ASTRAL REFLECTIONS BY TIM STEPHENS SEPTEMBER 21 - 27, 2003 All times/dates are PDT. ALL SIGNS: The delays of the past few weeks now end, so charge ahead with new projects and relationships. ...Just a reminder that I'll be speaking about the new luck cycle for each sign October 10, 7 p.m., at Vancouver Public Library (in the Alma Vandusen room, Main Branch). They'll charge $ 15 at the door. I know I had said $ 5 or $ 10 in my last column, but the Astrology Society, unbeknownst to me, had already advertised the $ 15 price, and evidently they have to pay hundreds for the room. To make it a little more worthwhile, I'll answer as many general or personal questions as possible for half an hour following the talk. For more info, please call Tom McPherson, the Society's VP, at 604-669-9653. Many readers have emailed me to ask about a tape for the talk, because they're in another city. For tapes, please contact Charlotte at: charlotteg@look.ca. Remember I told you to stay out of mutual funds? Now the entire fund industry is being investigated - and charged - by the SEC and other agencies. (A Barron's article last year, if I remember correctly, pointed out that during the great bull market, 1980-2000, the average mutual fund holder gained only slightly over 1 per cent a year, while the bull market rose at a pace of about 15 per cent a year. Amazing. It's a measure of their great skill that we still regard mutual fund managers as trustworthy. In poker games the saying goes: Look around the table. If you don't know who the sucker is, it's you. Remember this in dealings with financial purveyors of all stripes - bankers, stock or insurance brokers, etc. You're playing their game, not yours.) I don't want to be a fear-monger, but it's possible - only a slim, remote chance - that another attack will take place in or near New York around September 27, or in the few months to mid-December, 2003. The Phillipines also look hot - and might be connected. The eastern side of Africa is also highlighted, as well as Alaska. That latter might have something to do with a volcano or other "fire source." All these indications arise simply from the location of Mars in the sky when this planet "goes direct" September 27. So the results/events could simply be more fire alarms than usual, or an increase in construction activity, or anything "Martian." Confirming my real estate predictions: April to June, say CNBC and the Wall Street Journal, U.S. office values declined 2.3 per cent, apartment prices 1.1 per cent - and mortgage refinancings 80 per cent. As I forecast, interest rates did pull back August/September. Now they'll likely resume their climb, so get a "rate lock" quickly. Start Nothing: 3:21 a.m. to 7:03 a.m. Sun., 12:33 p.m. to 1:04 p.m. Tues., 6:52 p.m. Wed. to 3:49 p.m. Thurs., and 4:10 p.m. to 4:52 p.m. Sat. Aries March 21-April 19 The entire year ahead emphasizes work (and health) but the month ahead brings relief, a "run" of relating, confrontation, opportunity - a fresh breeze of new people and new prospects. Be diplomatic; avoid fights. Romance, beauty, charming children and pleasures come Sunday/Monday - Tuesday morning these hit an impulsive, hot, streak that could spark love or anger. Work re-asserts itself Tuesday p.m. to Thursday afternoon - dig in, but be wary of heavy new chores. (They don't hold any reward.) Relationships, opportunities/confrontations in business and love come in strongly Thursday eve to Saturday. Taurus April 20-May 20 Settle down to home, find rest and peace Sunday to Tuesday noon. (Though rest is hard to find Tuesday morn.) The month ahead (starting Tuesday) brings chores and health (nutrition/diet) concerns. Still, romance, creativity and life's pleasures continue to quietly grow (for the whole year ahead) - and midweek brings another few days of joy. But be careful with any possessive, purely sexual, or spending urges Tuesday to Thursday - disappointment prowls like a soft cat. Start a new work project Thursday night or Friday mid-afternoon into Saturday - success is likely! Gemini May 21-June 20 Indecision/delay ends in your family, property and kid-related areas. Yet when you look around to see what you should now tackle (Tuesday-Thursday) you find you've already accomplished 90 per cent of what you had to! (It was connected to a formerly neglected/abandoned project.) You'll be rewarded in the year ahead. The month ahead holds romance, beauty, pleasure, charming children, a speculative atmosphere. You'll be a winner with stocks, love and money - IF you wait until Friday eve onward to act! Trips, talks, paperwork Sunday/Monday. Careful with driving, speech Tuesday. Cancer June 21-July 22 You'll ride a whirlwind of paperwork, trips, visits, calls, details, and general busyness this year ahead. But the month ahead settles you down, gives you a chance to catch your breath - and to get organized, to put a system (filing, work flow, etc.) in place so you'll be able to efficiently handle the flow of those many small activities. Dive into these foundational (home, food, shelter, getting organized, soul, contemplation) things Thursday night through Saturday - you'll