ASTRAL REFLECTIONS BY TIM STEPHENS APRIL 30 - MAY 6, 2006 All times/dates are Pacific Daylight. You'll notice that I'm encouraging every sign to act expansively this week. Some of you might ask why I'm ignoring my own warning about the first 11 months of 2006, that we generally should avoid new business starts, investments, etc. The week ahead is one of the few that can bring major benefits despite that earlier warning; still, it would be wise to expand conservatively, to reject over-optimism. I've received a spate of emails from India lately. In a public talk in 1995 I forecast that India would become a computer/high tech powerhouse, and it did. Did I hear the other day that India turns out 38,000 computer engineers every year? The letter "I" (India) refers to Taurus; India has a Taurus Moon. The Moon rules the masses, and India's people possess two of Taurus' attributes: beauty and a mellow surface. India's Sun is in Aquarius, the sign of computers. India's film and computer industries have grown by leaps and bounds since Neptune and Uranus entered this nation's sun sign in 1996. Going forward, the Bollywood phenomena levels off. But 2008/09 will bring huge changes in India's high tech sector (a surge in exports) along with government upheavals, and a transformation of the land-ownership system and the treatment of women. Astrology says China is a good neighbor to India. China's Libra Sun is trine (harmony) India's Aquarian Sun, and China's Capricorn Moon is trine India's Taurus Moon. China's Sun is in the most love-oriented degree of the zodiac. India is stubborn and lasting; China is flexible and ambitious. China's economic growth is not a new story: it's only new to us. This nation has been growing since 1949, and will grow massively more. China will undergo the second largest transformation in its modern history in a two-step evolvement, around 2012 and 2019. The first phase will change land use, land ownership, and perhaps the government structure. The second phase (2019) will transform China's legal and political system, perhaps bringing democracy. In the 1980's, I wrote that the world would see a new political system in the 1996-2008 period, which would be neither communism nor democracy_China created one version of this new system recently, by marrying a communist dictatorship to a capitalist economy. Going forward to 2024, the "final version" will be highly structured, with a strong legal code, international respect, and will include mass marriages. Before this, around 2010, a possible sharp, unexpected upheaval, perhaps military action. This upheaval occurs at roughly the same time as India's_ In 2026, China might wage a big war. Start Nothing: 4:13 a.m. to 8:17 a.m. Mon., 11:35 a.m. to 5:18 p.m. Wed., and 10:01 p.m. Fri. to 5:20 a.m. Sat. Aries March 21-April 19 Chase money. Many "lucky moments" open doors in money, investments, home/realty, and work this week. (Read your "Year Ahead" for limitations.) Sunday is lucky for travel, connections, contacts, curiosity, finding facts. Monday//Tuesday are lucky for home, family, property, business territory, leasing, and investments in these. Wednesday night through Friday (careful Friday morning - deception) are lucky for speculation, risk, investments, stocks, secret information, alliances - and love, art and creativity! Saturday (into Sunday) is lucky for real estate, buying/selling, investing, employment and machinery. Go, try - results will come now or later! Taurus April 20-May 20 Take hint from Aries message - all systems are "go" for you! You radiate energy, charm. You'll be effective and lucky, especially in relationships, socializing, relocation, business opportunities, negotiations, dealing with the public, scholastic openings/bids, far travel, publishing, research, investments/finance - and, on personal levels, in love, sexual intimacy, lifestyle changes and "depth psychology." A secret wish or plan could come true. Your can't tackle all these, so pick several and charge ahead! Take control of your life, aim it upward, Taurus - this is the time! Be eager, diplomatic; seek advice. Gemini May 21-June 20 Rest, contemplate and plan. Charity, spirituality and retirement bless you. If you're young, put something in a retirement account. Whatever your age, buy a "perfect retreat." Deal with government agencies. Money flows swiftly to you all May, but it can also flow swiftly away - don't take on projects that involve a lot of spending. Despite your lowered energy, your social side will perk up from Wednesday to late May. This week is very fortunate for work/relationships connected to money (Monday/Tuesday) travel and communications (Thursday/Friday) and home/real estate/family (Saturday). Cancer June 21-July 22 Your social life ascends. Join groups; get out and about - your popularity's high! Some wishes come true this week, involving romance, creative projects, children's education, intimacy, oddball or high-tech money opportunities, media, and far travel. Pick two or three, and pursue them! Rest Sunday; use intuition. Your magnetism - high and sexy all May - soars Monday to