Taurus – True Tarot Tales

Hey Toro! The Season of the Star Bull Taurus

This year the sun is in the sign of Taurus 19 April 2024 -20 May 2024. The dates for the sun signs can vary by a day or two from year to year for astronomical reasons.

The word ‘zodiac’ comes from the Greek meaning ‘circle of animals.’ The only zodiac sign that is non-representative of a living creature is Libra, the sign of the Scales. But in astronomy, even the Scales of Libra are borrowed from the stars of Scorpio and the claws of the giant scorpion in the heavens next door.

Taurus, from the Latin for Bull, is the second sign of the Western Tropical Zodiac and represents the height of spring in the northern hemisphere, ruled by the planet Venus and the goddess herself in all her verdant mythological glory. Venus rules Taurus by day, and the Moon, which is exalted in the sign of the Bull, rules Taurus by night.

Symbolic Associations

· Ruling planet: Venus

· Element: Earth

· Quality: Fixed (mid-season)

· Birthstone: Diamond (April) Emerald(May)

· Metal: copper

· Body: neck, throat, tonsils

· Homeopathic salt: Nat Sulph (Sodium sulphate) used for indigestion or at the onset of cold and flu symptoms

· Flower: the Daisy; innocence, sanctity

· Tree: the Apple Tree; happiness, immortality. Avalon, the resting place of King Arthur was the ‘isle of apples’

· Colours: pastel blue, green, pink

· Spheres of Influence: The Establishment, Church, universities, publishing, agriculture. Professions: Politics, Banking, Agriculture, Church, Government, Construction, Arts, Music/Dance, Entertainment, Beauty, Retail, Fashion, Restaurants

Astronomy

Taurus is a large and prominent constellation bordered by Aries to the west and Gemini to the east. It ranks 17^th in size of the 48 Greek constellations as recorded by Ptolemy in The Mathematics of the Heavens, the Almagest, written AD/CE 150.

The stars of Taurus depict the face, horns and forepart of the bull’s body. His face is made up of a triangular cluster of stars called The Hyades. There are no legs. The bull is imagined half-submerged like the mythical Bull from the Sea. A cluster of stars, The Pleiades, also known as The Seven Sisters, swarms like bees above him.

Aldebaran is Taurus the Bull's fiery eye — Via Earthsky

The best time to observe Taurus is December and January. By March and April, you might see it in the west in the twilight. To find Taurus first you need to find the three stars of Orion’s belt. This is very easy on a clear winter’s night. Now look up to the right, looking north- east, See that bright orange-red star? That’s Aldebaran, ‘The Follower,’ a red giant. Aldebaran is the biggest, brightest star in the constellation, the famous red eye of the Bull, glaring down towards the Hunter. Orion isn’t after the Bull. Orion is chasing the hare, Lepus. But the Bull doesn’t like him anyway.

Should the Bull ever escape his heavenly pen, said ancient Arabic legend, he would stampede the universe to pieces, and it would be the end of things for all time. Let’s hope nothing upsets him up there, and there are plenty of daisies and buttercups, and no flies or mosquitoes to bother him.

History and Mythology

Taurus has been recognized as a sky bull since at least the Early Bronze Age, when the figure of a bull was discerned in the stars by the Sumerians around 3000 BC, and was later recorded in cuneiform by the Babylonians.

In modern astrology Aries is the first sign of the western zodiac, ushering in the spring (vernal) equinox along with the culmination of the first lambing season. Aries was encoded as the first sign of the zodiac by Ptolemy. This remains the case symbolically, although the vernal point of the spring equinox is now technically occurring in the constellation of Pisces owing the wobble of the earth, and the effect known as the precession of the equinoxes. The invisible celestial point that represents the spring equinox changes roughly every two thousand years

4000 years ago, it was still happening in Taurus. For Babylonian astronomers Taurus was the first sign of the Zodiac, and the Bull was also the first sign for the early Hebrews, who called it Aleph, as in A, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

Why is Taurus celebrated in spring? Taurus coincides with the calving season. The bull, like its ancestors, the wild aurochs, is a potent symbol of strength and fertility. But where Leo the lion, represents wild strength, Taurus the bull is domesticated, controlled strength, just as the power of the oxen was harnessed for ploughing the fields. One of the archetypes associated with Taurus is ‘The Farmer.’

But the sheer animal power and potency of the bull has exerted a magical influence on the human imagination long before the dawn of agriculture. Paintings of aurochs, the wild ancestors of the modern bull, were discovered in the Lascaux caves in France in paintings, thought to date from 15000 BC/BCE. The most famous section of the Lascaux caves in the Dordogne in France is the Hall of the Bulls, featuring four black bulls, or aurochs. One of these bulls is 5.2 metres (17 feet) long, the largest animal so far seen in cave art.

It is thought that the aurochs migrated at this time of year; a dangerous but potentially highly rewarding hunting opportunity for sabre toothed tigers- and for human hunters. Not only did the aurochs provide the luxury of meat, but the horns,hide and sinews had many uses. Elsewhere, the physical remains of auroch have been discovered on Salisbury Plain near Stonehenge in the UK. Salisbury Plain was once a “lek” -a mass gathering site of the auroch on their annual migration route. These mighty stones were not raised simply on account of ancient ancestors or solar solstice alignments, but to honour the rich and ancient hunting grounds along this resting place on the migration route of the auroch.

a grassy field with rocks in it with Stonehenge in the background — Photo by Karen McKeogh on Unsplash

Hunting gave way to farming, guaranteeing vital survival supplies with less risk attached. The first evidence of the domestication of cattle, goats, sheep and pigs was found in the ‘Fertile Crescent;’ a region covering eastern Turkey, Iraq and south-western Iran from about 12000 years ago.

These farming practices spread westwards, and in time had a genetic effect on the human population, with the sudden appearance of a gene mutation that enabled humans to digest raw cow’s milk into adulthood. It’s not known when this first occurred, but it happened in Northern Europe, probably driven by the food challenges of longer colder winters. Today, an estimated 35 % of the adult human population can digest the milk sugar, lactose, mostly in Europe, while this is much lower in other countries and as many as 99% of Chinese people are lactose intolerant.

Bull Worship

The bull was considered a divine animal throughout antiquity; a symbol of the moon, fertility, rebirth, and royal power, while today, the Lithuanian word ‘taurus’ means ‘noble.’

There is evidence of bull cults throughout the Mediterranean starting in Anatolia, dating from at least 70000 BC. From the worship of the Apis bull in Egypt, to bull-leaping in Knossos and the sacrificial portrayal in Roman Mithraism, the bull has been an integral part of many diverse and important religious traditions. The High Priestess in the Tarot deck wears a two- horned or crescent moon crown with the full Moon in-between in token of Hathor, the cow goddess of Thebes (Egypt).

Smith Waite Tarot

Greek legend associated Taurus with the legend of Zeus and Europa, in which the god Zeus, up to his tricks yet again, disguised himself as a beautiful white bull, coaxed the princess Europa into climbing on his back, then swam away with her to Crete, and made her one of his mistresses, giving her the gift of a pet dog that later became the constellation Canis Major. Their children included Minos, King of Crete, the builder of the Labyrinth and the famous palace at Knossos where the bull games were held.

Bull worship; the concept of the bull as a divine concept, gradually migrated westwards and northwards. The Celtic druids held Tauric festivals at least 2000 years ago, and there is archaeological evidence of bull worship near Newcastle and York in northern England in the UK.

