ASTRAL REFLECTIONS BY TIM STEPHENS APRIL 6 - 12, 2008 All times/dates are PDT. Guess I should give John McCain equal time here. The Republican presidential candidate was born 29 August 1936. He's a Virgo, with his Moon probably in Capricorn. (It moved into Aquarius late that August night.) This makes him deeply earthy, practical, romantic, creative, swayed by beauty, and interested in the welfare (especially the education) of children. Many Virgos marry twice, and so has John. He tends to be attracted to women of another generation, and to feel that marriage is both confining/restricting and romantic. He probably left his first wife because she was no longer beautiful. He tends to meet and love honorable and wise women, and women, including his mother, have been the best source of wisdom and discipline for him. He's very melodramatic and sensitive about his male prowess, and needs a wife who flatters that side of him. He disagrees with males, sees them as both competition (enemies) and potential partners. When he seeks concord, though, or puts forth proposals, he is often rebuffed by the males he approaches, which could explain his gruffness and reported cruel remarks - he's learned to fight back. Uranus, the planet of eccentricity and humanitarian motives, sits in McCain's sign of intellectual processes, law, learning, and international affairs. This is a kinder man than appears - but his kindness is intellectual, cool, and impersonal. He's very fortunate in real estate, in domestic situations and in retirement. But he's unwise to chase political goals and prestige in general, as disappointment tends to dog him. (This doesn't mean he won't win the 2008 election.) He's wise and blessed at home, with children. McCain's much more indecisive and waffling than he appears, or than the media shows. 2008/09 is a time of destiny for John, as Pluto travels right over his north (good karma) lunar node. His years of alienation (since 1995) are over. It might sound like a weird or anti-American thing to say, but McCain's south lunar node in Cancer shows that the U.S.A. is one of the worst places for him to associate with - being in the U.S., or being American, somehow leads him into moral dilemmas/transgressions, unwise choices, and situations of "eternal delay." The Vietnam bombing sorties and his "wait" for a run at the Presidency, are examples. On the other hand, if John's Moon is in Capricorn, he will live a long time, and might achieve his biggest kudos late in life. The Moon indicates the woman/mother in a man's chart. John's Moon in the sign of longevity (Capricorn) explains his mother's advanced age, and indicates that he prefers to be with women who have thin, heavy-boned bodies. Start Nothing: 8:02 a.m. to 6:20 p.m. Sun., 8:13 a.m. to 6:27 p.m. Tues., 9:11 a.m. to 7:43 p.m. Thurs., and 11:32 a.m. to 11:29 p.m. Sat. Aries March 21-April 19 Your energy, magnetism and effectiveness continue to climb! Start significant ventures, seek attention - you'll get it. You have the upper hand in negotiations, and your charm attracts the opposite sex. Sunday shows that charm isn't enough, though - you might glimpse the dark side of sexual attraction, or see that career and love aren't mixing. Chase money Sunday eve to Tuesday morning, but retreat (Tuesday) when you sense things are built on mist rather than on concrete. Short trips, errands fill mid-week. Settle into home, family and property concerns Friday/Saturday. Taurus April 20-May 20 Continue to lie low, plan and contemplate until April 19. Reconnect with your soul - solitude will be sweet and restful. (Though a fair amount of errands and paperwork will interrupt your reveries.) Be watchful and thoughtful Sunday - you could spy a dilemma between secrets and wisdom, temptation and ethics. Which you choose could affect later success in marriage and other relationships. Your energy rises mildly Monday/Tuesday - get things done. Tuesday flashes money caution signals; Wednesday/Thursday are financially productive. Friends, siblings, communications and short trips arrive Friday/Saturday. Avoid sarcasm Thursday! Gemini May 21-June 20 After Sunday, wishes can come true! (Sunday holds a conflict between wishes, friendship - and darker things, power and lust.) Your popularity rises, a significant flirtation might occur if you're single. Chase your dreams, tell your friends or family what you want to do in future - this is one of those rare times when they'll tend to agree, to join in. (Such times have been rare in the last twelve years, but they'll occur more frequently from 2008 forward.) Be restful and contemplative Monday/Tuesday. Your energy and charisma soar mid-week! Cancer June 21-July 22 Be ambitious! Make proposals, seek meetings with VIPs, bosses and/or parents, ask for more responsibility, or launch your own projects, start a business, etc. These succeed best April 7, 8 (before 4 a.m. PDT) 13 (after 11 a.m.) and 14 to 16. Watch for subtle clues to minor but "future-affecting" conflicts between your ambitions and your relationships Sunday (April 