Weekly Astrology: October 18–24 — Confronting Our Fears, Our Wounds & What We Really Value

This week has an air of confrontation, most likely more with ourselves than anyone else. We may be confronting our fears, our wounds, and the stories we carry around money, values and relationships—and the balance between them.

Where are we giving too much? Where are we afraid to receive? What are we holding onto because it matters to us, and what are we holding onto because we’re scared of what happens if we let go?

There’s quite a bit happening in Scorpio, with Venus already retrograde and Mercury preparing to turn retrograde too. I feel like this week asks us to get a little more honest with ourselves. We don’t have to have all the answers or know exactly how to act on every realization yet. But we do need to be willing to look.

Let’s get into it.

Sunday, October 18: Moon enters Aquarius

Sunday evening, the Moon moves into Aquarius, bringing our emotional attention toward our hopes, dreams and visions for the future. But Aquarius also asks us to look beyond our own future. How are we participating in the collective? What kind of world do we want to be part of, and what are we contributing to it?

We may find ourselves thinking about the groups we belong to, the people we spend time with, and whether there’s room for us to be fully ourselves there. Sometimes belonging means finding people who understand us. Sometimes it means being willing to bring a different perspective to the table.

This can be a nice time to step back and see a bigger picture. Just remember that understanding a feeling intellectually and actually allowing yourself to feel it are two different things. Give yourself room for both.

Monday, October 19: Sun in Libra trine the North Node in Aquarius

The Sun in Libra is where we’re seeking balance and harmony in our relationships. The North Node represents a direction of growth, and in Aquarius that growth involves community, humanity, the groups we belong to, and the future we’re helping create.

A trine offers a more supportive connection between those things. This is a good time to find your tribe, so to speak. Sign up for that group or that thing you’ve wanted to be part of. Branch out into your community. Bring your hopes and dreams out into the light where they can actually be seen.

You don’t have to wait until you have everything figured out to participate. A conversation, an introduction, or showing up to something for the first time might help you see a possibility you hadn’t considered.

And because Libra cares so much about harmony, I think there’s a useful question here: am I connecting with these people as myself, or am I becoming whoever I think they need me to be? Growth can involve learning how to cooperate without disappearing.

Tuesday, October 20: Venus retrograde in Scorpio square Pluto in Aquarius

Squares typically bring discomfort, and this one may ask us to sit with some things we would rather avoid. With Venus retrograde, I feel a lot of that discomfort may show up as internal realizations that something needs to change. Figuring out exactly how to act on it might come later.

Venus brings our attention to our values, possessions, how we earn and use money, our relationships, the things we find beautiful, and what we feel we deserve. In Scorpio, we’re looking more closely at how we share those things with others. That can mean shared finances, emotional investment, intimacy, vulnerability and trust.

Scorpio wants to get underneath the surface. What is the agreement beneath the agreement? Am I giving because I want to, or because I’m afraid you’ll leave if I don’t? Am I holding tightly to money or a relationship because it supports me, or because I don’t trust myself to be okay without it?

Pluto is Scorpio’s modern ruler, so there’s a connection between the planet challenging Venus and the sign she’s moving through. Mars is Scorpio’s traditional ruler. With Pluto in Aquarius, the questions also reach into how we show up in groups, how we interact with the collective, and whether our hopes and dreams still align with the world we’re participating in.

Pluto likes to go deep. It brings us toward the shadows, fears and subconscious patterns that may be influencing our choices without us realizing it. There may be a confrontation with some of that this week. There may be realizations about things we need to let go of, things we need to allow to bloom, or power dynamics we can’t quite ignore anymore.

This might be internal, but it can also come through an interaction with someone else. Jealousy, resentment, a disagreement about money, or the urge to control an outcome can give us information about what’s happening underneath. It doesn’t mean every fear is a fact, or that we need to act on every uncomfortable feeling immediately.

Notice what comes up. Ask yourself what is actually yours to change. You don’t have to turn every realization into a confrontation with another person, but you also don’t have to talk yourself out of a boundary you know you need.

Wednesday, October 21: Sun in Libra opposite Chiron in Aries; Moon enters Pisces

The Sun in Libra shines a light across to Chiron in Aries, calling the balance of “me” and “we” into question. Where have we learned to stay small for the sake of others? Where do we feel guilty for wanting something of our own? Where do we confuse being agreeable with being loved?

Chiron has returned to Aries for another pass before moving back into Taurus in April 2027. This gives us more time to revisit wounds around identity, independence, being allowed to exist as ourselves, and trusting that our needs matter.

Alongside Tuesday’s Venus–Pluto energy, this can be a useful time to notice where we may be selling ourselves short and begin correcting the balance. Ask to be seen. Take up your space. But at the same time, also see others—and be willing to see them fully, including the places where they’re wounded too.

