I just received the best news! My app has made it to the finals of the prestigious Media Excellence Award, in several categories. Wow! Winners will be announced at the black tie, red carpet event in Los Angeles on January 18. I am so honored to have made it this far, and of course, I plan to go. I can’t wait to shop for my dress. No matter what happens, it is such an honor…

This month has lots of potential for social activity, dear Leo. The full moon of December 3 in Gemini at 12 degrees of friendship will likely bring a party, charity benefit, wedding, or other social occasions. With a moon in Gemini, you can expect lots of fascinating conversation – Gemini practically invented the art of talk. Jupiter and Neptune will be in precise sync, adding a touch of enchantment. Any event you attend will have a dreamlike quality, so it’s a must to attend. A full moon is influential for two days before and four days after it appears, so it seems most likely the weekend of December 3-4 will be four-star.

The full moon on December 3, however, will be in conflict with Neptune and to complicate matters more, on the very same day Mercury will start to retrograde. If you are going to a party, wedding, cocktail party, or other event to be populated by many guests, be sure you have the correct address, date, and time – I know, this sounds crazy, but you can get it wrong and go on the wrong day, time, or place. At the gentlest form, you may simply misunderstand your friend and set off a comedy of errors. It is also possible that a friend will be in a tough spot and need your emotional support and wise advice. Of course, you would want to be there for her (and I say “her” because the moon is always considered female, while the Sun is always male.)

Neptune is a romantic planet, but it is also the planet of confusion or fog. It is found in your house of credit cards, so this event may cost you more than you estimated, or if you loan money to a friend at this time, she or he may consider it a gift and not assume you want the money back. If you want to be repaid, you will have to make that stipulation clear. In another way this full moon might manifest, if you buy artwork, you may be under the impression that the painting is more valuable than it actually is, or worse, that you find out later the painting is a copy, not an original. These are Neptune and Mercury retrograde types of problems.

If the occasion is a wedding and you are the guest, consider giving the happy couple a check rather than a store-bought gift, as you are likely to choose the wrong item under these terribly confusing aspects at play. It would be a wonderful event for having fun, but not one to sign papers to make a binding promise.

If your birthday falls on August 4, plus or minus five days, you will feel the effects of this full moon quite directly and benefit from it. This full moon is in Gemini, an air sign that blends beautifully with your fire-sign element – this means that if your birthday falls on or near August 4, you will find this full moon joyous. The same is true that if you have Gemini rising 12 degrees, or the moon in Gemini at or near this degree.

Mercury will be retrograde from December 3 to December 22, and this will interfere with all kinds of communication this month. Prepare for delays. In terms of shopping for gifts, Mercury will play tricks on all of us this month. You can buy clothes for friends and relatives, but be sure you know the correct size. Electronics should never be purchased when Mercury is retrograde – a gift card at a store you know your friend or relative loves to visit would be a better bet. When Mercury retrogrades, we have to slow down and be more deliberate in our actions. Possessions can get lost during these periods, so make sure you have your sunglasses, eyeglasses, wallet, earphones, cell phone, tablet, or any other treasure with you and not left behind on the airplane or taxi.

Once time I realized I had left my ID in my other purse while on the way to the airport. I was in an Uber, so we turned around so that I could retrieve it, but by time I made it back to the airport I missed my flight, causing a cascade of problems. Now I am SO careful to see that I have all that I need before leaving the house. We get busy at Mercury retrograde periods – and distracted. Be organized and deliberate about every step, dear Leo.

The new moon of December 18 in Sagittarius 27 degrees will light your house of true love, just in time for the year-end holidays. This new moon is falling conjunct Saturn, however, the planet of responsibility. Luckily, Sagittarius is a sign that blends well with your Sun sign, because both Leo and Sagittarius are fire signs. This planet teaches us we gain the most by working hard, having forbearance and patience, and by taking on responsibility. Over the past three years, Saturn has been testing the strength of your romantic relationship, but only for you if you are dating, not married or in long-term established relationships, because those relationships are covered by another part of the chart.

This new moon may have a variety of different outcomes. I will list them here, but stay with me, because after I list what Saturn might do in this case, I also will tell you the surprise that Uranus has in store for you. First, let’s discuss Saturn.

