2026 sky file · Scorpio · calculated
Mercury retrograde in Scorpio 2026: exact times, the Venus overlap and your degree
Mercury stations retrograde at 20°59′ Scorpio on and stations direct at 5°02′ Scorpio on . For all of those three weeks Venus is retrograde too. Venus turns direct at 22°52′ Libra on : still November 13 in the Americas, already November 14 in Madrid, Cairo, Riyadh and Dubai.
Every time and degree on this page is calculated from the Swiss Ephemeris that powers Lunara’s charts. The interpretation is symbolic: it describes what astrology traditionally associates with these cycles, not what will happen to you.
The full calendar, in UTC
UTC is one shared clock; your calendar date can differ. “Shadow” means the stretch of degrees a planet covers three times. It is not extra backward motion.
| Event | UTC | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Venus enters its shadow | 22°52′ Libra | |
| Mercury enters Scorpio | Libra → 0° Scorpio | |
| Venus stations retrograde | 8°29′ Scorpio | |
| Mercury enters its pre-retrograde shadow | 5°02′ Scorpio | |
| Sun enters Scorpio | Libra → 0° Scorpio | |
| Venus–Sun conjunction (mid-retrograde) | 0°45′ Scorpio | |
| Mercury stations retrograde | 20°59′ Scorpio | |
| Retrograde Venus re-enters Libra | 0° Scorpio → Libra | |
| Mercury–Sun conjunction (mid-retrograde) | 12°11′ Scorpio | |
| Mercury stations direct | 5°02′ Scorpio | |
| Venus stations direct | 22°52′ Libra | |
| Mercury leaves its shadow | 20°59′ Scorpio | |
| Venus re-enters Scorpio | Libra → 0° Scorpio | |
| Mercury enters Sagittarius | Scorpio → 0° Sagittarius | |
| Venus leaves its shadow | 8°29′ Scorpio |
“Both turn direct on the same day”? It depends where you are
Mercury’s direct station and Venus’s are 8.6 hours apart. Whether they share a calendar date is a time-zone question, which is also why some calendars print October 25 or November 14.
| City | Mercury retrograde | Mercury direct | Venus direct |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 24 Oct, 00:13 | 13 Nov, 07:54 | 13 Nov, 16:28 |
| Mexico City | 24 Oct, 01:13 | 13 Nov, 09:54 | 13 Nov, 18:28 |
| Bogotá | 24 Oct, 02:13 | 13 Nov, 10:54 | 13 Nov, 19:28 |
| New York | 24 Oct, 03:13 | 13 Nov, 10:54 | 13 Nov, 19:28 |
| Buenos Aires | 24 Oct, 04:13 | 13 Nov, 12:54 | 13 Nov, 21:28 |
| London | 24 Oct, 08:13 | 13 Nov, 15:54 | 14 Nov, 00:28 |
| Madrid | 24 Oct, 09:13 | 13 Nov, 16:54 | 14 Nov, 01:28 |
| Cairo | 24 Oct, 10:13 | 13 Nov, 17:54 | 14 Nov, 02:28 |
| Riyadh | 24 Oct, 10:13 | 13 Nov, 18:54 | 14 Nov, 03:28 |
| Dubai | 24 Oct, 11:13 | 13 Nov, 19:54 | 14 Nov, 04:28 |
Local clock times include each city’s daylight-saving rules for those dates. Highlighted: Venus turns direct on a different calendar day from Mercury.
Your degree, not your Sun sign
When does Mercury (or Venus) cross your natal degree?
Copy one position from a tropical birth chart: sign, degree and minute. We check every pass Mercury makes from September 30 to December 6, and every Venus pass in its August 31–December 15 shadow, for a conjunction, square or opposition to that exact degree.
Method, limits and privacy
Positions come from the Swiss Ephemeris, sampled every six hours and interpolated, so a pass time is good to roughly half an hour. Only exact 0°, 90° and 180° geometry is reported; we do not apply orbs or minor aspects.
A pass is a calendar marker for reflection. It does not predict an event, a reply from anyone, or the outcome of a contract, purchase or health decision.
Everything runs in your browser. We do not store or send the position you type. A generic “checked” event may be recorded without the sign, degree or any birth data.
A worked reading of the cycle
The overlap zone: 5°02′ Scorpio to 8°29′ Scorpio. Mercury’s loop covers 5°02′ Scorpio–20°59′ Scorpio. Venus’s covers 22°52′ Libra–8°29′ Scorpio. They share only about three and a half degrees of Scorpio. A natal planet there is crossed three times by each planet, six passes in all, and so are the same degrees of Taurus, Leo and Aquarius by opposition and square.
