Imagine and Become Your Most Courageous Self: Horoscopes May 18-24, 2026

It struck me this week that it is common for people with power to want to prove they are victimized by people without as much power. And this can become a narcissistic cyclical way to accrue power.

Healthy power comes from owning that our actions have consequences and that we are sovereign within our energy. And, that means different things for each of us.

This week sees a lot of planetary shifts and supportive sextiles that allow us to see things differently. If we take advantage of these energies, we can show up more courageously and with healthier boundaries. We can also receive bursts of insight.

However this applies to your chart, imagine how your child self dreamed of their future. Imagine how, at the end of your life, you will dream back onto who you are now. Take small, practical action to step into your dream self and look for portals that quickly transfer you to that timeline. This week they are waiting for you.

Photo by Juliette Dickens on Unsplash (little girl in a fairy dress with wings and a wand)

For horoscope principles this week, I am primarily looking at the following celestial events:

• Mars goes into Taurus on Monday, May 18, 2026, at 3:25pm Pacific. Mars governs how we take action, and Taurus brings a more slow, deliberate, steady, reliable pace of energy.

• Venus goes into Cancer on Monday, May 18, 2026, at 6:05pm Pacific. Venus rules how we relate to each other and what we value, and Cancer energy is nurturing, loyal, and emotional.

• Mercury in Gemini sextiles Neptune in Aries on Monday, May 18, 2026, at 9:04pm Pacific. This is a supportive aspect between the planet ruling thinking and communication and the planet ruling imagination and spirituality. This is a good opportunity to communicate your ideals around who you could be if you fully embrace your courage, keeping these ideals authentic to who you are at your core. Brainstorm what this would look like and don’t get bogged down in finding one answer.

• Venus in Cancer sextiles Mars in Taurus on Monday, May 18, 2026, at 10:37pm Pacific. This supportive aspect between a nurturing Venus and stable, deliberate Mars allows us to tend to the gardens of our community. What relationships around you need nurturing? What practical actions could you take to nurture yourself more fully?

• Mercury in Gemini trines Pluto in Aquarius on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at 3:52pm Pacific. Mercury is its own home in Gemini, and this supportive aspect between Pluto and Mercury allows for deep and quick-moving insight into how you communicate around community and social responsibility issues.

• The Sun goes into Gemini on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at 5:63pm Pacific. Gemini is an air sight, and so this brings lightness and communication into the forefront. Gemini can see all sides of an issue and turn anything into a debate or a joke (whether it’s a good joke is up for debate! Ohhh see what I did there?).

• Venus in Cancer squares Neptune in Aries on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at 11:31pm Pacific. This aspect can be romantic, but the kind of romantic that you might hate later. In Aries and Cancer, we can decide what we want someone to be based on their potential, and then deeply commit to the bit. Unfortunately, that does not change who the person truly is or force them to become their potential, and so we face disappointment that the reality and the ideal don’t match.

• The Sun goes conjunct Uranus in Gemini on Friday, May 22, 2026, at 7:26am Pacific. Sometimes, change happens so fast that you’re a new person before you had time to say goodbye to your old self. Those are Uranus moments. Sudden insights, sudden realizations, sudden complete overthrow of reality comes from Uranus. Gemini is flexible and set up for change anyway. Allow the insights to come, even if you don’t like them. Something on the other side could solve a problem you didn’t know you had.

• Mercury in Gemini sextiles Saturn in Aries on Friday, May 22, 2026, at 11:02am Pacific. The changes that have been happening in this area of your life are getting support from the authentic foundations you have built. The more true to yourself you are, the more courageous you are willing to be, the better you’ll be able to communicate about the changes you’re initiating and experiencing.

• The Sun in Gemini sextiles Neptune in Aries on Sunday, May 24, 2026, at 7:22pm Pacific. This is a supportive aspect for seeing an ideal, courageous version of who you authentically are and trying on that version of you. What if stepping into that version could be easy?

These are the principles to consider for the week of May 18, 2026. It is worth taking a look at both your rising and sun sign horoscopes (visit astro.com to find your rising sign):

Aries: Your skill in overcoming obstacles requires obstacles to exist. Building muscle requires resistance, and your soul has muscle. This week lets you rethink that dynamic. What if your boundaries were so attuned to your needs that you flew past the obstacles without struggling with them? When your friends and coven members offer you deep insights this week, listen, even if you don’t understand at first. Make time for home and family because your closest people will support you in overcoming challenges that do show up.

