Astrologers Are Calling 2026 The Year Of The Unbridled Spirit—Here's Why

You are a spiritual being having a human experience. 

This could be the universal truth that restores us all to our senses in 2026. 

Spirit, the animating force within, comes alive under this year’s cosmic influences. It transcends our human foibles and our glaringly divergent political ideologies. Spirit is the base note of our essence. It’s the core of who we are, the spark of light that follows us in—and out—of our human form.

And in the year ahead, it’s the part of ourselves that must fly free. 

Welcome to the Year of the Unbridled Spirit

When we say “spirit” we’re not talking about religion. We’re not even talking about spirituality, at least in the sense of a ritual practice.

By all means, enjoy your sabbath services, your sage wands, and your samsaras. But don’t confuse these connective actions with the concept of spirit itself. 

To remember that we are spirit is to go beyond the tactile, material plane. To acknowledge spirit is to embrace universality.

You are spirit. I am spirit. We are all spirit. This is a oneness that connects us all. And it’s stupefyingly simple.

So, why does it feel like divisiveness has become an Olympian sport?

Politicians, news outlets, podcasters, corporations, religious leaders, and autocrats all seem to be vying for the gold in tearing people apart. For communities living on the margins, this isn’t exactly new material. Yet, the level of cruel aggression toward the “other” seems to have no bottom. 

As astrologers, one of the most common questions we heard in 2025 was, “When is it going to get better?” There’s an overriding despair among conscientious people as inhumane behavior seems to be roundly celebrated among the powers that be. 

Looking at the forces shaping 2026, our answer is this: When humanity starts to focus on what unites us instead of what divides us.

Fortunately, there are plenty of cosmic forces converging to support that mission! What, you thought we’d leave you with no hope? Never that! In fact, the answer may be as simple as a lyric from the Spice Girl’s song, “2 Become 1.”

Set your spirit free

It’s the only way to be

This saccharine pop single was released on December 16, 1998, one of the last times that karmic Saturn was at 0º Aries, the very first degree of the zodiac. (And yes, that has a lot to do with 2026, thankyouverymuch, Cynical Spice.) 

On February 20, 2026, earthbound Saturn greets spiritual Neptune at 0º Aries

This is also known as “the Aries point,” an event that hasn’t taken place in thousands of years! Saturn and Neptune have synced up in Aries a few times in the CE era, making exact conjunctions in the Ram’s realm in 1703, 1380 and 1051—but never at 0º, the very beginning of the zodiac. 

This is quite the odd-couple mashup! Saturn is the boundary hound, Neptune is the boundary dissolver. (What’s real, anyway? Who wants to microdose?) For much of 2025, Saturn and Neptune traveled together in close proximity through the very last degree of the zodiac, 29º Pisces, and the very first, 0º Aries. 

As they make an exact conjunction at 0º Aries this February 20, humanity has the opportunity for an incredible reset. Zero is the number of infinite possibilities; nothing and everything all at once.

Here come lessons in embracing duality: Saturn is the body, Neptune is the spirit

Can we be both embodied and transcendent at once? Is it possible to celebrate our differences while also remaining vigilantly aware that we are spiritual beings having a human experience? This may seem like a tall order in the age of continuous scrolling and “A.I. Everything.”

Being present in our human bodies, aware of our feelings, and engaged in the “right here, right now” of the 3D world? A mere three decades ago, that was second nature. In 2026, it may feel like a Herculean effort to rebuild a muscle, especially while alchemical Pluto in Aquarius trines futurist Uranus in Gemini, pulling us into new scientific frontiers. 

We are indeed in novel terrain here

Numerology echoes this: 2026 is a 1 Universal Year (2 + 0 + 2 + 6 = 10, 1 + 0 = 1), kicking off a fresh, nine-year cycle. Tear up the old scripts because they just aren’t relevant. A 1 Universal Year demands action, just like the influence of Aries, the fiery first sign of the zodiac. 

Before we can figure out what’s next, we might need a moment to recover from the narcotizing effects of the 9 Universal Year. (2025, we won’t miss you.) Better make it a power nap! On February 17, the Aquarius new moon and solar eclipse ushers in the Year of the Fire Horse. 

This is not giving “Daddy, I want a pony” vibes. Quite the opposite! The last Fire Horse year was 1966, which brought us the first lunar landing, the founding of NOW (National Organization of Women), ATM machines, Star Trek, counterculture, Civil Rights movements and Vietnam War protests.

According to lore, girls born during a Fire Horse year would grow up to kill their husbands. While we’re certainly not condoning such things, the increased patriarchal oppression has certainly lit a match of rage among women.

Fire Horses—if there were such a thing in the 3D world—would be, yes, unbridled, running free across open planes with their manes whipping in the wind. We wish this feeling of unfettered liberation for you in 2026, even if it means letting go of the reins to which you’ve clutched so tightly. 

You are a spiritual being having a human experience. 

Let’s race to the horizon without trampling each other in the process.