Reclaiming our Sovereignty and Blazing into the New

The New Moon on February 17th at 7:00 a.m. kicks off the start of the year of the Fire Horse. This potent solar eclipse is the initial taste of the overall energies for the rest of 2026. Think: fire, forward momentum, heightened energy, freedom, fast movement, heart coherence, and new discoveries.

These energies are exemplified by the powerful Saturn + Neptune conjunction in Aries. Along with those dynamics, this New Moon partial solar eclipse highlights sacred feminine wisdom, healing trauma patterns, and awakening to our sacred life-force energy.

Partial Solar Eclipse in Aquarius Overview

At the time of the eclipse, the Sun and Moon are at 28° Aquarius. They are in an out-of-sign conjunction with the North Node, which is at 8° Pisces. Because they are several degrees away from the North Node, there will only be a partial solar eclipse, for the Sun and Moon have to be exactly conjunct the nodes for there to be a total eclipse.

Nevertheless, we are now fully in eclipse season, which is a potent portal of transformation, disruption, and spiritual evolution. The veil is thin, allowing us to traverse our inner world and the spirit world much more easily.

Now is a time for meditating, dreaming, and honoring our ancestors and the spirits of the land. During eclipse portals, it’s especially important to pay attention to synchronicities, insights, and triggers. These may be coming in more strongly at this time, and they can guide us toward what we are ready to heal, learn, or open up to on our soul path.

As with every New Moon, we are entering a new cycle; a new beginning. However, there is an extra layer of potency to this new beginning, for it aligns with the start of the Chinese Year of the Fire Horse—and—the historic and once-in-a-lifetime Saturn and Neptune conjunction in Aries.

Both of these aspects are pointing to this moment in time as not being like any other new beginning initiated by the New Moon. This particular start of a new cycle feels significant to our collective evolution; we are at the beginning of a new era of humanity. Individually, we can use this powerful time to set intentions not only for the lunar cycle but for what we truly wish to experience and embody in this lifetime.

We must take up the reins and point ourselves in the direction we wish to take. For with our confidence and clear intention, the fire horse beneath us will race us toward our wildest dreams. There is momentum; there is wind at our backs, for we are being greatly supported at this time to awaken to the infinite possibilities we have as divine co-creators of our reality.

With this first eclipse happening in Aquarius, we are invited to start this next cycle owning our inner truth. It is asking us to become clear on who we really are, without the masks of conditioning or societal expectations.

Rebel against the limitations placed on you by yourself and others. Through the inner revolution of breaking free from the “status quo,” you can find your authentic truth of who you are. It is from this place that we should dream our future into being. It is from the place of inner soul truth that we want to set our intentions.

Reflective Questions: 

• What insights, triggers, or synchronicities have I been noticing lately? What might they be trying to teach or show me? 

• What are my nighttime dreams showing me? 

• In what ways do I deny or ignore my inner truth? 

• What would it look like for me to embody more of my authentic self? What emotions come up when I feel into this version of myself? 

• What do I truly—in my heart of hearts—desire to experience or embody in this lifetime?

Owning our “I AM”

All of the themes I just described above are reinforced and supported by the Saturn and Neptune conjunction at 0 degrees Aries. This conjunction will become exact by degree and minute three days after the eclipse, on February 20th.

This is an extraordinary conjunction. While Saturn and Neptune come together about every 36 years, we have not seen them together at 0 degrees of Aries for thousands of years. Thanks to the research of astrologer Heather Ensworth, we know that it’s been about 6,000 years since the last time this conjunction took place.

0 degrees Aries is the world axis point, as it is the very start of the tropical zodiac. This means we’ll be feeling and witnessing this conjunction on a collective scale. This conjunction has significant implications for humanity as a whole, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out on the world stage.

Individually, this is about owning who we are and acting from a place of sovereignty. While the energy of the solar eclipse in Aquarius will help us realize our inner truth, Saturn + Neptune in Aries will help us own it: “THIS IS WHO I AM!”

Aries is a warrior sign that does not hesitate to go after what it wants. It moves quickly and somewhat brashly. It is the sign of the ram, and it is not afraid to traverse treacherous terrain or to break through any barriers along its path.

Saturn is the planet of barriers, so we may experience a rush of energy to move forward, and then be unexpectedly stopped in our tracks. Saturn helps us refine our goals and slow our pace so that we don’t rush through things, which may leave us burnt out and unable to complete our mission.

Neptune is the planet of dreaming, illusions, disillusions, creativity, collective consciousness, and spiritual knowing. Saturn is the planet of reality and what’s “real.” In this age of AI, we’re already seeing that it’s difficult to know what’s real and what’s not. That is a signature of this placement; however, Saturn will help us break through the illusion of Neptune, pointing for us each to reclaim our power and our own inner authority.

