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 will be a banner month for your career, for so much of what you’ve worked to achieve is coming to fruition. For three years, you’ve been operating under the watchful gaze of Saturn, the taskmaster planet that taught you how to reach for the stars through hard work and dedication to ideals. During the past three years, you have had continual feedback from experienced people to sharpen your game. When Saturn first came to your tenth house of honors, awards, and achievement on December 23, 2014, you began your course of training. Think back to where you were then, and where you are now. See how far you’ve come, and how much valuable experience you’ve gained. You are very close to being able to put that knowledge to very good use.

Saturn is leaving his position in Sagittarius this month on December 19 or 20 (depending on your time zone) and is not due to return until 2044. Visits from Saturn in any one part of the chart are rare, as we only get two to three visits in each of the 12 sectors of our chart. Over the past three years, Saturn was on the angles of your chart, specifically the points that corresponds to the southernmost point in northern latitudes, and in southern latitudes, the northernmost point. In other words, Saturn has been on your mid-heaven point, the area of your reputation and contribution to your field and the world.

Any planet that corresponds to the north, south, east, or west point on the compass acts super powerfully, like a wild stallion. Not only did you have Saturn, a planet known to strictly demand standards of excellence from you and concentration on your goal to the exclusion of everything almost everything else in the most important career sector of your chart, but with Saturn on an angle, he also acted with double strength.

My point in telling you this is that your life about to become smoother, easier, and less stressful when Saturn moves off that angle and into a gentler part of your solar chart. Saturn never sends rewards while the course of training is ongoing, but only after it is over. With Saturn leaving this month, you will receive your material or spiritual gift from Saturn as thanks to you for dealing with his vigorous training.

The reason I feel you will not be quite get instant professional relief is that the powerful new moon of December 18 in the very same area of the chart that you and I have been discussing may bring you a big career offer in the days that follow this new moon. The new position would come with hefty, great responsibility, but also power and status too. If you are self-employed, it would come from a prestigious, respected client, and accepting the offer would surely boost your professional profile in your industry. There would be a lot of work to do, so keep that in mind when you state your fee.

You have your solar tenth house of honors, awards, and achievement packed with planets, with the Sun, Saturn, Venus, and Mercury, plus the Sun and new moon. Venus’ presence ensures everyone loves you, so go for the gold, because doors will swing open for you. The offer is likely to come to you this month, within days or weeks of the new moon, and you may also get much publicity as well. You earned the acclaim you will receive now for all you learned and work you’ve done over the years working in your specialty. You are due for reward – this new assignment may be it.

Last month Jupiter entered your ninth house of international places and relationships, and this is where the golden nuggets lie. Keep developing your contacts overseas, and this coming year, make it a point to actually get on a plane to schedule face-to-face meetings. This will benefit you more than you can imagine at this juncture. Happily, Mars has just entered the same part of your chart to energize this part of your life further. Both Mars and Jupiter are in Scorpio, in loving angle to your Pisces Sun. You could not wish for a better situation. Mars will remain in your ninth house from December 9 to January 26.

If you don’t do any work with executives in foreign countries, there are other areas that are percolating along and could be equally profitable for you. Those include any work having to do with academia, whether you are going back to school to get your advanced degree or catering to the college market.

You also will benefit from publishing and broadcasting companies. All the years while Saturn was in Sagittarius (until this month, December 19/20) magazines and television networks struggled to deal with challenges, but those companies are about to recover now that the shakeout caused by Saturn is complete. They had to reinvent themselves, and they did. The weak companies have since fallen by the wayside, and the future is bright.

Sagittarius rules these fields, but Saturn is now leaving and heading to Capricorn. (The next field to go through the throws of change, requiring sweeping adjustment, will be the banking industry, ruled by Capricorn.)

If you are a lawyer or regularly do legal moves (such as to file a trademark, in your own country or overseas), you will do well too. All legal matters will favor you because you have such benefic aspects.

Two days I would like you to keep on your radar are January 5 and 6 when Mars and Jupiter will combine forces in conjunction. If you hope to travel, I would love you to be on foreign shores on at least one of those two days.

This month Mercury will be retrograde from December 3 to 22 in the sign of Sagittarius in your tenth house of career reputation. For this reason, I hope you can wait to give your final answer to offers for a new position, promotion, or new client until after Christmas or in January. Mercury will obfuscate the description of what you will be expected to do, so you do need to wait. The very fact that Mercury is retrograde is a signal that the wind is changing direction, and for now, there’s no indication of which way things are headed.

There is one exception to the rule not to give a final answer to any new offers while Mercury is retrograde, and that is if you hear from a person or company that you used to work with in the past, who wants to reconnect with you and do something together now. If that should happen, you are free to move forward. You are not starting a new relationship, but rather continuing one started previously, which apparently was very successful.

Or, it may be you impressed a top level person a long time ago but somehow the offer didn’t work out for any number of reasons, but now you may finally work together. Anytime you go back to the past you are pleasing Mercury in retrograde.

Holiday shopping is going to be a problem this month, so save receipts and avoid buying electronics, appliances, a car, or machine with moving parts. Mercury rules these products, so either you may be disappointed by how the item functions, or, because Mercury retrograde often causes our judgment to fail, you may choose the wrong model. It is also possible you may pay too much when other retailers are selling that product for substantially less.

