I am excited to tell you about my two appearances, first in October at the New Life Expo on Saturday, October 27, in New York City, and then in Carlsbad, California where I am doing a full weekend of yoga and astrology from November 2-4, 2018. In both cases, I will tell you all about the Year Ahead 2019. All the details about my two appearances are on my website. Check my homepage of AstrologyZone.com. Here is the short version of what I will do, and I hope you can come!

This would wind up to be a year that would teach us all patience. Mars, the planet that helps bring your ideas and business launches into the stratosphere, went retrograde June 26 to August 27. Mars retrograde made it much harder for you to successfully launch new products and services and to bring new ideas to the marketplace. Although Mars went direct August 27, it’s important to know that no planet returns to full energy instantly—they take time to build back up to their former strength. Happily, Mars will be back to full strength and power by October 8.

Within that same period in July and August during Mars’ two-month slumber, his little brother Mercury, a little copycat, went retrograde too, from July 25 to August 18. By the time September arrived, you sighed and hoped this would be the end of these retrogrades that kept setting up roadblocks to progress. Alas, that was not to be the case, dear Capricorn.

All planets retrograde, but the ones that have the strongest effect on us are the three that orbit closest to Earth—Mercury, Venus, and Mars. Mercury retrogrades three times a year; Venus, every 18 months; and Mars, every two years.

Venus will go retrograde this month from October 5 to November 16, and her domain is wide and deep—she covers love, fun, beauty and good looks, art, and money. In your case, Capricorn, Venus rules your solar tenth house of fame, honors, and achievements, so your career will be affected, too. All these areas are about to go into a temporary slow-mo slump. That is why I wrote that 2018 would go down as a year that would teach us all to be patient. Let’s look at each situation in detail, and also the more positive sides of Venus retrograde.

Before I begin, I will confess that the day Venus goes direct and starts the process of normalizing her orbit on November 16, Mercury, acting like the Dennis the Menace mischief-maker he often is, will go retrograde from November 16 to December 6. The saving grace in this situation is that for the first time in years, we will have a fun holiday shopping period, for Mercury won’t be able to mess that up this time.

As an aside, if you recall, Mercury created havoc for shoppers during nearly all of December last year, for Mercury was retrograde December 3-22 last year (2017). It is hard to find the right gift when Mercury is out of phase. Last year brought difficulties for retailers, for after the holidays, there was a torrent of returns. Most people who follow astrology knew their only option to deal with Mercury’s antics was to buy gift certificates and copy each with labels of who was given which one, as a safeguard. This year, thankfully, we won’t have this to contend with, so you can be much more creative with your gift selections and much more confident you will hit the mark.

    Retrograde planets do have value, however, because they slow us down long enough for us to think about where we are going and what we want to achieve. Sometimes life is so busy, entire years go by without giving us a moment to think deeply about whether we are following the right path, or if we should turn off to a new direction.

Retrograde planets do have value, however, because they slow us down long enough for us to think about where we are going and what we want to achieve. Sometimes life is so busy, entire years go by without giving us a moment to think deeply about whether we are following the right path, or if we should turn off to a new direction.

Let’s talk about love first, and then I will address your career. The ancient astrologers advised against starting a new relationship when Venus is retrograde. Venus brings feelings of warmth and loving affection, but when she is retrograde, she is asleep and we don’t have access to her finest qualities. The danger is your new relationship will cool off in affection in a short time.

The fifth house also rules pregnancy and birth, and in vitro procedures are very expensive. If you are going this route, and unless you have unlimited funds, I would like you to take a break from such a procedure during the Venus retrograde, which is October 5 to November 16, and also during the Mercury retrograde, November 16 to December 6. The same advice goes for those women who are freezing their eggs—wait a few weeks.

Venus may rule your fifth house of love, but is currently transiting your eleventh house of friendship this month. Here is where you may enjoy Venus retrograde, because you may meet up with several friends from your past, ones you’ve not seen in a long time. It will be fun to catch up.

Venus is currently in Scorpio, the sign of sex, money, and power, so if you had engaged in an indiscriminate affair some time ago or did something of a sexual nature that was considered abusive, Venus retrograde would bring that episode up for discussion again for some reason. I am fairly sure this does not apply to you.

Venus rules good looks, so neither men nor women should schedule a face-lift, Botox, cosmetic dentistry, or an experimental dermatological treatment. I never knew Venus retrograde could cause havoc on your face, but I have two friends who tried treatments and had very bad effects from those treatments later. (My friends don’t know one another and don’t even live in the same region of the US.)