Together, in the first degree of the zodiac, they are building new spiritual structures. They are telling us that authority does not come from outside of us, but from within. We must become our own spiritual masters, in that we trust and listen to the guidance we are given from within. Our spiritual identities may be transforming, as we are being asked to strip away any false illusions and to build a steady foundation on the love and truth within.

They are also helping us to manifest our dreams. Neptune shows us the visions of our longings through our daydreams and fantasies. Saturn says, “This is how that dream becomes a reality.”

Conjunct Neptune and Saturn are the asteroids Khali (1° Aries) and Artemis (5° Aries). These goddesses are significant to what we’re seeing play out on the world stage. Khali teaches us how to embody sacred rage as a path for reclaiming our power and wielding the sword of truth. She cuts through illusion, for she is the ego-slayer.

Alongside her is Artemis, goddess and protector of women, children, wild animals, and the land. She is a wild woman who embodies freedom and innocence.

With these Sacred Feminine archetypes alongside Saturn and Neptune, they demand that the illusions of false power be stripped away, which continue to suppress and abuse the feminine. With their rage and fiery protectiveness, they invite the wild women within each of us to rise and reclaim our power and innocence.

Reflective Questions:

• Who am I when I strip away roles, expectations, and projections?

• In what ways have I given my authority away to teachers, systems, partners, or collective narratives?

• What practices help me return to my inner knowing?

• What barriers keep appearing in my path and what might they be teaching me?

• What dreams do I want to manifest? What are some practical steps I can take to make them a reality? 

• What does it feel like to connect to the wild women within? What does my inner wild woman wish to say to me?

Wisdom of the North Node

During the partial solar eclipse in Aquarius, Venus is perfectly conjunct the North Node at 8 degrees Pisces. This is about embodying the sacred feminine and embracing the wisdom of our bodies, emotions, intuition, and hearts.

The North Node reflects the ways we are meant to grow and evolve for our soul’s highest path. Collectively, this placement is about unconditional, unifying love. Love that brings us together and heals division; compassion and recognition that we are all united by the life force within us, which is love.

If we wish to move into greater alignment with each other and with our soul’s guidance, we must come into greater heart coherence. This means living from the heart. We can start to do this and embody this by attuning to the heart every day. Breathing into it. Centering our consciousness in our hearts. Loving our physical, beating heart and thanking it for giving us life each day.

The heart dictates our external vibration, which ripples out into our physical reality and psychic landscape. When we reclaim our energy and vibration (Aries), we have more peace and connection within, which then impacts our vibrational ripple into our environment. If we are in a state of peace, we emit peace.

This isn’t to say we shouldn’t ever feel fearful, angry, sad, or any of the more difficult emotional states. It is simply a reminder not to become stuck there. It is a reminder to come back to center, and this isn’t through suppressing our emotions, but through actually allowing them to move through us so they can release.

The sacred feminine is the expression of pure emotion. She teaches us how to be one with our emotional states and to move like water through them. To dance with them and to allow them to teach us, heal us, and awaken us to the truth within. We honor the feminine within by loving and embracing our emotions and allowing them to move through us in a safe and conscious way.

Along with the wisdom of the sacred feminine, the North and South Nodes are also asking us to heal and release trauma patterns. Trine to the South Node and sextile to the North Node + Venus is the asteroid Ixion.

This Kuiper Belt object represents trauma patterns, and specifically the trauma triangle: perpetrator, rescuer, and victim. We can see this pattern playing out on the world stage quite clearly, but it is also something each of us carries.

This configuration points to healing and releasing the trauma pattern described above. To do so, we have to recognize where this pattern shows up in our lives and the roles we play in it. Venus points to love and heart coherence as the healing balm to trauma patterns, as well as listening to our bodies and releasing emotions. In doing so, we reclaim our power and disengage from the role of perpetrator, victim, or rescuer.

If you’re interested in learning more about the trauma triangle, releasing this pattern, and the astrological significance of Ixion, I recommend watching this video by astrologer Heather Ensworth, who introduced me to this asteroid and its meaning.

Reflective Questions:

• How can I deepen my relationship with my inner feminine? In what ways can I honor and receive her wisdom? 

• What practices help me move and release emotions in a safe and conscious way? 

• What does “coming back to center” mean to me? Where is it located in my body? How does it feel to be centered? 

• In what ways have I played the perpetrator, victim, or rescuer in my life? What does healing this pattern look like for me?

Awakening our Sacred Life Force

During this New Moon Solar Eclipse in Aquarius, there is an electrically charged T-square. The Sun and Moon, conjunct Mars, Vesta, and Chariklo, are opposing Mary Magdalene. They are all squaring Uranus and Sedna.

Mars conjunct Vesta is about action aligned with our inner devotion. Vesta represents our inner sacred flame and what we dedicate our lives to. The Mary Magdalene opposition again points to heart coherence. She reminds us of our innate sacredness, that our life force is Divine. She teaches us how to embody the Divine within us.

