Astro Iris 2026 – A Year of Courage
Why? Because it’s shaped by some major, longd-term planetary movements. These transits bring deep transformation and innovation in a completely unfamiliar landscape.
The first half of the year opens new horizons as Saturn closes out the full zodiac cycle.
Saturn 🪐 takes about 2.5 years to move through one sign. By transiting Pisces, it completes an entire 30-year cycle. Now we’re heading in a fresh direction, set in motion in 2026 when Saturn settles into Aries ♈️. Specifically, Saturn is in Aries from February 14, 2026, until April 12, 2028.
Archetypally, Aries represents the head, the leader, the initiator, the warrior, the ambitious go-getter. It can also start things with fire… and sometimes drop them halfway through out of impatience, boredom, or craving for the next shiny thing. Saturn’s presence here imposes structure, boundaries, and discipline. It insists on responsibility, patience, and actually taking the time to build something solid and lasting when setting off in a new direction.
On this journey, Saturn is joined by Neptune, the god of the seas – the planet that connects us to our deepest intuition… but can also lure us into illusions and wishful thinking. The line between profound intuition and pure fantasy often comes down to whether something has real grounding and the potential to actually manifest, versus dreamy escapism with no substance. With Saturn right next to Neptune, we only dream about what can realistically become real. It keeps our feet firmly on the ground 🌍.
Neptune first dipped into Aries back in May 2025. Then, from July 5, 2025, it went retrograde through Aries until October 23, before slipping back into Pisces. That period gave each of us a chance to clearly see what had been holding us back until now – what fears, illusions, or outdated beliefs kept us stuck. Every person had the opportunity to face their own reality/illusion/fear/lack of trust/beliefs head-on and decide what to release and what to carry forward.
Neptune remains in Pisces until January 26, 2026, when it re-enters Aries for good and settles in for the next 13+ years. That’s plenty of time to dissolve old illusions – if we stay awake and aware. On the flip side, it can open us to a brand-new form of faith or spirituality, or bring hidden truths about existing belief systems to light – truths the mainstream has overlooked or suppressed. Illusions, outdated dogmas, and anything false gradually crumble. Stay open to whatever emerges. Even our ability to tap into supreme intuition (that higher knowing) can take on an almost magical quality – in the best sense. Clarity arrives. Confusion fades.
In Aries, Neptune taps into a very different energy. Our dreams and visions start to take physical shape and come alive. On February 20, Saturn and Neptune form an exact conjunction. This alignment supports the dissolution we’ve been talking about and helps us align with our true passions so we can actually put them into action. The skies are practically inviting us to be bold, take initiative, become as independent as possible… while still collaborating with others. We’re breaking free from dependencies.
Another headline transit with spectacular effects comes from Uranus, which already shifted from Taurus into Gemini on July 7, 2025. What to expect from Uranus in Gemini? Honestly, it’s hard to predict – Uranus is the planet of spontaneity, shocks, and surprises. Just when you think something is fixed, fully developed, and can’t evolve any further, Uranus shows up and flips the entire perspective – often very quickly and completely reshaping things.
Uranus in Gemini ♊️ promises eight years of massive innovation, with rapid, sweeping changes in all Gemini-ruled areas: education and learning, communication, the way we connect with each other, technology, short trips, transportation, and information flow. Many of these transformations will be forms we can’t even picture yet.
Right now Uranus is still in Taurus ♉️ (after retrograding back from Gemini on September 6, 2025). This return to Taurus gave us time to revisit, understand, and heal our relationship with material values, money, control, and change – so we can accept transformations with greater ease. Whatever courageous steps or breakthroughs happened in our lives from September 2025 onward have quietly opened doors to the future… even if we can’t fully see them yet. Stay tuned! 😊
On April 26, 2026, Uranus re-enters Gemini ♊️ and stays there until 2032 (August 3). My advice for this transit: keep an extremely open mind toward any and all innovation that appears. That’s the only way to keep up with the pace of evolution.
For the second half of the year, we prepare for Jupiter’s entry into Leo ♌️ after spending a year in Cancer ♋️. As we know, Jupiter is the Great Benefic – but its “blessing” works through amplification. Wherever it goes, it magnifies whatever energy already exists in that house or area of life. In Cancer, Jupiter reconnected us to roots, family, home, and emotional foundations. Now in Leo ♌️, Jupiter invites us to tap into nobility, radiance, leadership, and generosity. It boosts relational energy, heightens the desire to express love and affection (especially romantically), and ramps up creativity, playfulness, and the need for fun and entertainment.
With Jupiter in Leo, opportunities for public recognition appear. We may step away from group projects to focus on bold, independent professional ventures. New friends and exciting collaborations can enter our lives. All of this gets extra support starting in August, when the nodal axis shifts from Virgo–Pisces to Leo–Aquarius. From that point onward, any behavior rooted in selfishness, egocentrism, or arrogance is best avoided.
More on the Leo–Aquarius nodal axis in a future article – it deserves its own deep dive.
Finally, I invite you to look back with enthusiasm at everything you’ve experienced from September 2025 until now. Without exception, every single event has been guiding you and connecting you to your next destination.
Here’s to a bold, transformative 2026! 🚀
