Yearly Horoscope: Capricorn – 2020

Since December 2017, you’ve perhaps taken on more responsibilities than many humans would deem reasonable all the while struggling to maintain a veneer of “cool” while shouldering these heavy loads. But with Saturn here, there’s been no escape, no let up. The pressure’s had the effect of burning off the impurities – especially those aspects of your personality you feel are inauthentic or no longer serve you. Your insecurities have become overshadowed by a sense of mission or destiny calling.

You powered through obstacle after obstacle, because you knew there was a lot riding on you staying the course. If not you, then who? you may have asked yourself. And now that you’ve held your ground, you can’t help but take pride in your accomplishments thus far. Your self-confidence shines through — you might even hear the refrain of Carly Simon’s “Nobody Does It Better” playing in the background as you step up to receive accolades or take your bows for work well done.

Saturn’s slow trek through your solar first house addresses your need to be seen and taken seriously. At the same time, the more you are acknowledged, the more you fear or dread standing in that limelight. Maybe it’s because the work you’re doing does not match up with the impression you create, or vice versa. As vain as it may sound, your “looks” have been bothering you. Whether you try to appear warm and playful, or mature and dignified, you can’t seem to get it right when it comes to your professional image.

With Saturn here, you tend to overcompensate for insecurities in this area, and there’s a strong possibility you’ve become obsessed with your appearance, especially with any flaws related to your face and head. You may have even undergone procedures on your face, teeth or other body parts to make yourself more presentable.

And while you’ve more than earned your silver locks and salt-and-pepper goatee, we all know that a little “maturity” goes a long way. It wouldn’t hurt to have a stylist experiment with a more youthful look for you. Conversely, if you are, in fact, youthful, you might be drawn to the au courrant look of gray-colored hair! And, there are any number of image enhancements you could be drawn to now, such as a wardrobe update, beard trim, eyebrow shaping and makeup.

There are still those Capricorns who are either so humble and unassuming or so self-critical that they refuse to have an image at all. Ironically, it’s a lack of an image that becomes their calling card.

Luckily, this fixation is on its way out. You can expect a defining moment to occur early in the year. As with Ravel’s classical composition “Boléro,” the recurring motifs of the past two years will arrive at a climax around January 10-12 when Saturn conjoins Pluto (a planet that rules obsessions, which also is in Capricorn) and a lunar eclipse that occurs opposite your sign. The intensity of the past two years will likely reach a degree of fulfillment or completion – you may well feel you have fulfilled your potential in some area of your life. From this point forward, you may be known as a “guru” or expert in your field of endeavor. (And you don’t have to wait until you’re old, either. Capricorn climate activist Greta Thunberg was named Time Magazine’s person of the year for 2019 at the ripe old age of 16)

And oddly for someone who feels they have to make it happen on their own, you’re seeing that you don’t have to do this alone. Or maybe it’s that you don’t “get” to do it alone.

You read that correctly: For one reason or another, you’re on this roller-coaster ride joined at the hip with a partner or spouse (or business partner, close friend, advisor or even a competitor).

It seems like every time you try to focus only on yourself and your ambitions, things fall apart. But when you turn your focus outward and attempt to include a significant other, someone who truly sees you (if you’ve done that “image” thing correctly) and even likes you just the way you are, then good things start to happen.

With three eclipses this year (on Jan. 10, June 21 and July 5) and your north node involving your solar seventh house of partnership (through May 5), it means that others are intricately woven into the fabric of your success. Eclipses brings twists and turns as well as blind spots so you may tend to undervalue the role of partnerships since the unexpected triggers your defenses.

You being a self-made person may regard the neediness of partners and associates as unnecessary weight. You even may have urged partners to figure things out on their own or left them to their own devices. Selfishness comes easy, especially with Saturn, Pluto and even Jupiter in your sign. (Yes, Jupiter, the planet of higher purpose, is also in Capricorn this year.)

If you’re in a relationship, your partner will need some reassurance this year, especially on or near the aforementioned eclipse dates. If you haven’t already done so, the timing might be right for a deeper commitment in your relationship, such as becoming engaged, married or even renewing your vows.

And then there’s children. With Uranus in your solar fifth house, there are increased chances for surprise pregnancies and/or children born with unique abilities. Your offspring may achieve unexpected honors in the arts. Or they may join Greenpeace and advocate for the planet. However it plays out, it may feel like your creative impulses are running amok but that’s how such impulses can be the most creative. Happily, with Uranus in a fellow earth sign, there is both harmony and support for your creative output.

If you’re single, look around you: There are “besties,” business associates, mentors and those you would mentor who require your attention. The more you step up and give of yourself, the more you will comprehend the true definition of success.

