Leo (July 23- August 22)

Leo (July 23- August 22)

Your January Horoscope by Susan Miller

As January begins, you may be feeling a little pressured. You may even say that the holidays, meant to relax you, are now becoming a blur to you. You had fun in early December - you know that - but as last month progressed, more and more work was piled on your shoulders.

Now, as you read this, you're working hard to keep up with the pressure of deadlines. You will meet those deadlines and live up to your promises, but since the last week of December, you've felt that someone turned up the heat. Things will improve, but you need to first get beyond January 1 and 2, two difficult days, when Pluto and Mars will be at odds. These two planets can make for a mean concoction, so if you feel unfairly pressed upon, you have my full sympathy. Still, you have some good aspects working for you, so things will work to your favor - be patient.

If you need help, ask your co-workers to lend a hand, for you are likely to get it. They will be surprisingly cheerful and supportive. This is no passing trend, but something you will see to be true all year, due to the appearance of Jupiter, the good fortune planet, now in your 6th house of work. Jupiter slipped into this part of your chart quietly last month on December 18, a first-time visit since 1996, and will stay until January 5, 2009.

Business should be excellent in 2008, for the phone will ring with requests for your goods and services. New, plum assignments should steadily reach your desk, and it looks like you will find them deliciously interesting. These projects will put you on a firm future path, something you will see the truth of in early May when a promotion or offer for an exciting new position should come up. Keep that in mind now, for all the work you are doing this month will add up to something big.

Watch what flies in the window on or just after January 8. Whatever new projects come up, they will arrive out of the blue and surprise you. There's a good chance you will be at the right place at the right time.

You may need to hire a few assistants or others as a result, and if you already know this to be true, you could not do better than to do so on or just after the same new moon date on January 8.

In fact all the things we have been talking about - the new projects and assignments - will show up then, too. You might want to think about improving not only your computer equipment, but also the way things are ordered around your office so that you won't waste precious time in locating precisely what you need.

Jupiter is considered the planet of good fortune, so you will have a chance to improve everything about the methods you use to get your job done - and profit from the improvements you make.

For years, the big, outer planets were favoring fire and air signs, so as a fire sign, you benefited from that situation. Life might not have always been sweet (after all, you were coping with Saturn, the taskmaster, in Leo for two years, a situation that ended in September), but at least you had support from a number of other planets.

The shift to earth this month is new, and you'll have to shift your attitude and general approach to keep up. Earth signs put a great emphasis on practicality, prudence, and productivity, while your talents have always been more in the realm of generating enthusiasm, showing imagination, and having a way with design.

Now if your ideas are to see the light of day, you will have to make them fit others' marketing plans or the public's needs before you even offer them up. In other words, don't leave that task to others to figure out - you will need to do it.

Earth signs put the emphasis on tangible results, so if you strategize properly you will have a lot to show for your efforts. You will need to be very buttoned up, and remember to cross your "T's" and dot your "I's."

Not only will you have Jupiter in your workaday house, but Pluto too, and Pluto's job is to question everything it touches. This is great news, for in time Pluto will ask you if you are happy at your job. If not, you will soon find the courage to leave for something better. Pluto will arrive in this house for the first time in your life, as Pluto has not been in Capricorn since the days of the American Revolution. You may wonder why it took so long to get to Capricorn, and the answer is that Pluto spins on the very outer rim of our solar system, so it takes 246 years to go through all twelve signs!

When Pluto enters your 6th house of work on January 25 this month, you will get your first taste of this planet's energies. Pluto will retrograde out of Capricorn in midyear, to reenter for good in late November 2008. Once Pluto is back, he will stay in this house a remarkable fifteen years.

Pluto will expect you to give an all-or-nothing devotion to your job, but if you do, the rewards - including financial ones - will be awesome. Pluto is associated with big money and funding, so you can generate hefty profits if you apply yourself.

Think of Pluto as a contractor with a hard hat - he will go into your basement to study the overall approach you take to your work. If he finds any fault lines he will bring them to your attention to fix so that you can build a more sturdy structure in the future, one that will support more lofty goals.

The 6th house, where all this will be going on, also rules your health. You may be working very hard from now on, so you will have to find ways to offset stress and to take better care of your body. Still, Pluto rules regeneration and renewal, even against all odds, so having Pluto at your side for so many years will be a big plus!

More than any other sign, you will have a real opportunity to accomplish New Year's resolutions to get fit and slim down if you begin this month. After all, you will have the combined energies of two powerhouse planets - Pluto and Jupiter! Begin at the stunningly positive new moon, January 8.

Since Uranus will be so beautifully angled to the new moon, and that Uranus rules all things digital, if you can't afford to buy a gym membership now, you are likely to have luck with workout DVDs. There are several really good ones, so investigate those. Also, if you like to have a support group, there are plenty of those online, which may also work for you.

Astrologically, it really does matter when you begin a new venture, so do take the new moon on January 8 seriously. For health and fitness, begin your plan, even if you can only spend a half hour. Consistency is far more important than doing too much in a burst of enthusiasm and then flaming out. Do what you can, but go every day. Never miss more than one day in a row. You need to build a habit, and habits take time.

