DAVID WILLIAMS & JANE SMITH

The key word in your nature is peacemaker. David, you have the soul of an artist. You are extremely sensitive, perceptive, and a bit shy. These qualities are both your strengths and weaknesses, for while you possess enormous sensitivity to your feelings and those of others, that same sensitivity can cause you to hold back and repress your considerable talents. Sensitivity and perceptiveness are among your many fine qualities.

Because you intuitively know what people want, or feel, you can be extremely diplomatic and tactful. You are also patient and cooperative. You work well with groups and somehow find a way of creating harmony among diverse opinions.

You enjoy music and poetry and require a harmonious environment. You have an eye for beauty and a fine sense of balance and rhythm. You have healing capabilities, especially in such fields as massage, acupuncture, physical therapy, and counseling. However, your sensitivity can also be your downfall.

Your delicate ego bruises easily and can make too much of someone else's thoughtless remarks or criticisms. Because you get hurt easily, you may tend to withhold your own thoughts and contributions to the matter at hand. This can cause you considerable resentment and anger. Too often, you run from confrontation to avoid a battle.

When you employ your considerable inner strength, you will discover your enormous power and abilities to direct difficult situations toward your own goals. It is the awareness of your inner strength that will give you the courage to use your own personal power when it is needed. You are a sensitive and passionate lover; your perceptiveness makes you aware of your partner's needs and desires, which you are able to fulfill with almost magical delicacy.

However, when you feel you have been mistreated or jilted, you can react with devastating power, sometimes using personal criticisms vindictively. Your awareness, diplomatic skills, and organizational talents give you the ability to bring off difficult tasks. You willingly step out of the limelight to facilitate the success of your endeavor. In truth, you are often the power behind the throne. However, you do not always receive the credit you deserve for the fine work you've done, or your role is underestimated, and your accomplishments overlooked.

Rather than brood over your losses, you need to confront those who would make less of your contributions and stand up for your accomplishments. You need security and comfort, quiet settings, and the company of loved ones. You are a perfectionist when it comes to your home and work environment.

You have excellent taste which is obvious in your private surroundings. You are a fine companion and possess a good sense of humor. Friends seek you out for your calming and peaceful company. You are a safe haven to other sensitive people, who recognize your compassion and understanding. When you have found your niche in life, you have all the talents and intelligence for great success. Seek out work that allows your sensitive nature to flourish -- be the glue that binds others together.

You are gifted with natural leadership and the capacity to accumulate great wealth. You have great talent for management in all areas of life, especially in business and financial matters. You understand the material world; you intuitively know what makes virtually any enterprise work. Your talent lies not with the bookkeeping or petty management, but with the greater vision, its purpose, and long-range goals. You are a visionary and a bit reckless.

You possess the ability to inspire people to join you in your quest, but often they are incapable of seeing what you see. Therefore, those around you need your continual guidance, inspiration, and encouragement. You must prod them into action and direct them along the lines of your vision.

You attract financial success more than any other Life Path, but effort is required. Your challenge in life is to achieve a high degree of detachment, to understand that power and influence must be used for the benefit of mankind. Those born with the Number 8 Life Path, who do not understand the real and relative value of money are bound to suffer the consequences of greed; they run the risk of losing it all!

You must learn to bounce back from failures and defeats. You have the character and resilience of a true survivor. It is not uncommon for a person with your Life Path to experience major reverses, including bankruptcies, financial failure, but you also have the talent and the sheer guts to make more than one fortune, and build many successful enterprises. More than most people, your failures in marriage can be extremely expensive for you.

Despite the difficulties that life presents, you will experience the satisfaction that comes from material wealth and the power that comes with it. Business, finance, real estate, law, science (particularly history, archeology, and physics), publishing, and the management of large institutions are among the vocational fields that suit you best. You are naturally attracted to positions of influence and leadership -- Politics, social work, and teaching are among the many other areas where your abilities can shine. You are a good judge of character, which aids you well in attracting the right people to you.

Most 8s like large families and sometimes tend to keep others dependent longer than necessary. Although jovial in nature you are not demonstrative in showing your love and affection.

