Summary
Venus Transits Libra September 1 – November 4
Mercury Transits Virgo September 6 – 25
New Moon in Leo/Purvaphalguni September 10
Sun Transits Virgo September 16 – October 17
Mars Transits Cancer September 18 – November 12
Mercury Transits Libra September 25 – December 1
Full Moon in Pisces/Uttarabhadra September 26
October 2026 Headlines

Summary

For an in-depth analysis of specific planetary placements, please continue with the full planetary forecast.

Venus Transits Libra September 1 – November 4

Of the inner planets, Venus has been leading the charge in 2026. Think back to late February, early March of 2026. There was an emphatic gathering of planets in Aquarius around the outrageous north node of the Moon, Rahu. The Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Mars gathered around Rahu as Mercury took retrograde motion, which allowed Venus to move to the front of the pack of the inner planets.

By early April, Venus was leading the charge through Aries. We also experienced a series of Kala Amrita Yoga pulses that created sessions of pressurized squeeze with intermittentent, incremental bouts of perspective that resulted in many people feeling tossed about by the hands of fate. By early August, Venus had forged through Leo, breaking the bind of the serpent energy just before the eclipse cycle.

In August, Venus in Virgo was still in pioneer mode, handling the details, refining processes, and cleaning up after unexpected messes. Venus moving into her own sign of Libra shifts the burden more toward relationships, exchange of ideas, and possibly resolution when it comes to the events that came to prominence in the Spring.

With Venus running ahead of both Mercury and the Sun through the Spring and Summer months, we’ve been observing Venus in the western sky after sunset, in the "evening star" mode. On a good day, Venus is walking in the garden, picking vegetables for dinner. On another day, Venus may be leading the charge in a careless territory war.

Venus represents the principle of connections, relationships, and union, either the presence or lack thereof. Themes of conflict and unity have run strongly during this calendar year. With negotiations having begun with a quick start in March, we have been witnessing the fallout of relational events started then. Now, with Venus moving into Libra for such a long transit, we look into the upcoming retrograde cycle of Venus that will change her place in the transiting planetary lineup and her phase eventually toward the "morning star."

Venus’ upcoming intinerary looks like this:

September 1, entrance to Libra
October 2, retrograde at 15 degrees Libra
October 24, inferior conjunction (with the Sun)
November 5, return to Virgo
November 13, direct at 29 degrees Virgo
November 21 – January 1, transit Libra

That’s your long range Venus schedule to account for. For September, Venus will glide through the first half of her air sign, Libra, in direct motion. Mid-flight, Mars enters Cancer and reapplies some gentle fire to Venus, which could feel slightly intrusive yet oddly stabilizing. By late September, the inner planets begin to gather and stack, with Mercury joining Venus in Libra.

In October we begin to feel things stir, churn, and rumble. Venus and then Mercury add retrograde motion to the already active and slippery aspect of Rahu. Mars from Cancer could project a frustrated force into already delicate negotiations.

Use September, with innovative Rahu aspecting diplomatic Venus in Libra, and also courageous Mars aspecting Venus from Cancer, to design a safety net for the unstable but potentially fascinating energy that will begin to come online in October. This is a good time to rebalance relationships and attend to balance sheets. Redraw your boundaries, let go of unrealistic or outdated goals. Connect with your people, stand up for your rights.

Mercury Transits Virgo September 6 – 25

Moving away from combustion and the bright orb of the Sun, Mercury skips through Virgo during the heart of September, giving us a classic harvest energy where we lovingly gather and store the sunlight in the form of food and medicine.

This is productive, practical energy that should not be wasted. If there is work to be done, use the disciplined suggestions of Saturn, who aspects able Mercury from Pisces, to make hay while the Sun shines. Until September 15th, Mars’ strong energy also pushes Mercury to get it done.

Paired with the creative and connective abilities of Venus who is simultaneously well placed in Libra, enthusiastic Mercury in Virgo, pushed by Saturn’s discipline and Mars’ strength, could keep things moving along quickly in September. This is a great month to shore up plans, practices, and schedules with both physical and mental health in mind. Find your balance before things start to get exciting in October.

New Moon in Leo/Purvaphalguni September 10

The Moon passes through the still vibrating eclipse zone on September 9th and then lines up with the Sun late on September 10th for the new Moon at 25 degrees Leo, in the last portion of Purvaphalguni nakshatra. This could feel at once like a moment of release from a previous confined situation but with the added flavor of revisiting an old lesson that hasn’t quite settled.

