazing! It's blowing my mind! It's absolutely brilliant." They grin with that look of blissful comprehension.

We continue North and along the way, we realized that the fog has burned off. Mt. St. Helens was now visible. We pull over at the Clearwater vista and take photos. A plume of steam is rising from the crater but nothing dramatic. From that same vantage point, we get a great view of the Clearwater valley. It has been healing from the 1980's eruption that had an energy release equal to that of a 24 megaton nuclear weapon.

We reach Randle in the late afternoon. It's been such a perfect day that we're still craving more riding. We could ride to the East of Mt. Rainier or stay West of it and cruise through the countryside. But it's cooling off quick, it will be getting dark soon and we realize that we're getting tired. Stew mentions something about smelling the barn but not until he invokes the magic words of "pizza and beer" do I pull the plug on wandering home. That's it. It's beeline time and off we go.

I reach home in the dark and I've ridden 300 miles. The ST's motor is broken in according to factory guidelines. One more ride like that and I'll be heading in for the 1st oil change. My mind is still reeling. Not only am I blown away by the engineering and performance of this bike, I feel like it was designed just for me. Honda has really gotten it right. I roll the bike into the shed as I realize how exhausted I am and yet I'm glowing with satisfaction. All this from just one ride. Now I'm really intrigued. Are there any more track days this year???

I awake the next morning a bit stiff but the aches and pains quickly fade away as I get moving and have some coffee. It is dark, cold and raining hard outside. Wow! Did we get it right, or what? What a gift this day has been; a brilliant bike, a day off work, cool Fall weather, top notch roads, beautiful scenery and the brotherhood I share with my riding buddies. Excuse me, I'm off to go light candles for the Motorcycle Goddess and Mother Nature. -- Scott Bruce Duncan */:-)

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