Welcome back to The Essential Astro Cast.

I am your host, Veronica Perretti,
and this is the podcast you listen

to when you want to know what's going
on up in the heavens, so that you can

dictate your fate down here on Earth.

Okay, so I don't know about you, but
I am feeling Mercury retrograde, so

it is not here yet, but Mercury, we
are in his pre retrograde shadow.

He will retrograde on Tuesday,
February 24th before we get there.

There's so much happening this week.

So let me preface this by
saying that this is one of the

most monumental weeks of 2026.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, exhausted,
not knowing which direction to go, not

feeling like you can handle one more
thing, being fed up to here saying, I

just don't, I can't pay attention anymore.

Or the opposite, maybe you're
feeling so lit up, so engaged, so.

Focused in that you can't even
sleep because you're so on point.

Those are two ways that
Eclipse energy can manifest.

It can make us feel so exhilarated
that we can't even sleep.

Or it can just zap us entirely to
the point that we are so exhausted.

So either of those is possible.

At this moment, do not feel bad if
you are one or the other, because this

energy is really intense right now.

So I am recording this
on February 17th, 2026.

I have been like.

Just dealing with this little
postnasal drip thing that I can't kick.

I finally got antibiotics for it.

My voice keeps going in and out.

I haven't had my normal
voice in really like a month.

And it's funny because it had me
thinking about the last time we had

eclipses at this point in the sky
because the last time we had eclipses.

Really at this point in the sky
where we had eclipses at Leo and

Aquarius, I was dealing with chronic
sinusitis and I was dealing with

some weird stuff with my voice.

So anyway, that is just a little snippet
to share with you because once you start

to study astrology and get, more into
following it and following it in relation

to your own chart and your own life.

You start to pick up patterns and
then what is really helpful is you can

predict the patterns a little bit better.

Right?

Or at least if you know that
that's a pattern you can try to

guard against it as best you can.

The other thing that's interesting
about this eclipse that we're having

is that the last time we had eclipses.

In this area of the Zodiac was
in 20 17, 20 18, and that was

when I started reading charts.

So I actually went to get a tarot
card reading on February 15th, 2018

when we had a, uh, solar eclipse very
close to the same degree of this solar

eclipse that we're experiencing today.

And that tarot card reader
said, when you start reading.

Charts for people your
whole life will open up.

And she was right.

So here I am.

That was the moment I decided to
start reading charts for people

and things opened up from there.

So.

Never underestimate an eclipse, never
underestimate the power of an eclipse,

and this is a very powerful one.

So today, February 17th, as I
record this, we had an eclipse

this morning, a new moon, solar
eclipse at 28 degrees Aquarius.

To remind you, an eclipse is a new moon or
a full moon that occurs within a certain

number of degrees of the nodes of fate.

So while the north node
is still in Pisces.

It is close enough to that New
Moon at 28 degrees Aquarius,

that this is a solar eclipse.

So while it may not be visible where
you are, we still feel eclipses.

This one is particularly
potent because it's at the pen,

ultimate degree of Aquarius.

Aquarius is a sign that is noted
for being interested in the future.

It is rational, it is intellectual, it
is step back and take in the broad view.

One of my favorite metaphors for
Aquarius is being in the airplane.

Up in the sky, you see the landmass below.

You can't tell the difference between
where one state ends and another begins.

You don't see where one country
ends and another begins.

There are no boundaries.

When it comes to Aquarius, we are
just one humanity, and that is why

Aquarius is often associated with both
the rebel and the social activist.

So think about Saturn.

Saturn rules, Capricorn and Capricorn
is associated with tradition, with

the hierarchy, with the patriarchy.

Any sort of system where
there are rules to.

Abide by, and then we have the zodiac
goes to Aquarius after Capricorn.

And interestingly enough, Saturn is
the original ruler of Aquarius as well.

So in Capricorn Saturn.

Upholds the traditions.

Once you've learned the tradition,
you can break the tradition.

So Saturn and Aquarius is about building
new traditions, building new structures,

and we are in a moment where we are
crossing this threshold into a new

era where we are dissolving the old
structures and creating new structures,

or hope to create new structures.

But we're still in the breakdown.

We went through the year of the water
snake, today is the lunar new year.

We move into the year of the fire horse.

