26/01/2026
Today marks the beginning of a whole new epoch as Neptune enters Aries for the first time in 165 years, where it will remain until 2039.
The last time Neptune was in Aries was from 1861 until 1875 - a time of upheaval and independence, heralding the outbreak of the American Civil War, and the Victorian Crisis of Faith.
This is a baptism by fire, and it’s up to us whether we allow that fire to purify and transform us or consume us.
As the archetypal Spiritual Warrior, Aries calls on us to find the courage of our convictions. We may be asked to stand our ground, take a stance, or draw our boundaries in no uncertain terms.
Watery Neptune in the fire sign of Aries may be like trying to start a fire with wet wood.
Anyone who has ever started a fire knows it needs to be tended. It must be fed and nourished to become a crackling blaze that will sustain us, warm our hearth, and illuminate the path when we find ourselves in a dark wood.
When we take the time to nurture our inner flame, and ask it what it needs to burn bright, we may find a resurgence of hope, optimism, and passion amidst the overwhelm.
We must summon the courage to open ourselves to the transformative potential of these times. To find inspiration in its wake - the ‘fire in the head’ alluded to by poet William Butler Yeats.
Neptune in Aries will call on us both collectively and personally to look at the way we work with conflict and express anger. Do we express our anger in a clear and direct way, or push it into the shadow where it transmutes into passive aggression, contempt, or resentment?
The next 14 years will likely see a rise in therapeutic work around anger, perhaps working through old rage through somatic therapy and creative expression.
However, while Neptune’s ingress into Aries will shape the next 14 years, its upcoming conjunction with Saturn on February 20th is the real game changer.
Saturn will join Neptune in Aries on Feb 13th, where it will be for 2.5 years, and these two powerhouses will conjoin at 0 degrees of Aries (just days after the solar eclipse) initiating a rare alignment that signals a brand new era.
0 degrees Aries is known as the World Point, a critical turning point that ancient astrologers used to predict the fate of kings and leaders, as well as the tone of the year ahead. The importance of this conjunction can’t be overstated - we’re moving into uncharted territory.
To put it into perspective, the last time Saturn and Aries met at 0 degrees Aries was around 7000 BC, at the rise of agriculture. So yes, this is an extremely momentous shift.
On one hand, these two principles blend structure and imagination which can turn our dreams into tangible results – on the other – we’ve reached a collective boiling point fraught with power imbalance, the redrawing of boundaries, and assertion of identity.
When Saturn (the principle of reality) comes up against Neptune (the principle of dreams and Illusion), we enter a time when the edges of hard reality are inescapable.
Old paradigms will dissolve, while new structures will be created. This won’t happen overnight, but this is the beginning and we must try to find our feet in a rapidly changing world.
Aries is the Spiritual Warrior, so aligning with this archetype to bring discernment and act with heart centered integrity is key before jumping into a crusade.
Look before you leap, and take time to pause.
There is currently a lot of overwhelm in the zeitgeist and it's important to protect our nervous system. Ground through time spent in nature, meditation, journaling, and connecting with plant allies that can take the edge off while we navigate this new terrain. And take breaks from the endless stream of news.
To dare to hope requires a measure of courage that is not always easy to access, especially if our inner flame has dwindled to the point to where it no longer sustains the spirit.
When we take the time to nurture our inner flame, and ask it what it needs to burn bright, we may find a resurgence of hope. Aries teaches us the medicine that we must first cultivate self awareness so that we may be more relationally connected.
Our task now is to find the glimmer within, no matter how faint, and gently breathe life into that tiny flame. Our holy inner fire requires the kindling of our vision, the tinder of our imagination, and the fuel of our courage.
C. D.blackwood
