Astrology of the Week Ahead with Chani Nicholas - The Week of January 26th, 2026: The Full Moon in Leo and a once-in-a-lifetime shift

Episode Date: January 26, 2026

Episode 267In this podcast, New York Times best-selling author and astrologer Chani Nicholas discusses the astrology of the week and what it might mean for us all.The astrology of the week of January 26th, 2026, is about taking up space and making sh*t happen. Neptune fully moves into Aries for the first and only time in our lifetimes, where it will inspire us to fight for our ideals over the next decade. Mars also teams up with Pluto, underscoring our collective power. And the Full Moon in Leo stirs up creative potential, urging us to dream bigger and bolder. It’s time to get loud, command attention, and act on our visions for a better world.This episode covers:Neptune’s entrance into Aries on Monday, January 26thMars’ conjunction with Pluto on Tuesday, January 27thMercury’s conjunction with Venus on Thursday, January 29thThe Full Moon in Leo on Sunday, February 1stThe end of Uranus’ retrograde on Tuesday, February 3rdThis episode was recorded on 01/13/2026.For more, check out your free daily horoscope on the homepage of the CHANI app — now on iOS and Android.Want to know what Chani’s reading beyond the astro? Join her book club, The Next Chapter, to explore her favorite titles and build community around books that reckon with and reimagine the world we’re living in.Want to learn what 2026 has in store for you? Open your CHANI app and head to the “This Year” tab to listen to your month-by-month astro breakdowns from Chani Nicholas, read your horoscopes for the year (tailored to the four main areas of your life), and dive into the journal prompts, rituals, altar suggestions, and guided meditations that will help you navigate the astrology of 2026 as it unfolds. Btw, we’re never wrong.The music featured in the podcast was created by Latashá.

Three things about this week. One, it's home to a once in a 165 year cycle. Two, we're going to watch some really big power dynamics take place in our personal and our collective lives. And three, by the end of the week, something is going to get very loud and very ferocious and very in our face. Hello and welcome. This is the astrology of the weekend.

Head podcast. I'm your host, your Astro Bestie, Channey Nicholas. We are ending January and we are moving into February. And I need to make one thing clear. February is one of the most important months of 2026 because it contains within it astrology that is so rare and is happening all at once. So by the time we get into March, we're going to be like, whoa, what even was February? So we are beginning February with a very loud, very full, very boisterous, very obvious, very big full moon in Leo. But before we get there, Monday, the 26th of January, Neptune enters Ares. This is a once in a 165-year transit. We had a little bit of Neptune and Ares in 2025.

We had it between March and October of 2025. So we had a little taste test, if you will. And because Ares is a sign that is so full of fire, so full of energy, and so full of get up and go, it galvanizes a great deal into action. because Neptune is a planet that is about the dream and the ideals and the visions, we know that this is our signal to make sure that we are dreaming actively and on purpose. We are dreaming the world into being, that we are visualizing the world in which we want to create. we are seeing in our mind's eye, in our imagination, the way forward, the next step and the next

step and the next step and the next step. We don't know exactly where we're going to end up. We don't know exactly how we're going to get there. But the point of Neptune is to say, you have the power to dream something beyond the realms of whatever has been created thus far. Neptune is a trans-personal planet. Neptune is on the other side of what we can see with the naked eye. So Saturn is the last planet that we can see. Saturn is a planet of form and structure in the boundary of the known world. It's coming into play very soon.

