ASTRAL REFLECTIONS
BY TIM STEPHENS
AUGUST 15 - 21, 2004 

All times/dates are PDT.
Oceanographers calculate that the chance of a wave of 30 meters height (your typical tsunami) rising out of a calm sea, without an obvious origin such as an earthquake, landslide, or extraordinarily violent weather, is 1 in 10,000 years.  
Yet such unexpected waves have long been the stuff of sailor's legends. A recent BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) item reported that in the last twenty years, over 200 super-carriers - cargo ships over 200 meters long - have been lost at sea. That's ten a year. "Eyewitness reports," said the BBC, "suggest many were sunk by high and violent walls of water that rose up out of calm seas."
The European Space Agency (ESA) used two earth-scanning satellites to record 30,000 pictures of the ocean's surface over a three-week period. In those three weeks, the ESA detected ten massive waves, some nearly 30 m (100 ft) high. That's a rate of approximately one wave every two days, or over 170 per year - far more than one every 10,000 years! 
It all goes to show that many more "unusual" things occur than we generally accept, and that statistics (1 in 10,000 years) are not the most reliable touchstone to reality. However, there are two flaws in this story: nowhere does it say that the ten waves detected by the ESA came from a calm sea. Perhaps all of them occurred in storms. Another flaw: if an under-ocean earthquake caused a tsunami, sailors on a ship could easily be unaware of anything until they saw the wave bearing down on them. This little sea story shows how we can be convinced, persuaded (or amazed) by the subtle massaging of the facts. And it leaves us still unknowing: do sudden, unexpected walls of water arise irrationally, or without cause from calm seas, or not? 
I found this sea story in a missive from Robert Prechter's www.elliotwave.com. Prechter and his followers are, at present, huge bears. They believe the Dow will fall to 1,000, and that we are still facing a crash greater than the 1929 one. Their arguments make a lot of sense. Yet I suspect that their discourse might lack some key element, like the tsunami story above. In many ways the super-bear arguments - that we're facing a crash, that our present economy is built on record debt levels, that we're atop not only a stock market but a real estate bubble too - these arguments all make sense. Yet each time it seems that they're right and a crash is in the cards, some other element in the economy pops up to balance everything. Negative views on the marketplace are like drugs - they should be taken only sparingly, and by the strong - otherwise, you could defeat your luck. Remember this in August/September, when there just might be a bit of a crash!

Start Nothing: 6:24 p.m. Sun. to 6:49 a.m. Mon., 0:15 a.m. to 3:09 p.m. Wed., and 6:39 p.m. to 9:37 p.m. Fri.

Aries   March 21-April 19
Start nothing new, especially in work and machinery areas. Soak up pleasure, romance, and life's beauties. Take a chance (without starting a new project) - gamble, risk your feelings, be vulnerable, express yourself. Sunday is made for love! Work goes swiftly Monday/Tuesday, but practice safety through midweek. (Computers, anything high tech could fail Tuesday/Wednesday.) Relationships are important yet unpredictable Wednesday to Friday. Be agreeable, but commit to nothing, sign nothing. That applies Saturday also. Be loving, enjoy intimacy, but realize that "verboten lust" is also a commitment - a bad one. 

Taurus   April 20-May 20
Attend to home, family obligations. Finish neglected gardening, reno, repair, and similar tasks. Love triggers sudden, electric changes. An old flame might be involved. Or your lover surprises you with erratic moves. Be patient - love will burst into a big resolution in September. (That month could bring big love to the lonely. - So might August, but you'll be better off if it doesn't.) If you're married, nostalgia flows and flames rekindle. The next six weeks heat up romantic, pleasure, gambling and creative instincts - be wise - and gentle with kids.
	
Gemini   May 21-June 20
Complete neglected paperwork, details, visits and calls involving family, property, retirement and "nature" - a sudden change looms mid-week. Start nothing new before September 2. Money's gently fortunate for several weeks. Through July 2005 your earnings are "karmically determined" by your past efforts (1974 through 2003). For six weeks, your home will be tense, lively, hopeful. Don't fight. Real estate might fulfill a long-held dream. In August, a former realty dealing is favored; in September, a new (and big!) one. Do NOT start living with someone now through September 25. 

Cancer   June 21-July 22
Chase money Sunday - buy nothing important. Siblings, casual friends, visits, calls, details, travel and paperwork fill a busy Monday-Wednesday - use these to catch up on neglected obligations (e.g., call old friends). If you pursue a new venture, you'll waste time and money. Drive carefully. Something sudden - perhaps wonderful - looms mid-week. It could be the appearance of a long-lost friend or lover, or someone's sudden exit, or a surprising new legal, educational, publishing or travel "circumstance." In September you'll embrace this circumstance and profit by it! Love attracts, puzzles you Saturday.

