ASTRAL REFLECTIONS BY TIM STEPHENS FEBRUARY 16 - 22, 2002 All times/dates are PST. "Bombing signals" are strong February 15/16 and 19/20. If something definite doesn't occur these days, then the possibility of war grows more remote. When we look at the terrorists versus America, or Bush vs. Saddam, we need to remember that the world is a symbiotic place. War is like sex, there is a certain lust to enjoin, and a similarity to the "enemies." They are both singing the same zeitgeist. In the 1930's, while Hitler used the Great Depression to attack Jews and take their property, in America gangs of "deputies" kicked dustbowl farmers off their land and deceived them into going to California, where they locked them into work camps with armed guards. Fear and greed cause cruelty, cruelty causes violence, and violence causes violence. The thuggery on both sides of the Atlantic was purged by its own crescendo, World War II. We need to realize that violence is its own justification, and its own reward. It escapes reason's weak grasp. It is futile to distinguish between the oppressed and the oppressors, for oppressors are simply evolved victims... My Dad was in WWII. He came home to our little white house in South Carolina and sat on the kitchen chair and showed us kids how you could not break an egg by squeezing it. His hands trembled all the time; so did his head. I remember his grin and his hopeful shining eyes, struggling with the remains of a personality. There are photographs of him, earlier - a handsome man, short, black-haired, deep-browed, with a long, proud forehead. He stands, squinting in a sunlit bare winter backyard at one of our houses, or on some steps in Europe, standing in his short military jacket. He's glaring with suspicion, glowering. Our Dad told us of the time he took shrapnel in his head and shoulders in Italy, and how they laid him on one of those iron cots on his face to dig the shrapnel out, and he bragged that he bent the cross-bar of the cot in half as he clenched with pain. I don't know if the story's true. My mother has said he was a liar, so I don't know if anything he said was true. (By extension, during the second and third decades of my life, I often wondered if anything was real. Now I know many things - though gaps remain, like unexplored peninsulas seen from a boat.)... Some movies from the 1950's affect me like nightmares. They're filled with the men who returned from the War. They treat women roughly; they seem to hate them. (Bogart tried to emulate these men, but he ended up looking silly.) I always wondered if they secretly hated women for staying home while they sailed off to years of horror. Start Nothing: 5:18 p.m. to 7:22 p.m. Sun., 7:56 a.m. to 8:48 p.m. Tues., 8:29 p.m. to 10:09 p.m. Thurs., and after 11:15 p.m. Sat. Aries March 21-April 19 I've warned you away from lawsuits, foreign travel, higher education, weddings and such profundities for the past year. This Sunday, matters in one or more of these areas might come to a head. Be cool, calm, and - if you can - be forgiving and gentle. One profundity that isn't "verboten" is love. Soon, by April or August, you're going to step into the "romance of the century!" (Or into a major creative success, teaching position, or unforgettable vacation.) Monday/Tuesday bring work - which kicks off a whole month of duties, quietude, and rest - get some. Taurus April 20-May 20 Drink of your thoughts Sunday, Taurus - drink deeply and long, about your future, your direction, your ambitions. This night through Tuesday brings a romantic, creative, pleasure-prone surge. (Monday's best.) Tuesday night kicks off a month during which some wishes are going to come true - this particular spring is a landmark, because it also begins a seven-year period in which your career wishes will very much come true! After all the striving and stress since 1996, you'll finally be on the road to success - this will bring social happiness, too! Gemini May 21-June 20 Read the news Sunday - whatever's sober therein helps "tone down" your Saturday over-estimations (or rumors/worries). Sink into home, family, nature and your private thoughts Sunday night to Tuesday. Get your rest, avoid competition. You'll need your energy reserves Tuesday night onward, when a month of ambitions, relations with VIPs, and career strivings begins. The month ahead also starts a seven-year period of intensified career/VIP dealings - you'll need to avoid over-work. Your career will "change" to become more intellectual, travel, legal or media-oriented. Love's real Wednesday/Thursday - but is it simple? Cancer June 21-July 22 Sunday-to-Tuesday marks the end of a deep, mysterious phase. Health problems will dissolve. This week not only starts a month of legal, far-travel, love, social ritual, media-publishing, educational, religious, philosophical and similar themes, it also opens the door to a seven-year stroll down this aisle of delights! You're going to visit foreign countries, go to school (least likely), find fame, write your poetry at last, fall in love, etc! (Not all at once - the influence