October 2026 Astrology Forecast: Venus Retrograde in Scorpio, a Fixed T-Square, and the Road Back to Balance

I’m not going to sugarcoat this one. Not that I normally do, but October 2026 is shaping up to be a volatile month, at least at the beginning. The good news is that the energy starts to shift as we move deeper into the month. The first few weeks, though, ask a lot of us.

Right out of the gate on October 3rd, two big things happen on the same day. Venus stations to go retrograde in Scorpio, the sign of its detriment. And Mars, the malefic planet of disputes, arguments, violence, separation, and anger, makes an exact opposition to Pluto, forming a T-square with Mercury. Venus is tied into this story as well. The Mars-Pluto opposition will be in a fixed T-square with Venus, and that configuration compels us to leave something behind, to transform, and to separate from whatever has become toxic and no longer serves us.

This isn’t a one-day event. The T-square between Mars, Pluto, and Venus runs through the entire first part of the month, really through October 20th and a little beyond.

Below, I’m walking you through October transit by transit, including which signs will be impacted the most and how.

Venus Stations Retrograde in Scorpio (October 3rd)

Venus retrograde in Scorpio is intense. It’s about uncovering hard truths and discovering the core nature of our closest, most intimate relationships. It’s also about taking a good hard look at what we value, and at the ways the world around us and the connections we’ve made aren’t living up to what we truly and deeply need. That part goes well beyond relationships.

In the first part of this retrograde, Venus is moving in and out of a square with Pluto while also forming the T-square with Mars. As Venus moves backward, it builds toward a square with Mars that comes exact on October 10th.

So around the October 3rd station, words might be exchanged. Something could be said that lands as hurtful or harmful. This can also be a time of rash decisions, where we jump the gun based on a thought, a feeling, or whatever communication comes through in the moment. That could look like ending a relationship, or saying something that leads to the end of one. Or we might be on the receiving end, where someone gets really angry, says something they maybe don’t mean, and the relationship ends either temporarily or permanently.

Is This Venus Retrograde About Breakups?

Venus retrogrades are not only about relationships, and typically they aren’t super attached to breakups, regardless of what pop astrology might tell you. This one is different. Venus is in its detriment. It’s squaring Mars, the planet of separation, and Pluto, a planet that exposes deep truths and moves in extremes. You’re either all in or you’re all out.

With all of that together, I do think breakups are more likely this time around. I’ve already seen this in the collective and, through the grapevine, with people in my personal life who are being hit hard by this transit. I expect a big theme of this particular Venus retrograde in Scorpio to be breakups, on-again off-again relationships, and people jumping into relationships and going all in way too hard, way too fast. Things get intense too soon, and then there’s a push and pull. Pull back, move forward, pull back again. Expect a temperamental influence in all things relationships during the first part of the month, especially around October 3rd, October 10th, and October 20th.

Does that mean breakups for everyone? Obviously not. Some people will deepen their connection with a spouse, a significant other, or someone else who is very important to them. It just won’t come easily. It will come through revelation, through exchanging words and hashing things out, especially between October 3rd and 10th. It could come through an argument. It could come through having to take action very abruptly in partnership together, or taking action on something that affects the partnership.

The Fixed Sign Factor

When we have squares and T-squares in the fixed signs in particular, we tend to hold on desperately to something we once thought was stable. Something we believed was unchangeable and built to last. That’s fixed energy. It’s about longevity and staying power.

So there may be a connection you thought had emotional depth and psychological and psychic staying power. Something you thought you understood, or were passionate about, and assumed would last forever. It could be that the flame has gone out and you need to rekindle those passions. This would actually be the Venus retrograde to make that happen.

It’s Not Only About Romance

When I talk about something secret or hidden being exposed, or this deep introspective dive into what we truly desire in our closest connections, I’m not only talking about romantic relationships. Depending on how your chart is laid out, this will show up differently for every single person. It could involve your coworkers, your boss, your best friend, your neighbor, your parents, your siblings, or someone in your community. You might be firing someone or getting fired. There could be turbulence in a really important friendship.

