5 Things to Know About the Saturn/Neptune Conjunction

We don’t always recognize a new beginning in the moment. Sometimes the inception point or turning point is apparent only when we look back with the perspective of time and distance.

Other moments are apparent as they unfold. You know things are changing. You see it and feel it in real time.

We are collectively living through a cultural turning point that falls into the latter category. It’s hard to ignore what’s happening — culturally, politically, technologically.

A reordering of the geo-political structure. The increasing prevalence of artificial intelligence in everything. A dismantling of the structures that have been in place for years.

All of this tracks to the Saturn/Neptune conjunction, which, after teasing us by coming close over the past year, finally goes exact on February 20, 2026 (11:53 AM ET), at 0º45’ Aries.

The Saturn/Neptune conjunction marks the start of a new cycle between these two planets. Although this day is when the planets meet at the exact same point in the sky, the energy and significance of this conjunction is not just a one day effect.

These two planets move slowly. They’ve been building toward this for years, as both traveled through Pisces. In 2025, they spent several months within 1 degree of each other. This marks the culmination of the slow tease — the moment when they finally lock in at the same degree of the zodiac at the same time. And that degree — 0º of Aries — carries its own significance.

This is one of the most significant planetary aspects of 2026, if not the decade. If you’ve been reading or hearing about this and wondering why it’s such a big deal, I’ve got you covered.

Here’s a brief overview of why this is so big and what to look for both globally and personally.

5 Things to Know About the Saturn/Neptune Conjunction

(1) Why the Saturn/Neptune Conjunction is So Big

The short answer: these are two slow moving planets that don’t meet up often.

Saturn and Neptune have a 36–37 year cycle.

Their conjunctions — and the events that occur surrounding them — are generation-defining moments.

The last time these planets came together was in 1989 in Capricorn. The time before that was 1952–1952 in Libra. In both of those times, the planets actually had 3 distinct conjunctions because of their retrograde cycles.

This time, we get only one exact hit. And that hit comes at 0º45’ of Aries.

This is the inception point of the zodiac. When the Sun reaches 0º Aries every year it marks the Spring Equinox point, the beginning of the zodiacal year.

In ancient times, astrologers looked at the Aries ingress chart to predict the fate of kings and governments.

A conjunction represents the beginning of a new cycle between the planets, like a new moon. To have a new beginning at the inception point of the zodiac means we are in for a major rebirth, both collectively and personally.

This is the place represented by the Fool card in Tarot. We are on the precipice of major change.

(2) The Significations of Saturn/Neptune

In some ways, Saturn and Neptune represent diametric opposites.

Saturn is the planet of structure, boundaries, systems, governments, authority, and tradition. It represents what is concrete, tangible. In the body, it’s the bones — the structural integrity — and the skin, the boundary that holds us together. Saturn represents what is real. It also represents maturity, and our relationship with time.

Neptune is the planet of dissolution, illusion, deception, spirituality, dreams, transcendence, and the unseen realms. It blends things, washes things away, disintegrates, dissolves.

One astrologer described Neptune as the watercolor painting: the pigment disperses in unpredictable ways. There’s no control over where it goes and how it spreads. Saturn, on the other hand, represents control and concreteness. The hard boundary.

(3) What Happens When Saturn and Neptune Merge?

Structures dismantle, regimes topple, borders are redefined, and a new world order based on new dreams takes shape. We also experience breakthroughs in technology.

The last time these planets came together, in 1989, we saw the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe, and the impending end of the Cold War. This also marked the inception of the World Wide Web.

The conjunction in 1952–53 was the era of McCarthyism, reflecting a time of fear, propaganda, and a blurry line between truth and fiction. It also marked the end of the Stalinist era in the Soviet Union.

(4) What to Look For With the Saturn/Neptune Conjunction

You don’t need to look far to see how current events are reflecting these themes on the collective level.

In the past couple of years, advancements in AI have increasingly blurred the line between what is real (Saturn) and what is illusion (Neptune). Manipulated photos and videos and the rise of deep fakes make it hard to trust what’s real and what’s fake.

Systems and structures that have lost meaning and function will be dismantled so that we can build new systems that support a new collective dream.

(5) How to Work With the Saturn/Neptune Conjunction

As the planets meet at 0º of Aries, it marks a moment of rebirth. This is a time for a radical reinvention and re imagination of your future — at least in some part of your life.

Dreams and visions (Neptune) that felt unclear in the murky waters of Pisces, start taking shape as we move into the fire of Aries.

This moment calls on us to tear down the structures of the dreams that no longer fit who we are, and build new structures that support new dreams.

Plant seeds for a new way of being and relating in the world, and create the structures and systems that will support those dreams.