Mercury ☿︎ and Venus ♀︎ both turn direct on Friday, November 13, 2026, ending two retrogrades on the same Friday the 13th. It's the third and last Friday the 13th of 2026. We ran the dates from 1900 to 2100, and the two planets don't turn direct this close together at any other time in those 200 years. They're only about eight and a half hours apart.
When Do Mercury and Venus Turn Direct?
Mercury turns direct first, on Friday morning, and Venus follows that evening.
| Planet | Turns Direct (Eastern Time) | Sign | Leaves Its Shadow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury ☿︎ | Friday, November 13, 10:53 AM | 5° Scorpio ♏︎ | November 30 |
| Venus ♀︎ | Friday, November 13, 7:27 PM | 22° Libra ♎︎ | December 15 |
Venus's turn falls just after midnight in Universal Time, so calendars set to the UK and Europe list it on Saturday, November 14. Our retrograde tracker shows which planets are retrograde on any day.
What to Expect When Mercury and Venus Turn Direct
Expect things to start moving again slowly, not all at once. A planet moves very little in the days around its turn, so astrologers often describe the days around November 13 as slow and heavy, with momentum returning the following week.
Mercury ☿︎ rules communication, travel, and technology. The delays and mix-ups of the Mercury retrograde start to clear after the 13th. It's a good time to send the message you've been redrafting, reschedule the postponed trip, and sign what you've finished reviewing. Mercury stays in its shadow until November 30, so keep reading the fine print and keep your receipts.
Venus ♀︎ rules love, money, and what you value. The Venus retrograde has spent six weeks bringing up old relationships and old questions about what you spend your money on. After the 13th, decisions about both get easier to make. Venus stays in its shadow until December 15, so give a big decision about a relationship or a large purchase a few more weeks if you can.
The shadow dates overlap the start of holiday shopping. Mercury is still in its shadow on Black Friday, and Venus is still in its shadow through most of the shopping season.
Why This Friday the 13th Is Rare
This Friday the 13th has several sky and calendar connections.
- The two planets rarely turn together. The next-closest match from 1900 to 2100 came in February 1942, when they turned about 18 hours apart.
- Venus is turning direct on her own day. Friday is named for the goddess Frigg, who was matched with Venus, and the Italian venerdì and Spanish viernes come from the Latin "day of Venus." Astrologers still give Friday to Venus, and Libra, where she turns, is a sign she rules.
- Venus has a 35-year Friday the 13th pattern. In US time, she turned direct on a Friday the 13th in May 1921, July 1956, September 1991, and now November 2026. It doesn't happen again before 2100.
- Mercury has turned direct on a Friday the 13th only three other times since 1900. In US time, those were March 1908, May 1977, and October 1995. It doesn't happen again before 2100 either.
- Scorpio ♏︎ brings its own 13. Death is card XIII in the tarot, and astrologers link that card to Scorpio, the sign Mercury and the Sun are both in on the 13th.
- 2026 is a year of 13 full moons. The Beaver Moon on November 24 is the twelfth, and the Cold Moon on December 23, the closest supermoon of the year, is the thirteenth.
- You can see both planets that morning. About 40 minutes before sunrise, Venus is the brightest point in the east-southeast sky. Mercury is much fainter and lower, below and to the left of Venus, so you'll want a clear, flat horizon.
Why Is Friday the 13th Considered Unlucky?
Friday the 13th is considered unlucky because it joins two older beliefs: that 13 is an unlucky number and that Friday is an unlucky day. No record links the two before the 19th century, so no one knows exactly how it started.
- The number 13: A Norse story has the trickster Loki arriving as the uninvited thirteenth guest at a dinner of twelve gods, and Christian tradition counts 13 people at the Last Supper.
- The Knights Templar: Officers of King Philip IV of France arrested the Templars on Friday, October 13, 1307. It's a popular origin story, though nothing ties the date to the superstition until centuries later.
- Rossini: The composer Gioachino Rossini died on Friday, November 13, 1868, the same date as this one. His English biographer remarked on the date, noting that Rossini may have thought both Fridays and 13 unlucky. It's one of the earliest English references to Friday the 13th.
- The 1907 novel: Thomas W. Lawson's Friday, the Thirteenth follows a broker who uses the superstition to set off a Wall Street panic, and the book may have helped spread the idea.
The fear even has a name: paraskevidekatriaphobia.
Witches have their own history with the number. Margaret Murray promoted the idea in 1921 that witches met in covens of thirteen, the same year as Venus's first Friday the 13th turn on our list. Some witches still consider thirteen the ideal size, while any group of three or more can be a coven.
The Unlucky Day Isn't the Same Everywhere
The unlucky date changes from country to country. In Spanish-speaking countries and Greece, the unlucky day is Tuesday the 13th, Mars's day. In Italy, 13 is generally considered lucky and the date to watch is Friday the 17th, because the Roman numeral XVII can be rearranged to spell vixi, Latin for "I have lived."
A Small Friday the 13th Ritual for the Double Turn
This ritual marks what you're picking back up now that both planets are moving forward. Try it on Friday evening after 7:27 PM Eastern, while the Moon is a thin waxing crescent. You'll need one candle, paper, and a pen. Green is the color traditionally tied to Venus, so a dark green chime candle works well, and so does a pink chime candle.
- Choose one thing that stalled during the retrogrades, such as a conversation, a plan, or a purchase.
- Write it down in exactly 13 words.
- Set the candle in a heatproof holder, and light it.
- Read your 13 words out loud, and then say the words below.
- Stay with the candle until it burns down, or snuff it and finish it next Friday. Keep the paper until Venus leaves its shadow on December 15.
Thirteen words and one small light,
Two planets turned by Friday night.
What was stalled comes back to me,
In my own time, steadily.
When Is the Next Friday the 13th?
The next Friday the 13th after November 13, 2026, is August 13, 2027. That's the only one in 2027, and the next after it is October 13, 2028. The next year with three, like 2026, is 2037.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Friday, November 13, 2026, a Good Day to Start Something New?
Friday, November 13, works better for restarting something than for launching something new, because both planets are barely moving that day. Astrologers commonly suggest waiting until the following week, or until the shadows clear on November 30 and December 15 for bigger commitments. You can check the planetary hours for the day if you like to time your work.
How Many Friday the 13ths Are in 2026?
There are three Friday the 13ths in 2026: February 13, March 13, and November 13. Three is the most any calendar year can have.
Is Mercury Still Retrograde After November 13?
No. Mercury turns direct on November 13, 2026, and stays direct until its next retrograde starts on February 9, 2027. It remains in its post-retrograde shadow until November 30.
When Does Venus Retrograde End in 2026?
Venus retrograde ends on November 13, 2026, at 7:27 PM Eastern. Venus leaves its post-retrograde shadow on December 15, and there's no Venus retrograde in 2027.
Is Friday the 13th Lucky or Unlucky for Witches?
Friday the 13th can be either, and there's no single answer among witches. Some claim it as a lucky day, since Friday belongs to Venus and 13 is the number long associated with covens.
Featured photo: Venus, Saturn, and Mars before sunrise over Maunakea in April 2022, by NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Horálek (Institute of Physics in Opava), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
