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!

This is a major month for you, one unlike any you have seen in years. As the month opens, there are a gaggle of planets in Capricorn: powerhouse Pluto, your ruler, teacher-taskmaster planet Saturn, communication planet Mercury, the Sun, giver of strength and life, and the new moon solar eclipse, in Capricorn 15 degrees, on January 5.

That is a huge number of planets to be bunched up together, and to have them all in your sign, Capricorn, is remarkable. This will give you a lot of control over the direction of events, and it seems something of momentous importance is about to happen to you. It looks like you are ready to set things in motion. If your birthday falls on or within five days of January 5, you will have a landmark year, and by this time next year, one big part of your life will look and feel very different, and all indications are that you are ready for change.

On December 23, 2017, Saturn entered Capricorn, and ever since, you were being asked to make commitments and set up a firm foundation on which to build your life. You may have become engaged or married, had a baby, started your own business, moved to a foreign country, went to college for an advanced degree, or bought a house or condo. You get the idea—you were being asked by Saturn to give your life greater stability. If your birthday falls in December, you most likely resonate with this concept.

If your birthday falls from January 1 to 10, you will work on your new grown-up life this year, 2019. (This would be true no matter what your age—Saturn brings maturity and wisdom by asking you to take on responsibility.)

Of course, you may have other Capricorn planets in your natal chart, or a rising sign of Capricorn, so if either of these apply to you, you will also be feeling the move of Saturn over those points in your chart. I can’t see them from where I sit, but you would already know if you are busy building your new life.

By the way, if you know your rising sign, treat it the way you would your Sun sign, for they are equal in importance. In other words, read for that sign every month here as well, so that you get a full 360-degree view of your life, not just half.

    Neptune will not be part of the gathering of planets in Capricorn—he is in his home sign of Pisces, your third house of communication. Happily, Neptune will be beaming beautiful rays to the crown of stars in Capricorn and will set your imagination on fire…. Brilliant ideas are inside you, so all you have to do is let them out and share them.

Neptune will not be part of the gathering of planets in Capricorn—he is in his home sign of Pisces, your third house of communication. Happily, Neptune will be beaming beautiful rays to the crown of stars in Capricorn. Neptune will set your imagination on fire. If you have an idea for a book, screenplay, app, piece of software, advertising campaign, original marketing plan, or one for social media, which will likely be highly original, keep concentrating on developing your idea in the days and weeks to come. Brilliant ideas are inside you, so all you have to do is let them out and share them.

I have one thought before moving to another topic. Pluto in Capricorn will edge close to the Sun and make a conjunction on January 11. In the first half of the month, you will notice your strength, but you might overplay your hand. Do not come on too strong. It is not your character to do so, but this is an unusual month. Stay diplomatic, and you will continue to rally all the people whose support you need in order to get ahead.

Mars is now in your home sector, so there’ll be more emphasis on your private life. You’ve had an enormous emphasis on your home and property in recent years, but that is starting to wind down now. Some Capricorns moved several times in the past seven years. You seem to have found the right home and the right city for you.

Once Uranus, the planet of chaos, creativity, and lightning-bolt change leaves your fourth house of home in March 2019, a place Uranus has occupied since 2010, you can look forward to a calmer life without so much change. You may have moved to take advantage of job opportunities, and you always will be able to do that, minus the last-minute stress that you have had to endure for so long.

This month, the solar eclipse, a new moon, will fall within four tiny degrees of your Saturn on January 5 in Capricorn. This suggests you may be making an important landmark announcement or decision that will affect your life for many years to come. A new moon is powerful, and you only get one a year in your sign, but this is a big new moon, for it is also a solar eclipse—it’s a new moon on steroids. Because the solar eclipse is in your sign, it’s your cosmic gift certificate to use any way you please—you can create change in any area of your life.

Money still seems to concern you, at least this month, and a close romantic or business relationship seems to be on your mind, too. This is partly because of the eclipse of January 5, but also due to the month’s second eclipse, a lunar full moon eclipse on January 20 in Leo.

The first eclipse seems to ask you to make a decision about a business or romantic relationship, specifically, whether to bring it forward, to quietly separate for now, or leave it entirely. Eclipses are very clear, with little room for any grey area. Saturn, orbiting close to the moon at the January 5 eclipse, will insist on an answer. If you are married, you may want to make something more of the relationship and grow closer, with a new goal that you can work on together, or you may just realize that you both are not compatible. Saturn forces us to take the long view.

Saturn is also close to the Sun—and this is a solar eclipse—highlighting commissions, royalties, student financial aid, mortgage, bank loans, child support, divorce and other court settlements, cash gifts, credit cards, inheritance, and so forth. This is where your attention might be drawn at the January 5 eclipse, but perhaps more sharply at the January 20 eclipse.

The lunar full moon eclipse (January 20) will mark an ending. Something will culminate or become wrapped up. There will be no option to go back to earlier days, to bring things back to the way they used to be. If you are tempted to beg to return to how things were, save your dignity—that won’t happen. Eclipses are very clear—they move us forward not back.

