Annular Solar Eclipse in Aquarius, a Penguin Perspective
Penguin perspective brings bird’s eye view to a new level. To sit in the ring is not to wear it but to be worn, to be contained. Is the fire colder when the shadows sliver across ice, when the field is mostly frozen not from fear but from collapse amidst the melt. Sabian Raine for February 17, 2026
The planetary movements feel very personal now, while at the same time there is a sense that we are in this together, whatever this is!
You can look at any detail of your life, and the archetypes will be present. Or, we can span out and watch what is unfolding that will ultimately impact all of us.
How you respond to your direct experience will be how you respond to collective events. Think of your day to day reality as practice or training for the big event.
For example, our new downstairs neighbors are having work done before they move in. The work involves a loud, mechanical saw, which ran for 9 hours yesterday, and has been going for 3 hours this morning. There is nowhere in our place that is not ricocheting with the sound, which is grating. At the same time, I have been watching videos of the Venerable Monks, who arrived in Washington, D.C. as Saturn was in its final Pisces moments. The Monks are giving us the tools to choose to align (Saturn) with peace and compassion (Pisces). For me, this is supportive as the saw feels like an invasion of my space (Neptune in Aries).
While I am anticipating the conjunction of Saturn and Neptune, I am more hopeful about Saturn moving into a new phase relationship with Neptune. In the meantime, though, as friends have reminded me, we need to stay in the moment. We need to practice. What we do now will carry into what we do then.
There is also a significant event between now and then—the annular solar eclipse in Aquarius—which offers us a critical decision point. For me, the saw is an indicator of this energy as well. Not just the tension I am feeling, but the impact on my nervous system. When the saw runs high, I feel it in every sensory receptor (also very Uranus in Taurus).
The ring of fire eclipse, which occurs at 7:01 am on Tuesday, February 17 (EST), is square Uranus. Squares challenge us to dialogue with parts of ourselves that may be conflicted; they also confront us with external circumstances that require a compromise in order to move on. With the solar eclipse (also New Moon) in Aquarius, the dispositor is Uranus, which is the squaring planet. Leo is the opposing sign to Aquarius, and the Sun is associated with Leo. The release point for all this tension is Scorpio, associated with Mars and Pluto, both in Aquarius. This Aquarius eclipse is a precursor to the upcoming cycle of eclipses on the Leo/Aquarius nodal axis.
Paradoxically, Aquarius is the sign of freezing and the sign of change; it is the sign of suffering and liberation from suffering.
In Aquarius, the power is with the collective as long as we don’t give it away or project it onto yet another authority figure. So many of us have been addressing personal themes relative to trauma and power dynamics, whether through family history, ancestry, personal dynamics, or a deeper understanding of systemic abuses and their generational effects on so many people. The very concept of power is changing from power over to power within, power through, or power with.
This is the time to really get in touch with your power. What does power mean to you? Where do you have power? Where do you not have power? How can you connect with others to balance your power?
At the moment of the eclipse, which depending on your natal chart, may feel like a temporary loss in order for something innovative to be born, or one perspective being hidden in order for a new way of seeing to emerge, remember that Venus is conjunct the North Node in Pisces. Remember what the Monks are offering us, the ability to choose peace in any moment.
The ring of fire solar eclipse is viewable in a remote location in Antarctica, which means it will not be seen by many humans.
February 17 marks the Chinese New Year, ushering in the year of the Fire Horse.
Uranus in Taurus feels paradoxical as a marker of grounding, but I think it is important for us to touch ground frequently in the coming weeks.
May peace be with you.