6) Thursday, and April 13. Higher-ups favor you. Hopes, optimism and friends make Monday/Tuesday sparkle! Retreat and rest Tuesday eve to Thursday: plan; foresee obstacles. You're in charge Friday/Saturday! Leo July 23-Aug. 22 Be hopeful yet wary, eager yet astute enough to steer around "sinking situations" in media, international, legal, educational, intellectual and cultural arenas. Your luck is growing in these zones, but there are "wrong doorways" too. In general, through the next 17 months, you can avoid pitfalls and find the right doorways by going out of yourself, to others, by making contact. Study Sunday and Thursday (and next Sunday, the 13th) for clues to a work-versus-ethics trend. Chase your ambitions Monday/Tuesday. Hopes, popularity and social joys visit mid-week! Rest Friday/Saturday. Virgo Aug. 23-Sept. 22 Pay attention to - and mingle with those interested in - the depths and mysteries of life: health, psychology, debts/mortgages, taxes, investments, finances and binding intimacies. Research rewards. This is your lucky year for romance, and March to early May are one of your intensified periods for sexual attraction. (Another, stronger one will come July through mid-August.) 'Nuff said. Some minor obstacles to success in finances, sex and "secret matters" pop up Sunday, Thursday, and April 13. Study these as clues to the future. Be ambitious mid-week. Social joys come Friday/Saturday! Libra Sept. 23-Oct. 22 Relationships dominate. You'll feel various attractions, both business and emotional ones, but you'll also spy several embryonic conflicts between your domestic status, another's career/social status, and a desired liaison. (One of you wants ambition, one security.) These are small impediments, but study them for clues to future obstacles. Contemplate how to steer around them, or incorporate them. One clue: you're lucky in security areas this year, and another's lucky in career. These nuggets of dilemma appear Sunday (subtly) Thursday and April 13. Love is mellow Wednesday, idealistically argumentative Thursday. Scorpio Oct. 23-Nov. 21 Continue to plow into your chores. An idea, insight or small event Sunday hints that you shouldn't talk a lot at the workplace, before April 14. Don't pay too much attention to co-workers who might urge you to join in political or religious discussions, especially Thursday to April 13. Protect your health Sunday - dress for the season. Relationships, opportunities and negotiations flow with luck Monday, but stumble a bit Tuesday. Secrets, investments, intimacy and commitments lure you mid-week - act Wednesday, or wait. Wisdom and a mellow mood enter Friday/Saturday. Sagittarius Nov. 22-Dec. 21 Romance, speculation, creative projects, sports, games, an impulsive dive into pleasure - these are slated for you! Twelve years of struggle are over - present pleasures give you a hint of how great life can be! But watch three days: April 6, 10 and 13 for clues presented by (probably small) obstacles, all rooted in the basic conflict between pleasure and paying for it, between holding what you have or gambling for more, between creativity and a "rote job." It's your choice. Consider that clinging to "security" might prove suffocating long-term. Capricorn Dec. 22-Jan. 19 The accent lies on home, property, children, nature, security, retirement, and the endings and beginnings of projects and relationships. This is a year of great freedom and luck for you - and if you use the freedom to seize the luck (e.g., a lucky opportunity) then you'll have committed yourself once again, and there goes the freedom! But that's a good process, for it sends you in a new direction, with new hopes, rewards and co-operators. The "view" (of all this) should become clearer Sunday, Thursday and April 13. Aquarius Jan. 20-Feb. 18 The emphasis continues on communications, talk, travel, paperwork, details, errands and casual contacts. Be curious. Listen, watch, ask questions and study the responses. April 6, 10 and 13 (and generally this whole week) highlight the difference between all that talk/travel stuff, and your inner world. Ultimately, your inner world will win, which is good this year - it removes you from superficial time-wasters. Look seriously at spirituality, charity, helping humanity, as "big" goals. Home and property look lucky Monday/Tuesday. Romance, pleasure hit barriers Tuesday, but succeed Wednesday. Tackle chores Friday/Saturday. Pisces Feb. 19-March 20 Continue to chase money - work, clients, sell items, etc. Creative Pisces can now sell their masterpieces (to May 8). Your passionate, sensual side woke long ago (early March) so you're either with a new lover, squeezing old faithful with renewed ardor, or you're in line for a powerful flirtation. Your temper's pretty high, too. It feels good to just let go. Study certain clues (April 6, 10 and 13) that show a possible conflict between earnings (or what they demand of you) and your social, creative or romantic goals. www.astralreflections.com. Email: timstephens@shaw.ca. For a reading: 604-261-1337. /30/