2026 Year of Karmic Awakening
The year of 2026 will prove to be a year of tremendous opportunity, growth & expansion ~ especially if one is tuned in and aligned with the key transits, retrogrades and eclipse portals… Jupiter makes its much anticipated and exalted pass through Cancer, which only happens every 12 years… Saturn remains in Pisces, activating the three final nakshatras of the lunar zodiac… and following an intense 18months reorganizing power structures around the world, Rahu and Ketu make a move towards the end of the year shifting their karmic influence from Aquarius & Leo into Capricorn & Cancer… so, for the highest benefit for all, let us take a close look at what lays ahead during this year of karmic awakening.
The numerological meaning of 2026 is a 1 year, meaning it is a year of new and auspicious beginnings. 2025 was a 9 year, signifying the end of a nine year cycle. As we know, all of Nature and life is a play of sacred patterns interwoven throughout cycles of time. Cycles within cycles within great, cosmic cycles. One of those cycles being the 26,5000 year cycle our galaxy takes around the galactic centre, or core of the Milky Way. Within that we have our 365 day cycle around the Surya (sun) and it is that cycle to which we now look.
🌞 Surya is the planetary energy for 2026 ~ the element of course is fire. This is also reflected in Chinese Astrology as the year of the Fire Horse. Whereas 2025 was connected to Ketu and symbolized by the snake, it was a year of shedding karmic layers, bondages, releasing the old and the culmination of, what was for many, a very challenging 9 year cycle of deep growth, 2026 is the beginning of a new cycle of growth creating an excellent opportunity for setting new intentions to support our long term vision & dreams. Whereas 2025 felt like a bit of an emotional earthquake at times, the energy of 2026 calls us out of these deep emotional waters and into motion…
SURYA ~ element of fire, represents the Soul in Jyotish Janma Kundli (birth chart)
Major themes of a Surya Year:
stepping into your true power
discovering, unfolding & aligning with your dharma
connecting to Soul ~ ideal & auspicious timing for initiations & starting / evolving Spiritual Practices.
The energy of Surya asks us to consider, what is it that gives us true inner power? What are the things in life that give us energy, rather than drain us of our valuable inner light? Surya is calling us to connect deeply with our own inner light and the Source of life, Spirit and Soul. Whereas Ketu was a time of letting go of all that no longer served us (karmic shedding), Surya is a time of calling in the new, a time of karmic awakening… meaning it is time to take action, but it is important to consider what kind of action we are taking…
What inspires you to take action? What activates the value of Shree in your life? What makes you feel alive and eager to wake up with the rising Sun? And if you don’t know the answers right now, that’s perfectly okay as this year is all about discovering what is true and meaningful for you. Where and how can you align with your dharmic path and highest purpose? What kinds of action are truly fulfilling for you?
The Fire Horse symbology is appropriate as it is all about taking swift action from a place of inner strength, purpose and grace. Horses are pure power but at the same time embody such divine grace and beauty, just envisioning a wild and free horse running through the mountains is sure to invoke a sense of inspiration within the heart.
TRANSITS
Jupiter Exalted in Cancer ~ Jupiter moves into Cancer after June 1 where it is exalted, meaning that its energies are very strong. Depending on where Cancer sits in your birth chart, this house and its significance will be strongly activated. Jupiter’s aspect from this house will also have prominent influence for one’s life.
Generally speaking, Cancer is the sign most connected to the home, the Mother principle, inner happiness and some of the more emotional aspects of our psyche. The crab carries its home wherever it travels, and though it may have a tough exterior, the crab is very soft on the inside. Cancer is ruled by the Moon and so the Moon’s monthly transits will also feel stronger than usual this year ~ especially for those who are Cancer rising or have their Moon in Cancer.
Jupiter represents higher wisdom, divine knowledge, the guru, divine light, abundance, prosperity, growth, expansion and much more.
Jupiter’s exalted transit through Cancer reflects its 12 year cycle around the Surya. Therefore, one can think back to aprox 12-13 years ago and reflect upon which aspects of your life were strongly activated and expanded at that time to get some general idea of how this transit could influence you in the year ahead.