will take awhile to build, but you'll notice it pretty strongly this June to December!) Leo July 23-Aug. 22 The relationship excitement of the past month (and the past seven years) reaches an "end-phase intensity" Sunday/Monday. You'll either say, "thanks, I've found mine," or you'll be glad years of "challenge" are ending, or you'll make a last-minute declaration to someone who's attracted you. Remember my prior warnings about romantic chasing - this is not romance, this is love, partnership. Soon, relationships turn intimate, private, consequential and, perhaps, elusive. For seven years ahead, major opportunities (and your focus) center on research, diagnosis, health, sex, investments, lifestyle changes, commitments and consequences. Virgo Aug. 23-Sept. 22 A month of work and drudgery ends Tuesday. But you'll feel your energy and sense of adventure rising even earlier, by Sunday night. Still, spend Sunday in deep, complete rest. Contemplate, seek nature, snooze in the sun. "Reality" shows starkly - it's a good counter to the overblown fears/hopes of the last few days. Love winks at you Monday! Handle domestic/stomach/property/career problems diplomatically Tuesday. (This day starts not only a month, but a seven year period in which relationships surge toward intensity, love, and other things!) Chase money, not prestige, Wednesday/Thursday. Libra Sept. 23-Oct.22 Your pleasures subside for awhile, Libra. Sweet romantic communications linger through the weeks ahead. (You'll catch someone's admiring glance Wednesday/Thursday!) But in general you're entering a month of work and health concerns now, so buckle down to serious business. Protect your health, eat right, rearrange your schedule to include the needs of children, pets, etc. Make one last stab or grab of love Sunday daytime or around Monday noon, Wednesday, or Thursday eve. Money problems arise Friday - one solution Saturday. April will heighten social delights, might bring a new mate. Scorpio Oct. 23-Nov. 21 Chase a career goal Sunday - but keep one eye on your home, family. (What good's success in one, rebellion in the other?) Your dreams start to come true late Sunday night into Tuesday (Monday night best). You'll feel social, flirty, hopeful! A month of romantic, creative, speculative, pleasure, and child-oriented fascinations begins Tuesday night. Prepare for happiness, emotions, and a winning streak! This month ahead also shunts you from seven years of tension and stress to seven years of unusual "joy." Rest, seek governments, charities, admin's, Wednesday/Thursday. You shine Friday/Saturday! Sagittarius Nov. 22-Dec. 21 Seek wisdom, be mellow Sunday - love of a gentle kind could be brewing. Expect "sudden" or unexpected news Sunday/Monday. Knuckle down to career, other duties Monday - charm VIPs in the p.m. But don't start ambitious things Tuesday - nor for the month ahead, which instead favors building a base, strengthening your foundations. That includes family relations, real estate, renovations, retirement planning, selling a business - and growing closer to your soul. You're going to be making some important "abandon or nurture" decisions regarding projects, people and situations. Wishes come true Wednesday/Thursday! Capricorn Dec. 22-Jan. 19 A money surprise is due Sunday/Monday - one of the last. For the seven years ahead, money and your earning/spending circumstances settle into a routine. That's good - no more surprises - but it also means your earnings inventiveness and inspiration fade. (Overall you gain, since few of those inspirations paid off during the last few years!) The April-August period this year can double your net worth, or open the door to major profit/lucrative circumstance. The seven years ahead also let your sex life return to a "normal" pace. Be ambitious Wednesday/Thursday. Aquarius Jan. 20-Feb. 18 A sudden urge for change propels you into taking a step that surprises others early this week. Relocation, a relationship, or business is involved. It creates a good result if you act Sunday before twilight, a good short-term but bad long-term outcome if you act Monday - and you're "too late" Tuesday. A mellow mood, wisdom, gentle love enter Tuesday night to Thursday. There's something not so gentle around, though - some "cruelty" - don't indulge in it, seek God's p.o.v. Chase money - carefully - Friday/Saturday. The month ahead brings more of it! Pisces Feb. 19-March 20 Tackle chores but act slowly, carefully Sunday, Pisces - avoid fatigue around electricity, traffic, power tools. Relationships open your eyes to something sweet Monday, to regrets Tuesday. Preserve yourself: stay a bit "apart" both days. Your charisma, energy, magnetism and all-round clout are going to surge upward from Tuesday night into late March - so, in love and all relationships (power, business, legal, etc.) wait, take time to see the pitfalls and blockages before you charge in. Now through 2010, you'll be energized, unpredictable. Remember to be gentle, kind, also! www.astralreflections.com. E-mail: timstephens@shaw.ca. For a reading: 604-261-1337. /30/