Dearest readers,
While there may not be much going on this week, what is happening is quite significant in itself. This week brings with it the New Year of the Horse, the beginning of Pisces season, a solar eclipse and a coming Mercury retrograde in Pisces. The signs will all be significantly affected by all of these events, so it’s essential to learn about them and keep them in mind as one reads their horoscope.
New moon solar eclipse brings the Year of the Horse (Feb. 17, 2026)
Wednesday marks the commencement of the Year of the Horse on an Aquarius new moon. 2025 was marked as the year of the Wood Snake, Wood being its element and Snake being its designated Chinese zodiac animal. The Wood Snake brought us to a stage of growth, shedding our old skin, taking purposeful actions and developing our knowledge. The themes the year of the Wood Snake brought us can be seen in everything from trends that made waves across social media to the way we interact with others.
Now, as we trot into the New Year of the Fire Horse, we can expect a new air of unbridled freedom, strong will and great motivation. Since we’re being gracefully introduced to this new year by an eclipse, a phenomenon that tends to unveil shadows, we must be ready to find comfort in unfamiliar places. Since Aquarius is quite the imaginative, creative and original sign, we are invited to break out of the norm in all sorts of ways during this new moon.
This, and all years ending with the numbers six or seven, are marked as fire element years. The last time we saw a Horse Year was in 1966. This element naturally already has us hot on our toes, so bringing the Horse into this whole ordeal is going to incite quite the rush.
The Horse is a symbol of wilderness and wandering in Chinese astrology, so we may expect to feel happiest when outside and traveling this year. Your spirit is burning within you, so let its excitement and energy lead you wherever your heart desires this year; you may find yourself happiest when returning to your childhood wonder.
Welcoming this year’s Pisces season (Feb. 18 – Mar. 20, 2026)
The Sun is moving into imaginative Pisces on Wednesday, stirring all our intuitions into a state of perfect refinement. While there’s not much new to say about this season, since we experience it every year at the same time, there are always key aspects we can be reminded of.
During Pisces season, it’s imperative we self-reflect, do all the inner work we’ve put off, doubtlessly trust our gut and intuition, savor every drop of our feelings without fear of being dramatic, ground ourselves so we don’t fall into imagined fantasies and stay firmly rooted in our boundaries and values.
The moon
As mentioned previously, this week is marked by a new moon solar eclipse in Aquarius that will be taking place on Tuesday. After the solar eclipse, the moon will move through Pisces and wrap up the week in Aries. These moon sign placements bring forth abundant emotions, a need to be with others, feelings of insecurity and uncertainty, creative endeavours and, finally, a discovery of one’s own pace.
Retrogrades
- Jupiter retrograde (Cancer): Nov. 11, 2025 – Mar. 11, 2026
- NEXT WEEK Mercury retrograde (Pisces): Feb. 26 – Mar. 20
Thank you for reading the Astrological Week at a Glance.
