Vedic Astrological Newsletter: October - December 2026

NOTE TO CLIENTS AND INTERESTED READERS:

     For the past 20+ years, I have been sending these newsletters, examining the current planetary transit positions and their implications, on a regular basis.  This edition will be the last newsletter in this format.  Going forward starting in 2027,  I will continue to write, but the writings will be topic-related, or event-related, rather than examining monthly planetary transits. These writings will be published on my website for all to access. In addition, if you are on the email list, then you will automatically receive them. These future writings will be published randomly, not on any particular time table. If there is an important event, or if I have something unique to impart,  then I will write and publish the material.  You are welcome to stay on the mailing list to receive this information when it first becomes available. 

     I have been a practitioner and student of Vedic Astrology for the past 30 years, and I  remain very humbled, as I know that this body of sacred body of knowledge is so vast and deep. Frankly, I have only touched the surface of it and I must go deeper. I am going to devote the last stage of my life to gain a deeper understanding and go to new levels.  Many of you know that Vedic Astrology is a serious sacred science, a healing body of knowledge, and it has deep spiritual and mystical implications. When insights arrive, and if I believe that they would help others, then I will communicate through writing and publish the information. 

     I must express gratitude and appreciation to all of the individuals who have consulted with me during these past 30 years, and demonstrated their respect for this great subject. I am quite fortunate to have had such high caliber clients who so appreciated my efforts to assist them through understanding their personal charts and therefore, their personal journey in this lifetime. I have only been the instrument to deliver the information, hopefully, with accuracy, seriousness and with an attitude to help others gain insight and make better, informed, intelligent, and aware decisions. Jyotish has the potential to light the way, especially when our minds are focused, and clear of debris, baggage and attachments. In my view, that's the only obstacle we place on ourselves (myself included) from attaining the highest level of wisdom and freedom for the soul to take off and expand. 

VEDIC ASTROLOGICAL OUTLOOK FOR THE 4th QUARTER OF 2026:

October - December 2026: 

Venus and Mercury travel together in October and part of November:

     On 10/3, Venus turns retrograde in its own strong sign of Libra and will continue to transit there with Mercury, also in Libra.  Both Venus and Mercury are good friends and will be transiting in this beneficial position together. Retrograde Venus enters the debilitated position of Virgo on 11/5. Venus retrogrades until 11/13, when it then turns direct at 28:37 degrees Virgo. Then Venus returns to its stronger position of Libra and gets another nice transit through its own sign of Libra on 11/22. Once again, Venus with transit through beneficial Libra until 1-01-2027. For part of that time, Venus and Mercury will again transit there together.

     First, Venus transiting through its own sign Libra, gives strength and focus on relationship matters for this entire transit period, including the retrograde phase back to Virgo. This is an excellent time to deepen connections, establish and form new associations and focus more time on all types of relationships. While Venus transits Libra, it also promotes legal matters, contracts, negotiations, mediations and creating harmonious agreements between parties. When Mercury and Venus join together in Libra, that is generally a positive time for signing contracts.

     While both Venus and Mercury transit through the air sign of Libra, it's especially good for travel during most of October and between 11/22 - 12/1, with the exception of the phase when Mercury is also retrograde (between 10/24 - 11/13).  

     We are often so focused on Mercury's retrograde motion which happens more often, during three separate periods during any given year.  But, it's important to note that  Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn also retrograde, with different implications. During this current Venus retrograde period, running between 10/3 - 11/13, you might experience certain people coming back into your life from the past. If this happens, the likelihood is that there is some unfinished business to work through with that individual. Venus is the major planet governing relationships, and so this area gets intense focus when Venus retrogrades. This is a nice opportunity to clear up and clean out whatever is necessary between you and others. 

     This current transit segment of Venus retrogradewhile Venus moves into Virgo, brings a more analytical attitude toward relationships, like taking a microscope and examining the many layers that are hidden beneath the surface. With Mercury also retrograde at the same time as Venus, overlapping, the tendency to communicate and discuss matters will be particularly strong, especially between 10/3 and 11/5.

     During October, Venus transits through Swati nakshatra until 10/23, when it then moves back to Chitra, before entering Virgo as it continues to retrograde. Swati is an energy that promotes growth from the beginning, as it is symbolized by a "young sprout" blowing in the wind. This is an excellent time to start new growth in your life, plant the seeds, nurture the sprout within and externally also.  There is a bit of tenuousness in the air, since the sprout has not quite established itself.  If starting a new relationship, this is a perfect time to prioritize and nurture the connection, to see what it will grow into. The young sprout is not fully developed and needs to grow roots to anchor itself.  Nutrients are necessary at this stage. Feed the relationship with healthy "fertilizer" and see what grows later as time progresses. Swati is also connected to the wind deity "Vayu," who governs the breath, air, wind, speech and travel. When strong planets move through Swati, there is a bit of lightness, promoting the desire to fly, to be unencumbered and explore.  