Wednesday! Chase money (and love and creativity) Wednesday eve to Friday. Short trips, curiosity and casual contacts could lead to good fortune Saturday (and the Sunday following). Career and VIP relations blossom through May. Leo July 23-Aug. 22 Charge after success in career, property, security and similar practical areas, Leo. Your luck rides high in all these! You start this week fresh, in a subtle sense: something was wiped out recently, perhaps a relationship involving a child, perhaps a speculative investment scheme or investigation. It has left you "cleaner." Now you're free to take huge strides toward a goal of your own choosing: choose well, with integrity, be true to yourself. Sunday's hopeful. Be observant, restful Monday to Wednesday. Your energy, charisma soar Wednesday night to Saturday! Virgo Aug. 23-Sept. 22 Wisdom, gentle love and compassion lift your mood nicely. This week, luck flows strongly, like a river, through short and far travel, real estate, work, social, legal, higher education, legal, media, religious, philosophical, international and similar projects. Almost anything and everything breaks your way! Don't complain that nothing's happening - get out there and make it happen! Best days: Tuesday, Saturday. Investment, financial, lifestyle and sexual wishes can come true, now through May. Sex and finances enter a "sweet spot" Wednesday to late May: serious investment favored, not speculation. Go! Libra Sept. 23-Oct. 22 The depths of life proceed with an almost reckless luck this week. "Depth" includes research, sex, life/death, pregnancy, lifestyle changes and commitments, investments, large finances, debt and subconscious urges. You'll sense others' desires and motives. You might have broken off contact or communications with someone who was never an ally - that leaves you free to pursue your own agenda. Work, earnings and career (especially career partnerships, or relocation for career reasons) form a triumphant trio: you can advance, lasso a pay raise, a better position, etc. Make your bid! Scorpio Oct. 23-Nov.21 This week promotes all relationships (love, business, friendship, etc.) - and relocation, contracts, negotiations, dealings with the public - and generally delivers opportunities to you. If single, you could meet a new love, even a potential mate. (Though this decade is more about adventure than stability, in love.) Diplomacy will be necessary; so will a sense of humility. (Right now, the same planet that's cheering you up could tilt you beyond, into fatuousness - a small chance of it!) Sunday's mysterious, Monday-Wednesday brings love (and other) joys. Be ambitious Thursday/Friday. Celebrate Saturday onward! Sagittarius Nov. 22-Dec. 21 The main accent falls on work, duties, dependents, health and other blah things. But this week is surprisingly lucky, so you could land a pay raise, get good health news, discover a laborsaving device or method, or purchase great machinery, tools, computer, etc. If you're seeking employment, chances are high! (You might get your answer May 6 or 7.) Two streaks of "interest" lighten your work-burdened days all month: 1) a sweet romantic (pleasure/creative) influence floats in now; and 2) you grow fascinated by a sexual or financial "temptation." Capricorn Dec. 22-Jan. 19 Love, romance, beauty, creativity, speculation, teaching, children's affairs, art - all these explode with luck this week, Cap - especially where an entertainment venue, social function or group effort mixes in. Your friends could literally bring you a new lover, or find a gallery for your paintings, etc. Be open, social, adventurous - life is good! You could fall in love. You're dealing with (or might meet, anytime in May) a feisty, assertive, temperamental yet thoroughly enjoyable person! (Or you could make an enemy - if you see this developing, quietly exit.) Aquarius Jan. 20-Feb. 18 Your luck soars in home, property, with children's needs, gardening, nurturing, Mother Nature in general. Yet luck also surges in the opposite zone: career, ambitions, community status, and the outside world. About the only place it doesn't favor you is in dieting: you could eat/drink too much. Your workplace is hectic; chores rush at you. Yet this is an opportunity - seek a pay raise, more equipment, higher duties, promotion, etc. You can talk your way into almost anything at work. A great week to purchase machinery or start home renovations! Pisces Feb. 19-March 20 All communications, ideas, travel, and contacts (new and old) are immensely favored this week. Buy travel tickets, make new friends, buy a computer or books, information sources, exercise your curiosity, enroll in school, etc. Large, profound matters are also favored: lawsuits, legal contracts, religion, philosophy, love, weddings and other cultural rituals, foreign lands. Work duties might interfere, but it appears they take a wee holiday this week, so follow your nose and do what fascinates you! Curiosity could lead you to a powerful romance or a creative money deal! www.astralreflections.com. Email: timstephens@shaw.ca. For a reading: 604-261-1337. /30/