Recently I was having a celebration dinner with Michelle Roque, my talented creative director who had done such brilliant art direction work on my calendars and planners, handling Parisian artist Izak’s work with such grace. Michelle was telling me that some of her friends love Astrology Zone – they only read my summaries to my monthly column. I put down my fork. Hearing this news made me sad. I asked, are you sure, Michelle? She nodded. I strive so to give my readers complete information, and this month, May, I look ahead to the rest of the year to show what is due for you, for planning purposes. Almost none of that vital information will be in my summaries – there was too much to explain.

Every planet in the horoscope has a meaning and a mission to complete in our lives. This month will be special for everyone but doubly so for you. Uranus, the planet of surprising, unanticipated events, for the first time in your life will enter Taurus in your solar tenth house of honors, awards, and achievement. The last time Uranus entered Taurus it was from 1934 to 1942, the reason why this influence will be all new for you.

Uranus takes 84 years to circle the Sun, so as an outer planet, Uranus inches across the sky very slowly. Uranus remains in each house of the horoscope for seven years. Until now, starting in 2010, you had Uranus in Aries filling your ninth house, mainly a house of intellectual curiosity. It is an area of the chart associated with of higher education. You may have gone back to college or completed graduate school. Or, you may have made a name for yourself in the media as the main subject of a news stories or as the writer / producer of them. The ninth house is well known for its association with long-distance travel and international relationships, as well as immigration matters, the court system, and verdicts.

Uranus is the planet of surprise, but also spontaneity, so topics that came up came up suddenly. The sign Uranus was touring since 2010 was Aries, a fire sign like your Leo Sun. You will carry what you learned since 2011 as you move forward. Of course, with unpredictable Uranus we can never guess what might come up whenever Uranus is activated by another planet. Still, I can tell if Uranus and that other planet are communicating in a friendly manner.

Uranus is also associated with foreign people, so you may have met and fallen in love with (and married) a person who has a background very different from yours. Your religion might have been different from your partner’s or you were born in another country, with different traditions, cuisine, holidays, and so forth – you seem to celebrate the differences. This all fits with your chart over the past years, since 2011.

This is the area of your life that brought you happy surprises for years, but like anything else, you may have encountered a few unexpected reversals, too. Uranus was in fire-sign Aries, just like your fire-sign element, so this area of your chart was favorable for you, and you likely found solutions for any challenges that came up.

Uranus will give us a preview of what is to happen for years to come, for Uranus will enter Taurus on May 15 and remain there this year for only six months, untilNovember 7. At that point in November, Uranus will retrograde back to Aries, where it has been, but once we get to early next year, on March 6, 2019, Uranus will be back to Taurus and your prestigious tenth house of career honors and achievement, to stay until April 2026. I have always felt that the area of the chart that holds transiting Uranus is where you go for stimulation and excitement – that’s going to be your career.

Uranus is strongly linked to humanitarian causes, so increasingly as you enter this new chapter of your life, you will want to feel you are making a meaningful difference to society. This need to make the world a better place will tug at you. If you feel you are not in a profession that helps others and that your work is not appreciated, and most importantly, that uses your talents well, you may undergo a career switch.

You don’t have to work in the Peace Corps or lead a charity to be of value – there are many ways to accomplish that. Let’s take an unusual example: If you are a successful stockbroker who helps families build financial security, you should feel good about what you do. If you are a mother who works hard at a job so that you can send your child to college, you will realize eventually that you have done something noble, something bigger – you are giving your child a life of opportunity.

    Mars and Uranus will clash repeatedly in coming months, and although this can be a difficult aspect, it also has a powerful upside. You may be entering a breathtakingly creative period where you attack goals and think differently from anyone else. Dear Leo, go ahead, break a few. You may develop something truly innovative that changes the world.

The reason I said that you would feel this trend in a more powerful way than other signs is that strong outer planets, like Uranus, act in a more powerful way – akin to wild horses – at the angles of a chart. The angles are the east, west, north, and south points of the horoscope that correspond with first house of vitality, appearance, and personality; the fourth house of home, property, and family; the seventh house of marriage and contractual partnerships; and the tenth house ruling career contribution and your ultimate contributions to the world.

These are the four key angles of a chart that set up the structure of your life. When a big planet goes into one of these areas, you notice, and change ensues. You now will have Uranus for a long time, and he will make his presence known.

More importantly, Uranus will be crossing the mid-heaven point of your solar chart, which is located at the very highest point. Imagine the 12 on the face of a clock – that’s where your mid-heaven is found. A big planet crossing the mid-heaven always is an indication of an important change due in your profession. If fame is important to you, you can become very famous in the coming seven years.

