On October 3, 2026 at 12:16 AM PDT Venus will station retrograde, bringing up themes of the past from the fall 2010 and the fall of 2018. At a basic level Venus rules love, physical attraction, harmony, art, beauty, women’s issues, the national birth rate, social factors connected to marriage and children. Sociologically Venus rules artists, musicians, young women, girls, and people connected with places made for entertainment. On a mundane level she rules peace, and diplomatic resolutions.
Venus can have a darker side as well. She can bring up socially unacceptable sexual desires in some folks or situations surrounding such themes may come up. There can be a lack of attention or consideration for the potential consequences of one’s actions. This could play out as someone neglecting important details, responsibilities, or potential dangers, which can lead to unintended outcomes. The darker side of Venus can also manifest as inconsideration, affecting not only the individual themselves but the safety or well-being of others around the individual. Vices such as bad habits that are considered socially immoral or corrupt can emerge, for example addiction to gambling or substance abuse.
With Venus stationing retrograde in the sign of Scorpio, the sign of her detriment, we may be called to examine how we struggle with a lack of moderation, or restraint. If we do not practice moderation or restrain it can ultimately result in illness or upset. There may be distressing feelings in intimate relationships that come up. Feelings of possessiveness, jealousy, or obsession that are not reasonable or logical. When Venus enters back into the sign of Libra there is a danger of scattering our affections among others. There may be too many social engagements, too many pleasures, too many friends, or contacts and we may struggle to keep up.
Venus will station conjunct the 5th house cusp of the chart. The Fifth House rules theatres, all places of amusement, entertainment and pleasure. The birth-rate, children, sexual concerns. Sports, speculation, gambling. Some consider that the 5th house is connected with ‘high society’ or royals and any sort of formal social functions.
What Happened Last Time
Venus last went retrograde in Scorpio in the fall of 2010 (October 8–November 18) and the fall of 2018 (October 5–November 16). I’ve compiled 37 sourced news events from both windows into a free timeline — Download the free timeline (PDF). Here are a few that fit the classic Venus retrograde themes:
Love and rupture: October 2010 opened with divorce filings from Ben Harper and Laura Dern (October 8) and Christina Aguilera (October 14), plus the Courteney Cox–David Arquette separation (October 11). In 2018, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner finalized their divorce (October 5) while Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson called off their engagement (October 14).
Money in motion: gold hit a record near $1,388 an ounce in October 2010 while the Fed rolled out QE2 that November. In October 2018, the Dow dropped 831 points in a single day and Sears filed for Chapter 11.
Art shocks: Taylor Swift released Speak Now on October 25, 2010 — and made her first-ever political endorsement on October 7, 2018. My all time favorite Venus Retrograde moment is when Banksy’s ‘Girl with Balloon’ was purchased and promptly shredded itself afterwards at Sotheby’s on October 5, 2018, just hours into the retrograde window.
An Eruption of Scandalous or confidential Information: WikiLeaks published the Iraq War Logs on October 22, 2010 right as retrograde Venus crossed Fixed Star Khambalia in the first retrograde of this series. In 2018, Google announced it was shutting down Google+ after a data leak (October 8).
The patterns: re-evaluation of relationships, money moving, art making headlines, and big secrets coming out.
Venus Conjunct Fixed Star Khambalia
Venus will station on top of a fixed star, Khambalia. The term Khambalia means “Crooked-clawed” in Coptic Egyptian. This star is in the left foot of the Virgo constellation. In her book, Fixed Stars and Constellations in Astrology, Vivian E. Robson, states this is a star that brings violence, unreliability, changeability, and an argumentative nature. Ptolemy said that this star has a Mercury-Mars type of nature (in my opinion that is the type of energy arguments are made of). There is an element of secrets being uncovered and also themes of espionage with this star and Venus Retrograde. This star can make folks very good at applying deep intellectual research of any kind, to legal investigation, and to topics like espionage. A good example of this phenomenon is the 2010 Wikileaks mentioned above involving the Iraq War Logs being published on 10/22/2010 as Venus retrograde was crossing this star, at that time 391,832 classified U.S. Army field reports from 2004–2009 were published and it was the largest U.S. military leak at that time.
Ancient Chinese Astrologers considered this star to be in the 1st portion of the Kang Mansion (neck). They said that if Venus transits Kang Su, the country will suffer loss and its people will suffer disaster. They also said that if Venus moves in retrograde motion over this area, military chaos will follow; rays or spikes indicate the execution of high officials; if it lingers, floods, droughts, or royal mourning occur. It is also said that if Mercury transgresses Kang Su (which it is doing right now), “it signifies floods and major warfare. That if it lingers (meaning stations), rice prices rise, disease spreads, drought strikes, bandits emerge, and social discord prevails,” the following quote taken from Song History is worrisome since Mercury is going to be preshadow October 4th and stations retrograde on October 24th.
