May 2024 horoscopes: What the season of the bull means for your sign

A hearty high-five, back-slap and three fingers of scotch go to any and all who survived the astrological rodeo that was April 2K24.

Now that the sun has moved into the afternoon-delight fixed flower fields of Taurus, life is a cross between a Claritin commercial, a bougie picnic and a nudist drum circle.

Taurus is where the zodiac finds its first taste of stability and a heaping hit of possessiveness. Aries is out to get theirs, but Taurus wants what they think they deserve — which includes half of your appetizer and all of your loyalty.

Ruled by Venus, planet of love and attraction, Taurus is the sign of gratification and purchasing power, wealth and worth, all that money can buy, earthly delights and animal appetites.

At worst, Taurus is Gollum and/or a petulant toddler, stomping his feet and issuing orders in a velour onesie while gorging on stolen Goldfish crackers.

At best, the bull is a blissed-out, wholly embodied demi-god, secure in corporeal form and entertained by the mysteries of life, adopting a “live and let live” ethos that champions simple rapture.

Indulge is defined as “yielding to one’s inclinations,” and no sign yields with more flourish than the bull. Take a hint from the herd and lean into/charge toward what feels good and true without guilt or justification.

As Taurus artist Salvador Dalí once imparted, “Each morning when I awake, I experience again a supreme pleasure — that of being Salvador Dali.”

Make like that mustached madman and surrender to the supreme pleasure of being awake and alive as only you can be.

Greener pastures

On April 30, Mars, our jockstrap planet of drive and desire, left Pisces for its hometeam of Aries, giving all among us a jolt of juice and the momentum needed to integrate and apply the hard lessons of last month’s solar eclipse and retrograde.

On May 2, death-daddy planet Pluto begins his retrograde in Aquarius, inviting us to get close to and curious about our own shadows and self-destructive patterns.

Can’t grow without letting go, folks.

On May 7, we’ll be blessed with a new moon in the fertile, obstinate sign of Taurus, and on the 15th, Mercury leaves the cauldron of Aries for the defiant mud of the bull where the planet of the mind and mouth can make the inspirational tangible.

On May 20, the sun enters the curious den of the twins and on May 25, luck-doling, good-time-rolling planet Jupiter also moves into the sign of Gemini, where it will remain until June 2025.

To make the most of this upcoming transit, clear out the cobwebs, cut the cords and go deep to reap the richest rewards. Because Jupiter expands all it touches and Gemini rules the realm of language, now more than ever, you must say what you want and ask for what you need.

Charge on to see what May holds in store for you, and make sure to read for your sun and rising signs.

If you find yourself bored by the people and pastimes that used to make your pulse rise and nipples harden, you’re not getting dull, Aries — you’re just changing form.

Open your mind, the cave of your heart and the door to your bedroom to scenes and strangers you may have previously overlooked.

New you — nothing to lose.

Lord of mercury Taurus, all of last month’s Aries energy in your 12th house of ghosts, dreams and enemies did a NUMBER.

Here’s the upswing: in the wake of all that baptismal fire, you stand (or lie in the fetal position) anew, ragged but ready for your next incarnation. I leave you with the words of Taurus regent Cher: “All of us invent ourselves. Some of us just have more imagination than others.”

Happy birthday, baby; go for broke.

The sun in Taurus activates your 12th house of emotional ailments and psychic phenomena, Gemini, asking you to dig your heels into healing as you await your birthday season.

Consider the words of author and physician Rachel Naomi Remen, who said, “Wounding and healing are not opposites. They’re part of the same thing. It is our wounds that enable us to be compassionate with the wounds of others. It is our limitations that make us kind to the limitations of other people. It is our loneliness that helps us to find other people … I think I have served people perfectly with parts of myself I used to be ashamed of. ”

Let your deep shame become common ground, Gemini.

Taurus season throws a light on your 11th house of community, Cancer.

You tend to mourn expired friendships and canceled television series instead of finding new pals or pastimes — but post-eclipse season, the time is nigh to fill your dance card with people who can truly see and support you.

No man is an island and no crab stands alone. Keep an eye out and a claw close to those who want to lift you up and hold you high.

The season of the bull beams down upon your 10th house of aspirations and achievements, Leo.

While Taurus can be a bit of a beast of burden, the energy of this fixed earth sign can easily be directed at building your dream from a drunken napkin strategy to a full-fledged empire. Also, bear in mind that the bull places pleasure above plodding, so make sure the dream you’re dreaming allows ample room for revelry,

The sun in the dirt of a fellow earth sign expands your idea of what is possible this month, Virgo.

The word expand comes directly from the Latin expandere meaning to stretch or unfold. In service of your own limitlessness, I challenge you to trade the heavy for the buoyant, the cautious for the curious, and “I can’t” for ‘Why the hell not?”

Taurus season turns on the single, humming light bulb in the basement of your eighth house of shadows, sex, death and secrets, Libra.

With Mars in Aries activating your partnership sector, explore how you withhold and overextend yourself in your intimate relationships. Where do you give/resist and where do you spread yourself thin to avoid being seen in full? Do you fail to ask for help because you fear rejection, disappointment or lack of control?

It’s a long walk through the shadow of the valley of depth, but it’s high time you start asking and start stepping.

Taurus is the sign that sits opposite you on the zodiac wheel, Scorpio, and thus has the most to teach you.

The bull rules your seventh house of partnerships and blood oaths, calling into question your idea of closeness and your tendency to close yourself off. As the resident bulls–t (pun intended) detector of the zodiac, you make sure others are seen — whether they like it or not — but the lesson this month is to stop hiding behind your seeking.

Engage in the sacred exchange of yourself and take a shaky step into sharing.

You’re aces when it comes to pie-in-the-sky dreams and schemes Sagittarius, but less so when it comes to basic needs.

Taurus season arrives to root you in the rituals that foster fruition. If you tend to the body, there is no boundary for the mind.

Feed yourself to freedom, my babies.

With the sun in the flower fields of fellow earth sign and kindred hedonist, it’s high time you get to frolicking, flirting and free-ranging for some strange, Capricorn.

The sun in Taurus lights up your fifth house of pleasure, and it is in the garden of earthly delights that bulls doth graze.

Your only assignment for the month ahead is to trust whatever inspires lust.

When death daddy planet Pluto goes retrograde in your sign early this month, you’ll have the chance to take stock and evaluate how you are breaking, birthing and becoming, Aquarius.

Pluto pulls no punches and suffers no fools, and this retrograde cycle calls you to consider who you are when all artifice is stripped away.

The sun and especially the new moon in Taurus draw attention to your root systems. While you can’t change where you come from, under these skies, you are more poised than ever to change where you’re going.

Taurus season activates your third house of connection and communion, Pisces.

You’ve got a song, bad poem, incendiary manifesto or scandalous theory in your heart, and the time is nigh to give it breath and audience.

Let conversation be your cause and causeway this month.

Astrology 101: Your guide to the star

Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture, and personal experience. She is also an accomplished writer who has profiled a variety of artists and performers, as well as extensively chronicled her experiences while traveling. Among the many intriguing topics she has tackled are cemetery etiquette, her love for dive bars, and a “girl’s guide” to strip clubs.