Summary
Full Moon in Cancer February 1
Mercury Transits Aquarius February 3 – April 10
Venus Transits Aquarius February 5 – March 1
Sun Transits Aquarius February 12 – March 14
New Moon Annular Solar Eclipse on February 17
Saturn and Neptune Conjunction February 19
Mars Transits Aquarius February 22 – April 2
Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius February 25
February 2026 Headlines

Summary

For an in-depth analysis of specific planetary placements, please continue with the full planetary forecast.

Full Moon in Cancer February 1

The Moon gains full status in Cancer as it opposes the Sun in Capricorn on February 1st. After an extremely action-packed start to 2026, we may be feeling the need to slow down and find any form of nurture when we can. The bright Moon illuminates the sign of Cancer at 19 degrees, in the nakshatra called Ashlesha, which brings an energy that writhes like a snake shedding its skin, leading us forward into new territory as we leave behind the hard press of January 2026.

The Moon becomes full because it opposes the Sun in the zodiac, allowing the full force of the Sun’s light to illuminate the Moon, which acts as an indicator for the mind, emotions, and sustenance. Emotional and physical energy runs strongly during a full Moon. In addition to the Sun, his entourage gathers, adding Venus, Mars, and Mercury energy to the scene. The Moon is well placed in Cancer, its own sign, and the trio joining the Sun also does well in Capricorn, but there are some mitigating factors that bring attention to group efforts, changes in home situations, and moving forward anyway.

The Moon expresses strongly in Cancer, with one of its domains being public opinion. The inherent opposition between the practical, serious environment of Capricorn and the vulnerable, caring domain of Cancer, may bring a theme of basic human decency confronting business as usual.

The Capricorn energy aspecting the Moon is one factor; the other is that the Moon is flanked by retrograde Jupiter in Gemini and Ketu in Leo, bringing a feeling of being squeezed between a blockade and the unstable and unpredictable energy of retrograde Jupiter, which may have good intentions but questionable methods at the moment.

Jupiter will remain in retrograde motion through March 10, in the late degrees of Gemini, and then will advance once again toward Cancer, moving through its sign of exaltation from June 1 – October 30, after which Jupiter moves to Leo, but not to stay.

Starting in November, Jupiter’s role becomes complicated once again as it encounters Ketu changing signs into Cancer. Then, Jupiter assumes retrograde again in December 2026, taking himself back to Cancer on January 24, 2027 where he retrogrades until April 2027. Just a heads up that there is an emphasis on retrograde planets in Cancer in the first quarter of 2027 involving Jupiter, Mars, and Ketu. We’ll unpack that more later, but for the long term planners, it could be good info.

Mercury Transits Aquarius February 3 – April 10

Capricorn was the focus starting in mid-January, with the Venus, Sun, Mars, and Mercury entering in that order. During late January, Mercury turned on the speed and moved through the press, leading the way into Aquarius on February 3. Mercury will stay in Aquarius until April 10, an extended stay due to a retrograde period starting on February 25.

This brings us to Rahu and Ketu, the north and south nodes of the Moon, currently affecting the middle degrees of Aquarius and Leo, respectively. Mercury will be followed into Aquarius by Venus, Sun, and eventually Mars, creating a notable grouping of planets that feels like a cheerful confrontation of chaos.

The air signs including Aquarius, Gemini, and Libra are all getting liberally fanned by the mutual aspect between Rahu in Aquarius and retrograde Jupiter in Gemini. Air signs tend to move energy quickly and this mechanism pushes that possibility. Rahu is well positioned in Aquarius, and specifically Shatabishak, to do his best work, which doesn’t generally result in a feeling of stability but does offer an innovative set of tools to deal with the disruptions.

Mercury entering the chat brings an intelligent perspective, giving us management skills, analytics, and agility as we collectively travel through the Aquarius experience in February and March. March especially could be laced with recalibration. Rahu’s unstable influence can sometimes yield things like surprising opportunities that rise and fall away quickly. Be ready to move on suddenly open pathways.

Rahu and Mercury go well together, like artificial and intelligence. Look for some AI action during the long transit of Mercury in Aquarius, which includes a retrograde phase from February 25 – March 20, when things could start to really rumble. Mercury is the first one in and the last one out, and his exit from Aquarius will bring a five month long set of waves created by the planetary combination known as Kala Amrita Yoga, when all of the planets are hemmed on one side of the nodal axis, heading in the direction of Ketu.

Kala Sarpa Yoga is the flip side of this and occurs when the hemmed planets will break through the Rahu side. Moving toward Ketu and then breaking past that nodal gate can be interpreted as a push toward liberation and transformation, while moving toward Rahu could indicate a downward slide toward the inevitable. Either version shares the common quality of being confined and crowded, yet moving together toward breaking the bonds.

This window of Kala Amrita Yoga, which breaks each month when the Moon moves through the open space on the flip side, will last from April 1 – August 1. Ketu will remain in Leo through this pitch, indicating the location of the closed gate we’d like to open or the obstacle we’d like to transform into a pathway. As Mercury and Rahu dance through February and March, it may inspire you to break the glass and reach for the stars.

