♉︎ Sun at ~26° Taurus · third decan · Saturn

May 17 zodiac sign: Taurus, third decan

If you were born on May 17, your sign is Taurus, the earth sign ruled by Venus: the Sun is in Taurus on this date in every year from 1980 to 2030. The Sun sits about 26° into Taurus on this date, in the third decan, where Taurus's core takes on a Saturn flavour. Here's what the date fixes, and what only your birth time can tell you.

Your sign: Taurus

The fixed earth sign that builds slowly, holds firmly, and refuses to be hurried.

A Taurus Sun makes your identity around steadiness, sensuality, and the long game. You build slowly — and that's a feature, not a bug. While faster signs sprint and burn out, you're still walking, still showing up, and twenty years later you have something built. Comfort matters to you in a way that surprises people who think comfort is shallow: a good meal, a familiar bed, a body that feels at home in itself. You don't apologise for any of it.

The date fixes the Sun; the hour fixes the rest. A Taurus born May 17 around sunset has Scorpio rising, and a different first impression from one born at dawn. Your rising sign needs the birth time; the twelve Taurus Sun combinations show what each one changes.

Taurus dates, traits & compatibility → · What a Taurus birth chart looks like →

In the US (2000–2014), an average of 11,418 babies were born on each May 17, rank 163 of 366 dates; Taurus is number 6 of 12 signs (8.29%). What's the most common zodiac sign?

The Moon on May 17, 1980–2030

Across the 51 years from 1980 to 2030, the Moon at noon UTC on May 17 was most often in Cancer (7 years) and least often in Leo (2 years). Unlike the Sun, the Moon sign depends on the birth year. On May 17, 2026, the Moon moves from Taurus into Gemini at 02:23 UTC.

In 22 of those 51 years (43%) the Moon changed sign during May 17 itself, so in those years the birth time decides the Moon as well as the rising sign. Cells with an arrow mark them, with the UTC time of the change. The Moon was exactly full on May 17 in 2011 and 2030, and new in 1996.

Find your birth year. One sign means the Moon spent the whole UTC day there; an arrow means it changed sign that day, at the UTC time shown: born before it, the first sign; after it, the second. The Moon sign calculator settles it in seconds; your birth chart adds the rising sign and houses.

Times in UTC: a birth late in the evening in the Americas, or early in the morning in Asia, can fall on the neighbouring UTC date.

May 2026: full moon May 1, 2026, Scorpio / May 31, 2026, Sagittarius · new moon May 16, 2026, Taurus.

Your decan: the third decan of Taurus

Each sign is divided into three 10° decans, and each decan has a sub-ruler that shades the sign's core. Degrees 20–30 of Taurus belong to Saturn: where you face limitation and, through facing it, build mastery. Read it as Taurus with a Saturn accent — the earth core is unchanged, the emphasis moves.

Decan tarot card · Golden Dawn attribution

Seven of Pentacles

Patience · Assessment · Long-term reward. The card assigned to this ten-degree slice of the zodiac — a birthday card in the same sense a sun sign is a birthday sign: one lens on the date, not a verdict.

Read the Seven of Pentacles in full on My Day Check →

All the tarot cards for May 17: decan, sign, ruling planet and year card →

What the date can't tell you

The Sun is one placement out of ten. Your Moon sign changes every two to three days, so Taureans born on May 17 in different years have different Moons; your rising sign changes every two hours and needs a birth time and place. Those two carry most of what people mean by "personality" in a chart.

Born May 17? Add your year, time and place

Your Moon and rising depend on the year and hour. Computed here in a few seconds — then your full chart with a preview of its reading, no sign-up.

Or browse the twelve possibilities: Taurus Sun with each Moon → · just my Moon sign · how the free birth chart calculator works

Classic matches for a May 17 birthday

By sun sign, Taurus pairs most easily with Virgo, Capricorn, Cancer, Pisces. Sun-sign compatibility is the coarse layer; the couple reading compares both full charts.

Common questions

What zodiac sign is May 17?

May 17 is Taurus, the fixed earth sign ruled by Venus. The Sun sits at roughly 26° Taurus on this date, in the third decan.

What decan is May 17?

The third decan of Taurus (20°–30°), sub-ruled by Saturn. Decans divide each sign into three 10° slices; the sub-ruler adds a second flavour to the sign's core — here where you face limitation and, through facing it, build mastery.

What tarot card is May 17?

In the Golden Dawn system each decan has a minor arcana card: for the third decan of Taurus it is the Seven of Pentacles (patience, assessment, long-term reward). It's a birthday card in the same way a sun sign is — one lens, not a verdict.

What Moon sign is someone born on May 17?

It depends on the year, and in 43% of years on the hour too. For example: in 1980, Gemini or Cancer; in 1990, Aquarius; in 2000, Scorpio; in 2010, Cancer; in 2020, Pisces or Aries. Over 1980–2030 the Moon on May 17 was most often in Cancer. A birth time and place pin it down.

Does everyone born on May 17 have the same chart?

No. They share the Sun in Taurus, but the Moon changes sign every two to three days, the rising sign every two hours, and the outer planets by year. Two people born May 17 in different years can have almost nothing else in common in their charts.