‘Tis the season. In Signs Of The Times, Her Campus gets deep into all things astrology, zodiac, and the cosmos. This time, we are sharing which zodiac signs are facing massive changes in 2026.
As we bid farewell to 2025, a cosmically unique year, astrology enthusiasts are bracing for the major changes we should expect in the rise of the new year. According to Rachel Ruth Tate, certified astrologer at Casinos Analyzer, 2025 marked the first year in over 200 years where every single planet moved into a new sign, including our ultra-slow movers like Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, whose journeys through the zodiac span decades or even centuries. While 2026 won’t be quite as unprecedented as 2025’s cosmic shifts, it promises some pretty major changes for the signs in the tide of the new year.
Tate says that “five zodiac signs will feel the first shockwave of the New Year the moment January begins.” Not to spoil it, but there is about to be a lot of crazy in the new year before the calm hits. Prepare for a lot of growth and all the growing pains that come with it. Thankfully, we have the expert insight that the signs will need to navigate this new and complicated season of 2026.
Without further ado, these are the five signs that may need to look out for major unexpected shifts in the new year.
Capricorn
At the beginning of 2026, all of the attention is essentially on you (it does take place during your season, after all). However, it’s not just the Sun that’s shining on you — it’s like, all of the planets. “Personal planets — Sun, Venus, and Mars — are already in your sign when the clock strikes midnight, and on January 1, 2026, Mercury enters Capricorn, too,” Tate says.
With all of this cosmic attention, consider this your time to harness that energy, and embrace the chaos, to get a jumpstart on your goals and visions for the year. “Nobody is in a better position to implement solid New Year’s resolutions than you are, so marshal all that force available to you and lead the way,” she adds.
Taurus
The start of 2026 is going to feel like a shake-up for this normally steady sign. With Uranus retrograde already in your zodiac corner since mid-November, prep for some unexpected turbulence. “With the shocking, turbulent outer planet Uranus retrograde in your normally placid sign since mid-November, you are bound to start the year off on less-than-stable ground,” Tate says. “Change doesn’t come easily to you, Taurus, but it’s what’s coming in 2026, especially as every planet in Capricorn makes successive trines to Uranus throughout the month of January.”
Even though it might feel unsettling, this disruption is setting the stage for growth. Embrace the process and trust that the stars are directing you toward transformation.
Cancer
2026 opens with emotional intensity for Cancer, as Jupiter continues its retrograde journey in your sign. The early months of the year are the time for you to reflect and set meaningful intentions. “Your sign is the sight of the most major retrograde in the sky at the turn of the year, with abundant social planet Jupiter sliding backwards in Cancer since early November, so you can expect to make resolutions with serious sincerity this year,” Tate says. “Growth-oriented Jupiter will oppose all four personal planets in Capricorn throughout January 2026, making emotional progress less than optional.”
AKA, you are about to go through some major personal growth, whether you like it or not.
Aquarius
Your cool, calm energy will feel intact at first… then, February will hit. The first Aquarius eclipse in nearly a decade is about to hit, and it’s about to hit hard. “The turn of the year may not feel like much of an event yet, but trust that much more is in store for your normally cool and coherent sign,” Tate says. “Even though the fateful nodes of the moon have yet to change signs from where they are in Pisces and Virgo, February brings with it the very first eclipse we have experienced in almost a decade in Aquarius!”
So, what does all that astro-jargon mean for you? “That eclipse is coming to awaken your spirit and call you to presence, especially because it’s happening in a tight square to Uranus RX,” Tate says. This cosmic nudge is your invitation to breakthrough, embrace change, and step into new growth. “You have no choice but to break open and breakthrough,” she emphasizes.
Aries
The New Year will start quietly for you, but that is the calm before the storm. “While the year begins with very little action having taken place in your sign, you are no doubt feeling the imminent call to change as all of the planets in Capricorn and Cancer square your major placements in Aries. On Valentine’s Day, serious and sobering Saturn re-enters your sign, where it spent a few months in 2025,” Tate explains.
And Aries, that might sound scary, but the ball is still in your court. “While you’ve had a preview of the maturation this extended three-year transit will ask for from you, now it’s go time… or maybe time to stop? Only you know what commitments are yours to make, and 2026 is the year to make them,” she adds.
2026 is bringing a hell of a lot of cosmic shifts, but just as many opportunities for growth. So, signs, hold on tight and get ready for a year of opportunity.