The Buddha was born when the Full Moon was in Taurus (Vesak.) The Buddha’s birthday is celebrated at the Vesak Festival which in 2024 will be celebrated on the day of the Full Moon May 23 based on the Vedic lunar calendar. Vesak day honours the day of the birth, the enlightenment, and the death of the Buddha and is considered a public holiday in South East Asia in countries including Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.

shallow focus photo of Gautama Buddha figurine — Photo by Eric Prouzet on Unsplash

The Taurus Archetype

All the zodiac signs represent archetypes, meaning something that is considered to be a perfect or typical example of a particular kind of person or thing. A zodiac sign paint a poetic portrait of a person born at a particular time of year, in a particular season. A baby born in summer in either hemisphere arrives into a different physical environment from a winter baby; differences of temperature, hours of daylight, maternal diet during pregnancy and so on, with potentially different effects on the baby’s physical makeup and constitution.

As a fixed sign, Taurus rules anything associated with the mid- zone of spring, the height of the season. The other fixed signs are Leo, mid-summer, Scorpio, mid-autumn and Aquarius, mid-winter. The fixed signs are traditionally considered the most stable and steadfast signs, rooted in their ruling element, protectors of the status quo, the signs in tune with ancient things, the guardians of conservation and protecting continuity.

Taurus rules the ears, neck and throat. Taurus is known for its particularly pleasant or distinctive voice. Taurus may seem slower to learn compared with say, a mercurial, quicksilver Gemini native. But their grasp is both intuitive and thorough, and they possess an excellent memory. Once learned, never forgotten.

Taurus has an equable, pleasant, even magnetic personality, always excepting the grumpy, taciturn, self-opinionated natives. Taurus is known for a quiet style of physical attractiveness. Ruled by the Moon and Venus, these are sensual people. This sign especially needs to watch they don’t overdo the whole comfort thing, over-eating and so on. Taurus is a singer and a dancer. They have natural rhythm, but while they are strong and they have good stamina, they are not known as sporty types. This beautiful model is wearing the colours of Taurus.

woman in green and purple floral dress — Photo by Chalo Garcia on Unsplash

Taurus won’t be pushed about. Many a bull has worn a ring through his nose for the safety of the farmer. Masters of passive resistance, notoriously resistant and stubborn, their strength and stability is the bright side of this same coin. Taurus has a gift of soothing and reassuring others, though, like a bull shaking off gadflies while chewing the cud, they can be irritable if you try to rush them, crowding them while their thoughts are elsewhere.

herd of brown and black bulls on brown sand — Photo by Kendall Ruth on Unsplash

Bulls cannot actually see the colour red. It’s the movement of the matador’s cape that provokes them in the bull ring, and not the colour. Taurus is slow to anger but rarely loses in a fair fight. The bull ring is not a fair fight. The bull is weakened by the picadors on horseback, injured before he meets the matador, who would have a far smaller chance of survival otherwise. Still, the matador requires superb courage to meet the mighty bull in an open space, and this is the chance for the bull to have his revenge for his death, a chance denied to other bulls who will go to the slaughter house.s

When the human bull ‘sees’ red they either dig in hard or else charge head on. Taurus in a full-on rage is a ‘bull in a china shop’ – the Earth sign that will withstand or demolish the opposition of the other more famous ‘fighting’ signs, Aries, Leo, and even the famously lethal Scorpio, its opposite number in the zodiac. Other people get a shock when Taurus suddenly turns and starts lowering their head and hoofing the turf. The mistake of the other person was in pushing the boundaries once too often, taking their good nature for granted.

If a Taurus is being unreasonable, or being a ‘bully,’ stay calm and quietly stand your ground. Do as you would be done by, and more often than not, the typical Taurus will respond in kind.

Thank you for reading. Back soon with the story of the Decans, Taurus in the Tarot and the weather in Taurus season 2024…

Freya’s Day, The Empress and a Waxing Moon in Taurus

The Queen of Coins, court card of Capricorn from The Touchstone Tarot.

Today is a waxing Taurus Moon, just greater than last night’s waxing half Moon. How apposite for a Friday, ruled in Mythology by the astrological ruler of Taurus; Venus/Freya/Ishtar/Hathor…fruitfulness, fertility, beauty, luxury …and money and finance.

“She’s looking good, for beauty we will pay…”- Kraftwerk

The Tarot card representing Friday is The Empress. When the world is ugly, still, there is always beauty, and where the ugliness is at its most terrible, the enduring beauty is in even the humblest, simplest acts of kindness, without which there is no fuel for the upkeep of courage…en -courage-ment. The Empress is Woman; The Mother, Gaia, Demeter- the earth beneath its crown of stars.

Taurus, the Bull of The Empress Gaia, and the ruler of today’s moon, can represent earth tectonics.

Taurus would much rather not charge, or smash up the china shop. He much prefers to be left to graze in peace. Chew the cud. Guard his cows. But he will do what it takes to guard his meadow, glaring down from the heavens with his giant red eye, the star Aldebaran, the eye of the Bull, at the constellation of Orion the Hunter.

Orion boasted that he could and would kill any creature on Earth. It was a boast that got him killed when Demeter sent a giant scorpion to deal with him for his hubris. And Taurus is having none of it either.

If you’re in the mid-northern latitudes, you’ll locate the mighty Orion in the southeast in the early evening, shining high in the south by mid-to-late evening. South of the equator, you’ll see Orion high in your northern sky around that same hour.

There was an old story in Arabic lore, that should Taurus ever break free of his pen in the skies, he would stampede the Universe to pieces. Taurus was to be feared. Totally. And sometimes gets a bad rap for supposedly being dull or docile or stubborn. But he is the very spirit of springtime in its full flowering, beloved of Venus, The Empress. The flowers in the picture are knit-bone which flowers in April and May where I live.

blue petaled flowers — Photo by Belinda Fewings on Unsplash

By Jove, by Jupiter!

Jupiter last night was glorious, stupendous, almost conjoining the moon in optimistic – or aggressive Aries, while today’s Moon in Taurus is trining Mars in Capricorn. AND Mercury in Capricorn is trining Jupiter in Taurus. An auspicious angle.

January Moon-Jupiter close approach views from 3 different cities - New York, Singapore and Sydney.

Source TimeandDate.Com

Today’s astrology is rather upbeat, perhaps surprisingly given the manifest problems in the world right now. But a waxing Moon in Taurus trine Mars in Capricorn. AND Mercury in Capricorn is trine Jupiter in Taurus? This is rather lively, bouncy, and money orientated, conjuring in my mind’s eye, an image of the Bull of Wall Street.

a statue of a bull on a brick street — Photo by fabio Spano on Unsplash

One looks at the card/s. One looks up the astrology and then one checks out the news pertaining to these signals, clues and signs. So now I look up the headlines for what is happening today on Wall Street, and how about this for real time synchronicity:-

“Stock Market Today: Wall Street Drifts Toward the Edge of Its All-Time High Set 2 Years Ago…”

Source: Associated Press

On a personal level, likewise, today’s transits are potentially excellent news for all manner of business and material matters; financial, and practical, but also pertaining to work, business and education. Again, this is a celestial booster for work prospects, projects for home improvements, educational prospects, or domestic matters that span these activities, to do with finding the right locale, school or university for us or for our children. Now in the UK is the time for applying for a place at university.

A note of caution

Venus in Sagittarius is square Neptune in Pisces, while I draw the Ace of Pentacles reversed, and the Knight of Cups. Today is a squirreling kind of a day, or a planning kind of a day. This is pro-active energy, so far, so good. But this is not a day to commit. Now is not the best time to sign a really big money contract. Chances are, because of that reversed Knight of Cups, amplified by today’s foggy Neptune in Pisces- we are not sufficiently fully in the picture. Don’t believe everything you hear, says this Knight of Cups when drawn with the Ace of Pentacles reversed. Don’t lend money to any new or unproven friend or admirer, or spend money on them, or automatically believe everything they tell us. Not until they have proven themselves trustworthy. Reality checks all round, even when it’s a harsh reality. At least that’s workable information.

