MONTH OF May
One ticket to freedom, please! This month, particularly the second half, shifts your worldview from tunnel vision to wide-angle and FULL of possibilities. The Sun is in Taurus and your expansive ninth house until May 21, which has already got your optimism percolating. But on May 16, lucky Jupiter will begin a yearlong visit to Taurus, doubling your fortune and opportunity all the way through May 25, 2024. Travel, entrepreneurship, publishing and personal growth could be major themes for the next 12 months.
Since May 10, 2022, Jupiter’s been in Aries and your intimate, laser-focused eighth house. While you’ve gone through deep inner transformation, it’s probably also been a heavy time. Jupiter in Taurus will make that intense metamorphosis all worthwhile. This is the red-spotted planet’s first return to Taurus since June 2012. Like a butterfly breaking out of its dark cocoon, you’ll emerge, Virgo—vibrant and ready to soar. Shake off the emotional residue and rejoin the wider world again!
In truth, you may have to spend the first half of May preparing for this dazzling debut. Your ruling planet, Mercury, is retrograde (in Taurus, no less) until May 14, which could complicate communication, travel and technology. Major news or an important conversation could arise on May 5, when the Scorpio lunar (full moon) eclipse sweeps through your interactive third house. Your relationship with a sibling, colleague or neighbor could demand attention early this month.
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Pluto also turns retrograde from May 1 to October 10, which could bring up control issues. You might need to attend to your health, finding a better system for managing stress. Thinking of a seasonal detox? With Pluto retrograde in Aquarius and your salubrious sixth house, your digestive system could be the key to wellness. (There’s a reason why they call the gut the “second brain,” Virgo—and this is actually the part of the body that your sign rules.)
But the winds start turning your way in the second half of May. First Jupiter enters Taurus on May 16, then the May 19 Taurus new moon seals that energy in. You could hear exciting news about travel, long-distance affairs or an independent business venture.
Power down a bit when Mars moves into Leo from May 20 to July 10, prompting a need to conserve your energy. With Gemini season starting the next day and the Sun in your tenth house of career and achievement, you’ll want to be especially discerning about what you say yes to so you can be at your professional best. Prioritize and pace yourself—and try not to overwork.
It’s Taurus season until May 21
Cast a wide net, Virgo! The Sun is soaring through Taurus and your expansive ninth house until May 21, inspiring you to broaden your reach. Whether you travel, sign up for a class or engage in mind-blowing conversations, you’re pumped to explore all of life’s possibilities. Forget about planning now—just focus on the broad strokes and visionary ideas without editing or censoring yourself. Trying to figure out your purpose? Take a short course to explore a topic of interest. During this blue-sky time, you’ll have lots of curiosities and will be encouraged to dabble.
Another reason to explore without an agenda? Communicator Mercury is retrograde until May 14, which could stall plans to travel or launch a startup venture. Since Mercury is your ruling planet, you’re especially impacted by its reversals. In your outspoken ninth house, Mercury could cause you to blurt out the wrong thing or get in hot water for something you write. Strengthen the filters, Virgo! Hold off on posting anything provocative now as you’re liable to earn more frenemies than fans.
Pluto turns retrograde in Aquarius on May 1
Wellness is an inside AND outside job, a reminder you’ll get as deep-diving Pluto turns retrograde in Aquarius from May 1 to June 11. This is the first six-week phase of a five-month annual retrograde that Pluto will make until October 10. After June 11, Pluto will reverse into Capricorn and your fifth house of passion and self-expression. It’ll shuffle back and forth twice before returning to Aquarius in November 2024 “for keeps”—well, for the next 20 years (yes, really!) Consider this a sneak preview of your next transformational cycle. Hello, well-being warrior!
Until mid-June, it’s an ideal time to attend to your body with extra vigilance. But that doesn’t mean obsessing over every fluctuation (which you can easily lapse into as an anxious Virgo.) With Pluto roiling your fitness zone, perfectionism and body-image issues can flare. Careful that your spring health kick doesn’t turn into a fixation.
In fact, this first phase of Pluto retrograde could give you a front-row seat to any control issues or anxiety you’ve been quietly harboring. Where are you micromanaging or afraid to loosen your grip? The next few months are an important time to tend to your mental well-being, perhaps with the help of a pro (or several!). Just because things look “perfect” on the outside doesn’t mean you’re not going through something legitimate, Virgo. Drop the PR campaign and let yourself get a little more real. People love you for your messy humanity and warmth, not for your polished exterior.
Burning out trying to juggle too much solo? Check on employees and service providers, from your website hosting company to your babysitter to your subscription services. If Team Virgo isn’t providing the support you’re paying for, make changes. Renegotiate rates, give a performance review or upgrade to someone who’s a better fit.
