ASTRAL REFLECTIONS
BY TIM STEPHENS
JULY 11 - 17, 2004

	All times/dates are Pacific Daylight Time.
	This week is all about perception, for every sign. It's like being at sea with a powerful boat, a racing engine, and rippling with the will power, determination and urgency to plow through the waves toward a great golden harbor, a mysterious and rich headland  - but that headland shimmers like a mirage, or shifts and changes, or a fog sets in, or sudden worries about deadheads and underwater dangers assail us. Yet this isn't simple deception - we can't just say the goal is a fraudulent lure, or our desire is false, and end the matter there. There are indications of trickery, but also of valid, true and rewarding results. This fog really does obscure a treasure of sorts. More correctly, the treasure is just to one side. Our ability to perceive clearly will determine whether we succeed in finding it or not. You might see evidence of this complex influence in the bigger world late week, when the stock markets could flail erratically, and/or a flare-up could happen around fire/arms and boats/oil. 
	After next Sunday (July 18) this worry/high hopes syndrome will ebb, leaving us clear-eyed enough to commit our hearts or resources. But the whole situation will arise again, briefly, around August 7. Then, we'll be freed (in general, we're never totally freed) from the strange, interior binds that worry and over-hopefulness create. (Worry and undue hopefulness are flip sides of the same emotion. So are procrastination and impulsive action, pride and worry, vanity and ambition.)
	Speaking of the long-term view:  Last autumn, I outlined where luck lies for each sign from October/03 through September/04. You can still read your 2003/04 luck prospects on the website, under "Platforms" and then "Luck." (Sceptical that luck cycles exist? Well, the macro-evidence supports them. For example, I wrote last autumn that the present luck cycle - Jupiter in Virgo - would bring a big growth in employment, larger harvests and a healthy economy in 2004. These three have occurred, indisputably.)
Now we should all pursue our luck assiduously in our own area this July and September, while reserving our energy and optimism for "old things" in August. Accomplish that luck project before October, or it will be gone! This luck lies in work for ARIES, pleasure, romance, creativity for TAURUS, property/family for GEMINI, communications, short travel for CANCER, income for LEO, personality (and home) for VIRGO, healing, government, spirituality for LIBRA, socializing, flirtations for SCORPIO, career for SAGITTARIUS, law, mental/cultural expansion for CAPRICORN, finances and sex for AQUARIUS, and relationships, relocation, agreements for PISCES. 

Start Nothing: 4:29 p.m. Sun. to 12:45 p.m. Mon., 5:33 a.m. Wed. to 1:40 a.m. Thurs., and 4:24 a.m. to 1:56 p.m. Sat.

Aries   March 21-April 19
Chase money Sunday. The general accent remains on home, domesticity, property values, security and retirement plans. Choose whether to stay or go, to nurture or abandon various projects or relationships. These decisions will be difficult before Friday afternoon (because they're clouded by illusory romantic or "poetic" feelings) but you can make some excellent choices by "going with your gut" this eve into Saturday (and next week). You'll spy "beautiful places" while travelling (Monday-Wednesday) or on vacation. Rest, "veg out." But respond to romance, chances for pleasure Saturday eve.

Taurus   April 20-May 20
You start this week with high energy and winning charm, Taurus - seek important meetings, start important projects, impress people Sunday! Money goals/events will lead to eventual disruption Monday, but you can capture a profit, gain a lucrative client, seize a pay raise, or find the "perfect" purchase Tuesday. Money is tremendously favored all week. Travel, communications, paperwork and tiny tasks fill Thursday/Friday. Don't worry about (or overestimate the benefits of) a career, status, parenting, domestic, real estate or "inner guilt" situation. Be calm. Enthusiasm shakes hands with deception.

Gemini   May 21-June 20
Continue to chase money. Spending - a dangerous activity last May and June - is now "safe." You're restless, travel-prone. Follow your curiosity! This entire week "froths up" your expectations in travel, legal, educational, intellectual, communications, love and friendship areas - add a dash of scepticism to your ideas and goals. Just be charming and handle relationships on an "equals" level (no idealizing/idolizing) - this mode will keep you safe  and successful. That's a bit complex, but try it. Rest, dream Sunday. You shine Monday-Wednesday. Start important things Tuesday. Money success is available Thursday.

Cancer   June 21-July 22
Your energy and charisma keep soaring! Start important projects, seek important people. Money keeps flowing to you, especially from career and business activities (and/or parents). Keep a rein on your spending, or you could "wipe out" the gains. All week, especially Monday/Tuesday and Friday, you could be indecisive, worried or wildly overconfident about your finances. Deception, maybe self-deception, lurks in this area. Wait until Friday eve onward to make monetary choices/commitments. In general, short-term money (e.g., pay check, sales, receivables) and government-linked money are safer than long-term financial situations.