Now, I am not an expert in eastern
astrology, Chinese astrology,

lunar years, all of that.

So I don't wanna speak on it too much,
but doing just the very preliminary.

You know, research about this that
I'm sure you can do as well from

the help of Google and Instagram.

We know that the fire horse is
about taking off, taking action

galloping into the future.

It is.

Fire.

Fire is about spirit.

Fire is passion.

Same thing in astrology.

The fire signs are the signs associated
with our spirit, with our passion.

So we know that this is a year
that things are going to probably

burn bright and burn down.

We know that we are going to.

Be offering many things
to the sacred fire.

So in the yogic tradition there is a
word s suha and you often say S suha

at the end of a blessing because you're
offering it up to the sacred fire.

And this is a time where we
are certainly offering up a lot

of things to the sacred fire.

There are a lot of things being
burned down and then there

are a lot of things that are.

Being constructed from that ash.

A lot of transformations happening.

A lot of Phoenix is rising from the ashes.

So as we move through this eclipse
and we move into the year of the

fire horse, we have to be careful
not to burn out because it will be

very easy to keep charging forward.

One of the things that is so.

Divinely brilliant about this moment
in time is that while we have this

year of the fire horse taking off
while we have this eclipse season,

eclipses often are a time of.

Feeling like time gets
compressed or expanded.

Things speed up without our pushing
things slow down without our impetus.

So oftentimes eclipse season, you'll
hear astrologers say, no manifestation

rituals, no intention setting.

It's a time for sitting
back and listening.

And that is indeed true, even more
so this time because we have Mercury

about to retrograde next week.

And we all know that Mercury
retrograde is a time for listening,

for collecting information.

So it's a little bit of a cruel
joke that we finally get out of

the year of the water snake, which
was all about shedding, letting go.

Purging and we get into the year of the
fire horse, and yet again, we're stuck

with this watery energy of reflection.

Taking a moment to look back, taking a
moment to heal what has already happened

so that you can move forward unencumbered.

And we are in that space
because of eclipses and because

of the Mercury retrograde.

So.

Things are happening.

Certainly eclipses are
bringing up a lot of things.

We are seeing that.

In the collective and we're seeing
that in our own personal lives.

A lot of things are being pulled
up to be healed, to be dealt with.

We do have some Chiron activity this
week and we had the sun sex talent

Chiron last week and we have Mars
sex talent, Chiron later this week.

So certainly there is lots of
stuff coming up, lots of stuff that

might be triggering us and making
us do some deep healing work.

Sometimes doing that deep
healing work can zap us.

So if you are feeling exhausted,
give yourself grace and take a rest.

If you're feeling really overactivated,
give yourself grace and maybe

take a step away from the phone.

Take a step away from the news.

Trust me, I'm all about being informed.

But we really have to be mindful of
our nervous system, partially because

this eclipse isn't a square to Uranus.

So as we have this eclipse, a 28 degrees
Aquarius, um, the sun and the moon meeting

at that point, it is squaring Uranus.

Uranus is in late Taurus, and
we spoke about this last week.

Uranus is, is on algo the
thick star of beheadings.

Representative of Medusa.

Remember Medusa was a woman who was
violated and then she was punished,

and yet her head still held the
power to turn people to stone.

So we have this.

Mythology of Medusa.

We have Uranus, the change maker.

We have Uranus, the one who breaks
things down to break through to freedom.

That is the purpose of Uranus.

He teaches us how to break
things down so that we can break

through and feel liberation.

He is sitting on that fixed star of algo.

And we are seeing the
metaphorical beheadings.

We're seeing a lot of people in
powerful positions being taken

down because of the Jeffrey files.

We're seeing maybe not the people
that we're hoping to see, but it is

happening, particularly in Europe, is
happening a lot and it is happening

here in terms of a lot of corporations.

We're seeing people finally
being held accountable.

We're seeing that a lot of this.

Stuff that was happening in the darkness
is being brought into the light.

Of course, it's really challenging
and triggering and disgusting and

upsetting for those of us to witness it.

But it is also this breakdown, this
opening up of things that were sealed

this, this breaking apart of some of this
stuff that was held under lock and key.

It's also.

A force of healing and liberation for
the victims, the survivors, really.

So we are all having our own
experience of what's going on in

the collective, and then we're all
having our own individual experience.

Right.

