ASTRAL REFLECTIONS BY TIM STEPHENS MARCH 22 - 28, 2009 All times/dates are PDT. PISCES, your LOVE FORECAST:___ My thanks to Manvir for suggesting this topic: what are the best times to have children in 2009? First, a note: every day, and even every minute of each day, produces different charts. Add in location, another variable, and over a billion kids could be born in a year, and each have different birth charts. Obviously, I can't even approach such detail. There's an important issue here: even if, say, I write that February 10-20 would be the best time of year to be born (for a good life, not for ease of birth) there will be times outside this period that are splendidly fortunate, but are not "long enough" for me to mention. And, within these 10 days, there will also be times that yield disastrous birth charts. For example, because the Moon makes an average of four aspects every day, or about 120 a month, SOME of them have to be bad, even during a "good" period! That said, here's my best effort: CANADIAN VERSION, ADD: Who wins, Michael Ignatieff or Stephen Harper? Believe it or not, both share the same Sun sign, Taurus. Both share the same Moon sign, Aquarius. And both have Jupiter, the planet of political winnings, in the same sign, in their respective "me-and-the-public" house. Their rising signs are as unknown as their birth times. I'm voting Iggy, just because his Jupiter is "closer." But it's a real toss-up. If morality holds any sway, Iggy's chart shows a basic honesty, whereas Harper's shows a tendency toward prevarication. Harper's chart is more "fatherly," whereas Iggy's is more scholarly. Scholars seldom win elections. Okay, here's a divination technique you can use yourself. Set up playing cards for a traditional game of solitaire. After you lay the cards out, you will be picking up (or clicking, if you're on a computer) one card at a time, and only once. As soon as you're gone through the deck once, that's it. No repetitions. I wouldn't try the "every third card, three times through the deck" style, at least not at first. If you turn a card from the deck, then realize you want the card you just covered, you can put it back - one card. You can't "put back" two cards or more. That's from the deck. The rule for the layout (the row of cards face down, each with card face-up, that lies horizontally across the table) is different: once you reveal a face-down card in the layout, you can't put it back and choose another. The object of solitaire is to place all 52 cards on top, in four suits, starting with the Ace, then 2, etc. Call this the "pot." The divination part: before you even shuffle the cards (on computer, before you click "deal," ask your question. The answer will be revealed in the cards you manage to place in the pot. If your question is a yes-no one, the number of cards reveals the answer: an odd number is "yes," an even number a "no." (When you get above 9, don't reduce - e.g., 13 is an odd number, not a numerological "4" and therefore "even.) If you place 11 or more cards in the pot, the answer is a strong one - a definite "yes" or "no" rather than a "sure, yes, probably or conditionally or a first blush." If you place exactly16 cards in the pot, your question deals with a situation of grave destruction, such as divorce. One caution: DON'T count the cards in your "pot" before you finish the game (otherwise, you can consciously engineer how many cards you place in the pot, which makes your answer invalid). Note how many cards fall in each suit. Generally, Clubs = work, burden or slowness, honest but phlegmatic motives. Spades = bad action, bad motives, selfishness, lust, even crime. Diamonds are light, social, quick, clever motives, everyday wishes coming true. Hearts = deep affections, luck, love, romance, love of children, good motives. (Diamonds = light, witty flirtation; hearts = infatuation.) As for the numbers in each suit (these meanings also apply to the total number in the pot): 1 = self, your personality or ability to project a facet of yourself. 2 = possession, earnings. 3 = communication, casual daily relationships, short travel. 4 = home, security, children, real estate. 5 = romance, adventure, risk, a "gamble." 6 = work, service, machinery. 7 = relationship, face-to-face, marriage, divorce, contract, fight, etc. 8 = change, lust, financial situation (e.g., investment). 9 = legal, far travel, understanding, cultural association. 10 = career, prestige, ambition. 11 = social group (and justice). 12 = same as 3, but luckier. 13 = same as four, but also transcendent concerns. 22 = a major change. All 52 cards: a final result, can't be changed, or is already accomplished in some manner. For instance, say you manage to put 3 hearts, 1 (i.e., Ace) club, 5 diamonds and 4 spades up before the game ended. This would be, first, a 13 total = yes to a yes-no question, and a result that would involve the transcendent concerns of security and family. (E.g., moral or spiritual angle/result of a certain action.) But in addition, the cards give a more precise answer: doing the contemplated action, or entering the asked about situation, would "make you" a) affectionately communicative, sincerely friendly, bring sweet words/friendship (3 hearts); b) you would project your most serious, responsible side (1 club); c) flirtatiously and superficially romantic - playing the field, or engaging in a romance - and probably winning someone, because you're doing it wittily and lightly - but you'd leave this romance if the wind changed or a real love came along (5 diamonds); and d) there's something deeply wrong about the security or family side of all this (4 spades). For example, if you were married and asking about pursuing someone, you'd impress them with your affectionate line (3 hearts) and an affair might even occur but it would be superficial (5 diamonds) and there could be grave effects on your family or home (4 spades). Your own motives could be bad, but the Ace of clubs suggests you're just being sober and actually seeking more responsibility - perhaps deep down you want to shoulder alimony payments, etc! Start Nothing: