May 21 zodiac sign
Right on the Taurus and Gemini changeover, May 21 usually has the Sun at 0° Gemini, the Mercury-ruled first decan, while in others it lingers at the end of Taurus.
- Sun at 0°–2° Gemini
- 1st decan · Mercury
- Cusp birthday
- On the star Alcyone
May 21 in profile
Whether a May 21 person is Taurus or Gemini depends on the year and the hour, since the Sun changes sign during this date and astrology has no third, blended sign. In most years the Sun stands at 0° Gemini, the very first degree, where Mercury rules both the sign and its first decan and the new air arrives raw and eager. The Taurus years give the anaretic last degree instead. Alcyone, the brightest Pleiad, is traditionally tied to vision.
In love, both versions want a partner who is good company. A 0° Gemini falls for wit, a quick reply, someone who keeps up with sudden changes of topic; a 29° Taurus falls for warmth, touch and reliability. What they share is a need to be both comfortable and interested. Dates go best with conversation and good food, a long lunch that turns into a walk and then into a second venue.
Rest can be tricky. The Gemini side recharges through a change of scene, a new café, a podcast, a day trip, while the Taurus side needs to stop entirely and lie in the sun. A May 21 person often has both urges in the same afternoon. The useful habit is alternating them on purpose, an active morning and a still evening, so restlessness and fatigue do not cancel each other out.
Taurus or Gemini?
The Sun moves from Taurus into Gemini around May 21, and the exact moment shifts from year to year. Between 1930 and 2040 it happened during the UTC day of May 21 in 78 years out of 111, at a median of 08:53 UTC (07:38 UTC in births from 1980 to 2010). In 2 years the whole day was still Taurus. In 31 years it was already Gemini all day. So a May 21 birthday is Taurus or Gemini depending on the year and the time, never a blend of the two.
The Sun on May 21, year by year (UTC)
- 1970Gemini from 11:38
- 1971Gemini from 17:15
- 1972Gemini all day
- 1973Gemini from 04:54
- 1974Gemini from 10:36
- 1975Gemini from 16:24
- 1976Gemini all day
- 1977Gemini from 04:15
- 1978Gemini from 10:09
- 1979Gemini from 15:54
- 1980Gemini all day
- 1981Gemini from 03:40
- 1982Gemini from 09:23
- 1983Gemini from 15:06
- 1984Gemini all day
- 1985Gemini from 02:43
- 1986Gemini from 08:28
- 1987Gemini from 14:10
- 1988Gemini all day
- 1989Gemini from 01:54
- 1990Gemini from 07:38
- 1991Gemini from 13:20
- 1992Gemini all day
- 1993Gemini from 01:02
- 1994Gemini from 06:49
- 1995Gemini from 12:34
- 1996Gemini all day
- 1997Gemini from 00:18
- 1998Gemini from 06:05
- 1999Gemini from 11:53
- 2000Gemini all day
- 2001Gemini all day
- 2002Gemini from 05:30
- 2003Gemini from 11:13
- 2004Gemini all day
- 2005Gemini all day
- 2006Gemini from 04:32
- 2007Gemini from 10:12
- 2008Gemini all day
- 2009Gemini all day
- 2010Gemini from 03:34
- 2011Gemini from 09:21
- 2012Gemini all day
- 2013Gemini all day
- 2014Gemini from 02:59
- 2015Gemini from 08:45
- 2016Gemini all day
- 2017Gemini all day
- 2018Gemini from 02:15
- 2019Gemini from 07:59
- 2020Gemini all day
- 2021Gemini all day
- 2022Gemini from 01:23
- 2023Gemini from 07:09
- 2024Gemini all day
- 2025Gemini all day
- 2026Gemini from 00:37
- 2027Gemini from 06:18
- 2028Gemini all day
- 2029Gemini all day
- 2030Gemini all day
Calculated by Lunonis from the same ephemeris code as our charts (astronomy-engine, checked against Swiss Ephemeris): geocentric, tropical zodiac, true equinox of date. Times are UTC: add or subtract your time zone’s offset, which can move the change to the day before or after.
Your Moon sign depends on the year
The Sun is in the same place on May 21 every year; the Moon is not. It changes sign every two and a half days, so people who share this birthday can have any of the twelve Moon signs. Here is where it was on May 21 in recent years, from 00:00 to 23:59 UTC (an arrow means it changed sign during the day).
- 2017Pisces → Aries
- 2018Leo
- 2019Sagittarius → Capricorn
- 2020Taurus
- 2021Virgo
- 2022Aquarius
- 2023Gemini
- 2024Scorpio
- 2025Pisces
- 2026Cancer → Leo
Compatible signs for a Gemini
Sun-sign compatibility starts from the element. Gemini gets on most easily with its own element and with the two sextile signs, and feels the strongest pull from its opposite. The full charts decide how a real pairing feels.
A gift for a May 21 birthday
A day out with built-in variety: a market in the morning, a gallery after lunch and a good dinner, giving both earth and air something to enjoy.
Asked about May 21
What zodiac sign is May 21?
May 21 can be Taurus or Gemini. The Sun changed from Taurus to Gemini during this date in 78 of the 111 years from 1930 to 2040, so the answer depends on the birth year, time and place. The year-by-year list above shows when; a birth chart gives the exact answer.
Is May 21 a cusp birthday?
Yes. May 21 is one of the days the Sun leaves Taurus for Gemini. People call it the Taurus–Gemini cusp, but there is no blended sign: someone born before the change is Taurus, after it Gemini.
What decan is May 21?
May 21 falls in the 1st decan of Gemini. In the triplicity system we use, that decan belongs to Gemini and its ruler Mercury, which colours the Gemini Sun with a little of Gemini.
Your birthday is only the Sun
A May 21 birthday tells you where the Sun was. The Moon, the Rising sign and eight more planets each sit somewhere of their own, and they depend on the year, the hour and the place. The free calculator shows all of them.