Even though the Sun, Moon, and Ketu will all occupy Leo at this moment, the joining of the Sun and Moon is too far out of Ketu’s range to cause a shadow, so there is not an eclipse, but the echoes of the August eclipse pairing may reverberate a bit longer.

The darkness and inward turning nature of a new Moon invites us to pause and surrender. Mental and physical energy can drop at these moments, which is why the advice is to reduce activity and increase self care. When the Moon is drained who is there to fill our plate? It is up to us to look out for ourselves and others, slowing down enough to take rest, nourishment, and social time.

A pause implies a restart. Take the days around the new Moon to sink in, rest, and ruminate. Collect creative thoughts, and indulge in introspection about your own role in the relationships, groups, and teams that you participate in. Identify what inspires you and point yourself in that direction as you move through mid-September.

Sun Transits Virgo September 16 – October 17

When the Sun moves out of Leo and into Virgo on September 16th, he moves away from the shadows caused by proximity to the nodal axis and into another shadowy aspect from Saturn in Pisces, for a month that could be laced with the underlying tension caused by the ego colliding with reality.

The Sun’s exit from Leo also creates another condition, which is that the nodal axis, with Rahu in Aquarius and Ketu in Leo, will be the lone occupants of those signs for about six weeks, until Jupiter moves through the tricky transition zone between Cancer and Leo on October 30th.

The nodes alone in these signs, toward the end of their 1.5 year transit there, bring an eerily quiet energy that seems to pull at us from both ends, pulsing to a primal beat that reminds of the undeniably simple truth of why we are here. When the world spins too fast, find yourself a quiet spot to counterbalance that spin and sit with the trajectory of where you’ve been and where there is to go in your life. Try to keep it simple.

The Sun will oppose his natural enemy and true offspring, Saturn, from September 16 – October 17. Saturn is currently in retrograde status and will exactly oppose the Sun on October 3 – 4. As the Sun makes his way toward that exact opposition, look for tension or friction when it comes to relationships involving heirarchy, sovereignty, or authority. The looser status of Saturn navigating the final sign of the zodiac could help when it comes to forgiving offenses and accepting apologies, with the caveat that boundaries stay in place in order to maintain peace and balance.

Mars Transits Cancer September 18 – November 12

Mars joins Jupiter in Cancer on September 18th, spending a couple of months in the Moon’s watery sign. This will be the beginning of an extended interaction between Mars and Jupiter that also folds in with Ketu through April 2027.

The larger arc of the story sees the trio of Jupiter, Mars, and Ketu, all friendly with one another transiting in both direct and retrograde motion in the signs of Cancer and Leo for about 7 months. We will fine tune the details through the months to come, but for now considered yourself notified that the planets representing positive growth, strength and power, and unpredictable change swirled with obstruction and liberation, will be doing the tango in the royal signs of Cancer and Leo, the constellations lorded by the Moon and the Sun. The Ketu factor in the mix signals deep and fundamental changes will be available as we traverse the months of October 2026 through April 2027.

Jupiter and Mars are natural friends. When the wisdom of Jupiter can guide the power of Mars, great things can be accomplished in a righteous way. Especially during the Cancer portion of this pairing when Mars transits from September 18 – November 12, Jupiter’s positon gives wisdom, truth, and positive expansion the upper hand due to Jupiter’s exaltation in Cancer paired with Mars’ debilitation in that same sign.

This could bog down Mars just enough that explosive anger is unable to express. When it comes to fast paced production, fierce protection, or efficient progress, Mars in Cancer is not supportive. When it comes to courageously facing emotions in order to find space to process and grow, Mars in Cancer can help.

Little wet Mars will be aspecting three other signs from Cancer: Libra, currently hosting Venus, Capricorn, reminding us of the work to be done even when we can’t do it, and Aquarius, currently hosting Rahu and possibly the most reactive when it comes to feeling Mars’ powerful intentions. Mars in Cancer aspecting Rahu in Aquarius feels like working hard, against all odds, toward a desired outcome.

Mercury Transits Libra September 25 – December 1

Mercury bounces into Libra, joining Venus, on September 25th, settling in for an extended stay which involves a retrograde cycle tango style, sending Mercury on to Scorpio on December 1st.

