The New Moon in Libra: A Fresh Start Under the Scales
On Monday, November 9, 2026, at 07:02 UT (09:02 Greek time), the Moon reaches its new phase. For a few hours it lines up between the Earth and the Sun and disappears completely from view. Many horoscopes will call this a "New Moon in Scorpio". Look at the real sky, though, and you will find the Sun and the Moon together in front of the stars of Libra.
What happens at a New Moon
The Moon is always half lit by the Sun. What changes from night to night is how much of that sunlit half we can see from Earth. At New Moon the Moon stands on the same side of the Earth as the Sun, so its bright face points away from us and its dark side faces us. It rises and sets with the Sun, hidden in daylight.
From one New Moon to the next takes about 29.5 days, the synodic month. Within a day or two after Monday, a slender crescent will appear low in the southwest just after sunset. Each evening it will grow a little thicker and climb a little higher, until the next Full Moon on November 24.
Why there is no eclipse this time
If the Moon passes between us and the Sun every month, why don't we get a solar eclipse every month? Because the Moon's orbit is tilted by about 5 degrees to the ecliptic, the Sun's path across the sky. On Monday the Moon passes almost 5 degrees south of the Sun, far too low to cover it. An eclipse happens only when a New Moon falls close to one of the two points where the Moon's orbit crosses the ecliptic. The next solar eclipses come in 2027, an annular one on February 6 and a long total eclipse on August 2.
Libra, not Scorpio
In the tropical zodiac, the Sun "enters Scorpio" in late October. In the real sky, the Sun has been crossing Libra (October 31 – November 22) since the end of October and will reach the stars of Scorpio (November 23 – November 29) only on November 23. Monday's New Moon falls just east of Zubenelgenubi, the "southern claw", one of the two brightest stars of the Scales. The difference comes from precession, the slow wobble of the Earth's axis, which has shifted the tropical signs by almost a whole constellation since they were defined some two thousand years ago.
The Moon will not stay in Libra for long. It moves about 13 degrees a day, so it crosses into Scorpio on Tuesday, November 10, and reaches Ophiuchus (November 30 – December 17), the Serpent Bearer, on Wednesday, November 11. There it passes very close to the red star Antares, though both will be lost in the Sun's glare.
A season of beginnings
Astrologers have long treated the New Moon as a time for planting seeds: setting intentions and starting projects. A New Moon in Libra, the constellation of balance, invites us to weigh what matters and to bring fairness into our relationships. With Venus and Mercury both retrograde nearby in Virgo, it is also a fine moment to finish what is half done before starting something new.
In Astrology of the 13 Signs of the Zodiac, every sign is read on the sky we can actually see, and the Moon is the clearest guide of all: it shows us the real constellations, night after night. Curious about where the Sun really stood when you were born? Find your true zodiac sign and meet your place among the stars.
Vasilis Kanatas, Delphi, November 2026
Star Maps, Myths and Exoplanets – My New Book
Look up at the night sky and you can read two stories at once: the myths the ancient Greeks wrote among the stars, and the new worlds astronomers have found circling those same stars. My new book, Star Maps, Myths and Exoplanets, brings the two together for the first time in a single atlas.
Double Retrograde in Virgo: Why Mercury and Venus Seem to Walk Backward
For a few days this November, two of our closest neighbours are doing something that has fascinated sky-watchers for thousands of years. Both Mercury and Venus appear to move backward against the stars, and in the real sky they are doing it in the same constellation: Virgo.
What retrograde motion really is
No planet ever stops or reverses in its orbit. Retrograde motion is an effect of perspective. Mercury and Venus orbit the Sun inside Earth's orbit and move faster than we do. When one of them passes between the Earth and the Sun, an alignment called inferior conjunction, it overtakes us on the "inside lane". For a few weeks around that moment, its position against the distant stars appears to slide westward instead of eastward.
Venus reached inferior conjunction around October 23–24, 2026, and Mercury on November 4. That is why both are retrograde at the same time. Venus has been moving backward since October 3, and Mercury since October 24. Both turn direct again around November 13–14, 2026.
Where it is happening in the real sky
Tropical astrology describes this retrograde season in Scorpio and Libra. The planets themselves tell a different story. Venus began its retrograde at the very edge of Libra and Virgo and has spent almost all of it in Virgo. It will turn direct close to Spica, the bright "ear of wheat" in the Maiden's hand, where it will appear to stand still for a few days.