     From 10/23 until 12/5, Venus transits through Chitra nakshatra, which has strong creative qualities especially while in the Libra segment,  strengthening interest in artistic endeavors, craftsmanship (building) and architecture. Hence, this period is also strong for construction, designing houses or other buildings and being creative. This position for Venus also strongly promotes relationships with children and grandchildren. So, this period is particularly strong for these types of associations.  Venus is the ruling planet for both artistic endeavors and relationships, so it stands to reason that these particular domains will advance during this Venus  October - November transit. 

     Mercury will also turn retrograde at 26:44 degrees Libra on 10/24 and then turns direct on 11/13. While Mercury generally does well transiting through Libra, when Mercury is also retrograde and  receiving malefic aspects from debilitated Mars and Rahu, concurrently, the tendency to speak too quickly, and to use harsher language grows greater between 10/24 - 11/11. A greater possibility for accidents with airplanes or other vehicles or satellites that travel in air space also increases. 

     When Mercury turns retrograde, the tendency to ruminate, repeat oneself, and intensify thinking and analysis increases. Sometimes this is beneficial to catch errors or mistakes and at other times, it's too much, over the top. Be more aware of this general tendency and monitor speech. Perhaps, think before you blurt out something that you will possibly regret later.  As usual, Mercury retrograde periods often reflect delays with travel, mix-ups with appointments, confusion or misunderstandings with communications, as well as breakdowns with equipment, technology, appliances and vehicles. It's wise to double check reservations, appointments, plans and equipment in advance to avoid problems. It's also a good time to back-up important documents. 

How Retrograde Planets Behave: A Real-Person Example

     When I mention "intensity," I'm referring to the tendency to both go deep into something, but also to obsess, ruminate, blow things up and get too caught up in whatever the matter is or losing the larger perspective. This is one influence of a retrograde planet, like a stagnant hurricane churning around and around in a circle. During certain situations, this retrograde planet with focused, intense influence can be useful. While in other situations,  the retrograde planet influence is detrimental and lacks perspective, being one-sided, too narrow in its focus, driven and unable to see the forest from the trees. 

     Here is a real-person example: This lady has a natal exalted (in Virgo) Mercury retrograde, conjunct Rahu, the Sun and with debilitated Venus. Ignoring the house and the rest of the chart (which of course is critical for the complete picture) just to demonstrate this one point, she clearly demonstrates both sides of this exalted Mercury (with Rahu) retrograde. 

     She's highly educated and has an advanced Master's degree. She is always on time and an excellent communicator. However, she can't stop analyzing every single detail she observes, follows all rules without stepping out of the lines, is extremely sensitive to all communications, blows them up into bigger issues than is reasonable, loses perspective of other more critical factors, has to fact-check every single statement, can't stop communicating and socializing (with debilitated Venus), and her mind is never at peace. However, as a former school teacher, she was probably excellent in teaching details, grading exams, and organizing a classroom to function in an orderly manner.  When she tackles a problem, she investigates and creates complex detailed spread sheets to figure things out. She never misses a single tiny detail. But, she does not fully comprehend the bigger picture.  She can't think or do anything out of the box, employ creativity (debilitated Venus in Chitra), or break a rule, without getting upset.  She will never get a speeding ticket! 

     You can see where this exalted retrograde Mercury both helps and harms this poor lady, as she is rarely satisfied or at peace mentally and emotionally. She has a hard time being alone or comfortable in her own "skin." This is an extreme example of what I mean by the term "intense"  when applied to Mercury retrograde. The same could be said of an exalted Mercury/Rahu conjunction. The churning and ruminative quality is present.  Everything in the chart comes out in the personality, one way or another. This is only one piece of a larger chart puzzle, but this live example demonstrates how exalted, but also afflicted planets often color the personality in very strong ways, for better or worse. 

Mid-term Election Conditions in the U.S. on Tuesday, 11/3:

     In the U.S., the mid-term elections take place this year 2026 on Tuesday, 11/3, which is a day governed by Mars.  For this year, Mars will be transiting in its debilitated position in the water sign Cancer, in Ashlesha nakshatra (ruled by the snake, whose shakti is the "power to poison"), at 25 degrees, which is in a Sarpa (serpent-negative) drekkana.   When functioning at its lowest level, Ashlesha can refer to cheating, stealing or criminal activity.   Debilitated Mars is transiting in the harmful dusthana 8th house of the U.S. chart. Mars will also aspect a weak 1 degree retrograde Venus, the debilitated Libran Sun and retrograde Mercury, respectively.  Rahu will also be involved, aspecting this set of planets. This malefic combination of influences does not bode well on this date for any activities, especially an election. 

