Astrology

Venus turns retrograde on October 3, first time in Scorpio and Libra in eight years

Venus stations retrograde on October 3 at 8 degrees of Scorpio and stays reversed until November 13, marking the first time in eight years the love planet has moonwalked through both Scorpio and Libra in one cycle, according to Astrostyle.com.

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How the six-week reversal unfolds#

Astrostyle.com reports that Venus spends October 3 through 25 reversed in Scorpio, then rewinds into Libra from October 25 until the retrograde ends on November 13, a backspin through these two signs that the site says has not happened in eight years, with old conflicts possibly resurfacing along the way.

Venus enters a pre-retrograde shadow period on August 31, 2026 at 22 degrees Libra, begins its retrograde on October 3 at 8 degrees Scorpio, ends the retrograde on November 13 at 22 degrees Libra, and exits the post-retrograde shadow on December 15 at 8 degrees Scorpio, according to Astrology.com.

Venus turns retrograde roughly once every 18 months and remains reversed for close to 40 days, a far less frequent cycle than Mercury retrograde, which occurs three or four times a year for about three weeks each time, astrologer Judy Tsafrir told Hindustan Times.

What astrologers say the transit stirs up#

Hindustan Times reports that Tsafrir links Scorpio to emotional intensity, power, control and jealousy, a contrast astrologers traditionally draw against Venus's themes of love, pleasure, beauty and harmony.

Astrology.com says Venus retrograde in Scorpio can pull old relationships and unfinished business back to the surface, testing whether partners crave closeness or independence, while describing the parallel Libra leg of the retrograde as exposing imbalances in love, money or compromise that call for honesty rather than surface-level charm.

Bustle reports that because Venus governs partnership, romance and personal values, the retrograde is traditionally treated as a time to avoid planning weddings or proposals and to put off major changes in appearance, such as a dramatic haircut or cosmetic treatment.

Aspects marked on the astrological calendar#

Astrology.com lists two specific alignments during the retrograde: on October 6, Mercury links up with Venus retrograde in Scorpio, a pairing it associates with honest conversations about the past, and on October 20, Venus retrograde in Scorpio squares Pluto in Aquarius, which the site ties to power struggles in relationships.

W Magazine describes this as the last time Venus will meet the sun in Scorpio during a Venus retrograde in this lifetime, framing the cycle as an end-of-year reassessment of emotional, financial, spiritual and creative resources that unfolds over roughly three and a half months once the shadow periods are included.

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