Sour

Sour is the great clarifier. A squeeze of lemon over a rich dish. A spoonful of yogurt cutting through sweetness. The bright acid of a good vinaigrette pulling a salad into sharp focus. Sourness does not compete with other flavours — it defines them. A Sour Year is similarly clarifying: the fog lifts, the unnecessary falls away, and what remains is more precise for having been sharpened.

Sour Years bring honesty. Things you have been complicating reveal their true shapes. Relationships that have been vague become legible — for better or worse. This is not a gentle year; it is an honest one. It cuts quickly and without sentiment, which is sometimes exactly what is needed.

Sour’s shadow is nastiness. Too much acid and nothing else can be tasted. The Sour Year asks for honesty — not for the pleasure of being sharp.