How Committed Are You?
Last week was all about love. This week, the astrology is asking a slightly harder question: how committed are you?
Venus is still retrograde in Scorpio, going back over our relationships and our relationship with money. But now the heavyweights are joining in. Pluto, Saturn and Mars all have something to say, and most of it lands on one day, Friday October 16.
Pluto is moving forward again
Pluto has been retrograde since spring in the Northern Hemisphere (autumn if you’re in the South). On October 16 it stations at 3 degrees of Aquarius and starts moving forward again.
Pluto is the detox planet. It throws out the dead wood. It rules volcanoes, power and power struggles, obsession and control, and the whole cycle of life, death and rebirth. The image I keep coming back to, the one I used in this year’s Moonology Diary, is Pluto scorching the Earth as it moves forward, destroying anything that needs to go and detoxing anything that’s gone rancid.
That sounds dramatic, so it’s worth saying that Pluto is a psychological planet. It doesn’t necessarily cause events. It’s much more likely to shift something inside you. While it was retrograde, we got more of the same: the same chances to let go, the same chances to be obsessive or to stop being quite so obsessive. Now that it’s moving forward, we start to get new experiences.
So think about this year. Where have you been quietly working away on yourself? Maybe you’ve been digging into your spirituality, or decluttering on the outside because you’ve been decluttering on the inside. If it felt like you had nothing to show for it, Pluto going direct is the green light. This is when you start to have something to show for it.
Expect a clear out in one part of your life. Which part depends on where Aquarius falls in your chart. Planets are especially strong when they change direction, so the days around October 16 could feel heavy and a bit explosive, until something finally clicks.
The best news of the week
On the same day, Mars at 10 degrees of Leo trines Saturn at 10 degrees of Aries. It’s a fire trine, and I think it’s the best astrological news of the week.
Mars is drive and action. Saturn is discipline, structure and the long game. When they get on well, you get stamina, sticking power, and courage with a plan behind it.
Saturn is retrograde, so this may well be about going back to an old goal or an old commitment and doing it properly this time. And with Venus retrograde too, if there’s a friendship or a love affair where, as the kids say, you fumbled it, this could be a good time to go back and commit to getting it right.
If you’ve made mistakes in the not so distant past, in a relationship or at work, this is a really good week to own them. Pluto can help burn away any guilt or shame so you get the benefit of owning it, and Mars and Saturn can help you build something better from there.
Mars in Leo is about being seen. Saturn is about being brave enough to start. So put yourself out there, but do it with substance. This isn’t a week for lip service.
Venus meets Pluto, again
On October 20, Venus retrograde squares Pluto at 3 degrees of Aquarius, the exact degree Pluto has just stationed on, which makes it extra potent.
Venus square Pluto is love and money at their most intense. There could be obsessiveness, jealousy, power struggles, someone trying to control someone else, an all-or-nothing feeling. Because Venus is retrograde, we’ve been here before. Old jealousies, old power dynamics, maybe an old money wound.
In real life it might look like someone getting possessive, or you noticing you’re the one trying to control things. Maybe a secret comes out. Or maybe it’s the pimple that finally gets squeezed and the bad stuff is gone. Hurrah.
The questions to ask are simple, if not easy. Where am I giving my power away in relationships? Where am I trying to control someone? What am I clinging to that needs to go? And underneath all of it, what am I worth?
The Quarter Moon test
Then on October 18 we have the First Quarter Moon in Capricorn, with the Moon at 25 degrees of Capricorn squaring the Sun in Libra. Quarter Moons bring tension, and they challenge us to take decisive action.
This is where the wishes you made at last week’s New Moon meet reality. How committed to them are you? Will you keep working on them even if nothing seems to be manifesting yet? Will you keep praying, visualising, meditating? Some people feel restless or frustrated at the First Quarter Moon. That’s just energy looking for somewhere to go, so give it somewhere to go.
With the Sun in Libra and the Moon in Capricorn, the tension may well be about balancing love and work, or keeping people happy while you do everything you have to do. The Moon isn’t super comfortable in Capricorn, so feelings can get bottled up. Try to let them out.
Whatever you’re working towards, it usually needs a balance of action and faith. Sometimes you just need to trust that the universe is on your side, and that if what you’re working for is for your highest good, it will come to pass.
So this is the week, in some ways, to stop wishing and start committing. Pick one goal and give it a really consistent effort. That’s how Mars and Saturn like it.
I go into all of this in more detail in this week’s Mainly Moonology podcast, including a look ahead to next week, when Mercury goes retrograde in Scorpio and we get a double retrograde. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. And if you want to know where Venus retrograde is happening in your own chart, my free mini course is at moonmessages.com/venusretrograde.
❤️ Want to make the most of Venus retrograde?
Love, money, relationships and second chances. It’s all up for review!
Venus is retrograde from October 3 to November 14, 2026, moving through Scorpio and Libra. It’s one of the most important astrological cycles for anyone who wants to improve their love life, heal old hurts or change their relationship with money.
I’ve created a complete Venus Retrograde course to help you work consciously with this cycle and make the most of the opportunities it brings.
The course takes you through three stages:
- Letting go of the past: Release old hurts, practise forgiveness and become clearer about what you really want.
- Dancing with what is: Look at your current relationships, understand what Venus retrograde is bringing up and explore the potential for second chances.
- Consciously creating your future: Use visualisations, affirmations, meditations and Moonology-inspired exercises to start calling in the love and abundance you want.
There’s also a special 2026 Venus Retrograde astrology update, so you can understand what’s happening in the skies this time around, plus printable cheat sheets and a Venus retrograde crystal grid guide.
One thing I particularly love about this course is that I recorded the original teachings during the last Venus retrograde in Scorpio, back in 2018. Something rather extraordinary happened in my own life while I was making it, which I share in the course. It really brought home to me how powerful this cycle can be.
Whether you’re single, in a relationship, thinking about someone from your past or simply ready to improve your relationship with yourself, there’s something here for you.
Venus retrograde is giving you a chance to rewrite your love story. What would you like the next chapter to look like?
✨ EXPLORE MY VENUS RETROGRADE 2026 COURSE
