Following is the 2018 Pet Business Astrology Overview
A giant pat on the back is on order. You made it through 2017 and a new year is before you. Like the year that passed, 2018 is full of shifts and change—so don’t be surprised if the ground shakes even just a little bit. The overabundance of fire of the past eighteen months gives way to earth so you can funnel your passion into practical use. Meanwhile, the outer planets are now moving into position to lay the groundwork for the climactic events that will take place in 2020.
The good news? All three personal planets have retrograde periods to give you space to sift and process the intensity and radical restructuring experienced on the national stage if not in your personal life and business. You’ll be able to take the deep breaths you need to rethink the way you move through a rapidly changing world. And if you didn’t get it right the first time, you get another chance.
So, let’s take it step-by-step.
Saturn — December 20, 2017 to March 22, 2020
Shortly before the close of 2017, Saturn sets the tone for the new year by moving into its home sign, Capricorn.
Until the invention of the telescope four hundred years ago Saturn was thought to be the most distant planet in the heavens because it is the furthest planet one can see with the unaided human eye. As such, it represented the limits and boundaries between our solar system and the world of the stars beyond.
The planet is still associated with boundaries and limits as well as tradition, the establishment, law enforcement, Big Business, and Government. Saturn represents the structure of an organization as well as the bones which provide structure in the human body.
When Saturn comes around by transit it highlights areas that demand your attention in the same way a leak demands attention to neglected plumbing. In Capricorn that would include the financial industry, business, government, and the general distribution of wealth. Capricorn is cautious, frugal and pragmatic, so people and institutions are taking a sharper look at their spending and their planning. But Capricorn who understands the value in prudent investment will make a large expenditure if it feels it will stand the test of time.
In terms of your personal life and business, Saturn compels you to face facts as they are. If you don’t like what you see, then Saturn’s answer is to grow up, exercise some discipline, roll up your sleeves and get down to work. And no cutting corners or excuses. Look to the area where Capricorn sits in your chart to see what areas in your life would improve with some elbow grease.
The good news is, if you’ve been minding your p’s and q’s and putting in honest day’s labor, Saturn will give you exactly what you deserve: a hard-earned reward for your diligent work.
Get the full year’s astrology forecast and each month’s forecast in the 2018 Pet Business Planning Almanack
Uranus — May 15 to November 6, 2018, then March 6, 2019 to July 7, 2025
No sooner than the day after New Year’s, Uranus turns direct to remind you not to get complacent. Then on May 15th, the planet will dip its toe into Taurus for six months to give you a taste of what’s to come when it settles in from 2019 through 2025.
Taurus represents the earth beneath your feet and your connection with Mother Earth. It’s where you need to feel grounded. Taurus is your experience of the world through your physical senses; the fragrance of jasmine in June, the feel of silk across the skin, a cat’s soothing purr are examples of the joy of being alive and reflects the gift of Taurus.
Taurus represents what you value. Because Taurus is a fixed earth sign it represents physical resources such as money and material possessions. In Taurus, it is easy to get stuck. Stuck in a rut for the sake of security, stuck in routine that is familiar but has become deadening…
Uranus’s role is to awaken and liberate. It will shake you out of your torpor if you’ve been stagnating. It wants to kick your butt to clear cobwebs and open you to new ways of seeing and doing. Over the course of the next seven years your values will change and that will be reflected in your relationship with money and material possessions. The message of Uranus in Taurus: value that beautiful, unique individual you are—not just what you own.
In Uranus’s last visit through Taurus from 1934 through 1942, the economy, banking system, and the social safety net went through an overhaul. In fact, Social Security was signed into law in 1935 when Uranus was in Taurus and Jupiter in Scorpio as it is much of this year. Before the planet leaves that sign in 2025 expect overhauls in some of these areas.
The Retrogrades
Venus – October 5 to November 16, 2018
Venus retrogrades every year-and-a-half for approximately 40 days.
Venus represents your values and what you find attractive. During this time, you’ll reevaluate your inner values and the expression of your self-image as they stack up against the expectations of society. This process largely happens on an unconscious level. That’s why an abrupt change in style or décor made during a Venus Retro period generally results in dissatisfaction after the planet has resumed its direct motion.
During Venus retro periods, old relationships and old contacts pop up so you can observe habit patterns and work out unresolved conflicts.
Because Venus slows when it retrogrades it will spend an unusually long period of time in Libra and Scorpio (August 2018 through January 2019). As a result, this retrograde period will accentuate Venus’s normal association with partnership and negotiation as well as underlying psychological and financial dynamics.
Mars — June 26 to August 27, 2018
Mars retrogrades every two years for approximately two-months. While it doesn’t make its pivot until June 26th, Mars has been slowing all month. By the time June dawns, you are already feeling its effects.
The way you tend to assert yourself and express anger changes during Mars retrograde periods.
Mars represents your vitality and sexuality and how you get want you want and need. When Mars is retrograde, its energy is moving inward. Aries and Scorpio find it more difficult to express anger while those born under other signs find they are uncharacteristically irritable and impatient.
Nonetheless, a Mars retrograde period is a fantastic time to revisit old conflicts so you can resolve them once and for all. It’s also an opportunity review the way you handle anger in general. New initiatives started now run out of steam so this would be a poor time to start a business. It’s also said that the party who initiates a lawsuit or an argument during a Mars retrograde period loses.
Like Mercury retrograde, this is an excellent time to review old matters and projects already in progress.
Like Venus, when Mars retrogrades it slows and spends an inordinate amount of time in a small sector of the zodiac. In 2018, it will spend nearly nine months in only two signs Capricorn and Aquarius (March through November). Both are Saturn-ruled suggesting that disciplined focused effort can pay large dividends.
Mercury
We would not be complete without touching on Mercury’s retrograde periods. Being so close to the Sun, Mercury’s orbit is rapid. So, it has three-to-four retrograde periods in any one year.
These take place in fire signs to enable you to reconnect with your passion and spirit.
There are three Mercury retrograde periods in 2018:
March 23rd to April 15th
July 26th to August 19th
November 17th to December 6th