Worked example (fictional): Sun at 7°00′ Scorpio, birth date known, birth time unknown. The Sun moves about one degree a day, so without a clock its degree is uncertain by roughly ±0.5°. The tool still gives a window for each pass:
| Pass | At exactly 7°00′ (UTC) | Window for ±0.5° |
|---|---|---|
| Mercury direct | 5 October, 23:35 UTC | 5 October – 6 October |
| Mercury retrograde | 9 November, 03:15 UTC | 8 November – 9 November |
| Mercury direct | 18 November, 12:36 UTC | 17 November – 19 November |
| Venus direct | 24 September, 06:27 UTC | 22 September – 25 September |
| Venus retrograde | 12 October, 00:00 UTC | 10 October – 13 October |
| Venus direct | 13 December, 23:07 UTC | 13 December – 14 December |
Read symbolically, the first Venus pass invites the question of what this person enjoys and values. The retrograde passes then work as a second look: Venus in mid-October, Mercury in early November. The last direct passes in mid-November and December can mark where that review lands. None of this says a message will arrive or a decision will go one way. It is a calendar for noticing.
October 24: two turning points within 3.5 hours. Venus passes between Earth and the Sun at 0°45′ Scorpio (03:44 UTC), the midpoint of its retrograde, and Mercury stations at 20°59′ Scorpio (07:13 UTC). Astrologers often treat a planet’s conjunction with the Sun as the “seed” of its cycle, and a station as a pause. Scorpio is traditionally associated with what is private, shared or held in trust. A reflective reading: what have I been keeping to myself, and does it still need to be? More on the Venus–Sun moment: Venus cazimi October 2026.
November 4: Mercury meets the Sun at 12°11′ Scorpio (4 November, 14:24 UTC), the midpoint of the Mercury retrograde. It is traditionally read as a moment to hear the information under the noise, before Mercury slows towards its direct station.
The shadow, 4 October to 30 November. Mercury first crosses 5°02′ Scorpio on 4 October and finally clears 20°59′ Scorpio on 30 November. Any conversation, document or plan you start inside those dates covers degrees Mercury will cross again. In this tradition that is a cue to double-check, not a reason to put life on hold.
What this page can and cannot tell you
Clock uncertainty. With only a birth date, the Sun is good to about ±0.5° and the Moon only to about ±7°. The rising sign and houses need a reliable birth time. Do not substitute your Sun sign for your Ascendant. Choose the matching margin in the tool and treat every date as a window, not a moment.
Astronomy. Retrograde is an apparent reversal seen from Earth as it overtakes, or is overtaken by, another planet. Mercury and Venus do not physically change direction.
Astrology. These are symbolic associations, not scientific predictions. They are no basis for legal, financial, medical or relationship decisions. Tropical zodiac; sidereal calendars place the same loop in Libra.
Weighing a job offer during these dates? Read the terms, not the omen.
Method: Swiss Ephemeris (production ephemeris files), tropical zodiac, geocentric apparent longitude, UT; stations and crossings bisected to one minute. Cross-check: The Old Farmer’s Almanac lists this retrograde as October 24–November 13, 2026 (Eastern Time). Venus dates match our Venus retrograde 2026 guide.
Quick answers
When is Mercury retrograde in 2026 (October–November)?
Mercury stations retrograde at 20°59′ Scorpio on October 24, 2026 at 07:13 UTC and stations direct at 5°02′ Scorpio on November 13 at 15:54 UTC. The shadow runs from October 4 (09:09 UTC) to November 30 (06:16 UTC). The whole loop stays in Scorpio.
Do Mercury and Venus really turn direct on the same day?
Only in some time zones. Mercury turns direct at 15:54 UTC on November 13 and Venus at 00:28 UTC on November 14, 8 hours 34 minutes later. In the Americas both fall on November 13; in London, Madrid, Cairo, Riyadh and Dubai Venus turns direct on November 14.
Why do some sites say this Mercury retrograde is in Libra?
They use the sidereal (Vedic) zodiac, which currently sits about 24° behind the tropical zodiac used here. Same sky, different reference frame. Do not mix a sidereal birth chart with this page’s tropical degrees.
Should I avoid signing contracts during Mercury retrograde?
Astrology traditionally links Mercury retrograde with review and re-reading, but it cannot tell you whether a contract is sound. Decide on the merits, read carefully, and get qualified advice for legal, financial or health decisions, whatever the date.
Does it affect Scorpio, Gemini or Virgo more?
A Sun sign alone says little. What is calculable is whether a planet in your chart sits between 5°02′ and 20°59′ of a fixed sign (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius); those degrees receive three Mercury passes. The tool above lists them.
Find the degrees to check
The free chart lists every natal planet to the minute. Copy any position into the tool above. If you then choose a paid natal report, it interprets your birth chart as a whole. It is not a retrograde forecast.
Calculate my natal positionsRelated: Venus retrograde 2026 by rising sign