ASTROLOGICAL SIGNS
Next are the foods that fall under the different astrological signs. I have already mentioned many of them while discussing the planets, moon and sun foods, but here are foods specific to the astrological signs.
First are the foods of Aries. We know that Aries is a fire sign ruled by Mars, and we have already spoken about cocoa, chilies and bell pepper, but here are some more. Cilantro and its seeds have a biting flavor along with garlic, mustard, chive and its flower, radish, tarragon, coffee berries, watercress and peppercorns. When cilantro is dried it becomes air of fire, the flowers of the chive are also air of fire, like most flowers are of air. Some foods of Aries will appear orange or red to indicate this sign, but the true test is in their hot and spicy flavor.
Second are the foods of Taurus, which are foods that are earth of Venus. I’ve already spoken about some foods of Taurus like hard cheeses, black salsify, beets, sorghum, millet and tamarind. There are also: barley, rhubarb, sorrel, zucchini, black-eyed peas (which are actually beans), garbanzo beans, sweet potatoes, and beef and bison, among others. Think of these foods as being close to the ground where cattle and bison might graze and you will get a good idea of the types of foods that come under this sign.
Next is Gemini with foods in air of Mercury. Earlier, when I talked about the planet Mercury, celery, quinoa, mint, green beans, almonds, pistachios, cloudberries, and all manner of fowl were mentioned. Additional foods that fall under the sign of Gemini are: dill weed, lemon grass, adzuki bean, lavender, mulberries, lemon balm, fava bean, and pinto bean. Foods like the mulberries when juiced become water of air in Mercury, and foods like the legumes, whereas their plant is of air, the beans they produce will be earth of air.
Cancer has many foods, and you have already heard about Brie, ice cream, lotus, lentils and soybeans, several vegetables, and fruits. But there are more: fresh mild goat cheese, mushrooms, truffles, sapote, melons, kohlrabi, potatoes, caviar, and oysters. Some display the whiteness of the moon, others the shape, and many posses both properties.
The sign of Leo is next, which are fire of the Sun foods. I’ve already mentioned corn, sunflower seeds, olives, squashes, citrus and iguana. Here are more: the cashew plant with its yellow casing and its nut; the Jerusalem artichoke with its golden flower soaring to the sky and its edible tuber; the bright and highly citric citron; and the carambola or star fruit, which can be cut sideways to reveal its sunny 5-pointed star shape. There are also the yellow spheres of bee pollen collected by bees, the golden-centered chamomile flowers, and pineapple. Each reflects the sun with its bright coloration, needs the warmth of full sun, and often mimics a spherical shape.
Next are the foods of Virgo, ruled by Mercury in earth. Before, you heard about the Mercury foods of yam, baking powder, baking soda, and cream of tarter. To add to that list are more Virgo foods: the yellow flowering herbs of purslane, St. John’s wort, and the golden peanut flower and its legume, among many yellow flowering plants. Also, there are parsnips and tiger nuts. Many plants display the yellowish and orange of Mercury. The meats of Virgo are rabbit, opossum and nutria. These animals are included under Virgo because they eat many of the plants of Virgo. Also, one of Virgo’s weaknesses, is that it can be interfering, as rabbits, opossums and nutria can be down right pests, and even destructive in their own environment.
Libra foods ruled by Venus with the element of air, are mostly fruits, and you’ve already heard of many. I won’t mention the long list again, but here are a few more. First is the pansy leaf with its equally flat balanced leaves on both sides of its stem. There are also goji berries, which like the elderberries and the yellow Kangaroo apple and strawberries, among many fruits of Venus, hang in clusters like a chandelier or a hanging scale. Another Venusian trait, are beautiful and exotic flowers like the passion fruit flower. And both the carob bean pod and banana are able to balance on their curves. The gorgeous flowers, the hanging clusters, and the balancing aspect of some foods are strong characteristics of belonging to Libra.
The foods of Scorpio ruled by Mars with foods of water, are those that have spines, are prickly, spiky or thorny, have tusks and sharp teeth. You heard earlier about the prickly pear and the agave plant of Mars, and here are some more of Scorpio: the scorpion fish, the Caigua [Ki-egg-wa] cucumber, the bitter melon, and gooseberry, as well as the animals of wild pig and hog, and alligator. The scorpion fish is good eating, but don’t get pricked by its poisonous fins. The caigua has a soft interior despite its rough exterior. The bitter melon is called that for good reason, along with its spiky exterior. Gooseberries are also of this astrological sign. Not all gooseberries have a prickly skin, but the golden variety does. Wild boars and pigs have large tusks, and the alligator has several rows of unforgiving teeth, so all of them are under this sign.