So personally, we are preparing to.

Teach my son how to use the potty,
and that is, you know, a certain

liberation in and of itself, right?

It's a separation for me.

It gives him more autonomy
from mama, but it's also an

experience of liberation for him.

So we're all experiencing this in
our charts in different ways, whether

it's the smallest little thing, like
learning a very important life skill.

Or whether it's something major like
what's going on for you in your career

or in your relationship, but there's
something that is offering us an

opportunity to break something down
so that we can break through to that

experience of liberation thanks to Uranus.

And Uranus isn't a square to
that new moon, solar eclipse

that we are experiencing today.

That new Moon, solar eclipse, which is
the beginning of the Lunar New Year,

and, also really, this is so interesting.

I think that we are also moving
into this time of Ramadan and lent

so many different religious beliefs
and rituals are taking place at the

same time this week, which just.

Really accentuates and exaggerates this
feeling of crossing a threshold that

we all are experiencing at this moment.

One of the things I have been thinking
about is how we are indeed already.

Experiencing a revolution.

We expected that with Saturn and Neptune
joining together at Zero Degrees Aries,

which will be happening on the 20th.

But what I also really.

Find interesting is that we keep seeing
women at the forefront of this revolution.

Whether that is the survivors from
the Jeffrey files or it's the moms

in Minneapolis that are on the.

Front lines pulling together the
organizing to help take care of

their neighbors while they're
under the threat of armed guards

in the streets, kidnapping people.

Whether that is women that are.

Doing the work, leading
the charge in Congress.

Some of the most outspoken people
are young women that are standing

up and saying, this is not right.

We have to do our jobs,
we have to do something.

We are seeing that women are on the
front lines of the revolution, so for.

Funnily enough, last night I said
to my husband, I'm so exhausted.

I've been going to bed at nine
30, which is early for May, and

I've just been so exhausted.

I'm like, I don't know
if it's the eclipse.

I dunno if it's Mercury retrograde.

I dunno if it's just my life, but I am
so exhausted the past few days, like.

Down deep in my bones, exhausted.

And my astrologer friend, Catherine
Urban, I wrote her, we have a little

group text with another astrology friend
of ours, and I said, I'm so exhausted.

I don't know if it's eclipse season.

What is it?

Just feel so zapped.

And she said, the universe wants
you rested for the revolution.

And my husband said, there's
not gonna be a revolution.

And I just thought that was so funny
because I was like, yep, the revolution

is here and it's being led by women.

So if you are feeling exhausted, maybe
take my friend Catherine's advice and just

think I'm resting up for the revolution.

Because this week it's the moms, or last
week it was the moms of Minneapolis.

This week it might be the survivors.

And next week it might be your me.

That is called into action.

So take a deep breath, feel your feet.

We are all here.

We are all experiencing the astrology
at the same moment, even if we are

having many different experiences of it.

So after we have the eclipse on Tuesday
as I'm recording, we will have the

Pisces season beginning on Wednesday
because this eclipse is occurring at

the very, very last degrees of Aquarius.

So on, uh, the 18th Wednesday, we
have the sun entering the sign of

Pisces, which is the last sign of the
zoia year because the sun entering

Aries around March 21st every year.

That is always the beginning
of the zoia year when the sun

comes to zero degrees Aries.

So that's what we call Aries points.

The, it's the start of something.

It's the very beginning.

So what's really
interesting is that we have.

The sun entering Pisces.

We have Mercury retrograde in Pisces.

We still technically have that
north node in Pisces, even though

this eclipse is an Aquarius.

So as I always say, astrology
is not black and white.

It's shades of gray.

We have certain cycles ending
on certain cycles beginning, and

there's always gonna be an overlap.

They're always going to bleed
into one another on Friday.

This is one of the most monumental.

Moments of the year, we have
Saturn joining with Neptune.

So last week, because of my stuff with
my voice, you did not hear from me, but

we had Saturn enter Aries last week.

So back on January 26th, we had
Neptune move into Aries for good

and we finished Neptune Story and
Pisces, which started back in 2011.

Last week, on Friday the
13th, we had Saturn enter.

Aries and say goodbye
to Pisces for 29 years.

So your your Saturn and
Pisces story, which began.

Back in 2023 is now over.

So we've been doing a lot of
reviewing and looking back in

the Pisces part of our chart.

