Your May 2024 Horoscope Launches A Yearlong Glow-Up

In the zodiac, Aries claims the role of the masculine. It rams down walls to break stagnation — confrontation and destruction are fuel for the Aries engine. With Mars in Aries through all of May, the ignition is ready to combust. The divine feminine, of course, is to be found in the Venusian gardens of Taurus. This May, the sign of fertility and pleasure hosts the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Uranus. Aries does, Taurus is. You are the source, the generator of all potential. There’s nowhere to go, nothing to do. It all comes from you.

The dance of masculine and feminine, of ideation and generation, is on like never before. The month launches with Beltane, the pagan bonfire festival. Whether you are eyeing your opposite under the starlight, or reconciling those seemingly disparate parts within you — the one that one day craves world domination, and another, peace and pleasure — both sides must come together. The new moon in Taurus on May 7 is meant to be a moment of conception, of centering your body as an engine of creative power.

The reconciliation of opposites is a collective necessity. The Aries eclipse in April revealed how far individualism has gotten us, and what happens when different causes are siloed into their own corners. What comes next will involve coalition and negotiation. There is no such thing as moral purification. There is no separation in the molten hot furnace of life, the kitchen of Aries and Taurus. If you want out of your room and into the future, you’ll have to join the dance, and see what happens when you forget yourself on the floor.

Duality and dialogue are the way of the future with the launch of Gemini season on May 20, and Jupiter’s entry into Gemini on May 25. Jupiter is said to be in its fall in Gemini; the planet of expansion often struggles to find perspective in the sign of immediate experience. And yet, Gemini forces a confrontation with the shadow, the opponent, the Black Swan we’ve long ignored. Jupiter’s year-long residency here inspires new frameworks, alliances, and awareness. What if we could see beyond ourselves? What if our community didn’t sound just like us? You are not any one thing. You are both and neither. In this pain-in-the-ass of a middle place, you can find freedom to think and choose for yourself.

On May 23, the collisions on the dance floor yield new life, with a full “flower moon” in Sagittarius, the sign of optimism and new horizons. Take this full moon to rid yourself of expectations, so that all you’ve created can truly soar.

Though horoscopes apply to sun signs, we suggest reading those for your rising, too.

ARIES & ARIES RISING

Your ruling planet Mars is now radiating with fire and purpose in your home sign. Expect a surge of clarity and a higher calling as Mars hits the north node on May 19 and the asteroid Chiron on May 29. This is no crash-and-burn ego trip, but an elevation to your destined role: as a mentor, healer, master, or leader. Get used to more responsibility and the sort of decisive willpower that may make you unlikable. You’re in charge now — and you’re not going anywhere.

TAURUS & TAURUS RISING

Last May, Jupiter joined Uranus in your home sign, setting off one of the most climactic years of your life. You’re now the director, the visionary, the epicenter. Come May 25, Jupiter exits Taurus for Gemini. With the Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Uranus also in Taurus in May, you’re in for a celebration. Take the new moon in Taurus on May 7 to decide with full intention what comes next. Anything left unresolved is best left behind. You’re at the start of a brand new cycle. This is the time to bet on yourself.

GEMINI & GEMINI RISING

Taurus rules the unseen realm of your chart, where primal desires and unrefined gems await discovery. Since May 2023, the expansive Jupiter has commanded an interior review, a long season of healing and gestating. Come May 25, the planet crosses your ascendant and enters your home sign, heralding an epic debut. If you’ve felt underwater for some time, it’s like you’ve just gained legs and are ready to be where the people are. Double down on closure for the first three weeks of the month, so that you can arrive ready for the year to come. On May 23, a full moon in Sagittarius hits your seventh house of others. The lights are officially on and all eyes are on you. Where do you want to go next?

CANCER & CANCER RISING

Mars burns hot in Aries all month in your 10th house of career and public glory. The big bang of eclipse season has propelled you toward higher ambition for your name and legacy. As Mars awakens your inner commander, it hits the cosmic checkpoint known as the north node (May 19) and faces the asteroid Chiron (May 29), the archetype of the wise healer. This is not meant to be a mere cash grab, but a karmic elevation. Pay attention to the role you play in your career and community. Admit to yourself that you’re an essential leader. You’ve earned your place at the top. Now you have to accept responsibility.

