Not that I’m a travel agent, but if I was, there are some holidays I know certain Sun signs would love to take – or better yet, receive as an anniversary, birthday, Christmas or wedding gift!

So when I saw that Fairmont Hotels and Resorts had recently launched their Apprentice Trips program, which combines their globally famous luxury brand with a range of accommodation-based activities that relate directly to the culture or landscape of the locale, and, with hotels in 16 different countries, well, that’s a lot of “experiential” packages to choose from.

Talkative Geminis keen to parlez avec vous might enjoy booking the seven-night French Immersion Package at the historic Chateau in Quebec City while environmentally-aware Aquarians could rush for the Eco-Learning Package at the Faimont Kea Lani in Maui. They can choose from one of five eco-learning activities at the resort, which include organic farming in a rainforest, and helping to preserve Hawaii’s archaeological sites by planting native species, among others.

Cancerians may either thrill to Shop With Chef at local markets in Toronto while enjoying a two-night stay at the Fairmont Royal York, or harvesting and hands-on cooking of ingredients from the Secret Garden package in the Fairmont Singapore.

No need for Taureans to book in overnight for the four-hour-plus Sweet Designs package at the Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver – they can have their chocolate (or cake) – and eat it too.

Virgo golfing nuts might enjoy a Tees to Greens stay at the Fairmont Scottsdale where they receive helpful golfing techniques and a behind-the-scenes look at how golf courses are kept so pristine!

In the United Arab Emirates, the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr offers a four-night package for guests to master the regal skill of falconry (the falcon is the UAE’s national bird). I can see this appealing to Leos who think they’re a bit sheik.

In Monte Carlo, guests interested in perfume and exotic oils can broaden their knowledge with the Magic of Aromachology Package, which also includes a 60-minute aromachology massage for two. Wonderful for Pisces.

Librans can choose from taking their favourite best friend with them to Fairmont Turnberry Isle in Miami for the Gal Pal Experience, learning how to do proper back rubs, facials and foot massages, or to learn The Art of Buying Art at the Fairmont Dallas. Since they have a keen eye for art, this one might appeal.

Novice hikers and mountaineers can head to the Fairmont Yangcheng Lake resort in Kunshan, China for the Adventure Awaits package. Gotta-be-first Aries and explorer-mad Sagittarians would love to try this out!

Even politics gets a look-in, with the How to Pass a Bill in Washington Package at the Fairmont, Washington D.C., where a Federally registered lobbyist will advise participants on the crafting and promoting of an agenda. Constitutionally, a bill only requires three steps to become law in the US. Who would have thought that first step could take place while you were on holidays? This is just perfect for power-broking Scorpios and Capricorns.

Hmmm, I really debated about including this info…

Anyway, you know how some people are well, “shit” gift-givers – well it seems that singer Ke$ha is, as well, literally.

Anyone who she considers to have wronged her in some way can expect a nicely gift-wrapped piece of dog poo in the mail for Christmas. These charming little stink bombs are courtesy of the singer’s dogs, although whether the gifts are sent with the dogs’ permission is not known.

Ke$ha had no qualms spilling the beans about this, so to speak, and she admitted that she sometimes uses her music as retaliation towards other wrongdoers. It’s hard to decide which would be worse – to receive a box of doggie doo in the privacy of your own letterbox or to have your transgression recorded for public posterity in a song.

Ke$ha is a Pisces, with Mercury (communication) and Jupiter (optimism, generosity) in Pisces. Normally this would make you rather forgiving, sweet and compassionate and highly aware of karma - especially against wrong-doers.

Unfortunately she has Mars (anger, energy) in Taurus (nature) opposite Pluto (power, taboos) in Scorpio (sex, death, destruction). When someone gets on her bad side she goes well, ape-shit, taking the particularly revengeful route of sending dog poo which would be an upsetting and disgusting gift for anyone.  

Of course, there’s always a positive spin for everything, and perhaps we should be congratulating Ke$ha for switching to gifts that are environmentally-friendly, sustainable and green.

Or in this case, brown.

Lindsay Lohan reportedly gave her mother Dina the Mother’s Day gift of a closet makeover (no, her mum is not gay) to sort out her parent’s enormous volcano of clothes waiting to erupt on some unfortunate visitor to her bedroom.

Apparently the celebrity organiser, Linda Koopersmith spent seven DAYS – not hours! – organising Dina’s clothes into some sort of structure, with labelled drawers (bet you could do it much cheaper with a Dymolabel).

