The planets this week
| Planet | Sign and degree | What it is doing |
|---|---|---|
| Sun | 26° Libra to 2° Scorpio | Enters Scorpio Fri 23 Oct, 11:37. Opposes Chiron Thu 22 Oct, 00:26 |
| Venus | 3° Scorpio to 29° Libra, retrograde | Exact square to Pluto Tue 20 Oct, 08:56. Meets the Sun Sat 24 Oct, 05:44. Back into Libra Sun 25 Oct, 10:09 |
| Mercury | 20° to 21° Scorpio | Stations retrograde Sat 24 Oct, 09:12 at 21° Scorpio. Direct 13 Nov |
| Pluto | 3° Aquarius | Turned direct Fri 16 Oct and barely moving. Squares the Sun on Mon 26 Oct |
| Saturn and Neptune | 10° and 2° Aries, retrograde | The slow backdrop. Neptune less than a degree from a sextile to Pluto |
| Moon | Full in Taurus (Mon 26 Oct) | 2° Taurus at 05:11, the morning after the week ends, squared by Pluto |
All times are Stockholm time. Clocks go back on Sunday 25 October at 03:00, so times from then on are CET (UTC+1). Positions computed with the Swiss Ephemeris.
The week at a glance
So I think this week belongs mostly to Venus. She has been moving backwards through early Scorpio since 3 October, and on Tuesday 20 October at 08:56 she makes her second exact square to Pluto, both at 3 degrees. The first one was on 15 September. If something came up for you around then, in a relationship, around money, or around what you value and why, you might notice the same theme asking for another look.
Then on Saturday morning Mercury stops and turns retrograde at 21 degrees Scorpio, and it stays that way until 13 November. So for the next few weeks two personal planets are walking backwards together. The pace changes. I'd use these seven days to go back over what is already yours, and I'd go a bit slower on brand new starts.
The slow backdrop
Pluto turned direct on Friday 16 October at 3 degrees Aquarius, and right now it is barely moving. When a slow planet stands still like that, the part of your chart it touches tends to feel louder for a while. Pluto has been in Aquarius since November 2024, so this is a long chapter, and the growth pressure it brings works over years, which is why it rarely makes sense from inside a single week.
Underneath that, Neptune at 2 Aries and Saturn at 10 Aries are both retrograde, and Neptune and Pluto are less than a degree from a sextile. I don't want to load the week with meaning from the outer planets. They set the weather. What makes it personal is your own chart, so I'd start there. Look at where 3 Aquarius falls for you, and check whether you have anything near 3 degrees of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio or Aquarius. That house, and any planet sitting close to those degrees, is probably where this week lands hardest for you.
The activation this week
Venus square Pluto is the sharpest contact of the week. Venus describes what we're drawn to, what we value, and how we relate. Pluto shows where something has run its course and wants to change from the root. When the two meet in a square, old patterns in love, money or self-worth can come up with more force than the situation in front of you seems to deserve. I'd treat that extra force as information. It usually points back to something older.
Two more contacts build on it. On Thursday 22 October, shortly after midnight (00:26), the Sun opposes Chiron across 28 Libra and 28 Aries. Then on Saturday 24 October at 05:44 the Sun meets retrograde Venus at 0 degrees Scorpio. This is the middle point of the whole Venus retrograde, the moment she passes between us and the Sun. I think of it as a turning point inside the review. What you've been looking at since early October may start to make a different kind of sense around here.
The Sun moves into Scorpio on Friday 23 October at 11:37, and on Sunday at 10:09 Venus slips back into Libra, where she'll stay for the rest of her retrograde. So the week starts in Scorpio and then hands some of the questions back to Libra, to the relationships themselves.
The lunation
There's no lunation inside the week itself, but the Full Moon comes a few hours after it ends, on Monday 26 October at 05:11, at 2 degrees Taurus. The Sun sits opposite at 2 Scorpio, and Pluto at 3 Aquarius squares them both. The Sun and Pluto are exact later that same day. You may feel it building over the weekend.
A Full Moon brings things into the light. With Pluto squaring both ends, I think it may show where you've been holding on to something for safety, and what it costs you to keep holding. Taurus is also Venus's sign, and Venus is retrograde, so I'd read this Full Moon as part of the same review and give any decision a little more time before you act on it.
What to watch for in the body
With this much Scorpio and Pluto around, you might notice a gripping quality. A tight jaw, or a stomach that knots up during certain conversations. If that shows up for you, it's worth noticing, along with what was being talked about at the time.
Mercury stationing can also make the mind loop. The same thought comes back three or four times, or a message you meant to send stays in drafts. You don't have to fix that. Slow down, get your feet on the floor, and let your body tell you where the charge is before your head starts explaining it.
Take with you
One thing to take with you
Venus retrograde square Pluto is a second look at something you've already met once this autumn. Venus doesn't turn direct until 14 November, so there's time. If you think back to mid September, what was asking for your attention then, and is it the same thing knocking now?
Simon
