Libra 2026: The Descent Before The Balance
Here in the southern hemisphere, Libra season arrives with the spring equinox and it's a perfect pairing. Blossoms opening, lambs in the paddocks, daffodils pushing up through the last of the winter ground. That's Libra's medicine exactly: beauty, balance, things coming back into relationship with each other.
But I'm not going to pretend this is a light Libra season....this season, Libra's ruler Venus turns retrograde in Scorpio and that takes us somewhere much deeper than aesthetics. This journey is symoblised by the myth of Inanna, the goddess of love, descending into the underworld to face her sister and being stripped of everything she thought made her who she was, layer by layer, before she can be reborn. That's the shape of this Venus retrograde.
More on that myth below because it's the thread running through the whole season.
⚖️Libra Season Overview
The Sun enters Libra on 23 September 2026 (NZDT) - the spring equinox down here, when day and night sit in perfect balance before the light begins to win out.
Libra is a cardinal air sign, which means its whole orientation is toward initiating connection and relationship. Libra thinks with and through other people. It's the sign of justice, of fairness, of wanting everyone in the room to get along. There's a real pull toward people-pleasing here, because harmony matters so much to this sign. But don't mistake that for weakness, push a Libra past their limit and you'll meet a genuine, righteous temper. This is a sign that will fight for what's fair right to the end.
Each year, as the Sun moves through Libra, it lights up the part of our chart that deals with relationship, fairness, and what we're willing to stand up for. And because Libra is ruled by Venus, we also look to Venus to see how that energy actually shows up in our lives - our relationships, our finances, our values, what we find beautiful, what we're drawn to.
This year, Venus is doing something that changes the whole flavour of the season: she's retrograde, and she's spending most of that retrograde in Scorpio - the sign of unflinching depth. Scorpio doesn't do surface-level. It will drag things up for the sake of the truth, even when the truth is uncomfortable. So while Libra season usually has a reputation for ease and sociability, this year it's asking something more honest of us: an honest look at our relationship patterns, our sense of self-worth, our finances, and what we actually value versus what we've just gotten used to.
The part of your chart holding Libra and Scorpio will show you where this shows up for you and if you have natal planets between roughly 22° Libra and 8° Scorpio, you'll likely feel this one personally, since that's the zone Venus will cross not once, but three times this season to really drive the point home.
The invitation of Scorpio is simple to say and hard to do: don't ignore what surfaces, or it will fester. Feeling the feelings is uncomfortable in the moment but necessary for anything to actually heal. It won't last forever and if you're willing to do the shadow work this season is asking for, you may come out the other side lighter than you expected.
I don't want to be all doom and gloom - I think the fact that this is happening in Libra season shows us that we are all in this together. Relying on each other and our connections, as well as dabbling in some pure Libra beautiful delights will bring help bring some much needed lightness. So don't forget to look up every now and again - smile at a colleague or stop to admire and smell a beautiful rose (or daffodil as the case may be).
How much of this you feel, and where in your life it shows up, depends entirely on how this season activates your own chart.
That's exactly what the Season Circle and 1:1 sessions are for - turning the theory into something you can actually use to navigate what's ahead.
♎Key Astrologcial Hightlights - Deep Dive
🖤 Venus Retrograde: The Descent
3 October – 13 November 2026 · 8°30 Scorpio to 22°52 Libra (Shadow period: 31 August – 15 December 2026)
This is the story of the season, so let's take a proper look at it.
Venus stations retrograde on 3 October at 8°30 Scorpio, and turns direct again on 13 November at 22°52 Libra meaning she spends the retrograde moving backward through Scorpio before slipping back into Libra for the final stretch.
We've actually been feeling the early edges of this since 31 August, when Venus first entered her retrograde shadow. So none of this is entirely new, it's been quietly building. What changes now is that these themes are asked to be seen and dealt with, rather than just simmering underneath everything else.
The primary myth associated with Venus retrograde is the ancient Sumerian story of Inanna's descent into the underworld and it's a beautiful map for what this cycle asks of us. Inanna, goddess of love and fertility, decides to visit the underworld ruled by her sister Ereshkigal. To get there, she must pass through seven gates, and at each one she's asked to remove an item of clothing or jewellery - a piece of her status, her identity, her armour. By the time she arrives, she has nothing left. She is stripped bare, and Ereshkigal strikes her dead.
That death is not the end of the story, though, it's the pivot point. In the sky, we watch Venus do something similar: she dips below the horizon and becomes an evening star, disappearing from view, before eventually being reborn as the morning star once the retrograde is over. The moment she's "struck down" astronomically is Venus cazimi, when she sits exactly conjunct the Sun, at her most hidden and most transformed (more on that below, since it falls right near the end of our newsletter window this edition).
So during this six-week cycle, we're each invited into our own version of that descent, into our own underworld. That might look like confronting a shadow side you've been avoiding, taking an honest look at a relationship, or letting go of an old pattern around love, self-worth, or value that's outlived its usefulness.
