For many years, while visiting our daughter and her family in Ireland, I would take a daily walk on Killiney Hill in what some call the equivalent of the Riviera.
Taurus, like every other sign, embodies different styles and qualities of relating. There is no ‘one size fits all’ with this sign either, though it is often described in highly stereotyped ways as being solid, earthy, sensual, practical, stubborn, and bull-headed. Well, yes, many characteristics of the element Earth are strongly formed in this first of the three Earth signs, Taurus. There are nuances, however, to every individual Taurus and it’s best to factor in those qualities when looking to relate to anyone of Sun, Moon, Ascendant, and/or personal planets in this sign.
These are often beautiful people. Look at the roster of famous entertainers who fit that bill: Audrey Hepburn, Kathryn Hepburn, David Beckman, George Clooney, Jessica Alba, Pierce Brosnan, Penelope Cruz, Kirsten Dunst, Linda Evangelista, Cher, Gary Cooper, Bianca Jagger, Al Pacino, Eva Peron, and on and on. The Taurus type does appreciate the body and being in it, so let’s say they ‘celebrate the body’ and how it looks and what it can do.
What are some of the other attributes that Taurus will bring to the dance of relationship? Rather than just enumerate these I’ll try to illustrate from my own life. If we were all sitting in a circle discussing this, it would be so interesting to hear your own stories of ‘life with a Taurus’.
I lived with a Taurus room-mate for a couple of years. We were both in our early 20s needing to bunch up to survive the high rents in a large city. She was a beautiful and sexy flight attendant who traveled a great deal. I was a struggling single Mom with two small children to take care of. She did have affection for them but also tolerated them amazingly well in spite of the fact that she would come in after a long flight dead tired. On the other hand, she didn’t put up with a lot of nonsense either. She would say what she wanted to without fanfare; not exactly like a Sagittarian, but very matter-of-factly. I saw her as extremely grounded and reliable. My first room-mate had been a Gemini and she was good socially with the children but definitely not reliable in terms of all the nefarious characters she brought into our apartment. My Taurus roommate kept her private life just that—-separate. She had a wild side just as I did—-we were young adults in the big city —-but that never interfered with her work. Never.
She also knew how to deal with the real world. Such a great quality to have! She studied the laws and knew her rights, and she fought hard for them. I was always in admiration of this quality in her. She stood up to the corporate world many times and always won. Later we moved to a large home in Marin where the good life beckoned. Before moving out we had an altercation with our landlady who was basically trying to get out of paying us back our deposit. What did my Taurus roommate do but say, “Let’s take her to small claims court.” We did, and we won! Do you see what I’m getting at here? This young woman had determination combined with her savvy understanding of how the world works to get what she needed from it. It was a quality that I wasn’t that good at, being a Pisces. I learned a lot from her. She went on to buy her own home and has been there ever since where she surrounds herself with beauty and art, of course. That doesn’t mean that she hasn’t had her adventures. She’s not what you would call simple. I really want to make this point clear. Taurus people are not necessarily boring and pedestrian. She would go to places like Katmandu and got her nose pierced long before anyone else had heard of such things. She’d travel to Guatemala and come back in braids laced with ribbons dressed in a weipiel. Of course I’m talking about someone with Taurus Sun in the 9th house! So you have to factor in a lot of variables. There are certain archetypal themes, but endless variations on those themes for each sign.
Another thing I’d like to say about having her as a Taurus daughter is that she was easy. She required virtually no discipline and she was truly the reliable big sister to her young siblings whom she became chief babysitter for when I needed her. She made mothering virtually care free for me!
I know I’m describing many of the fine qualities that have endeared Taurus people to me, but what about that ‘shadow side’? Every sign has it. One member of our extended family has stubbornly refused to communicate for years. This person simply stopped abruptly all contact and won’t discuss it nor respond to all the overtures and even pleas towards resolving the long hiatus. This means there is no possibility for closure. This type of stonewalling to the death is what creates huge long-term rifts in families, and is terribly damaging for generations to come. You can see this on a more collective scale in countries as well. Israel’s Taurus government would be a good example of such locked in qualities of no compromise; fixed, stubborn, and bull-headed. Shadow stuff indeed. (There’s a good article in THE MOUNTAIN ASTROLOGER, Dec/Jan 2006/2007 issue entitled Under Dark Stars, The War Between Israel and Hezbollah by Bernhard Bergbauer). I don’t have time in an article of this nature to look at the wider collective issues that embroil an entire nation in conflicts, but it is worth noting that astrology can lend much light on the nature of these just by studying the inception charts of nations.
