ASTRAL REFLECTIONS BY TIM STEPHENS APRIL 27 - MAY 3, 2008 All times/dates are PDT. I've used the word "destiny" in quite a few of the weekly messages below. It's my shorthand, because I don't really believe in destiny in the usual sense of a mysterious, arbitrary world that we wander through waiting for a stroke from God to boost or crush us. I believe that we choose every direction that our life takes, and hence choose almost everything that happens to us. The problem (if it is a problem) is that many of our choices take place subconsciously, and a fair portion unconsciously, whereas we "recognize ourselves" mostly on a conscious level. So when we have made a choice and suffer (or enjoy) the result, our conscious mind doesn't realize that we made that choice on a deeper level, and we call what then happens - what our subconscious or unconscious has chosen - luck - good or bad luck - or "destiny." Though sometimes we have an inkling, when the choice involves the subconscious. The subconscious is ruled by the planet Neptune, which also rules sleep, dreams, psychics, channelling, spirits and entities - and perception and deception. Sometimes, a dream, a hunch, or a psychic's words give us a feeling or insight that our "logical action" has come from a deeper place within us. The Tarot is a Neptune tool. Pluto rules the unconscious, which lies beneath the subconscious. We almost never know our unconscious, and almost never recognize it as the source of our actions. I feel less certain calling the unconscious a source of self-determination, as it is probably attached to other peoples' unconscious - a great spiritual/psychic ocean, and we lie soul-bathing on its beach, dipping our sentient toes/tentacles into the bracing elixir of "all-knowledge." Still, even in this "shared pool" or Jungian mass unconscious, each of us does form our future actions in absolute knowledge of the results - and if we do so, then we must DESIRE the results. Hence, we are all choosing our future every moment of our lives; we are totally in charge and totally responsible. (That's why Dostoyevsky, the Russian novelist, believed that everyone is responsible for everybody else's sins. We can extend that to include "everybody else's fate" - a truth many Republicans - and step-mothers - would deny.) This leaves another question: do we choose the environment we face? We do, if we are reincarnated, or new but sentient entities before conception. ("Okay, I'll be born to abusive parents - okay, okay already!"). If not, then we choose our path within an arbitrary environment that still contains many, many pathways. Either way, when I use "destiny" in the sun sign messages, I really mean "desire." Start Nothing: 7:18 a.m. to 2:27 p.m. Sun., 10:25 p.m. to 11:11 p.m. Tues., and 2:34 a.m. to 3:51 a.m. Fri. Aries March 21-April 19 Follow the money. In general, you'll make more headway these weeks if you accept people and situations as they appear and are, rather than researching or peering beneath the surface, or trying to fundamentally change things. Someone who talks a lot, but in a mellow way, is your financial ally. Your career (on the prestige side) is going great, but your work (employment) seems to have stagnated or crawled backward since 2007. That will change - next week brings new, meatier tasks for the rest of 2008. Impress someone, Friday/Saturday! Taurus April 20-May 20 Your energy, clout, magnetism, timing and effectiveness are high and growing! Start major projects, tackle situations and tasks you formerly weren't up to, and to impress others in love and business. Your charm and grace increase April 30 onward. A child-related, romantic, creative or speculative project, seemingly "dead" for the last four months, will revive in May. Someone who rejected you might now send signals. Look at his/her character before proceeding - if good, good! You lack confidence in career matters 1996-2010. The cure: sympathize with others, and charge ahead! Gemini May 21-June 20 Remain restful and contemplative. Be charitable, sympathetic and spiritual. Interface with institutions and government agencies. Home, family, retirement, security and real estate issues have been hobbled, "imprisoned by the past" since December/07. These clear now, letting you complete a transaction, make a change, or solve a situation. Your best time to "strike," in these areas and in investments, will be May 4 to 8 (next week). Meanwhile, study your life. Discern what/who is stale and what/who's growth-oriented in your life. Gently abandon the first, nurture and re-affirm the latter. Cancer June 21-July 22 Tell others your plans and dreams, Sunday, very early Monday, and Wednesday/Thursday. Don't let others confuse or discourage you Tuesday, Friday or Saturday. Intimacies, private conversations, secrets and research are favoured Sunday afternoon through Tuesday. Wisdom, love, and cultural and intellectual (legal, learning, religious) success come Wednesday/Thursday. You could fall mildly