Knight of Cups: Love Advice, Future Outcomes, Yes or No?

There is a feeling here of issues to do with digestion and hydration or UTI’s. This could be to do with overeating or correcting recent seasonal overeating…(thank you for that, Jupiter.) It could mean that those dealing with IBS or similar issues may need to eat more lightly today, or may require extra peppermint, or whatever is the go-to remedy.

Likewise, this is a day for not losing our cool…not blowing our top. Taurus was called by the ancient Greeks The Bull From the Sea, and they associated him with Poseidon the Earth Shaker, god of the sea…and of earthquakes. A waxing Moon in Taurus can suggest an increase in the next few days of seismic or tectonic activity. This is not to say there is any cause for alarm. The Pacific is merrily bubbling away, but then again, it always is.

a man standing in the water with a pole in his hand — Photo by Lance Reis on Unsplash

Thank you for reading. Farewell for another year to the sun sign of our Earth magic friend, Capricorn the Celestial Sea-goat. Back soon with a spotlight shining on Aquarius, Cosmic Water Carrier- The Cloud-Bearer.

Hey Toro, 2023, it’s Taurus time again

The dates for the zodiac signs can vary by a day or two. This year the Sun enters the sign of Taurus 20 April. And then we enter a mercury retrograde 21 April making this Bull season 2023 either more leisurely, or more fraught than usual.

The word ‘zodiac’ comes from the Greek meaning ‘circle of animals.’ The only zodiac sign that is non-representative of a living creature is Libra, the sign of the Scales, but in astronomy, even the Scales are borrowed from the stars of Scorpio, the claws of the giant scorpion in the heavens next door.

This was the time of the calving of the ancient wild cattle, the auroch. in the UK Salisbury Plain and the site of Stonehenge was once a lek-a mass gathering site- on their annual migration route. The remains of auroch have been discovered nearby at Blick Mead.

This extract from a blog “Forget about ancient ancestors, healing stones, solar solstice alignments and periglacial stripes. Stonehenge is where it is because it’s on an auroch migration route.”

No other zodiac sign has more ancient mythology or cult history attached to it than the ancient sign of The Bull, revered for its power and potency since it was hunted by early man before the first cattle were domesticated, about 10, 500 years ago in the Near East, the DNA evidence suggests, tracing a herd of an estimated 80 animals.

*Bison licking insect bite, carving on antler bone, discovered Dordogne, France, dated 1200 -20 000 years BP (before present)*

The Constellation

The star constellation of Taurus is visible between August and April. The best months to see it are December and January when it is visible all night long, looking up to the right above and beyond the three stars of Orion’s Belt. You will especially notice a bright reddish star, Aldebaran, the Eye of the Bull glaring down at Orion the Hunter. Should the Bull escape his pen, and break through the gate being guarded by the Seven Sisters (Pleiades) said ancient Arab legend, he would stampede the Universe to pieces. Let’s hope he has plenty of daisies and buttercups up there to keep him happy, and some cows, and no mosquitoes or horseflies to bother him.

The constellation of Taurus goes invisible in June and July, hidden for a while in the glare of the Sun.

Planetary Ruler in Astrology

The planetary ruler of Taurus is Venus, also known as Hesperus the Evening Star and Lucifer the Morning Star is the planet of love, beauty, luxury – and therefore also banking and finance.

Contrary to her popular reputation, as the supposed opposite of Mars, Venus too can be aggressive, and is not always peaceful, just as the Bull is largely peaceable, but is dangerous when disturbed or provoked.

On the subject of aggression, Taurus- LAND and agricultural exports? may prove to be the nemesis of Putin, a Libra native with a lot of Scorpio going on. Taurus and Scorpio are opposites.

What he is doing in Ukraine, apart from the horror, sorrow and devastation of it all, is upsetting the ‘order’ in Europe; political, economic and financial (think Bull markets) agricultural crop exports and otherwise. Taurus is all about order. This war may be neither lost or won as such, and yes, new orders will emerge, but this war seems fated, whatever the damage, whatever China’s covert support, ultimately to rebound not only on Europe, with a new axis shifting eastwards but on Russia and on Mr Putin himself. The signs are in the cards that he will be gone from power in Russia by or before the end of 2024.

Taurus is also especially subject to the Moon, although this influence is more commonly associated with Pisces and Cancer. Note the bull horns on the goddess of Ancient Egypt, Isis or Hathor, depicted in the Tarot as The High Priestess, and associated with Moon Day/Monday. The horns of the bull are often confused or conflated with the crescent moon.

The Taurus Archetype

All the zodiac signs represent archetypes, meaning something that is considered to be a perfect or typical example of a particular kind of person or thing.

A zodiac sign paint a poetic portrait of a person born at a particular time of year, in a particular season. A baby born in summer arrives into a different physical environment from a winter baby; differences of temperature, hours of daylight, maternal diet during pregnancy and so on, with potentially different effects on the baby’s physical makeup and constitution.

As a fixed sign, Taurus rules anything associated with the mid- zone of spring, the height of the season. The other fixed signs are Leo, midsummer, Scorpio, mid-autumn and Aquarius, midwinter.

The fixed signs are traditionally considered the most stable and steadfast signs, protectors of the status quo, the signs most at ease with ancient things, the guardians of conservation and protecting continuity.

Taurus rules the ears, neck and throat, and the Taurus native is known for their distinctive, usually smooth speaking voice and often has an excellent singing voice. Famous Taurus singes include Willie Nelson, James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, Barbra Streisand, Cher, Bono, Billy Joel, Olly Murs, Enya, Adele.

Taurus may seem slower to learn compared with say, a mercurial, quicksilver Gemini native. But their grasp is both intuitive and thorough, and they generally possess an excellent memory. Once learned, never forgotten is the Taurean way.

These people have a quietly pleasant and magnetic personality, except for the grumpier, taciturn, self-opinionated natives of the sign. Taurus is known for a quiet style of physical attractiveness, and they are sensual, sensory people. This sign especially needs to watch they don’t overdo the whole comfort thing, over-eating and so on. They usually like to dance and they have natural rhythm. They are strong and with good stamina, but they are not generally sporty types.

Taurus ‘wunt be druv.’ They are notoriously resistant and stubborn…their strength and stability is the bright side of this same coin. Taurus tends to be thoughtful of their friends, and can be relied on in times of difficulty for good advice and encouragement. Taurus is known for a particular magic of soothing and reassuring others, though, like a bull shaking off gadflies, they can be irritable if you try to rush them, getting in their space while their thoughts are elsewhere.

Taurus in the Tarot

The Tarot cards associated with Taurus are The Hierophant, The King of Pentacles (Coins, Disks) and the 5, 6 and 7 Pentacles, also called Disks or Coins -the money suit.

The Hierophant

Card Meanings: a man of authority, tradition ,the status quo, marriage, religion, the Church, Teachers, mentors, Universities, agriculture, money, finance, Banks, publishing, keys,

Every suit in the Tarot has its own court with a king and queen, a knight and a page. The principle Court card associated with Taurus is The King of Pentacles, ruler of the element of Earth.

The King of Pentacles (Disks or Coins)

Card Meanings: Earth, mature man, husband, father, grandfather, employer, practical man, capable, responsible, steadfast, determined, instinctive, landowner, banker, prosperity, farmer, builder, businessman, engineer, business owner, artist, singer, sensual, bon vivant

Lastly, the minor arcana cards associated with Taurus are the Five, Six and Seven of Pentacles, Disks or Coins.

