Opening to 2026: The Lunar New Year, A New Moon + Solar Eclipse in Aquarius, and The Star Tarot Card

On Tuesday, February 17th, we will welcome a New Moon Solar Eclipse in Aquarius, whose Tarot card is The Star. This is also the first day of the Lunar New Year, also known as the Chinese New Year.

This New Moon will also be a ‘ring of fire’ Solar Eclipse. This eclipse marks the beginning of a new eclipse season. Whenever we have a solar eclipse, we will also have a lunar eclipse. This eclipse season will close with a total Lunar eclipse at the Virgo Blood Moon on March 3rd.

In a regular Moon manifestation cycle, we set intentions at the New Moon and work towards manifesting them until the Full Moon, then receive and release our manifestations from the Full Moon to the next cycle. 

But during an eclipse portal, we don’t try to affectuate any outcome. Instead, we get to simply observe our energy and surrender to what’s already in motion. 

Think of eclipses as cosmic haircuts: they rapidly remove what no longer serves, so something truer can grow. Solar eclipses, in particular, bring fated new beginnings—doors fly open that you didn’t even know existed, paths appear that weren’t there before. This isn’t gentle. This isn’t slow. This is the universe saying, “Ready or not, here’s your next chapter.”

Aquarius and Tarot - The Star Card

We have been in the Aquarius season since January 19th. Aquarius season is characterized by community, collective action, and authentic self-expression.

We've seen this energy manifest powerfully in recent weeks in Minneapolis as regular people came together to protect their neighbors and resist ICE, even in the face of two state-sanctioned killings.

That is powerful Aquarius energy in action: people coming together, not for individual gain, but because we recognize we're all connected, and what happens to one of us happens to all of us.

In the tarot, Aquarius is represented by The Star card. The Star follows The Tower, in which something that we thought was permanent and intractable is dismantled.

The Star is the most healing card in the deck.

That may sound great at first, but in order to heal, we must first acknowledge that healing is required. Then we need to rest and receive.

When describing The Tower, I use the example of puberty. As kids, we are worried about crossing that threshold. While we were going through it, it was uncomfortable and even scary. But, on the other side, we saw that we were never supposed to keep those little bodies for the work of life that lay ahead. That is The Tower.

On the other side of puberty, we experience romantic love, meaningful work, and the creation of our chosen community. That is Aquarius. That is The Star.

Eclipses mirror this Tower-to-Star journey.

The eclipse energy is here to dismantle something in your life that is not supposed to come with you.

There's nothing to be afraid of. You may not even notice the eclipse season, or you might feel some deep discomfort. Either way, none of the energy being cleared can support you where you are headed.

All of this brings us to the heart of working with this first eclipse season of 2026.

A Lunar New Year Eclipse Ritual: Reining the Fire Horse

The new moon normally means setting new intentions, but since we're in an eclipse season, we don't want to initiate anything. Instead, we want to make space to observe and release what no longer serves us.

Additionally, it's the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Fire Horse, which promises courage, change, intense passion, and forward momentum.

This ritual honors all three celestial components.

When to practice: You can start thinking about what you want to release at any time.

As you begin the releasing process, dedicate some intentional time on the 17th. The New Moon Solar Eclipse occurs in the morning, but eclipse energy is active for the entire day.

If you can't do it on Tuesday, the eclipse window extends through the weekend, so really anytime between now and Sunday, February 22 nd, will work.

To begin: Find a quiet place where you will be undisturbed. Bring your journal or a piece of paper. Take a few deep breaths and settle into your body. Notice what's present without trying to change it.

Remember that you don't need to work at this. Your job is to surrender whatever you can to the ring of fire. If it's still in your highest and best, it will come back to you. As you journal, just try and witness what's already on its way out. This is about recognition, not excavation.

• What feels heavy in my life right now? Where am I running out of energy?

• What am I still holding onto that I know, deep down, is already gone?

• What stories have I been telling myself about that discomfort? Are they true?

• Where have I been trying to control an outcome?

• What thought patterns am I finally ready to be done with?

• What relationships, identities, or commitments are naturally completing their cycle?

  
  

Don't overthink it. The first thing that comes to mind is usually the best. And you don't need to clear everything at once; the eclipse will take care of what is meant to be shed.

Mounting the Fire Horse

The Fire Horse is all about courage and freedom. It doesn't move with hesitation or drag dead weight behind it. This creature knows instinctively what doesn't serve the journey ahead and leaves it behind without looking back.

Look at what you've written. Read it aloud. Feel its weight.

Now ask: What needs to be released so I can move through life with that kind of bold, unburdened fire? What would I need to let go of to embody that emblazoned equine energy?

This is your moment to physically release. Choose what feels right:

• Fire (Fire Horse): Burn the paper safely and let the smoke carry it away

• Water (The Moon): Dissolve the words in water and return them to water (a drain)

• Earth (Old Beliefs): Bury what you've written and let the ground compost it

• Air (Aquarius): Speak it aloud, then rip up the paper and scatter it to the wind (maybe don't litter)

  
  

As you release, know that you're not just letting go—you're making room. The Fire Horse needs space to run.

Receive with The Star Card

In the space you've cleared, practice pure receptivity. This is the heart of The Star's teaching.

Open your hands, palms up. Feel the air on your skin. Connect with your breath- slow, steady, receiving.

You don't need to know what comes next. You don't need to visualize your perfect future or call in specific outcomes. You just need to trust that the eclipse has already cut away what needed to go, and that what wants to come next will arrive exactly when you're ready to receive it.

Stay here as long as you care to.

When you're ready, close the ritual by thanking yourself for showing up, thanking the eclipse for its work, and thanking the Fire Horse for the bold year ahead.

Between now and the Virgo Full Moon Lunar Eclipse on March 3rd, notice what shifts. Notice what space opens up. Notice what arrives when you stop trying to control.

I'm thanking all my lucky stars for you. Happy Lunar New Year!