There are so many reasons to hold off your purchase until the very last week of December or until January. If you would like to know more about Mercury retrograde, you can read my essay, All You Need to Know About Mercury Retrograde that is found on my homepage of my website. It is also found on the premium subscriber edition of my app, Susan Miller’s Astrology Zone Daily Horoscope. Go to the menu and look under Life, Love + Move, and look under Susan’s Essays, and you will find my article on Mercury retrograde.

When Saturn moves to Capricorn for the first time since 1988 to 1991 on December 19/20 and settles into that sign for the coming three years, until December 17, 2020, you will start to become more involved with your community and friendships will become more important to you. You won’t feel the career pressures you did in 2015, 2016, and 2017, but now the attention will turn to your friends and contacts. You experience your greatest personal growth by being sensitive to others, whether as part of a group, working to help raise funds and awareness for a humanitarian goal or one that involves a charity, or you may work in more of a one-on-one way, to help a dear friend.

You may soon notice your friend is suddenly going through a difficult patch and will need your support. This will be especially apparent at the time Saturn conjoins the Sun on December 21. Perhaps your friend recently moved to your city and has not had time to meet new people, or does not have family nearby to celebrate the holidays. With everyone going to parties and dinners, your friend may feel isolated, alone, and left out. If possible, invite your friend to your family’s festivities to help your friend fully partake of the season’s joy.

Speaking of family, your own home and family will be a big focus at the full moon on December 3 in Gemini 12 degrees, plus or minus four days. You may go to a family reunion, or go to a large party that has many family members present, such as would happen at a wedding or engagement party. Going to a party would be a good way to use this energy, because Neptune will be in hard angle to the Sun and new moon, veiling reality and creating a dreamlike experience for you to enjoy.

Jupiter and Neptune will be in exact harmony over this weekend, December 2-3, and that graceful aspect will help to create a heavenly experience. The party or benefit would likely be beautiful and quite luxurious, with soft lighting, flowers, and a lyrical tone – something very memorable seems to be in the making.

Amazingly, both Jupiter and Neptune are your rulers, dear Pisces, and whenever they are in sync, as they will be over that weekend, you are in line to benefit in an outstanding way. Jupiter and Neptune will stay in collaboration during most of 2018, so you have a great year to look forward to next year.

If you are buying a house, vacation cottage, or condo, or renting one, or buying furniture, hiring a contractor, or making a final decisions on behalf of an elderly parent or other relative, I worry that Neptune will cloak reality with his mist, pretty to look at but problematic when trying to see all the facts. Home and family-related decisions usually require an outlay of quite a bit of money, and I feel too many pieces of information will be missing to make an informed choice. Keep in mind also that Mercury, the thinking planet, will be retrograde, so that adds to the confusion prevalent in early December.

Let’s talk about romance now. This month has a strong career accent, but next month, in January, you will have an exceptionally social time. You will be out and about meeting many new people, with plenty of chances for romantic episodes too.

Even though this month does not hold a candle to the exciting events and people you will meet next month, you will have time for fun and love in December. It won’t be all work and no play, dear Pisces. You will be supported by Mars in Scorpio, Jupiter in Scorpio, and Neptune in Pisces – three trifecta planets that will boost your magnetism sky high. It’s an exciting time to be you!

You are about to enter a month poised to reward you for all the hard work and good judgment you have displayed in your career over the past years. You may be promoted or given an offer from a competitive firm, or if you are self-employed, you may bring in a new, prestigious client. Much will be given to you, but much will be expected of you too – beyond anything you might have estimated. If you do get an offer after December 18, the job will be a highly responsible position that will require quite a bit of your attention, but that would have the power to put you on top of the mountain.

Your background and experience has prepared you for your new role and you will be up to the task, even if it will require a strenuous effort and great concentration. You may be a little hesitant to take it (it’s due to be that big), but if you can ask many questions and give your answer in the very last week of December or in January to separate yourself as FAR as possible from the period Mercury will be retrograde (December 3 to 22), then it seems to be the kind of offer you used to dream about getting.

Most people try to work right up against the retrograde period to the day before the beginning (December 3) and the day after the end dates (December 22). That is not a good idea, for the first and last days of a Mercury retrograde are actually the worst days, causing the most confusion. Certainly you would not want to build that energy into the DNA of your new venture. The only exception to the rule is to work with someone you used to know, and perhaps lost contact with (or not), and will now join forces to work on a new project or job.

For three years, since December 2014, you have been under the stern eye of Saturn, while Saturn toured your tenth house of honors, awards, and achievement. You were asked to meet higher standards than you were familiar with doing, but you worked with Saturn’s demands, you are now about to step into a role that is bigger than any you’ve held before. It could be quite a memorable moment when your reward comes.

Good fortune planet Jupiter is touring your ninth house of foreign people and places, so people abroad hold one of your keys to future success. Alternatively, the same ninth house that is so lit up also rules opportunities in the media, including publishing and broadcasting as well as the digital world. Jupiter will receive silvery beams from Neptune, your ruling planet, making the industries listed outstanding sources of profit and growth.

With Saturn entering your eleventh house of friendships and groups, you will now experience your biggest personal growth through working with your present friends and by making new friends too. If you ever wanted to join a club and get active, the coming three years would be the time to do it. You will be given the chance to make your mark by making the world a better place, all because of you.

Romance will be better for you next month, for this month will focus you strongly on your career. Action-hero Mars, however, will be your friend, and by month’s end, Mars’ closeness to Jupiter suggests that you may decide to travel to foreign shores to ring in the New Year. Go for it, dear Pisces – the memory you build will last a lifetime.