Full Moon & New Moon — May 2026
May 2026 brings a full moon on May 1, a new moon on May 16 and a full moon on May 31. Exact times are US Eastern, computed from the Swiss Ephemeris, with the zodiac degree each moon falls at.
✦Reviewed by the CosmyDay Astrology TeamLast reviewed August 2026
Moon phases in May 2026
- ●Full Moon — May 1, 20261:23 PM ET · 11° Scorpio
- ○New Moon — May 16, 20264:01 PM ET · 25° Taurus
- ●Full Moon — May 31, 20264:45 AM ET · 9° Sagittarius
Times localized to US Eastern. Source: Swiss Ephemeris.
Full Moon in Scorpio — May 1, 2026
Exact at 1:23 PM ET · 11° Scorpio
What was left unsaid
A Scorpio full moon brings up the material you have been managing rather than facing — money entangled with someone else, an old betrayal, a want you have not admitted to out loud. Intensity is the point rather than the side effect. Whatever surfaces has been true for a long time; the moon only removes your ability to keep working around it.
More on this placement: Moon in Scorpio · Scorpio sign profile
New Moon in Taurus — May 16, 2026
Exact at 4:01 PM ET · 25° Taurus
Build something that lasts
A Taurus new moon sets intentions with weight: savings, a skill practised daily, a body treated as infrastructure rather than an afterthought. Nothing here moves quickly, and that is the design. Choose one thing you would be glad to still be doing in a year and make the first version small enough that the second version is inevitable.
More on this placement: Moon in Taurus · Taurus sign profile
Full Moon in Sagittarius — May 31, 2026
Exact at 4:45 AM ET · 9° Sagittarius
The belief stops fitting
Under a Sagittarius full moon a conviction you have been running on gets tested against something you actually saw. A plan, a faith, a story about where your life is going — it meets a fact that does not fit. Sagittarius wants to leap immediately to a bigger story. The more useful move is to sit with the misfit for a week and see what survives it.
More on this placement: Moon in Sagittarius · Sagittarius sign profile
What else the sky is doing in May 2026
- ◐Eclipses: none in May 2026 — see the next one
- ℞Retrograde: nothing from Mercury to Saturn is retrograde in May 2026 — retrograde calendar
- ☉Zodiac season: Gemini season begins May 20, 2026 — all season dates
How these dates were calculated
A new moon is the instant the Moon and Sun share the same ecliptic longitude; a full moon is the instant they sit exactly opposite. Both are single moments rather than nights, and both are computed here directly from the Swiss Ephemeris — the engine professional astrology software runs on — then localized to US Eastern Time. Nothing on this page is copied from another calendar.
The degree matters more than the phase. A full moon at 11° Scorpio activates whatever sits near that degree in your own chart, which is why one lunation flattens one person and passes another entirely. To find out which of your placements May 2026's moons touch, cast your free natal chart and compare the degrees, then read your monthly horoscope for the wider context.
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Frequently asked questions
When is the full moon in May 2026?
May 2026 carries two full moons: May 1, 2026 at 1:23 PM ET at 11° Scorpio and May 31, 2026 at 4:45 AM ET at 9° Sagittarius. The second is what most calendars call a blue moon.
When is the new moon in May 2026?
The May 2026 new moon is exact on May 16, 2026 at 4:01 PM ET, at 25° Taurus.
What sign is the full moon in May 2026?
Scorpio — exact at 11° Scorpio on May 1, 2026. A full moon always falls in the sign opposite the Sun, because the two stand exactly across the zodiac from each other at that moment.
Is there an eclipse in May 2026?
No — May 2026 has neither a solar nor a lunar eclipse. Eclipses arrive in pairs about every six months, when a new or full moon falls close enough to the lunar nodes for the shadow to line up.
Which planets are retrograde in May 2026?
None. No planet from Mercury to Saturn is retrograde at any point in May 2026.
Which time zone are these moon times in?
US Eastern. A new or full moon is one instant worldwide, so the local clock date can shift by a day elsewhere — the moment itself does not move.