Venus's retrograde cycle repeats roughly every eight years, so if you look back to October–November 2018 (the last time Venus retrograded in Scorpio), you may recognise some familiar themes resurfacing now, just with eight more years of living behind you this time.
🔥 Full Moon in Aries - 26/27 September 2026 (3°37)
This Full Moon lands within days of the season opening, and it's a big one. The Moon in Aries conjoins Neptune and Saturn (also in Aries), forming a kite configuration with the Sun in Libra, Uranus in Gemini, and Pluto in Aquarius, activating the same Barbault "basket" configuration that was exact back in July and stirred up so much collective momentum then.
Collectively, this is about people continuing to fight for justice, or against injustice - the breakthroughs and breakdowns of Uranus, the transformation of Pluto, and the limitations or illusions that Saturn and Neptune can bring when they're this involved.
Personally, wherever you've been trying to forge ahead, it's probably felt like two steps forward and one (or two) steps back. This Full Moon's message is simple: keep going. Even if it's not fully clear yet. Even if there's still some confusion in the picture (that's Neptune's fingerprint). Take it one thing at a time (that's Saturn). I think the Barbault basket reflects that there is so much happening on a grand scale that we cannot quite fathom the evolutionary leap human kind is on right now. As with all outer planetry alignments, they often only make sense years later with the benefit of hindsight. All we can do is trust the process and hold true to our values.
Mars, the ruler of this Full Moon, is sitting in the very last degrees of Cancer, which tends to amplify Cancer's protective, nurturing traits and it's forming an out-of-sign trine to the Moon. So don't be surprised if you feel unusually protective this week over whatever you've been quietly trying to build.
If there's one thing worth holding onto through this Full Moon, it's this: we're not doing any of this alone. Libra season reminds us, gently but firmly, that we exist because of relationship. We need each other to get through the bigger shifts - this one included.
⚡ Mars Square Pluto Rx - 3 October 2026 (3°06)
The same day Venus turns retrograde, Mars in Leo opposes Pluto (retrograde) in Aquarius and Pluto rules Scorpio, so this amplifies everything Venus is about to ask of us. Mars is drive, aggression, motivation. Pluto is depth, transformation, death and rebirth. Put them in tension and you get power-struggle energy, both in the days leading up to this and on the day itself.
Part of me wants to say "lay low, and do the inner work rather than the outer confrontation" but at the same time I do think the time for laying low has passed and we need to claim our power back too. So trust your own intution of what this transit ask of you. Let off steam through cathartic physical movement if you need to, take a pause before acting on this energy. Collectively, this is an intense window for the international stage too - power games and secrets have a way of surfacing around dates like this.
📡 Mercury Enters Its Shadow Period - 4 October 2026
Mercury won't officially retrograde until Scorpio season (24 October), but it enters its pre-retrograde shadow the very next day after Venus turns retrograde. That means the first hints of communication glitches can start showing up now along with an invitation toward the kind of deep, uncomfortable conversations that actually get to the truth of things.
Just before the New Moon, Mercury conjoins retrograde Venus on 7 October, a nice little foreshadowing of the honest conversations this stretch of October and November seems to keep inviting us toward.
🌑 New Moon in Libra - 10/11 October 2026 (17°)
This New Moon sits opposite Saturn in Aries, sesquiquadrate Uranus in Gemini, and sextile Jupiter in Leo. Its ruler, Venus, is still retrograde in Scorpio and square Mars in Leo.
It has a slightly niggly quality. New opportunities may come your way, but I'd be cautious of any move made purely from ego right now. We're still in the early stages of Venus retrograde, so whatever seeds get planted here are quieter and smaller than they might first appear. The opposition to Saturn can even feel like something or someone is thwarting your plans.
Really, this New Moon is about getting honest about the bigger picture of the relationships in your life, and how you actually want to move forward within them not about rushing to plant something new before you've done that groundwork.
🌱 Pluto Stations Direct - 15 October 2026 (3° Aquarius)
After months of retrograde motion, Pluto turns direct; a shift that tends to unblock whatever has felt stuck or stalled this year. If you've had the sense of spinning your wheels lately, this is the point where things start to get back on track. Pluto in Aquarius has strong ties to collective, systemic transformation - technology, power structures, community. When it stations, that theme intensifies briefly before moving forward again. It won't be an instant breakthrough; Pluto is an outer slower moving planet and we are still in Venus retrograde and on the cusp of a Mercury retrograde both in Pluto ruled Scorpio. So the momentum will be slower to build but it is a turning point.
🖤Venus square Pluto - 20 October 2026 (3°16)
We have already felt this square on September 15th and won't feel it's final resolution till December. Notice what has been boiling up to the surface. The intensity of the Venus retrograde peaks around control, power or attachment. Don't force an issue but take a stand if you need to.
🔍 Venus Cazimi - 23 October 2026 (0°45 Scorpio)
This is the lynchpin of the whole Venus retrograde. Cazimi is the moment Venus sits exactly conjunct the Sun. In mythological terms, the moment Ereshkigal "kills" her sister Inanna, freeing her of the burdens of ego and status she carried into the underworld.
