Hard work and hustle: required! A year to formulate plans that are practical and grounded awaits us all in 2020 Numerology, the 4 Universal Year.

By Felicia Bender, resident Numerologist

An exclusive excerpt from The AstroTwins’ 2020 Horoscope

In 2020, a 4 Universal year, you’ll feel the support of your efforts. You’ll feel ready to put your ideas into concrete form.

Most of us intuitively feel a profound energy shift whenever the calendar turns. In numerology, that transition is a big deal, marking the passage into a new Universal Year—the shared atmosphere of the world for a 12-month period. This means everyone on the planet will experience the frequency of a particular number during the entire year, from January 1 until December 31.

You can think of the Universal Year as the state or country you’re driving through on your yearly “road trip.” The Universal Year number will set the GPS and chart our collective course.

Harnessing the energy of the 4 Universal Year

Try writing a 2020 mission statement with clearly defined action items, milestones and due dates. You could support it with a vision board or a collage that you place in clear view to be a reminder. Or, color-code that 2020 spreadsheet and check in with it weekly.

After 2019’s creative and emotional 3 Universal Year, 2020 ushers in a new phase with a more practical focus. Develop one or two blue-sky projects into tangible form. Work on communicating effectively with clear and simple directives. The 4 has a “managerial” or formal air to it.

2020 is a year of building. It’s all about making the plan, gathering new data and creating the foundation that will eventually make everything run like clockwork. This will show up in every area of life: health, finances, relationships and spirituality.

Life might feel a bit weighty as the world moves into the 4 Universal Year. We’re asked to take ourselves and our enterprises seriously, and to lead with integrity. It’s timely that the 2020 U.S. Presidential election coincides with the 4 Universal Year, when the importance of thorough data collection and the formulation of a long-range plan will be crucial. Which direction will we choose? What foundation are we pouring and what are we building in the collective realm?

Determination, focus and tenacity will take the front seat. It’s time to get down to business!

How to step into the power of the 4 Universal Year

Slow down to succeed

The energy of the 4 demands deliberate and steady action. Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare? Channel your inner tortoise and you can ride the optimal wave of the 4 Universal Year. Rushing or skipping from Point A to Point G won’t work. Cutting corners will bring you nothing but grief. Resist the temptation to take the easy route because you’ll only be sent back to the starting line for a do-over.

Expect limitations and delays in a 4 Universal Year

The number 4 can draw experiences that make us feel chained to limiting conditions or circumstances. In a 4 Universal Year, that can show up as a project that starts out full steam and then disintegrates mid-year, making you wonder why you put so much effort into it. Perhaps it comes into play as roadblocks in the form of consistent technical problems. Or maybe it reveals itself as people saying they’ll do something and then they don’t, leaving you to pinch-hit or micromanage. The great thing about knowing this is that you can be proactive. Plan to exert more effort, be patient—or both! That way, anything that goes smoothly will elicit a happy dance.

Work through family issues

The energy of the 4 always highlights issues related to our family of origin. Even the happiest clans will have karmic issues to work through. During a 4 Universal Year, these issues bubble to the surface, whether we want them to or not. On a collective level, issues related to race, gender, equality, the economy and the environment (among other things!) emerge to be evaluated worldwide. With the tenacity of the 4, we might just make headway healing some of the divisiveness and disparity in the world.

Implement healthy habits

The 4 is the number of health, and in a Universal Year, it supports good wellness practices. The 4 also carries a tendency for burnout and overwork. The key here is to schedule breaks with a focus on true relaxation. You might adopt the Dutch philosophy of “niksen” which literally means “do nothing”—and give yourself a few minutes each day to let your thoughts wander freely. It’s believed to reduce the stress, anxiety and burnout that’s taking a toll on so many people these days!

Live and let live in a 4 Universal Year

Under the hard-driving 4, prepare to confront some entrenched and rigid opinions—possibly within yourself! Our already polarized world can become further divided in the dogmatic and values-driven 4 Universal Year. If you can’t be flexible about your belief system (and sometimes you can’t), make room to respect other people’s differing ethics and lifestyles.

Don’t be small-minded

Because the 4 seeks security, people could hold tight to what we think we already know without being open to exploring other points of view. It’s as though we’re all being asked to give up the horse-and-buggy for the automobile, or adjust to cell phones when we’ve grown up using rotary phones…or to believe that the world is round when we’ve been told our whole lives it’s flat. Change is inevitable, but the 4 Universal Year could find us clinging to the tried-and-true, even if it’s outmoded, counterproductive or destructive.

The big picture

Focus on the practicalities and set realistic goals into motion. It won’t feel breezy because there’s a lot at stake right now. But 2020 offers an energetic platform to anyone who’s ready to plan a successful and productive new path.

To stay positive, remember that anything worth doing is worth doing right. Commit to the long haul and hunker down. Quell any frustration or exhaustion by pacing yourself and scheduling breaks. Your mission might feel like a thankless job at moments. But if you do the grunt work that creates a firm foundation, miraculous results could unfold. They don’t call it “paying dues” for nothing. Invest wisely and you could see returns by the end of the year.

Photo credit: Kathryn Swayze Via Stocksy

Felicia Bender, Ph.D is “The Practical Numerologist” and the author of Redesign Your Life: Using Numerology To Create The Wildly Optimal You. To learn more numerology from Felicia, order custom reports and book a reading, visit www.FeliciaBender.com