Uranus is individualistic, idiosyncratic, independent, disruptive, and surprising, and his main method of sending messages is to strike like lightning, without warning. Uranus rules all things innovative and newly invented – high tech and in the sciences – and also rules all things not fully understood, like black holes, warm holes, and, yes, astrology too. Uranus will sweep out anything that this planet deems of no further value and help you pave the way to your new life.

Here’s a little story of when I had your aspect in my chart – Uranus was about to enter my tenth house. Just prior to this event (having nothing to do with Uranus) I was very, very ill and had been given 18 transfusions during a harrowing surgery. The doctor said I had to stay home a full year to wait for my body to heal properly. If I fell, he told me, we would never be able to go into my left leg again (where I have a birth defect), for it would be too risky. He said, if you fall, you die. He asked me, are you listening? Yes, yes, of course I was listening!

My mother, who I called Little Mom, lived nearby and would visit me every day to help me care for my two daughters who were 16 and 13 at the time. I was weak, on crutches, and had to wait for my bone to grow around a rod they had inserted in my left femur. I had been born without marrow but only in that one major bone. (That was a side effect of the birth defect, and because I broke my femur four different times just walking in my apartment, it was time to try to get the rod in that bone, but it would prove difficult.) I was under house arrest – I never went out even once that 12-month period.

I was nearing the end of the year of healing when I remember my mother, a truly gifted astrologer, walking into the living room, holding my chart. She said to me, “Your entire career is about to change, Susan, and it will have little resemblance to what you have done so far in life. You are about to enter the next major professional chapter of your life.” I immediately felt a sense of panic, “Please don’t say that! I love being an agent for commercial photographers! I don’t want to leave this industry!” I had just gone through surgery that nearly killed me, and now my Little Mom was telling me I was switching careers! This is not what I wanted to hear!

Ignoring my wailing and pleas not to even suggest this were possible, my mother went on, saying this would not happen instantly, but changes would start to take root within a year or two as Uranus set up shop in my tenth house. She said I would have an opportunity to work in a new industry, involving high technology that would come up in an unexpected way.

Of course Little Mom was right. Soon after, in 1995 I started Astrology Zone at the invitation of Time-Warner. I would be on their site and paid a small fee each month for my work. (I never took venture capital, and bootstrapped costs for my site myself. I registered the trademark in my name. )

For six years, from 1995 to 2001, I continued to do my agent work during the day, and I worked on my website at night because I was the sole provider of my two children. However, by 2001, both businesses were growing large and I had to decide which one to give my undivided attention. I closed the door on my agent work, and devoted all my time to my website.

I tell you this story because this situation very likely will relate to you. You might find the digital world will play a big part of your new vocation. Or, you might work in artificial Intelligence, augmented reality, gaming, driverless cars, a new form of social media, or get involved with an industry so new we still don’t even know the name of it yet. Uranus also rules charities and humanistic concerns too, often on a global scale, so your career may go in that direction.

You have another aspect that gives me further insight to what is coming for you. Uranus will move into your tenth house of career on the new moon May 15. Uranus is also the natural ruler of your solar seventh house of marriage and partnership. This suggests that when it comes to your new role in your career, you may be starting a business or venture with your spouse, or setting up a business with a friend or business partner that you will work with closely.

There is ample evidence that your spouse or partner will be key to your successful progress. If you do choose a partner, you would draw up a serious contract because the seventh house is basically a contractual house of binding promises. If you will be working with the person you love and are getting married soon, you would also sign a contract, as that is also part of the wedding ceremony (as is usual). Many Leos are in the entertainment field, so your partner may be a writing partner for a play, screenplay, or for lyrics to music. You would protect the copyright by filing legal document with your writing partner to clarify who owns the idea.

The position of the planets in May is underscoring and amplifying all these elements. On May 15, not only will Uranus move into Taurus, but the new moon will also arrive in Taurus and within ten days after May 15, start to likely bring news of sparkling career opportunities. This is the most important new moon in the year for professional success. There is more!

The very next day, May 16, Mars will enter Aquarius, and put your focus squarely on a partner. Usually Mars will stay in a sign for seven weeks, but in 2018, Mars will remain in Aquarius for six months. All this time, your partner will pay a dominant role in your life, and you seem happy to turn over the reins. This is not common for Leo, because Leo leads and does not follow, but these are special times. You may have second thoughts at times about playing a subordinate role, however, because as said, Mars will be in your opposite sign of Aquarius for six months. Leo is a sign that takes charge.

The reason Mars will remain in your partnership / marriage sector for six months in a rare stay, is that Mars will go retrograde from June 26 to August 27. During that time, Mars will be weak, and you may change your mind about your plans, such as, you might want to change the date of the wedding you are planning, or have doubts about marrying this person altogether. Or, it may be you and your business partner, agent, publicist, and other professional may not see eye to eye (and your romantic partner and you are getting along fine). Give yourself a chance to think things through if you encounter obstacles with either partner in love or business because the environment in July and August will be unclear.

