Supper with Scorpio? Let's hope you've worked up a healthy appetite and don't mind a few anti-social ingredients. Here come spiky crustaceans sweated in garlic, curried fish eggs and braised ox-brains. While you're at it, open a vintage claret to wash it all down and break out the chocolate-covered ants for afters. By the way, ever tried absinthe?

Scorpio is an all-or nothing sign. Whatever your desire - food, drink, sex, power, money - you get it, have it, drink it and belch loudly afterwards. Total passion is the Scorpion's thing - otherwise, why bother? As a water sign, Scorpios run on emotions first and their blood-red ruler Mars ensures sex and aggression are rarely off the menu, not to mention revenge, the one dish they like served cold.

Scorpios throw themselves into foodie affairs with the same zeal as everything else. Their kitchens clang and flame like a mediaeval armour. They're not scared of chomping raw puffer fish, supping bat-wing broth or crunching crispy duck's feet. Odd cuts of offal are a challenge - they have the digestive capacity of Hannibal Lecter. Pickles and scorching chillis are a favourite (Mars rules hot and sour flavours). There have to be lashings of everything - this crowd burn calories faster than an Olympic gymnast. The feud-prone celebrity chef (take a bow Gordon Ramsay, b. 8 November 1966, a true Scorpio Fire Horse), the stalwart of the local greasy spoon (they thrive on any old muck) and the marathon boozer are all Scorpionic. So too are radioactive lamb, e-coli beef, Frankenstein GM foods and kitchen accidents (careful with that stinging tail!).

Fortunately, they come with miraculous powers of recovery. Of course, not all Scorpios are guzzlers. They can turn their powers inwards and deny themselves food if necessary - despite their Martian metabolism, they tend to largeness. You'll know when you're sat opposite a Scorpio; they'll be holding their knife a little too tightly and pinning you with a deep, piercing gaze.