A Word on Venus in Scorpio

Venus in Scorpio can bring out the possessive and jealous side of us, the side that wants to hold on desperately to the way something is in an important relationship. That does not mean every person with Venus in Scorpio shares those qualities. I got some interesting comments on my last video from people who took what I said about this retrograde out of context and felt like I was attacking their Venus in Scorpio. I don’t know what your chart looks like or what your relationships look like. I’d have to actually look at your chart to know how much of this applies to you personally.

Venus in Scorpio has its good qualities too. It doesn’t put up with any BS. It knows what it wants and goes for it. It’s laser focused on what it truly needs, wants, and desires in connection with others. It doesn’t like small talk or surface-level, frivolous connection that has no depth. That’s one of its more powerful and, I’d say, positive attributes.

Still, Venus in Scorpio is hard, because Venus does not like being in Scorpio. It’s in its detriment, and we’ve known that about Venus for thousands of years. But Venus is still a benefic, and something good can be pulled out of this. What we can really hone in on here is depth of connection.

Venus, Joy, and What We Value

Venus doesn’t just rule relationships. It connects most deeply to what brings us joy. That’s why Venus has its planetary joy in the 5th house, the house of hobbies, interests, fun, the things that light us up. It’s also the house of sex, so it makes sense that Venus is happy there. But Venus isn’t only about sensory or sexual pleasure. It’s about the pleasure we get from doing things that feel good and engage our passions and creativity on every level. The things that make life worth living.

That part of life will also be challenged during the first half of this retrograde. We may have to cut ties with something that once brought us a lot of joy but has become excessive. We may need to cut ties with laziness around something, or with something that feels really good but isn’t good for us. Have we lost joy in our life? That’s the question this retrograde brings up. Where is the joy, and how do we dig deeper, find something more meaningful, and go all in with it? Venus in Scorpio, especially with Pluto involved, is all in or all out. In this first part of the retrograde, I think we’ll spend a lot of time deciding where we need to get all out. It’s a period of purging and letting go.

Venus retrograde is also a good time to take a hard look at our material connections and what we truly value. In this case, that includes the psychological attachments we have that may no longer serve us around money, resources, how we spend and save, and the things we actually own. Are we holding on to material things that have become toxic in how they affect us emotionally, psychologically, or even physically? These are things to ponder.

A Collective Note on Women’s Health

One more thought about Venus in Scorpio during this first part of the retrograde, before Venus moves into Libra on October 25th. Venus rules hormones. It rules women, and it has a lot to do with certain areas of the female reproductive system. Scorpio also has to do with the cervix and with things like childbirth.

I’m speaking collectively here, not individually. You can’t look at medical astrology this generally for any one person. But on a collective scale, in the media and the news cycle, I have a feeling issues around women’s health or childbirth could come up and be talked about more, possibly reaching the mainstream.

Look Back to 2018

The last time Venus retrograded backward through Scorpio and Libra was in 2018, from October 5th through November 16th. I remember it vividly because Venus stationed retrograde in Scorpio right on my Ascendant (I’m a Scorpio rising). The degrees were only a couple off from where they are now. This time, Venus stations retrograde at 8° Scorpio and stations direct at 22° Libra.

One of the best ways to prepare for this cycle is to think back to what was happening for you during that 2018 retrograde. It won’t be exactly the same. We didn’t have this T-square back then, and Venus wasn’t squaring Pluto as it moved through Scorpio. But it’s still a reflection of major themes that will probably pop up again.

Signs Most Impacted by the Venus Retrograde T-Square

These interpretations apply to your Sun, Moon, and Rising sign, and to your natal Venus.

• Taurus: Probably the most challenging. Taurus is a fixed sign ruled by Venus, so you get the intense energy of a grand fixed cross forming in your chart. This affects you personally and across many areas of life. It’s a foundational shift and a foundational review.
• Scorpio and Aquarius: As fixed signs, you’ll feel a more challenging Venus retrograde. It will be really intense around getting clear on what you want and desire in relationships. There could be turbulence, and words could be exchanged.
• Libra: Your ruling planet is stationing retrograde and sits in a very difficult position until around the 25th, so this hits a bit more intensely, especially for Libra rising.
• Cancer and Pisces: This energy is intense regardless, but it will be a little less intense for you.

