How many times have you or will you, press the Apple command key today?
Well if you're sitting in your office and thought you'd escaped Hallowe’en then think again. Because apart from the humble apple fruit ties to the festival, so too unbeknownst to most Mac users has the Apple's ⌘ Command symbol.
The pagan motif for Samhain (Celtic name for Hallowe’en) has the looped square ⌘ enclosed in the sigil, along with two interconnecting oblong shapes forming a cross. The ⌘ symbol is also known as the Bowen knot, Gorgons loop or Saint John’s Arms, which is an ancient symbol painted or carved on houses and barns to protect from evil spirits and bad luck. Very fitting for Halloween!
The Bowen Knot symbol was also extensively used in Nordic countries as an indicator of cultural locations and places of interest on maps and road signs. But it was Apple's bitmap graphic designer Susan Kare in 1984 who was responsible for the symbols placement on every Apple keyboard thereafter.
ⓒ FENG SHUi iSM
“Living eye to eye with environmental wisdom ”
SOLD - No going back now!
The realtors sign outside says SOLD. Your to-do list is as long as the Nile. The removalists truck arrives in the morning and you are still boxing your memories up, wondering which box do you put your daughter's artwork in? Nearly everything on the list has a tick beside it and it’s your last night in your old home. Tomorrow night you and your family will be sleeping in your new house. New beginnings await you.
Depending on your persuasion, the wheel of the year is prefixed by many names — Celtic, Druid, Pagan or Wicca. The familiar graphic has near cult status, bedecking the walls, altars and journals of devotees of the cosmos. In more recent times the ubiquitous image has expanded and morphed into a mystical symbol shrouded in layers of occult, spiritual and religious mystery. Freed from the shackles of cultural and metaphysical associations the Eightfold wheel is more universally appropriate and immediately demystified as sun’s celestial journey mirrored via seasonal cycles.
I'm a bona fida sucker for mid-century chairs. Honestly I can spot one at 40 paces. Not many things make me green with envy but the want monster comes out when I see a great armchair that fulfills both aesthetic and feng shui criteria.
Back in Sept. 2, 2018 ‘Calendar Adjustment Day' fell on 'Father's Day' . But if we travelled back to Sept. 1751, dear old Pops would have slept through the Annual devotion to Dads! Not even an alarm clock could have prevented Dear Old Dad sleeping it out. #confused?
Sol and and Luna’s allure have captivated nations and cultures since the dawn of time. And the mystical obscuring of either celestial body’s illumination continues to beguile us today. In times past, the phenomenon of eclipses must have been scary when playing out in our skies. We’ve unpacked the cosmology and folklore behind the ominous occurrences. And the upcoming New Moon marking the Fire Horse’s entrance is solar ring of Fire Eclipse on 17 Feb 2026!
August’s Full moon lunation goes by many names*, depending on your domicile and cultural preference. Named the Red Wyrt, Corn/Barley Moon by Indigenous communities while Chinese folk refer to this lunation as Harvest moon. The calendar month is Osmanthus or Skills (flowers associated with Autumn). You’ll also hear lots of Lunar Eclipse chatter, not visible in Australia but on 28 Aug Luna is technically fullest at 2.18pm in Sydney*(more Full moon times below). Eclipse aside, it’s no ordinary Full Moon.
Happy Chinese Valentine’s Day!
Unlike International lover’s day - aka Valentine’s Day - which follows a set annual date, the Chinese version fluctuates according to the 7th day of the 7th lunar Month, known as the Qixi — Double Seventh Festival. This year (2026) in the Gregorian calendar it falls on 19 August.
This article was written in May 2025 and originally published Oct 2025 for Wellbeing Predictions Almanac 2026.
Snake of 2025 slithers off the podium, with a manifesto hanging in the balance. Yang Fire Horse 丙午 is crowned torchbearer, primed to trailblaze a path to the summit. With an unapologetic entrance on 17 February, a spirited tenure begins. Horse promises powerplays from a playbook written for Black Swans⓵.
FIFA World Cup fever is cranking up. All 12 groups are finalized and 48 countries are in fine tuning mode for the holy grail of titles. Argentina are the reigning champions and a 2026 favourite, but who has the edge astrologically speaking?