These cards correlate with the decans of Taurus. If you don’t feel like you are a ‘typical’ Taurus, well, we are all unique, but perhaps you are also a second or third decan Taurus native, rather than a ‘most typical’ first decan Taurus.

What is a Decan?

The word ‘Decan’ comes from the Latin meaning ‘ten.’ Each zodiac sign lasts about 30 days and is further divided into three blocks of roughly 10 days each. These decans are the ‘thirty-six faces of astrology,’ bringing added depth and nuance to the psychological profile associated with your sun sign.

The Zodiac is the 360 degree belt of sky we can see from Earth, tracking the path of the sun across the sky over the course of the year. We call this pathway ‘the ecliptic.’

The Greeks divided this belt of sky into twelve sections of roughly 30 degrees each, using 12 for ease of arithmetic, and named these twelve sections after twelve of the constellations that can be seen crossing this imaginary pathway or belt. This gave us the names of the zodiac signs we know today.

Taurus is still Taurus, whatever the decan. This holds true for all the zodiac signs. But an early born Taurus is born under a more fiery different planetary influence than a more airy later born Taurus.

It’s all still Taurus, the same heavenly recipe, but with differing amounts of common ingredients.

21-30 First Decan Taurus (0-10 degrees)

Card Meanings: Upright: money does not buy happiness, fear of loneliness, poverty, unemployment, ill health. Reversed: misfortunes are overcome, matters improving.

This Taurean has Venus and Mercury in their horoscope and also a lot of leftover Aries fighting energy, so they can be the ‘raging bulls’ of the zodiac, with leadership qualities and a taste for power, more driven and less easy-going than the other Taurus decans.

These are patient but determined people with great vitality and will-power. They are eloquent speakers, natural communicators, and do well in teaching, broadcasting, public speaking, journalism, acting and entertainment.

This Taurus loves to learn and to test things out, figuring out how they work. They also adore their creature comforts, food, drink and all the rest of it. They tend to be green-fingered, interested in landscape and countryside pursuits, and are fond of animals who usually respond to them very well.

This Taurean likes to be boss but is generally a benevolent, generous person, affectionate in nature, though they know what they want and do not want, and they can be a stick in the mud. Statistically, Taurus is one of the most benign and least criminal signs, but every zodiac sign has its share of villains as well as heroes; and goodness gracious, Taurus is no exception.

Famous first decan Taurus: Leonardo Da Vinci, Queen Elizabeth II, Ulysses S Grant, Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hitler (Aries-Taurus cusp), Emperor Hirohito, David Icke, Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, Uma Thurman, Barbra Streisand, Penélope Cruz, Renée Zellweger, Daniel Day-Lewis, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson, Iggy Pop, Willem de Kooning

1-10 May Second Decan Taurus (10-20 degrees)

Card Meanings: gifts, community, generosity, charity, emergency aid, give and take, financial ups and downs, surplus and scarcity, historical buildings

Second decan Taurus is ruled by the secretive, psychic, domestic Moon and Mercury, planet of intellect and communication. A glamorous combination, in the magical sense, as well as the more usual sense of the word. These Taurus natives are studious, alert, perceptive and forceful with an unusually active mind. The drawbacks may be carelessness, forgetfulness or fickleness, picking up things or people, only to drop them again.

These people are socially gifted, natural psychologists, instinctively knowing how other people work and what makes them tick, plus they tend to be very good speakers, and they too, are known for their pleasant, or at least distinctive speaking voices.

On the negative side, such is their charisma, like a Pied Piper or Svengali-type figure, they may, if so disposed, lead others astray.

Taurus is usually a good cook. And they are warm and nurturing parents, but with the best intentions, the second decan Taurus in particular can worry, or become something of a fuss pot or control freak if they don’t rein in their managerial instincts. Taurus likes to keep their loved ones safe. But just as they hate to be penned in and told what to do, they need to remember, so do others.

Famous second decan Taurus: Catherine the Great, Karl Marx, Eva Peron Golda Meir (‘Iron Lady’ of Israel), Tony Blair, Oliver Cromwell, Sigmund Freud, William Lilly, Orson Wells, George Clooney, Rudolph Valentino, Joanna Lumley, Audrey Hepburn, David Beckham, Donatella Versace, Bono, Tammy Wynette, Johannes Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Robert Browning, J. M. Barrie (Peter Pan)

11-20 May Taurus Decan Three (20-30 degrees)

Card meanings: Upright: hard work, industry, perseverance, slow results, long term planning. Reversed: throwing good money after bad, disappointing results

Third decan Taurus is ruled by serious Saturn, the planet of Old Father Time himself. This Taurean native is responsible, dutiful, thoughtful, careful, patient and considerate. The power of this personality lies in the power of their stability, endurance and tenacity, making gains through thrift and careful investments.

This is Taurus at its most ambitious and hardworking. Saturn is the god of time, and is associated with boundaries, rules, and limitations. These people are cautious and stoic with great respect for authority. They may rebel against authority but they have a strong sense of fair play.

They are proud, independent & self-motivated. Not only do they succeed in politics & business, but many are skilled artists, creators & performers. The later natives of this decan are born close to the Taurus-Gemini cusp, suggestive of multi-tasking and travel.

Saturn is traditionally known as the great malefic and those born under this decan may also be prone to periods of depression, loneliness or melancholy. However broadly speaking, and even when this is the case, we are looking at a truly benevolent person with a magnanimous spirit and a sympathetic nature.

Famous Third Decan Taurus: Socrates, Che Guevara, Mark Zuckerberg, Ayatollah Khomeini, Idi Amin, Malcolm X, George Lucas, Sofia Coppola, Liberace, Stevie Wonder, Cher, Dame Nellie Melba, Pete Townshend, Brian Eno, Enya, Mike Oldfield, Cate Blanchett, Laurence Olivier, Katherine Hepburn, Dennis Hopper, Harvey Keitel, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Margot Fonteyn, Eric Satie, Florence Nightingale, Pope John Paul II

Happy Birthday, Taurus 2023!

This will be a year of monumental change for you, dear Taurus. Hold your nerve. Much of this is not within your control, but fortune favors your best and boldest endeavours thanks to Jupiter’s ingress into Taurus 16 May 2023- 25 May 2024. Jupiter is your best news this year, planet of luck and opportunity. Roll with the punches but be ready to seize your chances. Put that shoulder to the wheel, hoof that turf – and charge full steam ahead.

Change is coming. Not only is Uranus, planet of monumental change still in your sign all year. Some of this change will be seriously tough going. But no one is braver than the Bull. Be ready to respond but also, the Bull is unstoppable when he makes up to mind where he wants to go.

Get proactive while Jupiter is smiling on you.

*Painting by George Bellows, American painter, 1919*

Hey Toro! It’s Taurus time again

Taurus 19 April – 20 May 2022.

The dates for the zodiac signs can vary by a day or two. The Sun enters the sign of Taurus roughly 8 PM tonight, 19 April, Pacific time, and about 3 in the morning, 20 April, UK time.

Taurus (from the Latin for Bull) is a fixed earth sign; the second sign of the western zodiac, and represents the height of spring in the northern hemisphere in all its budding glory. This was the time of the calving of the ancient wild cattle, the auroch. It is thought that Salisbury Plain, and Stonehenge, was once a mass gathering site on their annual migration route. The remains of auroch have been discovered nearby at Blick Mead.

