This week's sky · updated daily · free
Why is this week so hard? What the sky is doing this week
In astrology a week tends to feel hard when its sky is crowded with tense events: squares and oppositions between planets, planets stationing retrograde or direct, a full Moon or an eclipse. This page scores each week's events on a stated scale, from light through mixed to heavy.
Light week · 2 points This week is fairly light. The busiest moments: Mercury and Venus turn direct on Friday. Week of Nov 9–15, 2026. Your own chart check is optional, above.
The sky this week, Nov 9–15, 2026
Every exact aspect between the planets, every station, sign change and Moon phase. Times in EST.
- Mon9 Scorpio
- New Moon2:02 am
- Tue10 Sagittarius
- Venus sextile Mars1:39 am
- Wed11 Sagittarius
Quiet
- Thu12 Sagittarius
Quiet
- Fri13 Capricorn
- Mercury direct10:49 am
- Venus direct7:21 pm
- Sat14 Capricorn
Quiet
- Sun15 Aquarius
Quiet
- Hard aspect
- Station
- Moon phase
- Easier aspect
- Sign change or mild contact
The score: 2 points, a light week
How the score works
- A square or opposition scores 2 if Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune or Pluto is involved, otherwise 1.
- A conjunction scores 1 if Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune or Pluto is involved, otherwise 0.
- A planet turning retrograde or direct scores 1. A Full Moon scores 1; an eclipse scores 2.
- Trines, sextiles, sign changes, New Moons and quarter Moons score 0. They are listed, not counted.
- 0 to 2 points is a light week, 3 to 5 is mixed, 6 or more is heavy. Scored this way, the middle week of 2026 and 2027 comes to 3 points, and about one week in seven reaches 6.
Retrograde this week
- Mercury (turns direct Nov 13)
- Venus (turns direct Nov 13)
- Saturn (until Dec 10)
- Uranus (until Feb 8, 2027)
- Neptune (until Dec 12)
Shadow periods
- Mercury is in its post-retrograde shadow until Nov 30, recrossing the degrees it covered while retrograde (it turned direct on Nov 13).
- Venus is in its post-retrograde shadow until Dec 15, recrossing the degrees it covered while retrograde (it turned direct on Nov 13).
- Mars is in its pre-retrograde shadow: it turns retrograde on Jan 10, 2027 and will back up over the degrees it is crossing now.
Day by day
Monday, Nov 9
Moon in Scorpio · New Moon, 0% lit
New Moon
Tends to feel low-key and inward. What helps: name one small thing you want to begin, then rest.
Tuesday, Nov 10
Moon in Sagittarius · Waxing crescent, 2% lit
Venus sextile Mars
A small opening, with love, money and what you value helped along by energy, drive and temper, if you reach for it.
Wednesday, Nov 11
Moon in Sagittarius · Waxing crescent, 5% lit
No exact planetary events. A quieter day.
Thursday, Nov 12
Moon in Sagittarius · Waxing crescent, 11% lit
No exact planetary events. A quieter day.
Friday, Nov 13
Moon in Capricorn · Waxing crescent, 17% lit
Mercury turns direct
Mercury turns direct, and plans, messages and talk start moving forward again, slowly for the first few days. What helps: give it a couple of days before you push.
Venus turns direct
Venus turns direct, and love, money and what you value start moving forward again, slowly for the first few days. What helps: give it a couple of days before you push.
Saturday, Nov 14
Moon in Capricorn · Waxing crescent, 25% lit
No exact planetary events. A quieter day.
Sunday, Nov 15
Moon in Aquarius · Waxing crescent, 33% lit
No exact planetary events. A quieter day.
Why some weeks feel heavier than others
Most weeks hold a few exact aspects between the planets. What makes one feel heavier is the kind and the speed. A square or opposition involving Saturn, Uranus, Neptune or Pluto ties a fast, personal planet to a slow one, so a short spell of pressure lands on something that has been building for months. Mars adds heat to whatever it touches.
The Moon matters too. Around a Full Moon feelings run closer to the surface and sleep is often lighter, so ordinary friction feels sharper. An eclipse on top of that tends to bring endings and decisions forward.
Then there are the turning points. When a planet stations, turning retrograde or direct, it seems to stand still in the sky, and its themes feel stuck. The shadow before and after a Mercury, Venus or Mars retrograde is when plans get revised and old matters come back for a second look.
None of this decides how your week goes. Heavy weeks on paper often pass quietly, and light ones can still be hard for reasons that have nothing to do with the sky. Read it as weather: worth knowing, never a verdict on you.
What you can do in a hard week
- Find the one or two exact days in the list above and keep those days lighter: fewer big talks, fewer signatures, more margin.
- Wait a day before acting on a surge of feeling around a Full Moon or a hard Mars aspect. The heat drops fast.
- In a station week, finish and repair rather than launch. The planet that is turning tells you which part of life to tidy.
- Move your body, eat properly and sleep. They are the plainest tools and they work in every kind of week.
- Talk to someone you trust. A hard week is easier carried by two.
Common questions
- Why is everything going wrong this week, astrologically?
- Usually because a fast planet is making a hard aspect to a slow one, a planet is turning retrograde or direct, or the Full Moon is close. The day-by-day list on this page shows exactly which of these is exact this week and on which day. Astrology describes the tone of a week; it does not make things go wrong.
- Why does everyone seem to be breaking up right now?
- Relationship strain in astrology is usually read through Venus: its squares and oppositions to Mars, Saturn, Uranus or Pluto, and its retrograde and shadow periods, which bring old questions about love back up. If one of those is in this week's list, it describes a shared mood, not a rule. Many relationships go through the same weeks and come out fine.
- Is Mercury retrograde to blame?
- Only when Mercury is actually retrograde or in its shadow, and this page tells you whether it is. Mercury is retrograde about three times a year for roughly three weeks each time. Outside those weeks, harder aspects or a Full Moon are more likely to explain a rough patch.
- How long will a hard week last?
- Most aspects between the planets are exact for a moment and felt for a day or two either side, so the pressure usually eases within days. Stations and retrogrades last longer, and the retrograde lines on this page give their end dates. Your own chart decides which of them you feel most, which is what the Is it just me check shows.
More of the sky, live
If things feel too heavy, talk to someone today: Samaritans 116 123 (UK), call or text 988 (US).
