The Barbault Basket: The Astrology Behind the Great Changes of 2026

Recently I've been watching Outlander: Blood of My Blood.

And what's fascinating isn't just the storyline.

It's watching how dramatically society can change in only a few hundred years.

Women couldn't vote.

Marriage was often a transaction.

Mental health wasn't understood.

Entire families lived and died based on land ownership, status, and political alliances.

Everything was about survival, power, maintaining control.

And while watching the show, I couldn't help but notice something.

Many of the themes we're currently experiencing seem to mirror major turning points throughout history.

Which got me thinking about the astrology of those time periods... and the astrology we're moving into now.

The Astrology of Historical Turning Points

One of the reasons I love studying astrology is because it gives us context.

Not necessarily predictions. Context.

Astrology doesn't tell us exactly what is going to happen.

If the last election taught us anything, it's that astrology rarely works that way.

The more specific people get with predictions, the more likely they are to be wrong.

There are simply too many variables at play.

What astrology does exceptionally well, however, is reveal themes.

It shows us what humanity is collectively wrestling with.

What we're being asked to evolve.

What old structures are ending.

And what new structures are trying to emerge.

This is exactly what fascinated French astrologer Andre Barbault.

Who Was Andre Barbault?

Andre Barbault was one of the most respected mundane astrologers of the twentieth century.

Rather than focusing primarily on individual birth charts, he spent much of his career studying the movements of the outer planets and their relationship to major historical events.

Wars.

Political shifts.

Economic cycles.

Collective turning points.

His work centered around the idea that large planetary cycles often coincide with periods of significant social transformation.

And one period he repeatedly pointed toward was the mid-2020s.

Specifically 2026.

The Saturn-Neptune Conjunction of 2026

One of the major astrological events occurring in 2026 is the Saturn-Neptune conjunction in Aries.

Saturn represents structure. Reality. Boundaries. Systems.

Neptune represents ideals. Dreams. Spirituality.

Collective visions.

When these two planets come together, we often see a restructuring of collective beliefs.

Old narratives begin dissolving.

New ones begin emerging.

Barbault described this cycle as:

"The most benefic configuration of the century and its interplanetary partnership will work for the best and a splendid re-launch of civilization."

He believed it represented a profound opportunity for humanity to integrate seemingly opposite forces.

The rational and the spiritual.

The external and the internal.

The practical and the idealistic.

Whether that proves true remains to be seen.

But the symbolism is fascinating.

And I’ve been feeling it and seeing it and knowing it… have you?

History Doesn't Repeat. It Rhymes.

One thing I've learned from studying both history and astrology is that history rarely repeats exactly.

But it often rhymes.

The themes change.

The costumes change.

The technology changes.

Human nature doesn't change nearly as much as we'd like to think.

Fear. Power. Status.

Belonging. Freedom. Security.

These have always been the forces shaping society.

The difference is that each era learns new lessons through them.

How Long-Term Cycles Actually Work

The easiest way to understand why astrologers pay attention to these long-term cycles is to look at one we've already lived through.

Because when you're in the middle of a cycle, it's hard to see what's changing.

In hindsight, however, the pattern becomes much clearer.

Change rarely happens all at once.

It happens through pivotal moments that build on each other.

Most of the time, those pivotal moments begin as small grassroots movements within communities.

They start quietly. Behind the scenes.

A handful of people begin doing something differently, thinking differently, or questioning the way things have always been done.

Then more people catch on.

And eventually what once seemed strange becomes normal.

Over time, those small shifts add up to massive societal change.

Let's use influencer culture as an example.

The influencer industry didn't appear overnight.

It started in the late 2000s and early 2010s when ordinary people began posting regularly on YouTube, sharing their daily lives, opinions, expertise, and experiences.

The vlogger was born. The influencer followed.

At the time, most people thought it was ridiculous.

You make videos online for a living? Who's going to pay for that? How does one even get paid for that?

Fast forward ten years and most people recognize content creation as a legitimate profession.

Entire businesses have been built through social media.

People understand the power of creating an audience, building a community, and sharing their expertise online.

