For the week of January 1st thru the 8th, be sure to read your Rising Sign as well:

Aries

As Mars moves from your sign next week, you could find your resolve deepening in some areas, even as your energy will be lagging in others. There is this element of determination that comes when Mars is in Taurus. And stubbornness. So as we stand here at the dawning of a New Year, also be willing to explore what has not been working. What are those things that you do, just because you have always done them that way… or there is some sort of obligation or sense of responsibility that keeps you doing the same thing over and over, even though it doesn’t necessarily bring you the results you are hoping for? It’s time to examine our motives, as we also explore our resolutions for the year to come. You may want to wait until the New Moon on the 13th to launch your intentions for the New Year. In the mean time sort out your priorities and explore those things that you really do want to further commit to, and those that seem to be leading to a dead end. 

Taurus

Mars enters your sign this coming week. This will also bring you a stronger sense of determination and will power to follow through with any New Year’s resolutions you are hoping to make. However, if you really want a boost of energy, we all might want to wait for the New Moon on the 13th to launch our intentions and resolutions for the New Year. In the mean time, be willing to allow the weekend to take you where it will. Even if it feels as if you are drifting out to sea. There are times when we simply need to just be, and dream and ruminate. These down times allow you to conserve your energy. In this way, you are preparing yourself for what may come. Venus will trine Mars as it enters Taurus on January 6th which can bring this surge of creative passion and yearning for something more, perhaps something new and different. A bit of restlessness is stirring in the Taurus realm this coming month, and this growing passion is merely an early symptom. 

Gemini

You will want to take advantage of this week to wrap up any plans that you’ve been working on, in preparation for the year to come. But not until after the weekend. Use these first few days of the New Year to dream, fantasize and wonder. Connect with your vision of what could be. You will have plenty of time afterwards to create a practical and realistic New Year’s Resolution list after Sunday, and organize whatever needs organizing. Sometimes you just have to put all practical considerations aside, so that you can connect with yourself first, and visualize what a more perfect future could and should look like. Then make your lists, tie up the loose ends, take care of practical matters after that. It will help you to regain your perspective, and remind you of the things that really matter both for the short and long term. And that will make all the difference. 

Cancer

The Cancer Full Moon seeped into our mindstreams, insinuated itself into our dream world, but also came as an annual reminder of the importance of place, the importance of support systems, of home and grounding. And as the Moon gets smaller over the next few weeks, it’s also a reminder to gently pull back. Make room in your life for balance. Cancer is intuitive and gifted. But you can be pulled at the seams at this time of year. Your personal and outer lives are both important right now, so finding a balance between the two is essential. But you will want to add one more item. Make space for contemplation. In order to make the most of your intuition, insight and gifts, you will also need time to reflect and contemplate. That is when all the brilliance emerges, and all the pieces finally come together. 

Leo

Leo will be growing into themselves this year, as you begin to emerge and come out on to the stage of life. There is so much that you have already established. And there are still a few twists and turns ahead. Mars will enter Taurus next week, and after that things will begin to feel a little restless. Especially if you are feeling stuck. But for now it would do you good to pause and take stock of your surroundings. Take advantage of the holiday weekend if you can to slow down. Inspiration can be found if you are willing to turn down the external noise and allow yourself to connect with yourself. Look for meaning in whichever way works best for you: a creative passion, a spiritual practice, thru divination, meditation or by simply being. Find that still center of calm, and lean into it. You will appreciate it later. 

Virgo

We often think of New Year’s as a time for fanfare and reckless abandon. This year many are being asked to slow down over the weekend and pause. Avoid doing overly much: perhaps watch a movie, get lost in a book, if you are given the opportunity. This is a weekend of intimate one-on-one conversations, thoughtful pauses, and reverie. Take advantage of it while you can because things are going to be speeding up later on next week, and you probably won’t have the opportunity to put up your feet for a while after that. It also just makes sense to pause in the moment, conserve your energy for now, take stock of your surroundings, perhaps even arming yourself with facts and information first, before diving headlong out into the busyness of life. Life can wait. This moment is yours. 

