The HIGH TIMES weekly astrological forecast, complete with strain recommendations!
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ARIES
The beginning of a new season brings transitions that are not always welcome, especially when you foresee shorter days and colder nights. The desire to hibernate comes upon most animals, even those who live in artificial environments with electric lights, heating, and store-bought tropical fruit. This can be confusing if you think you are in control of the world that surrounds you. If you can manage to remember (even while you are maintaining a comfortable temperature) that you are still vulnerable to the tremendously subtle and the terribly extreme aspects of nature, then you may be able to navigate it with more ease. Try to find some grace in the darkening sky, and comfort in the heavier blankets. Strain recommendation: Blackwater
TAURUS
George Clooney—a Taurus—is distantly related to Abraham Lincoln. In fact, he has a slew of famous relatives, including, of course, Rosemary Clooney, and (oddly) Pat & Debby Boone. A little bit of each of those people is carried within him, even if they don’t share a bloodline. Family is our clan; our tribe. Who is in your family? Many cultures deeply revere their ancestors and make their connections to their predecessors as important as their relationships to their parents and siblings. You could use a little family time just about now. Your spirit might get some relief by reconnecting to those who came before: they built the road upon which you travel. Strain recommendation: Grape Ape
GEMINI
On a tree, an orange grows. The fruit may never be picked: it may fall and rot in the place it lands, reseeding the soil beneath it. However, it may be harvested and flown across the world, cut into wedges and fed to a team of soccer-playing children. The future of this orange has little to do with its free will or fate, and much more to do with the desires of those around it. You are this week’s orange, chosen or not, to participate in activities you have no interest in, by people who think of you as nothing more than a means to an end. But why should this bother you? The orange doesn’t care a fig, and neither should you. Strain recommendation: Maui Wowie
CANCER
Last week’s black moon (the second new moon in a calendar month) was a somewhat rare event; one tends to pop up only every two and a half years or so. Many pagan rituals are saved for the black moon, which unsurprisingly signifies renewal and personal growth. For you, this particular black moon will function as a reset button if you choose to honor it. No ritual is needed for you though, just a willingness to participate in your own internal shift by taking an honest look at your current state and identifying what needs improvement. If you decide to let it pass unrecognized, there is the chance that a paralyzing stagnation will overtake your lazy ass. Your choice. Strain recommendation: Lemon Diesel
VIRGO
Where do you get your news from? Are you still reading newspapers, or listening to the radio? Or do you check online with links to the BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera? If you do any of the above, then carry on. If however, like 62 percent of Americans, you skim headlines on Reddit and Facebook and assume that if anything big happens you’ll see it on Twitter, then listen up: Virgos are especially susceptible right now to the “head up their own ass” syndrome, and if they don’t forcibly look at the world around them they may lose more than their sense of smell. This is not always a bad trait. Some of the great artists are Virgos, and need self-reflection time to scour their souls for inspiration. This is not the case for you now though, so stop it right now. Strain recommendation: Jack Frost
LIBRA
Of all the cold remedies I’ve tried, oil of oregano has been the most helpful at staving off the bug. I take a few drops under the tongue, let it burn until I can’t take it anymore, swallow, let it continue to burn until I feel like I may puke, then finally take some water. I may have had two colds since I began using it four years ago. Even though it is has wonderful antiviral and antibacterial properties, I suspect that its main benefit is as a placebo. I’m sure that most of the colds I have fended off have been because I staunchly believe I won’t get ill. You need emotional oregano oil this week: protection from a sore heart and achy stomach. Your love placebo needs to be taken daily to ensure you don’t lose faith and let heartbreak win. Strain recommendation: Jesus
LIBRA
