2020

BY MINAL KHONA

MinaIKhonahasbeen readingtarotcardsfor the lasttwo decades. She usesherintuitionand connectwiththecardsmostlyto helppeople.

The usuallyfieryAriescouldbeeven morecharged upthis monthas they pickthecardthat standsfor Leos. Indulge your passions, strengthen your spiritualfoundation, and let go ofthe past. Expectchallengesin your personaland professionallife. Keep atit onthe workfront; duecredit and rewardswillcome. If inarelationship, you couldbeconsidering marriage. Patience andempathyin atroublesome situationcan improve your love life. Debts getcleared.

TheAceofPentaclescard standsfor anewbeginning; mostlyinthework and practical realmof life.Thismonth, youthinkwith your headandare not willingto put upwithunsupportive friendsorfamily. Past problems endand aproject atworkwill be successfullycompleted. Businesswill improveifit hasbeen slow.Youmay resortto alternative remediesfor a health issue. A romancecould give you stress as youcan'tmake upyour mind.

I You pickthecardforCapricornthis I month soGeminiswill be slightly more I practical regardingtheirideas.Youwill experience ambitiousmomentswhere I you wishto succeedno matterwhat. I Skirmishesin relationshipsare dealt withmaturely. Aneventor personwill I makethingsbetteratworkthatwill I improve your mood. If you havethroatI related health issues, itcouldmean you are not sayingwhat you reallywantto.

I You shouldbeopento newideasthis I month.

I I I I I I I I I I --------I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

Acycle isnearingcompletionand anotherone isdueto begin. Watchout for someonewhomay deceive you.This could be ina relationshipor withwork and money.Aclandestine love affair couldalsobeonthecards.Conflictsat work make youtensebutyour self-control keepsthingsincheck. Afeelingofdread needstobeexamined asyoucouldbe misled.Someoneclosecouldletyou down.Youmayexperience insomniaor suspiciouslumps. Followyour gutinstinct.

I Amonthofactivities,childhoodmemories andleavingbehindsomethingfor a I newpath.Ifsingle, youwillbeopento I newromance.Anewcareeropportunity couldcomeyourwaywhichmakesyou I happy.Spiritual guidancechangesyour I perspective. Yourfinancesarebetterthan youexpected.Fatigue bogs you down I butyouwillplodon. Writersmeetwith

I successandcouldgetpublished.Analyse I I allyourideas; youwillknowwhichoneis I rightfor you.Thingswillworkoutwell.

I I I

Youfindyourselfatacrossroadsthis monthinwork, love, life, home andall thatmatters.Thingsmaybe stressful

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Youmaybefacedwithadditional I responsibilitiesduetotheactionsof I someoneelse.Inthemoodtofinish I projectsandtie uplooseends, you mayend uptakingonmorethan you I should. Make sure youtake restor you I will beexhaustedwithhome andwork chores.Atwork, youmaywanttolook for somethingdifferentto do.A rocky relationshipmay not revive despite your bestefforts.Yououtgrow someoneon theemotionalfront.

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I I butthe situationistemporary.A new acquaintance maywellturnoutto be your soulmateor BFF. Workmay have some unpleasantsituationsthatyou have todealwithbuttensionswilleaseoff I tofeelmotivatedagain.Therecouldbe an announcementofa pregnancyinthe eventually.Stressmakesyou determined to solve problemsandyouwill.Visitthe dentistifyou can. Financesimprovethis monthandluckiswithyou.

I The suncard standsforthe number 1 I whichimpliesanewbeginningisathand.

BY LPAYER

tisearly Decen1ber.Atthistimeofyear, acertainworkshopatthe northernmost point oftheearthis usuallybuzzing with activity, 111akingtoysandgift iten1s. Unfortunately, like everythingelse around theglobe, thisyearitissomewhat lessactive,eventhoughitisnotlocked down (waytoofarfromWuhanforthat).

Its ownerSanta Claus-akindlysoul witha pot belly, snow-whitebeard and largeheart-haschampionedthe tradition ofdistributinghisfactorywarestochildren around theworld in awhirlwind tripof less than aday.To dothis, heplans his flight path meticulously. In recentyears hehasfoundthisbecomingincreasingly complicated,withwar cloudslooming in n,anyparts.Thisyearitis even more difficult.Althoughthe airspace itselfis veryclearwithnoplanesinflight, the new challengecon,esfromnations choosing toclose theirborders.

SantaClaus spendslong hours in hisstudyporingover a large world map with green, orange and redmarkers.His custon,aryfirst spot,America, isevenlydividedbetween red andbluezonesshowing howdisunited itis. Its (ex?) co1nn1ander-in-chiefis fightingforhisjob althoughheeasilywon his briefbattle with COVID, presumably takinga largedose ofself-prescribed disinfectant. Doubts arise in Santa's mind whethertogo or skip. Finally, a red tick, and he moves on toBritain.

Jts head honchoBoJo, afterastint in the ICU, recovered his mojobutonly briefly, asa secondwave ofcoronais creepingthere. Maybe nextyear.

France, Spain, and Italy, the spiritual home ofFatherChristmas, are all swept upbyasecond wave too;hereluctantly scratchesthemoffhisitinerary.

Middle Easthasbeen the'missingeast' forseveralyears,withactualwarsand civilwarsscarringthe land from Syriato Afghanistan.

When itcomestothe countryjusteastofAfghanistan,Santa alwaysrecalls'Beefy' Botham'sfamous line,"Jtisthe sortofplaceeveryman should send his mother-in-lawto,fora month, all expensespaid."

India ofcourse has beenoneofSanta's favouriteplacestovisit,whereChristmas iscelebratedin manypartswith the samegustoas Diwali. Forthepastfew years,he has an added affinitysince that country'sheadman NaMo looks somewhat like him. But this tiine, withits large corona count,Santathinks twicebeforegivingit asaffronmark,tobe reviewed closerto the date.

GoingovertheHimalayas isalwaysa delight,withsnow-cladpeaks andcrystalclearwaterflowingfromthe meltingsnow formingn,ightyriversliketheGanges, Sind, Yamuna and Brahmaputra. But picturesofopposingarmiescampedthere cause someconcern. Whenviewedfrom the air, thatpartoftheglobe looks so gloriousthat Santawonderswhyanyone wants toping thatpristine landandruin the peace. Aparadise (Xi)jinxed? Maybe the PRC, with aneye on all thosewaters forthefuture, want their southern 'bhais' shown theirplace.

Forthe past twodecadesMr.Claushas shown keen interestin visitingChina, his biggestcompetitor in makingtoys of all sorts-elementaryto electronic-so he couldpickup a fewclues. He's had no luck, though. Bamboocurtains are noteasytobreakthrough. Is it safe togo there?Although this iswhere thevirus originated, there isn'tawhisperofanother wave. While there ispandemonium everywhere else, thereareno pandemicsin the landofpandas. Santa, abitwary, places abig redtickfor RedChina. With not manycountries lefttogoto,Santa lowershiseyesand spotsAustralia. Its supermarketshelves brimmingwithtoilet rolls,andbeerand spiritswalkingout thedoorofbottle shops, Santa feels thiscountrylooks likeitisbackto normal. Corona is conquered. Heponders forafewsecondsthough -whatifasecondwavehits?

"Stop makingtoys," Santa issuesan order tohiselves. "Startontoiletrolls. That'swhat theyvalue Down Under."