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.

Life is changing, but never more than in May, when surprise planet Uranus will make its move to Taurus for the first time since 1934 to 1942. Uranus takes 84 years to revolve around the Sun, so when you divide 84 years by 12 signs and 12 houses, you understand why Uranus spends seven years per sign and per house. This is headline news, and everyone will feel a shift in everyday life, but in different ways.

Uranus will not stay in Taurus in 2018 – he will give you a preview of what the coming years will be like while Uranus is in Taurus between May 15 and November 7. After that, Uranus will retreat backward into Aries, where Uranus has occupied since 2011 in your house of love and children. Then several months later, Uranus will again move forward to Taurus on March 6, 2019, to stay permanently in Taurus until 2026.

This means that Uranus will leave your solar fifth house of true love / children and creativity and enter your sixth house of work projects and health. Uranus is the planet that brings sudden change, and also sometimes brings chaos and disruption, but tends to also bring innovation, fresh thinking, and creativity that borders on genius. Uranus is the futuristic planet, and people with strong Uranus placements are brave and secure, and they feel strongly about questioning society’s long-held assumptions, which sometimes, it turns out, have outlived their usefulness. It’s Uranus job to challenge the status quo, so you will learn to think critically and not simply accept things as they are. If you are told to do something because we have always done it this way, you might well do just the opposite. That’s Uranus speaking – Uranus usually stirs up a little rebellion that helps you break free and create new paths.

Uranus also has a strong link to humanitarian causes, often urging an involvement in a charity to raise awareness and funds to help those who suffer. Uranus is also linked to changes in the environment and you may feel moved to protect in some way. Some who have a strong Uranus will become political activists, run for office, or work on humanitarian assignments. Any of these possibilities may influence your work life in a strong or subtle way.

This individualistic planet, Uranus, is all about letting you be you. It is the planet that teaches the value of finding not what is similar about you to others, but what is different. In the coming years, you will have the best chance you may have ever had to find the uniqueness in you, and to celebrate those qualities. When it comes to your work projects, Uranus will urge you not to blend in, but to speak up, especially if your intuition says to use a different approach to a project. (Uranus encourages instinct, and you will feel it speak to you.)

I have always felt that where you have Uranus in your chart is where you find your greatest stimulation in your life. I don’t know where you have Uranus in your natal chart (you would have to do your birth chart using your exact time of birth to find out), but I do know that since 2010, you hosted transiting Uranus in your fifth house of true love, so that’s where you gravitated to find excitement – in love and romance. You always found that thrill, but sometimes, maybe you found a little too much excitement, but other times, it seemed just right. You may have dated many different types, and at times friends may have wondered about your choice of person to date – some were not traditional at all. That is all changing now, and your love life will settle down.

In the sixth house, this futuristic planet will keep you hopping with all kinds of new projects coming to you out of the blue. Sometimes it will be feast or famine – Uranus rules alternating current, so the flow will not be even. This suggests to me that you might be starting your own business at some point in the coming seven years.

Uranus is associated with science and new technology, so with Uranus moving into your work house, some of your new clients may be linked to the digital world, gaming, social media, or with Bitcoin and encrypted currencies. All that you do will likely be new and on the cutting edge of the future. If you work in the insurance industry or government, you may be working on a form of health insurance (which is sure to come with Uranus in Taurus).

The sixth house rules work methods, and with Uranus in this house, you may rail against some of the old, tired methods your company has been using to generate business and come up with brilliant ideas to craft new, more effective methods. People in your organization or your clients may need time to catch up with your forward thinking, so give them a little time after a presentation – your vision will be on the far horizon, and your ideas may become quite exciting.

    Uranus is associated with science and new technology, so with Uranus moving into your work house, some of your new clients may be linked to the digital world, gaming, social media, or with Bitcoin and encrypted currencies. All that you do will likely be new and on the cutting edge of the future.

The sixth house also rules the preventative measures you use to stay healthy, so you may harness new technology to get well. If you have a health concern, Uranus in the sixth house will give you hope – a new breakthrough of medicine, technological equipment, or robots, as a few examples, may help you to greater comfort or even a cure.

