May Horoscope: A Blind Date with Your Future Self

Written with love by Mariah the Mystic

May is ready to lift the rug and sweep the debris out from underneath. It is a month that brings all the energy we need to close chapters and begin new ones. It is a month chocked full of the zany, the radical, and the expression of our truth.

May doesn’t wait long to get into the meat of it with Pluto stationing retrograde in Aquarius on the 4th. This retrograde will last until mid October and is bringing with it deep introspection and shifts that will be happening inside of us and outside of us. This could be socially, evolutionarily or through innovation. While we aren’t fully sure yet what this retrograde will bring on the world scale, we can expect that it is going to allow us to blossom personally in ways that might be cathartic and expressive. In our eccentric and independent friend Aquarius, this retrograde invites us to inhabit new spaces. It gives us a gentle push towards a personal statement, whether it be a fashion risk, taking on a therapy journey, or exploring our heart’s truth. The alignment of this cycle is amorphous, it pushes beyond the apparent or the obvious and stretches our mental perspective and our experiences of joy and creation. We are being offered the opportunity to cast out the limiting expectations of our world and enter this 5 month journey towards a wellspring of joy inside of us. What if we turned from our phones, from beauty standards, from propaganda and instead towards writing, drawing, reading, cooking, or quality time? What if we disconnected from the outside to reconnect on the inside?

When the world around us is shrouded in unknown consequences, we can touch into our own journey of joy, even if not every day is bliss. We can try to uncover the truth of our desires and our small pleasures that are beyond the tangible and can be found inside of us even when we are separated from our communities. When our cup is full once again we can organize successfully and hold space for our communities and ourselves. In a more bite sized sum: what is beyond the buzz? How do you unlock Joy beyond quick dopamine? What activities, people, and acts of expression truly feed your happiness (beyond what we are told to be proud of and what should be gratifying for us)? Remember that it is so easy to want what we see online even if its sparkled shell is hollow on the inside. It is easy to find reasons to despair, though many of us have very valid reasons to do so. I speak a-lot about radical Joy in this column because it is something that nobody can take from us that is free and innate.

As we continue into the second week of May, we have an opportunity to touch back in with the present moment. While we’re doing some very deep and stirring subconscious work, the world around us continues to beckon. Mercury moves into Taurus, setting the mood for juicy and sensual novels, shows, and conversations. Go see Sinners over a large popcorn or join in on a local wine tasting, flirting with each layer of flavor. Find ways to communicate about your five senses and touch into casual and entertaining conversation. Perhaps go out to the thrift store and come in first-hand contact with different textures and fabrics, or walk through a park and give apt attention to the movement of nature and people living dynamically in their own orbits.

Back into the void: on May 12th, the Full Moon in Scorpio sweeps over us, bringing enlightenment to where our limitations exist and our insecurities root. This Full Moon is tender yet elastic, contracting and expanding as we go through our mitotic process. We may be compelled to burrow in or we might be a shaken up can of soda, in desperate need to release what has been contained. Find ways to channel these growing pains and honor where we feel wounded or sore. We all have different processes for working through obstructions and there is no one way to do so. Dress for a funeral for the you of yesteryear, party all night in the club diffusing shame and fear with every movement of your hips, or spend the evening in private, working delicately through the things you’ve been struggling to say out loud.

Just days later, on May 17 and 18, Uranus is Cazimi, in close proximity to the Sun in Taurus while Jupiter is square the lunar nodes. It would not be surprising for this to signal some chaos or liberation in our world or yours. While this might sound scary, it could actually bring some much needed progress and clarity to both. With Jupiter in square aspect to both the North and South lunar nodes, there is definitely some tension between the known and unknown, what we own and what we share. Intuitively, these aspects feel like people are starting to come to the realization that this planet is shared, our resources are shared and our power is shared, whether people like it or not. While I’m not entirely sure how this will play out, there is an obvious imbalance between shared resources and “owned” resources. The creation of the idea of ownership is human made and inherited not inherent. It feels reminiscent of a warning of the aggregate effect that squandering all of the resources and the abuse of power has on not only our governments but also our planet, but us as its inhabitants.

On the 20th of May, the Sun crosses over into the air sign Gemini. Gemini welcomes us heartily with abounding curiosity and a web of musings. Moving from the slow and tactile Taurus, to the quick witted and multifaceted Gemini, we are donning a chameleon suit and re-entering the world. This time, with the same noticing eyes of Taurus, but a very investigative mind to match. Gemini wants us to play, explore, and strike a balance between dueling personae. This is a great time to work hard and play hard. To explore femme versus masc performances through fashion or play (even in the safety of your own home). To take up daily learning such as mind games or brain teasers (think crosswords, sudoku, wordle) or a study such as duolingo, or astrology ;). Allow yourself to be intrigued, by yourself and by others. Keep your days on their toes with a touch of spontaneity in your routine. Ask thoughtful questions instead of thinking up your response when someone is speaking. Be the last at the party or the first to go!

Coming up on the final week of May, there is a short lived journey of Saturn into Aries, a New Moon in Gemini and Mercury Cazimi. This week might feel slightly restrictive and internally tense, even though life continues on at a mile a minute. For the New Moon on the 26th, make sure you carve out ample time to slow down and be with your mental health if it's feeling acute. This is a great moment to hop on an impromptu therapy session, invite your best friend over to hold space for each other, or take some extra moments in the morning or evening to journal through whatever you’re facing at this moment. The New Moon ushers in some closure for you and with its relation to the Pluto Retrograde, it is highlighting the losses and gains you’ve been experiencing in love, creation and the pursuit of your joy. Gemini is tinged with gossamer hope. It is not fearful of change because it knows that in challenge and change there is so much delight to uncover, even if it can be bittersweet.

Saturn is crossing over into Aries for a short time until it stations retrograde and moves backward into Pisces for a final spell (around September 2025). This ingress marks the start to Saturn Returns for the Saturn in Aries generation. Depending on the degrees of your natal Saturn, you might still have some time to prep. Saturn Returns are quite a hot topic in astrology but can look differently for each person depending on their natal chart. If you have a Saturn in Aries in the early degrees, it is likely you will be experiencing the first exact of a few hits of your Saturn Return. If you are curious or want to learn more, I recommend researching the writing of Alice Sparkly Kat, Chani Nicholas, Jessica Lanyadoo or Aliza Kelly (four incredible yet unique astrologers). Avoid leaning heavily on pop astrology pages for your astrology resource or learning. They can be fun, but they don’t integrate enough of the practice for it to be helpful. Another thing to chew on is that Saturn Returns are taught and handled distinctively based on the practice of the astrologer (modern vs traditional, for example). While traditional can view Saturn Returns as life shattering, modern sees it as a time of immense challenge but also positive transformation. How you decide to hold the wisdom and what you decide to integrate is up to you, friend! Always feel free to drop into my socials @mariahthemystic if you have a question <3

Enjoy May for its pockets of intensity met with peaks of awe and indulgence. Greet yourself with unhindered love, meet criticism with honest inquiry, and touch in with true joy without shame or guilt.