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 is a very busy month, with emails and phone calls to return, packages to ship, and meetings to schedule. In this over-the-top month, the crosscurrents of Mercury retrograde on December 3 will stay in backward motion until December 22, but in truth, we always feel Mercury’s impending retrograde two weeks before the onset date. It simply intensifies during the dates mentioned.

I have several friends who think they can outwit Mercury retrograde by signing contracts and cutting deals right up until the date this planet of thinking, agreements, and negotiations turns retrograde, but that is the wrong idea. Mercury is the wildest at the start and end dates of the retrograde. If you must fly in the face of astrological advice that says never sign papers with Mercury retrograde (and at times we have no choice), then do so midmonth, but stay away from the five days that circle December 3 and the ones that circle December 22.

This situation with Mercury will create a dilemma for you in terms of holiday gift shopping. Express package companies will run late, overwhelmed with the demands of the public, and bad weather conditions will further complicate a tough situation. Retailers will have skimpy stock to display and no ability to get that one gift you can come to the store (or the website) to buy. Shop and ship early to stay sane.

On the full moon in Gemini, 12 degrees, December 3, operative plus or minus five days, you may be thinking about making plans for international travel and/or finishing up legal matters. Alternatively you might be working on an immigration matter, getting a visa, or seeing about putting in an application to update your passport or to get a visa. You may be doing work with people abroad, and if so, you may not need to fly to see the client – all might be accomplished by email. Make sure your work is perfect, with no inaccuracies, because flaws proliferate during Mercury retrograde. If you are heading back to college or graduate school in January, you will be thinking about which courses you will sign up to take. If you are defending a thesis, try to put it off until January, February, or my favorite month, early-to-mid March.

There will be a problem with the full moon, December 3, plus or minus four days, however, in that it is in hard angle to the Sun and new moon, creating confusion. It would be a bad time to make a binding commitment verbally or in writing. Add Mercury retrograde, and conditions are likely to change radically later, in ways you could never anticipate. Rather than commit, wait until January.

If your birthday falls on October 6, plus or minus four days, you will find a way to enjoy this full moon. The same is true if you have Libra rising 12 degrees, or have the natal moon at that degree, plus or minus four degrees. If you know you have a natal planet in Gemini, Libra, or Aquarius, or Aries, Leo, or Sagittarius at 12 degrees, you will find this new moon will bring a positive experience, too. I still will ask you to delay making agreements.

Your income has been prosperous, as noted by the arrival of Jupiter in your second house of earned income two months ago, October 10. Jupiter is set to stay until November 2018. Now, Mars will come tearing through your personal financial sector, from December 9 to January 26, and it seems you will be spending far more money than you have in a long time. You may have anticipated these expenditures and saved up for them. You may be getting ready to buy property or renovate, give an important party, or travel overseas, all costly but exciting goals. If you have no idea of the type of expenses might be mounting up, you might want to slow down your spending until you get a better view of what is coming.

Don’t worry too much about money, however, for on January 6, Mars and Jupiter will combine forces and bring an outstandingly positive day for financial news. The person most likely to come to give you the good news seems to be your spouse, business partner, agent, manager, job broker, or other person who represents you.

One of the happiest days of the month will be Saturday, December 16, when the Sun and Uranus will be in perfect alignment. If you are attached, your partner may bring you an exciting surprise. Love will be in the air not only for those attached, but for singles too. If you get invited to a party on this sweet weekend date, accept, for sure. A bevy of planets will stack up in fellow fire-sign Sagittarius, so you might have to drive to get to the gathering. No matter – go.

The new moon of December 18 is due to be a weighty one, for Saturn will orbit very close to this new moon and Sun. You may hear important news, possibly related to your sister, brother, cousin, aunt, or uncle.

Also after this new moon, you may need to travel a short distance, to a nearby city. Life will remain hectic all month – but will ratchet up a notch in mid-to-late December. Saturn’s presence suggests you will have a goal to complete or a contract to study, but as said, December is not the month to make any hard decisions, not unless you wait until the very end of the month.

The big earthshaking day will be when Saturn, the great teacher, moves into Capricorn for the first time in decades, to stay in your home and family sector for three years, until December 2020. This is where your greatest personal growth will take place in your life. You may buy your first house, and save up for it during much of the three years, for Saturn teaches the benefit of sacrificing for a major goal that will form the foundation for your life for years to come. Or, you may take a bigger hand in helping your parents in a variety of ways and learn about how to best help them with their needs.

