The star configuration in the heavens for Capricorn is impressive. In one little slice of the pizza pie (as I refer to in the horoscope chart), you have Venus, Mercury, Pluto, the Sun, and new moon, January 1 at 11 degrees. Because all these planets are in your first house of the horoscope, ruling your personality, vitality, and internal drive, it is clear that your passion and determination to succeed in any area will be the engine that runs your life during the first half of January. The more set on succeeding you are, the more likely you will get to grasp the prize, dear Capricorn. With Pluto in Capricorn, you can be confident that you are garnering respect - just don't hit the gnat with a hammer. You can get your way without being too forceful.

You will have rare influence over events now. In fact, the power you will wield to maneuver things in your favor will surprise you. There is no predestination in astrology, only cycles of expansion and constriction, so you will be the determining factor in how things will ultimately work out. Said another way, the depth of your passion to achieve something important to you - whether it involves a relationship, a house, a career matter, or any other subject dear to you now - will make all the difference. Saturn, your ruling planet, will be beautifully angled to that new moon, and so the actions you take will have a certain comforting gravitas and longevity.

That new moon is not perfect. You have Mars, the energy planet, lighting your career sector now and for a very long time to come, until July 25, 2014. This will give you great visibility, and others will see and laud your successes. Between now and the time Mars will leave this house, May 19, you can get your name in lights. (Note when Mars will retrograde - something I will speak of later - March 1-May 19, when progress will temporarily slow.)

You also have Uranus, planet of surprise and sometimes a bit of chaos, directly across the sky, in your fourth house home sector until March 2019, so things either have recently changed at home or will in the future. This month, your work life and your home life seem to collide, both vying for your attention, making you feel like you don't know which area of life to attend to first. At home, you may have recently moved, or soon will, or you may be supervising the painters, contractors, the home designer, architect, or other professional. It could also be that your mother or father is in frail health and needs more of your time than usual.

If you have a roommate, this person seems a little unpredictable - get a contract together to avoid financial surprises if this person should suddenly move out. Thinking of moving in with your boyfriend or girlfriend? Keep your apartment and sublet it to a friend, but don't let it go, not with Uranus in your house of home until March 2019. With Uranus you always have to plan for the unexpected!

Your romantic partner may be sympathetic to the push-pull plight between work and home, but he or she will want attention too, so there will be no rest for the weary. Everyone, it seems, will need a piece of you. You might as well play the Britney Spear's single as your theme song, Piece of Me. It's my theme song too, dear Capricorn.

If your birthday falls on or within five days of January 1, this new moon will affect you directly, more so than those you know who are Capricorns born at other times of the month. You will also feel this new moon if you have Capricorn rising, or have a natal planet in Capricorn, Virgo, or Taurus, or to a slightly lesser degree, Pisces, Cancer, or Scorpio at 11 degrees, plus or minus five degrees.

A wonderful weekend to put a gold star on your calendar will be Saturday, January 11, when your ruler, Saturn, will signal the Sun in the most encouraging way. You may hear good things about money, or you may get advice from someone older than you (indicated by Saturn), words you might want to consider. Because your ruler, Saturn, is meeting with the Sun, and Venus and Saturn will also be nicely oriented, you should find this weekend lovely. You may also make new friends by attending a happy social event, as Saturn is currently in your eleventh house of groups. Be sure to show your face to the world.

The long trek of Mars through your tenth house of honors, awards, achievement, and fame should be sensational news, for Mars will bring you a steady stream of opportunity to you to gain an impressive position in the coming months. Capricorn is the sign that is always very serious about career, so Mars will be a big help. You won't have trouble getting your foot in the door of various VIPs. Once you do, they will tend to look kindly on you and be willing to help you, as long as you are very specific about how they can help you.

We have a few retrogrades coming up that you need to be aware of so that you can plan your biggest initiations. This month, Venus will be retrograde until January 31. (Venus started her backward slide on December 21.) Venus is in Capricorn - a plus - but out of phase, and therefore weak. Venus may be IN your sign, but it rules both your solar tenth house of fame and honors AND your solar fifth house of true love. This means both houses will bring slow progress this month, not the quick, decisive progress you would likely hope to see. Fortunately Venus will move ahead on January 31, a time you can make more definitive career and romantic plans.

While Venus is retrograde, you may change your mind about a romantic relationship, or a career matter. It's time to rethink and reassess where you are now, and where things are heading. If you hope for reconciliation with a former partner, this WOULD be a good time to come together to see if you can make a second go of it.

Venus is the planet of beauty and good looks too, but when retrograde, it is generally a weak orbit, so it would not be wise to change your appearance radically, with a completely new hair color or cut. Men, keep to the status quo, don't grow a beard now if you have never had one. Both sexes can have little trims and regular grooming, but do not schedule dramatic shifts. Delay plastic surgery - wait until the end of July because of the many retrogrades coming up.

Mercury will go retrograde from February 6 to 28, not a time to sign contracts. So while your love life will move forward more definitively by January 31, in some ways your career will, too, but paperwork will take time, and you should not rush the lawyers under any circumstances. Let things take their natural course, and if anything, slow things down. Here is why:

Mars will go retrograde from March 1 to May 19, so that may slow down your career, too. You can sign papers during the first five days of February, prior to the retrograde, but I worry about signing when Mars is retrograde from March 1 to May 19. Mars is the little booster rocket that energetically lifts ventures and relationships into the stratosphere to ensure success, whether that be a business venture, personal relationship, or other initiation. When Mars is weak in retrograde, projects and relationships have little of the internal push they need to maintain a proper momentum. It is also not the best time to meet someone new either. Go slowly.

