Cosmic Weather Almanac.
A 12-month cosmic-weather reference for 2026 — eclipses, retrograde stations, solar terms, lunar phases, and Qi Men Dun Jia Yuan transitions. Cross-validated against NASA JPL ephemeris and classical Chinese metaphysical sources. Free, CC-BY-4.0 licensed.
What this almanac covers
Most astrology sites publish year-ahead forecasts in a single tradition. This almanac unifies Western astrology (planetary positions, aspects, retrograde stations, eclipses), Chinese metaphysics (24 solar terms, sexagenary cycle, Ba Zi year-element), and Qi Men Dun Jia (Yuan transitions, Ju number rotations). The synthesis is the value: when a Western retrograde station coincides with a solar term boundary or a QMDJ Yuan transition, the almanac flags it explicitly. You read the year as a single weather system rather than three separate forecasts.
Every astronomical claim is computed against the project's NASA JPL-grade engines (astronomy-engine) — the same engines that drive the rest of K A X A N T A. Eclipse times are accurate to ±2 minutes UTC. Retrograde stations are accurate to within an arcminute. The QMDJ Yuan table is reproducible from the engine source via npx tsx server/scripts/qmdj-yuan-table-2026.ts.
Eclipses 2026
Four eclipses define the 2026 calendar — the February-March pair (Aquarius solar → Virgo lunar) and the August pair (Leo solar → Pisces lunar). Each eclipse window has an 18-month implementation tail; whatever was seeded in February-March returns its outcomes in August-September, and vice versa.
| Date | Type | Sign | Peak (UTC) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-17 | Annular Solar | 28°50' Aquarius | 12:13 | Coincides with Lunar New Year; "ring of fire" |
| 2026-03-03 | Total Lunar | 12°54' Virgo | 11:34 | Totality 11:04–12:03 UTC; visible Asia, Pacific, Americas |
| 2026-08-12 | Total Solar | 20°02' Leo | 17:45 | Path: Spain, Iceland, Greenland, NE Siberia; max totality 2m 18s |
| 2026-08-28 | Partial Lunar | 4°51' Pisces | 04:12 | Closes the Aug 12 / Aug 28 eclipse pair |
Retrograde stations 2026
Mars does not retrograde at all in 2026 — the next Mars retrograde is January 10 → April 1, 2027 in Virgo / Leo. Mercury retrogrades three times (Pisces, Cancer, Scorpio). Notably: Mercury's October-November retrograde stays entirely within Scorpio; it does not back-pedal into Libra as several published 2026 forecasts incorrectly claim. Same for Mercury's June-July retrograde — entirely within Cancer, no Gemini crossing.
- Mercury: Feb 26 → Mar 20 — in Pisces (22°34' → 8°29')
- Mercury: Jun 29 → Jul 23 — in Cancer (26°15' → 16°19')
- Mercury: Oct 24 → Nov 13 — in Scorpio (20°59' → 5°02')
- Venus: Oct 3 → Nov 14 — 8°29' Scorpio → 22°52' Libra
- Jupiter: Mar 11 (direct) · Dec 13 (Rx) — direct 15°05' Cancer; Rx station 27°01' Leo
- Saturn: Jul 26 → Dec 10 — in Aries (14°45' → 7°56')
- Uranus: Sep 10 → Feb 8, 2027 — in Gemini (5°42' → 1°41')
- Neptune: Jul 7 → Dec 12 — in Aries (4°25' → 1°37')
- Pluto: May 6 → Oct 16 — in Aquarius (5°31' → 3°04')
Qi Men Dun Jia Yuan transitions 2026
QMDJ uses three Yuans (Upper / Middle / Lower) cycling on a fixed 60-day sexagenary schedule, each lasting 20 days. 2026 starts in Upper Yuan (sexagenary day 11 = 乙亥 Yǐhài on January 1). Practitioners refresh their Ju lookup at every Yuan transition AND every solar term. The 18 Yuan transitions of 2026:
| Date | Transition |
|---|---|
| 2026-01-10 | Upper → Middle |
| 2026-01-30 | Middle → Lower |
| 2026-02-19 | Lower → Upper |
| 2026-03-11 | Upper → Middle |
| 2026-03-31 | Middle → Lower |
| 2026-04-20 | Lower → Upper |
| 2026-05-10 | Upper → Middle |
| 2026-05-30 | Middle → Lower |
| 2026-06-19 | Lower → Upper |
| 2026-07-09 | Upper → Middle |
| 2026-07-29 | Middle → Lower |
| 2026-08-18 | Lower → Upper |
| 2026-09-07 | Upper → Middle |
| 2026-09-27 | Middle → Lower |
| 2026-10-17 | Lower → Upper |
| 2026-11-06 | Upper → Middle |
| 2026-11-26 | Middle → Lower |
| 2026-12-16 | Lower → Upper |
The year, month by month
January. The year opens at a pivot — Saturn approaches Aries. Mars retrograde residue dissolves; year-of-Fire-Horse warm-up.
February. The Saturn-Neptune conjunction at 0° Aries. Most consequential month for outer-planet astrology since 1989; Lunar New Year + first eclipse on Feb 17.
March. Eclipse climax + equinox. Total Lunar Eclipse Mar 3 in Virgo; Mercury direct + equinox compress into Mar 20.
April. Settling into Aries season. First "clean" month — no eclipses, no retrogrades. Initiative favoured.
May. Two full moons + Pluto reverses. Pluto stations retrograde May 6 in Aquarius — five-month inward review begins.
June. Solstice + mid-year reset. Cancer season opens; Mercury stations Rx Jun 29 in Cancer — emotional review window.
July. Heat, reflection, three retrogrades. Triple-Rx month: Mercury, Neptune, Saturn all retrograde or stationing.
August. Eclipse season returns. Total Solar Eclipse Aug 12 in Leo — most dramatic eclipse of the year. Path crosses Spain.
September. Equinox + Uranus reverses. Uranus stations Rx Sep 10 in Gemini — five-month internal-innovation phase.
October. Two retrogrades, one reset. Venus + Mercury both retrograde in Scorpio; year's deepest review window.
November. Two direct stations + winter begins. Mercury + Venus station direct Nov 13–14 — "fog finally lifts" weekend.
December. Solstice + year-end synthesis. Three outer-planet stations Dec 10–13 cluster; Dong Zhi solstice Dec 22.
Get the full PDF
The almanac ships as a designed 30-page PDF (and EPUB) with month-by-month spreads, personal-application notes, and ritual recommendations for solar terms and eclipse windows. Drop your email below to be notified when the PDF is published — and to receive the monthly Cosmic Weather email through 2026.
Methodology + sources
Astronomical data computed from astronomy-engine (NASA JPL ephemeris). Eclipse times verified against timeanddate.com and NASA Eclipse Web Site. Chinese solar terms computed from the same astronomical Sun longitude. QMDJ Yuan transitions computed from the project's in-engine sexagenary cycle. Astrological interpretations cross-referenced against Cafe Astrology, Astro-Seek, and primary classical sources (Holden, Hand). QMDJ technical claims cross-referenced against Joey Yap's The Art of Date Selection.
Calculate your personal blueprint with the free K A X A N T A app to see how each 2026 transit lands on your natal chart. Or read the foundational essays: Learn Hub · What is a nine-system birth chart?