2026 Planetary Ingress Dates: Every Sign Change, Station & Eclipse (UTC)
Every 2026 planetary ingress with exact dates and UTC times: all Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars sign changes, Jupiter into Leo, Uranus into Gemini, retrograde stations, and eclipse degrees.
This page is the reference table for 2026: every planetary ingress (sign change), every retrograde and direct station, and all four eclipses, with dates and times in UTC. All values are computed by Natal Echo's own ephemeris engine — the same calculation core that generates your birth chart and the live transits page — not copied from a third-party list. Precision notes are at the bottom, because honest tolerances matter more than false minutes.
Bookmark this page; the tables below are the year in one place.
If You Came for One Date
This page is intentionally a reference. It should answer the date fast, then send you to the page that explains why the date matters. Use the table below when you want the next layer.
| Date you checked | Read next |
|---|---|
| Uranus enters Gemini | Exact Uranus in Gemini timeline or Uranus by rising sign |
| Jupiter enters Leo | Jupiter enters Leo date ephemeris, exact UTC time, degree, and house guide |
| 2026 eclipses | 2026 eclipse dates ephemeris calendar with degrees and houses |
| Mercury retrograde | Mercury retrograde 2026 guide or the Mercury retrograde tool |
| Any transit in your own chart | Check current transits after generating your birth chart |
The Headline Events of 2026
| Date (UTC) | Event | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 13 | Saturn enters Aries | 0° Aries |
| Feb 17 | Annular solar eclipse | ~28° Aquarius |
| Feb 20 | Saturn conjunct Neptune (exact) | ~0°46' Aries |
| Mar 3 | Total lunar eclipse | 12°54' Virgo |
| Apr 25 | Uranus enters Gemini (until 2033) | 0° Gemini |
| Jun 30 | Jupiter enters Leo (until Jul 2027) | 0° Leo |
| Jul 26 | North Node enters Aquarius | 29°59' Aquarius (mean node, moving retrograde) |
| Aug 12 | Total solar eclipse | ~20° Leo |
| Aug 28 | Partial lunar eclipse | ~5° Pisces |
| Oct 3 – Nov 14 | Venus retrograde | 8° Scorpio back to 23° Libra |
Deep dives: Saturn–Neptune conjunction · Uranus in Gemini · Jupiter in Leo · 2026 eclipse calendar · August 12 total solar eclipse
Sun Ingresses 2026 (Zodiac Season Start Dates)
| Season begins | Date & time (UTC) |
|---|---|
| Aquarius | Jan 20, 01:36 |
| Pisces | Feb 18, 15:43 |
| Aries (equinox) | Mar 20, 14:37 |
| Taurus | Apr 20, 01:30 |
| Gemini | May 21, 00:28 |
| Cancer (solstice) | Jun 21, 08:16 |
| Leo | Jul 22, 19:04 |
| Virgo | Aug 23, 02:10 |
| Libra (equinox) | Sep 22, 23:57 |
| Scorpio | Oct 23, 09:30 |
| Sagittarius | Nov 22, 07:15 |
| Capricorn (solstice) | Dec 21, 20:42 |
Mercury Ingresses 2026
Mercury changes sign 13 times in 2026. All three retrograde periods stay within a single sign this year, so there are no retrograde re-entries.
| Mercury enters | Date & time (UTC) |
|---|---|
| Capricorn | Jan 1, 21:05 |
| Aquarius | Jan 20, 16:36 |
| Pisces | Feb 6, 22:43 |
| Aries | Apr 15, 03:15 |
| Taurus | May 3, 02:53 |
| Gemini | May 17, 10:22 |
| Cancer | Jun 1, 11:51 |
| Leo | Aug 9, 16:23 |
| Virgo | Aug 25, 11:00 |
| Libra | Sep 10, 16:16 |
| Scorpio | Sep 30, 11:39 |
| Sagittarius | Dec 6, 08:28 |
| Capricorn | Dec 25, 18:17 |
The long gaps (Feb–Apr, Jun–Aug, Oct–Dec) are the retrograde loops — see the stations table below, and the Mercury retrograde 2026 guide for house-by-house effects.
Venus Ingresses 2026
| Venus enters | Date & time (UTC) |
|---|---|
| Aquarius | Jan 17, 12:36 |
| Pisces | Feb 10, 10:11 |
| Aries | Mar 6, 10:38 |
| Taurus | Mar 30, 15:53 |
| Gemini | Apr 24, 03:56 |
| Cancer | May 19, 00:59 |
| Leo | Jun 13, 10:41 |
| Virgo | Jul 9, 17:17 |
| Libra | Aug 6, 19:08 |
| Scorpio | Sep 10, 08:03 |
| Libra (retrograde re-entry) | Oct 25, 09:10 |
| Scorpio (second entry) | Dec 4, 08:04 |
Venus's October retrograde carries it back out of Scorpio into Libra — anyone born Oct 25 to Dec 4 has a Libra Venus despite Scorpio season dates.