This extract from a blog about Stonehenge and the Ice Age. “Forget about ancient ancestors, healing stones, solar solstice alignments and periglacial stripes. Stonehenge is where it is because it’s on an aurochs migration route. The OU team that was involved in the latest investigations of the Mesolithic traces near Amesbury has been putting this press release out and about, and now it’s all over the internet…… some of the headlines are quite splendid. Aurochs-burgers, anybody?”

No other zodiac sign has more ancient mythology or cult history attached to it than the sign of The Bull, revered for its power and potency since it was hunted by early man, first as the wild ox, the mighty auroch, before the first cattle were domesticated, DNA evidence suggests, about 10, 500 years ago in the Near East, tracing a herd of an estimated 80 animals.

Stars, Planets, Omens

The planetary ruler of Taurus, Venus, also known as Hesperus the Evening Star and Lucifer the Morning Star is the planet of love, beauty, luxury – and therefore also banking and finance. Contrary to her popular reputation, as the supposed opposite of Mars, Venus too can be aggressive, and is not always peaceful, just as the Bull is largely peaceable, but is dangerous when disturbed or provoked..

Diverging for a moment on to the topic of aggression, the Tarot shows Taurus as the nemesis of Mr Putin. I do not think it means that the conflict will end before late May 2022. Unfortunately. But there are also Taurus-Scorpio eclipses coming in 2022.

Saturday, April 30: Partial Solar Eclipse in Taurus.

Monday, May 16: Total Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio.

Tuesday October 25: Partial Solar Eclipse in Scorpio.

Tuesday, November 8: Total Lunar Eclipse in Taurus.

Mr Putin is a Libra native with a lot of Scorpio going on. Taurus and Scorpio are opposites. what he is doing in Ukraine, apart from the horror, sorrow and devastation of it all, is upsetting the ‘order’ in Europe, political, economic financial (think Bull markets) agricultural crop exports and otherwise. Taurus is all about order. This war may be neither lost or won as such, and yes, new orders emerge, but this war seems fated, whatever the damage, to rebound on Russia and on Mr Putin himself.

The constellation is hidden in the glare of the Sun from May onwards and can’t be observed in June and July.

The Taurus Archetype

All the zodiac signs represent archetypes, meaning something that is considered to be a perfect or typical example of a particular kind of person or thing.

A zodiac sign paint a poetic portrait of a person born at a particular time of year, in a particular season. A baby born in summer arrives into a different physical environment from a winter baby; with differences of temperature, hours of daylight, maternal diet during pregnancy and so on, with potentially different effects on the baby’s physical makeup and constitution.

As a fixed sign, Taurus rules anything associated with the mid- zone of spring, the height of the season. The other fixed signs are Leo, midsummer, Scorpio, mid-autumn and Aquarius, midwinter.

The fixed signs are traditionally considered the most stable and steadfast signs, protectors of the status quo, the signs most at ease with conservation and protecting continuity.

The genius of Taurus,and sensual Aphrodite (Venus) and her corresponding Egyptian goddess Isis, like The High Priestess in the Tarot, is often represented as wearing two horns upon her head in imitation of the Bull; a symbol which is frequently confused or conflated with the crescent moon.

Taurus may seem slow to learn compared with say, a mercurial, quicksilver Gemini native, but their grasp is thorough, and they are also prone to flashes of intuition and inspiration and possess an excellent memory besides. Once learned, never forgotten is the Taurean way.

These people have a quietly pleasant and magnetic personality, except for the grumpier, taciturn, self-opinionated natives of the sign. Taurus is known for a quiet physical attractiveness, and they are sensual, sensory people. This sign especially needs to watch they don’t overdo the whole comfort thing, over-eating and so on. They usually like to dance and they have natural rhythm. They are strong with good stamina, but they are not overall the most sporty natives of the zodiac.

Taurus ‘wunt be druv.’ They are notoriously resistant and stubborn…their stability is the other side of this coin. Taurus tends to be thoughtful of their friends, and can be relied on in times of difficulty for good advice and encouragement. Taurus is known for a particular magic of soothing and reassuring others, but can be grumpy or irritable, like a bull shaking off gadflies, if you overload them with a lot of things at once, or get in their space while their thoughts are elsewhere.

Taurus in the Tarot

The Tarot cards associated with Taurus are The Hierophant, The King of Pentacles (Coins, Disks) and the 5, 6 and 7 Pentacles, also called Disks or Coins -the money suit.

The Hierophant

Card Meanings: a man of authority, tradition ,the status quo, marriage, religion, the Church, Teachers, mentors, Universities, agriculture, money, finance, Banks, publishing, keys,

Every suit in the Tarot has its own court with a king and queen, a knight and a page. The principle Court card associated with Taurus is The King of Pentacles, ruler of the element of Earth.

The King of Pentacles (Disks or Coins)

Lastly, the minor arcana cards associated with Taurus are the Five, Six and Seven of Pentacles, Disks or Coins.

What is a Decan?

The word ‘Decan’ comes from the Latin meaning ‘ten.’ Each zodiac sign lasts about 30 days and is further divided into three blocks of roughly10 days each. These decans or decanates are sometimes called the ‘thirty-six faces of astrology,’ bringing added depth and nuance to the psychological profile associated with your zodiac sign also known as your sun sign.

Background story– The Zodiac is the 360 degree belt of sky we can see from Earth, tracking the path of the sun across the sky over the course of the year. We call this pathway ‘the ecliptic.’

The Greeks divided this belt of sky into twelve sections of roughly 30 degrees each, using 12 for ease of arithmetic, and named these twelve sections after a chosen twelve of the constellations that can be seen crossing this imaginary pathway or belt. This gave us the names of the zodiac signs we know today.

Taurus is still Taurus, whatever the decan, and this holds true for all the zodiac signs. But an early born Taurus is born under a slightly different planetary influence than a later born Taurus.

It’s all still Taurus, the same heavenly recipe, but with differing amounts of common ingredients.

First Decan Taurus (0-10 degrees of the sign)

21-30 April

Card Meanings: Upright: money does not buy happiness, fear of loneliness, poverty, unemployment, ill health. Reversed: misfortunes are overcome, matters improving.

These are patient but determined people with great vitality and will-power. They are eloquent speakers, natural communicators, and do very well in teaching, broadcasting, public speaking, journalism, acting and entertainment.

This Taurean likes to be boss but is generally a benevolent, generous person, affectionate in nature, though they know what they want and do not want,and they can be a stick in the mud. Statistically, Taurus is one of the most benign and least criminal signs, but every zodiac sign has its share of villains as well as heroes; and goodness gracious, Taurus is certainly no exception.

Famous first decan Taurus: Leonardo Da Vinci, Queen Elizabeth II, Ulysses S Grant,Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hitler (Aries-Taurus cusp), Emperor Hirohito, David Icke, Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, Uma Thurman, Barbra Streisand, Penélope Cruz, Renée Zellweger, Daniel Day-Lewis, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson, Iggy Pop, Willem de Kooning,

Second Decan Taurus (10-20 degrees of the sign)

1-10 May

Card Meanings: gifts, community, generosity, charity, emergency aid, give and take, financial ups and downs, surplus and scarcity, historical buildings

Second decan Taurus is ruled by the secretive, psychic, domestic Moon and Mercury, planet of intellect and communication. This makes for a rather glamorous combination, in the magical sense as well as the more usual sense of the word. These Taurus natives are studious, alert, perceptive, and forceful with an unusually active mind. The drawbacks may be carelessness, forgetfulness or fickleness, or picking up things or people only to drop them again.

The Moon and Mercury is a combination of emotional intelligence and logical intelligence or communication skills. These people are socially gifted, natural psychologists, instinctively knowing how other people work and what makes them tick, plus they tend to be very good speakers, and they too, are known for their pleasant or at least distinctive speaking voices.

