28 Jan Early 2026 – The Saturn-Neptune Conjunction

January 28, 2026

Entropy, the falling away of illusions, collapse – these are some of the things that come to mind when I think of a Saturn-Neptune conjunction. More positively, the creation of structures built around compassion and hope – for example, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) in the USA, created between the first and second Saturn-Neptune conjunctions of 1952-53, or the rebuilding of Eastern Europe’s political institutions after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Astrologically, Saturn symbolises form, structure, responsibility and difficult – sometimes painful – life lessons, whilst Neptune represents universality, compassion, imagination and spirituality. When they come together every 36 years or so to form an astrological conjunction, you get an uncomfortable mix where structures are dissolved, long-maintained illusions are seen through, but hope can be turned into reality.

Given that the conjunction takes place at 0° Aries – the first degree of the first sign of the zodiac – where it hasn’t for thousands of years, this is likely to feel like a reset. Things falling apart, but also the opportunity to start again afresh, free from fear, deception and corruption.

The most recent astrological event of a similar order of magnitude was the Saturn-Pluto conjunction of January 2020 – and we all remember how that played out. A conjunction between Saturn and Neptune is arguably less painful however, though no less important.

On the 26th of January 2026 (at around 5:34pm GMT) Neptune leaves Pisces and moves into Aries, after a watery journey of nearly 15 years, whilst on Valentine’s Day Saturn also enters Aries, setting the stage for their conjunction on Friday 20th of February, at 0 degrees of Aries. However, because planets influence each other a few degrees before they reach the exact aspect (an aspect is an astrological term meaning. a specific angle between planets, such as 0, 60, 90, 120 or 180 degrees), we’ve been living with the conjunction since last Spring, and it was particularly close to exactitude over the summer months of 2025, and again now, in January, February and March 2026.

Over these two periods we’ve seen the weakening of strategic political and military alliances in the West, the undermining of international law and moral standards in regard to the treatment of civilians and have been teetering on the edge of a global trade war. The certainties represented by Saturn have been chipped away at, giving rise to unease about our collective future.

The last Saturn-Neptune conjunction happened in 1989 in the sign of Capricorn. Unlike this February’s, it took place three times over a period of approximately 6 months, and the third coinciding – almost to the day – with the fall of the Berlin Wall. In June of that year the second conjunction took place, as did the death of Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini (who seemed to perfectly embody the gloomy, repressive spirituality this conjunction can at times be associated with) and the Tiananmen Square massacre. During the third conjunction in the autumn of that year, I was glued to the TV news, ephemeris in hand as I tracked the clear correlations between events in the sky (there were other major astrological events in addition to the Conjunction) and the events unfolding in Eastern Europe. On the one hand we saw the literal breaching (Neptune) of a wall (Saturn), and on the other, the crushing (Saturn) of the idealistic spirit (Neptune) of pro-democracy protestors. The fragile (Neptune) does not always win out against the resolute (Saturn) forces of the state. In the past few weeks, we’ve witnessed the rising up of Iranian people against their government, encouraged on by Donald Trump with offers of support that failed to materialise. This was ruthlessly cracked down on in ways that remind me of the events of the summer of 1989 in China.

So how will February’s exact conjunction play out, if things are likely to come to a head at that time? Being an astrologer who works with symbolic correlations rather than literal predictions I can’t be certain, but in my view, we are likely to see some sort of collapse in an institution, country or situation we have regarded as stable and secure for many years. Think of waves imperceptibly weakening a cliff face over many years, or termites eating away at the foundations of a building, until the inevitable happens and the structure cannot hold any longer. Given however that the conjunction is taking place in Aries – a fire sign – a meltdown might be a more appropriate analogy.

What might melt down as the veil of illusion is lifted or as a structure can no longer hold? In the mid 2020s there are many such candidates but one of them is of course the current AI bubble. However, there is still so much money invested in its future that I find it difficult to believe that it will all come crashing down quickly – and I also associate it with a rather different planetary alignment – that of Pluto in Aquarius.

So, what else could melt down? Given that Aries is ruled by Mars, the god of war, one side or other in the Ukraine war might collapse spectacularly. Or maybe support for despotic regimes held together by threat and corruption might evaporate as people take courage from other people’s example of fearless protest. Another thing to note with these conjunctions is their relationship to Russia. Over the last three, going back to 1917 (the Bolshevik Revolution), Saturn-Neptune conjunctions have marked turning points in its (and the USSR’s) history. Some fundamental shift in power is likely to take place in that country soon – but will it be away from Putin or will it bolster his hold on power even further?

As I write however, Greenland, a member of NATO, is being threatened with annexation by another NATO country – an unprecedented situation that, were it to come to pass, would inevitably lead to NATO’s collapse. NATO is a defensive military organisation underpinned by the USA whose treaty-signing chart has five planets plus the Moon’s North Node in Aries, though none in early degrees. It seems that NATO is heading to a crisis point in late February.

Yet crises can also catalyse positive restructuring. Ursula von der Leyen’s speech on the 20th of January outlined how European nations are responding by strengthening defensive co-operation, building thriving financial institutions together, and deepening scientific collaboration – demonstrating how Saturn-Neptune can manifest as protective structures built on shared values rather than dissolution.

How should we personally navigate the transition? It’s a time when we need to hold on to our ideals, but also to make them manifest concretely in our everyday lives. We also need to reflect deeply rather than acting impulsively, to heed the wisdom of spiritual (Neptune) elders (Saturn) to help us avoid pointlessly destructive conflicts, and to participate in strengthening those institutions that are based on compassion, care and hope.

By Graham Boston, astrologer.