On the same day Uranus enters Taurus, we will also have a new moon in Taurus, 25 degrees. This will set in motion all the new types of work I see coming in for you. Some of the themes have listed above may surface and become a focus for you.

Mars will enter Aquarius on May 16, the day after the new moon. You have had monster expenses, but those will calm down instantly once Mars leaves Capricorn and enters Aquarius – news I am sure you will be relieved to hear. Mars will remain in Aquarius for six months, until November 16, a very long period, considering Mars’ more usual stay is only seven weeks. The reason Mars will stay so long is that Mars will start to retrograde next month from June 26 to August 27. This is not good news, for Mars is the energy planet, and when napping, he causes almost everything to stall. The coming months, particularly July through August, will be slow, and you will find it hard to get things moving. At least Mars will be in Aquarius, a sign that blends well with yours. Any frustrations you feel in July and August will start to become ironed out in September, October, and the first half of November.

There is something else going on. Mars will remain in very early degrees of Aquarius and at the same time, Uranus moves so slowly that Uranus will remain in early degrees of Taurus. This forms a 90-degree square, an aspect associated with obstacles, setbacks, and challenges. However, occasionally, Uranus, the planet of unpredictability, has the opposite effect, forging great creativity and thinking that is so outside the box and off the grid that Uranus turns out to coax brilliant solutions from you.

There will be three times Mars and Uranus will meet in sharp mathematical degree: May 16, August 1, and September 18. Watch the first date, May 16, for I feel it will be the harbinger of things to come. It’s rare to see the same aspect repeated three times in very similar mathematical degrees and the same sign for both planets, so the theme should be fairly consistent and easy for you to see what’s up.

With Mars in Aquarius, in your third house of contracts, in harsh angle to Uranus in Taurus from mid-May through most of September, if you are trying to forge a deal with a client, you may run into difficulties finding accord. Keep in mind Uranus is in your sixth house of assignments and new business. Both Aquarius and Taurus are fixed signs that stick to their opinions, meaning the obstacles and setbacks you might face near the three dates I listed (May 16, August 1, and September 18) won’t be a snap to break down.

Everyone of every zodiac sign will be in the same boat – every sign will feel these volatile aspects of Uranus clashing with Mars. You may get a warped, slanted view of Uranus in Taurus, because its debut has this hard aspect, which is not usual or typical at all.

Mars is the aggressive planet that can cause strife when pushed to the extreme, so no matter what comes up on May 15, although it will point to a continuing discussion on a touchy topic (or coping with a difficult client who you need) on August 1 and September 18 too, life won’t keep going like this any farther than September. Certainly you will not feel anything quite like you will in May during though the entire seven years Uranus will be in Taurus until 2026.

You have reason to be optimistic. Pluto will stay in Capricorn, a fellow compatible earth sign like Taurus, for years. Neptune is currently in Pisces, another sign that blends perfectly with Taurus, and Neptune isn’t going anywhere anytime soon – Neptune will stay many years more in Pisces. Saturn will be in Capricorn, again in perfect angle to Uranus until the end of 2020. You will have these three powerhouse planets in fine angle to Uranus, and that is impressive help.

This month has some beautiful aspects at month’s end. Jupiter, the good fortune planet, and your ruler, will be in perfect alignment with Neptune, planet of imagination, creativity, and artistic expression. Neptune is in your home and family sector (fourth house), so you seem to be getting extraordinary help from family. Alternatively, if that does not fit, if you are working on the design aspects of your home, you could not wish for better inspiration than this gorgeous, scintillating conversation between Neptune and Jupiter.

Moreover, at month’s end, Jupiter, giver of gifts and luck, will send a golden beam to imaginative Neptune, and both will send beams to Venus in Cancer in your house of other people’s money. This is a magnificent triangle of stars that will appear in the night sky at month’s end, lasting for days. If you are in need of a home improvement loan or a mortgage, or need your parents to loan or give you funds for a home-related plan, it looks like the money will be there for you if you ask.

Your ideas for your home will be simply beautiful and possibly even award winning or deserving of a spread in a glossy magazine. Keep pressing forward, dear Sagittarius. This grand trine is as rare as emeralds. Neptune and Jupiter will meet one more time in a similar aspect on August 18 – after that, not again until 2026. You are in a rare period – use it!