Aspects of Venus Stationing Retrograde:
Venus Square Mars 5 28′ A
This aspect doesn’t go exact until around October 10th, 2026. When Venus and Mars are in aspect love and passion can take on a more impulsive quality than usual. The need for no strings attached sexual encounters can become quite strong for some folks, while others may just need to get some physical fitness time in as a way of working through this aspect. It can certainly steer folks towards having multiple partners or infidelity. Arguments between romantic partners are par for the course typically.
Venus Square Pluto 5 23′ S
Think back to September 15th, that is when the first Venus Pluto square occurred. We have two more to go. There will be a second one coming on October 19th. The Third and final square takes place around December 9th 2026. Power struggles, secretiveness, and jealousy can make relationships difficult with this combination. This combination can make some people quite compulsive and it can bring about an element of danger so it would be beneficial for people to pay attention to their surroundings, and safety on these dates this aspect is exact.
The Venus Retrograde Midpoints:
The Sun Saturn midpoint with Venus can bring about ethical objections to love or ethical objections regarding certain actions in love relationships on the day of the station. Restraints and difficulties related to love pop up. “Sickness through the female sex,” is mentioned in the book, “Rules for Planetary Pictures”. As well as the phenomenon of men feeling inclined to separate from love relationships. Ebertin says in his book, “Combination of Stellar Influences that the midpoint of the Sun and Saturn deals mostly with hereditary illness so it makes me wonder if Rules For Planetary Pictures is talking about sicknesses inherited from the mother, more so than a romantic partner.
The midpoint of Saturn and Uranus with Venus is said to bring Sudden rupture in love relationships and also described as some form of separation from something one might have wished for in the Rules book. Ebertin says that this midpoint can be tense and irritable. There is an elevated amount of emotional strain and tension with the midpoint that can result in conflict and stubbornness. This can bring up violent force in some people should they feel like their freedom is limited. This energy combined with Venus implies we will possibly see situations involving romantic relationships ending, or at the very least tense, uncompromising, and stressed.
The midpoint of Saturn and Admetos with Venus is about Surmounting or surpassing difficulties easily by not being overly sensitive to bad manners. For example if one is being avoided or snubbed taking it with indifference would be the best course of action. This is a good time to try to be thick skinned. We may end up with a female connection or friend who finds themselves in a tight spot according to Rules for Planetary Pictures.
Venus Retrograde Aspects to Asteroids
Venus Opposition Hephaistos can highlight that money can bring people together but other than initial attraction or an interest in financial security, they might not have much else in common. So this will not sustain relationships between people with differing values, morals, and beliefs about partnerships. This combination can bring up romantic and financial issues between partners who are incompatible and not suited for one another.
Venus Square Hopi might bring themes of Native American art into the equation somehow or give Native American art some kind of public appeal or appreciation.
With Venus in an Opposition Centaur Okyrhoe there might be some clashing of views between the Okyrhoe/Venus combination and authority that comes up. This may imply that authority might attempt to silence some form of truth or information in some way to avoid dealing with the impact and power of the truth surrounding that information getting leaked. There is an intense urge for Venus and Okyrhoe to reveal that which is truth, and information that has been hidden from others. On the other hand, those in positions of authority might feel like they must do anything and everything to keep the truth or information from getting out.
What to Watch For: October 3 – November 13, 2026
From October 3 to November 13, 2026, expect unfinished business in love: old flames resurfacing, jealousy and possessiveness flaring, and a hard look at what you actually value in a partner and the price you might be paying to have a relationship. The claws of the scorpion have two themes, one claw is the price to be made, and the other is the price to paid so watch your money and shared resources closely. Venus in Scorpio can bring problems with finances, debts, and loans. So joint accounts deserve a second glance.
Artists and musicians may have an unusually loud season, and with Venus stationing on Khambalia, secrets have a way of surfacing — in relationships, in business, and in public life. The midpoints add their own warnings: sudden ruptures where freedom feels limited (Saturn/Uranus), ethical objections surfacing inside love relationships (Sun/Saturn), and tests of how thick-skinned you can be when snubbed or avoided (Saturn/Admetos).
This is a retrograde for folks to deeply consider the price that is paid BEFORE we consider the price to be made.
Support My Work
If this article helped you understand the coming retrograde, download the free 37-event timeline (PDF) and see exactly what happened during the last two Venus retrogrades in Scorpio. Your donation keeps these articles and my missing-person case work going — and helps launch the upcoming Advice Astrologer podcast. And if you’d like a personal look at what this retrograde means for your own chart, book a reading.
Leave a Reply