Venus retrograde 2026: 3 October to 14 November, Scorpio into Libra
In 2026, Venus is retrograde once: 3 October to 14 November.
Today Venus is retrograde in Scorpio. It turns direct on 14 November, in 29 days.
Exact dates
3 October – 14 November 2026 · 42 days
Signs: Scorpio → Libra
Stations retrograde at 8°29′ Scorpio, direct at 22°51′ Libra
Backs into Libra on 25 October
Pre-shadow from 31 August, post-shadow to 15 December · 106 days in all
Dates are Universal Time (UT). A station close to midnight can fall on the previous day in the Americas and on the next day in Europe.
What Venus retrograde brings
Venus retrograde invites a review of relationships, self-worth, and spending. Old feelings may resurface. Focus on clarity about what you value rather than chasing quick fixes in love or luxury purchases.
Venus turns back about every nineteen months, so this retrograde is rarer than Mercury's and easier to notice. Old attachments come up for review: people from your past may get in touch, and feelings you set aside ask for an honest answer. Money follows the same pattern. What you spend on, what you value and what you owe to whom all get a second look, and quick fixes rarely last.
From Scorpio back into Libra
The sign change sets the order of the questions. Venus spends its first three weeks in Scorpio, where the question is what a bond really costs you, and then backs into Libra, where the question is whether the arrangement is fair. Take the harder question first and the negotiation second. Decisions made once both have an answer tend to hold better than the ones made in the rush of the first days.
What to do and what to avoid
Communication and tech
Do: Answer old contacts honestly, at your own pace
Avoid: Reopening old conversations just to fill a silence
Contracts and money
Do: Review recurring costs and what they give you
Avoid: Spending to soothe a mood
Work
Do: Return to creative projects you paused
Avoid: Changing your image or your prices on impulse
Relationships
Do: Look honestly at the patterns you repeat in love
Avoid: Ignoring warning signs because the chemistry is back
See which part of your life Venus retrograde touches in your free birth chart, or compare two charts with synastry.
Where to go from here
Questions about Venus retrograde 2026
When does Venus retrograde start and end in 2026?
It starts on 3 October and ends on 14 November, six weeks in all. Venus stations retrograde at 8°29′ Scorpio and stations direct at 22°51′ Libra, both in Universal Time. This is the only Venus retrograde of the year; the next falls in 2028.
What sign is Venus retrograde in?
Scorpio first, then Libra from 25 October. Scorpio deals with intimacy, trust and shared money, and Libra with partnership, balance and fairness, so the same six weeks touch both what you share and how you share it.
What is the Venus retrograde shadow period in 2026?
The pre-shadow runs from 31 August and the post-shadow ends on 15 December, so the whole cycle takes about fifteen weeks around six weeks of retrograde. Money and relationship questions that come up from late August belong to this cycle, even before the retrograde itself begins.
Do exes come back during Venus retrograde?
Many people notice it, and the reason is simple: a retrograde revisits ground already covered, and astrology reads that as unfinished business coming back. In practice people use the season as permission to make a call they were already considering. Whether the return is worth taking depends on why the relationship ended, not on the calendar.
Is Venus retrograde a bad time to get married or buy a house?
Traditional practice avoids both, and the reasoning is consistent rather than superstitious: a cycle that reopens valuations is a poor moment to fix one in writing. If the date is already booked, keep it and use the window for the contract review nobody wanted to do. What the season really punishes is the impulse purchase made to settle a feeling.
Should I change my hair during Venus retrograde?
The old advice is no, and it survives because Venus governs how you present yourself and a retrograde tends to produce second thoughts. Nothing physical happens to your hair. If you have wanted the change for months, the risk is small; if you want it because a relationship just shifted, wait for 14 November and see whether you still do.
Dates recalculated 22 September 2026