     The all-important Moon will be nicely associated with Jupiter, but also with the headless enemy to the Moon, Ketu (obscuring intelligence/better judgement), and in the sign of Leo, which is governed by the Sun that is debilitated on this day in Libra.  The Moon will be in Magha nakshatra for most of the voting day, until 4:56 P.M. EST, in the 1st drekkana of Leo, that is sad, associated with death, loss, endings and sneaky, untrustworthy behaviors.  Magha is ruled by Ketu also. 

     The Moon with be waning (darker--lower energy) and in the 10th tithi. Considering another Panchang factor, the Karana changes to the more harmful 8th Karana (Vishti) at 12:57 P.M. EST, with the Hora (hour governing planet) being Saturn at that transition point. Saturn's Hora runs between 12:00 P.M. until 1:00 P.M. EST on this day.  Vishti translates as "poison" and it is ruled by Saturn itself. We'll see what that brings....not pretty.

     During this day, there are likely to be mix-ups, confusion, breakdowns, possible violent incidents, incomplete voting, with the strange possibility of ballots blowing away in the wind or voting locations having windstorms or flooding.  It would not be surprising to learn that some ballots were never counted, were damaged, got soaked, or were forged, stolen or thrown away, as an influence of Mars in Ashlesha aspecting that series of planets. I'm not sure that will definitely happen, but that type of result/expression goes along with this planetary pattern. 

     At the very least, delays in results, incomplete results, confusion, antagonism and hostility surround this election day. The higher octaves of several planets are not in force on this date, to say the least.  Whichever direction (left or right) that this election goes, there will be a lack of acceptance, complications, disbelief, and a lots of confusion involving several different state election results.  The election process will probably be contested and taken to court, for a long drawn-out experience that the entire country will have to endure.

Jupiter's Transit into Leo on 10/31 and Mars' Transit into Leo on 11/12:

     Jupiter moves into Leo on 10/31, and will then retrograde at 2:47 degrees Leo on 12/12. Jupiter then returns to its exalted sign of Cancer on 1-24-2027, and will transit there until 6/25, when Jupiter then returns to Leo. Both transiting positions (Cancer and Leo) are strong for Jupiter, and indicate two houses or areas of opportunity, growth and optimism within the Vedic chart during this time frame.  

     However, Saturn's transiting position in Pisces will lose the beneficial aspect of Jupiter on 10/31 until 1-24-2027, while Jupiter is in Leo. It's generally better when Jupiter throws a beneficial aspect onto Saturn, to help out with some of the work or challenges that have to be encountered. 

     Also under consideration, is the transit of Mars into Leo on 11/12, which will join directly with Jupiter and Ketu in a tight conjunction. This gets Mars out of its debilitated sign position which is an improvement. Both Mars and Ketu gain strength with their conjunction to Jupiter.  Jupiter loses power with its association with two malefic planets. The tendency to overdo activities, or try to escape from the routine, is strong when Mars and Ketu associate with Jupiter. 

     This combination creates an strong seeking or exploring tendency, which can take the form of spiritual-seeking, on a higher level, or seeking retribution or getting even on a lower level. Both Jupiter and Ketu are considered to be karakas (significators) for spirituality.  Therefore, their conjunction has the potential to open the door to spiritual progress in some form. The Mars influence can direct the energy and create motivation to take action in this way.  On the other hand, the Mars/Ketu influence can also indicate violent behavior, that is unbridled, vicious, and revengeful, especially with Jupiter helping to magnify the ability of Mars and Ketu to gain strength.  With Mars also aspecting Saturn, and an afflicted retrograde Venus and the Sun both in debilitation, this puts a bit of a negative spin on this Mars/Ketu/Jupiter combination.

December Transits:

     After 12/3 when Ketu leaves Leo and retrogrades to Cancer, Jupiter and Mars reside in Leo together. This is a more beneficial combination, strengthening Mars, and thus creating an atmosphere of motivation, achievements, fulfilling desires and making progress. Venus remains strong for the entire month, transiting through Libra, its own sign, without any affliction. That bodes well for relationships, socializing, healing actions, pleasures, decorating or artistic endeavors, and making large purchases.  

     December appears to be a stronger month of the year, with the planets generally spread out, unafflicted and relatively strong. It's nice to end the year on a more positive note, as indicated by stronger planetary patterns.  Take some time to enjoy the season, nature, the part of the world that is benevolent and beautiful, the positive people who surround you and simply "be" in peace.