In one sense it may be time to tell your sweetheart that you are in love, and perhaps each of you will promise your heart, and to be exclusive to the other. You may become engaged now. You may talk about the future if you feel you have found your one true love. This could be a joyous moment, but Saturn will create an undercurrent – it is also possible something seems to be holding you back or frustrating you about the situation. You may have assumed you could move forward quickly now, after such a long time of showing patience, but it seems you might have a little way yet to go.

On the downside, it may be that you realize that your partner has been stringing you along, and never intended to be with you over the long term – and cause you to leave. You may now realize that when your partner told you that she or he will divorce, clearly he or she will never get around to doing so. Or, in a long-distance relationship, a partner who had promised to relocate to your city now reneges on that idea for any number of reasons. Saturn teaches us to be realistic and to deal with what is, rather than what we hope things to be.

If you are attached, if you have been trying to have a baby, and are having problems, in that regard, this new moon may require more patience and more tests of the strength of your relationship. Going to a fertility specialist would be a good idea.

This part of your chart rules not only love, but also matters related to pregnancy and children, and here Saturn seems to be presenting an obstacle or a dare. In the latter case, it could be that after years of putting off having a child, you feel ready now, and that would be a wonderful way to use this new moon. Saturn urges us to make grownup actions, and making a short term sacrifice for an important long-term goal. You may have a child and be a little surprised how much attention that little tyke needs from you. We all feel the need for adjustment when we have a child, but almost everyone feels the adjustment is repaid with the tender experience and joy of parenthood. Everything gets easier, and you can count on that.

Saturn is on his way out of your fifth house this month, news you will be overjoyed to hear. You have hosted Saturn in this, your fifth house of love, from December 23, 2014 until now. Ironically, Saturn will leave this area of your chart on the day after this new moon, December 19 or 20, depending on your time zone. Saturn will not be back to your house of true love until 2044.

Although you will feel happier and freer after Saturn leaves and moves into Capricorn this month, the new moon of December 18 will have influence over you for six months. It doesn’t matter that Saturn moves out so quickly – the birth of the new moon is December 18, so whatever situation you have been dealing with in the past months or years, you will need to cope with just a little while longer.

Like all good plots, there is always a twist, and for you, it’s a fun one. Uranus, the planet of unexpected breakthroughs and happy, exciting news, will send a very friendly beam to the Sun, your ruler, as well as to the new moon and Saturn. Saturn could have the power to stabilize the relationship, while Uranus will add a zing of excitement.

If you are attached, one sparkling day will be December 16, when the Sun and Uranus will be perfectly in sync. You are ruled by the Sun, so when planets come by to meet with the Sun, that makes headline news. This day brings surprises from your mate, steady partner, or even possibly from a business partner or collaborator. Long-distance travel may be coming up soon, too, and it will be to a place that you’ll find thrilling.

As said earlier, Saturn will enter Capricorn for a three-year stay on December 19 or 20, depending on your time zone. It won’t leave until December 17, 2020. In the sixth house, you will be challenged to streamline your work methods so that you can be more productive. You will learn how to use software to become more efficient, and how to hire people for your department or if self-employed, to hire staff. It may become harder for you to find qualified people with Saturn here, so keep saving resumes when they are sent to you, and also keep a list of people that others recommend to you, even if you don’t need that job filled immediately – you will get used to doing this.

In matters of health, it will be imperative to have regular checkups. Protect bones and teeth from now on by frequently visiting the dentist, and perhaps by having a bone density scan if your doctor feels it would be a good idea. Saturn in Capricorn can drain the calcium in your bones, so find out if you need vitamins or weight bearing exercises to build strength.

December 21 will be a day when work may be weighty and make you feel crushed with responsibility. On this day, Saturn will conjoin your ruler, the Sun, and this will happen in your sixth house of work and health. This might not be the ideal day to schedule surgery or a procedure, but if you need it urgently, DO IT.

Let’s turn to the happiest part of your chart, your home. Jupiter entered this part of your chart on October 10, so by now Jupiter has unpacked his bags and is settled, ready to help you. You may have seen evidence of how lucky you are in these matters last month, but if not, you have until early November 2018. If you need to move, you are getting all the help the cosmos has to give.

