PrFont34Bin0BinSub0Frac0Def1Margin0Margin0Jc1Indent1440Lim0Lim1ASTRAL REFLECTIONS BY TIM STEPHENS MAY 16 - 22, 2010 All times/dates are PDT. Some things are just obvious: The European Union falling apart - there are 16 countries (the number of destruction) in the Eurozone. Or the bad Pope: isn't his name Rat - zinger? Let's be frank. Satan took over the Vatican at least decades ago, probably centuries ago. If you ask why didn't I forecast the downfall of the RC hierarchy, I did - 20 years ago. I didn't think it would take so long for the dark to emerge ...I don't really believe in Satan...but I do believe in evil...as opposed to destiny. Destiny is the 2008-2024 collapse of old hierarchies....Poland, Thailand.... And what were the Brits doing, holding an election during the Mercury retro period? It presages a government hobbled by indecision, impotent in the face of this summer's looming problems....there, too, is destiny. The I Ching says, when you become exhausted, chance takes over. It might have said, "destiny" takes over, for when you're exhausted, you lose control of your destiny. And the Brits, and most of Europe, are tired.... And the upcoming "T-square" I've been talking about? This month Tennessee drowned in the biggest flood in 500 years (according to army engineers) - In April the U.S. east experienced July temperatures in the 90's (F) - the biggest tornado on record - Icelandic ash covered Europe - the Gulf of Mexico oil mess, still not stanched - Greece's fiscal contagion spreading across the Mediterranean...and revolts there too, now, natch.... Strangely, I can't feel "doom" or dread around all this. Not sure why. But what will come - my imagination deserts me. If I had to get extreme, I'd say a 50-cent Euro, minor wars and revolts that could accumulate, to look like a series of fires over the earth, most small European countries bankrupt - in the north also. Extreme weather events as we've already started seeing, but in greater multiples and intensity.... Give me a month, and I'll try to pin down this late July-early August disruption more definitively.... Please ignore my previous forecast that the markets would climb mildly to June: as I write this, the July/August "T-square" seems to be affecting the markets already. I don't see how they can climb now....I also said to watch the U.S. dollar: when it rose, the markets would fall. It's been surging lately. A year ago I said don't buy stocks past August/09: it looked like a bad call, since the Dow rose about 16 per cent since then. But, oddly, August marked the top of the markets in China. The Shanghai A Index has fallen 17 per cent since August 2009. Next week, it's back to Solitaire - my new card reading invention. Start Nothing: 10:06 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Sun., 1:35 p.m. to 2:06 p.m. Tues., 4:43 p.m. to 4:58 p.m. Thurs., and 7:33 p.m. to 7:50 p.m. Sat. Aries March 21-April 19 Settle into a few days of rest Sunday to noon Tuesday. Soon, you're going to be very busy. Woo no one Sunday/Monday - love affairs started then would be short and disappointing, or long and disappointing. Romance is the main theme Tuesday eve to Thursday - and it's complex! Illusion runs everywhere, almost like an elf; but clear, sober sight alternates. Stick with the latter. The same applies to creative and speculative ventures. Thursday night begins four weeks of travel, paperwork, details, calls, casual contacts and siblings. It starts with a major decision about work, duties. Taurus April 20-May 20 Travel, paperwork, details and casual communications are slated Sunday to Tuesday. Speak carefully - beware of promising something that you have doubts about. Your money interests meet two barriers: one relates to romance, kids, home and family; the other to outside interests, friends, social factors. As the week ages, you might discern that the real problem is not money, but home versus the outside world, kids versus friends, romance versus flirtations. career. Success is yours if you combine them. Rest mid-week. Romance, pleasure bless you Friday/Saturday. A money phase begins! Gemini May 21-June 20 Through Thursday, you remain sequestered, tired, contemplative, quiet. But a month of such is ending. Thursday eve into the weekend you can courageously end a situation, relationship or task/burden. This will be followed by a true surge of energy, optimism and effectiveness. This upsurge might not arrive until May 23, because you struggle all this week, right into Saturday night, with a tug-o-war between home-domestic-property-security-kid related urges and demands, and those calling you away from home, to career, prestige and ambition projects. Maybe this relates to ending something! Cancer June 21-July 22 This is a week of choices, of opposite extremes, and an attempt to reconcile or bring together competing people or ideas. The "poles" involve communications, relationships, ethics, ideas and philosophical (or religious) convictions, law, education or travel. E.g., do you travel to the next town, or to Africa? Attend college or night school? Remain "just friends" or get married? Both choices are