The Flow State Herald: Edition 2
The Flow State Herald
17 to 24 October 2026 · Edition 2 · Vol. I · No. 2
The edition for everyone
Read this first
- The week: Venus squares Pluto on Tue 20 Oct, the Sun moves into Scorpio on Fri 23 Oct, Venus lines up with the Sun late that day, and Mercury turns retrograde early on Sat 24 Oct.
- Dates: Tue 20 Oct, 2:56 am ET; Fri 23 Oct, 5:38 am ET and 11:44 pm ET; Sat 24 Oct, 3:12 am ET.
Your birth chart is a castle: twelve rooms for twelve areas of life. Each week the planets open different doors, and this paper tells you which rooms are busy this week.
New to the rooms? They are explained on the castle page.
The sky this week
- Tue 20 Oct, 2:56 am ET (06:56 UTC): Venus, retrograde in Scorpio, squares Pluto in Aquarius. Venus covers love, money and taste, Pluto covers power and change, and the square sets them at odds, with Venus going back over old ground.
- Fri 23 Oct, 5:38 am ET (09:38 UTC): The Sun enters Scorpio, the sign of intensity, privacy and things held back.
- Fri 23 Oct, 11:44 pm ET (Sat 24 Oct, 03:44 UTC): Venus, retrograde in Scorpio, lines up with the Sun as it passes between Earth and the Sun, and stays out of sight all week.
- Sat 24 Oct, 3:12 am ET (07:12 UTC): Mercury turns retrograde in Scorpio. Astrologers read this as a time for messages, plans and agreements to come back for review.
Which message or plan could use a second look before it goes any further?
Planet of the week
This week. Mercury turns retrograde in Scorpio on Sat 24 Oct, 3:12 am ET (07:12 UTC). Retrograde means the planet appears to move backward against the stars for a few weeks, an effect of how Earth and Mercury overtake each other in their orbits. Astrologers read it as a time to revisit messages, plans and agreements.
Hindu. In Hindu myth, Mercury is Budha, the child of Soma, the Moon god, and Tara, the wife of the gods' teacher Brihaspati. Soma carried Tara off, a war followed until the god Brahma stepped in, and Tara named Soma as the father. (Tara)
Norse. Wednesday is Woden's day, an English version of the Latin dies Mercurii, because Roman writers matched Mercury with Odin. In Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, Odin wins the mead of poetry from the giant Suttungr and carries it home to the gods in the shape of an eagle. (Skaldskaparmal)
Chinese. In Chinese star lore, Mercury is Chenxing, the Water Star, and belongs to Water, the north and the Black Tortoise, a tortoise wound with a snake that guards the northern sky. (Chenxing)
Tarot
Look. A dog and a wolf howl at a moon with a face; a crayfish climbs from a pool.
Ask yourself. Two animals howl at a distant moon; what feels bigger from far away?
Show the reading
Then read. The Moon, upright. The card for judging things in bad light: you think you know what that shape is, and you might be wrong. Venus squares Pluto early Tuesday, a bad time to act on a hunch.
Look. A woman in blue with a moon crown sits between a black and a white pillar, holding a scroll.
Ask yourself. A tapestry of pomegranates hangs behind her; what would you like to see behind it?
Show the reading
Then read. The High Priestess, upright. She sits on the line between knowing and telling, with her scroll half hidden. The Sun enters Scorpio on Friday, the sign of privacy, so some of what you know can stay yours for now.
Look. A crowned king holds a golden cup and a sceptre on a throne above waves; a fish leaps.
Ask yourself. The king keeps his cup steady on rough water; what steadies you?
Show the reading
Then read. The King of Cups, reversed. Feelings bottled up, or spilling out. Mercury turns retrograde on Saturday, so cool down before you reply to anything heated.
Cards: Pamela Colman Smith, Rider-Waite-Smith tarot, 1909.
A line to keep
A word spoken in due season, how good is it!
Proverbs 15:23, King James Version.
Your own sky for this week, with the full paper, is in the edition for your rising sign.
How this was made
Times are Eastern (ET), with UTC in brackets. The sky is calculated with the Swiss Ephemeris. Pictures come from museum open access collections and are credited in each caption. For reflection and enjoyment, not medical, financial or legal advice.
