In last weekends newspaper liftout was a story about Kiwi born Melbourne chef Ben Shewry collecting wild nettles by the side of a Melbourne laneway. Collecting wild things is something that forms the basis of this chefs’ produce supply. But then again, this is a chef who describes one of his signature dishes as a potato cooked hangi style in a tin of its own soil. Can’t get much closer to nature than that.

I am not sure whether it was Saturn spending 2 ½ years in Virgo or something else, but I am now seeing every where a more healthy or earthly based cuisine. Or perhaps it is simply a function of the Sun in Virgo and a changing of the season? The cover of this months’ Australian Gourmet Traveller is one of the most naturally beautiful this year. Check it out here. With the quality and variety of produce available, it makes you want to, in the words of my Guru Edina Monsoon “eat food with the dirt still on it, darling.”

Whenever we talk about cooking simple and healthy foods (like the Quinoa, broad bean & preserve lemon salad on the front of this magazine) we are talking about Virgo. Whenever we discuss the latest superfood, such as this article about Black Rice (which incidentally is brilliant combined with coconut milk and turned into an Asian pudding) we are straying into Virgo territory.

Virgo can be as precise in her food preparation as she is with other things in her life. I know one Virgo who apologised before serving her meal because the recipe had called for desiree potatoes and she was only able to get Pontiacs, and she hoped we didn’t mind too much. Naturally we didn’t- she is a brilliant cook- she just wanted to make sure her meal was as good as it possibly could be.

Whilst Virgo can be discriminating when it comes to food choices, she may, with Libra on the 2^nd cusp, have just a tad of a weakness towards sugar and other sweet foods, but she does generally have the ability to make the wisest choice for her own health.

Having said that the Virgo/ Pisces, 6^th/12^th house axis is the axis of addictions, and it is in this axis that we can potentially see eating disorders…although that is very definitely a subject for an entirely different post (or set of posts).It is for this reason that Virgo can, particularly if their boundaries or sense of boundaries are compromised can either be addicted to food, or addicted to disordered eating patterns…although I would never be irresponsible enough to pronounce this without looking at an individual chart.

Virgo does well on earth based foods- grains, whole foods, anything to do with the harvest. Virgo also does well on semi vegetarian type diets (generally the ones where you don’t eat anything that has eyelashes) or food combining diets (things like not mixing dairy with flesh etc). Food is best quality for value produce, cooked well and simply under good food preparation conditions. Make sure you have some yoghurt for good digestive health and you are cooking with Virgo.

This months’ recipe comes from the pages of Australian Gourmet Traveller. This Seared Skirt Steak, Green Papaya and Roasted Rice salad by WA Chef Matt Stone is Virgo on a plate… why not give it a go this weekend? Perhaps with a chilled Riesling to satisfy the Piscean opposite.

For a vegetarian option, from the same website, here is a warm salad of Mushrooms with many Olives. I have prepared this one with a variety of mushrooms from the local farmers market and it is the perfect Sunday supper- especially for all you Northern hemisphere readers moving into Autumn. Enjoy.

Another from the “just saying” file…what is it about Qantas & Mercury retrogrades? This story broke in the last couple of days & I posted this one during another recent retrograde period. Could be a coincidence? Just saying…

Friday will bring the last burst of Gemini sociability. The Moon will still be in trine aspect to Venus and Neptune on Friday morning, so don’t rush through your day unless you absolutely have to- you will get more through being nice to people than by poltting their demise. Use these fleeting transits to think up new & imaginative ways of solving a problem with someone else. With a square to Uranus forming later in the afternoon, be careful not to jump too quickly to conclusions- you may be restless (I know I generally am as the clock ticks ever closer to 5pm on a Friday) and you may feel the excitement in the air, but think through the consequences…if that is at all possible!

By wine o clock on Friday afternoon (Sydney time) the Moon will be in keep me close keep me safe Cancer, making tomorrow a perfect night for staying in, curling up on the lounge with a weeks worth of UK Masterchef episodes, a bottle of red and ordered in pizza.

In fact, given that one of the 1st aspects the Cancer Moon makes is an opposition to Pluto, curled up with a pizza & vino could be the best way to stay out of trouble. For those of us in the southern hemisphere we can sleep through the Moon/Saturn square- its a tad difficult to feel sad and lonely and low when you are sleeping off pizza & red wine!

From the “just saying” files…

At yoga last night (I do this Kundalini yoga which is sort of different to regular yoga & concentrates a lot of stuff like chakras & meridiens etc) our teacher was telling us about the importance of mudras (the things you do with your hands when you do the various poses & meditations). What got me was how closely the yogis correlated some of the poses with what is loosely medical astrology.

For example, each finger on your hand is associated with a planet and the meaning of that planet. So, the thumb is the divine self, the soul. This is really your instinctive self, your Moon. The index finger is Jupiter and expansion, abundance, spirituality & joinging the thumb and index finder is the seal of knowledge. The middle finger is Saturn and the seal of patience. The ring finger is the Sun and the seal of vitality. The little finger is Mercury and represents communication. There are other mudras which work on Venus and Mars principles too.

So next time you are sitting in a meeting and someone is really crapping on about nothing, join your middle and ring fingers under the table and press them together….patience. Feel the serenity?

Talk about a typical Gemini Moon social talking about day! One of the days where it was great to be in the office (well, at least OK…can’t get too carried away with the goodness of Spring)- lots of conversations, social stuff, banter & some productivity as a result. It is days like this when I realise why I would have problems working away from the office on a more regular basis.

Anyways, that social Gemini thing will prevail tomorrow too. A great day for meetings and discussing issues. With a square across to the Sun and Mercury, be careful about your message and do your best to leave your ego in the box at home. Communication is critical, especially during a Mercury retrograde period, so do your best to talk from the head not the heart when it comes to matters of business.

Later in the day (Sydney time) the Moon moves to make some lovely supportive aspects to Mars and Venus. If you need to assert yourself in any way to get what you want, this is a pretty good window of opportunity to do so, and all in the background of pretty pleasant social vibes. As always with Moon/Venus contacts, be careful not to over-indulge…although you may be tempted to do so