Not sure where your placements are? Pull up your birth chart and download my free Astrology 101 Quick Reference Guide below. It includes tutorials that show you how to pull up your chart and find your planets, and it’s a reference for the symbolism, significations, and terminology I use in all of my forecasts.

New Moon in Libra and Venus Square Mars (October 10th)

October 10th is a big key date. The Venus-Mars square comes exact, peaking the Venus T-square with Pluto and Mars. We also have a New Moon in Libra on the same day.

Libra is ruled by Venus, so the dispositor of this new moon is doing some interesting things. What I really like is the lovely sextile to Jupiter forming here. The Sun and Moon meet at 17° Libra, a little past the degrees Venus will retrograde into later this month and in November, but it still highlights something important. It highlights the need to take what you’re being exposed to and reflecting on (in your relationships, your values, your passions, your pleasures, and your material world) and do something powerful with it.

The second half of this Venus retrograde is all about coming back into balance and harmony, and this new moon is the time to start setting intentions for that. The first part of the month may feel like, “I had this experience, it threw me off kilter, and I want to do something extreme about it.” This new moon asks you to step back instead. Turn inward, reflect on everything you’ve been through with the important connections in your life up to this point, and look at how to turn that into something more harmonious, beautiful, and balanced moving forward.

It’s a great time to set intentions around what you truly want, need, and desire in relationships and material matters, and around coming back into balance with the things that bring you joy.

The sextile to Jupiter may bring a new opportunity for many people. Or really, an old opportunity showing back up, through reconnecting with someone or something, especially someone from your past. That could be a theme for a lot of people with this new moon.

Signs That Benefit Most From the Libra New Moon

The signs with the most potential to set solid intentions that manifest into something good are those with Sun, Moon, or Rising in:

• Libra
• Sagittarius
• Leo, of course, because that’s where Jupiter is
• Gemini
• Aquarius, although you’re getting a mixed bag. Pluto is in that opposition with Mars forming the T-square with Venus, so there’s a lot of challenge. There’s also an opportunity to create something beautiful and powerful out of it if you focus your energy and set your intentions right.

Pluto Stations Direct in Aquarius (October 15th)

On October 15th, Pluto stations to go direct in Aquarius. Outer planet stations, especially the invisible outer planets (Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto), aren’t usually the most dramatic events. This one is different because Pluto comes to a standstill while it’s square Venus, which highlights the T-square.

This is about digging in the trenches and dredging up something that has been hidden, buried, and kept secret from you. It’s being revealed deeply and intensely. We’re getting profound insights about important things happening in our lives and relationships, and this station amplifies that.

Pluto also stations in trine with Uranus and sextile with Neptune, activating the minor triangle aspect pattern we’ve been talking about all year, which continues through 2028. I think this is a mitigating influence. Something is being revealed. Yes, it’s a little dicey, and we don’t necessarily want to see what we’re seeing. But we’re seeing it, and we’re able to intuit how to make the right changes to use this for the betterment of our relationships and our lives moving forward.

Signs most impacted by the Pluto station:

• Most intense: Aquarius, of course
• Most challenging: Aquarius, Leo, and Scorpio
• Most harmonious: Aries and Gemini, especially with Sun, Moon, or Rising in the early degrees

Venus Goes Combust and the Venus Cazimi (October 18th–29th)

Venus goes combust around October 18th or 19th, depending on where you are, and stays combust until around October 28th or 29th. Right in the middle, on October 23rd, Venus makes its inferior conjunction with the Sun, also known as the Venus cazimi.

What Venus Combust Means

When Venus is combust, it’s being burned by the rays of the Sun and can’t be seen. It represents something hidden. Something has been revealed to us, and more is coming as Venus squares Pluto just after going combust on October 20th, but something still remains unseen.

Combustion also burns away the positive qualities of Venus and exposes the more negative attributes. Unfortunately, the symbolism of the lead-up to the cazimi, as Venus gets closer and closer to the Sun, is things going from bad to worse, without the full picture of what the heck is going on. That applies to our relationships. It may even apply to our joy, as that spark of excitement, passion, creativity, and sensuality goes out or dims for a little while. If something has been coming up intensely for you, things could get a bit dicier for a few days.

