Welcome to Scorpio Season 2026: Shadow Work, Transformation & Witchcraft

Scorpio Season: 23 October – 22 November 2026

As the Sun moves into Scorpio, we're invited to look beneath the surface, embrace emotional honesty and explore the parts of ourselves we don't always show the world. With several planetary retrogrades unfolding during this period, Scorpio season offers an opportunity to slow down, reflect and decide what we're ready to release, rebuild or reclaim.

Scorpio Season Correspondences

• Element: Water
• Rulers: Mars and Pluto
• Colours: Black, burgundy and deep red
• Crystals: Obsidian, garnet and smoky quartz
• Herbs: Mugwort, rosemary and patchouli
• Botanicals: Rose and pomegranate
• Magical themes: Shadow work, protection, transformation, passion, banishing and rebirth
• Deities to explore: Hekate and Persephone

These correspondences can be incorporated into your altar, spellwork, meditation or everyday spiritual practice as you work with the themes of Scorpio season.

What Does Scorpio Season Mean?

From 23 October to 22 November, the Sun moves through Scorpio, shifting the collective focus from Libra's search for balance and harmony towards emotional depth, transformation and intensity.

Scorpio is associated with the unseen, the mysterious and the things we may prefer to keep hidden. It encourages us to look honestly at our emotions, examine our attachments and recognise the patterns influencing our choices.

This is a season for shadow work, strengthening personal boundaries and questioning whether certain habits, relationships or beliefs still align with who we're becoming. Rather than rushing to discard everything that feels uncomfortable, Scorpio invites us to understand what lies beneath the surface.

As the wheel of the year turns, we'll also notice the changing seasons here in the Southern Hemisphere. We're moving through the heart of spring and gradually towards summer, with the natural world continuing its own cycle of growth and renewal.

Combined with the current planetary retrogrades, Scorpio season may feel particularly reflective. It can be a useful time to revisit unfinished business, reassess our priorities and become more intentional about what we carry forward.

The Planetary Retrogrades of Scorpio Season

If you've read our October Astrology Overview, you'll know that October brings a number of planetary retrogrades. Several continue into Scorpio season, adding to its themes of reflection, reassessment and inner work.

Before exploring them individually, it helps to understand how astrologers commonly classify these celestial bodies.

Mercury, Venus and Mars are considered personal planets, associated with themes such as communication, relationships, desire and everyday interactions. Jupiter and Saturn are often described as social planets, while Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are associated with broader collective or generational themes. Chiron is a centaur and minor celestial body commonly associated with vulnerabilities, healing and personal growth.

Here's a look at the retrogrades continuing through Scorpio season and the themes they may bring into focus.

1. Mercury Retrograde in Scorpio

24 October – 14 November 2026

Mercury retrograde is traditionally associated with communication mix-ups, misunderstandings, delays and unfinished business resurfacing.

With Mercury retrograde in Scorpio, these themes may be explored through deeper conversations, trust, emotional honesty and the things left unsaid. You may find yourself reconsidering an earlier decision, revisiting a difficult conversation or looking at a situation from a different perspective.

Rather than reacting impulsively, use this period to pause, reflect and consider your words carefully. Double-check important communications, allow yourself time to process information and avoid rushing into commitments before you've had a chance to think them through.

Mercury's post-retrograde shadow continues until 30 November, so these themes may take a little longer to settle.

2. Venus Retrograde in Scorpio and Libra

3 October – 14 November 2026

Venus retrograde invites us to reconsider our relationships, personal values, self-worth and finances.

As Venus moves backwards through Scorpio before returning to Libra on 25 October, themes of trust, intimacy, jealousy, shared resources and emotional vulnerability may come into focus. Old flames, exes and unresolved heartaches may resurface, offering opportunities to reflect on what we've learned and what we truly want from our relationships.

Good times. Or perhaps not.

The important thing to remember is that something returning to your life doesn't automatically mean it's meant to stay. Sometimes, revisiting the past helps us recognise how far we've come, what we will no longer accept and where our boundaries need strengthening.

Venus retrograde can also encourage us to reconsider what we value, how we give and receive love, and whether our relationships reflect the respect and care we deserve.

3. Saturn Retrograde in Aries

Continuing until 10 December 2026

Saturn is associated with discipline, responsibility, structure, patience and long-term commitments.

During its retrograde in Aries, we may be prompted to review how we pursue our goals, assert our independence and take responsibility for our choices. Are we acting from confidence or reacting from frustration? Are our ambitions sustainable, or are we pushing ourselves simply because we feel we should?

This is an opportunity to reassess personal boundaries, strengthen our foundations and consider whether the structures we've built genuinely support the future we want.