That doesn’t mean accepting every behavior or making yourself responsible for someone else’s healing. It means we can have compassion and still have boundaries. We can acknowledge that something hurt without deciding that one of us has to be the villain.

And we have to be willing to be seen in our own imperfectness also. That vulnerability is where true connection lies. If everyone is trying to look perfectly put together, how do we ever really know each other?

The Moon entering Pisces adds sensitivity and compassion to the day. We may feel things deeply, pick up on other people’s emotions, or need some quiet to process. Music, painting, journaling, time outside, or simply resting may give those feelings somewhere to go.

Just be mindful of absorbing everything around you. Being able to understand someone else’s pain doesn’t mean you have to carry it all.

Friday, October 23: Sun enters Scorpio; Moon enters Aries

The Sun moves into Scorpio early Friday, bringing more attention to the themes Venus has already been asking us to revisit: intimacy, trust, shared resources, vulnerability and transformation. What needs to be released? What are we ready to bring to life? How are we sharing ourselves with others—financially, emotionally, spiritually?

Scorpio season can pull us inward, but it also asks us to look honestly at the connections and exchanges in our lives. We may become less satisfied with a surface-level explanation and more interested in what’s really going on.

The Moon moves into Aries later in the day, and emotionally we may feel more focused on ourselves, our needs and what we want to do next. After the sensitivity of Pisces, Aries can bring a stronger desire to act.

That could help us speak up about something we’ve been avoiding. It could also make us impatient with a process that still needs time. Before reacting, pause long enough to ask: am I acting from clarity, or am I trying to get rid of an uncomfortable feeling as quickly as possible?

Friday evening, October 23: Sun conjunct Venus retrograde at 0° Scorpio

This is a significant turning point in the Venus retrograde story. Venus meets the Sun at about 0°44′ Scorpio. Because she is retrograde, this is the inferior conjunction—the meeting that begins a new roughly 19-month Sun–Venus cycle.

I see this as the beginning of something new in how we relate to money, relationships and our values. That could eventually involve a change in how we earn money, what we’re willing to invest our time and energy in, or how we show up in a relationship.

But a new cycle doesn’t necessarily look like a new job or relationship arriving on that exact day. It might begin with an honest realization: I don’t want this anymore. I do want that. This matters to me more than I’ve admitted. I can’t keep asking myself to be okay with something that isn’t working.

With this happening so early in Scorpio, there’s something powerful about allowing a new understanding to begin before we know what it will become. We may see a little more clearly what the retrograde has been bringing up, even if we’re still in the middle of working through it.

Venus is still retrograde after this meeting. We don’t need to force a final answer. Let the realization have some room to develop.

Saturday, October 24: Mercury stations retrograde at 20°58′ Scorpio

Now our minds turn inward too. Mercury brings in how we think, communicate, learn, plan and conduct business. As it stations retrograde in Scorpio, we may start reworking the conversations, decisions and assumptions connected with what Venus has already been asking us to examine.

I feel like this can support some of that inner work. We may find words for something we’ve been feeling but couldn’t explain. We may go back over a conversation and understand it differently, revisit a business idea, or realize that a plan was built around values that no longer quite fit.

At the same time, deeper thinking can turn into going over the same fear again and again. If you catch yourself searching for certainty that just isn’t available yet, take a break. There’s a difference between investigating something and interrogating yourself.

As always with Mercury retrograde, pay a little more attention to business plans, marketing, travel and communication. Back up your work. Double-check dates, details and messages. Ask what someone meant instead of assuming. Give yourself a little extra time where you can.

This can be a good period for revisiting, editing and improving something. That doesn’t mean life has to stop or that you can’t begin anything new. If something needs to move forward, read it carefully, ask questions, and leave room to adjust as you learn more.

Maybe the work now is to rework a plan so it actually reflects what you want, rather than continuing with it simply because it was the plan.

What I’m taking from this week

We’re being asked to look honestly at what we value, how we connect, and what we’re afraid might happen if we let ourselves be fully seen. Some of what comes up may be uncomfortable. Some of it may also be a relief.

We don’t have to solve everything this week. But we can notice where we’ve been abandoning ourselves, where we’ve been trying to control things, and where we’re ready for a different kind of connection.

What needs to be let go of? What needs room to bloom? And what might change if you trusted yourself enough to tell the truth about what you want?

I’d love to hear what’s coming up for you.

Where is this showing up for your rising sign?

These are brief starting points using the Western tropical zodiac and whole-sign houses. Read for your rising sign: that sign is your first house, and each following sign becomes the next house. Venus square Pluto connects your Scorpio and Aquarius houses; the Sun–Venus conjunction begins its new cycle in your Scorpio house. Think of these as areas to reflect on, rather than a prediction that a particular event has to happen.