They wound up with scars from their treatments that won’t go away. The tiny marks all over both women’s faces can be covered up with concealer, but when they remove their makeup at the end of each day, they can see the scars and are reminded continually that they should not have gone in for the experimental treatment. I know one friend had radioactive micro-needling, an untried process, and I am not sure what my other friend had—she doesn’t want to talk about it. These revelations made me sit up and take notice, which is why I am so emphatically asking you to wait on any treatments that you’ve never tried. In both cases, a trusted dermatologist talked my friends into being subjects in an experimental study.

The new moon is due October 8, in Libra 15 degrees, and Libra is the sign Venus rules, so the new moon will appear in that same tenth house of prestigious career sector that Venus rules. This new moon has mixed messages. Mars in Aquarius, now newly back to former strength, is in your second house of earned income and sending lovely beams to the Sun and new moon in your tenth house. This suggests that the money being offered will please you and that the job being discussed is not one that is all glamour but skimpy on salary. This job has both prestige and a solid salary. You would hear of it within ten days of the appearance of the new moon, October 8.

However, Pluto, a powerhouse planet, is in hard angle to that new moon. Make sure you don’t try to demand too much (or have the interviewer think that you are demanding too much, even if you never meant to give that impression. In other words, you could be your own worst enemy, so be careful.) The other possibility is that there are some VIPs who aren’t yet sure you are the right one for the position, so you will have to be very organized and present reasons why you are perfect for the job.

Uranus opposition the full moon tells me that you have competition for this job, and it could be considerable, another reason you need to stay on your toes. This is not a done deal by any stretch of the imagination.

Here is where the plot thickens: Venus is retrograde, and it rules the very house where the new moon will be lighting. It may be that a sterling position that was once about to be offered to you some time ago went to the wrong person. The company might have by now realized that you should have had that job to begin with, and after sending that other person to a new part of the company, might now offer it to you. Anything that comes from the past will be positive this month.

Venus retrograde is also asking you to decide whether the new job will bring you to where you want to be. It might lead you exactly to the perfect point. But if not, don’t let the good money being offered persuade you to take a job that will derail your progress and lead you off course.

I don’t want to put doubt in your mind, I am simply raising the question. Venus retrograde is asking you to re-address, re-examine, and re-think your career goals, and also to return to former people who always believed in you, and to situations where you did well in past years. Only you can decide what to do, but it does appear you will have a professional opportunity to consider.

Now let’s turn to a troublesome day, October 10, when you should not schedule any important interviews, presentations, or anything related to your personal life that might involve love, pregnancy, or a baby. Mercury and Uranus will oppose each other from your eleventh house of hopes and wishes and your fifth house of love. This would not be the day for a first date. By all means, avoid this day for signing a contract or for giving your verbal yes to any new venture.

Now we come to the full moon of October 24, in Taurus one degree, that will bring crosscurrents too, and for some, this point in the month might be difficult. This full moon is about to light your fifth house of true love.

Uranus will conjunct the full moon, causing heightened emotions concerning a love relationship to become quite unstable. Uranus conjunct the full moon is enough to make you (and everyone else you know) tense, but furthermore, that full moon and Uranus will also directly oppose the Sun and Venus. That’s a lot of heavy planetary energy packed into a tiny full moon period. Allow a minus two days and plus four days: October 22-28 could well become heavy with emotion.

Single or attached, this day has the potential to rock your world. With the Sun involved in this dispute, money may also come up as a major bone of contention. As crazy as this sounds, your career may also be a point of debate, perhaps because your partner feels left out of your life, where work gets the main attention. In that case, you would have to assure your partner that he or she is very important to you.

If you are in the midst of a divorce and in a custody battle for your children, warn your lawyer to expect to see fireworks, even if you have not seen any up to this point. If you want to conceive a baby, but have had difficulty, as said earlier, this would not be the best month to have a procedure like in vitro. Women readers, if you want to freeze your eggs to give you time to meet your one true love (or if you have already met the one for you and feel ready for a baby) wait until late December or January to schedule the procedure.

There is a slight exception to this rule. If your birthday falls on December 21, plus four days, the full moon in Taurus one degree will be in a fine angle to your Sun. The same is true if you have Capricorn rising one degree or your natal moon is in that sign and degree. In these cases, you can outwit the difficulties of this full moon, for the full moon will favor you. You may still feel something, but it won’t be as tough for you as for others.

