Full Moon in Taurus on 26 October 2026

October ends with a full moon that does not announce itself loudly. The Moon is in Taurus, the sign that holds on, and opposite it the Sun stands in Scorpio, the sign that lets go. Add two retrograde planets and a Pluto sitting right between them. I looked at this sky the way I look at a cup: first what is there, then what it means, then what it asks of you.

When exactly is the full moon

The Moon becomes full on 26 October 2026 at 05:12 Central European Time. That is a Monday morning, shortly before sunrise, and the first week after the clocks change: Europe turned its clocks back in the night to the Sunday before. Turkey does not change its clocks, so there it is two hours later.

You do not need to get up at five. The Moon looks almost equally round on Sunday evening and on Monday evening. Everything I describe below applies to the evening before the full moon and the evening after.

The sky that night

I only list what is actually there:

• Moon at 2°46’ Taurus, Sun at 2°46’ Scorpio. The exact opposition, as at every full moon.
• Pluto at 3°06’ Aquarius. It squares both of them, less than half a degree off. Three fixed signs, one tight T-square. The open side of this triangle points to the first degrees of Leo.
• Mercury retrograde at 20°44’ Scorpio. It turned on 24 October, two days earlier.
• Venus retrograde at 29°31’ Libra. Retrograde since 3 October, it has just slipped back from Scorpio into Libra.
• Uranus at 4°53’ Gemini, right at the start of the sign.
• Also Mars at 15°38’ and Jupiter at 23°35’ in Leo, Saturn at 9°40’ and Neptune at 2°13’ in Aries.

What interests me in this picture is Pluto. A full moon on its own brings things into the light. A full moon in a tight square with Pluto brings out things someone would have preferred to keep in the dark. With Mercury and Venus both moving backwards, this is not an evening for new plans. It is an evening for an honest stocktake.

Taurus and Scorpio: holding or letting go

Taurus and Scorpio form the axis of possession. Taurus asks: what is mine? My money, my body, my bed, my garden. Scorpio asks: what do I share, and with whom? A joint account, an inheritance, debts, trust, the kind of closeness you cannot take back.

At this full moon the Moon is in Taurus and wants to hold. The Sun in Scorpio wants something to end so that something else can grow. You know this tension from clearing out a wardrobe, when you weigh every old jumper in your hand one more time.

My grandmother used to say: a full hand cannot take hold of anything new. Taurus does not have to give everything away. But this evening it is worth checking what you only keep holding out of habit.

What the evening is good for, and what not

Good for:

• Writing a list of what you have been dragging along these past months: a subscription, a quarrel, a promise nobody wants to keep any more.
• Tidying, literally. One drawer, one folder of old bills, the photos on your phone.
• A calm talk about shared money or shared chores. Listen first.
• Finishing something that has been lying half done for a long time.
• Going to bed early. Taurus likes quiet, good food and a warm blanket.

Not good for:

• Signing new contracts or closing big purchases. With Mercury and Venus retrograde, you read the small print twice and decide later.
• Starting a new relationship, or ending an old one in a fight. Venus retrograde tends to bring people back rather than bring new ones.
• Confronting someone because you have just found something out. Pluto makes things visible, but not automatically clear. Sleep on it.
• Launching a project. The next new moon is better for that.

A small ritual for the morning after

In my family, after a full moon the cup is read in the morning, not at night. It is a custom, not a law, but it makes sense: what you want to let go of in the evening, you see more soberly in the morning.

1. In the evening: Take a sheet of paper and write down three things you want to let go of. Be concrete: not “fear”, but “my fear of asking my boss for a raise”. Fold the sheet and put it under your cup.
2. In the morning: Make yourself a Turkish coffee. Drink it slowly and think of the sheet, not of a question.
3. Turn the cup: Turn it over onto the saucer with a wish, and wait until it has cooled.
4. Read: Look first at the side opposite the handle. What sits there is moving away from you. A bird flying away from the handle, an open road, a pale patch with no grounds: these are good signs for letting go. A dense, dark lump close to the handle shows what is still stuck.
5. The sheet: Tear it up afterwards and throw it away. No ceremony, just away.

This ritual promises nothing more than that. It is a way of gathering yourself. What you do next is your decision.

What it means for your sign

The fixed signs feel this full moon most clearly, especially those born in the first days of their sign, because that is where the Moon, the Sun and Pluto stand.

Earth signs (Virgo, Capricorn) feel the Taurus Moon as a question about work and money. Water signs (Cancer, Pisces) feel it more as a feeling that finally wants to be said out loud. Air signs (Gemini, Libra) have Uranus and Venus in their own signs, so for them it is about plans and relationships being renegotiated. Fire signs (Aries, Sagittarius) watch this one more than they are hit by it. There is more on every sign in the astrology lexicon, for example on Taurus and Scorpio.

The moon calendar for October

The full moon closes a month that is very clearly built around four phases:

Whatever you began at the new moon in Libra shows at the full moon whether it holds. All phases with their times are in the moon calendar for October 2026. If you want to know how long Mercury keeps moving backwards, see Mercury retrograde 2026.

The next full moon

The next full moon follows on 24 November in Gemini, close to Uranus. By then Mercury is direct again, and what you let go of in October makes room for conversations and news. The dates are in the moon calendar for November 2026.

The Moon takes nothing from you. It only shows you what you have long been holding without wanting to.

If you photograph your cup on the morning after the full moon, I will read it for you in the app.