In this letter, I have written a free essay, below, called An Introduction to 2019 to give you an exciting overview of the coming year. There are lots of new trends that will offer this year a new look and feel, and I knew you would want to be filled in on those interesting details. It certainly will be a more productive year than 2018, and I will show you why in a moment.

Before you read my essay on the Year Ahead 2019 found below, I want you to know I am doing two free events in New York in January and one special keynote at the New Life Expo in Deerfield FL, near Boca Raton, on Saturday, February 2. Please come—I want to meet you!

You have a big month, for a lunar eclipse, a full moon, in your opposite sign of Leo, could be life changing, especially if your birthday falls on or near the day of the eclipse, January 20, or if you know you have planets in very early degrees of Aquarius or Leo.

This is not an easy eclipse. Uranus, your ruler, will be on a rampage, angry at the full moon in Leo, representing your mate, steady established partner, business partner, or expert you work with closely. Uranus will also be at sharp odds with the Sun in Aquarius, nearly forcing you to decide where you would like to bring your relationship in the future—stay and fix any small problems, or leave without regret.

There are no predestined outcomes, but it is true that eclipses can present situations in a very black-and-white way. The outcome of this eclipse will strongly rest on the direction this relationship has been taking until now. It will be pushed to one end or the other of the spectrum.

Eclipses are known to bring up feelings and events that have been occurring completely outside of your field of vision, so you may be shocked with news that comes up. Uranus tends to bring a message out of the blue, and it seems that you knew little or nothing about the subject previously. Eclipses bring a floodlight of truth, and that can require a lot of adjustment. It is always better to work with truth than fiction, for to be living in a fictional state is to live on a mountain of sand that cannot be sustained.

The month starts out as quiet as snow falling on a mountainous landscape or as silent as a little white kitten walking slowly across a plush white carpet before curling up in her little white blanket. The holidays have come and gone, and it seems you need rest. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day appeared to be disappointing. Saturn was conjunct the Sun, making some feel deflated or overwhelmed, unhappy that things were not going right.

    The month starts out as quiet as snow falling on a mountainous landscape or as silent as a little white kitten walking slowly across a plush white carpet before curling up in her little white blanket. The holidays have come and gone, and it seems you need rest.

Or, it may be that your partner is the source of the dissatisfaction. It may be the same person, or a different one, who requires so much attention on or near the January 20 lunar eclipse, but either way, it seems you are not getting the staunch support from a partner that you had hoped to see. You might feel taken for granted or simply not understood.

Among the planets filling your twelfth house—an area of solitude and secrets—in the first half of January include Mercury, Saturn, Pluto, the Sun, and new moon eclipse in Capricorn, 15 degrees. (All these heavenly bodies will be in Capricorn.) Once the new moon arrives on January 5, you may hear of a secret that someone has held from you for any number of reasons, or a secret of your own may come out. (Be careful if you don’t want that to happen.)

You may be working on a secret launch of a new product, for Neptune will be very active and beam shimmering silver light to the planets in your twelfth house. Neptune is in your earned income, solar second house, suggesting there is money to be made by your artistic or creative expression.

With so many Capricorn planets crowded in your solar twelfth house of the subconscious mind, this would be the ideal month to seek advice from a therapist. Some couples go to couple’s therapy with impressive results.

Now let’s turn to Mars, which will be lighting your solar third house from the very start of January to mid-February, urging you to travel for rest or simply for a change of scene. You might travel spontaneously for business, too. Go when Venus and Mars combine forces in fire signs. (Fire signs get along so well with your air-sign element.) Venus and Mars will create happy sparks on Friday, January 18, a heavenly day.

We have a very rare and beautiful conjunction of Venus and Jupiter, both in Sagittarius (fire), an aspect that happens once a year, but always in a different sign. This is the first time Venus and Jupiter have met in in Sagittarius since January 14, 1995, and again later that year on November 19, 1995. After that, these two planets never meet again in a Sagittarius conjunction until this month, on January 22! This is a highly romantic configuration, and it will light your solar eleventh house of friendship.

Plan to go out after work on Tuesday, January 22, and go to a special restaurant with a touch of luxury, one that serves imaginatively prepared foods. If you don’t have a friend who is free to go with you, invite a family member—Venus is the natural ruler of your fourth house of home and family, and you are sure to have an appreciative family member. If you don’t live near your family, book a spa treatment. Treat yourself, dear Aquarius.