On the negative side, such is their charisma, like a Pied Piper or Svengali-type figure, they may, if so disposed, lead others astray.

Taurus in general is usually a good cook. And they are warm and nurturing parents, but with the best intentions, the second decan Taurus in particular can worry, or become something of a fuss pot or control freak if they don’t rein in their managerial instincts. Taurus likes to keep their loved ones safe but just as they hate to be penned in themselves, and told what to do, so of course do others.

Taurus Decan Three (20-30 degrees of the sign)

11-20 May

Card meanings: Upright: hard work, industry, perseverance, slow results, long term planning. Reversed: throwing good money after bad, disappointing results

This is Taurus at its most ambitious and hardworking. Saturn is the god of time, and astrologically, associated with boundaries, rules, and limitations. They are cautious and stoic with great respect for authority. Alternatively, they may rebel against authority but always constructively, using their organizational skills and strong sense of structure. These people can a strong sense of fair play. They can be quite political and may be ambitious to lead.

Saturn is traditionally known as the great malefic and those born under these decan may also be prone to periods of depression, loneliness or melancholy, but broadly speaking, even when this is the case, we are looking at a truly benevolent person with a magnanimous spirit and a sympathetic nature.

Happy Birthday, Taurus 2022!

This could be an unusually busy year socially, and a year of big strides or professional breakthroughs, if that is what you are aiming at. But if you are, then it could be make or break on a certain project. You had better mean business. Work on technical proficiency or new languages. Get that head down. Put that shoulder to the wheel, hoof that turf – and charge full steam ahead. Change is coming regardless. Be proactive.

Putin and Xi: a Tarot’s Eye View 19 -28 March

An esteemed astrologer friend Patrick Arundell messaged me this morning to say had I seen this article by John Varga via The Daily Express online?

Xi loses patience with Putin as China pulls plug on £380m deal in blow to Russian economy

The decision will come as a huge blow to the Russian President, who had been counting on Beijing’s assistance in overcoming Western sanctions. China’s president has up until now been a staunch supporter and key ally of the Russian strongman in his fight to take on the West. Prior to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the two leaders met in Beijing ahead of the Winter Olympics, where they reaffirmed their commitment to one another.

In a joint statement both Xi and Putin declared there were “no limits” between Moscow and Beijing.

However, there are signs that Beijing may be re-evaluating its relationship with Moscow.

China’s state-run Sinopec Group has pulled out of a $500million (£380million) deal to market Russian gas for Sibur in China due to fears of being targeted with sanctions.

One of Sibur’s directors and investors is Gennady Timchenko, a long-term ally of Putin.

Mr Timchenko has already been sanctioned by the West in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014…...

click to read more SOURCE

Patrick was following up on a conversation we had online a few days ago discussing an astrological chart he had posted, President Putin’s own natal chart.

Patrick is one of the few astrologers who publicly forecast the invasion in the days before it happened, while Putin was still assuring the world these were purely mass military exercises, and many very seasoned political commentators did not believe he would actually go ahead and do it. I didn’t either. I felt in January I had a bad feeling about 2022. I did not like this Jupiter in Pisces business one bit. I didn’t like that astrological vision of Jupiter expanding in a fathomless ocean, and I still don’t, and I wrote that I expected tsunamis and a number of other things besides. But Patrick expressed an explicit concern that Putin was about to attack Mariupol.

Patrick later tweeted Putin’s natal chart 25 February: commenting (Patrick has kindly given me permission to quote):

“Putin’s Mercury conjunct Neptune in the 12th and with Saturn close by, despite its exaltation in Libra, shameless cold detached lies. Classic smoke-n-mirrors. Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s PR’s Sun is exactly conjunct Putin’s Mercury”.

Here we are, only a few weeks later, so much destruction and death has happened since, sadly hideous beyond belief.

19 March I drew the card spread below asking to be shown “Putin’s thinking at this present moment in respect of the situation in Ukraine.”

Tweeted 23 March

Cards 19 March, see that 10 Swords central, then top far right, the 9 Swords. China bottom right, 9 Pentacles. Lovers. P(utin) gone too far to withdraw and pretend he is ready to settle for less but is constantly recalculating options (Lovers, Gemini) World reversed up ahead. Non completion.

Card meanings in summary:

Putin looking very unhappy (central 10 Swords)

Putin frustrated with slow progress re Mariupol and Kyiv (top card 8 Swords) He has to get that control of the sea of Azov (Queen of Cups reversed, at the bottom =seaside/port)and he has to have it by the summer (Queen of Cups = the zodiac sign of Cancer, late June-late July.)

Putin had a major decision coming up (strategy) Awkward choices (The Lovers means unequal or conflicted decisions and choices, not just romance.)

The least Putin might settle for (?) will be that Zelenskyy concedes the territory of the 2 republics of Donetsk and Luhansk (2 Pentacles)

Putin is having sleepless nights (9 Swords)

A decision or agreement may possibly materialize in Gemini time, late May- late June (Lovers again plus the 9 Swords can correlate with second decan Gemini.)

Putin frustrated with slow progress re Mariupol and Kyiv (top card 8 Swords- a city by the sea under siege.)

Putin wants this signed, sealed, done and dusted before the end of this year (3 Pentacles = job done + it correlates with Capricorn, December) The World card reversed shows the end of the year and suggests a task enterprise or cycle has that not been completed. On occasion, the World reversed can indicate a death, as in, someone leaves this world. ( Reminder: the focus here is on Putin individually, his own situation and surroundings.)

Putin is worried about China and money…that 8 of Pentacles card at the bottom right reflects a pressing concern or preoccupation.

Here is that same card again in close up.

You can see this is a money card, and the China connection is suggested by virtue of the artwork itself. Had I been using a different deck, I would not have drawn such an obviously relevant image, but that’s how it goes. I did choose this deck and not one of the several others I might have used instead. The lady, ‘China’, holds her hawk on her wrist. She controls the hawk of her own wild impulses. She is watchful, she keeps her house in order, she will delay gratification if need be. She has many beautiful things but she has known what it is to do without. China is playing it cool here.

As for the article, one supposes it is possible that £380 million is still only chickenfeed to President Putin.

But what if it is a straw on a changing wind now blowing in from Beijing?

China’s business heart: the city of Shanghai is now contending with a whole new and massive wave of covid with millions locked down again and oil prices falling within the last 9 hours at the time of writing..

Things are moving so fast.

What if we look at President Putin today?

Illuminati Tarot 28 March 2022

These cards suggest that Mr Putin is feeling less fraught than last time we looked but still, he is seriously not happy on a number of points.

Putin’s war could be in serious trouble by late October. The 5 of Cups is Scorpio 23 October-2 November. The Crowley meaning of the card is ‘Lord Of Loss in Pleasure’.

Closer in time The Four of Wands is showing me the Turkish government. Four = building/place of work/business/government. See the Crescent moon on top. I feel Putin is not pleased with Erdogan. Why not? Perhaps he thinks Erdogan is using him to try and cozy up with the West for his own gains.

The Nine of Wands reversed. This central card drawn upside down, means someone loses their nerve or strength, backs down or bottles out. Perhaps Putin feels that Turkey is trying to cozy up with the US at his expense?

Reminder: the reader doesn’t claim to know anything we don’t all know. This is an exercise with the Tarot, a demonstration of divination in modern usage, illustrating a process that readers generally don’t tend to discuss with non-readers.

The Chariot Reversed is the third card in the row. Card meanings: progress is slow, halted, lack of unity, problems of communication. Two horses not working as a team, loss of control.