With the Uranus + Sedna square, there is friction and challenge involved. Uranus is the planet of kundalini—life force—awakening. Sedna represents full-body transformation.

Altogether, I believe this dynamic force is pointing to awakening and honoring our sacred life force within. This life force is directly related to our inner power, sovereignty, and truth. The more awake, alive, and attuned we are to the life force within, the more sovereign and authentic we become. Life force is another way of saying chi, prana, higher self, soul self, or authentic self. However, it is intimately connected with this sense of vitality, sexuality, passion, and aliveness.

Uranus is helping to shake us awake, and the friction or tension might come from there being resistance, wounds, or inner blocks toward our life-force energy or sexuality. With Uranus in Taurus, we may see this as physical symptoms or a feeling of dullness or stagnation in the body.

Mary Magdalene and Chariklo are healing energies, so they are supporting the release and healing of the blocks keeping us from feeling and embracing our life-force energy.

This comes back to the energy of the fire horse as well, for it all starts from within. We must awaken the archetype of the fire horse within our bodies and psyches. Wild woman energy. Inner fire blazing energy. Alive, awake, buzzing with life energy! If we wish to truly own who we are and our sovereignty, there needs to be some heat and some passion involved.

Awaken the life force in your cells. Imagine them all filled with light and vibrating in harmony and coherence. You are a Divine Being. You are an immortal soul experiencing a mortal body. You are eternity itself. Awaken! Own it! Live it!

Reflective Questions: 

• What am I devoted to? 

• What does “inner flame” mean to me and how can I best tend this flame? 

• What is my relationship to my own life-force energy? 

• What practices help me awaken and move my life-force energy? 

• Where in my life do I feel I’m being “shaken up?” What might this experience be teaching me?

Practice Ideas

Along with journaling and setting your intentions for the New Moon, the following practice ideas will help you embody and experientially work with this potent eclipse energy.

Life Force Activation: Bring your awareness to your first and second chakra by imagining the energy starting to swirl and awaken there. Use breath, sound, visualization, and most importantly, movement, to activate the energy. Allow it to start rising and moving through your body. The focus is on awakening, cleansing, and rejuvenating your life force energy. Once your energy feels activated, imagine each of your cells awakening. Perhaps you envision each of them starting to shine brighter. Use your focus and intention for your cells to awaken, heal, and come into greater coherence with each other. Notice any sensations in your body, and give yourself full freedom to move, make noise, and just be weird!

Heart Awareness: This practice supports not only this New Moon, but can also be used as a daily practice to strengthen your heart coherence. Start by settling your energy by focusing on your breath. Once you feel relaxed and grounded, bring your attention to your heart. You can place your hand over your heart and start to breathe deeply into this space. Imagine your heart opening and softening with each inhale. Notice if your energy shifts when you bring your consciousness fully to your heart. Imagine your heart filling with love, and that love is pumping through your entire body. You are immersed in love. Now, bring your awareness to the toroidal field emanating from your heart and extending out from you. You can practice sharpening your awareness of your heart perceptions by feeling into the living beings around you, whether it's plants or animals inside your house, or a tree you pass by on a walk. Notice the sensations, connection, and insights you perceive.

Fire Horse Activation: Start by settling your energy and taking a few deep breaths. Your intention is to connect with and learn the wisdom of the fire horse. Once you feel relaxed and grounded, imagine yourself walking on the beach with the waves crashing next to you. As you walk, you come upon a horse filled with light. This is the fire horse, and it is a wild and free-spirited being. You must approach it with respect and caution. As you slowly approach the horse, introduce yourself, and allow it to approach you. Connect with the horse intuitively. From here, allow the journey to unfold naturally. Perhaps you have a question you would like to ask the horse, or you would like to know how to embody the energy of the fire horse within. Allow the fire horse to share its wisdom.

Along with these practice ideas, I encourage you to find moments of stillness during your day. Perhaps a few times a day, you close your eyes and take a few deep breaths, centering yourself in your heart. These are intense times we are living in, and it is easy to get caught in the psychic storm swirling around us. The more we can re-center and re-ground ourselves, the more internally stable we’ll feel as we navigate our day.

May this year of the fire horse carry you to new horizons where your dreams become manifest, and the love within your heart is reflected in all that you see. Connect with your Divine essence within, your potent life-force energy, and allow it to guide you on your highest path forward.

With love,

Rhianna Quanstrom
Read my other works here on Substack!

- - -

Want to make the most of eclipse season? Check out these supportive on-demand offerings...

• Portal: A Day-Retreat (on-demand day retreat)

• Yin Yoga: Eclipse Edition (on-demand class)

• 013 • Eclipses, oh my! (podcast episode)