Dear John,
Powerful times are not always easy to live through. Their consequences, though, can be extremely positive and long-lasting. Don't forget too, that easy, happy, challenge-free times don't always have wonderful outcomes.

Dear Steve,
If that's the impression you have, it's only because technology has brought us the ability to know about matters which used to be hidden from us. The world is actually rapidly getting better, but ironically as it improves, we're finding out how bad it has been... and how much better it still needs to get.

This weekend, once more, we are in the �dark of the Moon�. For the next couple of days, distant stars will be more visible as too, according to traditional belief, will distant spirits. This is supposed to be a time when the �veil between the realms� grows thin, and it becomes possible to communicate with the beings beyond; with our ancestors... or even our future selves! On Tuesday, at twilight, you should see the Moon reappear - thin but clear on the North West horizon. With luck, you may also pick out three planets around it: Mercury fast sinking from view, Saturn to the Moon's left, and fainter Mars to the upper left of Saturn.