Big news arrives at the May 5 Scorpio full moon and lunar eclipse
Important nclass="body-el-link standard-body-el-link" ews could come through on (or near) the May 5 lunar eclipse and Scorpio full moon, which beams into your third house of communication and community. Got a message to share, something to teach, a partnership to forge? This eclipse hands you a megaphone and turns the volume up to maximum.
Of course, with Mercury retrograde during the eclipse, you’ll want to choose your message with great care. It will have a profound resonance, so make it a positive one! You’ve got plenty of time to craft your words anyhow, Virgo. This is the second-to-last installment in a Taurus/Scorpio eclipse series rippling across your communication axis until October 28, 2023, and the very last eclipse in Scorpio. You should feel much clearer about your ideas, priorities and what you want to tell the world now.
If you’ve been tossing an idea back and forth or hammering out a collaboration, this full moon can bring it all together. Something that’s been bubbling below the surface could finally get expressed through (hopefully) productive dialogue. With this full moon in focused Scorpio, it’s important that you clarify your talking points—or at least outline specific questions. Leave no stone unturned! The third house rules local events, so look for opportunities to do good in your neighborhood. Writing, teaching and media projects are especially supported.
Mercury retrograde is finally over May 14
At last! Your ruling planet, Mercury, powers forward after a challenging retrograde that began on April 21, foiling technology, communication and travel for everyone. And since Mercury was rogue IN your ninth house of travel, you probably had a lot more to unpack than your luggage. A conflict or controversy may have left you with some explaining to do. Or maybe it was hard to get a straight answer out of anyone despite your attempts to force an “honest dialogue.”
Now as Mercury corrects course in Taurus and your adventurous, outspoken ninth house, the truth will no longer be stranger than fiction. If you’ve been working on media project, entrepreneurial venture or travel plans, Mercury’s direct turn will support your effortclass="body-el-link standard-body-el-link" s. Just give it a minute to warm up, though. We’ll be under the lingering spell of Mercury “retroshade”, the post-retrograde shadow phase that will be in effect until June 1. Approach those soul-baring convos and confessions a wee bit at a time.
Big day! Jupiter enters Taurus for a year on May 16
Come out from hiding, Virgo! The wider world is calling. On May 16, expansive Jupiter will make its annual sign change, switching from Aries and your secretive eighth house to Taurus and your expansive, optimistic ninth house. This is a major movement because Jupiter’s transit will shape your trajectory for 12 whole months. You’ll feel the shift of this one acutely—like a butterfly breaking out of the chrysalis and flapping its vibrant wings.
Since May 10, 2022, Jupiter has been in Aries and your eighth house of intimacy, intensity, privacy and psychological processing. You’ve been in some form of energetic cave or cocoon, doing a lot of deep emotional work. It’s been quite a transformational time: You’ve shed a few layers and probably said goodbye to people and parts of yourself that no longer served you. There may have been a few dark nights of the soul—but in those raw and vulnerable spaces, you’ve discovered parts of yourself that you might have been too scared to confront. Jupiter wanted you to step into your power and own it!
Now you’re ready to emerge from this “hero’s journey” and re-engage with the world. And don’t be surprised if you shift from “dark night of the soul” to bubbling over with optimism and zest for life. From May 16, 2023, until May 25, 2024, Jupiter will be in Taurus, a compatible fellow earth sign that rules your ninth house of travel, learning, entrepreneurship and global connections. Visionary ideas could take flight, especially as you connect with people whose backgrounds are wildly different from yours. Some Virgos will return to school (as students, teachers or both) or delve into personal-growth work. You could link up with people across cultures, gathering around a common cause. Publishing, media and motivational speaking could all present unexpected opportunities.
With philosophical Jupiter in its home sector (Jupiter is the planet associated with the ninth house), you’ve got an unquenchable thirst for new horizons. Metaphysical topics captivate you, and you might do some soul-searching travel or explore plant medicine ceremonies. The ninth house is also known as the “god house,” and you could go on a quest to find meaning, either through a spiritual community or your own seeking.
Jupiter only visits this part of your chart every 12 years; its last visit was from June 2011 to June 2012. Been awhile! So don’t squander this bohemian cycle, during which you’re invited to roam free, explore and experiment. This is a year to take risks and try new things without locking yourself into any one particular direction. Consider the next 12 months to be “field research” for when Jupiter moves into your structured tenth house in May 2024. Then you’ll be ready to choose a defined path. And you’ll be so glad you crossed a few things off your bucket list beforehand!
The Taurus new moon is on May 19
On May 19, the annual Taurus new moon sparks up your curiosity and visionary ideas. Give your soul a chance to voice its desires…and make sure you listen! Don’t worry whether something is practical or “realistic.” Adopt a no-limits mindset for now and play out the possibilities before you shoot any down. This new moon could also present an opportunity to travel or even look for a new place to call home.