And then there's Uranus, which is the disruptor upheaval. And then there's Neptune, which is the ideals and the dreams and the hallucinations and the intoxication and the delusions. and all of the things, but it is the fantasy, and it is the importance of fantasy and imagination and creativity. So it is on the outskirts of our known reality. It is transpersonal. It is not of this world. So when Neptune shifts into a new sign, especially Neptune and Ares, there is a big signature of like, what is our ideal and how are we moving towards it? Now, in Aries, there's this feeling of a war of ideals whose beliefs, whose ideals are going to win. I say win. I say war because Aries, there's a fight here. There's energy here, but there's also courage here. There's determination

here. The spring does not go, oh, I wish I could come, but I can't because it's just too gold. outside. No, the spring, Aries, the equinox in the northern, in the northern hemisphere, when the sun enters Aries, we burst into spring. Spring bursts forth onto the scene. It doesn't ask for permission. It just comes. So the ideals that start to come forward now are big and they're bold and they are going to make a mark. And again, we need to take our ability to dream boldly a new, world into being very, very, very seriously. Because when we don't put our vision out there and move towards the vision that we have for the future, other people do. It creates a void and someone else is going to come and fill it. And fascists love a void, right? So we have to be very serious about the

practice of dreaming. Aries, the zero point of Ares where Neptune is going to be for a while now, is the initiation of life. It is bringing new life into being. And very soon, Saturn is going to join Neptune at zero degrees of Ares. On February 20th, they are going to meet up and they are going to create a conjunction. And that conjunction is saying, what is the dream and what is the reality and how do we bridge the gap? And I am saying we need both a bold vision and an ability to dream our way into a future that is worth living into. And the practical reality step by step, let's work on this a little bit at a time of Saturn. That's the Saturn and the Neptune. And they are coming together. Now, of course, you'll have heard me and a lot of astrologers

talk about the fact that the last time Neptune was in Ares, we had a civil war in the United States. And a civil war is what? Well, it's when the country seems to turn in on itself, or there's two factions inside of one nation that are attacking each other or that have different ideals. Some of us believe in human rights and some of us believe in even the Constitution, let's say. Some of us believe in the due. process that is supposed to be afforded to all of us. And some of us don't. I think a much fewer number of us don't. But that fewer number of us that don't are definitely armed and they are thugs and they are out on the streets, at least in the United States. And they are capturing people, kidnapping people.

They're assassinating people. They are disappearing people. We are in a very gruesome moment in this country and there's, you know, no two ways about it. So the fact that the last time Neptune was in Ares and there was a civil war and we're back with Neptune in Ares and we have this is not saying that one has to be exactly like the other. But if we don't want to end up in the same situation, I think we have to take our current reality very seriously and again know that the Saturn Neptune conjunction is coming. And it is. very important for us to not only dream, but to do and to build and to commit to something very long term. The last time Neptune was in Ares, yes, civil war, also the Red Cross

because of the Civil War, but we also had the emergence of the Ku Klux Klan. So we can see this like re-emergence of white supremest, white nationalist, white nationalist. behavior, actions, governance taking place and coming back around with this vengeance because of the nature of backlash and because of all the progress that we have made as a people, as a nation, as a world, as a whole, you know, globe. And so having this, you know, toddler in charge, the feeling of being, you know, toddler in charge, the feeling of being. like, oh, we're just back in this old version of reality is also surreal because of the

reoccurrence of this transit and what happened, what was created the last time Neptune was in Aries. And what is trying to be manufactured, I want to actually say manufactured, right? Whiteness is manufactured. White supremacy, obviously, is a delusion. It is something that's manufactured, to keep the 1% the top in power so that the bottom, the masses of us don't wake up to realize how connected we are and how the same we are and how something good for the most marginalized and vulnerable among us is the best thing for all of us. So the white supremacy of it all is a distraction. Tony Morrison said it best when she said racism is a distraction. distraction from the good work of all of us, but namely those that are intentionally

marginalized within these systems. And so we have to take the serious thing seriously. And also, I just feel so passionately since, you know, November of 2024 to be like, we've come too far. We can't, we're not going to be put back in a box. Like, this is, this is not the end. You. Your limited view and imagination is so puny and tiny. And you can't fit us all back in that old, outdated, archaic system of supremacy. You just can't. We can't go back.

