As the year ends, I urge you to think back and pick out the very best day of the year, which made you smile, and the hardest day of the year too. If you have my annual calendars, you can see what aspects were at play on the days you choose, or the aspects very close to that day. Make a note of the aspects you find – they might be helpful to you over time…

Get your suitcase out from under the bed, dear Taurus – you will be traveling quite far this month, and the effect will open your mind to adventurous new concepts and people. You may assume you are not flying anywhere, but the universe seems to have other plans for you. This month is an extraordinary month on many levels. Let’s start at the top, and you will see why.

January 1 starts off with a full moon in Cancer, 12 degrees, lighting your third house of short travel. You may have gone to see family over the holidays and will be returning home. Mars will be in perfect angle to that full moon, so chances are, you will like what occurs. Remarkably, this full moon forms a golden triangle of supreme harmony, linking your house of marriage and serious business commitments / collaborations, and at the other leg of the triangle, bringing Neptune, planet of imagination and the arts, into the discussion. A friend, or your membership in a club, may be instrumental in the luck you will have at the time.

This same full moon might bring papers to sign, and if so, it appears that your lawyer has gone over the document and has approved it, so go ahead and sign. Mercury is no longer retrograde, and you can move ahead confidently. The next retrograde will be March 22 to April 15, so get as much done now as you can. This full moon appears to be a busy time for you, with many details to oversee. Does your birthday fall on May 1, plus or minus five days? This new moon will be speaking directly to you.

One gorgeous day – and an exceedingly rare one – will be January 6, when Mars and Jupiter will conjoin in Scorpio, in your house of true love. If you are in love, you might be getting engaged on this brilliant day, or you might be getting married. Mars has not met with Jupiter in Scorpio, in your marriage house, since August 8, 1982, and then not again until November 24, 2053.

Another day to circle in gold will be January 8, when the Sun and Jupiter will be beautifully oriented in what is called a trine position, from the word triangle, denoting supreme harmony. Again, a partner is fortunate for you, and all the discussion will revolve around what I am about to tell you about, concerning topics of the new moon, January 16.

Indeed, the most exciting part of the month will be when the new moon arrives in Capricorn, 27 degrees, on January 16. You will experience an extraordinary cosmic event, with no less than six heavenly bodies stacked up in Capricorn, including the Sun, new moon, Venus, Pluto, Mercury, and Saturn, all nestled in your broadening and adventuresome ninth house. Keep in mind that Capricorn is an earth sign like yours, meaning all those planets will be working on your behalf, acting like fairy godmothers to your greatest wishes. It is so rare to have six heavenly bodies (out of a possible ten) in one sign. The last time we had anything like this it was May 3, 2000, when we had seven planets in Taurus, but scientists tell us we will never have an alignment of that size again – but we would have six in alignment, January 16, 2018, and that day has almost arrived!

The ninth house where all this energy will be directed is known to encourage broad thinking and intense curiosity about the world. You will see possibilities in opportunities that in the past may have eluded you. Specifically, you may be focused on foreign travel and/or international business, or channel this energy into your pursuit toward getting a college advanced degree. You may be setting off on an exciting trip overseas, or working with executives in a foreign country to bring materialize a project, whether on foreign shores, or from your base, without having to leave home.

Publishing and broadcasting opportunities are bursting with possibility too, as a result of this buildup of planetary energy, and may come up now. Last month Saturn entered this same ninth house of your chart, indicating a big goal may center on something having to do with the areas ruled by this house. You may, for example, be going to college for a master’s degree or get a chance to work abroad, publish your book, or host your own TV or radio show.

Mars, the action planet, will be beautifully oriented toward the Sun and new moon, increasing the chances for impressive financial gain from actions you take this month. If you are going back to college, investigate possibilities for financial aid or a scholarship.

If you have been working on an immigration matter involving a green card, passport, or visa, the new moon of January 16 will set off the trend immediately and in weeks to come, and you will see a great deal of progress. Publishing and broadcasting comes under the domain of this house, so you may find sudden opportunity in one or both of these industries, too. These are all golden areas for you to investigate.

    Your most exciting part of the month will be when the new moon arrives January 16 in Capricorn. You will experience an extraordinary cosmic event, with six heavenly bodies in Capricorn, all nestled in your broadening and adventuresome ninth house.

There is a glitch, and that’s coming from Uranus, who was not invited to the Capricorn gathering and is about to cause a ruckus. Uranus will be in hard angle to the Sun, new moon, and Venus, your ruler. Uranus is in your confidential, behind the scenes twelfth house. You might get unsettling news out of the blue about something you had no idea was brewing. It might have something to do with your career, for Uranus rules that part of your chart. Perhaps there will be a political play that someone who is jealous of you is suddenly about to launch.

Alternatively, the twelfth house is also associated with places of confinement, theoretically for purposes of healing, such as hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, physical therapy centers, and prisons. Someone you know may be suddenly placed in such a facility, and perhaps you will visit that person to boost that person’s morale. As you can imagine, there are many possible examples of a strike from the planet of change from the twelfth house, and they are too many to list. The very nature of Uranus is to present an event that is completely unexpected.

