ASTRAL REFLECTIONS BY TIM STEPHENS NOVEMBER 27 - DECEMBER 3, 2005 All times/dates are Pacific Standard. WAR: Long ago, when America invaded Afghanistan, I wrote here that the U.S. would meet fierce opposition in Herat, a small city in the western portion. But the media didn't report even one battle there. Did I goof? Maybe. Last week CNN presented a background report on Al-Zarqawi. Zarqawi, the insurgency leader in Iraq, is responsible for more American military casualties than anyone since Viet Nam. His Al Quada training camp was located in Herat. He fled from Herat to Iraq with his "army" shortly after the U.S. invaded Afghanistan. If the U.S. Army had read my column (and believed it - like, oh sure) and rushed to Herat, they might have captured Zarqawi and shortened the Iraq war. Ah, well. Long ago NASA ignored my prediction that the Challenger space shuttle would blow up, and investors ignored my predictions of the 1987 stock crash, and the 2000 tech bubble burst. Now, if I were always right, I'd complain about this_ FINANCES: if companies do respond to their birth charts (based on the date of incorporation) it becomes a rule of thumb never to buy a shell company. Lawyers keep these already-incorporated companies on their shelves, ready to sell to anyone who wants to incorporate. Usually, they're companies the lawyers were hired to create, then the client never showed up, or somehow abandoned the company. The trouble is, if a company's first "situation" was one of being abandoned, then chances are good that it was created under a Mercury retrograde or some other astrological blight. By buying that company, you inherit that poor luck, and pass it on to your business projects. STOCK MARKET INVESTING: Avoid companies that have the Sun in the same zodiacal sign as your lunar south node. (E.g., if your south node is in Scorpio, never buy a Scorpio company's shares - one whose incorporation date falls between Oct. 23 and Nov. 21, any year. Your buy-sell timing will be terrible.) To use this advice, you have to know where your south node was at birth. Here's a short list: If you were born from 26 Jan 49 to 26 Jul 50, your south node is in Libra; then to 28 Mar 52, Virgo; then to 9 Oct 53, Leo; then to 2 Apr 55, Cancer; then to 5 Oct 56, Gemini; then to 16 Jun 58, Taurus; then to 15 Dec 59, Aries; then to 10 Jun 61, Pisces; then to 23 Dec 62, Aquarius; then to 25 Aug 64, Capricorn; then to 19 Feb 66, Sagittarius; then to 19 Aug 67, Scorpio; then to 19 Apr 69, Libra; then to 2 Nov 70, Virgo; then to 27 Apr 72, Leo; then to 27 Oct 73, Cancer; then to 10 Jul 75, Gemini; then to 7 Jan 77, Taurus; then to 5 Jul 78, Aries; then to 12 Jan 80, Pisces; then to 20 Sep 81, Aquarius; then to 16 Mar 83, Capricorn; then to 11 Sep 84, Sagittarius; then to 6 Apr 86, Scorpio; then to 2 Dec 87, Libra. And so on. Start Nothing: 8:38 p.m. Sun. to 8:33 a.m. Mon., 7:16 a.m. to 2:32 p.m. Wed., and 7:17 a.m. to 5:42 p.m. Fri. Aries March 21-April 19 Continue to avoid new starts in any area before Saturday (especially in finances, debt, sexual intimacy, commitments and lifestyle changes). Relationships give you the greatest pleasure and the greatest pain Sunday/Monday: you're angry, you're happy; you're tense, you melt in someone's sweet aura. My advice: keep the status quo. Embrace gifts without seeking rewards, especially in love and sex. A "failure" lurks if you ignore reality's hard facts. Love, learning, far travel, culture, law and philosophy bless you Wednesday eve to Friday morn. Be ambitious Saturday - start something! Taurus April 20-May 20 This week begins with a few jolts and bumps, but evens out into a smooth, sweet ride. Avoid new starts/ventures until December 3. Be protective of your financial position, career and reputation Sunday/Monday. Don't mix friends with practical affairs. (You received a "clue" recently that friends, love and opportunities are going to mix, luckily - but don't seize these opportunities yet. Monday night expands these clues, again!) Remain cautious Tuesday day, but love and merge this night. Thursday to Saturday brings lucky money, secrets, understandings, knowledge, cultural events - perhaps sex, perhaps love! Gemini May 21-June 20 Don't start anything before December 4. The weeks ahead emphasize relationships, relocation, public dealings, negotiations, opportunities and opposition, especially this Wednesday eve to Friday. Expect minor or major changes in these - be ready to grow! Sunday's sweet, mellow - either love enters your thoughts, or nature offers her beauty. Hints arrive Monday/Tuesday that your work role is about to expand - and that it won't be easy. (Now through next November, stride through work purposefully but "mindlessly." Don't get too creative.) Computers display glitches Monday. Investments, sex, research succeed Friday night, Saturday. Cancer June 21-July 22 Work, health and duties fill the weeks ahead. Something will change in these by mid-December. Just plod along. Don't start new projects before December 4 - especially avoid new loves, creative and speculative ventures. (These will expand greatly through next November - sweet clues arrive about this Sunday to Tuesday. But don't dive into them immediately. Late December, January