What is being said, what is being concealed, and whose interests are being served?

Mercury retrograde has become something of a cultural scapegoat. Missed flights, technological failures and misunderstood messages are common. Yet its recurring cycles affect us more directly as Mercury transits our natal charts and those of the cities and countries where we live, connecting our personal circumstances with the wider political and economic climate.

With the US midterm elections falling during Mercury retrograde, I wanted to examine the political and economic stakes that are top of mind for many around the world. Mercury rules the message; Scorpio wants to uncover the stories those in power would prefer to keep buried.

Traditionally, Mercury governs communication, commerce, negotiation, documents and accounting. Scorpio is a fixed water sign ruled by Mars, bringing questions of strategy, conflict, control and the protection of what is held privately. In modern astrology, Pluto is associated with Scorpio’s rulership, adding themes of coercion, ruthlessness and the determination to retain power at any cost. Modern financial astrology also links Scorpio with debt, taxation and shared assets.

How much do we know about the agreements we sign, the financial commitments we make and the people we trust?

Why look back

Mercury completes an orbit around the Sun in approximately 88 days. From Earth, its cycle relative to the Sun lasts roughly 116 days, producing three, and occasionally four, retrograde periods each year. Over longer intervals, its retrogrades return to similar zodiacal territory.

The Scorpio retrogrades of 2006, 2013 and 2019 offer useful historical comparisons. They occurred under different planetary conditions, but each coincided with a contest over political authority or public money.

2006 Power changes hands

On 28 October 2006, Mercury stationed retrograde at 25°05′ Scorpio, returning to 9°04′ Scorpio before turning direct on 18 November.

The US midterm elections took place on 7 November, against growing dissatisfaction with the Iraq War and President George W. Bush’s administration. Republicans lost control of both houses of Congress, with Democrats regaining the House of Representatives for the first time since 1994.

Authority changed hands. Decisions made behind closed doors faced renewed scrutiny, and it was the voters who determined who would oversee public policy and spending.

Twenty years later, as another Republican president approaches midterm elections during Mercury retrograde in Scorpio, the recurring question of accountability remains the same.

2013 Money as a political weapon

On 1 October 2013, a dispute over government funding and Republican demands to delay or defund Obamacare triggered a sixteen-day federal shutdown. A separate battle over the borrowing limit raised another concern: could the United States keep paying its bills?

That same day, Mercury entered its pre-retrograde shadow at 2°29′ Scorpio, the degree to which it would return in November. On 17 October, Congress struck a temporary deal to reopen government and avert the immediate debt crisis.

Mercury stationed retrograde at 18°24′ Scorpio on 21 October. On 30 October, congressional negotiators met to work through the unfinished budget. A two-year agreement followed on 10 December, after Mercury had cleared its shadow on 27 November.

The astrological parallel is one of renegotiation. The immediate crisis had passed, but the terms still needed work. Reopening the doors did not mean the argument was over.

For anyone running a business, that distinction is familiar. A temporary agreement can keep operations moving while leaving the underlying disagreement unresolved.

2019 Authority under investigation

On 31 October 2019, Mercury stationed retrograde at 27°38′ Scorpio. That same day, the US House of Representatives approved procedures for the ongoing impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump. This was the inquiry’s next stage; the House voted to impeach him on 18 December.

There were allegations that Trump had used his presidential authority to seek political advantage. Private conversations, diplomatic relationships and the exercise of executive power came under intense public scrutiny.

Mercury’s association with documents, testimony and information offers a compelling symbolic connection. What had been privately discussed became a matter of public investigation.

Taken together, these three periods bring us back to the same question: who holds power, on whose terms, and to whom are they accountable?

October 2026 What might emerge

Mercury stations retrograde at 20°59′ Scorpio on 24 October, returning to 5°02′ Scorpio before turning direct on 13 November. Including its shadow periods, Mercury passes through this stretch of the zodiac three times between 4 October and 30 November.

Mercury entered its retrograde shadow on 4 October. Technological ambition, military strategy and political survival were competing for the headlines. That day, Trump announced his Super Intelligence Force. Two days earlier, senior officials had met at Camp David to discuss the Iran war. Polling conducted from 28 September to 4 October, and published on 8 October, put his approval rating at 30%, the lowest of his second term.

Which announcements by the President or his Press Secretary will withstand scrutiny? Will their claims about the economy, the Iran war and America’s technological leadership hold up as more information comes to light?

