For many of us, being harassed by children asking us for sweets when we are trying to watch Corrie brings out the Victor Meldrew in us. But we should think twice because being involved in these celebrations will connect us to an ancient tradition that is worth celebrating.

Mystic background

As the commercial cogs of modern-day Halloween start turning in the shops it’s easy to forget that, like Christmas, the celebrations on the evening of October 31st have their origins many centuries ago.

Ward off evil
In Pagan times it began as a rural ritual to ward off the evil spirits that roamed around in the darkness of autumn and winter, and threatened to kill livestock. In order to do this the farmers would dress up in scary costumes, make jack ‘o lanterns and light bonfires. It all sounds very similar to how we are still celebrating the festival today. Halloween is also a very powerful time, when magical energies are very potent.

So stop being so bah-humbug and get into the swing of things. Who knows you might even scare off a few nasty spirits of your own!

A host of UFOs filled our skies on 14th October 2008. Or this is the case according to the Galactic Federation of Light. They suggest that these space craft will show themselves on this date, or thereabouts, for a period of three days to prove that there are other life forms out there in the Universe.

We will be keeping our eyes trained to the sky for any strange occurrences for the next few days. If anyone has had any out of the ordinary experiences or seen a possible UFO please leave your comments here or email us at prediction@ipcmedia.com

Absentmindedly flicking through a copy of the Metro on my train journey yesterday, I came across an article on meditation. But it wasn't your good old fashioned, sitting in a tranquil space, chanting and losing yourself in quiet visualisation-type meditation.

Instead you channel the energy in your body, put on some pumping house music and give your body a good old shaking. You literally shake out your physical, emotional and mental energy blocks to release your negativity and heal your body. As your energy levels rise your boy is taken over by involuntary movements ? knee jerks, tingling sensations, head bobbing and more.

Tnis type of bioenergetic meditation was developed by spiritual master Ratu Bagus, who transmits his own energy to ignite your own sacred fire. This energy helps to wake up your natural capacity for healing on all levels. It?s a really exciting idea and some of the testimonials say that shaking has literally changed their lives.

Try it yourself
If you fancy a go at shaking meditation there will be open days in London on 29,30, 31 August. For classes in the rest of Britain see www.ratubagus.com or call: 0208 390 9318.

Read the Metro article at http://www.metro.co.uk/lifestyle/article.html?in_article_id=280264&in_page_id=194

Well today is Lammas, a time for celebrating the beginning of harvest and the prosperity to come. Sadly, I am stuck in the office and not able to join in celebrations. However this is a time to welcome abundance into your life and it has really got me thinking about my own attitude.

We all deserve it
We all deserve abundance in our lives and it is much easier to obtain that many people think. All you have to do is let go of your negative thoughts and start believing that you deserve it. You don't have to earn it or complete certain tasks to get it. The universe is full of abundance and there is plenty for everyone.

What is it you want?
An annoying habit many people fall into is giving way to 'if only' syndrome. I am a pretty bad offender myself; 'if only I was richer, prettier, thinner, and so on, life would be perfect. These negative thoughts really block abundance entering your life.

Count your blessings
Instead of dreaming of what you want, think about the things you actually have. What richness and abundance do you already have in your life? Write down the wonderful things and keep a list of them. They can be anything from people you love to a bird landing on a branch or even a moment of quiet reflection. Climb out of the web of expectations and feel the abundance you already have. When you realise you already have abundance in your life, this new attitude will draw more prosperity your way.

I have done this myself lately and have noticed a big difference. Instead of dwelling on what I want, I am thinking about things that make me happy in life, which is usually something simple like watching my boyfriend wrestle a spider out of our flat or smiling at a stranger in the street. I have felt much happier, confident and positive within myself and I'm sure the abundance will follow shortly after.

Ghosts are all around us, all the time, it's just that we choose not to see them.

Ever thought that when you are cleaning the house, sitting on a train or even in the bath, there might be a ghost right there beside you? It's probably happened many times in your life but you just never noticed. There are many things happening in the world around us that we don't notice. Our brains are so used to them so just filters them out.

Eye-opening
I had an interesting conversation recently where a work colleague described an eye exam he'd had. The optician shined a light into his eyes and he could see the intricate network of blood vessels and capillaries all around his eye ball. The optician told him that these are always visible, we can all see them, it's just that our brains choose not to and instead focus on all the other interesting stimuli around us.

Brain training
This reminded me that many psychics suggest that we are all capable of seeing ghosts. We don't have to be natural mediums, we just have to train our brains to focus on them. Spirits are all around us every day - not just at old creepy haunted houses. There are many exercises and techniques you can use to tune into spirits and expand your psychic awareness.

We all have auras surrounding us, living and moving just like our bodies, but can anyone see them or is it just specialist aura readers?

Working at Prediction, a common question we're asked is, "Can you see my aura?" Sadly I always have to say no but our editor, Marion, can see them. I laughed when she first told me she could see auras and it wasn't long before we had half the office examining their limbs and staring each other trying to see their auras.