The Charioteer here is Mr Putin himself. Not fully in control. He really does not like it. He fears a ‘car crash.’ This is likely purely metaphorical, but may also refer literally to tank regiments -or more.

What else?

We have The King of Pentacles drawn reversed. Taurus time is coming soon – this card is ruled by Taurus. It will likely bring even more money troubles for Putin. In addition, this card is President Xi himself….drawn upside down because ….Putin has had/will have some further bad news from that quarter?

See the card when it is drawn the right way up. China + Mr Moneybags.

Yes, this card is clearly meant to be saying Japan and this king looks Samurai and does not look remotely like President Xi personally, but the Tarot is doing its best and we can’t ask for everything. Notice he wears the horns of Taurus, the heavenly Bull, 20 April-20 May approx, and with a partial solar eclipse on Saturday 30 April. In astrology eclipses, even partial ones, are always, but always considered significant trigger points or turning points in world events, even if the consequences are a while coming. Taurus is at about 10 degrees in that forthcoming eclipse. (I was born 30 April at 9 degrees of Taurus. Oo-err, I had better beware of the bull.)

In practical terms it can mean big world banking woes for Putin in addition to whatever is happening with China.

What next for President Putin?

That last card on the right, the 5 Cups is about reckoning with losses, seeing what can still be achieved. recovered or retained. This figure has lost 3 precious cups, but 2 remain to him. Here is the hope that a ceasefire may happen soon, possibly in April soonest has been previously suggested by multiple appearances of the Queen of Wands (Aries season, 20 March-20 April)

President Putin still confidently expects to acquire the 2 breakaway republics, Donetsk and Luhansk – Mariupol too, once he has battered Ukraine and Zelenskyy into a frame of mind more amenable to his demands, but which is taking a whole lot of doing as they are defending their own, and there is no more powerful human motivation.

These are not predictions but are purely the Tarot’s impressions in respect of President Putin himself, as seen in the cards between 19 March and today, 28 March.

Dark days, troubled times. Every day in some corner of the world, someone’s crying in this ‘vale of tears’.

We are all walking the winding road. But spring is coming, and something good is never impossible. The best news indicated at this point in the cards, is the indication that this old-new former Russian territory state Ukraine, survives as an autonomous sovereign entity. The worst, well it is happening, and Putin may still get what he ought not to get- the Donbass -and all its potentially lucrative minerals.

Until next time.

Hey Toro, Heavenly Sky Bull Taurus. What’s the story behind the sign, and what does it mean in reality?

Common Associations

Dates: April 21-May 21. The cusp is April 19/20
Element: Fixed earth (mid spring) Quality: Feminine.
Ruling planet: Venus
Body: neck, throat, tonsils
Birthstone: Emerald
Metal: copper
Flower: the Daisy; innocence, sanctity
Tree: the Apple Tree; youth, beauty, happiness, immortality. Avalon, the resting place of King Arthur was the ‘Isle of Apples’
Colours: pastel blue, green, pink, lemon yellow
Famous for: physical strength/ stamina, stubbornness, caution, practicality, honesty, money sense, oratory/ demagogy, sensuality, gourmet/gourmand, pleasant speaking voice, singing/design/other artistic ability, green fingers
Professions: Politics, Banking, (also think Bull markets) Agriculture, Construction, Arts, Publishing, Musician, Entertainment, Beauty, Fashion, Restaurants
Tarot cards: The Hierophant- Tradition, Orthodoxy, Received wisdom, Academia, Medicine, a teacher or mentor.
Minor Arcana cards: the Five, Six and Seven of Pentacles/Coins/Disks.

Astronomy

Taurus (Latin for Bull) is a large and prominent constellation between Aries to the west and Gemini to the east. It ranks 17^th in size of the 48 Greek constellations recorded by Ptolemy in his introduction to the Mathematics of the Heavens, the Almagest, written AD 150.

The stars of Taurus depict the face, horns and forepart of the bull’s body. His face is made up of a triangular cluster of stars called The Hyades. There are no legs, the Bull is imagined half submerged. He is the mythical Bull from the Sea. A second cluster of stars, The Pleiades, also known as The Seven Sisters, swarm like bees above his back.

The best time to see Taurus is during December and January. By March and April, you might see it in the west in the twilight.

To find Taurus first you need to find the three stars of Orion’s belt, happily, one of the easiest things to see on a clear winter’s night.

Now look up to the right, looking north-east, See a bright orange-red star? That’s Aldebaran, ‘The Follower,’ a red giant, the biggest, brightest star in the constellation, the Eye of the Bull, glaring in the direction of Orion.

Should the Bull escape his heavenly pen, said an ancient Arabic legend, he would stampede the universe to pieces, and it would be the end of things for all time. We had better hope hope nothing upsets him up there in the celestial meadows. Let’s hope he’s got plenty of buttercups and clover up there to keep him happy, and he doesn’t get bitten by horseflies.

A truly freaky factoid ….” in about two million years, the NASA space probe Pioneer 10, now heading out into deep space, will pass Aldebaran.” SOURCE

If that isn’t enough to make one need a quiet lie-down with a cold flannel on one’s head, I don’t know what is.

*Wiki Commons: the horns, face and the giant red star, Aldebaran, the Eye of the Bull, glaring menacingly in the direction of Orion the Hunter*

Ancient History

Carving of a Bison, France, thought to be 15000-20000 years old

I am suspicious of that bison. It looks as though it has a ring in its nose.

Taurus has been recognized as a sky bull since at least the Early Bronze Age. Historians think the figure of a bull was first discerned in the stars by the Sumerians around 3000 BC, and was recorded in cuneiform by the Babylonians.

In modern Western (Tropical) astrology Aries The Ram is counted the first sign of the western zodiac, ushering in the spring (vernal) equinox along with the first lambs.

But 4000 years ago it was Taurus, not Aries that coincided with the vernal equinox. The reason this is no longer the case is due to the wobble of the Earth and an effect called the precession of the equinoxes.

Taurus overhead marked the start of the calving season. and for Babylonian astronomers Taurus was the first sign of the Zodiac, ‘the Bull in front,’- leading from the front. The Bull was also the first sign for the early Hebrews, who called it Aleph, as in A, the first letter of the alphabet.

The bull, like its ancestor, the wild auroch, is a potent symbol of strength and fertility, especially masculine virility, but where Leo the lion, represents wild strength, Taurus the bull is domesticated, controlled strength, as harnessed in oxen or a bull with a ring through his nose.

The dairy bulls, breeds such as the Charolais for instance, are famously aggressive where the black bulls used in bull-fighting are by comparison, more easygoing.

Before agriculture, we hunted beef in the shape of the auroch. Aurochs, the fiercer, wild ancestors of the modern bull, were painted in the Lascaux caves in France, in paintings thought to date from 15000 BC.

The most famous section of the Lascaux caves in the Dordogne in France is the Hall of the Bulls, featuring four black bulls, or aurochs. One of the bulls is 5.2 metres (17 ft) long, the largest animal discovered so far in cave art.

This was the time of year of the great migrations of the aurochs; a dangerous but potentially highly rewarding hunting opportunity. Not only did the aurochs provide the luxury of meat, but the horns and hide had many uses.

In the UK it is thought that Salisbury plain was a Lek -a mating ground of the auroch, and this is part of the story behind the building of Stonehenge on this site. They massed here, protected from the ambush of the sabre- toothed tiger by its huge wide open views.

Then hunting gave way to farming of animals, guaranteeing supplies with less risk attached. The first ever cattle, goats, sheep, and pig- farming began in the so-called ‘Fertile Crescent;’ a region covering eastern Turkey, Iraq, and south-western Iran about 12000 years ago.