in love with a friend, or travel. Various paperwork and casual affairs, delayed for four months, now begin to flow steadily again. (Not sure that's good news.) Be ambitious Friday/Saturday, but avoid dealings with government or head office. Leo July 23-Aug. 22 Be ambitious. A "guardian angel" moves into your career and status arena Wednesday through late May. Higher-us, parents and VIPs will favour you, listen to your proposals, and might even boost you upstairs. A winter-spring slow-down in earnings, possessions and buying sprees slowly thaws. A workplace romance might arise this year, but keep money and love separate to avoid disappointment. Relationships have confused you or eroded your self-confidence (1996 into 2010). How to fix this? Easy - sympathy and compassion for others cures YOU. Remember this during Sunday to Wednesday's attraction! Virgo Aug. 23-Sept. 22 Legal, intellectual, religious, cultural, love, and similar themes fill your life now. Welcome them. Travel afar if you can. May is your best month to chase understanding, and this May is the first of 18 which occur during a favourable, major love influence. Open your eyes/heart to fresh hints and nuances of love. Love's changed; it's a new thing. Feel it out, experience, try, embarrass yourself, take a chance. There's lots of time to learn, as the real thing won't arrive before 2011. But it's looming! Wednesday/Thursday give hints! Libra Sept. 23-Oct. 22 Finances, mysteries, intimate clinches and commitments are slated. Decide first what's honest, what's appropriate, and then let yourself "be swayed." 2008 is a lucky turn-around year. Your usual problems and burdens shift into the background, allowing you to take action. Your best actions are: 1) to romance, create or take a joyous risk; and 2) to change homes or shift the round you stand on in career. If you're a writer, teacher, lawyer, etc., stop the paperwork shuffle and prepare to launch a new, fresh mode by 2009. Scorpio Oct. 23-Nov. 21 Relationships, possibilities, opportunities, far horizons and new vistas continue to fascinate you, but this week tends to focus a little more on the here and now. You'll spend your energies most profitably on domestic issues Sunday to Tuesday, on romance and creative projects Wednesday/Thursday, and on chores Friday/Saturday. You might be preparing for next week's "breakout." It's an easy, smooth week, but avoid financial, sexual and health initiatives Saturday. Be diplomatic all week, seek to work in tandem, display your sense of humor. A significant, stable relationship arises Wednesday/Thursday. Sagittarius Nov. 22-Dec. 21 I can't lie - drudgery faces you for the next three weeks. Settle down, tackle chores and health concerns. Eat and dress sensibly, wear sun block. The good news is double: 1) career doldrums of the past four months end now; and 2) your work should prove more lucrative than usual - you can boost yourself to a whole new income plateau (especially Sunday/Monday). If no sparkling money results appear, don't worry - sometime this year, they will! You'll have to work hard and impress a hard-headed person, as Friday/Saturday might show. Capricorn Dec. 22-Jan. 19 Love, romance, creative surges, gambling urges, beauty, pleasure and luck - you're riding a winning streak, especially early Monday and Wednesday/Thursday, when destiny seems to lend a hand. A romantic (or creative) communication could play a prominent role. Legal, travel, educational, publishing, cultural and love matters which have been held back or rushed backwards since December now begin to march forward. Remember one thing all year, Cap: you're lucky now, you taste freedom, so free yourself from superficial goals - seize on truly significant ventures. (Some of these might be charitable.) Aquarius Jan. 20-Feb. 18 Sink into the sluggish feeling that seeps in - you're in a circadian hibernation phase for several weeks. Contemplate where you've been, and how to get where you're going. This might entail letting some people or situations go, and nurturing or starting new directions. That's fine - be gentle, honest. You've waited months for a change to occur, especially in money zones - now finally you can set it in motion. (Only a Scorpio, Leo or Taurus will dispute your right to move on.) Handle home, family, security, retirement and gardening concerns. Pisces Feb. 19-March 20 The emphasis lies on communications, paperwork, details, errands, short trips, siblings and casual contacts. It's a busy time but not an important time. (It is time to wrap up or give a final push to a risky or creative money project, or to a romance. That person should talk now and reveal his/her thoughts - start it off. Be curious!) Lie low, rest and plan Sunday eve through Tuesday. Your energy and magnetism soar Wednesday/Thursday - destiny might "seal" a new, lasting friendship, or something deeper! Give someone sweet a nudge! www.astralreflections.com. Email: timstephens@shaw.ca. For a reading: 604-261-1337. /30/