Taurus: In Tarot, the Page of Pentacles is a card that recommends we slowly, deliberately plant seeds after we’ve been disappointed by the deaths of the flashy, enormous hothouse plants we thought were sure wins. Not everything needs to be flashy to be important or successful. With Mars moving into your first whole-sign house, you may run into obstacles, but remember that small, daily efforts overcome these sometimes more effectively than huge gambles. Your closest community offers support for this process. Welcome insights into your changing values and relationship with money.

Gemini: When marriages (or even friendships) conclude, there is a cultural stigma that calls them “failed,” instead of “complete.” Being authentically you means living outside of either of those concrete definitions, and instead, you have a special ability to be two versions of yourself at once. That is not deception or lying, but instead authentically embodying multiple parts of self. This week puts special emphasis on allowing yourself to be multiple things to multiple people and thereby being fully yourself.

Cancer: In my decade of work with people litigating civil rights cases and mediating harassment and discrimination issues, one thing I have learned is that most people say their biggest fear is losing money or reputation. But, underlying that, most people’s actual fear is feeling vulnerable. As a Cancer (rising or sun) you have a superpower of vulnerability and that is an immense gift you offer to yourself and others. Right now, the stars are blessing that gift with Venus, the Moon, and Jupiter joining your natal Cancer placements. Take advantage of your strong connection to emotion and bless your most loyal community with your nurturing presence.

Leo: “They” say that we are the sum of the five people we are most often around. With Gemini in your eleventh whole-sign house of friends and groups, you have the gift of being five different people at any given time in any group (and all are authentically you). The Sun is joining Uranus and Mercury in Gemini this week, and that offers you bursts of insights about who you are in your social groups. If you have a message to share with someone you know socially or with an organization you work with, don’t hesitate. You don’t need to be all things to all people, but all the versions of who you are have something worthwhile to offer.

Virgo: Problems don’t get solved until they’re ready to be solved. For you, this week, the solutions to problems that you’ve been pondering in your career suddenly fall into place (or at least the insights you need to solve them appear). Let the insights come and the solutions happen. Your eleventh whole-sign house of friends and groups is also seeing a boost with Venus and the Moon joining Jupiter there. Say yes to the insights and the parties this week.

Libra: Appreciate the safety and beauty that you’ve built in your career. This week brings the blessings of Venus and the Moon to your tenth whole-sign house of career, where Jupiter has been expanding how you show up publicly. While there are always problems in life, there are also always places of ease and beauty. You are also invited to allow insights into the depth of what you are creating and the ideals you hold.

Scorpio: Confronting problems allows them to shift, even if it makes other people uncomfortable. Mars is entering your seventh whole-sign house of partnerships this week, which provides relief to your health and habits, but stirs up activity in your partnerships. The blessings and expansion you are experiencing of your ideals provides support for helpful conversations about partnership problems.

Sagittarius: Inheritance, whether genetic, cultural, financial, or other is one experience, and what we make of it is another. If you inherited fears around security or patriotism from your ancestors, you are going through a process that invites you to expand beyond their limitations. Our ancestors are not just our biological family, but also our spiritual, mental, and emotional mentors and forebears. Focus on the beauty and nurture you have inherited and you will create more of it.

Capricorn: Enforcing a boundary means taking action to create safety inside of your space, not making demands on other people. Your home and family life is going through a process of redefining boundaries, and this is in tension with the blessings and expansion you have access to in partnerships. Allow deep insights to come related to health and daily routine this week, even if they require change.

Aquarius: Anything can become a cult, and anything can be a church. Whatever cults and churches you belong to (whether they are a type of music, sportsball, capitalism, spirituality, or political) is a space where it is important to you to be authentic. But, what are the boundaries around that? This week especially look at how your habits and creative projects interact with the churches you value. Welcome insights about how boundaries could nurture and protect your authenticity.

Pisces: Culturally, we often set money- and power-hoarders up as examples of abundance, but real abundance is much more straightforward. Real abundance happens not when we hoard, but when we honor what is truly in affinity to us—what deeply resonates with us. For me, hibiscus tea is an example of this. I deeply love a glass of hibiscus tea, and it brings me back to myself. If you envisioned a relationship with your creative projects and children that was fully abundant, but not hoarding, what would it be? This week insights from home and family might help you imagine healthy boundaries around abundance, especially in this area.

Thanks for reading and fulfilling your natal promise! If you like these horoscopes, don’t forget to hit the like button and share them with someone who might get something out of them.

If you or someone you know would like to dive into their natal chart and learn more about their personal contract with the universe, sign up for a natal chart reading here.