This can be a tender day. Whatever truths have surfaced through this retrograde may sting a little here. But know that this moment is ultimately guiding you toward a more authentic version of yourself - one that's more aligned with who you actually are for the next chapter of your life.
This also happens to be the same day the Sun moves into Scorpio, closing out Libra season and opening the next one, which just happens to be...(dramatic pause)...Scorpio...
🗓️ Key Virgo Season Transits
22/23 September — Sun enters Libra (0°)
Libra season begins, the spring equinox down in the Southern Hemisphere and the Autumn equinox in the Northern.
26/27 September — Full Moon in Aries (3°37)
Culmination energy, a kite configuration with Saturn, Neptune, Uranus and Pluto all involved. This one may be bigger than you...
27 September — Sun (Libra) opposes Neptune (Aries, 2°59)
Watch for confusion or illusion around a relationship decision; get the full picture before you commit to one.
27 September — Sun (Libra) trine Pluto (Aquarius, 3°09)
A supportive undercurrent of real transformation running beneath the Full Moon.
27/28 September — Mars enters Leo (0°)
Energy turns more expressive, more visible, more proud.
28/29 September — Sun (Libra) trine Uranus (Gemini, 5°33)
A lighter, more electric current of fresh perspective.
30 September — Mercury enters Scorpio (0°)
The mind turns toward depth; small talk starts to feel less interesting.
2/3 October — Mercury (Scorpio) square Mars (Leo, 2°29)
Sharp words are possible; think before you fire back.
2/3 October — Mercury (Scorpio) square Pluto (Aquarius, 3°06) Probing, intense conversations; things buried may want to surface.
3 October — Venus stations retrograde (8°30 Scorpio)
The season's central story begins.
3 October — Mars (Leo) opposes Pluto Rx (Aquarius, 3°06)
A power-struggle day; do the inner work rather than push against it.
3 October — Last Quarter Moon (Sun Libra / Moon Cancer, 10°21)
A natural pause point to recalibrate before the New Moon.
4/5 October — Sun (Libra) square Saturn (Aries, 11°18)
A reality check around a relationship or commitment; growing pains, not a dead end.
4 October — Mercury enters its retrograde shadow period.
Conversations around intimacy, hard truths, and secrets may start to surface to be revisited when Mercury retrogrades on October 24th.
7 October — Mercury (Scorpio) conjunct Venus Rx (Scorpio, 8°13)
Communication and honest reckoning around love and worth start to link up.
7 October — Mars (Leo) sextile Uranus (Gemini, 5°24)
A spark of inspired, confident action.
10/11 October — New Moon in Libra (17°)
A quieter, more introspective beginning than usual; get honest before you plant anything new.
11 October — Venus Rx (Scorpio) square Mars (Leo, 7°21)
Friction in relationships or around self-worth; ego moves are best avoided this week.
15 October — Pluto stations direct (Aquarius, 3°04)
Collective momentum that's felt stuck starts to unblock.
15 October — Sun (Libra) sextile Jupiter (Leo, 22°00)
A genuine note of ease and support; a good day to receive rather than force.
16 October — Mars (Leo) trine Saturn (Aries, 10°22)
Confidence meets discipline; a good day to actually follow through on something.
18 October — First Quarter Moon (Sun Libra / Moon Capricorn, 25°18)
Decision-point energy; where do you need to take responsibility?
20 October — Venus Rx (Scorpio) square Pluto (Aquarius, 3°16) Intensity peaks briefly around control, power, or attachment; notice, don't force.
23 October — Venus cazimi (0°45 Scorpio)
The heart of the Venus retrograde; Inanna is reborn.
23 October — Sun enters Scorpio
Libra season closes, Scorpio season begins.
💨 Working With This Season
This season is asking you to hold two things that don't always feel like they belong together: Libra's desire for harmony, and Scorpio's insistence on truth.
You don't have to choose between being at peace and being honest. Real harmony, the kind that lasts, is built on honesty not on smoothing things over.
A few journal prompts for the season:
Where have I been keeping the peace at the cost of being honest?
What relationship pattern of mine is up for review this season and where did it start?
What do I actually value, versus what have I just gotten used to?
What would it look like to let something be seen, even if it's uncomfortable?
If I could shed one layer of who I think I need to be, what would it be?
More guidance throughout the season on the Podcast and on Instagram. I'll be sharing live updates as these transits unfold.
Let’s Stay Connected
If you’re feeling this season's energy and want more support this season for the new beginning it offers, I offer 1:1 sessions using astrology as a mirror so you can move forward in a way that feels aligned, grounded, and true to you.
And if you'd rather explore it in company, The Season Circle is meeting Thursday 24 September at 7:30pm NZT → [Book your spot here]
✨ book via my website: www.sandrajungen.com
✨ Follow me on Instagram: @sandra.jungen.mbs
With love,
Sandra x
"Know yourself → Trust yourself → Thrive."
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