and February will be soon enough.) A new work "push" comes Wednesday p.m. through Friday -Thursday's best. The pace is slow but sure. You face an intriguing opportunity or person Saturday! Leo July 23-Aug. 22 This is your last week of delay. By early next week, new opportunities and exciting meetings will arrive. But continue in "caution mode" this immediate week ahead. Sunday's easy, interesting - be curious. Monday/Tuesday show you how home, healing, real estate, agriculture, and similar things will expand for the year ahead, and Tuesday shows the obstacles you'll face. Your romantic, creative, gambling and beauty-loving side emerges strongly Wednesday-Friday - all is slow but stable, Thursday. (Wednesday night features an incompatible attraction.) Charge into work, machinery and health projects December 3 and 4. Virgo Aug. 23-Sept. 22 Your mind is fired with urges, ideas, opinions all winter (until mid-February). Mystery and understanding mingle. Love, romance, or a sexual attraction also hover around you this November/December. But realize that 1) you should spend present weeks immersed in real estate, home, family, soul and nurturing issues; and 2) you shouldn't start anything before December 3. Early week (Monday-Wednesday) is disruptive, frustrating. But Thursday to Saturday, your domestic and nurturing urges begin to mingle in a workable, intriguing way with romance, creativity, pleasure, beauty, and kids (and their education)! Libra Sept. 23-Oct. 22 Start nothing before December 3. Until then, be curious, peek into newspapers, ask questions, explore in your car (especially Wednesday to Friday) - and handle old money matters, pay overdue bills, collect payments. The entire year ahead expands your money dealings, earnings and purchases. You'll get a hint of this good fortune Monday, and a glimpse, Tuesday, of the obstacles that attempt to turn this good luck into bad. (Dutiful socializing and pleasurable work create these obstacles.) Dig into lucky and fruitful home, security, therapy and soul zones Friday night, Saturday. Scorpio Oct. 23-Nov. 21 The best and the worst of the year ahead lies within you. You'll sense the best Monday night, when a cheerful, optimistic mood tries to bubble up (perhaps prompted by a romantic notion or friendly glance) and you could see the worst Tuesday morning/noon, when you view work/career as unpromising and hard, and home/family as worrisome (or you react to them with gloom and doubt). By Thursday/Friday, life offers the solution to that "work attitude." Start nothing before December 3. A call or trip will bring affection, beauty, Saturday! Sagittarius Nov. 22-Dec. 21 Your energy, charisma and luck climb now! (Except perhaps Monday to midday Wednesday - a useful period, because it gives you a strong hint of the benefits and difficulties of the entire year ahead - benefits Monday eve/night, difficulties Tuesday. Watch accident potential, and "accidental words" Monday daytime.) Earlier, Sunday's hopeful and friendly. Your energy and magnetism really rise Wednesday night to Friday - but you also feel stable, unimpressed by heights or depths. Don't start new projects until Saturday - this day (or the following Sunday) could trigger a good new money project/goal! Capricorn Dec. 22-Jan. 19 Continue to rest, lie low, avoid competition, and protect your health. Handle spiritual, charitable, institutional, red tape, and government or head-office related contacts. Don't start new projects, even in these areas, before December 3. Sunday promotes ambition. Avoid excessive communication or driving (or handling any machinery) Sunday through Wednesday night. Monday/Tuesday raise your spirits mildly, and give clues to the big luck that's going to please you during the year ahead (Monday night) and the obstacles that will "fight" that luck (Tuesday). Push forward, create opportunities, be "selfish" Saturday! Aquarius Jan. 20-Feb. 18 Your popularity climbs! Social delights, light romance, optimism, hopes, friends and entertainment buoy your spirits, especially Sunday and Wednesday night to Friday. Career pressures, ambition, prestige goals and parental duties are slated Monday to Wednesday. Monday night gives you a clue to show how your reputation, career or status can grow in the year ahead. Tuesday (morning, noon) confronts you with the obstacles to this lucky growth. (The obstacles are rooted in relationships, and your quietude/anxiety.) Start nothing new before December 4. Rest, seek spiritual horizons, sweet solitude, Saturday. Pisces Feb. 19-March 20 Everything is temporarily stalled until December 3; don't start any new projects before then. This is an important week (as are the next two) for your career, worldly status, parenting role, ambitions and relations with higher-ups. Pay particular attention, be reliable and hard-working Wednesday eve (unpredictable) Thursday (smooth, successful) and pre-dawn Friday. A good change brews in career zones-you'll probably see it about mid-December. Take care early week, as disruptions and accident potential are rife. Monday opens your mind; Tuesday attempts to close it: resist "low brows!" (94) www.astralreflections.com. Email: timstephens@shaw.ca. For a reading: 604-261-1337. /30/