Venus Transits Aquarius February 5 – March 1

Venus follows her best friend Mercury into Aquarius on February 5th, moving quickly past Rahu and Mercury, and plunging into her sign of exaltation, Pisces, on March 1st. Team Saturn includes Venus, Mercury, and Rahu, and Saturn’s territories include both Capricorn and Aquarius. Venus does well in both of Saturn’s signs, only to reach exaltation once in Pisces; so things are looking good for Venus in the near future. I didn’t say calm, but at least Venus can use her fluid grace to smooth the jagged edges.

As February progresses, Venus and Mercury tease apart from the Sun and Mars, creating a temporary trio with Rahu for about a week until the Sun enters Aquarius on February 12th. Adding a dram of Venus to the Mercury and Rahu tango could make things rather creative and exciting, while not necessarily focused and productive.

The territory of space we call Aquarius is known as Kumbha in Sanskrit. Kumbha most readily indicates a container for water, like a pot or pitcher. The western astrology symbol for Aquarius is the water bearer, a human figure holding a pot of water. Aquarius has a dual rulership, with both Saturn and Rahu recognized as presiding over this humanitarian and innovative sign.

Rahu, currently strongly jazzed to be bouncing through his own sign, is strongly abled in Aquarius. We’re not sure how to take that because loose cannon energy comes along with Rahu! So we manage Rahu with intelligence and deliberation, because catching on to that energy can connect us with our fellow beings. Rahu’s belief system is that every living being has equal claim to presence on Earth, that race, status, nor creed would diminish this equality, and that the diversity created by exercising boundless desires is just what we need.

Rahu is on team “for the people.” Rahu is for equality. Rahu is for wanting basic human accommodations. Sometimes that Rahu desire for those things applies only to the self, depending upon the nature of the beast. With his teammates Mercury and Venus coming on scene, we may see a rising tide of humans connecting in a furious push to retain their humanity.

Aquarius, the pot of water, indicates retention. We breathe in and hold, controlling our exhale. We build dams to retain snow melt in high mountain lakes to ensure a future water supply for the people. We write iron clad contracts to ensure the long term viability of access to public resources.

Team For the People is led by Saturn and populated with Venus, Mercury, and Rahu. This is the masses, all the people in the world with their relationships and commerce. Each of these four planets is interested in movement, flow, practice, and human expression.

February 2026 could be an incredible month of ground shaking movement caused by people joining together. The people are speaking.

Sun Transits Aquarius February 12 – March 14

With the drums beating and the people speaking, the Sun shifts from Saturn’s earth sign, Capricorn, to the people’s party in Aquarius on February 12th. When the Sun joins a sign where one of the nodes, Rahu or Ketu, is placed, it is our signal that an eclipse pairing is coming within the next month. This occurs twice per year, as the Sun visits Rahu for a month and Ketu for a month each year.

The Sun, as you can imagine, is captain of the other team that includes the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, and Ketu. This is Team For the Kids, where we focus on family values, lineages, religion, hierarchies, and merit. Remember that each of us has both teams active in our personal horoscope, so this division is not designed to isolate, but rather to illustrate our inherent balance challenge. It is fine to support yourself, but you can’t do that by destroying the collective. Protecting your family is natural, but doing it by taking out the rest of village is unacceptable.

The Sun team planets nurture our personal development. Team Saturn planets remind us that we aren’t doing it in a vacuum and have needs for network and connection. The Sun is moving into a very strong concentration of team Saturn on their home turf, which also includes the eventuality of eclipse, further dipping the individual assertion captain into the mass of humanity and its writhing desires for collective wellness.

Working the balance between me and we is always a theme when the Sun moves through Capricorn and Aquarius, Saturn’s signs. This year, there are giant flashing signs along the road urging us to check our accountability in relationships, in society, in business, and with regards to managing our own agendas.

New Moon Annular Solar Eclipse on February 17

On February 17th, the Moon sidles up to the Sun at 5 degrees Aquarius, bringing us an Annular Solar Eclipse due to Rahu’s proximity, which is the kind that looks like a ring of fire. The best place to see the full version of this is Antarctica; other spots in the southern hemisphere will be see the eclipse partially.

In astrology interpretation of this astronomical phenomena we call eclipse, we tend bring the idea of a shadow engulfing light, which also translates as a temporary but signficant disruption of what we count on for its steady and predictable light source.

This disruptive energy happens in Aquarius, with the added energy of Venus and Mercury bundled in. Remember that the environment of Aquarius is about retention and also dispersion; we try to collect and retain our resources, meting them out as needed. This eclipse energy could show both a collective and individual experience of disruption in the field of what we have collectively saved for the future. Perhaps worldwide market “corrections” after chaotic events.

After creating a shadow on the Sun, the new Moon continues to glide out of those troubled waters and into Pisces, becoming very intimate with the exact Saturn and Neptune conjunction on February 19th.