And that's not quite done yet because
we are entering Sun and Pisces

season of course, but we will have
Mercury retrograde there as well.

So we have done a lot of shedding in the
Pisces part of our chart, and we're gonna

get one last look at it with Mercury.

And of course with the sun coming through.

It's interesting because Zero Aries is
the, the reset button of the zodiac.

It's like going back to
zero, starting over again.

Fresh page in your journal.

Kind of that January 1st feeling
for those of us that are used to

living in this modern society.

So having Saturn and Neptune join
together at Zero Degrees Aries,

which is happening on Friday.

It's a big deal.

Now, I've talked about it a lot
already this year and I talked about

it a lot in my year ahead workshop.

So if you had did not get a chance
to come to that, you can still

buy the recording on my website.

You can go to veronica preti.com/events

and you can buy the replay of
that year ahead workshop, which I

think is really valuable because
a lot of the things I predicted

are already coming into fruition.

So I.

Had my finger on the pulse of something.

But all of that to say there's
a lot of big things happening

this year, not just this.

So I go into everything and
it's always nice to have that.

And then you also get the download of the
slides and then you can quickly reference

the, the slides deck throughout the year.

I referenced the slide deck myself when
I moved through the year because I'm

like, wait, what did I say about that?

Because I do all the research for
the presentation and then of course

I forget a lot of it, so I use
it as a reference tool as well.

The 20th, we have that Saturn,
Neptune conjunction at Zero Aries.

Why this is a big deal.

First of all, it happens
every 35 ish years.

It has not happened since 1989.

This is transformational.

Once or a few times in a lifetime
astrology, just like in 2020 when

Saturn and Pluto got together, which
was an every 35, 36 ish year thing.

Similar Saturn, Neptune,
similar, you know, we don't

get these conjunctions often.

We are closing out a story that began in
1989, and so you can think back and think.

That was the Berlin Wall coming
down, which is a perfect example of

this conjunction because Saturn is
structures, its walls, its boundaries.

And Neptune is the dissolving of things.

Neptune is that feeling
that it, the vast ocean.

There's no beginning and there's no end.

It cannot be tamed, it
cannot be contained.

And Neptune is our connection to spirit
and our dreams and our fantasies.

And one of my favorite astrologers, Rick
Levine, he says, neptune is reality and

Saturn is the belief that there ever was
one, because oftentimes we say that Saturn

is reality and Neptune is the fantasy.

So I love how he turns these two
planets on their head in terms of that.

So I'll let you chew on that on your own.

But I will say that Saturn likes to keep
the boundary to keep the restriction.

It likes to, keep us, uh, within
a certain structure or system,

and systems are really helpful.

You know, if you didn't have a
system to learn astrology, it would

be impossible to learn, right?

The house system and astrology
is completely made up, but it

helps us organize our thoughts.

The only thing that's real according to
Reck Levine are the angles in the planet.

So hypothetically we could
just not have house systems.

But of course, people over time
have found them useful and helpful

to create a structure within which
one can start to understand and

make meaning of the astrology.

So everything has a system, you
know, if you go to learn a new

language or you go to a ballet class.

They're going to have a system, they're
gonna have a structure, and a lot of

those systems and structures have been in
place for many, many, many, many years.

And that person met it, learned it from
their teacher, who learned it from their

teacher, and that lineage goes way back.

And that's why.

I love this idea of Saturn ruling.

It's not an idea, it's the truth.

Saturn rules both Capricorn and
Aquarius, but I love the idea of Saturn

in Capricorn forces us to learn the
structure and the tradition, but Saturn

in Aquarius free us to break it and
create a new structure or tradition.

So when I first started learning how
to teach yoga, I taught whatever the.

The general structure skeleton of a
class was, and then I started to get

more comfortable being a little bit
more creative and changing it up.

And then eventually at some point
you find your own style and you don't

even, you ever check back on that
outline or structure that you once

you know, used like it was your.

Like your Bible, you know something, I
don't want to use the word Bible, but

something that really supported you is
no longer important because you've moved

beyond it and you've embodied it, and
now you can create your own structure.

So with that, we are in that process.

With Pluto and Aquarius, with this Eclipse
and Aquarius, we're in an Aquarian era.

Somebody recently asked
in cosmic conversation.