What is exciting me about your chart is the entry of Mars to Scorpio, to meet up with Jupiter next month on January 8. This is a very rare aspect that we have not seen in Scorpio and your fourth house of home in decades. The last time Jupiter and Mars met in your home sector in Scorpio was August 1982. If you need to move, you will be feeling this energy all month, but very much so at the last week and in early January. You can have the home you always dreamed to have, dear Leo. If you want to give a party at home, that would be a great idea, for it would be a big hit.

We have a big full moon January 1, in Cancer 12 degrees. This full moon will again fall somewhat close to Saturn (with a separation of 10 degrees), so it seems by then you will want rest and recuperation from the holidays. You will want to stay home by this point, and that’s a good idea – it is the place you will feel happiest. Your family will be standing by to support all your goals, including your parents. If you can, hire a babysitter to care for your children so you can sleep a little longer over the weekend, and wake up under a cozy soft down comforter. If you see the thick, fluffy snowflakes fall, you would feel like you had found a perfect little cloud on which to view the world.

As a Leo, you love to be in love. You love the thrill of the chase, the candlelit dinners, the romantic text messages, and tender moments together. You are usually jovial and in high spirits – this month, you seem uncharacteristically serious. This can be a good sign, for you and your sweetheart may be getting ready to wed and discussing your future together. Or, just the opposite, you may finally realize it’s time to acknowledge that the two of you are incompatible, so it’s time to part.

Saturn has tested your relationship for three years, since December 2014, and during that time you may have had to endure enforced separations due to work-related travel, university study, a geographic distance, or because your partner was still not officially available. Now, Saturn will move to Capricorn and depart your fifth house of love on December 19/20, not to return until 2044.

Before Saturn makes his exit this month, it will be time to decide your future. If you have met Saturn’s pressures and now came out smiling, you may choose to wed soon, making this a joyous holiday season, or you will wed in 2018. Whatever step you will take will be a big one, indicated by the presence of Saturn. If the opposite should be true, and you need to leave, be philosophical. You have given the relationship patience and time, and if you see no end to the obstacles in sight, it will be time to accept reality and move on.

Either way, you have a lot to look forward to in the coming year, so stay optimistic. It is always better to live in the real world than to hope against hope for an outcome that will only live in your dreams, but will never come to be.

Mercury will be retrograde from December 3 to December 22, making it vital that you be sure you are seeing the world through crystal clear eyeglasses. Also, resist jumping to conclusions, as communication will be scrambled almost the entire month. Go the distance to be sure you have understood messages as they were intended.

If shopping for holiday gifts, start early. You will be safer giving gift cards as long as you know the shops your recipients enjoy frequenting. It would be a shame to give a gift card that will never be used by your friend or relative. Returns of clothing and other presents go sky high when purchased during Mercury retrograde.

The full moon, December 3, may bring a holiday party, and by all means, make it a point to go. With Jupiter and Neptune in sync, your host will create a magical setting for guests, complete with tiny lights, candles, flowers, and fabulously interesting guests. Conversations will be animated with a full moon in Gemini.

There are other ways this full moon of December 3 may play out. It might highlight a female friend’s difficult challenge, and she will need your advice and emotional support. Or, you may have a disagreement with a friend, and if you do, the rift would center on money that has exchanged hands between you. Get all the facts before you assume the worst. At this full moon you may have a disagreement with a friend, and if you do, the rift would center on money. Again, get all the facts before you assume the worst.

Or, near December 3, if you are spearheading a charity to raise money and awareness for a cause dear to you, you may have a number of last minute glitches that will require a fast fix. If any one of these things happens, take it with a shrug and a smile. This is life.

Travel may come up suddenly as a special surprise, and the most likely days you would hear about your upcoming trip to a paradise island or foreign county would be on December 16, or December 20, when Uranus will send friendly beams respectively to the Sun and Venus. Travel would be fun, and if you both are emotionally close, together you will weave a loving memory with threads of gold.

If you can’t travel because you plan to celebrate with family, keep in mind, that for you, dear Leo, home is where your heart will be. Mars will enter your home sector on December 9 to stay until January 26, so you’ll have noise and laughter in the rooms of your home, and you’ll feel cocooned in the warmth of family. Good fortune planet Jupiter will be in your home sector too, and will bring optimism and family support. If you hope to buy or renovate a house / condo in 2018, the bank will be standing by, ready to help you get the mortgage (or refinancing plan), for when good fortune Jupiter is present, dreams coming true.