Got something to teach—or a hankering to learn about a new subject? Your knowledge exchange begins at this new moon. And with education-loving Jupiter in Taurus for the next year, you might just send off for a course catalog or start browsing degree and certification programs. Whatever you do today, it could pay off big-time between now and October 28, when the corresponding Taurus full moon arrives as a tide-turning lunar eclipse.
The May 20 Mars-Pluto opposition gets fierce
On May 20, action planet Mars enters Leo and your introspective, confusing twelfth house, which could make you feel both wired and tired for the next few weeks. But today could be a challenging start to this cycle as Mars opposes Pluto, the planet of hidden phenomena and the unconscious, in your micromanaging sixth house. This biennial face-off could be a volatile moment that brings up old resentments, anger and fear—along with an impulse to project those onto another person through harsh criticism.
Watch those judgmental words, Virgo. Lashing out could lead to an unpleasant verbal counterattack. Examine your own psychological motives, especially around control and denial. A powerful breakthrough might be on its way if you can set your ego aside. If you’re dealing with a health or medical issue, this Mars opposition calls for the right balance of traditional techniques and naturopathic remedies. An integrated approach will serve you best.
Gemini season starts May 21
On May 21, the Sun moves into Gemini for a month and visits your tenth house of career, ambition and enduring goals. With your eye on longevity, you can start to put a few of the swirling ideas into a structure and schedule. Don’t box them in, but DO think of how you can roll out phase one of your reinvention.
With expansive Jupiter in your wide-angle ninth house, you’ve got permission to think even bigger than you normally would. Paired with the regimented energy of Gemini season, you can split your grand project into phases. Rather than try to tackle a huge mission all at once (which will only leave you discouraged), you can hit small milestones that add up to one major accomplishment.
With lusty Mars hovering in Cancer and your sector of community and technology this month (from March 25 to May 20), sexy sparks could fly with a friend or an idealistic kindred spirit you meet while just hanging out. Take the time to talk and get to know the real person instead of making assumptions. Online connections could sizzle but then fizzle just as quickly. Keep it moving if they do, Virgo! With your ruler, tech-guardian Mercury, in a signal-scrambling retrograde until May 14, you have no time to suffer fools. (That said, make sure it wasn’t a big misunderstanding before you cut anyone off!)
Amorous Venus will join the party on May 7, sweeping through Cancer and your social eleventh house. With Venus and Mars both here, couples can turn up the excitement by getting out for adventures and having fun: think festivals, concerts and other group gatherings where you socialize as a duo. As long as you feel the union is stable, you may crave a little independence. But that’s just to reconnect to yourself—and to let the heart grow fonder. Who says relationships mean being joined at the hip?
On May 20, Mars will move into Leo and your twelfth house of fantasy, rest and escape, plunging into the depths until July 10. You could be drawn to a clandestine scenario or attracted to a person who may be spoken for—so be sure to ask a few of your usual probing Virgo questions now! You may find yourself ruminating over a love interest or being more sensitive and thin-skinned than usual. If you’ve got a heartbreak to heal from, take a timeout from any heavy-duty dating to recover. When sexy Mars goes into Virgo on July 10, you’ll have the reset of the summer to make up for lost time!
We’ll be honest, Virgo, it’s gonna be a little hard to focus this May. The Sun in Taurus and your visionary ninth house is tempting you to drift into blue-sky mode until the 21st. On top of that, communication planet Mercury—your ruler—is retrograde until May 14. While you need to make time for expansive thinking, balance that out with firm deadlines and accomplishments. Do your work with excellence and show up for the important meetings and events—the ones that will keep you gainfully employed and preserve your sterling reputation.
The May 5 Scorpio lunar eclipse is especially potent for mingling, as it beams into your communication and kindred-spirits zone. Casual conversation could lead to a meeting of the minds, so chat up any interesting people you encounter. You can really spread your wings starting May 16, when lucky Jupiter enters Taurus for a yearlong visit, its first time here since 2012. With the planet of fortune right at home in your ninth house, you could thrive with travel, entrepreneurship or educational endeavors.
On May 21, the Sun shifts into Gemini and your ambitious tenth house, putting you in more of buckle-down mode. For the next four weeks, you can make serious headway on a project—and check off a major milestone before summer officially begins.
Love Days: 9, 14
Money Days: 20, 30
Luck Days: 19, 27
Off Days: 16, 25, 11
Identical twin sisters Ophira and Tali Edut (a.k.a. The AstroTwins) are ELLE.com’s resident astrologers. They have written several astrology books, including Momstrology and Supercouple, and star as the astrological matchmakers for Prime Video’s Cosmic Love. The Eduts have read charts for celebrities the likes of Beyoncé, Karlie Kloss, and Emma Roberts. For their spot-on predictions, books, and online courses, check out our horoscopes coverage or visit astrostyle.com.
