Trust to your luck and you'll find yourselves among new and interesting people. This is a time to learn, grow and flourish. Travel, good fortune or advancement could come to siblings. Some of you will find inspiration in the ideas and company of others. You will be mixing with people of standing in the community. Academics and professional people will be among your associates. People from overseas and influences from other cultures and foreign climes will make themselves felt in your sphere.

Love and Money  

Venus the goddess shines in a conjunction with mystic Neptune in your solar seventh house as the year begins. Romance calls you. For some, your lives may change because of encounters that open you up to someone new. For others, you may be called either by yourself or with a partner into new emotional or spiritual climes. Don't just chase rainbows though. Make sure what you see is real and offers something. Deception or misleading situations may trouble some of you if you're not discerning.

For singles, someone new may enter your life, offering enticing or unusual prospects. Or, you may find yourselves attracted to someone quite different or unusual. Artists and people gifted with spiritual wisdom or insight may play a role in your lives. For those in a relationship, new interests or pursuits may come for you to share. You may meet new people. For some, this will intensify or deepen your union while, for others, such things may draw you down different paths. For some, this may spell a major change as changing interests bring about a change of affection. It will be very important for you to discuss any changes you're going through so that you can negotiate your way through the process. In some instances whether single or in a partnership, you may meet someone who will change the course of you life because of the new ideas or beliefs they introduce you to.

Many Lions will be 'money' conscious, but will need different practices or perspectives to carve a new path. Don't do things in the same old way with regard to financial practices. Examine what you do with discernment and then make change. Work out a good financial strategy. With giant Jupiter in Virgo until September 25th, take advice from experienced people. You'll have to spend money to make money but don't take foolish risks. For some, a new job will be the solution to any money troubles.

Home and Family  

Look at your history, especially relationships with parents and authority figures and see if you can perceive the threads of any past patterns in the weaving of your emotional and domestic life now. The key to the future lies in an understanding of the past. If you find the same recurring problems, then someone who has had charge over your life in childhood will be the hidden influence you need to detect and understand. Time in such reflections will be of immense benefit. Family life may be intense. You may renew connections with family members with whom you've had difficulty in the past. There will be changes in family structure and personnel and some family members may find themselves facing difficult conditions. The health of family members may be a testing issue. The next year may mark the end of a cycle. This is a time for regeneration and renewal. You will need to come to terms with your past in order to diminish the influence it has in your life.


Work and Health  

Chiron the wounded healer moves through Capricorn and your solar sixth house of work and health. If you haven't begun a new regime already then do so this year. Change your work habits or patterns. Change your diet and exercise routine. If you don't exercise, make a start. If you do, try something different. A new format or new skills could be just the thing to get you feeling vigorous. Bring different rhythms to daily life and your health will flourish. Stay stuck in the same old patterns (all too easy for the fixed sign) and you'll find yourself tired and run down.

Some of you may be looking for a change of work, one that brings something more stimulating or enjoyable. If you lack the confidence to stretch yourself or try something new, break that inner barrier and step forward. It may be you will discover that someone in authority has instilled a fear in you in early in life. This year you can put that behind you if you start to develop practices that set new directions. Don't think about it! Do it! You may benefit from the 'wide open' spaces and fresh air. Don't be confined too long. Even if you're getting a good workout at home or in the gym, you still may not be getting what you need. Drink in a good long gulp of the natural world every now and again. Take care with accidents or mobility problems. Work through problems with care and attention. This is not a year to try and come back from anything too quickly. Those travelling overseas will need to take especial care with regard to matters of health and safety.

Career Matters  

With Saturn moving through your twelfth house, there will be a change or a withdrawal from some current work or activity. This will allow you to develop on an inner level and so tread new paths. Thus, some of you may be contemplating a new direction, one where you can prove yourself by doing something of real value or interest. You may have to overcome fears or a natural reluctance about this. Such things will be rooted in childhood or family experience. You may come to know yourself in a new and different way. It will be worth the effort for those of you who make it. You may need to study or withdraw from more familiar landmarks or reference points to make the transition. Career changes will bring important new contacts or connections into your life. Some of these people may be gifted or artistic in some way. Certainly they will be unusual in their interests and pursuits.

Mercury the Messenger  

Mercury moves into retrograde (reverse) motion three times a year for about three weeks each time. This phase heralds a time of confusion and misunderstandings that can affect arrangements, travel, transport, appliances, machinery and communications. The breakdowns that occur are a function of neglect, inattention, simple misunderstandings or component failure. They will often bring to the fore the very contingency we should have planned for and didn't. When the retrograde phase occurs, watch out for such possibilities as well as putting off major decision-making or the signing of crucial documents and agreements. We tend to miss things while Mercury is in reverse motion and then have to come back and do them again. A process of review in the retrograde phase can efficiently show where problems might lie and help us with damage control or the mending of things. Double check arrangements at these times! What you think you've said and what others have understood will often prove to be two different things.