And so we have to be present and dream bigger than all of that puny hatred and limited imagination. and just excessively violent and boring reality. Anyways, Neptune's moving into Aries on Monday. No big deal. Just one of the biggest events of, you know, the last definitely couple years. And again, it only happens once every century and a half. And the last time it happened, there was these ruptures in this country. and there was a separation of things. This is a sign that's ruled by Mars. Mars separates things.

Neptune blurs the lines, though. So again, it is a war of ideals, like whose imagination wins. Whose imagination is the most captivating? And how do we wake ourselves up collectively from that delusion or that spell or wanting to be pacified or wanting to be put to sleep? Speaking of which on Tuesday, Mars and Pluto come together to form a conjunction. This is not very nice astrology. This is astrology that's like, yes, remember your collective power. Yes, remember that power runs deep and we don't have to display our power to everyone all of the time.

It's very important to keep some things on a subterranean level to be excessively strategic, especially on these streets at this time. And it's also a signature of like a steel, a power grab, something I don't really trust in terms of those in power. It makes me wary. It makes me a little queasy. It makes me like, what are they trying to do? That looks like some sort of backstreet deal.

And because it's happening in Aquarius, and because Pluto and Aquarius has definitely ushered in a, tech, bro, oligarchic kind of vibe, there is a good reason for us to pause with this and be like, what are they up to? What kind of power grab is taking place? Not to make you paranoid, but it definitely just, it reads that to me. On a personal level, what I want you to pay attention to thus far in the week, I already mentioned two very significant things, as I want you to pay attention to the part of your chart that contains Ares. So go listen to your reading and know that Neptune is entering this part of your chart and is going to spend, you know, over a decade there,

and it's going to erode certain boundaries that you have there. For better, for worse, sometimes we're too bounderied. We're too, maybe boundary isn't the right word. Sometimes we're too closed off. We're too shut down or we're too defended. Neptune will come along and erode that defense. And so wherever Ares is in your chart, whatever that part of your chart means or is talking about, that part will become more porous or you'll become more porous in that area of your life. And that can be a really good thing. Although, you know, again, this is a transpersonal energy. This is something way out there that comes in that we have to just do a little bit at a time. So you're not going to, you know, obviously feel all

the significations at once. But this is a time for you to be like, okay, where can I open up a little, where can I be practice vulnerability a little bit more in this area of my life? And where do I not want to be overly vulnerable in this area of my life? Like I'm not saying like, oh yeah, drop all your defenses because that's silly. That's not a good idea for any of us. But a little at a time can you practice vulnerability in a helpful way in the area of your chart, contains Ares. And then on Tuesday, as Mars and Pluto come together, it is seed planting astrology. It's dicey, though, right? Like we want to work with this energy with a great amount of respect. Pluto is about the wealth that is underground and under the surface, is subterranean. So it's the wealth

of our psyche. It's the wealth of our unconscious. It's the wealth of information that lays just under the surface of our life. And Mars definitely, especially when it pairs up with Pluto, it wants to dig into all of that. And it wants to know. And so it's really good astrology for getting down to the truth about yourself, about some area of your life. Again, wherever Aquarius is in your chart, that area of your chart is getting majorly lit up and impacted because this is happening. And then in a couple weeks, we're going to have an eclipse here as well. So there's a lot going on. There's a lot being unearthed in this area of your life. So I also want you to go and listen to your reading for this week and know that this astrology on a personal level is laying the groundwork.

It's helping you dig into this area of your life, this area of your psyche, this area of yourself, to understand the wealth that is inherently in you a little bit better so that when the eclipse comes and it rolls through, it will have like a clearer message for you or there will be a clearer understanding of what to do with that supercharged moment because it's going to catapult us into a next phase of our growth, the next iteration of our life. There's going to be a new idea. There's going to be a new way of doing things. There's going to be new opportunities that come with the eclipse in February for you in this area. And this astrology is like getting you to dig in to be like, okay, what do we need to process

