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Rising up! We're back on the streets. Yep, 2010 is the year of the Tiger. The Yang Metal Tiger, that is - a competitive, ambitious, spontaneous, reckless, potentially disastrous kind of year. Worryingly, the Metal Tiger year is associated with foolhardy investments and lemming-like activity. Wasn't that 2008? It doesn't bode well for global problem-solving, but maybe this gung-ho, no-holds-barred bulldozer approach is just what we need to get things fixed around here.

It's not just Chinese astrology which is predicting a lively year. Mars hangs around in pro-active Leo until June. The dominant mentality in 2010 will be assertive, risk-taking and battle-ready, so existing conflicts will escalate and new ones will sprout up. But don't worry, peaceniks, it's not all warrior princess and no play.

There's a Mercury retrograde in Capricorn from Boxing Day until the 15th January, so the year starts out a little confused and plans and projects will be disrupted. On top of that we have Mars retrograde in Leo from now until March. This aspect is all about sabotage, self-interest stalemates, and non-co-operation so the fragility of the carbon emission targets we have will be seriously tested. The other Mercury retrogrades are in April-May (in Taurus) and August-September (in Virgo), so the Earth signs will be copping the confusion this year and money will be a little slippery.

As it did in 2009, the Saturn-Uranus opposition comes in and out of play for the first half of 2010, after which humanity will emerge blinking from the lab with some new ideas about its future. With Saturn swinging back into Virgo, we get some last-minute answers to challenges that have been plaguing us since 2007 - expect a radical work and welfare restructure from Labor, which might actually start to look like it has a couple of policies.

In terms of the ongoing earth-choking tournament known as climate change, there's a Saturn square Pluto over much of the year which will drag international agreements into slow motion. Paperwork, confused ambitions, fine print - it's business as usual there.

There's a big wildcard, though. On the 8th June Jupiter and Uranus are conjunct on 0 degrees Aries which is basically a big cosmic reset button. That's when we'll see some results from the Large Hadron Collider that challenge our understanding of reality - more than the mess of feathers we've been getting so far. No-one will comprehend these developments except a clutch of eggheads, but some idiot will work out a way to harness them for mass destruction.

July-August has a dominant Jupiter square Pluto which will slow down the frenzied risk taking and slug us all with some serious debt hangovers. Quite a few astrologers have been predicting 2010 as the next 1929; they were all a bit upset when the GFC came early. Fortunately a retrograde Jupiter in the middle of the year will inject a spot of frugality into the mix, so last-minute credit refusals and spending cuts will do us all a spot of good.

Speaking of the jolly fat planet, Jupiter's in Pisces next year. This will affect each sign differently but for all of us it's a good year to feed our deeper connection with the planet, if it's still talking to us. We'll be rewarded for nurturing our imaginations and reaching out to aliens. Sensitive, moderate Pisces will ease the warrior urges and tame the economic chaos. This is a big transit for compassion, generosity, and faith, which will be a bit confusing for Tony Abbott, who will again be forced to signal his vulnerability by exposing his chest hair to the world. Ewww.

Later in the year a Venus retrograde in sexy Scorpio will skew relationships and bring desire into the foreground. If there's an August election, reproductive freedom will be a big issue. Let yourself act out of character and experiment during this period, but beware of making assumptions about relationship developments. It's a dangerous time for empty promises.

Speaking of which 2010 is of course an election year and I for one am rubbing my hands together with glee at the thought of Tony and Kevin going toe to toe, mainly because I think it will divide the Christians. Kevin's going to have a few issues early in the year with Saturn retrograding into Virgo - for a while he will look swamped by the thick mud of governance. Expect a hostile Senate and some of his spending sprees coming back to bite him.

If he survives as leader until then, Tony Abbott has the bad luck to be matched against someone slightly younger than him, slightly less threatening than him, and with much more powerfully positioned personal planets. Tony's Mars in peacemaking Libra makes him less hardline than many commentators think. Kevin's Sun conjunct Mars makes him a natural winner, in spite of all appearances to the contrary, and with Jupiter transiting his sixth this year he'll take the election with a safe margin. Though the stars favour risk it's not enough to tip him off his perch. I'm also seeing Julia take more credit for her work - the resistant climate will give her the chance to prove her capabilities.

Overall it will be a confusing year of changes, risks, and a few catastrophes. Some of your green technology investments will collapse so start stockpiling oil, gas and penguins. Let Pisces energy guide you toward painting welcome signs on your roof where you can sit waiting for some higher culture to save us from our inexorable fuckups. And remember, in the Year of the Tiger it's the thrill of the fight, so rise up to the challenge of your rivals. Claws ready? Happy new year.