valid. But: don't fall in love before Tuesday dawn, and don't fall for sexual illusion mid-week. The "casual" breeds partnership; the long, elevated, legal, international point to work luck. Leo July 23-Aug. 22 Keep working hard through Thursday -you could take one last big step in ambitious regions Tuesday to Thursday. (Before Tuesday, work quietly, with naps.) You've been somewhat suspicious of others, particularly of potential (or actual) partners for over a decade. This trend will fade away after 2011, but for now - this week - be neither suspicious nor gullible, especially Wednesday. All week, financial decisions and choices face you. Choose a long-term outlook, investing, net worth, over "quick money" or mere spending. A month of flirtations, popularity and fun begins Friday! Virgo Aug.23-Sept.22 Mellow times draw to a close. Still, you'll like this week. Sunday to noon Tuesday brings popularity, entertainment, flirtations, optimism about your future (and it's justified!). Retreat, rest, contemplate and plan mid-week. Scan the horizon to study barriers and how to overcome them. Your energy and charisma rise Thursday night, just as a month of career, ambition, prestige relations and status situations enters. (VIPs favour you to Wednesday.) This week holds both opportunities and challenges in relationships, negotiations, and dealings with strangers. You meet someone cheerful. Libra Sept. 23-Oct. 22 Mysteries and dark attractions give way to understanding and the light of love Thursday night onward. Don't chase love Sunday to Wednesday: a long-term disappointment lurks. If you break up Wednesday, consider yourself lucky. Despite these dire words, mid-week finds you actually happy, flirtatious, optimistic and social! (Just forget infatuation.) Sink into rest, solitude and contemplation Thursday night to Saturday: a month of mental expansion, travel, new love and intellectual joy is just beginning. You attract attention, glances Saturday night. But hesitate about love, two more days. Scorpio Oct. 23-Nov. 21 What had been opportunity turns, late week, into a month of commitment. You'll either grab an opportunity in a way that binds you, or walk away to seek change. Either works, so follow your instincts. This entire week (and May 23) is filled with choices between competing roads, people, forces. Until Wednesday eve, much of this involves sex, finances, health or commitment. Thursday onward, the choices are "lighter" - friends or a lover, a present indulgence or plan for the future? A casual relationship or a profound one? Lover, indulgence, profundity are lucky - to a degree. Sagittarius Nov. 22-Dec. 21 At last, a month of hard work, boredom and health concerns ends (well, by Thursday night) - the fresh breeze of opportunity enters! Expect relationship excitement, new vistas and people, contracts and agreements, the possibility of relocation. But this week confronts you with a series of serious choices. Though others have treated you affectionately for the last few weeks, now you have to choose (Sunday/Monday) between affection (relationships generally) and ambition. Then, Tuesday/Wednesday, between affection and security or family. Then, late week, between ambition and home. Ah, well. Capricorn Dec. 22-Jan.19 A romantic, creative, pleasurable, sports-filled or beauty-oriented phase yields to a month of hard work and health concerns by Thursday night. But a streak of those good things will last into mid-June. (Best if romance, as the planet causing it is Venus.) Relationships, opportunities and fresh vistas confront you Sunday to Tuesday, but results are mixed. Romance with someone you met (or meet) in a group can succeed, so do casual Starbucks-type friendships, and intellectual or legal affairs. But forget co-worker romance, and money's deceptive. Mysteries mid-week. Gentle love late week! Aquarius Jan. 20-Feb. 18 You're still "confined" to home, domestic and security concerns until Thursday night. Then a month of pleasure, romance, creativity and "winning" arrives! But somehow it comes about through a deep change you make, or it accompanies this change. The smaller the change, perhaps the less of a bang this lucky month ahead will make. (I could be wrong.) The whole week presents a series of challenges or choices. Romance won't partner with sex, creativity won't co-operate with money, Sunday to Wednesday. DO NOT begin a love these few days. Late week, money choices. But happiness looms! Pisces Feb. 19-March 20 Though the weeks ahead bring a slow-down, that's actually good news, because it ends a rather wasteful spinning of your wheels. A travel, paperwork, and errand filled trend ends Thursday night, and a quiet, deep, meaningful few weeks begin. This week presents many choices. You might face the prospect of ending or deepening a relationship early week: the outcomes are, oddly, so similar that I have no advice except this: don't start a new love (or any) relationship before Thursday. This night to Saturday brings relationship excitement, new horizons: quiet, sober, secure ones. Hmm. www.astralreflections.com. Email: timstephens@shaw.ca. For a reading: 416-686-5014. /30/