In the beginning I felt a little guilty taking time away from my work and my family to go to the gym. Then I realized that working out was part of my job, not time away from my job. Once I reframed the way I thought about my workouts, I succeeded. Perhaps the same will be true for you. Remember, Leo, you more than any other sign can succeed, but you must begin this month, on or within days of January 8. (Do not begin prior to this date.)

On January 21, you will have a stunningly positive aspect, Jupiter in perfect angle to Saturn, planet of long-range goals. This is a rare aspect - a gift! You can really see success in regard to work, health, and money. It's a four-star day, so use January 21 to your advantage.

The full moon in Leo will arrive one day later, January 22, a time when something dearly important to you will reach culmination. It may pertain to a project, a dearly held wish, or to a relationship. You may feel an urge to share feelings on this day, or you may hear news that you find very important.

If you were born on or within five days of July 24, you will feel the effects of this full moon more powerfully than others you know who are Leo, too.

The end of January brings lots of developments too, so stay with me!

First, Mars will turn to direct speed on January 30, allowing you to send your social life into high gear. Mars has been retrograde since November 15, so if you feel as though your friends have not been as available to you as you may have hoped, that will change now. They'll begin calling at month's end and you'll be able to catch up.

As a bit of an astrological oxymoron, just as Mars is moving ahead, Mercury will turn retrograde on January 28 through February 17.

Protect all electronic equipment this month with surge protectors and by backing up critical data. With Mercury going retrograde in the digital sign of Aquarius, machines with moving parts and computers are likely to show signs of wear and tear, necessitating a trip to the repair shop.

Romantically, if you are attached, you may need to go back to discuss a problem together, and it will be one you assumed was settled long ago. I say this because Mercury will retrograde in your relationship sector. Apparently, your partner is not feeling good about this issue, so take your partner's perspective seriously. Rather than feel exasperated by your partner's insistence to look at the problem, go along with good spirit, for this time may be the charm. If dating, you may change your mind about someone close, one way or the other.

Single? You have a slightly different forecast. Certainly the fact that Venus will glide through Sagittarius during January's first three weeks is a plus, for that is a fellow fire sign like yours. Venus will help raise your profile on the social scene and help give you much more sex appeal. Lucky you!

You may find January 19 to be quite a sexy, glamorous evening - be out that night!

Single or married, here are your most romantic dates: January 5, 14, 18 - 19, 22, 23, 27, and 31.

Do not make any decisions while Mercury is retrograde - explore, talk, investigate, and think. February brings two eclipses, one on February 6 and one on February 20, so wait until those have passed before signing any contracts or agreeing to any new ventures. It is never wise to take a new job with Mercury retrograde, or to do anything else of importance, because the world is in flux. Your priorities will soon change, so sit tight until March.

Stunningly good news about your career will arrive on January 31 or February 1, due to the meeting of Jupiter to Venus. This is a once a year event. Since Venus rules your lofty 10th house of professional status and reputation, this will be your moment to hear applause and take your bow. You'll have something to celebrate, almost surely!

Summary

You seem to be a model of efficiency lately, showing co-workers and higher ups that you have what takes to turn out work on time and on target. In fact, you are rapidly becoming the boss' favorite, for the quality of your work has truly been sterling. Leos are often blessed with exceptional managerial skills and this month you'll prove this in spades, and flatten the competition to boot.

You seem to want to improve the ways you approach your assignments. Good idea. Hone in on improving your work methods in January's second week and you'll come up with a number of sound ideas that will show others that you are one to think outside of the box.

All this extra efficiency will be rewarded with even more work from management, of course, but don't let this deflate you. By May you'll be up for an enviable promotion, proving all this hard work does lead you down the yellow brick road in precisely the right direction - to Oz! This time this Lion does have a heart of bravery - and as a result, you'll walk home with the prize.

If you are self-employed, on or near January 6, it looks like a lucrative assignment or new client will show up, quite out of the blue. At this time of the year, you'll be especially appreciative to have such strong cash flow.

Socially, you'll be very busy too, thanks to an energetic Mars in just the right place to help you. The holidays may be over, but your friends - who seemed missing in action in late December and in most of January - will suddenly perk up. They'll entice you with lots of invitations to go out and about, and you'll be glad they came to rescue you from all that focus on jobs at the office.

Among the faces seems to be a number of old friends you've not seen in ages. You'll need time to catch up with them, and in January's off hours you will have the time, as Mercury retrograde, due from January 28 onward, always opens up and lightens schedules, if only because of the frequent delays and postponements that Mercury creates.

Mercury will retrograde in Aquarius in your relationship sector. A personal or business partner may be hard to agree with now, or you both may have to delve into a past sticking point to finally fix it. Or, you may change your mind about a partner. See what comes up.

A huge emphasis on fitness will begin now, too. While almost everyone has New Year's resolutions about looking sleek, toned, and slim, Leo is the only sign of the zodiac that has the right aspects to make it happen if begun in January. Begin your regimen in earnest on the new moon in your health and fitness sector, January 8.

For your career, watch January 31 and February 1 when Venus and Jupiter work on your behalf - good news should be on the way!

An important endeavor in your life - something very dear to you - is about to reach fruition on January 22, the full moon in your sign. If you are born early in your sign, in July, then you will have an especially powerful experience. A close relationship appears to be on your mind at this time too, with poetic, lyrical results. Within four days of this date you may have a sweet episode to replay in your mind, giving you a grand punctuation to 2008's first month.