The month will end on a happy note, with a full moon, May 29 in Sagittarius, 8 degrees, and will be in ideal angle to Mars. Mars will still be strong (not retrograde for another month), and its prominent role in this full moon means you will be ready to act on something vitally important to you. You only get one full moon a year in your sign, and this is the one. Something is about to crystalize and finish – it will be a wonderful moment in 2018. You can give this date a plus or minus four days. This full moon could be about a happy development in a relationship – whatever it brings to fullness seems to make you excited.

Earlier, if you are attached, you will have special favor from Venus, from the very first day until May 19, while Venus glides in your opposite sign of Gemini, a divine place to have Venus to engender silky smooth interactions with the one you love.

Make May your productive month. Once Mars goes retrograde on June 26 to August 27, it will be very hard to get anything achieved. I had not mentioned that Mars’ brother Mercury will be retrograde too, from July 26 to August 18. As you see, we are moving into a period where approvals will come slowly, if at all. While you have a clear road in May and in the first half of June, rack up as many successes as you can!

As you begin May, you appear to be in a meditative, reflective mood. Beg off social engagements, and take a little time to shutter inside to think about how things have been going for you so far this year. A full moon in your twelfth house of privacy appeared on April 29, and the message of that full moon will continue to resonate with you during the first few days of May. Shore up your health, for there is some indication that you may have been burning candles at both ends.

Despite high spending for weeks, you are rightly remaining optimistic. You may be going through a lifestyle shift that is causing you to write many checks. Expenses have been high since mid-March, but will abate by May 16.

There are several areas that look to be likely sources for spending: a major creative project that needs more capital, or spending for one of your children who might require special education, training, or tutoring. With strong emphasis on the fifth house, you might alternatively be spending on medical care to help secure a pregnancy. As said – and this bears repeating – you are nearly at the end of this high spending period, and when you see it end mid-month, you will breathe a sigh of relief.

Regarding your creative efforts, in 2018 your creative ideas are running very high, for Jupiter, the good fortune planet and also your ruler, has been in a sustained, positive attitude to creative Neptune most of 2018 – your ability to create compelling visuals is especially strong. On May 25 these two planets will be in perfect alignment, but because they move slowly, you will feel the pixie dust that Neptune, planet of imagination, will throw off on you as it spins in deep space.

The new moon of May 15 will bring news of a new assignment, and it will be one that will have the power to improve your financial condition impressively. Go slowly as you enter into any agreement, as you will likely uncover hidden requirements to this project that will emerge with close inspection. You need to find those, for a subtly written requirement could cost you more time and money than you’d assume at first glance. Don’t agree to anything until you have thoroughly discussed every facet of the project with the other party and your lawyer. Take time to get estimates from vendors and team members you will need to make the project successful, for Uranus in hard angle to Mars suggests unsuspected problems could spout up on May 16. Put off signing until May 23 or May 25.

When Mars moves into Aquarius, you will have an unusually long emphasis on travel. You usually prefer to take overseas trips, but this time you seem happy to do a shorter trip, one within a day’s drive of your home base.

You also will enter into a very busy phase at this time, with plenty of details to keep track of, including overflowing emails, conference calls, and contractual talks. Still, don’t sign anything near May 16 because elements of the plan will still be volatile. If you are trying to seal a big deal, the period from May through September could be frustrating because the client will be demanding and volatile, changing his mind week to week. Do the best you can – this too will pass.

If you are looking over paperwork, the full moon of May 29 in Sagittarius could crystalize the official formal alliance, in business, but possibly, alternatively this full moon may be all about happy developments in love.

In matters of love, if you are attached to a partner, you will have an edge. Venus will glide through your seventh house of commitment from the start of the month until May 19. This is a trend that started last month on April 19. Venus can smooth any small disagreements you and your partner may have experienced lately. You seem sensitive to financial matters, so that appears to be the only area of contention, but don’t let money spoil a basically strong relationship.

Your finances, opportunities, and life’s view will improve month by month, until you get to the start of your Emerald Year in early November, when you will be crowned the celestial favorite by good fortune Jupiter’s move to Sagittarius. You are in preparation now for the best year of your life, so keep to the program, and don’t let anyone rain on your parade. You will get the last laugh when others will see you were right all along.