This new Moon also marks Chinese New Year, bringing us the year of the fire horse. Horse years occur when Jupiter moves through the sign of sidereal Gemini. The general belief is that fire horse years will move things quickly, which is good for starting big projects or initiating risky ventures.

Saturn and Neptune Conjunction February 19

In January, the western astrology world was talking about Neptune’s entrance into Aries, which does not reflect the sidereal astrology perspective. From our reckoning, far out Neptune is currently at about 6 degrees Pisces, in the zone more finely recognized as Uttarabhadra nakshatra. While not considered a traditional part of the Vedic pantheon, nonetheless Neptune exists, and will move through Pisces for 11 more years, moving to Aries in February 2037.

Neptune arrived in Pisces in April 2022, and the prior transit through sidereal Pisces was from 1857 – 1872, when we saw expansion of spiritual ideals, the first global financial crisis in 1857, the US Civil War, and India’s war of independence. The oceanic sign of Pisces supported big ocean engineering during that time including the Suez canal and the Transatlantic Telegraph Cable.

Similar themes we are already seeing from that time to the current one include economic instability, dissolution of established forms, liberation from strict social codes, and potential deflation in recently advanced technology like AI and cryptocurrency.

During that prior Neptune transit from 1857 – 1872, Rahu joined Neptune during the first year, Ketu visited from 1865-66, and Jupiter joined up in 1868, but at no time did Saturn hook up with Neptune. Saturn’s energy is hard, detached, and strict. In the dissolution happy environment of Pisces, joining up with Neptune, whose energy is already very oceanic, perhaps we get to see the consequences of expansion that leads to full solvency. Saturn is the consequences part.

Saturn in Pisces is already bringing us to our knees and showing us the end game of long term ignorance of details. The end that flows forward toward new beginnings is supported in Pisces. Saturn’s presence here while Neptune’s generational blow out is in effect brings the energy of karmic cost and limitation needed for longevity.

On February 19th, Saturn approaches Neptune’s current station and limps by slowly under the light of the waxing crescent Moon. This could be a moment of reckoning, a reality check that invites us to maintain just the right amount of definition and structure as we enter into the slippery slope that leads toward the finish line. The last thing we need is a loss of momentum into those new beginnings.

Remember that Saturn moves slowly and Neptune even moreso. This conjunction could lead toward depressing a button that springs a release valve, but the action of it all may not be instant or quick. The indication is to move slowly and integrate deeply, conserving wisdom, energy, and resources that will play a part in next cycles.

Mars Transits Aquarius February 22 – April 2

As the Moon joins Saturn and Neptune on February 19th, Mars reaches his exaltation in the late degrees of Capricorn and then climbs on into Aquarius joining the crowd on February 22nd.

By the final days of February, this consolidated powerful group in Aquarius, surrounding shapeshifting Rahu, may indicate impactive collective events, social and/or environmental. On a personal level, the indications of the house that is occupied by Aquarius could be affected.

Aquarius the container, with both Saturn and Rahu presiding as rulers, supports inherent diversity. Mars joining the gaggle there adds spice, fire, and focus, increasing the chance for confrontation and action. Rahu and Mars energy in an isolated environment can look like amplified strength or excessive force; with Venus departing after a week and Mercury buzzing about in retrograde motion, we could experience some chaos starting in late February and into March due to the alchemy between Rahu and Mars.

One strategy is to anchor down and avoid interaction. Another strategy is to exploit the disruptive environment provided by Rahu and Aquarius. Think offloading expenses, revisiting messy situations in search of remnants, and finding innovative paths toward efficiency.

We will revisit Mars in Aquarius for the March 2026 forecast. Sun exits the scene in mid-March, leaving Rahu, Mars, and retrograde Mercury to clean up the community space.

Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius February 25

On February 25th, Mercury comes to the bridge leading to Pisces and stops, assuming retrograde motion in the final degree of Aquarius. This leads to our first Mercury retrograde cycle of 2026, where the theme is air signs. First Aquarius, then Gemini in June/July, followed by Libra in Oct/Nov. This indicates that we may see disturbance in the thought realm this year, with ideas being served up and then walked back, which could be good for brainstorms and revisiting abandoned ideas.

This first Mercury retrograde could be the most notable as we have a plethora of interactions with retrograde Mercury. First, newly retrograde Mercury encounters Venus during the last days of February, bringing up the energy of revisiting relationships or business decisions and reworking creative trajectories.

We will focus on retrograde Mercury’s interaction with the Sun, Mars, and Rahu in March, but for now, understand that we can benefit from the general Mercury retrograde protocol: slow down to avoid mistakes and oversights, don’t even try to multi-task, pick a few projects to edit, and favor review over charging forward.

March 2026 Headlines

Venus Transits Pisces March 1 - 25
Total Lunar Eclipse 20 deg Leo March 3
Jupiter Direct 21 deg Gemini March 10
Sun Transits Pisces March 14 – April 14
New Moon 5 deg Pisces/Uttarabhadra March 18
Mercury Direct 15 degrees Aquarius March 20
Saturn + Sun Conjunct 11 degrees Pisces March 25
Venus Transits Aries March 25 – April 19