Anyway, Dina is a Virgo, who are usually known for being neat and organised. Her birthday on 15 September 1962 reveals that on her 47th birthday in 2009, transiting Saturn (responsibility) in Virgo (precision) opposed Uranus (freedom) in Pisces (escapism). This is a tough aspect which will dog her until September 2010. She has already come under fire for being irresponsible, most notably for letting 16-year-old daughter Ali into clubs, and not insisting Lindsay complete rehab therapy, let alone stop drinking yada yada.

Like mother, like daugher, Lindsay is a famous hoarder herself and she’s pretty used to people pawing through her dirty laundry as well.

Lindsay is a Cancer and they’re well-known for being hugely sentimental, unable to throw anything away, attaching emotional significance to their possessions. Owning things in Cancer Land = security therefore decluttering can mean = insecurity! On top of this she has Moon (needs) in Taurus (money, possessions) which increases her tenacious, hoarding style plus a glamourous, look-at-moi Venus (beauty) in Leo (entertainment) which pressures her to look on-trend for the paparazzi.

One of the strongest aspects in Lindsay’s chart is Sun opposite Neptune. The Sun rules your self and your identity while Neptune rules, among other things, glamour, cinema and photography, but also delusions, illusions, escapism and addictions of all kinds.

Lindsay has has a highly publicised battle with alcohol and drugs and it would also seem, with the mall. Shopping is really an escape for her.

If only someone could help her sort her her own mess…

As we all know, most couples getting married these days have already been living together, they may have already been married; they certainly have all the kitchen accoutrements you can poke a meat thermometer at, but you can never have enough date nights once you’re married!

One very clever Chicago couple who lurrrves to eat out realised that they too, didn’t want any more traditional department store registry “stuff”, but were busting (hopefully not out of their pants) to try some of the latest and greatest restaurants to hit Oprah’s hometown city.

They’ve created Foodie Registry which allows couples to select restaurants they’d love to try, for their guests to give them a gift certificate towards dining there, and it’s a wonderful idea actually for anyone else who’d love a special night out for say, their anniversary or birthday.

It also makes it soooooo much easier for couples to have something to write about in their wedding gift thank you cards. They’re going to be much more genuinely excited about dining at say, French restaurant Marche, than say, a pair of white hand towels.

Foodie Registry plans to expand into other American cities, too. Expect a queue of Taureans, Leos, Librans and Capricorns…

Have you ever bought something for yourself (or someone else) and then thought, “what was I thinking?!”

Mercury retrograde is renowned for making bad choices, such as not having enough information, or the wrong information.

Mercury retrograde, which happens three times a year for three weeks each time, is a high-risk time for buying birthday or Mother’s Day gifts (Sunday 9th May virtually everywhere) based on the wrong information.

It traditionally rules communication and transport so when you buy items that have some technical aspect to them, it’s more than likely you need to get them repaired or refunded. Mercury affects PDAs, Blackberries, Bluetooths, iPods, mobiles, laptops, desktops, hard drives, scanners, printers, fax machines – almost anything that has a chip in it.

Mercury goes retrograde from 18 April through to 11 May. For this retrograde period, it will be in Taurus, which happens to rule beauty (ie cosmetics), decorations (which includes homewares, flowers, and of course clothing and jewellery) and art and it’s over this period that people will be buying Mother’s Day gifts. It’s quite likely that any gifts you buy during this time will have the wrong colour, texture, size or appearance – and probably the wrong price!

Why? Taurus rules the second house which correlates to gifts, money, possessions and income. You may over-pay for something now, or you think you’ve paid for the entire kit and then find, “but wait, there’s more” that you have to pay for.

Pleeeeeeeeease keep your receipts or buy them before 18 April!

When I was growing up, I used to think my mother was kind of embarrassing for buying certain foods on special and “putting them away for Christmas”.

Now I understand what she was doing! Food just gets more and more expensive and entertaining more so, but if you can buy things that will last for some time, it will be perfectly fine at Christmastime and it will spread your expenses, making it all much more affordable.

A lot of people enjoy giving and receiving a Christmas food hamper – and if you’re planning to give one to someone living in the same city, it will be cheaper and more fun to put it together yourself. So what goodies can you buy now – and give later?

There’s a terrific website called StillTasty.com which, while it is probably really aimed at people wanting to check what type of food they can eat well past its use-by date, gives you some great clues into what gourmet food items you can buy when they’re on special, to create your own Christmas hampers. (Or housewarming hampers, maybe?)

A solid, dark chocolate bar kept in the pantry, will last for up to two years (well, maybe not at my house). Fettucine = 3 years. You can buy beef jerky, bottled caviar and truffle oil up to a year ahead of time. Packaged vanilla beans last for up to 3-4 years. Fancy sea salt lasts indefinitely, as do most spirits. Ready-to-drink wine – not so much.

What food could you buy now to put away for a Christmas hamper (and hide it from a Taurus)?