Watching the documentary The Beatles: Eight Days a Week, I saw more than one Beatlemania fan pass out from intense over-excitement. Such a state of heightened euphoria and elation seems unreal: the only other circumstances in which people are prone to faint this way is when they are in the midst of some kind of religious fervor. Lennon was held to task for saying that The Beatles were bigger than Jesus, but only rock music and God seem to get such passionate responses from the masses. You have a secret passion that makes you weak in the knees, but you are so shy about it that you may not even know what it is. It’s time to turn on your flashlight, dig under your bed and find that old notebook that holds the key to your lifeblood. Strain recommendation: XJ-13
SCORPIO
Have you been more itchy than usual? It could be the colder weather, or it could be your insatiable need to explore! If it is the latter, I recommend doing something about it sooner than later, as the itch will only worsen with time. Go somewhere where they don’t speak your language and leave your Google Map app at home. Get lost. If finances and time make such a venture impossible, you could at least have a tea in a part of town you’ve never been to. Seriously, if you don’t get some strange soon you will end up being horrible to those who surround you. Sleep with someone who has a foreign accent, watch YouTube videos from Russia, anything to open your mind to life beyond your own little world. Strain recommendation: Blue Diesel
SAGITTARIUS
What are you going to be for Halloween this year? If you want to go as a pumpkin you should stock up on orange face paint before the Trumpface people buy it all up. I challenge you, however, to bypass the trendy joke costumes this year. Go as the great Sagittarian Philip K. Dick. Many of his famous sci-fi novels became hit films, like Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” (Blade Runner) and “We Can Remember it for you Wholesale” (Total Recall). His book The Man in the High Castle holds some significance for you this month. Set in an alternate version of our world where the axis powers won WW2, it reveals a United States divvied up between totalitarian nations. Feeling oppressed has become familiar to you lately, and you may need some inspiration to overcome it. Don’t expect results for a few weeks, but keep up your freedom-fighting ways. Strain recommendation: Raspberry Kush
CAPRICORN
Did you know that Syd Barrett—the originator of Pink Floyd—was a Capricorn? Sadly he had to leave the band during its early years due to an intense psychotic break. There were terrible rumors that his flatmates at the time were secretly dosing his morning tea with acid because they wanted to witness the genius that poured out of him when he was high. Much of the pain that he and the band felt due to his illness was documented in their songs. In “Comfortably Numb,” David Gilmour sings the higher bits from the perspective of a musician who is being drugged in order to be able to perform. The sympathy they felt for Syd is tangible, but you can hear that no matter how they struggled to understand, they couldn’t actually see inside his troubled mind. This week you are feeling more empathy than usual, even when others can only summon sympathy. Take a look at your reactions and why they are so deep right now. Strain recommendation: Skywalker OG
AQUARIUS
Someone was riding you pretty hard recently. “But it was done out of love, frustration, concern”—no matter the excuse, it felt rotten. They have finally backed off, and what are you left with? Hard feelings, a sense of relief and a light concern that without their dogged attention you’ll slip back into unhealthy habits. Can you navigate yourself, without their pestering, into a good pattern or will you take this opportunity to do nothing but call in sick with couch lock and feast on Twinkies and beer? What do the mice do when the cat’s away? Nothing too wrong with a little slovenliness, as long as it’s enjoyed properly and then moved on from—which is easy enough to do if it’s not an act of retribution. If it is, it could become a hard habit to break. Strain recommendation: LA Confidential
PISCES
Be careful, it’s delicate. Of course you know this, but still, it’s worth saying because ohmygawd the emotional trappings that surround you are akin to some kind of haunted-house maze of zombies and murderous ex-lovers. Each word and gesture is a potential time bomb, but you aren’t running away in fear because what you want is being held captive. You can surmount the awkwardness of this precarious time as long as you keep your goal well in sight; the moment this is taken for granted is when you will slip. Do you know how fast a body can be consumed by flesh-eating past relationships? As long as you can keep this friendly dance going, the better it is for everyone. Keep tangoing all the way through the Halloween nightmare, and you will manage to achieve your goal without getting bitten. Strain recommendation: Cherry Pie
Where’s LEO?