January comes in like a lamb and goes out like a lion—literally! The month is bookended by two full supermoons, the latter being a total lunar eclipse in YOUR sign. The whole world will experience a powerful start to 2018 because of this cosmic activity. But you may have some unfinished business to clear away during the first couple days of the year.
On January 1, the first full supermoon lands in Cancer and your twelfth house of healing, closure and transitions. A situation you've been forcing or a pattern you've been clinging to does NOT belong in this brand-new calendar year, Leo. No amount of guilt, rationalizing or denial will prevent circumstances from putting that truth right in your face today. Maybe you've avoided feeling some pain or grief, and now it comes to you in a powerful dream or through a rush of unexpected emotions. Perhaps a difficult person's New Year's Eve antics have you at wit's end. Or maybe you've just been handing your power to someone else, and you have a giant New Year's Day epiphany that it's time to step up and own your Leo prowess.
But you'll get to that later in the month, at the January 31 Leo total lunar eclipse (more on that shortly), when the stage is set for your mighty roar to rock the world. Until then, you may have some administrative tasks to handle. The Sun is in Capricorn and your orderly sixth house until January 19, a time to just get the nuts and bolts of life in proper working order before making any sweeping resolutions. (Though as a Leo, you probably can't help yourself—where exactly IS that glitter-pen list of 2018 dreams or your vision board hanging out, hmmm?)
One day that you'll be on get-'er-done fire arrives on January 9, when the Sun and incisive Pluto unite in Capricorn. This is the day to whip out the whiteboard and dry-erase markers and start plotting your three-year master plan. You could have a major flash of insight about how to make a grand plan work, although you might get a little obsessive about it with penetrating Pluto involved!
A powerful person could come in to assist your mission, especially on January 16, when the Capricorn new moon kicks off a new six-month cycle for launching new health, fitness and life goals. The Sun, mental Mercury, magnetic Venus, structured Saturn AND transformative Pluto are also in Capricorn today, giving massive cosmic support to all of your endeavors. Start by breaking your goal down into steps, then schedule those actions to a reasonable timeframe. With beautifying Venus here, don't skimp on the aesthetics, whether that means buying attractive new workout gear (splurging a little might be the incentive you need to WEAR it) or hiring a graphic designer for a couple hours to make your Powerpoint into a visual masterpiece. How about treating yourself to a new piece of kitchen equipment (a Vitamix or NutriBullet, maybe?) that will help you to prepare healthy food more easily.
Watch for a know-it-all or overly optimistic streak to flare up this month, once radical Uranus ends a five-month retrograde in Aries and your outspoken ninth house on January 2. You'll be fired up to pursue a bold venture, but overconfidence could trip you up. Otherwise, on January 14, when Uranus locks into its semiannual square with the Sun, you could find yourself in the throes of a breakdown caused by a lack of proper planning. Stress levels could also go through the roof, likely because you've bitten off more than you can chew.
If you experience a "what have I gotten myself into?" moment, send up some smoke signals. On January 19, the Sun begins a monthlong trip to Aquarius and your partnership house. New allies can pop up when you least expect it, and you'll find out who really deserves top-tier status on Team Leo when you have an actual moment of need. Your closest relationships all get some extra energy during Aquarius season. If you've been busy with work and all those projects, start prioritizing people again. Make time to meet for a drink, dinner or an outing—and give your S.O. some extra love if you're in a relationship. Save some of your best energy for the people who deserve it most.
Independence Day arrives on January 31, when the Leo full supermoon sweeps in and shakes up business as usual. This lunation is also a groundbreaking total lunar eclipse, the culmination of the August 21, 2017, Leo total solar eclipse that rocketed Leos onto a bold new trajectory—and left the rest of us with, if nothing else, souvenir paper glasses and fancy new terms like "path of totality." Your personal goals and closest ties are undergoing deep changes during this eclipse cycle, which actually began back on February 10, 2017, and will last until January 2019.
Reflect over the past year and half-year, and look how much your life has changed. For some Leos, it’s been pretty dramatic! Even if things look the same on the outside, you've probably made some serious internal shifts. Well, you're not done yet, and this eclipse could push you into the spotlight once again. If a certain situation hasn't worked out as you hoped, you'll be fueled with determination to start again. Eclipses, especially lunar ones, give us a huge push to DO something…and not much time to think it over. Sometimes they force our hand, as circumstances arise in such rapid and disorienting ways that we do something totally out of character that leads to a sudden breakthrough. With an eclipse this powerful in your sign, there's no telling what part of your life you might shed, or what courageous action you'll take before you have time to think better of it. Leo, we await!