Planets don’t move backwards; they just seem to. Nonetheless, astrology obstinately takes the view that what you see is what you get. Several planets in retrograde mean a sluggish phase in human affairs, whereas – as in May – all planets rolling forwards mean fresh developments. True, Pluto turns retrograde on May 7, but the other nine bodies in play are romping onwards.
We might therefore expect a bit of hurly burly going into summer. Mars and Jupiter are squaring each other (i.e. 90 degrees apart), while Prometheus, the planet most evidently concerned with Artificial Intelligence, has just taken up a seven-year residence in Gemini, an intellectual sign which suggests where robotics is concerned humanity ‘ain’t seen nothing yet. The next three months, with Prometheus aligning with Pluto, looks incendiary.
Celestial Timetable
- 1st – Full Moon in Scorpio at 18.23 BST.
- 16th – New Moon in Taurus at 21.01 BST
- 31st – Full Moon in Sagittarius at 09.45 BST
- The Sun is in Taurus until May 21.
- The Sun arrives in Gemini on May 21.
- Mercury is at full speed. The Messenger spends May 1 and 2 in Aries, is in Taurus until May 17 and is in Gemini for the rest of May.
- Venus is in Gemini until May 19, then in Cancer for the rest of May.
- Mars is in Aries until May 18, then in Taurus for the rest of May.
- Jupiter is in Cancer all month, completing its transit of the Crab at the very end of June.
- Saturn is in Aries all month.
- Prometheus is (newly) in Gemini all month.
- Neptune is in Aries all month.
- Pluto is in Aquarius all month, turning retrograde on May 7.
Taurus and Taurus rising
There is nothing like a full Moon in opposition to stir up emotions – not necessarily those of joy, bitter recrimination is no less likely! – but thereafter you should be able to park the excitement and proceed in an orderly fashion, this being your favoured mode (or so it is claimed). There is a fair amount if churn is going on in your personal life, with Mars heading into the Bull on the 18th to stir you up. A cold-blooded approach to problems serves you better until then, with Mercury in your skies (4-16th) and a new Moon on the 16th renewing your energies and charisma.
Elsewhere your ruling planet Venus, first transits your cash zone to top up the coffers, followed by the Sun on the 21st. Prometheus, a planet you have enjoyed/endured for the last seven years has finally moved on and in its new position in Gemini promises to shake up things financially, pushing you to discover new ways to turn a shilling. There is no time like the present to start investigating how you might do so, especially at the full Moon of May 31st, when two heads may prove better than one. Happy Birthday.
Gemini and Gemini rising
The month starts bright and breezy, Venus is in your skies until the 20th, bringing a light-hearted mood…or possibly utter infatuation if you are a May birthday. With planet Prometheus now back in your skies after its brief visit in Autumn 2025. There is a streak of unpredictability at work, whether it’s events out of your control or an out of the blue episode with a friend or lover. (Well, why not run away to Orkney?)
Pleasure and adventure may intervene in Getting Things Actually Done, however, until the Sun arrives to open the Twins’ birthday season on the 21st. Almost simultaneously ruler Mercury arrives to lend you exactitude – if that’s what you’re after – or a crazed social round complete with outlandish conspiracy theories.
The full Moon of the 31st is a biggie – it’s opposite you in Sagittarius and involved with that Promethean twist, so sudden bust-ups are on the cards, along with equally unexpected reconciliations. It’s a volatile scenario calling for balance – as much is not always Gemini’s thing, there being two of you to satisfy.
Cancer and Cancer rising
With Jupiter moving to complete its transit of the Crab, it is right and proper for you to expect good fortune and a lucky break or two. At least count your blessings, especially in 2026, and especially if those involve free travel. But the opening passage of May – say 12 days, – is an almighty jumble, with Mars pecking at your professional expectations. It may even verge on open warfare if you don’t exercise your best qualities of self-control and patience. The full Moon in Scorpio that opens the month doesn’t encourage such discipline – au contraire, an emotional outburst is more likely, though that may equally signal a wild romantic ride. (Astrologers, eh, always covering their bets…)
There’s a prompt shift in vibes from the 19th when Venus arrives in your skies – flowers, money, parties – in tandem with Mars calming the heck down. You should fancy your chances of such blessings on the 20th and 21st.The Sun may be in hiding – metaphorically speaking – for the rest of May, but with Venus and Jupiter marching side by side in your skies as you reach your birthday month, little miracles can and will happen. It’s no free ride – Saturn demands steady effort – but demand your due rewards.