Taurus glares at Orion The Hunter, but then we stopped being hunters and became farmers, and no-one works harder than a farmer, and many care deeply for their animals too, but where is his legend in the skies?

These farming practices spread westwards, and in time had a genetic effect on the human population, with the sudden appearance of a gene mutation that enabled humans to digest raw cow’s milk. It’s not known when this first occurred, but it probably first happened in colder Northern Europe, and today 35 % of the global human population can digest the milk sugar, lactose, as adults.

Click on this link for more on this subject.

The Cults of the Bull

The bull was considered a divine animal throughout antiquity and was a symbol of the moon, fertility, rebirth, and royal power, while today, the Lithuanian word ‘taurus’ means ‘noble.’

The Egyptian goddess Hathor goddess of mothers, was the equivalent of the Greek Aphrodite (not Demeter) and had the ears and horns of a cow, the original Holy or Sacred Cow.

Demeter Vindemiatrix is Virgo, but Aphrodite Venus is Taurus.

Greek legend associated Taurus with the legend of Zeus and Europa, in which the god Zeus, up to his sneaky tricks yet again, disguised himself as a beautiful, gentle white bull, coaxed the princess Europa into climbing on his back, then abducted her, swam away with her to Crete, and made her one of his mistresses. The many gifts Zeus gave Europa included a pet dog that later became the constellation Canis Major. Their children supposedly included Minos, King of Crete, the builder of the Labyrinth and the famous palace at Knossos where the bull games were held.

Bull worship, or rather, the concept of the bull as divine gradually migrated ever westwards and northwards. The Celtic druids held Tauric festivals at least 2000 years ago, and there is archaeological evidence of bull worship near Newcastle and York in the UK.

The Buddha was born when the Full Moon was in Taurus (Vesak) and his birthday is celebrated at the Vesak Festival which occurs on the first Full Moon in Taurus.

That is a very Taurus face.

Beware of the Bull

Like the Bull himself, the classic Taurus subject, male or female, is generally peaceable, pleasant, even placid. But Taurus will not be disrespected, pushed or driven. Other people can get a shock when Taurus suddenly sees red …they seemed so laid back before ….and they don’t give a lot of warning. The mistake of the other person was in underestimating them, mistaking their good nature for weakness or stupidity once too often.

Bulls cannot physically see red. It is the movement of the toreador’s cape that provokes them, and not the colour. But when the human bull ‘sees’ red, they will either dig in hard, or may charge head on. Taurus in a full-on rage is a ‘bull in a china shop’ – the one Earth sign that will withstand or demolish the opposition of the other more famous ‘fighting’ signs, Aries, Leo, and even Scorpio, its opposite number in the zodiac.

Taurus really, really doesn’t like to fight but won’t be pushed, and doesn’t lose in a fair fight. The bull ring is not a fair fight; nor is the abattoir, that’s the tragedy of the Bull, to be brought low by his physical inferiors.

But if a Taurus is being a naughty bull; unreasonable, misbehaving, or being a ‘bully’ then quietly stand your ground. It should pass. Taurus may sulk but as a rule is not vindictive.

But why upset the Bull? Look at him, quietly grazing. He’s really not looking for trouble.

Uranus in Taurus, March 2019-July 2025

The futurist planet Uranus‘The Great Awakener’- is currently in Taurus and has been there since March 2019 .

And there it will stay, sometimes direct, sometimes retrograde until April 2026.

2021 is less tough than 2021 in some ways, and Jupiter is going to lighten and ease things here and there. But it’s still tough. On a global scale this pandemic seems likely to continue into the early months of 2022 but with more, longer easing off periods in-between.

The last time Uranus was in Taurus was 1934 to 1941. Uranus was in Aries when the stock market crashed in 1929, but the aftermath of this event was felt for years after, first the Great Depression then WW2 broke out in 1939. The UK government introduced food rationing January 1940 – remembering here that Taurus rules agriculture and food production.

This transit saw a rise in women joining the workforce- a necessity with the men away at war—Taurus ruled by Venus is a feminine sign. My grandmother left her job in schools, where she taught biology, and worked in a factory by day and with the ambulance service by night. My mother, born in 1939, was largely cared for by her grandmother while her mother was out working. She barely saw her mother, and far less of her father until she was six and he returned home from naval service at the end of the war, to his civilian job as a museum curator. He was a naturalist, an ornithologist, and a Taurus subject, though not what you’d call a people person. Still, he knew a lot, did a lot, created new exhibitions and new educational opportunities for school children, and this was The Taurean Hierophant at work, sure enough.

A story of the war/post-war generation, but why mention it? Uranus in Taurus is the reason why, a transit in common. This was a point in history with profoundly far reaching consequences. Such patterns of history do not necessarily repeat, or not in the same ways. Uranus in Taurus is not sinister. None of this is to suggest there will be another world war, unless it’s a trade war.

We are not seeing food shortages. But we are being asked to ‘ration’ or do without many things we are used to, or have come to expect as our natural rights. For some this might mean things like overseas holidays, but right now all the signs are– no need for any psychic to say this- that stay-cations are still the safest booking options this summer.

Uranus in Taurus, as we have seen historically, may bring big social changes between now and April 2026, and these may include changes for the better; more sustainable practices in economics, trade and agriculture. The fast food industry, for instance, is relatively new and recent but has with remarkable speed become an everyday way of eating for many people, especially young people who don’t remember a time when it wasn’t there. But Uranus in Taurus suggests the enormous fast food industry is likely to prove non-sustainable maintained on anything like its current scale. The Hierophant = Taurus =Bull = money + meat (think beef-burger)

There is no cause for alarm based on Uranus in Taurus, but there are collective changes, challenges, discomfort and upheaval because Taurus (The Hierophant) is about material basics and creature comforts while Uranus (planet of rebellion) upsets apple carts.

My cards suggest we will somehow avoid a second Great Depression, post-pandemic. But it’s a futurist symbol, Uranus, and signifies new technology as a means of solving problems, and this may bring added social unrest, as with the Luddites, textile workers, followers of a mysterious character called Ned Ludd during the English Industrial revolution.

These men risked, and indeed some suffered, hanging or transportation, smashing the machines that threatened to take away not only their jobs, but actually, their whole way of life. New ways that forced them and their children into a harsh new environment outside the home. That put them on a clock, that cared nothing for their humanity, for their pride, skill, and need to see, or at least share in the story of a job seen through from start to finish. That cared nothing at the start, for their comfort or well-being, or even for their safety. The ‘dark satanic mills’. There are graves of the orphans who worked in them, in towns in West Yorkshire. People laugh at them nowadays, the Luddites, ha ha ha, wretched technophobes, but is it wise to laugh?

Taurus is an artisan.

Facing tempests of dust

I’ll fight on till the end

Creatures of my dreams, raise up and dance with me

Now and forever, I’m your king

– Outro, Cloud Atlas

A Bull dreams of a meadow. Such is the nature of a bull. No heaven more perfect.

Pandemics run their course, adding their coda to the make-up of the human immune system. ‘Hope springs eternal’, and for many, the Tarot sees new opportunities and good times in the high spring of May. But nature will have its way, in its cruelty and its kindness.

Other months are as beautiful, but what month is more beautiful than May?

“May, more than any other month of the year, wants us to feel most alive.”
– Fennel Hudson, A Meaningful Life – Fennel’s Journal – No. 1

“Keep your faith in all beautiful things; in the sun when it is hidden, in the Spring when it is gone.” – Roy Rolfe Gilson, American author, 1875-1933