My Chinese New Year horoscope

is in the paper this morning. I have not read it. I am not likely to read it.

I also know that the people who run the "traditional Chinese massage" service in our local shopping centre will read it. They will take it all quite seriously.  I have used their services (on the advice of my doctor) on several occasions. During conversation it has come to light that these interesting people do believe, at least to some extent, in these things.

This morning however, seeing the two pages devoted to these horoscopes, I was reminded of something else. You see, one of the many things I have done in my life is be a "housemistress" in a boarding school for girls. Now I was only a "junior housemistress". It meant I was expected to do things like supervise prep (homework) and supervise a table at meal times. I was fortunate in that over the weekends I was usually "volunteering" at a residential nursery school for profoundly deaf children. The boarding school and I had come to an arrangement that I did extra nights during the week so I could fit in the nursery school as well. 

But there were several occasions on which I was at the boarding school for Sunday lunch in the staff room and not in the girls' dining room. It was the first of those occasions which I remember so clearly. Oh, the embarrassment!

We had eaten and I was wondering when the headmistress would leave the room...as with royalty you did not leave the room before the headmistress.  No, it became clear we were all expected to sit there. The headmistress picked up the Sunday paper. Was she going to read it while the staff gossiped? 

She turned the pages quite rapidly and found the page she wanted.

"Right girls," (we were called "girls"), "Let's see what this week has in store for us."

She stopped and looked at me and then asked, "What sign do you come under Cat?"

I didn't even know what she was talking about.

"Your star sign," she said patiently. When I still looked confused she said, "Your birthday?"

I told her my birthday and she nodded. She then went ahead and read out the "horoscope" for the week for everyone in the room. I cannot remember how many she read. Fortunately it was not all of them as some people "shared" a sign. As she did it I watched the expressions on the face of the staff. There were several who were obviously, at least to me, not taking it seriously. There were others who were. 

On finishing the headmistress closed the paper and folded it carefully. Then she rose and said her farewells. I followed her as soon as I could. The incident had left me thoroughly confused. Surely some of these otherwise intelligent and able women didn't take something like that seriously? The words had been vague, able to be interpreted in many ways. It seemed ridiculous to me.

Later in the afternoon the headmistress and I came across each other in the school grounds. She was carrying the Sunday paper and, waving it, gave me a wink as she passed.