Then, the December 7 Gemini full moon will make an exact alignment, demanding that we clear the air. Heap on the diplomacy and patience, which could be in short supply. That trademark Sagittarius season honesty, normally a refreshing burst of candor, could veer toward the brutal side. While you can’t avoid certain conversations, take extra care to keep them from getting contentious. This energy crescendos on December 3, when soulful Neptune ends a five-month retrograde through Pisces....

But is this melatonin side effect actually backed by science? Here’s what the research says. “This is critical for many functions,” Teitelbaum tells mbg, but, most importantly, for nudging us to sleep at nighttime. When the sun goes down and your space gets dark, that’s when melatonin can kick in and tell the body that it’s time for bed. What’s interesting is that most people associate melatonin with sleepiness, when the true parallel is between melatonin and a clock....

In all seriousness, it’s essential to take note of the foods you’re eating because how you nourish your body has an impact on so many aspects of your health. Just as some foods allow you to feel your best, others may be to blame for bloating, a bad mood, and even headaches or skin flare-ups. Ever notice how processed foods make you feel a bit off? That’s the perfect example of certain ingredients not optimally fueling your body....

Now the acne had started migrating downward, showing up along my jawline and neck as well as on my face. Deep-rooted, cystic acne that never seemed to go away. I didn’t know what to do anymore. Some days I stayed at home because there just wasn’t enough makeup in the world to make me want to show my face in public. Some days I wanted to scream and rip my skin off because I hated so much what I saw in the mirror....

It went like this: I began building the kind of life a woman is supposed to build. I became a good wife, mother, daughter, Christian, citizen, writer, woman. But while I made school lunches, wrote memoirs, rushed through airports, made small talk with neighbors, carried on with my outer life, I felt an electric restlessness buzzing inside me. It was like constant thunder rolling right there beneath my skin—a thunder made of joy and pain and rage and longing and love too deep, scalding, and tender for this world....

I know this story well because it was mine. I was brushed off by Western medicine because symptoms like headaches, constipation, and stomach pain are difficult to diagnose and after a while, they said, “There is nothing you can do.” So, I said, “Hell no,” rolled up my denim sleeves, and did it myself. I used myself as a guinea pig to test every strategy to heal my digestive disorders. I played with everything from private health care treatments to red reishi mushroom supplements to New Age healers....

Before I gave up drinking, I experienced hundreds of fleeting moments in which I knew that I wanted to become teetotal, but I couldn’t bear the thought of living the rest of my life craving something that I had deemed off-limits. And so I continued to drink. That is, until I changed my approach to the whole business of living life sober. Next time that happens, remember this: if you continue to drink, you may continue to have these mornings....