If we are in the Aquarion age,
ages are a totally different thing.

There are thousands of years long.

We are not in the Aquarion age, but
we are certainly in an Aquarian era.

So we are.

Dissolving the old boundaries and
creating new ones, and that is the

Saturn Neptune conjunction on Friday.

That is the essence of it.

We are breaking things down.

We are seeing them dissolve,
we're seeing them disappear, and

some of that is very upsetting.

I mean, for me personally as an
American, I am very upset to see some

of the things that I thought were.

Absolutely to be taken for granted.

Like my rights as a woman, to be ruled
back to realize that that is, you know,

not set in stone, is a dissolving of
something that supported me and felt safe.

So dissolving of.

Structures, systems and boundaries
is not always a good thing, right?

We're not happy to see it all the time,
but nevertheless, it is occurring and

I think this breakdown is going to
continue to happen now through 2028.

So a lot of the astrology that
we're experiencing right now.

We're at that starting point.

We're at that zero degrees Aries.

We are going to continue to see things
break down before we necessarily

get a chance to rebuild them.

So we are in it.

The revolution is here.

It has arrived, and we
all have our place in it.

So.

With that, we'll see how Saturn,
Neptune conjunction feels on Friday.

Don't worry about that being
some sort of crazy day, because

we're already in a crazy time.

We're in Eclipse season, so
we're feeling all the intensity.

We've been, for all intents and
purposes, working with that conjunction

for all of 2025 because they've
been, for all intents and purposes,

conjoined, it just wasn't exact.

So now that we have the exactitude, that
is a a, a moment in time that we circle

on the calendar and say, okay, that
is happening, and we will look back.

In history, we'll look back and we'll say,
okay, what was happening around that time?

What was the beginning
of this cycle about?

Just like we look back to 1989 and say,
oh, that was the fall of the Berlin Wall.

We will look back to this time
and we will say what was happening

around Friday fe February 20th, 2026?

What structures were dissolving?

What boundaries were
being just taken away.

Um, and those can be good things and those
can be bad things, and those can be both.

You know, there were, there, there
were many things happening in 1989.

There was also Tiananmen
Square happening in 1989.

So all of that to say that
Saturn and Neptune can show

up in many ways culturally.

But the Berlin Wall example is a
particularly profound and right

on the nose one, so we'll see.

We will see in addition, as I
said, women leading the revolution.

One of the other reasons I'm feeling
that is because as all of this is

happening this week, Venus is also
being reborn as an evening star.

So Venus goes away from view.

She has.

A period of months where
she is a morning star.

You can see her right before
sunrise and then she goes dark.

We cannot see her.

And then she is bounded the other way.

She goes away and comes
back a morning star.

So for pretty much half the year, we have
Venus as a morning star, and half the

year we have Venus as a, an evening star.

When she goes away, we, the story is
that she goes into the underworld and

then she is born or reborn out of that.

So Venus was in the darkness.

And now she is being reborn
and we are seeing her as the

brightest star in the night sky.

So early evening at night, if you
go outside and you have clear skies,

you'll be able to see Venus 'cause
she is generally the brightest star.

So you, we have this moment, this
week of Venus being apparent,

invisible again to us, and all of
this other stuff happening in the sky.

But in addition, Venus is
conjunct the north node.

She is with the north node in Pisces.

Pisces is a sign where she is exalted
and feeling the most powerful.

And while I don't use asteroids all
the time, I thought it was worthwhile

to see what the asteroids were doing.

And of course, she is
also conjunct pal Athena.

So it's the Venus.

The North Node and pal Athena all lined
up in Pisces together, pal Athena is the

asteroid that is associated with defense,
with artistry and with intellectual power.

So she is like the strategic, smarter,
less impulsive female version of Mars.

So all of those metaphors line up for me.

And I find that this is a moment with
Uranus on algo squaring this eclipse.

With these, with Venus and Palo.

Athena joined with the North node,
the north node, of course, being

the impetus for the eclipse itself.

It feels.

Very feminine, in the divine feminine
way, not in the gendered feminine way,

but in the divine feminine way, but
also in the gender feminine way in that.

Women are leading the charge of the
revolution, and we are seeing women.

We're also seeing women being
metaphorically beheaded by algo

because we saw what happened
with Pam Bondi last week.

