2016 will prove to be a pivotal year for everyone.
A Universal 9-Year, it will generally include themes of ending, completion and graduation in preparation for major new initiatives in 2017. 9-Years can be compared to late autumn when the garden is put to rest for the winter and when bulbs are planted, which symbolize long-term plans and commitments.
At a collective level, the international agreement to reduce fossil fuels at the climate summit in Paris provides a good example of this preliminary process. The implications of this global goal will begin to take root in 2016 yet will likely take until 2017 to begin to be evident. Social, political and economic changes linked to environmental concerns will remain at the forefront in the news.
This background influence will also naturally have repercussions for us all at personal levels.
The sign entries below provide a summary of some of the core themes we each can expect in 2016.
Aries
(March 21 - April 20)
The seeds of new adventures were sown in 2015. As exciting as this may be for you, since it is in alignment with aspects of your core nature, feeling as confident as you would like may pose some challenges. Knowing your direction is a cornerstone of this issue. Yet your passions and resolve will deepen measurably early on this year. Getting specific about your dreams so they can become your goals and then your reality will prove important. It may require the better part of 2016 to clarify your priorities and objectives, so focus. Yet, take your time so you feel certain and solid. By late summer you will take a definite turn to increasing your social horizons.
Taurus
(April 20 - May 21)
2015 was likely a year of significant changes for you and the process will continue and deepen in 2016. At best, you have begun to get more in touch with your truth and may therefore feel happier and more confident as the year begins. Yet you may also feel the need and subsequently the challenge to re-invent yourself somehow. By extension, this challenge includes re-interpretation of your goals and priorities and re-centering. You may experience some major challenges from others in June and July so prepare yourself mentally and emotionally. If legal matters are in your destiny this year they will come to the fore in autumn especially.
Gemini
(May 21 - June 21)
In some respects 2015 was probably a breakthrough year for you. Circumstances did and will continue to push you to deepen your focus on health matters; whether your own or those of others. In either case, expect a process of increased discipline which includes a steady learning curve. Positively, you feel more confident and there are indications that this trend will continue. Yet you will also have to work hard especially early in the year and from mid-spring to mid-summer. By late summer new love interests could blossom. This new love could also manifest as the announcement of a new family member or inspirations for important creative projects.
Cancer
(June 21 - July 22)
2015 was probably full and busy for you on a variety of fronts. You should expect the pace to continue throughout much of 2016. Some cherished dreams and ideals are now clearer in your awareness and a growing resolve to crystalize these will unfold in 2016. March, April, August and September could prove extra busy. However, while it may take until late summer, your confidence levels stand to rise measurably coinciding with a slower pace. October could produce important changes in your career and/or social status, affecting every area of your life. Aim for a promotion of some kind, by year’s end anyway.
Leo
(July 22 - Aug. 23)
A new vision of possibility was seeded in 2015. Now the flow of your destiny will guide you to begin the next important phase of establishing a reliable foundation. Tapping latent gifts and talents is linked to the need and ambition to increase and strengthen your income stream. Simply activating a healthier rhythm and routine is also possible. Home renovations or key moves of some kind are possible this winter but more probably late spring or early summer is indicated. Either way, improvement and increase is on your mind. Expect the pace to speed up by late summer steadily increasing into 2017.
Virgo
(Aug. 23 - Sept. 22)
2015 awakened you to the need to lay claim to latent gifts and powers. By late summer the realization that you have received more of a summons than an invitation became increasingly evident. As 2016 begins you have likely taken some preliminary steps towards deliberate action or at least feel internal pressures to do so. If you can take the initiative very early in the year do so as you may contend with doubts and procrastination when Jupiter turns retrograde on Jan. 7. On the other hand, the first half of 2016 could prove better devoted to completing projects began last year, leaving new initiatives until the second half.
Libra
(Sept. 22 - Oct. 22)
While 2015 probably proved to be a time of new learning and the activation of various skills, you may also have had and now continue to contend with deep uncertainties. These may be as simple as wondering what constitutes the next key cycle of achievement. This question period process could result in a soul searching journey for much of the year. Preparing the ground to take key initiatives in September may prove to be the single most important thing you do. With your ambitions sparked at the outset of the year this stands to be a year of major advancement, at least in terms of building a promising momentum.
Scorpio
(Oct. 22 - Nov. 21)
2015 ushered in an investment cycle that will continue throughout 2016. It may be time, money and/or specific effort that you must invest. The objective is to increase your overall feeling of security. For some this will amount to more wealth, while at the opposite end of the spectrum the focus could be on strengthening spiritual convictions. Somewhere in between the emphasis may be on increasing your overall level of knowledge for social gain. Your motivation may feel like a calling even beyond an orientation for profit. Yet it also constitutes the foundation of a whole new level of leadership destined to occur in 2017.
Sagittarius
(Nov. 21 - Dec. 21)
In 2015 you learned to become more focused and disciplined. 2016 will very much be about follow through. The focus on steady expansion of your professional posture and/or confidence in general is highlighted for 2016. Breaking through inner and outer lines of resistance will be the focus. March through mid-April will present your first time window to exercise your new levels of leadership. The second time window occurs in mid-summer especially. Late summer through to the end of 2016 will be a time for gaining important new knowledge and is linked to the beginning of important relationships. Later in 2016 will likely be a very busy time too.
Capricorn
(Dec. 21 - Jan. 19)
2015 was a time when certain relationships deepened and certain ones ended. A reshuffling of priorities contributed to more time focused in certain areas and much less in others. This included and will continue to include key people exiting the stage. Health issues could have come to the surface and if so you may well be contending with these throughout 2016. At best you cultivated a more philosophical perspective towards both yourself and life in general. Letting go into the flow with faith has perhaps stimulated spiritual realizations. 2016 could produce some revolutionary assertions beginning early in the year.
Aquarius
(Jan. 19 - Feb. 19)
Some promising shifts and shifts of perspective began in 2015. This process has and continues to lead you to seeing yourself in the world and to seeing the world in general as with new eyes. Expect this process to continue throughout 2016. At best, returns for efforts from previous years were realized in 2015 and these are carrying you into 2016 with greater confidence to increase your sense of personal power. Yet a definite learning curve will be activated in January with peaks in July especially. Early spring and late summer will produce some revolutionary assertions. October will be ideal for inner work and you could enter important new territory late in the year.
Pisces
(Feb. 19 – March 20)
Last year was a time for accessing new resolves of discipline to increase your overall power potential. This power drive will continue throughout 2016. An important aspect of your focus is and will be to increase your exposure and influence. If you are successful you will experience measurable returns by autumn especially, but perhaps even sooner. Your ambitions and determination will become evident early in the year. Maintaining this momentum throughout the year will feel important. Increasing your overall health levels and perhaps polishing your professional image will become a priority as you focus to steadily forge ahead.
Michael O’Connor is a full-time astrologer serving an international clientele. He can be reached via email at [email protected].