The Venus Cazimi Reset

Then Venus goes cazimi. At the inferior conjunction, Venus shifts from being visible in the evening sky (many of you have noticed how bright it’s been lately) to disappearing completely, and then it re-emerges in the morning sky before sunrise. That probably won’t be visible until around the middle of November.

This is symbolic of a massive reset of Venus’s energy. It’s kind of like, “Oh my gosh, all of this has been exposed, it feels like it’s getting worse, I don’t know what to do, there’s all this toxicity coming up.” And then we get the reset moment. That’s where we get a moment of clarity, where something important comes up or happens for us, to us, or in a critical relationship that has been going through exposure, dispute, and discord on and off this past month (or maybe all month, who knows). Something is revealed, and Venus resets her energy.

As Venus moves out of the conjunction with the Sun and continues through combustion, things start to get a little better and a little clearer. We’re internalizing, figuring things out, and dealing with the fallout of everything that’s happened so far this month. Then we start taking action and implementing.

So during the combust period leading up to the 23rd, our relationships go through a very intense period of evaluation. So do our finances. We’re evaluating what we value and how we value ourselves and our own self-worth, which is also a very Venusian thing, especially for women. We’re making decisions without the whole picture or real clarity.

We get that spark of clarity around the cazimi on the 23rd, and then we slowly start implementing those decisions. Will the changes stick? Venus is still retrograde, so maybe not. It’s still a period of implementation, integration, and dealing with the fallout of decisions we may have made in haste, before we had clarity.

Signs Most Impacted by the Venus Cazimi

• Most intense, but still beneficial for clarity: Taurus, Leo, Libra, Scorpio, and Aquarius. Especially Taurus, because you’re a fixed sign ruled by Venus, and Libra, because your chart ruler (especially for Libra rising) is heavily affected. You’ll get the most clarity, but the lead-up will be the most intense, and you’ll likely experience the most dramatic change, particularly if your Sun, Moon, Rising, Venus, or other personal planets are in the early degrees of the fixed signs.
• Most beneficial, with powerful insight you can implement more gently: Cancer and Pisces.
• A bit more harmonious and easier to handle: Virgo and Capricorn, to a lesser extent.

Mercury Stations Retrograde in Scorpio (October 24th)

October 23rd through the 25th has a lot going on. On October 24th, the day after the Venus cazimi, Mercury stations retrograde in Scorpio. More Scorpio action.

Mercury isn’t in its fall or detriment in Scorpio. It’s not doing anything super special there. It’s just there. Mercury in Scorpio is about depth of understanding, getting to the core truth of something, researching deeply, and following the rabbit hole. It’s a very introspective time.

Just like with Venus retrograde in Scorpio, where we don’t want surface-level relationships, with Mercury retrograde in Scorpio we don’t want surface-level conversations, ideas, or thoughts. We don’t want regurgitated garbage on social media that’s only there for entertainment. We want depth. We want to take something and run with it, understand it at a deeper and more precise level. We want the truth.

And the truth will be revealed with Mercury retrograde in Scorpio. I can promise you that. We’ll see revelations in the media, in our personal lives, and internally, and some of those will dramatically alter the way we think about things.

Mercury Square Mars and Jupiter

Mercury stations retrograde in square with Mars and Jupiter. The exact square to Mars happens on October 30th, and the exact square to Jupiter happens in November.

This is a mixed bag. Mars and Jupiter are moving toward a conjunction, and this Mercury retrograde activates and highlights that. When Mars and Jupiter come together, things tend to get blown out of proportion. There’s a tendency to over-dramatize or overreact, because that’s Mars: reactionary and defensive. Or we overdo it and get overly enthusiastic about something.

In Leo, both themes are prominent. Leo can be very passionate, enthusiastic, and optimistic, but Leo can also be a little over the top sometimes. Not necessarily in a bad way. They just have a bit of flair in how they express themselves.

With Mercury in Scorpio, something is revealed, you understand the truth of it, you dig deeper, and then maybe you overreact by going all in and obsessing over it, taking it too far, or doing something overly dramatic. With Jupiter in the mix, it’s probably not the worst thing. It’s more like going too far down the rabbit hole.

