Forecast

The Week Ahead for Leo

Monday 18 February – Sunday, 24 February

This is another of those weeks when there are diverse planetary alignments from day to day, giving rise to a period of many twists and turns and emotional roller-coaster rides. Mercury is a prime-mover and, currently in the zone of financial exchange and intimate relationships, could well inspire a life-changing discussion or two. Well, maybe life-changing is a tad overblown but in this kind of climate something has to give. Do your level best to sift carefully through information and to make sure you have understood someone’s statements. The potential for misunderstandings and unnecessary bridge-burning exercises is high.

Carefully does it.

The Month Ahead for Leo

February 2019

Leos love to love, and it is no coincidence that on Valentine’s Day the Sun is always in the area of love and relating. The trouble is not all the planets are aligned to ensure it’s a perfect day every year. And with Mars conjunct capricious Uranus on the 14th, either you’ll have the surprise of your life or things are not going to go to plan at all. The weekend of the 23rd has a similar aura of unpredictability about it, although if you are the one planning to deliver a bombshell, you couldn’t ask for better stars. And it’s not just romance that is the focus for the unexpected and the unusual: those aspects of your life ripe for change will do just that – change, and in ways you would never have thought.

2019 Overview

There is a misconception that astrologers can see the future as if we were watching scenes playing out on a cinema screen. But it’s not like that. We open our ephemerides (planetary timetable) and take endless notes on when the alignments are at their strongest and what they might mean for this person, that country or this event. Often it can seem as if fate has the upper hand, but although we cannot prevent every event that happens to us we can choose what we do in the wake of it. We have free will.

Not everything is set in stone. Actions have consequences. We make choices.

So, 2019. The last year of the Teenies and the bridge to the Twenties – a decade that will change the world map, whether in terms of the land itself or in geo-political terms. And with a degree of harmony between Saturn, Uranus, Pluto and Neptune in 2019, this has the potential to be a great year. A year in which solutions can be found, or at least worked toward, in some of the most pressing global problems, including those inspired by climate change.

Uranus entered Taurus in mid-May 2018, but then moved back into Aries and will remain there until March of 2019. Uranus is the revolutionary of the planets, the innovator and the iconoclast, so its transit of this Venus-ruled earth sign for the next seven years is going to produce some exciting developments in architecture, technology, engineering, food, the beauty business, farming and agriculture. But we can also expect financial collapses and the destruction of places and buildings of historical significance.

Already in 2018 we witnessed the loss of two iconic museums in Glasgow and Brazil due to fires; and unprecedented hurricanes and typhoons devastated parts of the world from Indonesia to Hawaii. Volcanic eruptions, extreme heat and bush and forest fires look to be on the increase in 2019, a reflection of Jupiter’s transit of the fire sign, Sagittarius.

Jupiter’s passage through Sagittarius, however, will have many positive effects, most notably on the aviation industry, global travel, publishing, education and communication systems. In a Jupiter-in-Sagittarius year, there’s an emphasis on fun and sport. We spend more money, enjoy taking holidays and getting out of our comfort zones. Then again, the last time Jupiter transited Sagittarius was in 2007, and we can all remember what happened when the sub-prime mortgage market collapsed: it was the precipitator to the global recession. And 2020 is looking distinctly troublesome.

Jupiter’s move through Sagittarius chimes with a Three year in numerology and the year of the Earth Pig in Chinese astrology. The number Three is an harmonious number: it promotes optimism and stimulates communications. We stretch our boundaries in a Three year and reach out to people in different countries and embrace different cultures. The year of the Earth Pig is similarly positive. Good luck and good times are to be expected. Then again, like a Jupiter transit, you can have too much of a good thing, and excess can lead to loss of control and ultimately collapse.

Trade is going to be an important issue for 2019. Technically, Jupiter should preside over some monster trade deals, however, this same influence can inspire trade wars, and we can already see this potential developing between the US and China. And regardless how Great Britain and Europe end their relationship, trade will suffer in the wake of it.

Since August 2016 a series of eclipses has occurred in Leo or Aquarius, which is why, if you belong to these two signs you have had such an up and down time of it. This eclipse series has a distinctly royal aura to it, especially regarding the British Crown, being in play during the toppling of the English monarchy in 1669. This time round we have seen the Duke of Edinburgh’s retirement from public life, the birth of a royal prince and the wedding of Harry and Meghan. But with one eclipse yet to come (21 January) there could be much, much more to the royal story before the end of 2019.

In a nutshell, 2019 is a year to make the most of everything we have and everything that comes to us. It is also a year that we should liken to autumn: a beautiful season but one that precedes winter; and in keeping with nature, we should store our resources in preparation for a lean and mean period. It’s not exactly make-hay-while-the-sun-shines; more treasuring those things that are precious to us, including planet Earth, and ensuring they will still be there decades hence. It’s something Saturn in Capricorn would applaud us for.

The Year Ahead for Leo

General

21 January brings to an end a two-and-a-half year cycle in which you should have undergone a major life change. This was due to the presence of a series of eclipses on the Leo-Aquarius axis, which effectively re-oriented you. Other people have come and gone, but they have left their mark, and now you have the job of building on the foundations that have been created – and filling those vacuums. For many Leos work is in the frame here, but for others personal life and your creative talents are set for a boost. Aside from welcoming new members of the family, you could start a project that will add to your prestige and provide a new avenue for your talents. Health will require a little more care in 2019 and although it may be tempting to push yourself physically and mentally, a case of severe burn-out will be counter-productive. A trip of a lifetime is on the menu for some Leos, and for all a widening of life’s horizons.

Love and relationships

The aforementioned eclipses have had their biggest effect on relationships, and that theme of building on the foundations applies to many Leos who married or ended relationships. But as 2019 opens whatever the romantic status quo, the work of love is the theme of 2019. It may be that you must put a partner’s happiness before your own or take a greater share of the duties and responsibilities; or a conflict could develop between work and your love life or over a step-child. But one way or another, doing the duty of love and loving that duty is the job ahead of you. The 21st of January could well be D-Day (decision day) and early March and early August are other make or break times for your love life. Keep reminding yourself: no effort, no reward.

Work, life goals and finance

On the 6th March, Uranus, the game-changer, enters the career and life-goals area, inspiring both opportunity and change, initially for those of you with July birthdays, although ultimately for all Leos. You may be an enterprising and courageous fire sign but your Fixed modality resists change. But resist no longer! Take that risk, become your own boss, throw up that safe job which is blocking your creativity and individuality: 2019 opens many doors for you and frees up new pathways. More important, by changing it up you will be ready for the next decade which will see many industries challenged and major global financial upsets. Consider how you can diversify and simplify your life. Clearly, not every Leo is going to start living off the land, although that idea has merit, but expecting the return of the good old spend-spend-spend days is a waste of time.

CELESTIAL TIP

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice. Practice! No one becomes an expert at anything overnight; it takes time. So, don’t be afraid to stumble. People will love you more for it.

With so many important alignments focusing on the sixth house of work and service, you can expect to be working hard; you may even have to devote yourself to a project or a person. By contrast Jupiter’s transit of the fifth house of creativity could see you bringing great things into being and having a moment in the spotlight. As always, we appreciate things so much more when we’ve had to work for them.

High points: 8 February; 10 March; 14 April; 8 August; 22 November

Low points: 21 January; 22 April; 29 July; 15 August; 28 October