ASTRAL REFLECTIONS BY TIM STEPHENS DECEMBER 28, 2008 - JANUARY 3, 2009 All times/dates are PST. Happy New Year! May you succeed, love, and prosper. SCORPIO, your new luck phase, from January 5, 2009 to January 17, 2010, is likely to arrive like a big sigh of relief. For the first time in 13 years, you are immensely favored to buy and sell real estate. Anything you do to improve your domestic situation should pay off for many years to come, in both financial and emotional ways. Even if you're a renter without a down payment, you can change accommodations in lucky ways - e.g., move to a more spacious, attractive place, change neighborhoods, or press the landlord for a rent reduction. Even if you only have a few thousand bucks, find a rural bit of land you can buy for vacation tenting or a future retirement cottage, etc. It's a splendid year to buy furniture, landscape, renovate - or have a baby! You are more favored through mid-August than later. 2009 is also a great time for emotional and psychological healing, whether within your self, or on a broader scale, such as family counseling. Whatever grief you might be holding like a ten-pound bag, you'll let it go this year - leading to a rebirth of your freshness, vitality, and optimism about life. This precedes a 2010/2011 in which you'll begin a great romantic and creative surge! But, meanwhile, rest and soak up the rejuvenating influence of nature. Go camping! LIBRA, your 2009 luck cycle (January 9/09-January 17/10) brings a wave of romantic, creative, speculative and pleasure opportunities - the highest, luckiest wave in over a decade! This doesn't mean you'll automatically fall in love at first sight and spend the year with a madly beating heart. Jupiter, the planet signaling this romantic luck, tends to cause optimism, luck and camaraderie - so it's more that you'll be presented with friendly, upbeat potential amours, than with seductive, sultry, simmering fantasias - the magic will come after you get involved, not before. If you're married and/or a committed parent, your children will supply all the magic -you'll be surprised and gratified by their progress on virtually all levels: they display maturity, accomplishment, and charm! This is a great year to take risks, so be a little adventurous. DON'T be held back by safety or security motives. Travel to exotic places, write, phone or "bump into" that person who intrigues you, take a wee gamble at the stock market, racetrack or your neighborhood poker game, join a sports team, or exercise your creative being. Libra artists and writers will have a great year, plunging into audacious new techniques. Most importantly, whatever your pursuit, dive in when you feel most "full of beans," most vibrant, optimistic, cheerful - those are the hallmarks of luck in 2009! Start Nothing: 1:20 a.m. to 4:42 a.m. Mon., 10:34 a.m. to 4:27 p.m. Wed., and 0:51 a.m. to 1:50 a.m. Sat. Aries March 21-April 19 Be ambitious. Show higher-ups what you can do. If you're unemployed, put on your job-hunting shoes, despite the holidays. Oddly, Sunday is your best day, so you might have to resort to semi-abstract methods, such as writing your resume, emailing it, leaving messages, or going right into open stores, etc. (Sunday's also great for approaching parents for aid - though they will demand a fair "accounting.") Social joys and optimism arrive Monday-Wednesday. Retreat Wednesday night into Friday: rest and plan. Your energy and charisma surge Saturday, but friction looks likely. Taurus April 20-May 20 The accent lies on far travel, higher education, foreign-born people, publishing, law, religion, philosophy and expanded vistas. Your wisdom will attract members of the opposite sex. These meet good luck Sunday into the wee hours of Monday. You might begin a research project or begin dealing with hidden knowledge or a secret communication. Be ambitious Monday-Wednesday - this area will explode with luck after January 5, for a whole year. So prove your reliability, show off your talents, now. Social delights, flirtations and optimism enter Thursday/Friday. Retreat and rest Saturday. Gemini May 21-June 20 Sex, pregnancy, high finance, investments, lifestyle changes, commitments and consequences, subconscious urgings, dreams and hunches, mysteries and secrets (including secret attractions) - these are emphasized this week and the next two. Be honest, but don't "refuse" (turn away from) these areas, as life will shunt you back into them, and back again, for the 15 years ahead. These areas remain lucky this week (especially Sunday and Tuesday/Wednesday) into January 4, so make one last grab for success with any of the zones just listed. Monday-Wednesday lights the bulb - you understand! Cancer June 21-July 22 Now to late January, and for 15 years ahead, relationships rule - business, love, dealings with the public, litigation, agreements and contract negotiation, relocation. With diplomacy and the salesperson's trick of accenting the desires of others, you could go a long way, could be launched on a major stairway to big successes! Start something, contact someone Sunday - luck's with you. Life's depths and