Not only will Mars be retrograde in late June, July, and August, but also Mars’ brother, Mercury, will also go retrograde from July 26 to August 18, so not a lot will be accomplished during those months. All you can do is discuss plans, review what has been accomplished so far in 2018, and perhaps find ways to develop better methods for the future. Wait until September to implement those ideas.

I want to be very clear: launch nothing important in late June, July, and August, and I will add early September here, too. Don’t schedule your charity benefit, launch a new product or service, don’t open the doors of a new business – you get the idea. Mars teaches you to compete beautifully and to grasp your ultimate goals, but when Mars naps, it is very hard to stand out and accomplish a success story.

Mars is the booster rocket to all your greatest launches and dreams. Like a real booster rocket, Mars lifts your ventures into the stratosphere, and once your venture has reached height and is in a steady orbit, the booster rocket falls away, salutes the captain of the main venture, and says with gusto, bon voyage! My job is complete. Because Mars rarely retrogrades, you have come to take for granted having the force be with you, which is very hard. You might want to try to make up for Mars’ lack of powerful assistance, but you will find that road to be a difficult one to hoe.

I will take a moment here to talk about retrogrades, because some readers have asked me questions about them on Twitter. The only planets you will feel strongly when retrograde are one of the three planets that orbit very close to earth: Mars, Mercury, and Venus. (You may be saying to yourself, well, at least Venus will be in good shape. No, not really. Venus will go retrograde from October 5 to November 16 this year – not a good time to make changes to your appearance or to launch any products that are of special interest to women.) When the outer planets retrograde, you don’t feel them nearly as directly as the three little personal planets. I would not worry about those. The exception is if you are starting a business. In that case, it is better to have Jupiter moving in good, swift orbit.

The one thing that concerns me this month is that Mars, newly minted in Aquarius, and Uranus, newly minted in Taurus, will square off at precise 90 degree angles – a difficult aspect indicating an obstacle or setback. Due to Mars’ plan to move ahead, then backward, and then forward, retracing our steps, he will remain in early degrees of Aquarius through September.

The dates when Mars and Uranus will meet in exact aspect mathematically will be May 16, August 1, and September 12. These might be tough days for you. This temperamental, unpredictable aspect need not be exact to feel it. What we have here is a low simmering pot of water during all these months. Pay special attention to May 16 to see what comes up – it may give you clues to how to best handle this on-off aspect that will be woven on and off through September.

Mars is the warrior and will clash with volatile Uranus ruling all things unexpected – you get the picture. This can bring on emotional outbursts with your partner or with foreign persons overseas, for Mars will be in your seventh house of partner or spouse. Oddly, your differences with your partner may be caused by your meteoric rise in your career status – jealousy may play a part if the spotlight is more on you than your partner. You will have to be ready for a degree of criticism from certain types in the media, but if you take it as feedback to take to make your relationship and performance better, you will fare well through this.

As I have demonstrated, Mars and Uranus will clash repeatedly in coming months, and although this can be a difficult aspect, it also has an upside. You may be entering a breathtakingly creative period where you attack goals and think differently from anyone else. So, dear Leo, go ahead, break a few. You may develop something truly innovative that will change the world.

You certainly won’t want to be told that the company has always traditionally done things a certain way – you are about to take the role of pathfinder into new territory. You will insist that you toss out the rulebook and start from scratch. Others will need a little time to catch up with you and your forward thinking, but they will. As I wrote earlier, you can become very famous under this trend.

Now let’s go to back the start of May, for there are many other big influences to talk about. In the first days, you will have just come through the April 29 full moon, suggesting you might be moving into a new house or apartment. Or, you may be renovating and need to relocate while the work is done. That full moon was very favorable, with enormous help from Saturn – it appears if you did move (or will move early this month), you will stay in that space a long time. Saturn encourages us to think long term, so you may have purchased property. Certainly that full moon added much to your sense of security. As you enter May, you may still be working on the details of what culminated at the full moon.

This year, your living situation – or the likely support you get from your family (or both) – will be one of the most glittering and lucky parts of 2018 for you. Jupiter is in your fourth house of home, so the new house or apartment that you might be moving into soon will be very large with a panoramic view, large closets, and plenty of sunshine. Jupiter will tour Scorpio until early November, so you will crave privacy. Perhaps your house will have tall hedges or if you have lots of property, a long and winding road leading to your house. Alternatively you might live in a gated community or you live in the country.

Do you prefer the city? You too will have a large sunny apartment with a view to rent or buy as a condo. You will likely look for a building that has good security, with a doorman who will call you from the desk if anyone comes in to see you or deliver something to you.