ahead of time? Like, what do I need to know about myself? What do I need to touch down into internally so that I can be a little bit more prepared? The ground can be a little bit more prepared for the eclipse that's going to roll through. On Thursday, we get some really lovely messages. On Thursday, Mercury and Venus come together. That's lovely. On Thursday, it's a really good time to be like, I love you. Thank you so much for being such a good friend. Thank you so much for helping me with this. I want to send you a note of appreciation. I want to tell you what I love about you. I want to, you know, give you your roses. I want to be able to talk freely about what I love and who I love and how I love. And it's just a really nice balm for the edgier aspects of the astrology this week,

especially that Mars Pluto, again, a lot of subterranean power dynamics are going to arise. On an interpersonal level, it's going to be like, hey, do you remember that you have power? And then on an interpersonal level, it's going to be like, hey, does that person really have power over me? I mean, structurally, maybe if they're your boss or something, but if it's a friendship, if it's a social dynamic, are you giving people your power? Are you projecting your power onto people? are they projecting onto you? What are the power dynamics, differentials, setups and situations that are being articulated early in the week? And then on February 1st, we have a very loud

full moon in Leo. I love a full moon in Leo. It's usually full of cute drama and a little bit of flare and it's a little excessive. And also, this one is sitting in a square to you. Uranus and it is sitting opposite Mars. So there's an edge to it. I do think it's shaking something awake and it is not an eclipse, but the new moon that follows it two weeks from now is an eclipse. And so we're just heading towards eclipse season. And this full moon just feels a little bit more on edge than I would like prefer it to be maybe. But also it's going to give us permission to be really loud about it. It's going to give us permission to be too much. It's going to give us permission to go forth with big hair and a fabulous outfit and get the attention that we need and

direct the attention towards the things that need attention the most right now. The gorgeous quality, of course, of Leo is that it is pure creative potential. The gorgeous quality of zero degrees of aries where Neptune is sitting is pure creative potential. Fire signs are creative signs. They remind us of our creative potency, of the power of our intuition and of acting from our gut knowing, right? fire signs are spurred into action because they feel the sense of inspiration and they move with it. And so that is the reminder that this week is bringing us. It's to move with the creative pulse of life that is moving through you.

Now, this full moon is also happening as Uranus, planet of disruption and of chaos and of upheaval is stationing direct. So it's pulling focus. it's stationing direct really close to the fixed our algal, which definitely shakes awake, our power, our creative energy, and our righteous rage, the things that we should be upset about come forth. And so again, it adds to this sense of like, oh, this is a little, a little bit louder than a normal full moon, if there is such a thing as a normal full moon, is a little extra volatile. It does feel a little extra on edge. And the eclipse that's going to happen two weeks from this full moon is sitting in a really close square to Uranus and is sitting even closer to Mars.

And so it feels like a setup. It feels like there's something breaks loose in our conscious awareness or in ourselves or in our world. And it kind of is a foretelling or a foreshadowing. of what's going to happen in mid-February with that eclipse in Aquarius. But because there's an eclipse in Aquarius and we're in Aquarius season, again, we're just moving closer towards that eclipsy kind of vibe and feeling, which is to say things start to speed up now. And with Neptune and Aries, a very fast sign, we do start to have that sense of like, okay, this time is speeding up. Things are moving fast. Life is coming at us fast. I have to take my time seriously. I have to take my creativity seriously. Creativity is the greatest threat to

fascism, to the machine, to dictators in charge because our creative agency is our power. And it reminds us that we can create something different, that any set of miserable structures that we might be living in now were created by somebody and we can create something else and live in something else. We don't have to, again, stay with their very limited, very puny imagination. We can imagine something else and then move to create it. And certainly things that happen at the zero degree Ares mark are saying move to create new life. This is the moment. It's not going to be easy. It's not going to be simple. It's not going to be straightforward. It will be messy. And it's ours to move through. It's ours to work with. It's ours to be galvanized by.