Leo   July 23-Aug. 22
Your renewed vitality and magnetism continue to attract attention, favors and luck! But spend your energy on old or ongoing ventures and relationships - don't start anything new before September 2. Money will flow swiftly to you - and, if you're not careful, from you - now through late September. You should see the first "surprise" of this money trend Monday to Wednesday. Drive, speak and act carefully these three days - this isn't the best time to invest! If you're involved in a money pit  -- e.g., unwise renovations - get out now.

Virgo   Aug. 23-Sept. 22
Rest, lie low. You're sexually magnetic now, but your energy and luck won't catch up until next week. Doubts and impulses assail you through August - don't be prodded into premature action (especially Tuesday/Wednesday) by lust, greed, anger or impatience (or by someone who's drawn to you sexually). To be successful, use the days ahead (through September 1) to complete old chores and obligations, to clear your desk or field entirely. September will hold huge opportunities for those who have the time, space, vitality and optimism to pursue and grab them!

Libra   Sept. 23-Oct. 22
Your hopes, optimism and popularity stay high! Focus your sights on old or former hopes - these have more of a chance than the brand new. Reject three things from the past: an old flame, a relocation urge or an opportunity connected to a contract. He/she/it will isolate or "use" you. But do chase old urges or returning circumstances connected to career, far travel, education, publishing or philosophy. You might regret some lost opportunities - take a spiritual view, it holds "the truth." Sunday's happy and flirty! Rest, lie low Monday-Wednesday.

Scorpio   Oct. 23-Nov. 21
Grab career opportunities from the past, but stay away from new ventures. Protect your projects and position from delays, mistakes and supply shortages. You'll impress a higher-up Sunday, if you meet one. Your popularity and optimism rise Monday to Wednesday - enjoy social delights, flirtations, but don't try to cement a commitment. A new romance or friendship is vibrant, even fascinating, but unstable. Retreat to think things over Thursday/Friday. For six weeks, your popularity grows on the job. For four weeks, love, legal, far travel and intellectual matters flow smoothly, happily.

Sagittarius   Nov. 22-Dec. 21
Be understanding, learn, expand your mental horizons - contemplate life's truths, loves, distances. Be cautious in career and home Monday-Wednesday - these days, and for six weeks, higher-ups will be temperamental, touchy - but they'll be generous, too. So generous, you could gain a promotion, shoot upward/forward in business, gain a judge's or politico's nod, etc. This isn't only luck - Sages who have slaved, striven and dreamt big will collect rewards! If you haven't, start now! But don't start anything else before September 2 - let everything brew. Meanwhile, clear away old obligations.

Capricorn   Dec. 22-Jan. 19
Study "mysterious" situations Sunday. You'll see patterns. You might speak your mind with uncharacteristic abandon Monday to Wednesday, or you might meet someone exciting but hard to hold. (He/she's travelling? Commitment shy?). In any case, this week triggers a turn in love, legal, social ritual, far-travel, media, educational, religious and intellectual matters. For six weeks, these concerns will intensify, expand, change, and in most cases grow very lucky! However, wait until September to begin any projects in these zones.  Be seen by higher-ups Wednesday eve to Friday - and be reliable.

Aquarius   Jan. 20-Feb. 18
Money or intimate agreements could be withdrawn or abruptly altered now. That's lucky for you, in the long run. The six weeks ahead bring intensified financial, investment, debt, sexual or lifestyle commitments - and consequences. The results could be lucky, life-shifting, perhaps discomforting. Your musty corridors will open, fresh breezes whoosh into your soul and your surroundings. The very basis of your life could change. Retirement, property, pregnancy, making your nest egg - that sort of thing. Your new horizon is here, evident yet obscured - wait until September to start projects/commitments.
	
Pisces   Feb. 19-March 20
Relationships seem to turn backwards, yet they also heat up - and grow lucky - for six weeks. But wait until September to accept, commit, push, or start. Be patient with delays. ("Relationships" includes agreements, contracts, litigation, relocation, dealings with strangers or the public.) Others consider you to be unpredictable now - and you are, through 2010. You'll surprise them Monday to Wednesday - but don't surprise just to surprise. Freedom, stress, excitement and indecision mingle in your personality now.  Open your eyes and think: a major opportunity will depend on your relations.


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


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