This January 20 eclipse in Leo will light your eighth house of joint financial matters. Uranus will send angry beams to the Sun in Aquarius and to the moon in Leo. Some sort of shock is coming regarding money you either pay out to cover an obligation or are owed from another person or entity. It may be that money you expected to come won’t, or it might be that someone who has worked for you wants a large raise you cannot afford. Something about money is coming up for discussion and seems to rattle you.

It might help to know that everyone will be under the same difficult aspects that will be at play on January 20. It is only that every sign will feel that eclipse in different ways. That’s why it would not be the time to schedule any important meetings or talks—everyone you meet will be stressed out for one reason or another. Your timing would be off.

Do not sign any contracts near either eclipse. You might suspect something is up near January 5, but more will be revealed near January 20. Uranus will be in a wild mood, and when news hits, it will be something you never suspected would be possible.

You might have received news concerning one or both of the eclipses (January 5 or January 20) one month to the day early, on December 5 or December 20, or you may receive news one month to the day after they appear, in this case, February 5 or February 20, for an eclipse can deliver news one month to the day before or after it occurs.

Still, the eclipse is more common to deliver its news right on the date of the actual eclipse, plus or minus four days. Astrologers work with mathematical bell curves, which is one of the reasons this happens sometimes. This does not happen with normal new and full moons. This month, keep your antennae up.

The first day is Friday, January 18, when Mars and Venus will be in perfect sync. This is a day when you can find beautiful touches for your home décor. You might find something beautiful on sale, too. If you have your heart set on buying an item you need, by all means browse your favorite shops or Internet sites on January 18.

On January 22, Venus and Jupiter will link up, a very romantic aspect in your chart. If you are single and your friend wants to make an introduction for a blind date, schedule it for this day, when the chemistry is likely to be special. (If you are meeting someone from an Internet site, make it a public coffee shop.) Venus is the natural ruler of your fifth house of true love, so things could click quickly! If you are attached, plan ahead and book a babysitter so that you and your one-and-only can have dinner for two in a restaurant you both have wanted to try.

On January 25, Mars, still in your home sector, will reach out to Jupiter. If you are in the market to buy, sell, or rent property, this could bring a day you get an insider tip about the perfect space for you. Hire a contractor, bring in the painters, buy a new rug—whatever you do for your home, it looks likely you’ll love it.

You will be the leader of the parade in January, with a crown of stars in Capricorn—Pluto, Saturn, Mercury, the Sun, and new moon solar eclipse. With all these heavenly bodies in your sign, you will be in a remarkably strong position. The eclipse of January 5 will set things in motion. If this is your birthday, or if your birthday falls within four days of this date, you will be strongly affected by changes in your life this month.

You have very strong planets backing you up, but be careful not to exert too much authority or demand that things go your way, in a scorched-earth method of negotiation. You aren’t usually prone to act this way, but you could be tempted to put your foot down this month and demand that things must be decided your way—or else. Consider using a softer touch, for you may distance the very people whose support you need.

Saturn, your ruler, and Pluto will be conjunct both the Sun and new moon, suggesting a decision you make at or just after the eclipse on January 5 will be one you need to be sure is well thought out, for you know this choice will be in place a very long time. There is no doubt this is a weighty month, where you will be very cognizant of the importance of the commitments you make.

To get a little fresh air, you will have the chance to travel a short distance over the weekend during the first half of the month. See if you can go—it would do you a world of good. Choose a spot near water or snow, for with Neptune in your quick-trip sector, watery locations will soothe your spirit.

Mars will move into Aries from the start of January through mid-February, so if you recently moved or have been meaning to do things to improve your home, you will have all the motivation you need to get started. This will be an important time to act—last year so many planets were retrograde that delays cropped up, and it was hard to make progress. This is not the case any more. You can accomplish a lot now.

If you need to move, be sure to browse spaces while Mars remains in Aries, until February 14. The same is true if you need to do contractor work on your home. Your very best date will be January 25 to find precisely what you’re looking for, thanks to Mars in touch with Jupiter.

The full moon lunar eclipse will bring a financial matter to culmination near January 20. Uranus, the planet of unexpected developments, may bring a financial shock you never saw coming. You may see one source of income evaporate, but if so, another will come your way soon after, for with full moon lunar eclipses, something ends and something else begins.

You have positive things happening behind the scenes, so you may go into strategic mode, preferring to hunker down in solitude to decide what your next moves should be in the coming year. You have Jupiter in your solar twelfth house, the classic placement for Jupiter, to stimulate creative thinking while you are alone.

This planet of expansion—Jupiter—has not been in your strategic sector since 2006-2007. Jupiter entered Sagittarius in November 2018 and will remain in your twelfth house until December 2, 2019. The more you are able to carve out alone time, the better your new decisions will be. You are getting ready for the best year of your life—2020. The success of that year will be all in the preparation. If you know what you want, you can get it, but that takes thinking.

Romantically, if you are single you will have a sterling day, January 22, when Venus and Jupiter, planets of happiness, will align in a very rare event. These two sparkling planets will meet in your behind-the-scenes sector. Venus rules your true love sector, and with Jupiter cuddling close, you would do very well with a blind date that a friend sets up for you. Use this day! If you are attached, find an out-of-the-way bistro where you can flirt with your one-and-only like you did when you first met.