Jupiter brings luck and happiness, so in 2018, when it comes to property, you may find yourself at precisely the right place at the right time to get your dream house – or should I say castle, dear Leo? You can opt to redo your present space too, and pull out all the stops to create a gorgeous space.

Now let’s fast forward to the end of the month, to the full moon, May 29, in Sagittarius, in your house of true love. This is a magical full moon, and you may decide to have a baby soon, or have an IVF treatment if you have had problems conceiving a baby. If you are single, you might meet someone special that you will want to know better. May 29 will fall on a Tuesday, but you will begin to feel the energy of this full moon as soon as Friday night, May 25, and as late as June 2.

This full moon will fall within the period that will bring the shining and romantic benefits of an exceedingly rare golden triangle on May 25 (very close to the full moon May 29). It will link creative Neptune in Pisces, Venus in Cancer, and Jupiter in Scorpio. This brings heavenly experiences while at home. If you need to apply for a mortgage, this full moon will likely have bankers looking kindly at you and want to do all they can to offer you a mortgage with attractive terms.

Are you moving, dear Leo? You might be! The full moon of April 29 was urging you to find ways to improve your lifestyle and your living quarters, whether by moving, decorating, making repairs, renovating, painting rooms, or buying new for your home. As you enter May, you may be excited about the many changes you have chosen to enact. With good fortune Jupiter in this area of your chart, you can turn your home into your castle, so keep focused on home.

By May 6, you will be feeling unusually creative and may want to use the rare energy of the Sun’s alignment with Neptune to generate blockbuster ideas. Later in the week, May 11, make an appointment with a VIP for a meeting or interview to reveal your ideas – it will likely go well in every respect. The influential person you see will want to help you, so summon your courage and speak up for your due. May 11 or 12 will be your day to do so.

May 15 will be a big day in your professional timeline for two reasons. First, this is the date of a new moon in your tenth house of fame and honors, the only one of 2018. You will have a lot going for you if you are to nab the top job, but you must acknowledge that you will encounter considerable competition or criticism. You seem to have your eye on a desirable top job, so prepare to be on top of your game, and allow no distractions. This new position might make possible a residential upgrade / relocation – see how things play out, but as it’s been said, don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Uranus is entering Taurus for the first time since 1934 to 1942, and eventually will remain seven-years.

Uranus will add some volatility to career talks, but mainly during mid-month. Be prepared for odd, untoward developments that will likely come out of left field in your career, or in regard to a partner or collaborator. With Uranus, planet of surprise, you won’t be able to guess what could come up, but the point of this exercise will be to hone your flexibility and resourcefulness. Even as a fixed sign, you have both qualities within you, so all you need to do is work on bringing them out.

Uranus will stay with you in Taurus until early November, then go retrograde back into Aries and return in March 2019 until April 2026. Think of 2018 as a preview year of the coming seven years. Your career will bring plenty of excitement, and under this trend, you can even become famous. Most of the time, your career breakthroughs will be simply fabulous and you will be given a chance to make a difference to the world through your work.

If you work in the arts, or are an actor, put a circle around May 25 when you are likely to ace an audition or sell a valuable painting, screenplay, musical score, or other creative work. Also on this day, a home improvement loan or mortgage to buy a house or condo seems very possible – see your banker. Jupiter will be in rare sync with Neptune, making dreams come true.

Mars will enter Aquarius for six months rather than the more usual orbit of seven weeks in one sign. Mars in Aquarius won’t always be easy, for you will have Mars in opposition to your Sun in your seventh house of committed partnerships and marriage. To cope, you will do best by cooperating with others rather than trying to get full control of the team.

Competitors and critics will be vocal, so you will have to get ready for that. You are aiming high, so keep your work clean and above reproach. This is all happening because you are scaling new heights in your career – people will be jealous of your success. Your career will certainly be on the upswing, but all the while make sure you don’t neglect your partner. Your relationship will need loving attention too.

Speaking of affection, the full moon of May 29 (plus or minus four days) will bring you a blue-ribbon time for romance. As a Leo, you just went through a very difficult three years of often enforced separations from your romantic partner, perhaps due to work, study, or by conducting a long-distance romance. Alternatively, the problem may have been more serious – your partner was already married, never told you, and has no plans to leave – bringing a heartbreaking breakup.

The reason for this challenging period for love was that teacher Saturn was testing your commitment to your relationship. At certain moments over the past three years, you may have been required to have considerable patience. If you concluded that the two of you were not compatible, you may have parted. Now the full moon will shine on you and bring you rewards, for Saturn has left the difficult place in your chart that he occupied for you – your fifth house of true love – and won’t be back for 29 years. Now, finally, when it comes to romance, you have nothing but blue skies ahead.