Aries rising — Scorpio: house 8; Aquarius: house 11. Shared money, debt, intimacy and trust may be rubbing up against friendships, group expectations or your long-term hopes. Where do shared obligations support your future, and where do they leave you feeling tied down? The Sun–Venus meeting begins a fresh review of what you share, what you owe, and what closeness means to you.

Taurus rising — Scorpio: house 7; Aquarius: house 10. Partnerships come into focus alongside career, reputation and public responsibilities. Are you making room for both your relationships and the direction you want your life to take? The Sun–Venus meeting can begin a new understanding of what you need from a partnership and what you’re willing to bring to it.

Gemini rising — Scorpio: house 6; Aquarius: house 9. Work routines, daily responsibilities and well-being meet questions about your beliefs, education or a bigger direction. Does the life you’re living every day support the life you say you want? The Sun–Venus meeting invites a reset in how you value your time, your work and the care you give yourself.

Cancer rising — Scorpio: house 5; Aquarius: house 8. Creativity, romance, children and pleasure may bring up tension around shared resources, trust or vulnerability. Can you let yourself enjoy something without needing to control how it turns out? The Sun–Venus meeting can begin a new relationship with your creative desires and what brings you joy.

Leo rising — Scorpio: house 4; Aquarius: house 7. Home, family and your sense of emotional security may be asking for attention alongside a partner or an important one-to-one relationship. Notice whose needs are shaping the arrangement. The Sun–Venus meeting can open a new chapter in what home means to you and how you want to feel there.

Virgo rising — Scorpio: house 3; Aquarius: house 6. Conversations, learning, siblings or your local surroundings may intersect with work demands and daily routines. Are the stories you repeat supporting you, or making an already full day harder? The Sun–Venus meeting offers a chance to reconsider how you communicate your needs and which ideas deserve more of your attention.

Libra rising — Scorpio: house 2; Aquarius: house 5. Your income, possessions and self-worth meet questions about creativity, romance, children or enjoyment. Are you undervaluing your talents, or measuring your worth by what you can provide? The Sun–Venus meeting can begin a new understanding of what matters to you and how you want your resources to support it.

Scorpio rising — Scorpio: house 1; Aquarius: house 4. Your identity, appearance and personal desires may feel at odds with family expectations, home life or old ideas about who you’re supposed to be. Can you grow without asking everyone else to approve first? The Sun–Venus meeting begins a new cycle of considering how you value yourself and how you want to show up.

Sagittarius rising — Scorpio: house 12; Aquarius: house 3. Private feelings, rest and patterns you don’t always notice may surface through conversations, mental habits or life close to home. Give yourself room to hear what’s underneath the noise. The Sun–Venus meeting can begin a quieter shift in what you’re ready to release and how you care for your inner life.

Capricorn rising — Scorpio: house 11; Aquarius: house 2. Friendships, communities and hopes for the future meet questions about income, resources and self-worth. Are you investing in people and possibilities that reflect your values, or paying a price to belong? The Sun–Venus meeting can help you reconsider the connections and dreams you want to nurture.

Aquarius rising — Scorpio: house 10; Aquarius: house 1. Career, visibility and your role in the world may bring up tension with the person you’re becoming. Are you showing up as yourself, or maintaining an image you’ve outgrown? The Sun–Venus meeting can begin a new understanding of what meaningful work, recognition and success look like for you.

Pisces rising — Scorpio: house 9; Aquarius: house 12. Beliefs, education, travel or your sense of purpose may bring hidden fears and old patterns to the surface. What do you believe is possible for you, and where did you learn your limits? The Sun–Venus meeting invites you to reconsider the values guiding your bigger direction.

Want to explore this in your own chart?

Look at the houses containing Libra, Scorpio, Aquarius and Aries in your chart. Those life areas add a more personal layer to these themes. For Mercury’s station, placements near 21° Scorpio may be especially relevant; for the Sun–Venus meeting, look near the beginning of Scorpio.

If you’d like help putting it together, my Current Astrology Check-In ($45) is a focused recorded reading, and the Birth Chart + Current Astrology reading ($75) gives us more room to explore your natal chart and what is unfolding now.

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And if you want to learn to follow along with your own chart, Your First Astrology Course is $97. The first three videos are available, and I’m still creating the remaining lessons.

Dates follow Mountain Daylight Time (Denver). The Sun–Venus conjunction falls October 23 locally and October 24 in UTC. The October 19 Sun–North Node date follows Astrolis’s calendar; other calendars may give a different date because of their lunar-node calculation. Other event timing was checked against Cafe Astrology’s October calendar. Interpretations reflect my own perspective on the astrology.