Mars Ingresses 2026
Mars does not retrograde in 2026 (its next retrograde begins in early 2027), so its ingress list is clean:
| Mars enters | Date & time (UTC) |
|---|---|
| Aquarius | Jan 23, 09:05 |
| Pisces | Mar 2, 14:05 |
| Aries | Apr 9, 19:26 |
| Taurus | May 18, 22:16 |
| Gemini | Jun 28, 19:20 |
| Cancer | Aug 11, 08:23 |
| Leo | Sep 28, 02:43 |
| Virgo | Nov 25, 23:38 |
Outer Planet Ingresses 2026
The slow movers make 2026 unusually loud — four outer-body sign changes in one year:
| Planet | Enters | Date (UTC) | Stays until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neptune | Aries | Jan 26 (~11:00) | 2038-39 (with retrograde dips) |
| Saturn | Aries | Feb 13 (~23:30) | 2028 |
| Uranus | Gemini | Apr 25 (~23:00) | 2033 |
| Jupiter | Leo | Jun 30 (~05:20) | Jul 2027 |
Retrograde & Direct Stations 2026
| Planet | Station | Date & time (UTC) | Degree |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uranus | direct | Feb 3, ~23:30 | 27.5° Taurus |
| Mercury | retrograde | Feb 26, 06:47 | 22.6° Pisces |
| Jupiter | direct | Mar 11, ~03:00 | 15.1° Cancer |
| Mercury | direct | Mar 20, 19:34 | 8.5° Pisces |
| Pluto | retrograde | May 6 | 5.5° Aquarius |
| Mercury | retrograde | Jun 29, 17:37 | 26.3° Cancer |
| Neptune | retrograde | Jul 7 | 4.4° Aries |
| Mercury | direct | Jul 23, 22:57 | 16.3° Cancer |
| Saturn | retrograde | Jul 26, ~18:40 | 14.7° Aries |
| Uranus | retrograde | Sep 10 | 5.7° Gemini |
| Venus | retrograde | Oct 3, 07:11 | 8.5° Scorpio |
| Pluto | direct | Oct 15 | 3.1° Aquarius |
| Mercury | retrograde | Oct 24, 07:15 | 21.0° Scorpio |
| Mercury | direct | Nov 13, 15:52 | 5.0° Scorpio |
| Saturn | direct | Dec 10, ~22:00 | 7.9° Aries |
| Neptune | direct | Dec 12 | 1.6° Aries |
| Jupiter | retrograde | Dec 13 | 27.0° Leo |
2026 Eclipses
| Date | Eclipse | Sign & degree |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 17 | Annular solar (new moon) | ~28° Aquarius |
| Mar 3 | Total lunar (full moon) | 12°54' Virgo |
| Aug 12 | Total solar (new moon) | ~20° Leo |
| Aug 28 | Partial lunar (full moon) | ~5° Pisces |
Full house-by-house breakdowns: 2026 eclipse calendar.
Methodology & Precision (Read This If You Compare Sources)
Every value above is computed directly by Natal Echo's ephemeris engine — bisection root-finding on ecliptic longitudes, the same code path that powers our birth chart calculator and live transits. Honest tolerances:
- Dates are exact for every event listed.
- Times for the Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Mars are reliable to within a few minutes.
- Times for Jupiter and Saturn are shown to the hour: near a sign boundary these planets move so slowly that even tiny differences between ephemeris models (nutation and time-correction handling) shift the stated minute by an hour or more. Different published ephemerides genuinely disagree at that scale.
- Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto events are best treated as date-level facts; we show approximate hours only where the model is confident.
If another source shows a slow-planet ingress a couple of hours away from ours, neither is "wrong" — you're seeing model tolerance at a boundary crossing. For astrology, nothing interpretive changes: the sign, degree, and date are what carry meaning.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a planetary ingress?
An ingress is the moment a planet crosses from one zodiac sign into the next — its ecliptic longitude passing a multiple of 30 degrees. Ingresses of slow planets (Saturn, Uranus, Neptune) mark multi-year chapter changes; fast-planet ingresses (Moon, Mercury, Venus) set the week-to-week texture.
What are the biggest ingresses of 2026?
Four outer-body sign changes in one year: Neptune into Aries (Jan 26), Saturn into Aries (Feb 13, meeting Neptune exactly on Feb 20), Uranus into Gemini (Apr 25, until 2033), and Jupiter into Leo (Jun 30, until July 2027). Years with this many slow-planet ingresses are rare — it's why astrologers keep calling 2026 a threshold year.
When is Mercury retrograde in 2026?
Three times: February 26 to March 20 in Pisces, June 29 to July 23 in Cancer, and October 24 to November 13 in Scorpio. All three loops stay inside a single sign. Exact station degrees are in the table above; effects by rising sign are in our Mercury retrograde 2026 guide.
Is Venus retrograde in 2026?
Yes — Venus stations retrograde on October 3 at 8.5 degrees Scorpio, backs into Libra on October 25, and stations direct on November 14 at about 23 degrees Libra. Venus retrogrades happen roughly every 18 months and traditionally mark a season for reviewing relationships and values rather than starting new ones.
How do I see where these ingresses land in my own chart?
The sign tells everyone the same story; the house it activates is personal. Generate your free birth chart, find which house holds the sign in question, and read the transit through that house's territory — or check the current transits page, which does this mapping live.
Track the Sky Against Your Chart
Dates tell you when the sky shifts; your chart tells you where it lands. Generate your free birth chart once, and every table above becomes personal.
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