May starts with the Sun in Taurus, an easygoing sign that's more like a flower-sniffing Ferdinand the Bull than some menacing beast. The solar presence there is meant to keep things calm until the Sun's entry into jittery Gemini on May 20. Yet there will be some ripples in the field that challenge the Bull's usually placid nature. An excellent example is the Full Moon in passionate Scorpio on May 5, which is likely to spur some powerful feelings. This opposition raises questions about values and desires. The Taurus Sun seeks contentment while the Scorpio Moon is hungry for more.

Expect strong feelings to arise then, although it's understandable to try to suppress them. Still, it's healthier to face complex personal truths about intimacy, jealousy and desire than to hide these issues behind a smiling face. Ultimately, this lunation challenges us to examine our values and to recognize where just getting by isn't enough. The key to using this event as a jumping-off point to greater fulfillment is to recognize where you're holding on to people, positions, possessions and points of view that get in the way of fulfillment. Learning to go by letting go is one of the lessons of a Scorpio Full Moon.

A serious note comes from mental Mercury's opposition to severe Saturn, also on May 5. Communication delays and resistance to ideas may be encountered then. Yet the purpose is not to thwart long-term goals, but to put facts in order to build a solid case that proves your point. Opportunities arise, especially in material matters, when the Taurus Sun joins generous Jupiter on May 13. Astrology's most optimistic and expansive planet's union with the central star of our solar system broadens minds and increases confidence. Yet the extended vision and hope spurred by this transit is not necessarily going to be fulfilled overnight.

The primary reason is that Venus, Taurus' magnetic ruling planet, turns retrograde on May 15. This backward cycle will last until June 27, complicating relationships and financial issues during this time. This reversal occurs in diverse Gemini, which can send us on a variety of false trails toward love, money or friendship. Progress can be made in these areas, but only when unfinished economic and social business is completed first.

But even if we need to backtrack in certain areas of life, the Sun's shift into airy Gemini on May 20 promises a fresh start. That's because this is also the day of the New Moon. This initiates a fresh lunar cycle, one rich in ideas and information in the communicative sign of the Twins. Mercury, Gemini's cerebral ruler, joins the party when it enters Gemini on the May 24. A stressful square with dreamy Neptune on May 25 could invite illusion and inspire fantasies. However, genius is in the air to spur innovation and intellectual breakthroughs on May 27-28, when Mercury and the Sun form favorable 60-degree sextiles with inventive Uranus. Coming up with clever ideas grows easier yet with sociable Venus stuck in reverse through late June, getting the cooperation needed from others may be more difficult....