The Cancer north node in your solar chart is indeed a karmic one, stressing that what goes around, comes around. So, give as you would like to receive.

Jupiter in your sign underscores this lesson, helping you see while Saturn in Capricorn could bring you heaps of material success in 2020, building on that and ensuring a lifetime of success will require the help and support of others.

Saturn is not only in the final degrees of Capricorn in early 2020, but the planet of tests and challenges will soon arrive in a new sign — the sign of Aquarius — and not once, but twice this year. This means your ruling planet moves from a cardinal earth element — where he’s success-oriented and focused upon financial and material gains — to a fixed air sign, where Saturn is “people oriented” with a scientific outlook that strives to solve humanity’s problems.

You’ll have your first taste of Aquarius on March 22 when Saturn puts his toes into the sign. Saturn will also move from the first house of your solar chart to the second, where it highlights your moneymaking ability and personal assets.

Therefore, it’s possible there could be an initial stall or slowdown when it comes to generating income. Not only will Saturn need a moment to adjust to a new sign, especially one that is “fixed” (which connotes some rigidity and resistance to new-fangled systems) but the taskmaster in you will be busy handing out marching orders because Saturn also co-rules Aquarius.

During this transit, you might find it beneficial to be involved with and even responsible for groups, teams and organizations. You may consider this odd advice since you’ve spent much of your life steering clear of group dynamics. You learned long ago that depending on others results more often in disappointment than success. But group collaborations are something to consider if indeed you hope to expand your definition of success; it’s likely they will become more important in the near future.

Saturn is only in this sign for a matter of months before it charges back to familiar territory. Have you ever headed out the front door and realized you forgot your keys and had to return to the house for them? That’s what it will feel like on May 11, when Saturn goes retrograde (or appears to move backward in the sky) at 1 degree of Aquarius. This seeming backward motion returns Saturn to Capricorn on July 2 where it will stay through Sept. 29. Then Saturn will do one final about-face and finish up his time in Capricorn, this time “for real.”

This retrograde lets you revisit that vexing “identity/image” enigma a final time over the summer months and perhaps consider updating your social-media personality, business cards and website. As you have grown and evolved through this Saturn transit, so has your expertise and your “brand,” and it’s time to bring them in sync. It’s also vital to let go of those crippling inhibitions that have you underselling yourself. Being honest and authentic about your abilities and services is essential.

Communication modes and methods are further underscored after May 8 with your north node traveling into Gemini in your solar sixth house of work, health and service. The role of language will be highly emphasized in your work product. The Gemini focus also ushers in a here-now focus that includes negotiations, deal-making and strategy. (But take care, as all this work-work-work could lead to nervous exhaustion if you don’t pace yourself!)

Three dates from spring through fall – specifically on April 4, June 30 and Nov. 12 – represent potential for a surge in upward mobility. That’s when the planet Jupiter conjoins Pluto in your sign of Capricorn, and it’s possible that your work or message will catch the attention of bigwigs who can help change your destiny. The two heavy hitters coming together in your sign suggest that big things are in store for you in the form of advisors, partners and funding. Those dates could signal important meetings, revisions to plans, business travel and legal agreements.

Once Saturn goes direct in late September, you should be able to identify material benefits of Saturn’s time in your sign and begin to seriously reap the benefits. Surely, by now some things you used to cherish have gone away but they’ve been replaced with new and improved models. In that time, you’ve tested your limits and restrictions, and you’ve hopefully overcome inhibitions and insecurities. More importantly, you’ve swung for the fences and in taking such risks realized gains that may have set you on the world stage.

Prepare, then, for a sea change when, on Dec. 17, Saturn moves forward into Aquarius, where he will remain until March 6, 2023. Joining him on that first step of the journey is Jupiter, the planet of higher purpose, which has been keeping an uncharacteristically low profile in your sign of Capricorn for the past year. Jupiter, while not making a big deal of his time there, no doubt helped your find your faith, if not in a higher power, at least in yourself.

As these two exit Capricorn, don’t be surprised if you’re feeling a bit empty, like Elvis has left the building. It might take you a minute to make sense of the intensity of 2020, but don’t expect things to let up entirely. You still have your old friend, Pluto, in your sign, giving you a wallop of overwhelm when it comes to you handling power and success. By now, you’ve learned to deal with the more obsessive traits of Pluto, which is good as the planet will remain in Capricorn until 2024.

Meanwhile, Saturn will launch his tests and challenges in the sign Aquarius, and you’ll want to check back here to see how that will play out for you in 2021. Hint: There’s a group hug in your future.