On the afternoon of October 31, 2026, two bodies change constellation almost together: Mars leaves Cancer and enters Leo, and about the same hour the Sun leaves Virgo and enters Libra. It is a good day to ask a simple question: where are the planets really, and where does a Western horoscope say they are?
The sky tonight
The picture above shows the sky as the astronomical charts draw it: the ecliptic, the path of the Sun, Moon and planets, running through the band of the zodiac constellations. On this band the Sun stands at the very end of Virgo, close to the border of Libra. Mercury has already entered Libra, Venus is still in Virgo, and on the far right Jupiter waits in Leo for Mars to arrive. This is not a symbolic circle. It is the arrangement that you could in principle see with a telescope and a good star map.
Two ways to read the same day
Western (tropical) astrology counts its signs from the vernal equinox point. Because of the precession of the equinoxes, that starting point has slipped away from the stars, so the names of the signs no longer match the constellations behind the planets. The table shows the same moment, the evening of October 31, 2026, in both systems.
| Body | Real constellation | Western sign |
|---|---|---|
| Sun | Libra | Scorpio |
| Moon | Gemini | Cancer |
| Mercury (retrograde) | Libra | Scorpio |
| Venus (retrograde) | Virgo | Libra |
| Mars | Leo | Leo |
| Jupiter | Leo | Leo |
| Saturn (retrograde) | Pisces | Aries |
| Uranus (retrograde) | Taurus | Gemini |
| Neptune (retrograde) | Pisces | Aries |
| Pluto | Capricorn | Aquarius |
Out of ten bodies, only Mars and Jupiter carry the same name in both columns, and this only because both happen to be near the start of Leo. For the other eight, the Western almanac and the sky disagree. Someone who reads that the Sun is in Scorpio today is told about a sign that the Sun will not enter until November 23.
Why it matters
An astrological reading is a message about the sky. If the message names the wrong constellation, then the symbolism built on it, the mythology, the character of the sign and the timing of its themes, is attached to the wrong part of the sky. This is the starting point of Astrology of the 13 Signs: we keep the old language of the zodiac, but we apply it to the positions that astronomers measure.
Mars in Leo, Sun in Libra
In the real sky, this evening brings a small change of scene. Mars, which spent weeks in the quiet, protective Cancer, now joins Jupiter in the fire of Leo, a combination of courage and generosity. The Sun begins its season in Libra, the sign of balance, just as Mercury, retrograde in the same constellation, invites us to review our agreements. Read the day with that image in mind: energy that moves forward, and a sky that asks us to weigh it carefully.
Find your own place in the sky
The dates on which the Sun enters each constellation change slightly from year to year, and for the exact hour you can use the tables in my book Astrology of the 13 Signs of the Zodiac, together with the forecast of the day for your real sign.