If right near the full moon you find that someone near to you is hard to talk to because the discussion is so heated, after you’ve heard most of what the other person has had to say, suggest you both think about the answer. Meet again on one of the very best days of the month, October 29. On that day, Mercury and Jupiter will be conjunct in your house of hopes and wishes, in the sign of Scorpio, a sign that blends well with yours. In the meantime, a friend may give you valuable advice, for the place these two planets are meeting also rules friendship. October 29 is a five-star day, rare and special.

Use October 29 for giving a speech, signing a contract, handing in a report or manuscript, buying or selling something expensive, closing on a house, negotiating a deal, or for travel. The glow of this day will give a boost to the weekend of October 27-28, and if you can take Monday, October 29, off too, you will have a glorious three-day weekend.

Your professional life is your number one priority, after the new moon in Libra appears on October 8, but you will need to be patient, as you work on advancing your professional standing. Pluto will be in hard angle to the new moon and Sun, suggesting you may be up for a promotion or new position, but someone at a high level is not yet convinced you are the dominant right person for the spot. Or, it may be perceived that you are demanding too much in terms of salary and benefits (even if you are not), so watch how you approach the negotiation and the words and attitude you display.

The moon rules your competition, and apparently you have more rivals than you might suppose, so your presentation and the materials you present in your interview must be sharp and to the point. Mars’ supportive angle to the Sun suggests you will likely find the salary generous. The position being discussed comes with responsibility and power, and the salary seems to match the role. The Sun also rules your compensation, mostly in the realm of perks and benefits, but with the Sun being so sternly challenged by Pluto, when you hear about the offer, the perks and year-end bonus may not be as generous as you had hoped.

To top this situation off, Venus will retrograde from October 5 to November 16, and this is unfortunate, as Venus rules your prestigious tenth house of career honors, awards, and achievements. When Venus is in rare retrograde, as is the case now, Venus is ineffectual. This suggests that you will encounter a number of obstacles to get the job, and as you get closer to grasping it, you might not want it.

Not all offers are right for you, only you can decide. If you are currently unemployed, then any job is better than no job, for it is easier to find a new job when you already have one. Assuming you do want it, with Venus, although retrograde, touring your eleventh house of friendship, it’s very possible an influential friend would put in a good word for you, which could make all the difference.

There is another possibility that you may get an offer from an executive you used to work with or from a company that once offered you a job (but hired the wrong person). Either one may come back to you again now, sometime after all that happened. In that case, if you want to accept it, you should. Going back to the past is always favored under retrograde positions of planets.

Venus retrograde is asking you what your main goal is in your career, and if this new job offer is a strategic step to your overall plan, that would be perfect. If not, the new job will send you in a different direction, but is that all right with you? Maybe yes, maybe no. Only you can decide. The point of Venus retrograde is to ask you to be strategic and to connect deeply with your own needs, not just to the money being offered.

Love will capture your full attention on the full moon in Taurus on Wednesday, October 24, plus four days, taking you through the weekend. You will be surprised by what occurs—someone you have been dating might propose (or you might impulsively do the proposing). There are endless possibilities here—the point is, surprises will abound. Not all surprises are happy, of course, so you have to see what comes up.

Uranus is the planet of all things that happen out of the blue, and Uranus will arrive aligned with that full moon, so things will crystallize quickly. Mars will be in a beautiful position to bring you a valuable gift, if not diamonds, then perhaps an exciting trip, surprise party, or something else. Alas, guessing what Uranus will do is always futile, as Uranus always cleverly thinks of outcomes you’d never have imagined possible.

Uranus will oppose the Sun, indicating that whatever comes up may require you write a large check, now or later. If you are attached to a partner, money may be the subject of a disagreement that comes up at this time. Venus will be under siege too, and your mind may be distracted by problems arising at the office, so how you handle the mater will reflect on your reputation. It’s also possible your significant other may feel neglected and upset that you spend too much time at the office.

The fifth house, where this full moon falls, also rules children. You may debate the topic of having children with the person you are dating. If you are attached and you are working on a divorce, the subject of custody may come up, and discussions could be fierce and upsetting, so be ready for that, just in case.

On the plus side, Saturn will be in divine angle to this new moon, adding a promise of long-range stability for anything you choose to do. You do have a juggling act at month’s end, but you seem to be good at this, so work in a step-by-step way, and you can triumph.

It might be best to break off talks, agree to think about what was said, and regroup on Monday, October 29, when the emotion of the full moon will have fully calmed down. Monday, October 29, will be a magnificent day, when communicative Mercury will conjoin good-fortune Jupiter. This day will bring you all the right words and help you and your partner express thoughts in a clear yet kind way. October 27-29 would be the perfect time to take a three-day weekend. Travel and communication of all kinds will be purely divine.