Sagittarius is next, which is a fire sign ruled by Jupiter. Some foods of Jupiter were mentioned earlier, like maple syrup, macadamia nuts, figs, eggplant, radicchio and bilberries; and here are some more. The anise plant has beautiful purple plumes. Clove blooms have a pinkish-purple cast before being dried, and the seed has a similar coloration with the mace membrane around the clove. Juniper berries are purple, and so is the hyssop flower. There is also safou fruit of west and southern Africa, and the extremely tall Banya nut tree with its huge cone full of nuts, native to Australia. Donkey meat (along with the horse) is a specialty item highly thought of and available in China. Both fall under the sign of Jupiter because they posses some of the characteristics of this sign. Astrologically Jupiter guides us with movement and a sense of purpose along the road of life, and influences us as to whether a journey will be rough going or smooth sailing. The donkey and horse have an inherent sense of destination. Left on their own, both will always find their way home, and on the way, they can amble along gently, or run at a jangling and rough pace.
Foods of Capricorn are of earth ruled by Saturn. The foods that were already mentioned under Saturn were some hard cheeses, root vegetables and tightly packed grains, tamarind, goat, lamb and deer. However, there are more that also fall under the sign of Capricorn. The list of hard cheeses continues with the round orange Mimolette and Emmenthaler Swiss cheeses. There is the earthnut pea flower with its edible nutty bulb. Also, the white rooted skirret, and all varieties of chard, green, red and rainbow. In the animal kingdom there is also the Nordic reindeer, which offers extremely healthy meat due to the lichen that this animal eats all summer. Additionally, there is the Saturn-like shape of the flat and rounded Chinese elm seedpod, and the dense quince fruit. Indications of Capricorn qualities can be seen in the horn shape of the skirret, chard, the earthnut pea, and the horns of the reindeer. Also, the darkened seeds inside the elm flower and the black seeds in quince. Hardness and compactness as in the cheeses and the quince is an additional quality of Capricorn foods.
Aquarius is an air sign ruled by Saturn as well. Besides the pacay fruit, slippery elm, and linden tea, and honey, already spoken about before with Saturn, here are more foods of this sign. There is the soft white pincushion sphere of the button eringo, which is a type of edible sea holly; the small white star-pedaled flower of the neem tree; the bright white and blue star-shaped borage flower; the fan-like leaf and white dangling fruit of the ginkgo; and the white threaded and delicate flower of the jambul, which produces a purple fruit. There is also the kurranjong seedpod, only found in Australia. When the seeds are dried they take on a black Saturn coloration, and can be ground into a rich dark flour to cook with. As well, there is the giant Grandilla in the family of passion fruit, with its all white soft interior. An animal included under this sign is the peacock of both the white and blue-green variety. Their plumage is extraordinary and their meat tastes like wild turkey, but even more so linked to Aquarius, because of one of this sign’s characteristics. Aquarians can be vulnerable and sensitive, are often found in groups for they are social creatures, and they often have unique ideas. As with most of the flowers and seedpods of Aquarius, they appear in clusters, like a crowd of people. The peacock is not a strong flier. It is only able to flap up into low branches of trees, so they are vulnerable to predators. They hang together in a muster or grouping called ostentation, and because they offer a showy appearance this makes them quite unique.
Last of the astrological signs is Pisces. These foods are of water and ruled by Jupiter. We have already looked at specific Jupiter foods that display a purple color, but for the Jupiter of Pisces and the vastness of its seas, the list is quite extensive. First, there are edible plants of the sea like sea grapes, sea asparagus, spirulina, and a variety of seaweeds. Then sea urchins, octopus, sea bass, anchovies, swordfish and red snapper, just to name a small percentage of the seas vastness of offerings. All of these plants and most of these animals reproduce in huge quantities, along with their size, and both are characteristics of Jupiter. A one-year-old female anchovy will spawn 10,000 eggs, a two-year old will spawn 20,000 eggs, and they will spawn up to 60 times in one season. An octopus can lay tens of thousands of eggs. A red female snapper can lay 1000 for a small female and as many as 2.5 million for an adult female. Sea urchins produce multiple millions of eggs. Or if the animal is large like the swordfish or a whale, it will produce fewer young, but their Jupiterian size more than makes up for their lower birthing rates. This concludes the listing of foods for the astrological signs, and now we move on to the chakras.
