Exclusively for Vogue Scandinavia's Society members, astrologer Clarisse Monahan of Venus in Retrograde charts each month's most powerful cosmic shifts, breaking down exactly how to understand, navigate, and benefit from them
Witchy Scorpio season approaches on its broomstick, dark secrets tucked under its cloak. Well. Maybe the secrets aren't that dark. If anything, they are quite open: everyone’s talking about two big retrogrades involving speedy Mercury and lovely Venus. Both planets will be moving backwards through the Zodiac, putting a hex on communication and casting spells for bad romance. But there’s also plenty more brewing in the cosmic cauldron, so let's get into all the big dates for the next few weeks.
We start things off with the Sun entering Scorpio on October 23rd. In this sign, the Sun’s light doesn’t illuminate so much as interrogate. Indeed, scorpionic energy is incisive, sometimes a bit paranoid, often suspicious. Like a detective, it doubts the official account and looks for clues otherwise. Of course, Scorpio is also our most sexual sign. While the next month in general could intensify some of these aforesaid impulses, October 23rd could really have you feeling like you’re starring in some sort of erotic thriller, alongside Sharon Stone. Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean you’re not right.
But this solar ingress won’t be as impactful, in my opinion, as October 24th. That’s when Mercury stations retrograde in Scorpio. Oops. Retrogrades occur when a planet seems to be moving backwards in the sky relative to us. Such motions tend to negatively affect a planet’s influence. In the case of Mercury (Planet of Communication), we might need to be on the lookout for delays and snafus related to contracts, memoranda, or legal briefs. This roughly three-week transit could problematise normal comms big time. Beware.
Full Moons bring matters to a head, and Taurus, our most earthy and pleasure-loving sign, tends to concern itself with the things that make life feel stable
Clarisse Monhan