For the week of December 28th thru January 4th, be sure to read your Rising Sign as well:

Aries

As we close out the Old Year, divesting, releasing, purifying and letting go of what was; it does indeed look as if a whole new dawn of a New Year is emerging. And with this New Year, think of what initiatives you would like to begin, what improvements you would like to make? And as Mars enters Aries at the New Year, this is indeed the first step of the rest of your life. Therefore, for you, what would you want that first step to look like? Is it a program of self-improvement? Many an Aries will be thinking about the things that they would like to improve in their lives. And Mars in Aries certainly brings you the courage and enthusiasm to get started. This will be all the more so with the New Moon Eclipse on the 5th, but you can make a head start even now. For the first few months of the year, while Mars is in your sign, see if you can use this surge of energy to launch you into the New Year with conviction, resolve, and an enthusiastic determination to see your goals fulfilled. 

Taurus

This New Year could feel deep and complicated for Taurus. The anticipation of renewal is certainly possible, but there is so much here invested with meaning and purpose, that it cannot be ignored. It is almost as if things are already moving in a certain direction and there isn’t very much to be done right now, except to allow things to run their course. Part of the process of transformation and change that is about to emerge involves what feel like fated or inevitable bonds and relationships that are only being further intensified. It might be helpful to look about you and see which bonds you would like to further nurture going into the year ahead. Where do you need to mend rifts? Where would you like even deeper bonds and commitments to be made? Bring offerings of peace and reconciliation. Greater wholeness can be achieved by accepting and appreciating the differences in each other, and what these have to teach you going forward. 

Gemini

Mercury is making its way through the last degrees of Sagittarius this week, seeking resolution to the year that was, and looking enthusiastically towards the future, and what still may be. What you don’t want to bring with you, are any bad habits, resentments or regrets from the last year. Therefore see what needs to be purified and released before making any new commitments going forward. It could feel like a week of endings, or the final stamp on a year that was, but it is also a time of imminent renewal and change. Through reflection, through acceptance, a surge of enlightened awareness can emerge showing you the way forward. And where there previously appeared to be problems, now show the possibility of some sort of solution. Be open to alternative ideas or ways of looking at things. The days following the New Year, are filled with creative insights that can be fleeting and quick, but also brilliant and illuminating. 

Cancer

This week the Sun is shining a light on the dark planet Saturn, which is strong on New Year’s Day. This is also when the Moon enters its Balsamic (last Crescent) phase. Usually we associate New Year’s Day with fresh new starts, but this is a Moon that is associated with tying up loose ends, withdrawal, and rest. It is a good time therefore for Cancer to clear out clutter, meditate, rest, dream and cleanse. We are clearing the field, shaking off the leaves of the dying cycle, in order to be ready for the next cycle that is about to emerge on January 5th with the next New Moon and a Solar Eclipse. But Sun/Saturn transits also bring times to plan, to organize and to make sense of things. So reflect on the past year, and what you have or have not accomplished. What obstacles stand in your way? What would you want to further commit to? When you consider the current responsibilities and obligations that you have already committed to, ask yourself, how do these impact on your hopes and wishes for the future? And how can you build on commitments already made? One thing many a Cancer may be thinking about now, are their expectations of others, and they of them. How do you feel about agreements made with others, and is there room for improvement? 

Leo

As the Solar Year begins anew, Leo is going to be in a period of reflection, and focusing on practical considerations going forward. You may be thinking about what has brought you to this place right now: all the decisions you have made, all the challenges you have faced, and the obstacles that are yet to be overcome. It may be for many a Leo that both work and/or health pose particular challenges. It’s more about what you have to do, what is the right thing to do, rather than what you want to do right now. Duty and obligation are stressed, as you consider certain obligations and responsibilities that you have already taken on, or challenges that stand in the way of what you would like to accomplish going forward. If there are physical obstacles, what can you do to work with current limitations? And even if you don’t have a particular health challenge right now, what sorts of positive routines or habits would you like to change or establish going forward? What has been working, and what has not been working? These are good questions to consider as we close out the Old Year, and face the New Year to come. 

Virgo

As Mercury wends its way through the last degrees of Sagittarius this week, it could indeed feel like there are a number of loose ends that still need to be tied up before making any resolutions moving forward. And in the process of doing this critical work, it could also become apparent as to what has worked, what hasn’t, and what creative ventures you might want to implement going forward. So you stand on the threshold of the New Year with a bit of regret, but also excitement. Rather than bringing any regrets into the New Year, see what you can do to purify and release any negative habits, resentments, or sore spots going forward. And if there are certain things that you cannot do anything about, how does acceptance figure into your plans going forward? The days after the New Year are filled with creative insights and flashes of genius as you get a glimpse of the possibilities of what may be possible. Sometimes illumination can be had simply by being willing to look at a situation from another perspective. 

