Aquarius Solar Eclipse 2026
Burning Ring of Fire
Before I get into the Aquarius Solar Eclipse chart, I have some exciting news! Click here to see what’s up.
The Aquarius new Moon (and solar eclipse) is exact at 28°49’ on Tuesday, February 17 at 6:01 am CST. This is the first eclipse of the Aquarius/Leo polarity, and the first of the 2026 Eclipse Season. Remember that Eclipse Season can be thought of as not just the one day - the day that the eclipse falls on - but as the time leading up to the first eclipse, through the two weeks to the next eclipse and into the days following. The Lunar Nodes are still in the Pisces/Virgo polarity, but since they move retrograde (or backwards) through the Zodiac, they are moving toward the Aquarius/Leo polarity. Since the Sun and Moon are in the late degrees of Aquarius, they are close enough to the North Node to cause an annular solar eclipse, which differs from a total solar eclipse. In an annular solar eclipse, the light of the sun is never totally and completely blocked out by the Moon, there is a ring of fire that shows from the Sun, around the circumference of the Moon. Pretty cool, hunh?
With Aquarius, we have the energy of community, the common folk, the not-billionaires. You know, us. All of us. Well, 99% of us, so almost all of us. Aquarius energy is forward-looking, progressive, and visionary. There’s a social conscience and authenticity, and a need to overcome the old to bring innovation into the world, toppling old values to replace them with new values. Power to the people!
Since this is the first of the eclipses in a new sign polarity, here again is an emphasis on the energy of new starts in this new Moon solar eclipse, a breaking away from the old and into the new. This Aquarius new Moon is also tightly square to Uranus at 27°32’ of Taurus, another echo of that principle of change, freedom, liberation, creativity, and unexpected break up of structures.
Yet another echo of newness arises in the ruler of this Aquarius new Moon, Saturn, who has newly moved into Aries - the first sign of the Zodiac. At the time of this new Moon, Saturn is located at 0°23’ Aries, which is the first degree of the first sign of the Zodiac, on his way to exactly conjoin Neptune at 0°45’ Aries on February 20th.
With Saturn, we have the principle of concrete manifestation, bringing things into form, authority, maturity, boundaries, stability, discipline, and structure. With Neptune, we have something completely different - the spiritual, the ideal, erosion of boundaries, universal yearning for oneness, transcendence, symbols, metaphors, elusion, and delusion. So if we put these two archetypes together, we may see disillusionment - we may finally see the reality of the situation as one big illusion, Matrix-style. We may see a way to make the ideal real, a way to bring the dream into form. We may see spiritual warriors stepping into their own authenticity and mastery. We may identify somewhere in our life where we need to sober up - literally or figuratively. We may see the necessary erosion of played-out structures in our lives.
I like to think of Aries as teenager energy, just going for it, hitting the ground running in the morning and not looking back. With Saturn and Neptune so close together at the very beginning of Aries, we can think of this as an opportunity to take action somewhere in our lives, embrace our inner teenager (ah gawd she’s kind of a bitch, but ok), perhaps throwing caution to the wind, and taking action even though we’re scared, i.e. Courage. Since eclipses can often have an unsettled energy about them, and this one in particular thanks to the square to Uranus among other factors, we may be shaken out of our illusion or disillusion in some way, and perhaps begin to see a path forward, or a workable plan may begin to coalesce in our consciousness.
So this is a lot of intense energy to take in at this Aquarius new Moon solar eclipse. My first inclination is to simply try to ride it out on one level and see what is peeking through the annular solar eclipse ring of fire of our consciousness that wants to be courageously acted upon. What wants to burn brightly, but is being obscured at the center, with only the brilliant edges showing?
It may help to follow Demetra George’s tip, who taught us to slip into the void during the eclipse time by trying to make our minds as calm, still, and as meditative as we can; as any unhelpful thoughts arise, we try to release them so that we are better able to enter that interstitial space or Bardos between one state of consciousness and another. If you personally have any type of meditative practice, and are able to engage with that practice during the eclipse time, please do so, so that you can still your mind from being over active and over processing. If you love a good ritual like I do, feel free to to do what Demetra often does during the solar eclipse and close the curtains, light a candle, and do a meditative practice, or simply be still and aware. Demetra taught that in some traditions, it is said that whatever your thoughts and intentions are, they become greatly magnified during eclipses. So to the extent that you can have positive, peaceful thoughts during the eclipse, then you may be able to affect not only your own inner reality, but you may be contributing to peacemaking and harmony in the world. Why not?
At the time of the eclipse, we do have some softer energies to tap into, too. We have sweet Venus in Pisces at 8°51’, conjunct the North Node at 08°56’ - let her loving impulse toward compassionate connection with all life guide you in your meditation. Follow your own intuition, and trust what comes up for you. We also have Mercury at 16°39’ Pisces trine to Jupiter at 15°50’ of Cancer, another invitation to let your intuition gently guide you toward big visions of your ideal that bring comfort to you and your community.
And even though I’ve had mixed results with setting intentions during eclipses over the years, there is so much dynamic archetypal energy in this eclipse chart, I’m feeling like I want to throw myself in and try to ride that wave of energy with some intention-setting. It may be a bit like riding a bull, but it seems a little too thrilling to not participate. Plus we have Venus and Neptune there to seemingly soften the fall if (when?) we get bucked off, and Mercury and Jupiter trining one another, creating a flowing bridge between our imaginings and our big visions, an invitation to optimism.
Either utilize Demetra’s strategy, or one of your own to slip into that Bardos space between one state of consciousness and another, and see what comes up for you at this eclipse. What is your burning ring of fire that is showing through, ready to be acted upon in a courageous way that benefits your community? Trust yourself that whatever comes up is for your best and highest good, and for that of your community.