Jupiter’s transit through Cancer is one that many, many people eagerly anticipate and for good reason. Jupiter is the great benefic, “the Guru to the Devas”, offering wisdom, abundance, expansion and much grace into our lives. Jupiter exalted is an incredible opportunity to activate and align with our heart’s deepest desire for it will be supported. It is an auspicious time to discover tools and practices, such as yoga and meditation, that are proven to help us connect more intimately with Source and Soul. It is a most auspicious time to be initiated into wisdom practices, to evolve your own connection to divine wisdom and the guru within you.
Shani Remains in Pisces
Shani (Saturn) remains in Pisces throughout 2026 into 2027. You can read more about what Shani’s transit through Pisces means in this article I wrote last year.
This year Shani will transit through three nakshatras and retrograde from July until the end of year; therefore, if you have BIG business or life decisions to make this year, it is generally advised to do so before Shani retrogrades ~ not because anything “bad” happens during Shani retrograde, but it does have a tendency to slow things down for us. The effect of Shani retrograde can be both immensely helpful and supportive or very frustrating, depending on our understanding and state of consciousness.
Shani in Purva Bhadrapad - until Jan 2026
Themes Include but are not limited to:
endings that liberate us from bondage, self-sabotage, self-limiting beliefs & forms of identity
radical truth & realizations
burning away old ideas, belief systems, ideals, ideas of perfection
spiritual growth & tapas (intense daily practice)
confronting long held beliefs and honestly asking ourselves if it is time to let go ~ liberation
can feel rather intense at times as we are asked to face what we can no longer avoid in order to grow
Shani in Uttara Bhadrapada - until May 2026
a sense of integration, stabilization, a kind of “calm” after the storm
taking spiritual responsibility ~ seeing the true nature of responsibility as a privilege rather than a burden
allowing for change rather feeling a need to “fix” or “manage” ~ greater flow
a sense of inner power and knowing deepens (especially with Jupiter now in Cancer)
connection to dharma
Shani in Revati May - Oct & again 2027 following retrograde
preparing souls for what is coming next, whether through physical or spiritual transition
as the final nakshatra, there are natural and irreversible endings that can arise
completion of certain cycles
finding closure where necessary
grief & grace
Oct Shani’s retrograde will see it travel through Uttara Bhadrapada once again revisiting themes from earlier in the year for resolution
🌘 ECLIPSES
As a general rule, Eclipses are times to lay low and not make big decisions that will have high impact for our lives. During an eclipse light - whether of the Sun or the Moon - is hidden for a time and so there is likely to be information relevant for a big decision of which we are not aware or cannot see during an eclipse.
Eclipses are potent times for meditation ~ receive new insights from beyond the veil by tuning within. Eclipses are portals for accessing information beyond mundane consciousness; therefore, if we are wise, we use these windows of opportunity for tuning within so that we may receive what we need and subsequently have the potential to create quantum leaps in our consciousness and outer reality.
First Season:
February 17th - Solar Eclipse in Aquarius in Dhanistha Nakshatra ~ more power to the people ~ this particular portal may bring some BIG collective events calling in big shifts in power & revealing that which has been hidden.
BIG downloads, sudden insights & “aha” moments … especially if one tunes into silence, creates spaciousness within to receive. Five planets will be in Aquarius for this eclipse brining a lot of energy & activation into collective consciousness.
This fist eclipse opens the portal of eclipse season through to mid March.
March 3rd - Lunar Eclipse in Leo in Purva Phalguni ~ watch for more leaders & those in positions of power who are not in integrity being stripped of their title. Ketu in Leo brings detachment, ego death and liberation from self-limiting beliefs.
Eclipses in general are opportunities to dive deep within. One may suddenly realize how they authentically feel about a situation, path or person and therefore get charged up to quantum leap out of any stuckness or confusion.
Therefore, do not use this time to make new or big decisions about life but rather, allow the energies to shake out what is no longer needed so you can see more clearly in the weeks to come. Where Aquarius & Leo sit in your birth chart will illuminate in more detail how the karmic influence of Rahu & Ketu will activate for you.