One of the toughest days of the month, and possibly of the season, will be December 21 when the mighty Sun will meet with Saturn. This is a combination of strange bedfellows, where the Sun is all fiery and hot, and Saturn is all icy and cold. They will meet in your family sector, so news is likely to require some deep thinking and the bringing up of emotions long buried from the past. A relative may not be well, as one example. Do not sell property on or near this day – the offers will be low. If you buy a house on this day, the mortgage may prove to be an expensive and at times burdensome. Perhaps the house will require many repairs that you will not see at the onset. Stay with what you can afford, now more than ever.

More family news will come up again at month’s end, for as you move to the New Year, another full moon will occur, January 1, in Cancer 12 degrees. You may be giving a party for New Year’s Eve and invite family as well as business associates to mix with friends. A good party has lots of contrasting guests, and who better than Libra to make a party a smashing experience?

Alternatively, you may give an open house or housewarming on New Year’s Day. The full moon is in Cancer, and it naturally rules your tenth house of fame and honors, so you may be celebrating a new job at the very start of the year.

Much, much more emphasis on family ties and property / home will come up in January – even more than you have now, which is hard to believe. This could be exciting, for you may be sailing into a new lifestyle, over calm seas and under a bright blue sky.

Travel will be very likely as the month opens, near the full moon December 3. You seem to have a reason to head to the airport, most likely to discuss a contract or to clarify a business deal. It is also possible you’ll be working on a media project for print, digital, or TV. Neptune will be spreading his fog at this full moon, so it may be difficult to accurately read your client’s point of view. Aim for clarity, for this will be a month that will generate a cascade of crossed signals, creating the possibility for more than usual misunderstandings and vague directives. You also may find your work will require you go over old ground and to fix things.

Mercury will retrograde too, December 3 to December 22, adding to the swirl of dust in the air, making it nearly impossible for you to see where talks are headed. Holiday shopping will pose a challenge, for you will encounter few choices as retailers guard against an avalanche of returns. Complicating matters further, express mail services will report late deliveries. Treacherous weather will delay flights, completing the picture in December. Starting your shopping early this month will be a necessity.

Buying electronic items for family or friends during Mercury retrograde is always frowned upon by astrologers, so there are only three choices: buy a gift card, sign a check, or wire money. If you buy a gift card, photocopy the back bar code of the card, and write the recipient’s name on each copy. Should the gift card be lost, you can have it replaced. (Tell your friend or relative you did this so they will tell you later if the card is lost.)

Prepare for travel to be difficult, with wild weather and delayed flights – you may see this to be true at the full moon, December 3, but also at the new moon December 18 and the ten days to follow. After this new moon of December 18, you will likely be traveling close to home. Have the correct addresses and directions, and check hotel bookings before you leave to make sure your reservation is in place and holding. If you expect a very late arrival, give the hotel a heads up or you may be dismayed to learn your hotel room was given to another guest.

On December 19, Saturn will enter Capricorn for the first time since 1988-1991, and in the coming three years, your focus will be on your living quarters. If you need to move, allow extra time to find the right space. You may need to increase your budget to find a suitable space. If you want to own property, Saturn will show you why you should start saving now so that within the time Saturn will be in your home and property sector (three years), you can make that exciting down payment on your dream house or condo.

When Saturn, the great teacher, enters any part of the horoscope, it is time to evolve and take on responsibility that you used to think was beyond your ability to handle. Now that Saturn is in your fourth house of home, if you are very young, you may rent your first apartment, or you may set your sights on buying a house or condo, or if you already own property, renovating it. Or, if you feel your house is “just fine” then your learning experience may instead be focused on finding the best way to care for an aging parent or a family member in need.

You are one of the few signs that will likely see an uptick of money coming in, and that is coming just in time, for you will be spending a lot between December 9 and January 26. Your best financial news may arrive in the last week of December as Mars moves to near-conjunction with good fortune Jupiter to be exact January 6. That January date will be a fantastic day when you may increase your earned income.

If you work in a creative field, as designer or artist, or work in a staff position to support artists, Jupiter and Neptune will be in divine and heavenly position (a trine) all month, helping you to score victories that can translate into solid cash for you too.

As tensions of the season heat up, you may see your relationship gyrate. On the first day, December 1, you may be overly assertive with your spouse or a business partner. On the weekend of December 16-17, all will be back to normal, and actually downright peachy, for Uranus will be in perfect sync with the Sun. Your partner may have a sweet surprise for you, and it might involve a quick, short trip.

A few days later, December 20, Venus, your ruling planet, will receive vibrations from Uranus, and the effect will be pure joy. If you are attached, you will enjoy this day, but singles will love it even more, possibly bringing on a serendipitous surprise meeting on a short trip, or even while you are doing errands around your neighborhood.

Plans for New Year’s Eve? This year, you seem to want to be home, surrounded by the warmth of family. New Year’s Day is landing on a full moon, and will soon bring news about your career AND your evolving private life at home, in a chic and very beautiful setting that you will be creating very soon.