What's fascinating is that this societal shift aligns remarkably well with the Uranus-Pluto cycle.

The Uranus-Pluto conjunction occurred in 1965 in Virgo.

Virgo rules work, skills, service, craftsmanship, and how we contribute to society through our gifts.

Every conjunction plants a seed.

It introduces a new evolutionary theme that humanity will spend decades developing.

Then between 2012 and 2015, Uranus and Pluto formed a series of squares.

Squares create tension. Pressure. Conflict.

They force action and evolution.

Suddenly people were questioning traditional employment.

Questioning corporate structures.

Questioning whether there might be another way to make a living.

Funny enough, that’s exactly when I dropped out of college on a whim—having no idea where it would lead me. If only past me could see current me 🥹

Anyway, that’s when the gig economy exploded.

Online businesses exploded.

Remote work became increasingly common.

Personal brands became valuable.

People began monetizing their knowledge, creativity, and unique skills in ways that would have seemed absurd just a few decades earlier.

The square didn't create those changes out of nowhere.

The seed was planted in 1965.

The square forced humanity to evolve in response to that seed.

And now we're living inside the reality that cycle helped create.

This is why I find astrology so fascinating.

The planets aren't causing events.

They're describing the evolutionary themes humanity is working through over long periods of time.

The End of an Old Leo Story

Another cycle I've been thinking about while watching Blood of My Blood is the Uranus-Pluto cycle in Leo.

The conjunction occurred in 1710 and 1711 at 28 degrees Leo.

A new era was being born.

Certain people were rebelling against the existing order.

Pushing against systems that no longer worked.

Questioning authority.

Challenging inherited power structures.

But societal change didn't happen overnight.

It took the entire cycle. Decades upon decades.

Almost 150 years. Until that cycle finally completed in the mid-1800s.

And at that point in time, with the beginning of the industrial revolution, society gradually moved toward greater individual freedom and self-determination.

This is often how collective evolution works.

A few people see the future first.

Most people catch up later.

When I watch shows set during these periods, I can't help but notice how much society was driven by pride, hierarchy, reputation, and power.

Everything was a status game.

The best marriages.

The best family alliances.

The most land.

The biggest army.

The most influence.

And honestly?

I think we're watching another version of that story come to an end now.

We've seen it with celebrity culture.

Politics.

Institutions.

Social media.

People are increasingly questioning who they're giving their power away to.

The Barbault Basket of 2026

This is where Barbault's work becomes especially interesting.

Because the Saturn-Neptune conjunction isn't the only thing happening in 2026.

A few months later, Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, and Jupiter will form what has become known as Barbault's Basket Configuration.

These are not fast-moving planets.

These are the giants.

The collective planets.

The planets that shape generations.

The planets that describe societal evolution itself.

For four of them to organize into such a significant geometric pattern at the same time is extraordinarily rare.

This is one of the reasons Barbault believed the mid-2020s represented a major turning point in collective history.

Not because one singular event would occur.

But because multiple long-term cycles are converging simultaneously.

It's less like a single wave.

And more like an entire ocean current changing direction.

A Collective Awakening

If I had to summarize what feels different about this period, it's this:

People want authenticity.

People want meaning.

People want sovereignty.

They want to understand who they are beyond the roles they've been told to play.

The Aries Saturn-Neptune conjunction feels deeply connected to this.

Aries is the sign of selfhood.

Identity. Autonomy. Independence.

Courage.

People are asking:

Who am I? What do I want? What do I believe?

How do I live in alignment with myself?

How do I stop living according to everyone else's expectations?

Those are deeply Aries questions.

And perhaps that's why this period feels so significant.

Not because civilization is ending.

Not because astrology predicts one dramatic event.

But because humanity appears to be entering another chapter of evolution.

One focused on self-sovereignty.

Authenticity. Individual purpose.

And learning how to build a future that reflects who we are becoming rather than who we've been.

History may not repeat.

But it certainly rhymes.

And when multiple long-term planetary cycles begin rhyming at the same time, it's worth paying attention.