Libra

Take some time out this weekend. Try to set some time aside to do absolutely nothing. Don’t even try to get anything done. Be a slacker. Let your mind wander. Dream, binge watch a show, let yourself get lost for a bit. You sort of need to do so. You will actually find that this will bring you more energy, more focus, more ability to tackle assignments later on. Trying to push yourself beyond that this weekend, will only exhaust you. All the more so as you will probably find yourself easily distracted. Know that you will be able to make up for any lost time next week, especially after Venus enters no-nonsense and get-down-to-work Capricorn on the 8th. By Sunday you will be able to better channel a more directed and seriousness of purpose. But for these early first few days of the year, go with the necessity to drift as you will. 

Scorpio

Mars moves from proactive, get-things-done, Aries, into stalwart and determined Taurus next week. You will find that your energy will become more focused and determined, but also very resistant to any outside influences or pressure. Perhaps even more so. You will be fine over the next few months provided everyone lets you do things your own way, in your own time. In the mean time, you may find yourself absorbed in specific topics, or some outstanding idea that captures your attention. And in true Scorpio fashion, as you find your attention moving in a specific direction, you will want to know everything about it. This is a great week for sifting through information, doing the research, or getting to the bottom of a mystery or problem. If anyone can figure it out, it’s Scorpio. 

Sagittarius

There is no containing Sagittarius. We can lock them up, mask them, curtail their activities, turn off the fireworks, make things as boring as possible, and they’ll still find a way to kick up their heels and greet the New Year with fanfare and glee. Where you find Sagittarius, you find a party. And you’re probably feeling like you need to let loose any way, so go for it. We all need a little escape valve now and then. You will probably find it easier to take care of business after the lull of the weekend any way. That is the other side of Sagittarius. Once you apply yourself to the task at hand, and sort out all the ambiguities and nonsense, you know how to get things done. And this is especially so these days. For if you are not on a mission already, you’re about to embark on one soon. 

Capricorn

You can almost feel a shift in the air. It feels like change. Capricorn is fine with change provided they have a plan, and are able to be in control of the outcome. Use the impetus of the New Year to lay out your plan. Think of it as your New Year Resolution Plan. But also think of the ways that you can allow it to evolve. There are probably going to be a few twists and turns ahead, and you’re going to want to stay on top of them. But connecting with and having a lodestar to guide you will keep you focused even in the most distracting of times. And one way you can start, is by connecting with your priorities. What are the goals that you want to achieve this year? That is important. But also think in terms of who or what you want to fill your life with? And what will make your life more complete? 

Aquarius

A part of you may be feeling an urgency to have to make a decision. To sit down with a seriousness of purpose and write out your New Year’s Resolutions for the year. After all, with the Great Conjunction in your sign last month, it must mean something, right? And it does! But you probably don’t quite know what that may be yet, and that is okay. And you might even want to put aside those resolutions for now, and wait until the super dooper New Moon in Aquarius in February, when we are in mega Aquarius mode. For now just let your mind go where it will. Make your everyday resolutions for now: begin that diet, start that new regimen you’ve been wanting to get to; sort out the papers; that’s all well and good. But keep the big stuff for later. There are still one or two twists and turns ahead before you even get to the starting line. 

Pisces

The Great Conjunction in Aquarius is both a beginning and an ending. We are all being taken along on this fantastic ride transitioning from one era to the next. And in the process some aspects of our lives are going to slough off and fade away, while other things will take their place. And in your own life, you will begin to come to terms with certain aspects of your life that you are either outgrowing, or that have outgrown you. And there may be a bit of sentimental reverie this weekend as we make this symbolic transition from the Old Year to the New Year to come. The tides are already gradually shifting. And we’re being brought along for the ride. Let it be for now. Take time this weekend to simply allow yourself to drift if you can. You can take care of business later. For now you just need to be.