Astrology for 2026

 

Astrology Landscape of 2026

The mid-2020s were always about shifts and change. Some astrologers studied and wrote about this extraordinary period twenty or thirty years ago. Hat tip to them for that kind of range.

My own window is narrower. I began talking of the 2020s decade about six years ago, around the Saturn–Pluto conjunction of 2020. I wasn’t predicting outcomes. I knew that aspect was big. A catalyst. But what?  I did not know.  

What was delivered was  COVID. That is quite a way to enter the new decade.  

I never imagined we were capable of that level of global disruption given 21st-century medicine. Pandemics were not on my radar. They were however on André Barbault’s. Writing in 2011, he noted that the planetary cycles and aspects of 2020 were historically tied to pandemics. Barbault died in 2019. Since 2020, astrologers and astrology journalists have returned to his work because his warning matched events.

In his writings, Barbault emphasized both shocks and opportunity for the 2020 decade. The land would be tilled. Seeds would be planted.

And that is where 2026 lands.

A Year That Breaks the Mold

2026 breaks patterns. All the outer planets settle into new signs within the same year — Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, with Saturn close behind. This configuration is rare.

Of course it is rare. ‘Cuz that's what we are doing in 2026.  

Also a quick shout out, there are many solid forecasts for 2026. I suggest:

·       The Astrology Podcast with Chris Brennan and Austin Coppock

·       Steve Judd’s Global Forecast: 2026 — The Greatest Paradox of My Astrological Career

·       Rick Levine on Astrology Hub with Amanda Walsh

What follows is some themes I see for 2026.   I have not put all the astrology of this year in this round up.  During my monthly reports everything will be there.    

January — Density

January opens with near-constant planetary activity. Aspects stack day after day. Gravity is hard to find.  It is extra noisy between January 17-20 including the final round of Saturn/Uranus. 

·       Saturn sextile Uranus — January 19
Shock and invention. Old systems meet new ones. Structures crack.

·       Neptune re-enters Aries — January 26
We had a preview last year. Now the era begins. Neptune remains in Aries until 2039. The last time this happened was April 1861 to 1875 — from the start of the Civil War through Reconstruction.

February — Thresholds

·       Chinese New Year: Fire Horse
Fire Horse appears once every sixty years and carries speed and momentum. Astrologer Cathryn Moe advises deliberate patience and inner stillness to keep hold of the reins.

·       Uranus stations direct — February 3 (27° Taurus)

·       Saturn enters Aries — February 13
We had a preview last year. This time it holds until April 2028. Saturn leaves water and enters fire. The last cycle ran from 1996 to 1999.

·       Solar Eclipse — February 17 (28° Aquarius)
Attention shifts toward Leo–Aquarius themes. Group identity and collective thinking intensify. Pluto shares the field.

·       Saturn–Neptune conjunction — February 20
A turning point. This conjunction has not occurred at this degree of Aries in roughly seven thousand years. Something dissolves. What replaces it is not yet clear. Previous conjunctions in 1953 (Libra) and 1989 (Capricorn) coincided with paranoia, espionage, and the collapse of shared frameworks.

·       Mercury retrograde — February 26 to March 20

Steve Judd describes this span:
“January 20 to February 20 is rocking the place. It will be hard to draw breath.”

March — Recalibration

·       Total Lunar Eclipse — March 3 (12° Virgo)

·       Jupiter stations direct — March 10

·       Mercury stations direct — March 20

·       Saturn sextile Pluto — March 28

April — Ignition

·       Mars enters Aries — April 9

·       Mars sextile Uranus — April 8

·       Mars conjunct Neptune / Saturn sextile Pluto — April 17

Seven planets gather in Aries, followed by a New Moon near Chiron. This configuration marks rupture or passage. Something has already shifted by this point and now it is juiced up. 

·       Uranus enters Gemini — April 26
Uranus remains in Gemini until 2033. The last cycle ran from 1941 to 1949.

May & June — Pause

·       Pluto retrograde — May 6 to October 13

May and June offer space for adjustment.

July — Spin

July is the second major activation month of the year.

·       Mars conjunct Uranus — July 4
This alignment echoes 1776 in U.S. charts. Nick Dagan Best has researched this pattern in depth. A similar alignment in 1945 marked the atomic age.

·       Neptune sextile Pluto — July 4

·       Neptune retrograde — July 7

·       Uranus sextile Neptune — July 15

·       Uranus trine Pluto — July 17

·       Jupiter trine Neptune — July 20

·       Jupiter sextile Uranus — July 21

·       Jupiter opposite Pluto — July 20

·       Pluto sextile Neptune — July 24

·       Jupiter enters Leo — July 29

If the world did not get our attention in January or February — or by April — July puts us into the spin cycle and hits GO!  

Late-Year Highlights

August

·       Mars in Cancer

·       Solar Eclipse — August 12 (20° Leo)

·       Lunar Eclipse — August 27 (4° Pisces)

·       Jupiter trine Saturn

September

·       Uranus retrograde — September 10

·       Neptune sextile Pluto — September 15

October

·       Pluto stations direct — October 15

·       Venus retrograde — October 3 to November 14

·       Mercury retrograde — October 24 to November 13

November

·       Mercury stations direct — November 13

·       Venus stations direct — November 14

·       Uranus trine Pluto — November 29

December

·       Saturn stations direct — December 10

·       Neptune stations direct — December 12

·       Jupiter retrograde — December 14

Mars slows after crossing its shadow on November 20. It retrogrades on January 10, 2027 and clears shadow in June. Mars retrogrades matter.

How Austin Coppock defined 2026:
“This year is punching above its weight.”

Sure looks like it. 

Back to Barbault

Barbault’s view of the 2020s distills to this:

·       Early 2020s: Systems break at once

·       Mid-2020s onward: Choice replaces collapse

·       The risk: Using new power in old ways

·       The opportunity: Building structures that do not rely on concealment

He was not predicting rescue.
He was pointing to agency.

What happens when systems fail?
What replaces them?

Barbault believed the mid-to-late 2020s would offer better tools, clearer information, and real choice. That brings consequence. Hypocrisy surfaces faster. Being performative gets called out.  

You get more power.
You get exposed faster.

Yeah, that fits the moment.  

Welcome to 2026!