Aries will be celebrating their birthdays between 20 March and 20 April this year but the best date for them to host their own Festival of Me is Wednesday 14 April or Sunday 18 April.

The 14th is the New Moon in Aries which is traditionally considered the time to make a fresh start. If you want to get your haircut, have your nails done, make up and buy some beautiful new clothes, there’s no better day! Then you can enjoy having everyone fuss over you afterwards.

The other best day this month for a party (it’s a bit light on – sign up for the free monthly horoscope newsletter to find out more) is Sunday 18 April. Today has a gorgeous Sun in Aries sextile Neptune in Aquarius aspect. It’s perfect for wining, dining and dancing with friends. The previous day (the 17th) has a wonderful Venus in Taurus sextile Jupiter in Pisces when everyone feels bountiful, luxurious and ready to splurge AND it’s the last day before Mercury turns retrograde for the next three weeks, requiring you to return to the store for a refund or exchange. So hopefully they buy your present then…

If your mother lives in the UK, you might be surprised/alarmed to discover it’s Mothering Sunday on 14 March.

Mother’s Day (which comes nine months after Father’s Day in Australia – only joking) falls on a variety of days across the world.

If you just know your mother doesn’t want any more stuff (ie she is NOT a Taurus, Cancer or Libra) and she’s a little bit altruistic, she might appreciate this gift idea from Save the Children.

Pay for a baby kit for a newborn, a school uniform so the child can go to school, a clean water filter for potable water, four tree saplings to grow crops, mosquito nets so they can sleep safely at night or a sewing kit so they can make a living, for example.

In return, your own mother will receive a personalised card from you containing a gift certificate of what you’ve bought for a struggling family or child in a Third World country, such as Zimbabwe.

It’s becoming increasingly common for couples to request cash, not gifts, for their wedding present.

But many guests feel a bit squeamish about handing over cash and many worry that it’s just going to be spent frivolously.

In 1996, the US Federal Housing Administration encourage lenders to offer bridal registry accounts where couples could stash away cash from family and friends towards a loan for their first home.

SunTrust Mortgage, a subsidiary of SunTrust Bank was one lender which created a wedding registry, where guests would make a deposit and the company would notify the bride and groom to let them know. It is such a practical way to help them get a loan together, that it’s surprising that more banks haven’t got in on the act.

A credit union in Los Angeles, Water and Power Community Credit Union (WPCCU) has just launched the MatriMoney wedding registry savings account to help couples get over the (deposit) threshold. They get gift instruction cards to include with their wedding invitations and gift-givers receive acknowledgement cards of their cash gifts once deposited.

Unlike any other wedding gift registry, WPCCU also offers free online financial webinars for newly engaged couples to learn how to budget and manage their money.

I think this could particularly appeal to couples where at least one of them is a security-conscious, long-term planner Taurus, Cancer, Virgo or Capricorn!

A new Valentines Day gifts survey has found that while many women receive flowers, what they really want is a romantic weekend away or a personalised gift from their partner.

The online survey by It’s In The Stars found that what women wanted to receive for Valentine’s Day was a weekend away (30.4%), a romantic personalised gift (22.9%) or jewellery (17.6%).

What they’re actually getting are flowers (41.9%), chocolate (14.7%) and personalised gifts (11.0%). While 3.6% had received lingerie, not one woman wanted it as a Valentine’s Day gift.

Of the three age groups, Generation X (31-43 years) was the most likely to receive flowers (55.8%), while Gen Y women (18-30 years) got the personalised romantic gifts (19.0%) and Baby Boomer women recieved chocolate (17.9%).

I’d say that men might get the raw end of the bargain on 14 February as 82.4% of all women spent less than $100 on their last Valentine’s Day gift!

Gen X women are the most likely to spend under $50 (43.1%) but also over $200 (12.1%). Gen Ys stump up for gifts $101-$200 (13.3%) while Baby Boomer women prefer to spend $51-$100 (46.3%).

The top five locations where women bought their Valentine’s Day gifts were department stores (27.0%), specialty/personalised gift websites (16.8%), big box retailer eg Target (13.9%), boutique/specialty stores (10.9%), and supermarket/grocery stores (7.3%).

Women living in rural/regional areas were twice as likely as city girls to buy Valentine’s Day gifts online from a specialty/personalised gift website (25.6% vs 12.1%).

Just over half (52.3%) of all respondents would give their partner a gift certificate for Valentine’s Day.

And finally, the Sun sign voted as the best Valentine’s Day gift-giver was an equal tie between Cancer and Pisces (12.2% each), with Gemini and Aquarius in second place (10.0% each) and followed by Taurus (9.3%).

Aries men are the least likely to have have given a great Valentine’s Day gift (5.0%).