Mercury begins the year in a retrograde phase, coming in the sign of Sagittarius and your solar fifth house of romance, recreation and children. You may need to kick back for a time or change your schedules with regard to leisure activities. There could be problems communicating with children or making arrangements concerning them. Romantic matters may be a trifle touchy. Sort out misunderstandings before they gather momentum. This cycle comes to an end on January 7th.

The messenger's second retrograde phase comes in Taurus and your solar tenth house. It begins on April 7th. Work or responsibility could have you dealing with tricky people or situations. There might be harsh words or cross-purposes in your interactions with authority. Get your values straight, but recognize where other people are coming from. You may have to reassess career goals or achievements. You may have to look at your place in the pecking order. This cycle comes to an end on May 1st.

Mercury's next retrograde cycle begins on August 11th in Virgo and your solar second house. You will need to keep a weather eye on your budget and personal spending. Look at your financial strategies and see if you can introduce a new sense of economy. This is a time to be cutting back or putting money aside so that you can improve your situation in the long term. There may be confusion in communications over money. Analyze what's going on and deal with the details. This cycle comes to an end on September 3rd.

Mercury's final retrograde phase for the year begins on December 1st in Sagittarius and your solar fifth house. There may be alterations or interruptions with arrangements or schedules for leisure activities. Watch injuries if you have play sport or work out. Making plans or communicating with children could be a tricky process. Plans may not work out. If things are touchy in the romance department, sort out misunderstandings before they gather momentum. You may spend time wondering where your life is going. This cycle comes to an end on December 21st.

Lady Moon  

Your Full Moon comes on February 6th, bringing tension with the Lunar Nodes. There may be changes that affect work or family life and their associated responsibilities. There may be conflict or a confrontation with a partner or an associate that leads to a change or a separation. You may find yourself a distance from someone important to you. There may be a clash of wills as someone else exerts their authority. Meet them half way.

Your New Moon comes on August 16th as warrior Mars and Mercury the messenger clash with revolutionary Uranus. You may need a new strategy or a different course of action where money is concerned. Make a new start. Some of you may have to rescue yourselves if you've been getting in too deep. Renew your efforts where creative projects, romantic matters or children are concerned. Another foray may bring a good result. Go over old ground with a new sense of determination and involvement.

Eclipses  

Eclipses of both the Sun and the Moon often indicate the end of a cycle or a significant change in the direction or pattern of the affairs governed by the house in which the eclipse falls. Eclipses of the Sun may affect work, direction and relations with people in authority. Eclipses of the Moon may affect matters of home, family and emotions as well as relations with women and children. Both may affect your health.

A Solar Eclipse comes with the New Moon in Aries on April 19th. This comes in your solar ninth house of overseas travel, study, law and religion. Events overseas may change your plans at home. There may be an interruption or an end to a program of study. There may be challenges in your dealings with in-laws. Your belief system may be tested in some way as something important to you passes from your life. If you're involved in legal dealings, they may hit a snag, causing delay or a change of tack.

A Lunar Eclipse comes at the Full Moon in Scorpio and your solar fourth house on May 4th. There may be changes with home or domestic life. Someone may be leaving the nest. Something may come to a head for you emotionally. Try to remain calm and you may get an insight into yourself or someone close. There may be conflict between responsibilities at work and the needs of others in your emotional life. An eruption here may help you find a new balance.

A Solar Eclipse comes with the New Moon in Libra and your solar third house on October 14th. Your mental processes are energized. Filled with many new ideas, you have an urge to read more, gather all kinds of information and learn new things. You really need to communicate, as you become extremely busy planning projects, attending meetings, running errands and taking short trips. Buying a computer, new car, or communications equipment, or upgrading your present systems and machines may well be on the agenda. Interactions and social activities with siblings and neighbors increase; you may find yourself assuming leadership in community affairs. Be more assertive in self-expression, but avoid the delusion that your own ideas and opinions are the only ones worth listening to. Pleasant or not, it is in your best interests to turn each situation into a positive learning experience.

The Full Moon on October 28th brings a Lunar Eclipse in Taurus and your solar tenth house. There may be a clash with someone in authority or you may suffer a loss of authority yourself. You may experience a change or an unexpected end with regard to career matters. A cycle of responsibility may come to an end for you. There may a clash with a family member or an emotional tie that brings your current circumstances to an end.

Special Events  

Venus the goddess turns retrograde in Gemini and your solar eleventh house of friends, hopes and wishes on May 18th. There may be changes in your circle of friends. There may be a separation or an ending with someone you've known for some time. Old friends may come back into your life, bringing with them the memories of dreams or wishes from the past. Your goals or dreams may be changing. You may renew your interest in things that were important in the past. You may begin to see life differently because of the influence of new people. New opportunities may come with new ideas or communications. This cycle comes to an end on June 11th, but there may be far-reaching or unexpected consequences from what happens at this time.