Astrological Highlights for Jan. 26-Feb. 1, 2026: Courage, Vision, Delusion

Courage, Vision, or Delusion

Neptune enters Aries this week (Jan. 26, 2026, at 9:34 a.m. Pacific Time). You might remember it dipped its toe into Aries last year on March 30, after spending about fourteen years in Pisces, and then turned retrograde back into Pisces on October 22. Now it leaves Pisces for good—or at least until the year 2175—and once it’s settled into Aries, it won’t leave that sign again until May of 2038. So, this is a big, long-term shift we’re really just beginning to feel.

Before its brief 2025 foray, Neptune was last in Aries from April 13, 1861, through April 7, 1875. Neptune is often described as our collective dream, the stories we tell ourselves about who we are and where we’re going. One figment of the Neptune-in-Aries dream is the idea that a single individual—or a single nation—can save the world. And it’s hard not to think about that when you notice that Neptune entered Aries on April 13, 1861, one day after the American Civil War began.

With so much emphasis on the individual will and the heroic self, this can be a challenging transit for building societies and for truly working together, which is arguably humanity’s natural inclination. At its best, Neptune in Aries can inspire courage and vision. At its worst, Neptune can slip into delusion, distorted thinking, and a lack of judgement that, in extreme cases, can tip into violence.

I’ve got Sagittarius rising, and I’m an incurable optimist—or at least I’ve always thought of myself that way. For most of my life, I’ve assumed that no matter how much I might disagree with my fellow humans, if I were to keel over on the sidewalk one day, the people around me would rush over to help. I don’t assume that quite as easily anymore. And it feels less about political or ideological differences, and more about how far people have drifted from our shared social center, especially since the Covid pandemic.

It will be interesting to see how society fares during this transit of Neptune in independent Aries, especially over the next couple of years as Saturn also moves through Aries (beginning February 13). That combination raises some important questions about responsibility, leadership, and what it really means to act with courage—for ourselves, and for one another.

Moving Mountains, or Failing for Spite?

Mars and Pluto come together in a conjunction this week (Jan. 27, 2026, 3:01 pm PST, 3º34′ Aquarius) nestled with a total of five planets in a ten-degree stretch of Aquarius. The Aquarian vibe is potent right now. This isn’t subtle energy—it’s concentrated, focused, and very much about ideas, principles, and the bigger picture of how we live together.

Together, Mars and Pluto can move mountains. They bring enormous drive, stamina, and the willingness to push through obstacles that might normally stop us cold. We can be fiercely protective of the people we love and the ideals we hold dear. But there’s a shadow side to this combination: the potential for absolute ruthlessness in going after what we want.

Without a healthy outlet for all that intensity, aggression and cruelty can run wild. And it’s also easy to slip into feelings of impotence or inadequacy. It might feel as though nothing we do makes any difference at all. And when that happens, giving up can start to look like the only way to regain a sense of control. There’s a real temptation to take our toys and go home, because then, at least, we get to decide how the game ends.

The late astrologer Donna Cunningham once described Pluto as symbolizing the places where we might fail out of spite, and I think that’s a perfect description of the negative potential of Mars with Pluto. The harder we push with the personal will and force of Mars, the harder Pluto can push back. Power struggles escalate quickly under this transit.

The best possible expression of this conjunction is when Mars and Pluto find a way to work together, rather than against each other, to move toward something meaningful and lasting. But that requires that we ask whether what we’re pushing for truly serves the collective, especially with so much energy in Aquarius, or whether it’s only about asserting our own will. When this energy is aligned with the greater good, it can be incredibly productive. When it’s not, it can quickly turn corrosive.

Lovebirds on the Fence

Whenever Mercury and Venus meet in a conjunction (Jan. 29, 2026, 2:17 am PST, 14º57′ Aquarius), they form a sweet nexus for conversation, connection, and finding the right words to express affection or appreciation. In Aquarius, that connection is a little cooler than in some signs, a little more objective, but also very honest. This is about you and those close to you really liking each other as people first—about shared ideas, mutual respect, and the pleasure of being on the same wavelength mentally.

The Sabian symbol for this degree is 15 Aquarius, Two lovebirds sitting on a fence. These aren’t lovebirds entangled in a dramatic embrace; they’re just perched there together, side by side. There’s ease here, and a sense of choice. They’re together because they want to be, not because they feel they have to be. The fence itself is a boundary, a place between two worlds, which feels Aquarian, a place to stand slightly apart, observing, deciding.

With Mercury and Venus at this degree, there’s a strong emphasis on conversation as the glue that holds relationships together. It’s a wonderful time to talk things through, to say the kind thing, the fair thing, the clarifying thing. This isn’t about grand romantic gestures so much as mutual understanding. Do we share values? Can we listen to one another? Can we sit together comfortably, even if we don’t agree on everything?

This conjunction reminds us that love isn’t always loud or dramatic. Sometimes it’s as simple as choosing to sit on the fence together, exchanging ideas, respecting each other’s independence, and enjoying the quiet pleasure of being in one another’s company.

Heart-Opening Experiences

Three years ago this week, a new baby entered our family. His parents had already chosen to name him after my late brother, and baby obligingly debuted on the 28th anniversary of his namesake’s passing. The kid has a keen sense of timing and a terrific origin story. And to this day, I love to steal a glance at his photo when I need a smile.

Children are often associated with Leo, the sign of this week’s Full Moon (Feb. 1, 2026, 2:09 pm PST, at 13º03’ Leo). I like to say that the sign of Leo, and the fifth house of the chart, symbolize “heart-opening experiences.” Accordingly, the Leo Full Moon invites us to pry open the stiff, creaky doors and gates of our hearts, the better to let the joy in. It’s exactly the right Full Moon to frolic with a puppy, dance at a wedding, or smile at a little boy’s photo.

Full Moons have a way of showing us what’s missing in our lives. The Leo Full Moon is the response to the Sun in Aquarius, and that sign’s season can lead us down a lonely, wintry path. But the Leo Full Moon awakens our hunger for heart connections and joy.

With Leo on his Midheaven, my great nephew was born an overdue beacon of warmth and delight, after decades of too many funerals and not enough weddings and births in our family. Leo’s lesson is that we bring love with us into the world. We don’t have to earn it, we just have to show up and share it.

Full Moons show us what’s been missing, but also what’s been there all along: the joy and hope we haven’t acknowledged for fear they will be taken away; the love we hide in case it isn’t reciprocated. But this Full Moon sits opposite five planets in Aquarius, the renegade jailbreaker that promises we can free ourselves from the limitations we’ve put on our own happiness. At this Leo Full Moon, shake off your chains and reclaim your heart – with its boundless capacity for love, its insatiable passion, and its fearless joy.

Writing and images © 2017-2026 by April Elliott Kent

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