mysteries, funding, finances, investments and debt, sex and intimacy, commitments and consequences face you Monday-Wednesday: enter with another. Some projects crumble, some are born. Love, understanding Thursday/Friday. Leo July 23-Aug. 22 Piles of work face you. Ah, well, dig in, plod along - you'll get things done, especially Sunday. Protect your health, dress and eat sensibly. All this for three weeks. Monday-Wednesday bring lucky relationships - though one might leave to allow another to begin. These few days are a hint of the big things that will face you in 2009 - major, life-changing luck in relationships, business partnerships, love, relocation, negotiations, contracts, public dealings, fame, etc! Veer into depths (intimacy, finances, commitments) Wednesday night to Friday - if possible, bring another with you. Virgo Aug. 23-Sept. 22 Romance, creativity, pleasure, recreation, beauty, speculation, and charming children - these parade before you over the weeks ahead. You're on a winning streak! Your workload will grow mightily in 2009 (bringing benefits) so get your pleasure while you can, especially this Sunday and Wednesday night through Friday. Finances and sexual urges hit barriers Saturday: be cool. Health and work concerns fill Monday to Wednesday - some old chores will dissolve, new ones begin, now or in the two months ahead. Complete chores now, as January 11 will bring delays and mistakes. Libra Sept. 23-Oct. 22 The accent lies on home, domestic affairs, children, security, retirement, and humility (versus trying to gain the approbation of everyone). Many deep changes and satisfactions (mostly financial) are slated for this area over the 15 years ahead. Jump into these Sunday and Tuesday, when they're lucky. (Work to complete rather than start anew.) Your romantic, creative, speculative and pleasure urges awaken Monday to Wednesday daytime. Tremendous luck will soon fill these zones - but first you might have to let go of one relationship or venture, to let another in. Scorpio Oct. 23-Nov. 21 Communications, details, short trips and errands, paperwork - these fill your days through late January. You can get lots accomplished Sunday - be curious, read, travel - it brings a lucky "new start" or inspiration - Tuesday/Wednesday, too. This winter will bring many casual friends (or siblings) - you could meet one or two Sunday (if so, they're keepers). Rest, and take care of home affairs (and basics, systems and foundations in business) Monday-Wednesday. All goes smoothly. These - basics, domesticity, family, security, real estate, retirement, gardening, etc. - will expand with great luck in 2009! Sagittarius Nov. 22-Dec. 21 Chase money. Buy/sell, ask for a pay raise, find lucrative new clients, etc. If you have any important purchases to make, or money ventures to start, do so now (Sunday best, Tuesday/Wednesday second best) - as January 11 will bring three weeks of delay, mistakes, and "lemons". Communications, paperwork, details, curiosity, short trips and casual friends fill Monday-Wednesday. Retire for a rest, stick near home (or work on foundations in business) Wednesday night through Friday. Contemplate reducing domestic stress. Saturday brings romantic, creative vibes, but obstacles too. Watch your temper! Capricorn Dec. 22-Jan. 19 Your energy and charisma soar! You're particularly effective Sunday. You could start new, significant projects this day - Monday to Wednesday, too, especially in money arenas. The year ahead features great money and earnings luck - but you should probably complete money projects this week and next, then wait until February to start new ones, as the last three weeks of January bring miscalculations and delays. Paperwork, communications and short trips fill Thursday/Friday. Saturday cautions you to be mellow and long-suffering. It's not a good day to tackle home repair projects. Aquarius Jan. 20-Feb. 18 Rest, lie low, contemplate and plan. This early week is a microcosm of 2008 and 9 - Sunday's 2008, filled with quietude and thinking. It's a great day to visit shut-ins, contact charities, meditate, work on government applications, or visit a psychic or confidential friend. Monday to Wednesday are like 2009 (you've got energy, get attention) but 2009 will be grander, happier and luckier! Use this week and next to complete rather than start projects, as January 11-31 will bring unstable conditions, second thoughts, and delays. Spend, chase money Thursday/Friday. Pisces Feb. 19-March 20 A wish might come true Sunday! Social delights, entertainment, flirtations, and optimistic plans for the future flow your way. Issue and accept invitations. Retreat halfway Monday to Wednesday - plan, contemplate, rest, seek advice. (Halfway, because an optimistic social mood endures - and an "accident" could fulfill a relationship wish!) Your energy and charisma soar Wednesday night to Friday. Use this to get attention, to make important contacts, and to accomplish tasks, especially to tie up loose ends. Send off government or student applications quickly, as January 11-31 brings a slow-down. www.astralreflections.com. Email: timstephens@shaw.ca. For a reading: 604-261-1337. /30/