Second Season:
August 15th - Solar Eclipse in Cancer - Ashlesha Nakshatra - VERY potent & powerful ~ meditation, ceremony, stillness recommended
August 27th - Lunar Eclipse in Capricorn in Dhanishta Nakshatra ~ the wealthy one, prepare for BIG downloads, new ideas & inspiration
More on this to follow in months to come.
Rahu & Ketu November Transit into Capricorn & Cancer
In November of 2026, Rahu & Ketu make their cyclical, 18 month transit into new signs.
Rahu has been in Aquarius since May of 2025 whereby it is has inspired uprisings, protests and the power of the people around the world. Rahu has reflected much change in collective consciousness and provided much needed energy for collective events. Rahu has brought the steadily rising energy of the previous 9 year cycle to an intense peak and continues to roll that energy into the new cycle we open with 2026. The power of the people continues to rise and our collective voice is getting stronger and stronger as we reclaim our power from corrupt leaders, institutions, corporate cartels and decrepit politics worldwide.
Rahu’s shift into Capricorn later this year will help further accelerate change in governments around the world. Capricorn is law & order and the desire for evolution and change in our governing systems is globally needed. Rahu will bring creative innovations to these areas of our lives, along with continued advancement in technology and AI ~ more and more we will see a merging of and higher purpose for AI in our lives as the people demand to know what has been hidden far too long. However, Rahu is also connected to delusion so it is important to stay as much out of the propaganda and politics as one can in order to maintain one’s own higher vibrational states of consciousness.
In the not too distant future, there is a very good chance that social media will become less and less relevant as no one will know what to believe or what is truly real; therefore, creating a wonderful opportunity for truly authentic beings to rise and shine their light into consciousness. It has often been said that the most radical thing a person can do is to authentically be who they are.. perhaps this is more relevant now than in any other time.
Authenticity carries a vibration of its own unique measure ~ it cannot be replicated and creates ripples that echo through the field. Ketu will move out of Leo where it has been effectively “chopping heads” and whipping its tail to take away esteem from those who do not deserve it. Ketu’s work continues for many more months ~ and especially during the eclipse seasons, pay close attention and enjoy the show.
However, when Ketu moves into Cancer this November, attention shifts from the collective stage to the more intimate realm of the home, the mother and our inner states. What shifts need to take place within your own world that can no longer be avoided if you are going to discover the life you say you want to live? Whereas Ketu in Leo for 18months saw many of us experiencing big shifts with the Father, Ketu in Cancer may bring big shifts with the Mother. This reference is both to the physical Mother & Father as well as the energetic representations of these archetypes within our lives.
Please note: Where Rahu and Ketu move in one’s chart carries karmic weight & significance. They defy logic and act in ways that correct imbalances and activate karmic cycles of growth and inevitable change. The above information is given as a general overview. Where Leo and Cancer sit one’s birth chart offers a lot more information about the specific ways these energies will play out in your life and to know this, you may request a 1:1 reading.
Mercury Retrogrades
2026 will see us experiencing 3 Mercury retrogrades:
• February 26 – March 20 in Aquarius ~ during the eclipse portal as well ~ watch for many more protests, uprisings, truths being revealed, hidden information shared, as well as challenges with new technologies, travel and communication. Do yourself a favour and don’t take things personally in conversation to protect your relationships. Remember that things can seem a little confusing and what you hear may not in fact be what was said, so pause, reflect and allow the moment to pass before reacting too quickly.
• June 29 – July 23 in Cancer ~ this one may be felt more in the home, communication with loved ones and creates an opportunity for deep, inner reflection. A wonderful opportunity for reorganizing the home, going back to projects that need finishing, revisiting and reviewing work rather than starting new projects.
• October 24 – November 13 in Scorpio ~ maintain clear, calm communication, especially as Rahu & Ketu make their move into new signs around this time as well. Watch out for hidden aspects of subconscious rising to the surface, secrets and psychological insights. Where Scorpio and Mars sit in your birth chart will be charged with this energy. It will be important to keep the intellect from over heating. Meditate deeply & stay calm and centred as a daily practice of well being.