Mercury began its backward loop in Libra, then slipped back into Virgo around November 7–8. It, too, will turn direct among Virgo's stars. So in the 13-sign zodiac, this is a Virgo story. Virgo (September 17 – October 30) is the constellation of careful work, review and harvest. Libra (October 31 – November 22), where the Sun is shining right now, is the constellation of balance.
How to see it
You can follow part of this dance yourself. Venus is already a brilliant morning star, low in the east before sunrise. As the days pass it climbs higher and moves slowly past Spica. Mercury is harder to see, but in the second half of November it should rise ahead of the Sun in the dawn sky. Look a little below and to the left of Venus, and be sure to stop before the Sun comes up. Never look at the Sun directly.
A season for second looks
Many astrologers see a retrograde as a time to revisit, repair and reconsider. With both Mercury and Venus retracing their steps in Virgo, the theme feels especially fitting. It is a good time to reread, revise and value the small details. In Astrology of the 13 Signs of the Zodiac, each constellation is read on the sky we can actually see, and this double retrograde is a lovely example of why that matters.
Curious which constellation the Sun was really in when you were born? Find your true zodiac sign and see the sky as it truly was.
Vasilis Kanatas, Delphi, November 2026
The Taurids: Autumn Fireballs from the Bull (Taurus)
If you are outdoors on a dark November night and see a slow, bright meteor gliding across the sky, there is a good chance it is a Taurid. This modest but much-loved meteor shower is active right now, and 2026 offers it a gift: a New Moon on November 9, just before the Northern Taurids reach their peak.
Two Showers from One Comet
The Taurids are really two streams of debris. The Southern Taurids are active from about September 20 to November 20 and peaked around November 4–5. The Northern Taurids run from about October 20 to December 10 and peak on the nights of November 11–12. Both come mainly from Comet 2P/Encke, which has one of the shortest orbits of any known comet, returning to the Sun every 3.3 years. Over thousands of years it has scattered a wide trail of dust and pebbles along its path, and the Earth crosses that trail every autumn.
Slow Meteors, Bright Fireballs
Don't expect a storm. Each branch gives only about five meteors per hour under a dark sky. What makes the Taurids special is their style. They meet our atmosphere at less than 30 km per second, slow compared with many other showers, so they seem to drift across the sky rather than flash. The stream also carries larger particles than usual, which is why the Taurids are famous for fireballs: meteors brighter than Venus that can leave a glowing trail. Every few years the Earth passes through a denser part of the stream and fireballs become more frequent. 2026 is not expected to be one of these "swarm" years, but a few bright Taurids are likely all the same.
Read more: The Taurids: Autumn Fireballs from the Bull (Taurus)
Spica, the Maiden’s Ear of Wheat: Venus and the Crescent Moon Meet in Virgo
This weekend the dawn sky offers one of the loveliest sights of the autumn. Low in the east-southeast before sunrise, Venus, the brilliant Morning Star, is shining right next to Spica, the brightest star of Virgo. On Saturday, November 7, a very thin crescent Moon joins them, completing a delicate trio against the stars of the Maiden.
A Gathering in the Real Constellation of Virgo
In the 13-sign zodiac, which follows the real constellations, Venus and the Moon are both in Virgo (September 17 – October 30) this weekend, even though the Sun itself has already moved on to Libra (October 31 – November 22). Venus is retrograde at the moment, slowly drifting westward. It turns direct around mid-November and stays close to Spica for the rest of the month.
On Friday morning, November 6, the crescent Moon, about 8% lit, stands higher up and to the right of Venus. By Saturday morning it has slipped down to just a few degrees from the planet and the star, only about 4–5% illuminated. Look about 45 minutes before sunrise, with a clear view of the horizon. Venus is unmistakable; binoculars will help you catch the Moon and Spica in the brightening twilight. The next Venus, Moon and Spica gathering this close will not happen until 2034.
Who Is the Maiden?
Virgo is the largest constellation of the zodiac and the second-largest in the whole sky. The Greeks saw in it several goddesses. For the poet Aratus, she was Dike, or Astraea, the goddess of justice, who lived among people in the Golden Age. As humanity grew greedy and violent, she withdrew to the mountains and finally rose to the sky, where she still shines beside the Scales of Libra.
Others saw her as Demeter, the goddess of grain and harvest, or her daughter Persephone. That is why the Maiden is often pictured holding an ear of wheat, and the name Spica means exactly that: "the ear of grain" in Latin. In ancient times, the Sun's passage through Virgo coincided with the harvest.
Read more: Spica, the Maiden’s Ear of Wheat: Venus and the Crescent Moon Meet in Virgo
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