TAURUS

The push for life ignited in the Aries cycle has become the quest for nourishment in the Taurus cycle. The roots must grow strong and steady as we enter the second phase of spring, the Taurus Phase. Taurus is an earth sign meaning that it brings its focus to the physical world. Those born under the sign of Taurus touch, feel, and sense the world surrounding them and never lose the focus of their needs. The symbol for Taurus is the bull and the Latin word for bull is Taurus.

A great myth once told of the king who persuaded the God, Poseidon, to lend him a bull of such beauty that he could show the world of his great wealth. The God complied only to find that the king could not let go of this possession once it was time to do so. So desperately did the king want the bull that he tried to paint another one as a substitute to give Poseidon. The angered Poseidon, cursed the king by placing a spell on his wife so that she was uncontrollably desirous of the bull. She commands that her staff build her a device that would allow her to have intercourse with the bull and ultimately sleeps with it and gives birth to a vicious centaur.

Within this myth is a tale that describes many of the Taurean motivations the most obvious being their obsession with the material world. They are often driven by an unconscious desire to possess material things because they tend associate safety with acquisition. This desire for possessions is sometimes so overwhelming that the Taurus native will risk financial ruin to fulfill their desire. Whatever material or physical possession they choose nothing can easily convince them to "unhook" from their seemingly insatiable need to have.

You may find a few Taurus natives who don't appear like the acquiring types or who profess to be without desire for anything but if you look a little closer, their issue will be about safety through minimalism so they have simply replaced the Taurus fixation "to have" with "to not have"; same force, same fixation only different goal. Acquisition can be anything. Whether it is Love, Money, a Person, a Car, most of us have things we desire but Taurus is likely to place extreme importance on these things to the point of obsession. Ironically, they are seeking the very thing that they represent, solid-state security, the very nature of Fixed Earth.

Taurus's are tuned into their bodies more than any other sign of the Zodiac. Every cell in them tells a story and they can usually hear it quite well. Their bodies are instruments with 5 turned on senses that guide them, like sonar. For example, you can present a perfectly logical scenario to a Taurus in an attempt to explain why they should or should not do something but until it registers in their body, their sonar, they cannot take action. They must have time to "feel" the physical reality of the situation. That's where they get their "bull headed" reputation; to us it looks like they are stalling or scared when in reality they are simply letting the idea take root and the harder you push a Taurus, the longer they need to root. If you are trying to change the mind of a Taurus simply present your idea and expect an immediate "NO!" Then let them sit with your request for a while without pressure and they'll come to you with a more honest answer; one that has had time to root. Once the gentle bull gets time to sort it through his or her body they can offer clarity on most anything; you just can't have an attachment to the time frame, there is a phrase in the astrological community called "Taurus Time". When a Taurus isn't listening to their inner clock it seems that they create havoc in the form of lots of "bad luck." It's just a reminder that if they act without "checking in" first there will be heavy penalties!

This sign rules the throat and neck and brings understanding to the elongated necks of Cher and Audrey Hepburn, and the Voices of Barbra Streisand and Katherine Hepburn. The elegance of Venus (their planetary ruler) is also the gift to the Taurus who has a knack for making you feel like a million dollars or, if you anger them, making you feel like dirt (they are after all, an Earth sign). They want desperately to be appreciated and light up like a moth to a flame when gently touched or genuinely flattered.

Taurus individuals are unusually strong and enjoy pampering their bodies. In fact, a sick Taurus is an unhappy bull as they count on their bodies much the way most of us count on our minds. Because of their close association with the element of earth and the stability of fixed energy this is the sign that can build anything they desire but the operative word here is "desire". Without desire igniting their fuse they quickly turn into an unmoving mass similar to the couch potato archetype. Speaking of unmovable, there is rarely an alarm clock loud enough to coax a sleeping bull from the bed. Sleep is the ultimate comfort and one they don't easily give up and speaking of "giving up"; Taurus rarely lets go of anything once it has been acquired. A possession represents the security that they need and it is rarely unloaded, even if it has served it's original purpose and sits in storage.

If they aren't connoisseurs in the kitchen they will still have strong opinions about food. Remember, they are right in the middle of the word "ResTAURAnt." Many of the finest chefs in the world are Taurus natives or have strong Taurus placements in their chart. The body type of the Taurus native is usually strong, with a large bone structure but every now and then you meet a Taurus who is fragile and weak. That is a key that this bull has not accepted their natural inclination towards the body as a guide but has turned to the mind for support. This is usually a survival response from childhood. An over talkative Taurus has learned somewhere that it's better to be active than receptive and takes a more difficult route to their happiness but can get there nevertheless.

Mark Steven Husson