Signs Most Impacted by Mercury Retrograde in Scorpio

• Most intense and challenging: Taurus, Gemini, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius. I added Gemini because Mercury is your ruling planet, so when Mercury stations and does weird stuff, it affects you more. It won’t be as challenging for you as it is for Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius, though. I’m so sorry, fixed signs. You’re going through it this month, and I’m right there with you as a Scorpio rising. We’ll get through it together.
• Really intense and potentially positive: Virgo Sun, Moon, and Rising, and even Virgo Mercury. Mercury stations in a sextile to your sign, and it’s your ruling planet. This is a powerful period of introspection and review, of redoing something or having something come back into your life that will benefit you greatly in the future.
• Less intense but still very beneficial: Cancer, Capricorn, and Pisces.

Venus Enters Libra and the Full Moon in Taurus (October 25th)

On October 25th, the energy starts shifting in a very different direction. But not before one final burst of intensity for the fixed signs.

Venus Retrogrades Back Into Libra

Venus finally retrogrades back into Libra, its home sign, where it makes harmonious aspects with the North Node and Jupiter. This is a very good thing. This is where we finally get to come back into balance and take all the hard lessons we’ve learned this month and implement them. Earlier, we were revisiting things that were really difficult. Now we’re revisiting things in a way that lets us re-establish harmony and equilibrium and have a gentler time.

That continues all the way to the end of the Venus retrograde on November 13th. The rest of this retrograde will feel so, so different from the first half. Think of it as a period of revelation followed by a period of repair. This is a really good time to start working on your relationships and repairing the damage.

Signs that benefit most from Venus in Libra:

• Taurus: The most beneficial for you, because you’ve been through it with this retrograde. Your ruling planet is moving into its home sign and is no longer making T-squares with Pluto and malefic Mars in the fixed signs. This lightens the load.
• Scorpio, Aquarius, and Leo: A lot easier after what you’ve been going through.
• Libra: Very beneficial, because Venus is moving into its home sign and into your sign. This is a time to get in touch with what you need, want, and desire, and to come back into harmony, balance, and equilibrium.
• Gemini and Aquarius: Venus in Libra trines your Sun, Moon, Rising, or Venus, which makes it extra harmonious.

It’s beneficial for literally everyone, but most beneficial for those signs.

The Full Moon in Taurus Square Pluto

This full moon is a weird one. Things don’t suddenly feel glorious the day Venus moves into Libra. We’ll have a few days before, during, and after this full moon where the intensity is amplified.

The Full Moon in Taurus makes a very exact T-square with Pluto, highlighting the same revelations, emotional and psychological intensity, beginnings, endings, and catalysts for change that we’ve been dealing with all month, but now in a big, overt way that’s out in the open.

It’s also a period of revelation. Whatever we discovered during Venus retrograde in Scorpio and the T-square, whether that’s toxicity, a truth, information, insight, or a deeper connection to ourselves that showed us what we really need, want, desire, and value, something about it is now being externally exposed or externally manifested. That’s a big deal. With the Moon in Taurus squaring Pluto, there will be a lot of emotional intensity. I think people will be dealing with a lot of fear and anxiety, and also a lot of external transformation.

This full moon falls just after the Venus cazimi, while Venus is moving away from the Sun and still combust. This is the implementation period I mentioned earlier, where something is being integrated and made manifest. The decisions we came to start to form and show up externally, sometimes without us having to do anything, and we’re dealing with that situation coming fully to light.

Signs most impacted by the Taurus Full Moon:

• Most intense and challenging: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius (not so much Libra)
• Least challenging: Cancer, Virgo, Capricorn, and Pisces

It’s still a little dicey and intense across the board.

Resources for Navigating October

If this Venus retrograde is bringing up relationship issues for you, my Relationships in Synastry course is 50% off through November 13th, when Venus stations direct. Once Venus moves into Libra, it’s a really good time to start implementing changes and learning how to create balance in your relationships, and that’s what this course teaches you to do.

If you’re reading this in September, my Celestial Vitality Workshop is still 50% off, just $29. It teaches you the seven key indicators for understanding your overall health and wellness, and what your body needs for movement, food, rest, and self-care. It’s about aligning your lifestyle with your own astrological wellness blueprint instead of somebody else’s, because we all have different bodies and different makeups, and the astrology shows us that. 

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