ASTRAL REFLECTIONS BY TIM STEPHENS SEPTEMBER 7 - 13, 2008 All times/dates are PDT. I received an angry email from a reader yesterday, a VIRGO, who wrote that I have been predicting great luck for Virgos, but she has met only failure and frustration in trying to get a new job. I get an email like this oh, once a month or so. A few things: 1) my forecast for Virgos, consistently, has been for great good fortune in romance, creativity, teaching/raising children, participatory sports, pleasure, beauty, etc. - not career. We can actually impair our progress if we refuse to entertain the arena where luck lies, and instead insist on pursuing a zone where there is no luck. 2) Luck never flows every day, even and smooth. It comes in bumps and jumps. Sometimes, a person who is, say, ensconced in a year that is lucky for money, as SAGITTARIANS are in 2008, or in investments, as is GEMINI this year, or, say, in real estate and security, as LIBRA now is, can go through almost the entire period (in this case 13 months) with nary a whiff of success - then, suddenly, manna falls from heaven, the pay raise materializes, the lucky investment is made, or the new house appears (via a generous uncle or whatever). I wrote last week about the timing of luck. Jupiter, the planet of good fortune, has been retrograde since early May, and for most of us luck has been hindered since then. Last week I told readers this delay time has ended. 3) Luck almost never comes to us when we're angry. Resentment, bitterness, grudge carrying, self-pity, vengeance, "I'll show them," and such attitudes make luck disappear faster than a drop of water on a hot stove. Luck loves an optimist. We should always run to her with enthusiasm and effort, yet have faith and patience while awaiting her visit. 4) For every sign in 2008 (as I've warned) luck will be combined with slowness, sober considerations, realistic and restrictive conditions. On the plus side, anything built upon this year's luck will last solidly through the decades to come. In Virgo's case, the planet causing this sobriety, Saturn, sits all year in their Sun sign. Lucky, deep, meaningful romance looms for Virgos, but so does the need to set the jaw, and march on. 5) If you want an example of Virgo's mingled luck and restrictions at the moment, just watch Presidential candidate JOHN MCCAIN. He's been mocked for being old. News commentators uniformly disparaged his chances. Rival OBAMA drew crowds as large as small cities; poor McCain drew small gatherings. Yet McCain is even with Obama in the polls. (Politicking isn't romance, but it is a competition, so it falls under the Jupiter-Virgo luck theme - sports. Career-wise, John faces a "need to change.") Start Nothing: 9:42 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Mon., 6:15 a.m. Wed. to 0:20 a.m. Thurs., and 6:19 a.m. to 9:04 a.m. Sat. Aries March 21-Apr. 19 Continue to work hard. Big, stable career rewards could arise from your Monday-Wednesday efforts - be nimble, diplomatic and ambitious. Relationships are significant - people you meet now and next week, opportunities you spy or grasp, agreements and bonds you form, even relocation themes, lack a certain energy or gut-deep passion - but they'll "return" in an important way from September 24 to mid-October, with a new energy. But relationships, opportunities and agreements that first arise September 24-October 14, will, though passionate and strong, go nowhere. So act soon. Happiness, Thursday/Friday! Taurus Apr. 20-May 20 Though your life shines with pleasure, romance or speculative hope, don't ignore the work that is tapping your shoulder. You need to make a solid start with important tasks or practical projects well before they run into delays, indecision and mistakes (September 24 to October 14/15). Get a head start, then you can cruise through that delay period. Work Sunday, rather than dream and love. A new job project might begin Monday morning. DO dream, love, teach, learn, travel Monday noon to Wednesday. Then be ambitious Thursday/Friday. Happiness Saturday! Gemini May 21-June 20 Rest, real estate, agriculture, gardening, nutrition, domesticity, family matters, retirement, security and foundational matters are uppermost. If these connect to an investment, intimacy or lifestyle change (especially Monday/Tuesday) go ahead - luck is on your side! A strong and meaningful streak of romance, pleasure, speculation, beauty and children's talents also accompanies you. If you wish to declare your heart, start a creative project, etc., act soon, as late September will bring delays, confusion and indecision. (And, perhaps, a former flame.) Follow your impulses. Love, culture, learning and travel lure Thursday/Friday. Cancer June 21-July 22 Life fills with daily business - communications, errands and details. But important trends and events build on home, domestic, property, security, retirement and similar fronts. If you have something significant to do here - and you probably do - tackle it this week and next, for late September will bring delays, indecision and mistakes. Thursday/Friday promote successful research, investments, or intimate commitments tied to these areas (e.g., buy a house, research retirement options, get intimate with someone). 