After a while a couple of the others could see auras as well. They couldn't believe it and I was frustrated that I couldn't see a thing. I was determined and with a lot of practicing I could finally see it myself.

How to see your aura
The best way to see your (or someone else's) aura is to stand in front of a white wall or put your hand on a piece of white paper. The aura is silvery-grey and looks almost like water or steam leaving your body. I found it easier to see by imagining heat evaporating from the body. It takes a lot of practice for some people, but it is worth it when you eventually manage to see it.

This is Prediction Magazine's horoscope, our birth chart from our first published issue in February 1936

As you can see we're very Aquarian. The Sun is in Aquarius (eccentric, alternative, rebellious, ideas from nowhere) and our ruling planet, Uranus, occupies the 11th House, Aquarius's natural home... representing friendships, group activities, community, societies). Our MC (the point of ambition and career) is also in Aquarius, along with Mercury, planet of communication, conjunct the Sun, strengthening the quirky, erratic, Aquarian connections, linking them with Gemini abilities... writing, talking, emailing, websites and so on. Prediction's Ascendant (the face we present to the world) is also in the versatile, flexible sign of Gemini.

Our Moon is in Gemini, which relates to fluidity of ideas and inspiration in the 12th House, the part of the horoscope relating to secrets, the unconscious mind, dreams and psychic ability.

Jupiter, the planet traditionally associated with publishing, travel and philosophy was on our Descendant (other people, the public) and it is strong in its own sign of Sagittarius.

Obviously we're picking out the nice, appropriate bits and turning a blind eye to those tricky squares and challenging oppositions... not to mention the general insanity that goes with all that Mercurial, Uranian, Aquarian stuff!

It's impossible to give a proper astrology reading in ten minutes, you can look at your own horoscope all your life and still be surprised by it, or learn new things. But if you were to pick out 'magazine' keywords from astrology symbolism, you'd definitely go down the Mercury, Gemini, Jupiter route - and these are remarkably well-placed in our chart. And for a specialist/unusual interest title? Aquarius of course!

What do the astrologers among you make of it?

Can there be such a thing as a delayed astrological effect from Mercury retrograde?

The anticipated chaos of Mercury retrograde passed us by without so much as a computer breakdown or a delayed train. But it seems that two weeks later Prediction is being hit by a delayed planetary reaction...

'Mercury retrograde' describes when Mercury, the planet of communication, appears to travel backwards in the sky. This happens about three times a year for a few weeks.

Mercury symbolises: words, travel, computers, transport, post, telephones and, well anything to do with communication. So when the planet turns backwards it slow down, screws up and generally upsets anything to do with these issues.

It happened a few weeks ago on 26th May and ‘went direct’ (finished) on 19th June. It was a particularly noticeable one because it was travelling backward through its own sign, Gemini (also connected with words, communication, computers, talking etc.)

Maybe the reason I’m still feeling it is because I’ve got Mercury in Gemini in my birth-chart. For the past two weeks, almost exactly when Mercury stopped being retrograde, I’ve been waiting to exchange contracts on a new house and everything connected with communications has gone a bit mad. Important things have been lost in the post, I’ve had problems re-directing my mail, travel plans have been delayed, computers have stopped working, alarm clocks fail and I’ve had to re-book so many different services and people that it has become a joke!

Mercury symbolises words, reading and therefore magazines… so it figures that everyone on the mag has suffered with the most random hold-ups and frustrations. Files have disappeared, stuff got deleted by accident, we’ve all been held up by frustrating travel delays from either commuting or driving. We even laid out the plan for the Prediction annual (196 pages) to have a freelancer point out there was no page 50!

Good god, the electricity in the office just went off! The lights, the machines, the lot.

A friend who’s trying to rent his flat had people that didn’t like the colour of the living room (yellow, Mercury’s colour) and I’ve been trying to retrieve things from computer that simply won’t let me open the files. Hands and arms are Mercury’s related parts of the body – and I discovered I’ve got Dupuytren’s Disease - (more dramatic than it sounds, it's a painless, lumpy palm condition).

I can’t even get on to the website to post my blog because it won’t recognise my password!

Has anyone ever heard of a delayed Mercury retrograde effect? Maybe we should post Prediction's birth chart and look at what's going on there...

Art Editor's Prediction on who will win Euro 2008

I like football and although I am not a fan of any clubs in particular, I do always watch the European cup as well as the World cup. My prediction for Euro 2008 is that Croatia will win. I have no explanation for this except that I have a gut feeling. I could be way off base with this one although I do think they have been playing very well. What I will say though the last time I had a gut feeling about a football championship was the 98 World cup in which I was sure France would win and of course they did in a big bad way against Brazil 3-0! Now I will also say that I was/am a big supporter of the French team and in all honesty wanted them to win. I have no attachment to Croatia but have a good feeling about them. There you have it. Take it for what its worth but at least if I put it out there and they do win I can prove that I predicted it. Having said that, I take no responsibility should they lose and you have placed a bet for them to win.
Happy watching