Your best bet to deal with all this is to go back to projects and relationships that you formed earlier, and to work on polishing them to the best they can be. The front part of the year is not for venturing into new territory - stick to what you know and to people who know you.

The full moon of January 15 will shift your focus squarely to your partner. While the first half of the month will be the time to think about your own needs and desires, and to take steps to make something highly important to you a reality, the full moon will bring your focus to your feelings about a significant other. This person may be your romantic steady, your spouse, or, in a business sense, a business collaborator or partner, agent, headhunter, manager, publicist, writing partner, or other expert you would hire to work in a one-on-one way with each other.

It may be time to crystallize that relationship formally, whether with an engagement or through signing official papers. The topic will likely come up. This is a very friendly full moon in Cancer, 26 degrees, that again will get help from Saturn, your ruler. This means that decisions and promises you make now will stay in place a very long time, possibly forever. If you don't have a one-on-one relationship, not even in business, this full moon will not affect you. That's a shame because this full moon is so very friendly. If you wanted to go into business with a friend, meet and explore possibilities, but know the rules and laws of the area you hope to enter.

If your birthday falls on January 15, it means the full moon is falling right on your birthday, and many of the efforts you have made all last year, and even years before that, will now reach fruition. It will be time to draw up new goals. If your birthday falls very close to January 15, within five days, the same will be true for you. Also, if you have Capricorn rising within five degrees of 26 degrees, or a natal planet in Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces, Virgo, or Capricorn, that planet will also be lit up, and you will see news. Fortunately this full moon is very comforting and stabilizing.

This month has a second new moon, January 30, in Aquarius (11 degrees) and it's a peach, so sweet and friendly it will do all it can to help you get a raise or increase income. You only get one new moon a year in your income sector, and this one happens to be outstanding, filled with surprise. It will receive a solid beam from Uranus, which suggests that in the ten days that follow this new moon, you may very suddenly and unexpectedly see a large influx of money. You may get a raise, or you may find a buyer for a house, property, or furniture you had hoped to sell.

The day before this new moon, January 29, you have another golden aspect that I wanted to mention, the Sun in elegant angle to Uranus. Again, the financial news that arrives will also come suddenly, as a complete surprise. Matters of money owed to you or that you applied for will come up - venture capital, a mortgage or refinancing plan, home improvement loan or other bank loan, financial aid for college, back child support, a court or insurance company settlement, or the division of property in a divorce all shining brightly for you. You get the idea - these areas will be surprisingly positive for you! Did you qualify to be a contestant on a game show on TV? Well then, the answer is yes! You'll do it and knock everyone's socks off when you do!

This will be an extraordinary month, when just about everything that can happen will happen, but not in the way you would ever suppose. It all starts with the new moon, January 1, when an astounding five heavenly bodies in Capricorn will fill your first house of personality, including Venus, Mercury, Pluto, the Sun, and new moon. This is cause for celebration, for having that many planets in Capricorn indicates you will have control.

Mars in Libra will compete with those planets in Capricorn by putting a lot of emphasis on your professional life. At the same time, Uranus will demand you pay attention at home, too. Juggling both areas, while you work on your own agenda, will stretch you to the limit. While you juggle home and work, you also will need to keep your partner happy and not feel neglected. Cheer up, for all signs will feel this dynamic tension in different ways. With so many planets favoring you in Capricorn, you will have the cards stacked in your favor. You have a diplomatic nature, so the smart money is on you being able to keep one and all in your life happy.

If anything is coming off the rails in any area of your life, under the push-pull of these testing aspects, you will see where the cracks lie. If any show up (and chances are, something will) you will need to decide either to repair the weak links or abandon the plan or relationship altogether. Pluto is also opposite Jupiter, so one situation may beg the question, shall I throw more money into this, or let this project go?

How things go will depend on how various situations have been going in your life all along, as well as the depth of determination you have to keep that venture or a certain person in your life. If things do unravel in your work life or at home, you will have more control than usual, so it will be the right time to take action. Sometimes, when we feel we have little to lose, we take the plunge, try something new, and that's when solutions come and heroes emerge.

By mid-month, at the full moon, January 15, you may see the culmination of a romantic or business relationship. You may, for example, get engaged, or you may finish talks with a business partner, agent, manager, real estate broker, or other individual with whom you will collaborate. Jupiter will protect your closest relationships, and at this time of the month, Saturn, in a prime position, will lend comforting security and longevity to your alliance. Venus has dominion over your love life, career, and eventual profits, so with Venus retrograde in Capricorn until January 31, hold off on announcing final, official plans, even if you are about to talk about your engagement to your one-and-only. Instead, seal things in stone with each other on February 1 or 2 when things improve, and new relationships and ventures are most likely to grow into big, beautiful, and colorful hothouse flowers.

Your finances will take your full attention after the new moon in Aquarius on January 31. In the coming weeks, you seem to be motivated to do taxes, and to examine how your savings and retirement portfolio have performed over the past year. Uranus is well angled, so aside from your involvement in these activities, you may hear you are about to receive a raise or negotiate a great new salary on a new position. You may receive a bonus, commission, inheritance, or other large check that you didn't expect, or if you did expect something, it may be larger than you ever anticipated it to be. If you have been searching for venture capital or a bank loan, you may soon hear you've been approved. Are you self-employed? A generous new client may suddenly walk through the door. At month's end, it's clear - your finances are looking up and you could not be happier.

The new moon will fall in Capricorn and will bring all your dearest aims into focus during the following two weeks if you make an initiation. You will only get one new moon this year in your sign - make it work for you.