4. Neptune Retrograde in Aries

Continuing until 12 December 2026

Neptune is associated with dreams, intuition, spirituality, imagination and illusion.

Its retrograde in Aries invites us to question our beliefs about identity, independence and personal direction. It may be a useful time to distinguish between what we hope is true and what the evidence is actually showing us.

For spiritual practitioners, this can also be an opportunity to reflect on intuition and discernment. How do we tell the difference between a genuine inner knowing, wishful thinking and fear?

You don't need to abandon your dreams. You simply need to make sure you're seeing them clearly.

5. Uranus Retrograde in Gemini

Continuing until 8 February 2027

Uranus is associated with change, disruption, innovation and breaking away from established patterns.

In Gemini, its retrograde may encourage us to reconsider our thinking, communication habits, assumptions and relationship with information. Old ideas may no longer fit, while new perspectives invite us to question what we once accepted without hesitation.

Use this period to stay curious, challenge your own assumptions and remain open to learning. Sometimes transformation begins with something as simple as being willing to see a situation differently.

6. Chiron Retrograde

Continuing until 6 January 2027

Chiron is commonly associated with vulnerabilities, old wounds, healing and personal growth.

Its retrograde began in Taurus before Chiron returned to Aries. These changing signs bring different symbolic themes into focus, from self-worth and security to identity, independence and the courage to be ourselves.

This period may invite reflection on how past experiences influence our sense of self and the way we respond to the world around us.

Healing doesn't mean pretending that painful experiences never happened. It means understanding how they've shaped us, recognising the patterns that no longer serve us and learning to respond to ourselves with greater compassion.

Witchcraft and Scorpio Season: Working With the Shadows

Scorpio season is well suited to reflective magical practices that help us explore our inner world, strengthen our boundaries and consciously work with change.

You don't need an elaborate ritual or a collection of expensive tools. A candle, a journal and a little quiet time can be enough to begin.

Here are a few practices to explore during this season. Here's a link to our most highly recommended product for the season - our Healing Spell Oil.

Shadow-work journalling

Set aside time to explore the emotions, fears, habits and patterns you tend to avoid. Ask yourself what they might be trying to show you, where they originated and what you need in order to move forward.

Cord-cutting rituals

Use cord-cutting symbolism to reflect on attachments, patterns or dynamics you're ready to release. Focus on your own choices and boundaries rather than attempting to control another person's behaviour.

Protection workings

Create a protection ritual that reflects your own practice. You might incorporate rosemary, obsidian, a protective oil or a simple spoken intention to reinforce the boundaries you want to maintain.

Transformation spells

Work with the symbolism of change and rebirth to support a personal transition. Identify what you're leaving behind, what you're learning from it and what you want to cultivate in its place.

Divination

Use tarot, oracle cards or another divination practice to explore a question that needs deeper consideration. Scorpio season can be a useful prompt to look beyond the obvious and approach your readings with honesty and discernment.

Dark Moon reflection

Use the Dark Moon as an opportunity to explore endings, rest and intention-setting according to your own lunar practice. You might reflect on what has run its course and what you want to make space for in the next cycle.

Deities to Explore: Hekate and Persephone

Scorpio's associations with thresholds, the underworld, transformation and the mysteries of life make this season a natural opportunity to learn more about deities connected with these themes.

Hekate is associated with witchcraft, crossroads, thresholds and the unseen. Her symbolism may resonate with practitioners exploring transitions, personal boundaries and the courage to navigate uncertainty.

Persephone is associated with the underworld, seasonal cycles and transformation. Her mythology offers a way to contemplate descent, change, renewal and the complexities of moving between different worlds.

If you feel drawn to either deity, take the time to learn about their histories, cultural contexts and traditions before incorporating them into your personal practice.

The Takeaway: What Are You Ready to Release?

Scorpio season isn't necessarily about making dramatic changes or tearing everything apart. Sometimes, transformation begins with the quieter work of acknowledging what we feel, recognising a recurring pattern or admitting that something no longer fits.

With Mercury and Venus retrograde overlapping in Scorpio season, alongside the ongoing retrogrades of Saturn, Neptune, Uranus and Chiron, this period offers plenty of symbolic inspiration for reflection and reassessment.

Rather than rushing into something new, give yourself permission to pause. Look beneath the surface. Reconsider what matters to you. Strengthen your boundaries and decide what deserves to come with you into the next chapter.

You don't have to fear the shadows. Sometimes, they're where we find the parts of ourselves we've been waiting to reclaim.

May this Scorpio season be all that you need, and more.

With love,

Charmed & Kindred x