The third special date is Friday, January 25, just made for getting in your car or hopping on a train to see a friend in a nearby town. Mars will reach out to Jupiter, a splendid aspect. If you are still thinking about what happened over the January 20 eclipse, you can talk it over with your friend and get a new perspective. Thank goodness for friends—bless then, for they are the family we make for ourselves.

After a festive holiday season, you seem in need of rest as you enter January. With Pluto, Saturn, Mercury, the Sun, and new moon solar eclipse (January 5) all crowded into your twelfth house, you will begin the year in a serious mood. You seem to want to meditate about a relationship that may not be going the way you initially had imagined it would go. The relationship may be new or well established; it may be a romantic or business one; but either way, it seems to have you feeling frustrated.

You may feel too controlled by a partner or concerned that your partner has been acting aloof. You seem to be digging deeply into your psyche, asking yourself what you hope to achieve or can expect from any relationship, as well as what you want to give in return. There are no right or wrong answers, only those that will be right for you.

Your twelfth house, Capricorn, where all the commotion will be based, also rules physical and psychological health. You might opt to go into a hospital to have your knee operated on (Capricorn rules knees), your bone density checked, or to consult your dermatologist (Capricorn also rules skin). It’s also a good idea to see your dentist for X-rays and a cleaning for super white teeth. (Yes, Capricorn rules teeth, too.)

You may feel ready to enter therapy and talk over a problem that has troubled you. The planetary pattern of January would be perfect for a psychiatric consultation, so if this idea is agreeable to you, start early in January. The twelfth house is packed with helpful planets, and it rules places of confinement. This is the reason you might want to visit a hospital or check into a rehab center. It is also possible you will have a friend or relative who will be in such a facility, and you will go to bring cheer, the reason I see this part of your chart so lit up.

If you feel fine, Mars’ new entry in your travel sector will make quick getaways possible. Circle the day when Mars reaches out to Venus, January 18, as the perfect day to travel for a fun day or overnight stay.

The full moon lunar eclipse of January 20 will be in your opposite sign of Leo. If your birthday falls on this day, plus four days, you will feel this eclipse the strongest. Uranus, your ruling planet, will be at odds with this eclipse, and that means you may have to suddenly finesse your relationship with your spouse or steady partner, for things seem to be going off the rails.

Whatever comes up won’t be something you’d have expected, and you seem very jittery when the news comes in. You might, alternatively, have to deal with a problem concerning your living space or use diplomacy when speaking with a family member, most likely with one of your parents or a sibling. Everyone, it seems, will be emotional, and it’s true—everyone will feel the dramatic effects of this difficult eclipse in different ways, depending on their sign. This is why you should not schedule meetings with anyone at this time—people will be strung out and be out of sorts. Do not sign a contract near January 20 (or any eclipse, for that matter).

Eclipses are important events, for they shake us out of our comfortable routine and force us to confront certain realities. Full moons bring closure or a sense of finality, so that a new chapter can soon start. Don’t try to negotiate news at an eclipse—it is the one time that news cannot be reversed. You will not be able to go back to the way things were.

If your birthday falls in February, you will not likely feel the January 20 directly, for this is the last one in the Leo-Aquarius family of eclipses that began in February 2017 and came by every five-and-a-half months.

Think back to July 27, 2018, the most recent eclipse in your sign of Aquarius—can you recall what happened then? This month’s January 20 lunar eclipse will advance the discussion that happened then and finally put the matter to bed. You also had an eclipse in this sign and degree precisely 19 years ago—January 20, 2000 (yes, January 20). Although the other planes have since moved to new places, if you can recall anything big that happened back then, you may be able to see a theme that can reoccur now.

Romantically, you have a dazzling day, January 22, when Venus and Jupiter will align in your eleventh house of friendship. Be with friends, or go to a meeting of a club you belong to—if you do, excellent things will happen that you can’t quite imagine ahead of time. If you attend a social or charity event, it’s sure to be luxurious fun. No invitations? Bring your mother or another family member to dinner—too often we treat friends better than the people who love us the most. Or, if family is not nearby, then book a spa treatment, even though this will be a Tuesday. This evening will be worthy of four twinkling stars.