Leo and Leo rising
Not the most straightforward month of your year, but not the most stressful either. The problem is you are likely to be facing issues on several fronts. The month of Taurus highlights your professional advancement, where a new Moon on the 16th lights your way and together with Mercury and Mars (after the 19th) favours a display to the powers that be of your detailed knowledge of the problems facing your profession and the skill sets needed to solve them. Easy! You may have to knock heads.
Riding alongside you on your quest for public glory are some close amigos who become more supportive of your cause as the month progresses. May goes out on a full Moon in fellow fire sign Sagittarius, where delight, romance and plain good living all combine.
Virgo and Virgo rising
It’s high season Taurus, a fellow earth sign, so you are promised an unfolding, entertaining drama with a focus on what enriches you intellectually and spiritually. Seek and ye shall find as the old commandment goes, especially once the new Moon arrives on the 16th. Until then – and indeed ongoingly – you might profitably look at your financial situation, especially the part of it that overlaps with that of a partner. Saturn is in this zone of your ‘scope for a couple of years, so be your best diligent Virgo and keep things tidy.
Simultaneously, Prometheus’ move to the peak of your ‘scope opens a seven-year stretch when modest little old you find a new audience, though it’s a stop-go process that this year is beamed at those born August 23-27. Venus, which spends a mere three weeks here, is however already at work and once the Sun on the 21st, there’s a tingle of magic in the air. The waning Moon reaches the skies of the Goddess (that’s you) on the 25th it’s party time.
Libra and Libra rising
What’s new pussycat? At this point of the year, probably not quite enough. You are, albeit temporarily, stuck with a clutch of planets in opposition, and if you are a September birthday in particular, that isn’t changing soon enough to satisfy Libra’s gnawing hunger for novelty. The not so good news is that you are obliged to stick at a task until it’s done, and the rewards may seem distant. Yet the sooner attempted, the sooner completed! keep faith.
Even October Librans are not off the hook, – with Mars and Mercury in opposition during much of May, you are obliged to work out issues with significant others, and to understand why people should have the hump with charming ol’ you. Patience helps, likewise not always expecting to be right.
Things ease up by degrees. Your totem planet, Venus, is in inspirational position until the 10th, in fellow air sign Gemini, and with Prometheus now here for the next seven years, novelty and something deeper – let’s call it spiritual satisfaction, will be intermittently on tap.
Something approaching that blissful state may come calling as soon as the 26th/27th May, when the waxing Moon in The Scales touches all of you before a very bright full Moon on May 31st.
Scorpio and Scorpio rising
Talk about Loony Tunes…You kick off May with a full Moon in your skies, an entire weekend to manifest your esteemed sign in its full glory! Scorpio is often so poorly thought of that a correction or two is overdue. Your sign is not all Lady Macbeth and sex dungeons, it’s about passion on a profound level, the stuff of Edgar Allen Poe and Sylvia Plath and movers and shakers like Leonard Di Caprio. Courageous types all.
So, here’s a chance to redefine yourself/embarrass yourself at a full Moon party. Opposite you, obviously is the Sun, which will soon be joined by Mercury (3rd). A new Moon (16th) and your totem planet Mars (19th), making May quite the time for coupling up. Because you are on the back foot in partnerships, sublime seduction skills take preference over confrontation.
Venus arrives in fellow water sign Cancer at mid-month to join Jupiter ; a rare and super opportune few weeks when you can expand your influence over your tribe and/pr blag a trip somewhere exotic, after which it will be graft and fame for an entire year minimum.
