THIS WEEK tastes like déjà vu with a side of impulse.
Mercury turns retrograde in Pisces on the 26th, and suddenly everyone wants their childhood snacks, their ex’s pasta recipe, their grandmother’s stew. Logistics wobble. Orders get mixed up. Groceries are forgotten on the counter.
Then Mars squares Uranus and someone almost rage-orders a ₹3,500 delivery at 11:47 pm.
The assignment?
Keep it simple. Keep it nostalgic. Keep your receipts.
♈ ARIES
You are not meant to be seen this week. You are meant to be swaddled.
Solitary comfort meals win — khichdi, congee, dal-rice, soup eaten from a deep bowl under a blanket. Do not “accidentally” pick up the tab for the entire table. Do not grocery shop hungry. Budget discipline is sexy right now.
Private food > performative food.
♉ TAURUS
You want old friends and familiar flavours.
This is not the week for that impossible-to-book omakase. Order your favourite noodles, sit cross-legged on the floor, and laugh until your stomach hurts. Keep plans stupidly simple — Mercury retrograde will punish over-organisation.
Nostalgia is the seasoning.
♊ GEMINI
Your mind is busy; your fridge should not be chaos.
Structured grocery lists. Pre-planned meals. No improvising mid-aisle. Cook something that requires reading — a recipe from a book, not a reel. Feed your intellect as much as your appetite.
Clarity in the pantry = clarity in the brain.
♋ CANCER
You are reclaiming territory.
If someone has been steamrolling your tastes, this is the week you say, “No. We are not ordering that.” But avoid complicated dinner logistics — reservations will glitch, plans will wobble.
Cook at home. Choose boldly. Keep the drama out of the sauce.
♌ LEO
Shared money, shared groceries, shared expectations — it’s all under review.
Untangle the fridge politics. Have the conversation about who keeps finishing the good cheese. Then cook something intentional for the person who’s felt second-place to your ambition.
Less FOMO dinner parties. More focused intimacy.
♍ VIRGO
Put the apron down.
You are not hosting. You are not meal-planning for everyone else. You are not optimising protein ratios for the household.
This is solo nourishment territory. A decadent takeaway eaten alone. A slow breakfast in silence. Radical rest includes not chopping onions for others.
♎ LIBRA
You are organising chaos by day and romanticising life by night.
Pantry reset. Fridge wipe-down. Meal prep for the week. And then — excellent wine with someone charming.
Health systems + la dolce vita. No guilt allowed.
♏ SCORPIO
Domestic volatility is real.
If the kitchen feels tense, exit gracefully. Take a long solo grocery walk. Buy fresh herbs like you’re planning a new life. Avoid cooking in a crowded, emotionally charged room.
Space is the main ingredient.
♐ SAGITTARIUS
You are bored and slightly feral.
Do not demolish your kitchen in a fit of restlessness. Instead, introduce novelty through flavour — Ethiopian one night, Korean the next, something you cannot pronounce on Thursday.
Burn the agitation through spice, not renovation.
♑ CAPRICORN
Money wake-up call.
If you’re splurging, it better be on something timeless: proper olive oil, aged balsamic, real vanilla, good knives. Hunt for a deal like it’s a sport.
Quality over chaos. Elegance over impulse.
♒ AQUARIUS
You are frugal, sensitive, and one minor inconvenience away from snapping.
Farmers’ market produce. From-scratch soups. Cheap, nourishing, deeply satisfying food cooked at home. Avoid overstimulating restaurants.
Your nervous system needs gentle flavours and low decibels.
♓ PISCES
Mercury is reversing in your sign. Your nervous system is raw.
Cut back on caffeine. Be cautious with sugar. Alcohol will hit harder than you think. Choose grounding, earthy meals — root vegetables, grains, warm broths.
Protect your energy like it’s the last jar of honey in winter.
Madame Zest's Parting Spoon
This week is about maturity. In appetite. In love. In rhythm.
The question isn’t “What do I crave?”
It’s “What will sustain me?”
Cook accordingly.