4 Zodiac Signs Fated for Karmic Tests in 2026, According to Astrologers

With 2025 wrapping up, we're on the precipice of not only a new year but the beginning of a whole new era. That's because 2026 plays host to rare planetary shifts that will set the stage for innovative breakthroughs, radical change, and creativity . To better understand how to make the most of these celestial shakeups, it can help to consider the timing of specific astrological transits, which offer insight into how you can best channel your energy for the most fulfilling outcomes. 

At the same time, while there are always opportunities to level up and find more joy no matter what your personal astrology looks like, some signs will be faced with more pressing lessons than others. Four signs in particular will experience planetary shifts that might feel challenging in the moment, but that will set the stage for major growth down the road. Read on to discover the four most challenged zodiac signs in 2026, according to an expert astrologer.

Which 4 Zodiac Signs Are the Most Challenged, Spiritually Tested in 2026?

Keep reading , and check out your Sun, Moon, and Rising signs .

Leo: Identity Shift

Jupiter , the planet of abundance and luck, will be in your sign for a year beginning June 30, which sets the stage for a surge of optimism, positivity, and growth. But this is also a year when you'll have to face radical change as a result of a whole new eclipse series affecting your self-image and partnerships. As one of the fixed signs, navigating the shakeups that 2026 has in store could be daunting but ultimately rewarding. Heads-up: Eclipses are supercharged lunar events that create a ripple effect you'll feel for up to six months, which is generally when you'll begin to move through the next chapter of a new narrative that you're being immersed in over the course of a two-year cycle. This particular eclipse series lasts until January 2028.

The first of the two major lunar events—a solar eclipse—happens on February 17 in fixed air sign Aquarius , your opposite sign. In turn, you could find yourself grappling with massive change around your one-on-one relationships, whether romantic , platonic, or professional. This could look like defining a new relationship, taking an existing bond to the next level, or breaking free of a dynamic that's no longer serving you. Then, during the second eclipse season of the year, on August 12, you'll move through a solar eclipse in your sign and house of self-image, which will fuel an evolution tied to your confidence , physical body, and independence. Growing pains associated with eclipses are never easy, but could ultimately catapult you into a more gratifying existence.

Virgo: Relationship Reckoning

You've been in the midst of an eclipse series impacting your house of self-image and house of partnership since September 2024, so you're already familiar with the wild, wonderful, and yes, at times stressful shifts that have been pushing you into the future since then, but that doesn't make it any less intense. This cycle continues with a lunar eclipse in your sign on March 3, illuminating an ongoing relationship issue that requires your attention. How you've been showing up for yourself and another—be that a significant other, potential partner, colleague, or dear friend—is an area you're being nudged to take a magnifying glass to.

If there's been a lack of reciprocity or you need support in a different way, this powerful lunation will push you to make yourself heard and work toward a resolution. Then, around August 28, when the lunar eclipse falls in your house of partnership, you'll be working through similar themes, exploring whether you want to pour more into an existing, strong, and healthy one-on-one bond, embrace necessary changes, or move in a completely different direction. 

Aquarius: Ego Restructuring

For the first time since 2017-2019, an eclipse series will be playing out in your sign and house of self-image and house of partnership, requiring you to take stock of your one-on-one bonds as well as your own confidence and identity. Eclipses deliver massive change, sometimes in very apparent bursts, and other times, in a more subtle way that becomes much more apparent when you're looking back at this period of time in the rearview mirror. Either way, you'll begin to write a new narrative around February 17, when the solar eclipse lands in your sign, requiring intense soul-searching, reflection, and bolstering of self-awareness—all of which is meant to help you ultimately stand even more strongly in your sense of self.

You'll need to be honest with yourself, open-minded, and flexible (something that all fixed signs can struggle with) to make the most of this moment. Then, during the second eclipse season of 2026, around August 12, you'll move through a solar eclipse in your house of partnership, which could serve as a launchpad for a whole new approach or framing of a one-on-one bond. Whether you're signing up for a long-term commitment or putting in the work to heal an ongoing conflict, the work you're doing now could result in feeling more secure, harmonious, and centered in your bonds.

Pisces: Emotional Transformation

Ever since September 2024 (or perhaps even a bit before that), you've felt that the ground has been shifting beneath you in some way, likely concerning how you're nurturing your relationship with yourself and with a significant other, dear friend, loved one, or business partner. That's because you've been moving through an eclipse series, activating your houses of self and partnership. The themes you've already gotten familiar with over the last year and a half continue to dominate your life in 2026, pushing you to be honest with yourself and others about your needs, reciprocity and balance, self-healing, and holding space for others.

Around March 3, the first lunar eclipse of the year focuses your attention on your one-on-one bonds, requiring that you make a bold move to release something that's no longer working, whether that's how you've been communicating with your partner, going about everyday routines as a pair, or working through old wounds. Then, around August 28, the lunar eclipse in your sign and house of identity takes the story one step further. You'll feel empowered to take the stage and show up as your authentic, genuine self in some way. Permit yourself to follow your heart and more fully own not only your needs but also your big-picture vision.  

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This story was originally published by Parade on Dec 29, 2025, where it first appeared in the Astrology section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.