Sagittarius and Sagittarius rising
Onwards, relentlessly onwards…not that you have a great deal of choice – Saturn in your fifth ensures that you must pay equal attention to property, business and organising family and to the ‘What’s it all about” style questions that only soul-searching can answer. Fortunately, your horoscope has an endearingly upbeat side that stops such duties becoming too onerous. Mars and Venus both brings warmth and support from spouses, lovers and bosom chums.
There is, it must be admitted, the matter of Prometheus taking up residence in opposition, as it did briefly last Autumn, but unless you are a November 22-24 birthday you can put that potential disruption on the back burner for now. On the last day of the month, with the Gemini Sun peering at you inquisitively from the other side of the zodiac, you have a full Moon in your skies to bring you a touch of giddiness/excitement – it’s exact for December 1st birthdays, but in play for all.
Capricorn and Capricorn rising
Keep your clocks well wound and your diary up to date; you need to be aware of timing in a month when the stars are smiling on you but with one or two potential glitches. The full Moon on the first day of the month is emphatically not one of them. It’s shining from Scorpio and is a reminder that even dutiful Capricorns sometimes have to cut loose and play the crazy woman/man – it’s the weekend after all – and that you have three weeks further with the mighty Sun in premium position (in Taurus) to celebrate life and love and creativity. The new Moon of the 16th is a moment to renew your new year resolutions and to seek support from friends and lovers.
Mars then joins the party in support of pleasure and sporting prowess (the 20th)at the same time that Venus moves into opposition, a splendid site for those of you in the dating game, and with Jupiter already here in Cancer until the end of June, you are being treated to a double whammy of lu-u-v-e and other treats, enjoy.
Aquarius and Aquarius rising
It’s good to be busy and you horoscope has a frenetic quality as you enter May. The fat full Moon you may witness is at the peak of your ‘scope, the place where you forge destiny – or at the very least make your living – and even if obvious is in the air, signals a potential change over the coming fortnight.
With the Sun, new Moon (16th) Mercury and in the second half of May along with Mars all gathering at the opposite end of your solar chart – at its root, where home and family are the issues- you may be ‘fighting’ (hopefully not actually scrapping) on several fronts at once. Pluto, resident in your skies for ever and a day (only 17 years to go!) is stationary this month and adding weight to issues, perhaps to the point where you feel a lack of agency. Don’t be pulled into dark tactics.
Another of the three outer planets Prometheus (aka Uranus ) has just changed signs and is now in Gemini for the coming seven years. Like Pluto, these distant planets move slowly (or appear to) so touch on individual birthdays months and years apart, but right now will be making life exciting for birthdays circa January 2022.
Pisces and Pisces rising
The full Moon in Scorpio on the first of the month forms a perfect triangle with ruler Jupiter in Cancer and your own birthday Sun (and any other placements in The Fishes); a fine moment for wrapping up deals, flirtation and springing money from under the mattress. Money remains an ongoing theme this month, but it can arrive in kind (favours, serveries, ) as well as earnings. You may also call on assistance from friends and family.
Among other signifiers in May is Venus. The green planet highlights domestic issues that get further emphasis once the Sun reaches Gemini on the 21st. Gather the chiffon and drapery for an enhancement of Palace Pisces. In the second half of the month it promises to supercharge your love life, ongoing into June; children and other acts of creation may also feature prominently.
The other big player, at least for some of you, is Prometheus, not ensconced at the root of your ‘scope where its disruptive character may beam on home or career, especially of you were born February 19/20 or March 19/20/
The full Moon on May 31 is at the very peak of your ‘scope and perfectly laced for public appearances and finding/confirming an adoring audience.
Aries and Aries rising
Consistency is the thing while under Saturn: steady work, a little often or a lot often, but not stop-and-go. You get to concentrate on the fundamentals in May, thanks firstly to a full Moon in Scorpio at the start of the month, which should bring to a head any relationship problems and, ditto for financial difficulties.
Your secret weapon, your governing planet Mars, remains in your skies and potent in its own sign until the 18th- just the number to lend you self-confidence and, should you get into any confrontations, a victorious mindset (around the 11th is most likely for a set-to). Nothing wrong with being on the winning side – as Rams know well – but if your issues are with friends or family, be sure any victory is not pyric; in other words, don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.
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