New Moon @ 28 degrees Aquarius 50’
February 17, 2026
4:01 AM PST
7:01 AM EST

We kick off 2026’s first eclipse season with a New Moon/Annular solar eclipse in tropical Aquarius. While not visible to most of the human world (it sweeps across Antarctica), astrologically, eclipses always have symbolic significance regardless of their visibility.

Occurring in the latter degrees of Aquarius and squaring Uranus (the modern “ruler” of Aquarius), this eclipse carries an immense tension between past and future. The final degrees of a sign represent a breaking point, a pushing of an event or process over the edge. This tension thus meets a critical moment of reckoning, not a resolution, but the beginning stages of it.

Uranus is a destabilizing archetype, and via the square, it applies some pressure to break free of rigid or limiting structures, or catalyzes an emancipatory impulse within much of what we’re dealing with and focusing on. Together, these symbols suggest a sudden acceleration and change of pace with all things brewing in the background.

Though with the start of 2026’s first Mercury retrograde cycle in roughly a week from this eclipse, this is more of a potent seeding point for restarting or rejuvenating some ongoing project, plan, or activity—pushing things through to a new level of potential or merely witnessing the effects of past actions and choices.

And as alluded to, with the Aquarius archetype, there’s an element here highlighting the tension between an old and new order, tradition vs. innovation, or a power struggle between an established authority and a new generation. It can all feel rather dramatic, especially where the shadow creeps in. Yet, integration is key: coming together, joining forces, and effectively bridging the polarity to create something new.