Leo   July 23-Aug. 22
Rest, lie low and pamper your health. Plan, contemplate. You might feel an urgent need for action, especially as Friday approaches - perhaps because your hopes are lifted the first half of this week. But your target is illusive, elusive, especially in financial, sexual, legal, contractual, relationship and investigative zones. On Sunday, career goals are good - tackle them. After Wednesday, the fog clears about social, future, and entertainment goals, but relationships remain puzzling. By Friday eve your intuition will keep you out of trouble, and bring you half an answer.

Virgo   Aug. 23-Sept. 22
Wishes can come true this week, and your optimism will soar about social, public, romantic, artistic and pleasure interests. But your anticipation can hit extremes of high and low, dread and joy, in work, health, research, sexual, governmental, institutional and management arenas. It's better not to make any important decisions in these practical areas until the mists of illusion dissipate. They're thickest Monday/Tuesday and Friday -DON'T invest before Friday night, when you see things clearly again. When in doubt, do the ambitious thing - this steers you away from pitfalls.

Libra   Sept. 23-Oct. 22
Be ambitious, show the boss you can perform, but avoid starting important projects through Friday afternoon, for several reasons: You can't rely on partners or co-operation; you might be fooled about a speculative or creative matter or "method," and you could misjudge public reactions. Your social life will be very interesting, and could create a mysterious, romantic, heart-flapping climax by Friday/Saturday - or, that climax could be just a dream, or it could leave you in a froth of indecision and wonder. New lovers/affairs that start now are not reliable. 

Scorpio   Oct. 23-Nov. 21
You're mellow, wise, broad minded now, but your bosses (or parents) are temperamental, might even hold grudges. Don't irk them! This is an excellent time (all July) to tackle a big, hard job. But stay away from chores/projects involving real estate, "territory," status, prestige, security, food/shelter. In these, impulse fights intuition, determination gets lost in a fog of clues and "maybes." So tackle educational, intellectual, travel, legal, distribution, communication, paperwork, and "spreading the truth" projects. Your intuition about finances, investments, debts, sex, lifestyle changes, and health is superb AFTER Tuesday.

Sagittarius   Nov. 22-Dec. 21
Life's depths rise to the surface - sex, pregnancy, health factors, large finances, debts and investments, dreams, the occult, your subconscious urgings. By tinkering with these deeper things, or committing to them - for example, by investing, taking a mortgage, creating a baby - you change your life. These usually elusive things are reliable now. But things you usually count as reliable - the law, philosophy, higher truth, culture, education, far-travel - are beset by doubts this week. The doubts arise as little "details" or worrisome little hunches. The answer's easy: pursue what's reliable.
	
Capricorn   Dec. 22-Jan.19
Relationships hold promise and more. You can quietly, steadily make an impression on someone, demonstrate loyalty, offer a fair partnership, engage in "fair dealing" - nothing flashy will work. The great thing about present ('04 to mid-05) opportunities, relocation potentials and relationships is that they contain a core, a seed, that is "you." By going to them, you complete yourself. This happens in such a significant way only once every twenty-nine years. But beware things just to one side of "direct dealing" - work, finances, income, sexuality/intimacy, lifestyle commitments. Here, deception lurks.

Aquarius   Jan. 20-Feb. 18
You have a choice this week. You can quietly trudge into dull, worthwhile chores. Or you can pursue more exciting goals - business opportunities, romance/love, relocation, dealings with the public/fame, creative and speculative pursuits. The exciting ones are less certain of success because they induce a subtle indecision, mistrust, passivity or dreaminess in you. Perhaps you really want to talk up these matters, satisfy your curiosity, rather than solidly commit to them. That's fun, but it might frustrate/mislead potential partners, co-operators, etc. If so, show that you're "only curious." Love's strong!
	
Pisces   Feb. 19-March 20
This is a great week for love, romance, children's interests/education, creativity, speculation, pleasure, beauty, sports and vacations, especially Thursday/Friday! But don't fall for someone with a chameleon heart. You or a loved one might worry about sexual performance (even sexual identity), or about work, dealings with government agencies - taxman? - and/or general health. One, the worries are exaggerated. Two, they're countered by a nice sense of security involving your family, home, and "basic goodness." In the end, all works out! Protect your health from too much sun, fire or alcohol.

For a reading: 604-261-1337. Email: timstephens@shaw.ca. www.astralreflections.com


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