If your birthday is in May before 21 May, your star sign is Taurus. From 21 May onwards it is Gemini. The changeover can move by a day in some years, so for a birthday right on 21 May it's worth checking the year.
May zodiac sign dates
- Taurus: 20 April to 20 May
- Gemini: 21 May to 20 June
Where the Sun really is in May
The Sun is in Aries until about 13 May and in Taurus for the rest of the month. Taurus itself is invisible all month: it is behind the Sun, and the Pleiades are lost in the evening twilight until they return before dawn in June.
The May gap between sign and constellation comes from the slow wobble of the Earth's axis. The zodiac signs and constellations guide explains why Taurus and Gemini have drifted, and Ophiuchus is the one the signs leave out.
What is in the May evening sky
May evenings are getting short, but Leo and Virgo are in the south as it gets dark, with Arcturus high and orange in the south-east.
Taurus and Gemini in the sky
The brightest point of Taurus is Aldebaran, and of Gemini, Pollux. Both are drawn in the series of twelve Taurus constellation print and Gemini constellation print, in near-black, gold and warm ivory.
Taurus and Gemini belong to different elements: the zodiac elements guide sorts all twelve signs into fire, earth, air and water.
For a May birthday, a personalised star map charts the stars over the place someone was born, on the night itself, and the preview is free.