The desire for luxury and comfort is especially strong in you. Status is very important. You must be careful to avoid living above your means.

Your Life Path treads that dangerous ground where power lies -- and can corrupt. You may become too self-important, arrogant, and domineering, thinking that your way is the only way. This leads inevitably to isolation and conflict. The people you run the risk of hurting most are those you love, your family and friends.

Be careful of becoming stubborn, intolerant, overbearing, and impatient. These characteristics may be born early in the life of an 8 Life Path, who often learn these negative traits after suffering under a tyrannical parent or a family burdened by repressive religious or intellectual dogmas.

Those with the 8 Life Path usually possess a strong physique, which is a symptom of their inherent strength and resiliency.

You want peace and harmony in all aspects of your life. You want to devote your life to someone or something. You fall in love easily. You are extremely sensitive and emotional. You can be sentimental, and you cry at sad stories. You need friends and society. You appreciate the refinements of life. You desire comfort and security. You have refined taste and can be a connoisseur. You love music and possess a good deal of musical talent. Your sensitivity is a symptom of your highly developed intuition. But you must learn to trust it.

You are a gentle soul and shy away from confrontation if possible. You experience a battle within when you do not believe you can handle a situation; this may have a paralyzing effect on you. You prefer to give in when you should assert yourself. You must learn to be more decisive. Very often, you are afraid to use your own power in the face of someone else's aggressiveness. You incorrectly perceive yourself to be in a weaker position; you may ultimately give in merely to avoid a fight. Conversely, you are extremely diplomatic and tactful. You like to accomplish things through quiet persuasion. You dislike force.

You must fight uncertainty and doubt. You need to develop confidence and a willingness to stand up for what you believe to be right.

You function best in a supportive role, guiding the more public person in quiet, unobtrusive, yet essential ways.

You love knowledge, study, and insight. You value the gifts of your mind, which you use to great advantage to penetrate the mysteries of life. You study things in-depth. You search beneath the surface of things. You abhor shallow judgments or opinions.

You have a natural gift for analysis and research. Once you have grasped the facts of a subject, your creativity and abstract approach lifts your thinking beyond the rudimentary to the philosophical. You have a theoretical mind, but rather than indulge in fantasies or idle thought, you prefer to base your theories upon scientific facts. You enjoy mental and physical puzzles -- figuring them out, taking them apart, and putting them back together.

Some people may perceive you as cool or aloof. You are somewhat introverted; you may feel slightly removed and even a little different. The fantasy of the hermit or monk engaged in a life of study and meditation appeals to you.

In relationships, you tend to keep things business-like and impersonal. You prefer to talk about the facts of a given situation, rather than the cloudier issues of emotions and personal feelings. You distrust feelings -- both your own and those of others. The whole emotional realm strikes you as unreliable, and a bit unnecessary. Your inability to fully understand the emotional aspect of life is your Achilles heel. You are so rational that the unpredictability of the heart frightens and surprises you.

Your challenge is to trust. You need to share your heart with someone. This is a courageous step for you but will result in enormous growth and satisfaction.

The advice here is to make a true connection with another human being. Without it, you may marry out of convenience or to fulfill social expectations, but it will not lead you out of loneliness. The more removed you are from people, the more you risk isolation, bitterness, and a cynical attitude toward life. This choice represents a true crossroads in your development. By sharing yourself with others (without compromising your independence and need for privacy) you can cultivate your enormous charm and share your understanding of life. You are a natural teacher and advisor. And the wealth of knowledge you will accumulate in life is meant to be shared with others.

This is not to say that you must compromise on your need for privacy or time spent alone to contemplate life. These are natural aspects of your personality, which are essential to your growth. These characteristics should not be threatening to your spouse but must be understood as fundamental to your being.

You are blessed with a great reserve of intuition, which can be cultivated by regular meditation and contemplation. Your "inner voice" is your greatest guide and friend. You are idealistic and have high expectations for yourself. Learn to balance your serious nature with regular doses of fun. Your intelligence and cultivation make you charming and distinguished in appearance. As you get older and more comfortable with your identity, people are naturally attracted to you. They see your wisdom, your deep understanding of life, and the refinement you radiate.