2008's main theme - relationships, opportunities and relocation - raises its head again Monday noon to Wednesday. Leo July 23-Aug. 22 A serious drive to earn, work, buy possessions - to improve your "holdings" in life - combines with a flurry of important messaging, travel, paperwork and details. A new friend (or two) could enter. This person is a casual acquaintance, yet could prove to be an affectionate, smart advisor and a social joy. A sibling might enter, with a fairly important project. If you have communications to send, reports to draft, contacts to make, plunge in now, for September 24 to Oct. 14 will bring delays, indecision and "wrong addresses." Virgo Aug. 23-Sept. 22 Forever is a dream of the young - but you have a large future, whatever your age. Life's loves, opportunities, and greatest creative moments lie before you like a wide green road from 2008-2024. This week and next, push forward with your own agenda, chase the fine, slight impulses that are calling you to your future. Mixed with your heightened charisma, energy and effectiveness now, are an increased flow of money (and potential growing debt, if you don't remain disciplined). Handle all earnings starts and make purchases before September 23. Libra Sept. 23-Oct. 22 September is your month of hibernation, of spiritual regeneration, contemplation and planning, of dealing with charities, government agencies and other "quiet paperwork" tasks. These remain important this September, but, in an unusual twist, your social side, charisma, and determination to act rise to "unseasonal" heights. Be careful: you haven't the energy this attention demands. You might try to push projects or relationships forward that would benefit from patience. Make a list of what you can start after October 14 - and stick to it. Behind the curtain might stand a lover. Scorpio Oct. 23-Nov. 21 Social delights mingle with private urges. An urge to play faces duties. But outer happiness and an inner glow mingle, too. Give Sunday and Thursday/Friday to your private, dutiful, security-oriented side - you could come across a bonanza by doing so - perhaps a real estate bargain, a great piece of furniture, or an affectionate family gathering. But give Monday to Wednesday to social joys, flirtation, games, sports and fun - you could make a good friend who aids your money interests. A clandestine romantic attraction might develop. Research and spiritual searches succeed. Sagittarius Nov. 22-Dec. 21 You love a career or task that draws you toward travel, justice/law, philosophy, religion, culture, education, ideas or abstract thinking. Pursue this now. You might not get immediate results, but what you set in motion could return to you laden with opportunity. Despite your ambition, social delights come to you now, almost unbidden. Flirtations, friends, entertainment, and a buoyant air of happiness grow! Take solid steps into social or group arenas (including seminars, unions, politics, etc.) this week and next, as late September will bring indecision, delays and mistakes. Capricorn Dec. 22-Jan. 19 Wisdom and ambition mingle - or compete. For "wisdom" you can read: far travel, culture, publishing, higher education, law, philosophy and similar interests. E.g., you could travel internationally for your career; or, on the "compete" side, you could find your ambitions and the law don't agree. Strive to make a strong, solid footprint on ambition's trail this week and next, then coast as September 24 to October 14 throw career, business communications, and VIP relations into the grinder of delay, indecision and confusion. Energy, charisma, success come, Monday to Friday! Aquarius Jan. 20-Feb. 18 Your legal, learning, publishing, intellectual, travel, love and cultural leanings grow strongly now, but note two things: 1) beware of impulsive action here, and 2) realize that by September 24th these themes get thrown into a cement mixer of delay, doubt, and confusion. So proceed calmly and quickly - make a solid advance before the 24th. That will be easy Thursday/Friday. Earlier, Monday to Wednesday dawn, you might be weary, but financial, investment, governmental, intimate and health matters succeed. (Except Tuesday afternoon.) Purchase all but high-tech Saturday. All week, research. Pisces Feb. 19-March 20 Relationships combine with mystery, and veer into intimacy. Opportunities combine with funding and call for research and commitment. In general, the open and aboveboard sides of life carry a direct pipeline to the hidden and secretive. This can be intriguing, intimidating, or rewarding, depending on you. Be honest, and all will be well. Be diplomatic, too, since others temporarily possess the power. Make commitments, investments, lifestyle choices, sexual choices - all the deep side actions - soon, as they fall into mistakes, delays and indecisions from September 24 to October 14. www.astralreflections.com. Email: timstephens@shaw.ca. For a reading: 604-261-1337. /30/