Libra

Endings and beginnings are one. As we cross the threshold into the New Year, there is much to be reconciled from the previous year. There is even much more to be done internally in order to prepare the way forward. So you may ask yourself what needs to be released? What are you saying goodbye to? What needs to be accepted as part of the fabric, and what needs to be purified in the fires of renewal? Do not lose sight of your priorities. And most of all do not lose sight of what gifts, offerings and talents you have to offer to others going forward. Keep those. Invest in those. These will help you to think in terms of what further commitments you would like to make in 2019. Another consideration to make is that the coming year will be about those things that make you stronger. What grounds you? What will indeed strengthen you? But before you make new commitments, make a list of those things, people and experiences that have invested you and made you who you are today. Then send them out into the universe with love, as you consider what will need to be further built up from here on. 

Scorpio

There has already been a lot of releasing going on. Releasing and acceptance for where you are, and where others are as well. There can still be a bit of purification that needs to be done. This can be both a painful and illuminating process. You may ask yourself, what has brought you to this place in time? And where do I need to go from here? There is still a lot of work to be done and cleared out before you can feel fully established. It’s like sloughing off an old skin that you have outgrown. The new you is waiting to be reborn. So in the process, what new habits would you like to establish? What new and better routines? Where would you like to see yourself further investing your energy going forward? There are still a few things that will need tying up as you close out the old year. But it certainly seems as if there is much to look forward to going into the New Year. 

Sagittarius

One thing that Sagittarius should be confirmed with going into the New Year; and that is that this is your year to expand your horizons, and embrace brighter, and better beginnings. The sorts of beginnings that have the potential to grow (even if it feels at times like you will be stepping out into the unknown). But even before you can look forward, you will first need to say goodbye to what was. Some things will need to be released first. Especially those things that you no longer need: old worries, old resentments, old judgments that no longer serve you well. A Brazilian friend of mine once convinced me to jump over the waves on a dark salty beach one New Year’s Eve, a beautiful metaphor for leaping into the New Year that is yet to come. As you jump over the waves into the next year, leave your worries and out-worn trepidations behind, and embrace with anticipation the year that is about to be. 

Capricorn

The best time to set resolutions this year will be with the Capricorn New Moon Eclipse on the 5th, however there is a ways and a means to arriving at those resolutions as we move through the next week. As mentioned last week, these weeks leading up to the Eclipse are like a transition from the Old Year, to the New Year to come, where you are sloughing off the dying leaves in preparation for the new growth that will emerge later on. There can be both sadness and even regret as we release the outworn leaves behind. There may have been losses, endings, transitions for many a Capricorn over the past year, and there still may be changes for others as we move into 2019. The key here is to be true to yourself in the process. Something is being torn down in order to be rebuilt on a firmer, more reliable foundation. You are in the process of questioning every facet of your life in order to see what is, or is not, working. The next few years continue to be your opportunity to take the reins of your life, and decide which direction you want to go in. If you were to be the pilot of your own ship, in which direction would you wish to steer it? This is your ship. Where do you want it to go? 

Aquarius

Without freedom from the past, there is no real future. So there are these periodic times in our lives when it becomes essential to slough off the past, to release to purify and to divest yourself from those things that you have outgrown, and are no longer relevant to the person you are becoming. At the same time, there is much to be learned from the past. What is working for you? What has not been working and needs to be changed? This helps prevent us from repeating our mistakes. But there must also be objectivity here, even if it is subjectively painful. Everything you have lived through helps to make you the person you are now. The good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly. But there is also the recognition, that now is the only moment that really matters. And in order to make a grand new beginning, you have to begin to make a good ending. And that’s part of the story for Aquarius this year: tying up and resolving all the loose ends of the past in order to move forward on the right foot. 

Pisces

It may at times feel like you are daring to take on way more than you bargained for. But you are also being asked to have faith that this is all part of the inevitable growing pains. For your world is daring to grow just that much larger this year. And if you have any doubts, see if you can release these in the waters of lethe as you purify all negative judgments, resentments and concerns from the year that was, before fully committing to the future that will be, and the New Year to come. In the process of releasing, accepting and purifying, look to see what you would like to invest in, in the New Year. What would you want to invest your valuable time, energy and resources on going forward? What are your priorities for the New Year? Where and how would you like to make your statement of renewal going forward?