We can divide this long Mercury transit in Libra into three parts.

Part 1: Mercury direct in Libra. September 25 – October 24
Part 2: Mercury retrograde at 27 degrees Libra. October 24 – November 13
Part 3: Mercury direct at 11 degrees Libra. November 13 – December 1

Mercury and Moon are the rulers of different parts of our mental faculties. Mercury indicates the intellectual mind that observes, analyzes, and plans. Moon rules the emotional and mental experiences that have more to do with feeling, reflecting, and responding. You can classify Moon as the Feeling Mind and Mercury as the Thinking Mind.

When the Mercury part of us becomes overstimulated or overwhelmed, we can feel busy, disorganized, or anxious. When our Mercury energy is clipping along at a good pace, getting things done, taking time for self care and nutrition, we can feel inspired, happy, and excited.

Mercury going into Libra, joining Venus and gaining Rahu’s aspect is like dropping your child off at a birthday party where they will have access to unlimited sugar, social overload, roller skates, and audio/visual stimulation. It will be fun and exciting, lots of interaction will happen, but there may be a hangover or crash afterward, which could include reckoning with consequences of actions made during party time.

This is of course, a metaphor, designed to portray that we are coming up on a couple months in October and November where there could be a fast moving wave of changes that leave us dizzy. This is further indication, along with some of the other placements we’ve considered, specifically Venus’ upcoming itinerary, that September is a good time to tidy up.

Either finish projects or let them go. Find the highest pressure and priority tasks and move them to the top. Don’t plan on starting into a potential frenzy with a disorganized plan, or no plan at all.

For the end of September and into October, we are in part 1 of Mercury’s Libra transit, in direct motion through half of the sign. This is strong energy for getting organized, refining priorities, and cutting bait on what isn’t coming into the next chapter.

Full Moon in Pisces/Uttarabhadra September 26

The Moon blazes into the oppostion currently underway between Saturn and the Sun, reaching her full, uneclipsed brightness at 10 degrees Pisces, in the nakshatra of Uttarabhadra. Nearby will be retrograde Saturn, whose backpedaling through mid-December could lift some tightness or pressure. Generally Saturn’s interactions with the luminaries, the Sun and Moon, tend to cause some shade, reminding us of the cost of shining.

Uttarabhadra lies entirely within Jupiter’s water sign, oceanic Pisces. In addition to the expansive energy of Jupiter, Uttarabhadra upholds the depth and structure of Saturn as its planetary ruler, reminding us of the weight needed to anchor in such an eternally shifting environment. At full Moons, the Sun exactly opposes the Moon, and here we will have the Sun at nearly 10 degrees Virgo, at the last sliver of Uttaraphalguni nakshatra, one of the Sun’s own nakshatras.

All of these details taken together feel like a pivotal moment, with the Sun ripening in Virgo and Mercury newly positioned to witness and facilitate in the upcoming shakedown. If you’re getting ready to launch something, it could be that September is for final preparations while you set a date in October to get going. Perhaps that busy energy could be an indication that you’ve just set sail and there are many factors arising that ask for adjustments.

Retrograde energy, especially when it comes to a compound tango of Venus and Mercury in Libra, is great for creative editing. Venus loves art, Mercury loves words. As Rahu pours his wild and innovative energy into Libra, prepare for that cascade of ideas and get them down in sketches or recordings.

The full Moon of September 26th stands adjacent to that wild, creative idea storm, reminding us of why we are creating and how to keep ourselves grounded when it comes to expanding, producing, or discarding those ideas.

September is like waiting in line for an amusement park ride; we are incrementally holding our space, stepping ahead, and preparing for the ride of a lifetime. In early October, we reach the front of the line and get into those cars, strapping in for safety.

Slow down mentally, survey the landscape of your priorities, make adjustments as necessary. Prepare physically by clearing space, adjusting processes for efficiency, and sticking with supportive health routines.

October 2026 Headlines

October 2 - Venus Retrograde 15 deg Libra
October 10 - New Moon 23 deg Virgo/Hasta
October 17 to November 16 - Sun Transits Libra
October 24 - Venus Inferior Conjunction
October 24 - Mercury Retrograde 27 deg Libra
October 25 - Full Moon 9 deg Aries/Ashwini
October 30 to January 21 - Jupiter Transits Leo