Image Asset Credits: “Comic background with thunder and lightning…” By Irfan Onyak, “fists hands up vector illustration. Concept of unity, revolution, fight, cooperation…” By nikvector; Image designed by me, LeAnn D. Jenkins.
This is an astrology-related post with audio and transcript.
If the astrology language is too much for you, scroll through the transcript and find the questions that are shared. These may be helpful for reflection.
Notes:
I work with astrology as an ancient wisdom tradition that can assist us in receiving the times well. I may write more on this in the future, but if you want to know more about that part of my practice, checkout my Astrology for Wisdom, About Me, or FAQ page for brief insight to how I use it.
All signs are based off the Tropical time system (what is most commonly used in the U.S.).
Also, this was recorded sometime before Venus entered the sign of Libra on October 25, 2026. So, I’ll be referencing that as if it is in the future.
Scroll to the bottom of the page for terms and applicable dates.
Transcript
Ok, I know I want to write something soon about exposure therapy and taking back your agency, because this is a pattern that I’m seeing in my life and the life of people around me.
There’s Pluto in Aquarius that is square Venus - I mean square by sign and by house, at least - Venus & Mercury retrograde in Scorpio, which is square Jupiter in Leo, that’s a T-square. So there are things that are asking us to take action and Venus & Mercury retrograde in Scorpio is a key point of dealing with the opposition between Leo and Aquarius energy.
That being said, I want to focus on the Mercury and Venus in Scorpio retrograde and the things that we are being called to re-orient.
I think there is a way in which Scorpio energy does expose, but it exposes what’s underneath the surface. It exposes the things that are deep that might be a little scary to face, things that we wish did not exist in the world or we wish we didn’t have to contend with in the world (depending on how much Scorpio energy you have). If you have a lot of Scorpio energy these could be things that you… hard realities that you actually want to look at. But in general, thinking in a mundane way, these are things that generally society doesn’t want to deal with, doesn’t want to have to look at, things that are not easy to approach or face, things like death, things like violence, things like scarcity or lack, or the reality that things are being taken from us, or power, the powers that we don’t want to have to face or deal with, but that we do.
And having this activity in Scorpio brings some call back to review those things. And there might be a sense of “I can’t get away from this thing right now. I keep being exposed to this reality. I’m trying to get something done” maybe, or “I’m trying to protect or sustain something” in the areas of your house that have to do with Leo or Aquarius. I’m trying to protect and sustain who I am and my ability to show that. I’m trying to protect and sustain the ways in which I want to… my different ideas about what society should be like and how we should operate collectively. I’m trying to protect and sustain the ways in which I see myself as different to society and as representative of the innovations we need to make - and yet I’m meeting these hard realities that I don’t want to have to face.
Scorpio, one of its modern rulers is Pluto. (It’s traditional ruler is Mars, but) Pluto… it represents power so: being able to access our power, having to dig deep to find, “Ok what is it I need to see here”, having to investigate, having to do a little bit of deeper work in order to understand and then figure out how to maneuver in your own power, is what’s being called out.
And because Pluto is - in transit Pluto is in Aquarius right now, the things that we are being called to shift might be things that have to do with discipline or systems-thinking. It might be “How do I maneuver this system that holds society together? How do I maneuver through the hard realities of the system?” It might be, “How do I change behind the scenes systems that I’m working with in order to set myself up better?” It might be “How do I review and understand all of the ways I fit into the place or society I’m in? How do I review and reconnect… relationally (especially when Venus starts to move from Scorpio into Libra)? How do I reconnect relationally? How do I reform my relationships in light of what I’ve just experienced that’s difficult to hold?”
So there’s a bit of a repetition of exposing things that are underneath the surface for us, exposing things that are behind the scenes for… and when I say “us”: “us” as individuals, and also “us” collectively. And through that exposure therapy, Pluto causes us to have to see what we don’t see, to have to accept it, or Scorpio, I should say, causes us to have to see what we don’t see, to have to accept it. And with Venus retrograde, that means we’re even trying to understand, “How can I make this process beautiful? How can I make this (when it moves into Libra) pleasurable even in the midst of difficulty?”
And I form those as questions because when things are in retrograde there are questions. There are things that we have to ask ourselves, things that we have to sit with. There are things that we have to reshape. So, the Venus retrograde brings in that question of the beauty “How do I make this beautiful? How do I make this difficult thing beautiful? How do I reform my relationships?” The Mercury retrograde brings in the details. “How do I review facts in the midst of this reality? How do I present facts in the midst of this reality? Do I need to reorient? Are there hard realities that mean that I need to change how I’m communicating? Or do I need to bring out old things that I have underneath the surface and communicate those (that I haven’t yet communicated)? Those are things that Mercury [retrograde] in Scorpio might bring up.
But all of this, again, is oriented towards finding - at least for the people I have sat with and my own self - the intention of the time is to find our agency, to say, “Ok this is something I cannot get away from. Ok I’m going to have to accept this as true. Ok, now what can I do?”
Again, with squares there’s action - “What can I do to make this beautiful? What can I learn?” (and I put that under Mercury retrograde) “What can I learn in this reality? What can I share that I haven’t shared? How can I reform my relationships?” These are all things that have to do with our own agency, our own abilities in the midst of a difficult reality, in the midst of being exposed to things we don’t want to face.
And I will say, “exposure” - I’m thinking in terms of Scorpio, but I’m also thinking in terms of Jupiter in Leo saying, “Uh, you gon’ have to be who you are.” *laughs “You gon’ have to come out of the woodworks with some things that maybe are underneath the surface.”
I’m thinking of that square between the Leo energy and Scorpio energy as well with the exposure. Not only are you being exposed to things, but you yourself may have ways in which you are communicating, showing who you are and then meeting some hard realities and having to think about, “Ok what do I do?” Or there might be ways in which in showing who you are, you have to admit things or say things that you have not yet said about who you are.
And you have the ingenuity and the power to do that in a way that is aligned instead of letting yourself feel controlled or helpless.
Dates
Mercury in Scorpio: Sept 30 - Dec 6, 2026, rx: Oct 24th - Nov 13th
Venus in Libra: Oct 25 - Dec 4, 2026, rx: Oct 3rd - Nov 13th
Venus in Scorpio: Sept 10 - Oct 25, 2026; Dec 4 - Jan 7, 2027
Jupiter in Leo: June 29, 2026 - July 25, 2027
Pluto in Aquarius: November 19, 2024 - Mar 8, 2043
Terms
house: a section of the zodiac or horoscope wheel that represents an area or areas of life (e.g., public roles, play and creation, communication, home, long-term partnerships, contracts, etc.)
mundane: having to do with the whole world vs. an individual.
retrograde (rx): when the planet looks like it is moving backwards in the sky from our point of view here on Earth. A time when the things a planet represents are revisited, reclaimed, or called into question. Mercury retrograde is the most well-known example of this.
sign: zodiac sign
square: planetary objects or signs that form a 90 degree angle (give or take) in relation to one another when mapped out on the zodiac wheel (what is typically used in astrology to represent the layout of the sky at a given time, in 2D).
transit: the movement of a planet in real-time in relation to the zodiac and other planetary objects.
T-square: when three planetary objects form a T, with one planet forming a square (90 degree angle) to two planets that oppose each other (180 degree angle.