Potentially explosive, front-page revelations look likely as this cycle unfolds. What happens when a leader’s private interests collide with a nation’s security? Is someone prepared to expose that conflict of interest and any potential criminal implications?

The story began on 4 October. As Mercury retrogrades through Scorpio, will the administration’s public message hold up as more information comes to light? Its claims face fact-checking, and discrepancies will demand answers.

Venus joins the enquiry

Venus is also retrograde, adding a review of values, relationships and the terms of our agreements. Venus turns retrograde approximately every 18 months, returning to similar zodiacal territory every eight years. This year, she stationed at 8°29′ Scorpio on 3 October, returns to Libra on 25 October and turns direct at 22°52′ Libra on 14 November, using Universal Time.

Venus rules both Libra and Taurus, linking questions of fairness, partnership and negotiation with money, resources and material security.

The Full Moon at 2°46′ Taurus on 26 October puts these material concerns in the spotlight. Around an election, they draw attention to what people need to feel safe, secure and able to provide for themselves. Venus’s return to Libra adds questions of justice, negotiation and fairness.

On 30 October, Mercury retrograde in Scorpio squares Mars in Leo. I would expect sharper exchanges and confrontation around leadership, military strategy and competing claims to authority. With the midterm elections on 3 November, listen closely to what Trump is promising and how he responds when challenged. Can he substantiate his claims? What is being left unanswered, and will voters accept his version of events?

For more on the accompanying relationship and financial themes, read my Venus Retrograde 2026 article.

Presidential Accountability

Donald Trump was born on 14 June 1946. Using his recorded birth time of 10.54 am in Queens, New York, his natal Sun is approximately 22°56′ Gemini and his Midheaven approximately 24°22′ Taurus. The Midheaven concerns public standing, reputation and authority.

Mercury’s retrograde station falls within approximately three and a half degrees of an opposition to his Midheaven. This makes his public standing a relevant focus within the interpretation, although the transit alone cannot determine an electoral outcome.

With Venus returning to Libra, the sign containing Trump’s natal Jupiter, attention turns to the allies and benefactors who have supported his political rise. Will they continue to back him? His promises about the economy and his account of the Iran war face scrutiny from the press and voters. Watch, too, for resistance within his own party or from foreign allies whose interests may no longer align with his.

The 2006 comparison deserves attention. Whether voters deliver a similar verdict remains an open question.

What Does This Cycle Mean for You Personally?

Questions of power and accountability also enter our private lives. Who controls the information on which you make decisions? What have you accepted on trust? In a business, partnership or financial arrangement, how much do you actually know about the terms that bind you?

The house containing Scorpio in your birth chart helps locate this enquiry. Mercury’s passage may draw your attention to an unfinished conversation, an agreement worth rereading or a discrepancy you have struggled to explain. Planets and angles between approximately 5° and 21° of Scorpio, Taurus, Leo or Aquarius warrant closer examination within the wider chart.

Venus follows a different path, moving back from 8°29′ Scorpio to 22°52′ Libra. Her passage may be especially relevant if you have planets or angles around 22°–29° of Libra, Aries, Cancer or Capricorn, or 0°–8° of Scorpio, Taurus, Leo or Aquarius. Here, the enquiry turns towards relationships, value, money and the fairness of an exchange.

These degree ranges identify potential chart contacts; they do not describe the same experience for everyone. A personal interpretation considers the houses involved, the planets receiving those contacts, the condition of the relevant rulers and the wider timing of your chart.

Consider what has already begun to occupy your thoughts. Are you waiting for information, or avoiding a question because the answer could change your plans? What would you need to know before making your next commitment?

To explore how these cycles connect with your circumstances, a private consultation examines your birth chart alongside the questions you are navigating in life or business.

Book an astrology consultation with The Karmic Soul

Sources

  • Pew Research polling conducted 28 September to 4 October 2026
  • Trump announces the Super Intelligence Force 4 October 2026
  • Report on Camp David discussions held 2 October 2026
  • Astrodienst Swiss Ephemeris 2026
  • Astrodienst planetary phenomena of Mercury
  • Astrodienst planetary phenomena of Venus
  • US House of Representatives election statistics 2006
  • White House statement on the October 2013 funding agreement
  • Senate Budget Committee meeting 30 October 2013
  • Murray and Ryan announce the December 2013 budget agreement
  • US House resolution on impeachment inquiry procedures 31 October 2019
  • US House of Representatives list of impeachments
  • Federal Election Commission 2026 election date
  • Donald Trump birth data at Astro Databank