Both this and last week's Free Will Astrology blurbs were particularly poignant for me, and it just occurred to me that I never posted them.

Virgo:: In the fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel," a wicked stepmother convinces her husband that the only way the two of them will survive poverty and starvation is to take his children deep into the woods and abandon them. That way there'll be two fewer mouths to feed. The kids overhear the plan, and as the adults lead them into the middle of nowhere, Hansel, the son, surreptitiously leaves a trail of white stones. This allows him and his sister Gretel to find their way back home later. The stepmom is chagrined. A few weeks thereafter, she once again convinces her spouse to leave the children in the wastes. This time Hansel drops breadcrumbs to mark the path, but they're eaten by birds and the kids have no way to get back. Moral of the story: When you get sucked away from your source, leave clues that are more like stones, not crumbs. Alternative moral of the story: Don't return to a source that doesn't want you there.

Virgo:: In one of Aesop's fables, a donkey becomes enamored of the crickets' serenades. Longing to produce the same sound himself, he goes to a cricket for advice. "What kind of food gives you that sweet-sounding voice?" he asks. The cricket says, "My food is the air and the dew." The donkey then begins a new diet, hoping that by eating nothing but air and dew he too will be able to make beautiful, whirring melodies. It doesn't happen, of course. The donkey merely starves. Let this be your teaching story for the coming week, Virgo. Sing your own song with your own voice, whether that sounds like a hee-haw or a warble. And get the exact nurturing that will help you sing your own song with your own voice, not the nurturing that helps others sing their special tunes.

Emphasis mine. In other words, what I think is good for me is not actually good for me at all. It's sacrificing too much of myself for what I think will benefit me, or for those who don't have the tools to appreciate it properly.

Bellydance class is tonight. I finally found my hip scarf, jingly and amusingly-printed though it may be. I'm still looking for a more tribal one that I like. Nothing has really jumped out at me yet, though, and I can afford to be patient until something does.

Random thought for the day: time for a new layout. I'm tired of this one and want something brighter.

Poll #878906 Hair help.

Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All. Participants: 59

What should I do to my hair?

View Answers

Warm reddish-mahogany on the outer layer, hot pink on the inside.

34(57.6%)

Caramel blonde on the outside, hot pink on the inside.

14(23.7%)

Warm brown on the outside, hot pink on the inside.

8(13.6%)

Something else I'll describe in the comments.

3(5.1%)

It's time for a hair change. I'm going to get the ends trimmed up and some side bangs cut in. I want pink, but I don't want the top of my head to be pink, so I'm going for an effect where the outer layers of my hair are a normal color, with the pink peeking out from the underside. But I can't figure out what would look best. Probably a chocolate-cherry color, but I don't know.