And if the last time that Neptune was in Ares, one of the most horrific ideals was concretized into, you know, a thing, then we can do that in our own way. We can concretize a, ideal that is about humanity and it is about our connectivity and it is about the fact that none of us are free until all of us are free and we are not each other's enemy. This is this is not a horizontal thing. This is definitely a top down situation. And so we need to think about the ways in which we're creating new paradigms. We're creating new philosophies. We're creating new ways of seeing ourselves not as a threat to one another, but as allies to one another. It's a simple thing, but it's not an easy thing. I'm fully aware of that. But where can we, instead of being divided,

be united? That's what we did last time. That's what some people did last time Neptune was in Ares. We get to do a different version of it now that Neptune's back. We get to be like, oh, I see you trying to come back around white supremacy. I see it. It's here. I mean, it never left, but it's really trying to rear its head in the most obvious of ways. So, no, that is so old and so outdated and we so know better. We're creating this other thing. We're creating the equal and opposite and actually more powerful and more alluring and more creative way of being together and thinking together and creating society together. Okay. Now it's time for the Ask Me Anything. Thank you so much for sending in your questions.

Hey, Channy, love you so much. I just have a question about what astrological event do you feel like really supports someone wanting to drop a new creative project, whether it's art, music, poetry, something along those lines. Thank you so much. Great question. Thank you for calling in, calling in, recording in. Okay, one of the things you can do is you can go to the Chani app and you can go to this year. And if you scroll down, you can find something called key dates. Now, the key dates will have just lists of things on it that are helpful little tips and tricks. And, well, they're just a list of the astrological events. If you have the Astro Planner, we tell you exactly which is a good date. It's like, like, you know, dates, key dates for success. Those are all good to work with. But if you just scroll down on the app and you look for any kind of good Venus transit or any Venus transit, because we only list the good ones here, the ones that are really potent and powerful, you could go off of that. You could also go to the transit section of the app and look and see if anything good is transiting

your Venus or your fifth house or the ruler of your fifth house. So anything good. So anything good that happens in your fifth house, like a good new moon or a good full moon, any kind of transit from Venus or even the moon or depending on what it is you're releasing, maybe Mercury, something like that through your fifth house, really good. Anything that's happening to your fifth house or anything that's happening to the ruler of your fifth house is going to be exceptionally helpful for getting creative projects out into the world. If you want to be seen in a good light that anything happening that's beneficial in your 10th house or in your first house or to your son can be really good. If you want to think about how to make money and how to facilitate an income,

good things that happen to your moon can be really helpful because the moon is the physical manifestation of life. And so you want to just think about in general, what is a good new moon to work with? Like I'll always say, oh, this is a good new moon to work with, a new moon in cancer, a new moon in Taurus, really good to work with. And then you want to think about anything good happening with Venus and or Jupiter. And then you want to think about anything good that's happening in your fifth house of creative projects and creative progeny and creative life and anything that's happening to the ruler of your fifth house. So go in the app, read your horoscopes, you know, the current sky section of the

of the app, like all of your 13, I think, horoscopes, depending on whatever planet, and skim through them and see if anything is talking about creativity, if anything is in your fifth house. Take note of the planet that rules your fifth house and see if that's getting transited by anything. But above all else, you just want a good astrological day to launch something on. Again, we name all of them in the astroplanter and anything under key dates that says Venus, Jupiter in a good way. Again, we only mention the good ones there. Those will be generally beneficial. So anything that's like helpful. But then I, and also I just, I don't want you to ever sit on a creative project, right? Like I want you to release it into the world. And anytime you hear me say,

oh, this is such a good day to release something. I'll always do that in your readings. know that that will be good. It'll be a good time to do so. All right. I hope that's helpful. Sending you so much love, so many blessings. Come back next week. We are going to talk about February and all of the wild things that are happening in the

month of February. Next week, specifically, we are going to have some breakthrough ideas, some conversations that illuminate the truth for us. and some loud, maybe jarring, kind of ways. All right, more about that, then bye for now.