The point to you is, there is no need to become anxious about Uranus’ impending antics because the very nature of this planet is to bring news from an area that you wouldn’t expect and would not be looking at as a possibility. It’s not worth worrying about something that has not happened. You may have something in your individual chart that I cannot see, and it may mitigate the effect of Uranus. Simply be watchful. You have experienced Uranus before in various incarnations because Uranus has been steadfastly in Aries, with no change, since March 2011, and you have triumphed. I do feel you will have opportunities that are special in international work or travel, in education or in publishing / broadcasting, and those will thrill you.

If you were born May 16, plus or minus five days, this new moon party in Capricorn will deliver its message to all, but especially to you. Do you have Taurus rising at 26 degrees of the natal moon in Taurus at that degree? If you have a natal planet at 26 degrees Capricorn, Taurus, or Virgo, plus or minus five degrees, you will notice something important surfacing too in the days that follow this important new moon.

The end of the month brings a major lunar full moon eclipse in Leo, 12 degrees, lighting your home sector. This is the area of your life that covers your home and family, and also includes any physical property you own or rent, whether it is your residence or not. Something is happening in this part of your life that will take your full attention, and it appears a decision or event is culminating.

You may be getting ready to move January 31 or February 1, or start to renovate, decorate, or do something else involving the space you are thinking about. Mars will be in Sagittarius by the end of the month and will be friendly to this full moon. Orbiting your eighth house, this says to me that if you need money as a result of changes to your home or other property, or to financially help a relative, you can find a way to get all you need. If you are seeking a mortgage or bank home improvement loan, you should also do well.

Romantically, Venus will be in Capricorn, a perfect sign for you, from the very start of the month until January 16. This means your charm will be at an all-time high. If you want to spend some of your holiday cash on new clothes (that you might find on sale), go ahead – it’s a great time to do so. Single Taurus, circulate in the first half.

On January 9, the interaction of Venus in Capricorn with Mars in Scorpio suggests you may meet and be smitten with someone who is a bit older than you, but it works just fine. This January 9 date will be a very romantic one, so if you are looking for a date to have a first meeting of someone you met online, for example, you have it.

One other date, January 25, deserves several gold stars. On this day, the planet of news, Mercury, will receive shimmering vibrations from Jupiter, the planet of gifts and luck, from your house of partnership and marriage. You might get engaged on this day, or hear other happy news from your romantic (or a business) partner.

Travel is written all over your chart, so the month may begin with you returning from a short trip four days or less after the full moon appears on January 1. The holiday season seems have brought lots of reasons to pack and go. Your third house was lit, so perhaps you took a short trip to see your sister, brother, cousin, or friend. With happy aspects emanating from your partnership house, too, you may be traveling with your spouse or steady partner, and enjoying every minute. In fact, the trip you take might be a honeymoon or a celebration for an engagement.

This full moon had Saturn somewhat close, however, so you may feel that you’re handling too much and are generally being crushed with the weight of responsibility. Going out of town will give you a chance to gain a better perspective on pressing matters that seem to have consumed you lately.

The new moon of January 16 will be even more dramatic with its emphasis on travel. This time it appears you will be traveling many more miles than you did earlier, possibly to a foreign country or to a far city in your country. Alternatively, you may be working with executives abroad on a venture. You might also be ready to have your book published or be told that your work will be translated into at least one other language. Another way this could turn out is that you may be focused on importing or exporting ideas, goods, or services. Your ninth house, lit up this month, also rules higher education, so you may be starting a new semester in undergraduate or graduate school, and be busy signing up for a number of classes you are enthusiastic about taking. If you have worked on a thesis, this month may be the time you defend it.

Ordinarily this would be a superb time to make career progress, but you will need to factor in a possible sudden problem that will come out of left field shortly after the new moon of January 16 arrives. The matter will need to be handled quickly, for if left unattended, it might impinge on your professional reputation. Someone you work with or who competes with you may make a sudden jarring move to undermine your efforts. If you absolutely must sign the paperwork, write an exit clause, just in case you don’t like the deal later. With Saturn so strong, without such a clause, you will be locked in, unable to leave, with few, if any workable options.

If you notice anything going on that seems off or underhanded, you will need to also address that problem, in any way you feel would be effective. Fortunately you will have Mars and Jupiter align in your seventh house of partnerships. Someone you collaborate with closely in business – a business partner, writing partner or editor, agent, publicist, lawyer, or another such professional – will be helpful to you and might well come up with ways to protect your income and market share. This same person can also offer ideas to thwart this predator. For you, collaborators and partners are gold for you.

By month’s end, your home will be the center of your attention. A full moon lunar eclipse in Leo on January 31 will bring change and closure to a home or family-related matter. Mars will be close enough to help you with your finances, and everyone who has ever made a move, bought a house, started a renovation, or was involved in a decorating project, knows that spending usually rises quite high during these times.

Another way this eclipse may affect you is if you hoped to help an elderly relative find a good solution to a health or living situation. This question might have first surfaced during August 2017 when two eclipses came by, and one, August 21, fell in Leo like the one this month will do. Eclipses often bring life events that we long remember if the degrees of the eclipse touch your Sun. You will feel this January 31 eclipse if your birthday falls on May 3, plus or minus four days.