So that was, that was an example
of Uranus on al, someone in a place

of authority being taken down.

Now, another thing that we're
gonna see with Saturn and Aries,

Saturn and Aries is going to.

Look to take down the people in authority
that are not doing the right thing.

We might also see a lot of people
engaging in toxic individualism,

but luckily we have that Saturn.

In a lovely sex tile working and
Neptune working with Pluto and Aquarius.

So my hope is that as we move toward
the summer, as we move toward the magic

triangle or the magic basket, whatever
you wanna call it, it basically means

that these outer planets are all working
together and they're all in fire and

air signs, and we are coming out of.

Really hundreds of years of water and
earth being the prominent elements

where a lot of these outer planets
were making conjunctions, et cetera.

Not always, but.

Particularly Jupiter and Saturn
went for 200 years of meeting in

Earth signs and now they're in
a cycle of meeting in air signs.

So we are in a time where Ideas, community
connection, are really above all else.

That is what we're working on.

Air is.

Talking to one another, sharing ideas,
sharing information, being in community.

We also think of air as
associated with technology.

Aquarius as the future and science.

So we are in a time of

moving forward and.

Pushing energy out because
air and fire are Y energy.

They're pushing energy outward.

Earth and water are yin energy.

It's about receiving and letting your
energy be dictated by what's going on

outside of you, or receiving or pulling it
in, which is also helpful and important.

We need Ian energy.

We need to be able to be
receptive, but this moment in time.

Especially with the fire horse,
especially with this conjunction at

Zero Aries, it's a period of young
energy of pushing energy outward, of

taking action, of making things happen.

But it might not feel super
satisfying right off the bat because

we're entering Sun and Pisces.

We're entering Mercury
retrograde and Pisces.

So we have a little bit
more reflection to do.

We have some more salt baths to take?

We have some more just moments
on the meditation cushion.

Always.

Now, mind you, no matter what.

You are living in a human body.

Your human body is made
up of majority water.

You need to be tending to your physical
form and your nervous system regardless

of what's going on astrologically so.

Take these years and decades of
your life of being entrained in the

water and earth elements and take
everything you've learned and bring

that with you into this new era.

Because we are not able to show up for
the revolution if we are burnt out.

If we are spiraling mentally, we need
to be able to take care of ourselves so.

This Mercury retrograde period,
a great time to reconnect with

the practices that support you.

Whether that's yoga, whether that's
going to sleep early, whether that's

running, whether that's making sure that
you have one night, a week that you go

out with your girlfriends, whatever it
is for you, the things that ground you,

you wanna make sure that those practices
are, set it and forget it in your

life, so they're there to support you.

So give yourself some grace if, like
me, you've been going to bed at nine 30

every day and still not able to get up
in the morning, give yourself some grace.

It's a clips season.

It is a time when the light
of our luminaries, the sun.

And the moon are obscured.

This one, a new moon.

Solar eclipse means that the sun, our
life giver, the the light is obscured.

And so the light, the sun is our
identity, it's our willpower,

it's our sense of being.

So having the light of the sun obscured,
even if it's not visible to you,

it still is something that we feel.

And so if you feel exhausted,
if you feel spent, take a break.

Everybody needs to take a
rest at some point or another.

You need to take a break.

You need to take a rest so that
when it's ti your time to get

up and go, you'll be prepared.

So remember what my friend Catherine
said, the universe is letting you know.

That it wants you to
rest for the revolution.

I hope that was helpful.

I feel like I've been so rambly the
past few episodes of the podcast,

partially because I've not been feeling
well, and I've been exhausted and

I am feeling all of these energies.

But I hope it's useful to you.

And as always, if there is something
that you have a question about or you

want me to talk about on the podcast,
you can always reach out to me.

Via the website.

And we do have cosmic
conversation coming up next month.

So once a month I'm doing my free
cosmic conversation where we get

together and we talk astrology.

We had that last week.

It was really fun.

Um, we talked about bad bunnies
chart and we talked about

everything going on in the sky.

So please come to the next one.

It will be in March, I
believe it's March 18th.

You can go to my site under events
and you can save your seat for that.

It's always free once a month and I love
hearing all of your astrology questions.

So with that, I'm gonna sign off.

Have a wonderful week and hopefully
I will be back with you early next

week to talk about Mercury retrograde.

Okay, bye.