LEO & LEO RISING

May brings endless combustion to Taurus in your 10th house of career and grand ambition. With this much excitement comes mania — and a potentially uneasy, rapid expansion. As the Taurean procession welcomes you to the main stage, the planets will square Pluto in Aquarius in your seventh house of others. Does success threaten anyone in your life? If you move forward, are you leaving someone behind? Most critically, are we talking about current relationships, or is this ancient history from the old family photo albums? Exorcize any ghosts that hold you back, burn any outdated contracts that keep you small, and set yourself free for an epic ascent.

VIRGO & VIRGO RISING

Everything has been building up to May 25, when Jupiter enters Gemini and launches a year-long tour de force in your 10th house of ambition and public glory. This promises to be a Gemini season like no other. Your job is to consider the role you’ve played and the role you know you’re meant to play. The year to come will demolish old limits and preconceptions. Ask the people in your life what they see as possible for you. Train yourself to say yes when left-field opportunities come your way. The time of expansion is upon us. Don’t let your preconceptions of success hold you back.

LIBRA & LIBRA RISING

You have often seen the world from the perspective of the outsider, or acted as a mirror to others. But the ego planet Mars is now in Aries in your seventh house of relationships, which signals a return to healthy protagonism. To become the star that you’re meant to be, you’ll have to engage in new ways of relating. Is it hard for you to welcome in support without fear of reprisals? What about criticism? Great divas don’t want yes men with them in the recording studio. They count on producers who speak truthfully, even if it hurts. You’re going beyond surface relationships and into more complex, rewarding partnerships. It’s meant to be a challenge.

SCORPIO & SCORPIO RISING

What have you learned about relationships over the last year? How do others see you? How do you want to be seen? Since May 2023, Jupiter has been in Taurus in your seventh house of others, putting the public spotlight on you. Before Jupiter heads to Gemini on May 25, it welcomes the Sun, Venus, and Mercury to Taurus to celebrate how far you’ve come in your relationship life. Make plans only with the most electric and challenging people. Allow for new agents to shake up the status quo. You’ve just done the recruiting. Now it’s time to move forward together.

SAGITTARIUS & SAGITTARIUS RISING

Mars drops an atomic payload in Aries in your fifth house of creative expression. You’re ready for world domination, but you can’t do this alone. Enter Gemini, the sign of duality, in your seventh house of others. The back end of May brings the Sun, Venus, and Jupiter into your relationship domain — and a whole new cast of lovers and collaborators. The full moon in Sagittarius bathes you in the light of your loved ones on May 23. Challenge yourself to be seen as you never have before.

CAPRICORN & CAPRICORN RISING

Mars, the planet of fire and desire, hits your fourth house of home, roots, and psychological grounding. This is the base of your chart, the molten core from which all action and drive originate. Great currents of combustive power are surging through you. Your job is to work with what comes — not judge it. One day, you may have to scream into a pillow to let out ancient rage. The next, you may find yourself on a creative high, channeling raw inspiration from the source. Whatever it is, your job is to keep it moving. This sort of explosive firepower will inevitably hit old blocks and sore spots. That’s OK. Pain indicates progress. Movement is clunky at the beginning, but it’s all part of the awakening.

AQUARIUS & AQUARIUS RISING

It may have to do with real estate — or even children — but great change is coming to your home life. If you sit with it for a moment, you’ll concede that you’ve been ready for this. Every day of May is saturated with planetary action in Taurus in your fourth house of home and family. But beyond the kitchen and nursery, the fourth house deals with our psychic footing, our sense of structure and place. All of the changes of the last year were meant to ground. Whatever is on the other side of this month’s challenges, it’s an invitation to rebuild your life from the base. You can have those things you never thought possible if you engage with the world from a place of solidity and strength.

PISCES & PISCES RISING

Pisces is a sign of emotions; Gemini, of thought. When planets move through Gemini, they process intense feelings into ideas, conversations, and possibilities. The tail end of the month brings the Sun, Venus, and Jupiter to Gemini, bringing much of your interior reality into the tangible. To properly engage with this transformation, start with a makeover of your immediate reality: your home, your social media, and any other dominating structures that could better reflect how you’re feeling now. This exciting, creative regenesis puts the tools in your hands to best express yourself.