succeed! Earlier, Sunday-Tuesday accent money/spending. Mid-week brings those rivers of details, calls and travel. Leo July 23-Aug. 22 Your energy, charisma and effectiveness soar Sunday to Tuesday. Former delays and frustrations dissolve. But Tuesday morning/noon could trigger sudden opposition or sudden attraction - pick well! Earnings, buying and selling are lucky Tuesday night, but not Wednesday p.m. Generally, your money luck will grow over the year ahead. But the immediate four weeks ahead bring a lighter note, will be filled with travel, reading, calls, emails, contacts, paperwork and the general busyness of details. Tackle these successfully Thursday eve onward - not before, when a soft yet tantalizing disappointment lurks. Virgo Aug. 23-Sept. 22 The four weeks ahead bring money luck. You might purchase a luxury item, something touching love, beauty or pleasure. But don't pursue any money project that appears before 1 p.m. Friday, as it won't "synchronize" with your future. E.g., you could buy a wedding ring earlier this week, then decide not to propose. Be restful, contemplative Sunday to Tuesday noon. Charitable, health, spiritual and government-related activities go well. Sudden attraction might flare Tuesday noon. This one might grow into a swift love affair - or enmity! - through December. Sex drives return. Libra Sept. 23-Oct. 22 The delays, old chores, weariness and quietude of the past month end. Four weeks of heightened energy, charisma and effectiveness arrive. Your optimism and joie de vivre bubble up Sunday to Tuesday - life's fun and your popularity's about to climb! Someone might flirt unexpectedly Tuesday noon - if you dive in, the affair will last to about December or January. (Better stuff starts then.) Mid-week brings a bit more "quiet time" - relax, don't chase career goals - DON'T be dishonest in career. Your charisma, energy soar Thursday eve onward - expect attention! Scorpio Oct. 23-Nov. 21 For a brief spell, the party is over. Until late October, you enter a "rest phase." Relations with others ebb. Settle back, seek sweet solitude, contemplate, be charitable, renew your physical, emotional and spiritual batteries. However, don't deeply retreat before Friday - you have important "bustling world" things to do Sunday to Thursday. Chase career goals - and VIPs - Sunday to Tuesday noon. (Careful Tuesday, unexpected disruptions possible). Your friends and organizations need you Tuesday p.m. to Thursday. Sign nothing before Friday! By Thursday eve, start finding that rest and peace. Sagittarius Nov. 22-Dec. 21 The month ahead brings popularity, happiness, social delights, flirtations, and optimistic new goals. But wait until Friday p.m. (September 26) onward to act on these happy goals or to make new friends, new loves - a subtle financial or sexual disappointment lurks before this date. During the weeks ahead, let one of your main dreams be of career, business or parenting ambitions - this area holds huge potential through 2005! Home tension, high last summer, has cooled lately. But renewed "hot temper" lies ahead through mid-December - go slow, respect other's needs! Capricorn Dec. 22-Jan. 19 For a month, you've been contemplating eternal truths, and dealing with legal, media, intellectual or international (travel) projects. Hopefully, you tackled something "arrived from the past" in these zones. (Brand new things were painted with failure.) These areas will bless you for the year ahead. But late September and October move you toward more ambitious goals. Wait until September 25 (p.m.) onward to chase career, VIPs or business ambitions - before this, powerful people suspect or oppose your goals. Invest Sunday/Monday. Money inspiration arrives Tuesday night. Meet someone Friday afternoon. Aquarius Jan. 20-Feb. 18 Sunday to Tuesday noon brings relationships - sudden, unpredictable ones Tuesday (don't fight!). The year ahead rewards you in financial, investment, sexual, commitment, research, power, and similar zones. (These areas pull you Tuesday night - rewarding, inspired; Wednesday - problematic; and Thursday, when results elude you.) But the month that enters now will gently nudge you toward intellectual, love, far travel, legal, philosophical and similar endeavors. Sweet luck greets you here, AFTER Friday noon (September 26) - before this, a health, machinery or job factor interferes, causes future "embedded" disappointment. Love, mellow joys Friday/Saturday. Pisces Feb. 19-March 20 Relationships, blessed with luck and opportunity for the year ahead, veer into quiet but deep areas during the few upcoming weeks. What has been open and "upfront" now becomes consequential - meetings turn to commitments, attraction turns to intimacy, agreements enter the "put up or shut up" stage. Investments, sex and lifestyle changes will be favored, but not until the afternoon of September 26 onward - time your actions accordingly. Tackle chores Sunday to Tuesday noon - be careful, safety-conscious Tuesday. Relationships create allies (Tuesday night) or enemies (Wednesday night). Passion returns. www.astralreflections.com. Email: timstephens@shaw.ca. Tel: 604-261-1337. /30/