What is it about a sign that can be so tender, gentle, and affectionate becoming stone cold and seemingly heartless? Remember, Taurus is fixed earth. This is a power sign. Earth without fire is cold. It might be better to see the bull of rage, because that will at least release the fire and perhaps shift the stone-walling. A healthy release of anger can be beneficial rather than staying locked into age-long feuds where no one wins. This black and white quality of the sign keeps them forever right in their fixity while projecting onto the other all the wrongs. Our human population is now full of this type of dogmatic narrow-mindedness and over possessiveness regarding ‘this is mine and I’m going to make sure you don’t get it’ stance whether between individuals or nations. In the Jungian perspective the inferior function of fire within earthy Taurus is stunted intuition which leads to irrational fears and vague paranoia negatively charged and projected onto ‘the other’.
So Taurus needs more vision. Taurus people need to realize that there are subtleties and undercurrents not necessarily visible that create the complexities of life. They need to reach across the great divide and embrace their opposite, Scorpio, to realize that life can not be reduced to black and white themes, or simply the facts that are experienced only with the senses. Scorpio leads into the underworld of feelings that must be experienced. Feelings can not be described through rationality. True vision comes from sensing intuitively all the strands of any given situation that extend through time and space in invisible pathways that can be murky and chaotic as well as clear, bright, and light.
The question remains, does Taurus hold steadfast in relationships out of habit and inertia or loyalty? They will hang in there through thick and thin when their less stable kin would simply move on either from frustration or boredom. They are often the rock that others cling to for their strength and proclivity to endure. I feel some certainly remain absolutely loyal and trustworthy while others may just be creatures of habit. The key, as with anything else, is consciousness.
The highest ideal of Taurus is Buddha-consciousness. The Taurus born Buddha exemplified the principle of non-attachment and peace knowing that this is a world where suffering exists. Maintaining mindfulness and peacefulness in spite of all suffering is a worthy goal for all of us wherever Taurus is in our birth maps. Such power exists in this sign to change the world to a peaceful garden of delights once again!
Let’s now look at Taurus in relationship to the other elements and signs:
Taurus with Earth: When studying Medical Astrology with Dr. Ingrid Naiman years ago I learned that the element of Earth is dry, heavy, and cold. It’s true that two earth signs would probably create a great deal of stability and financial security with each other, but after awhile if neither had much fire or water, or air things would drop down into potential lethargy and become ‘dry, heavy, and cold’. Doesn’t sound like much fun, does it?
Taurus with Taurus: I honestly could not find any examples either from famous charts or from my own personal files on this combination. Help me out readers! It does feel that two ‘bulls’ might lock horns eventually. Two ‘cows’? Oh dear, I’m not going in a very good direction with this analogy! Perhaps if one Taurus had a good deal of Aries and the other a good deal of Gemini it might just work. They would certainly need something to enliven their relationship.
Taurus with Capricorn: Another easy Earth trine combination where organized accomplishment together is a great possibility. Since Capricorn likes to have a plan and Taurus may willingly work towards that plan they might have a lot to show for themselves if they stay together. Certainly stability is a strong suit. This is actually a powerful sexual combination, a good example being William Randolph Hearst and his mistress, the actress Marian Davies. He was the Taurus, she the Capricorn. She actually had to give up her ambitions to maintain this relationship however; something a modern woman might not be willing to do now.
Taurus with Air: Air is light, dry, and cold. If earth is heavy, dry, and cold, the only differential here is heavy versus light. Dryness is a problem! Yet in couples, this combination actually works quite well as a rule. Air type people often need someone more pragmatic to ground their flights into either mental activity or fantasy (if they have water combined), while Air people bring to Taurus the lightness and even brightness that they need to uplift their spirits.
Taurus with Water: The watery realm will find in Taurus a haven, a strong rock-like container, while water signs will soothe and smooth Taurus. It’s the wetness of water that so compliments the dryness of earth. They are both Yin which means they are receptive by nature and both want to preserve and conserve.
Taurus with Scorpio: Opposites but complementary? Not too many famous couples to validate this. I do know one couple personally who have weathered the ups and downs of any long marriage together beautifully. They share now artistic values and pursuits though both chose separate paths of professional life. We have two power signs here at opposite ends of the spectrum. Keep in mind that Taurus would act as the container for Scorpio—earth contains water. Scorpio likes to go deep and Scorpio is one of the more complex signs. Let’s think of this combination in nature; a deep lake perhaps? Or a deep river? Taurus eventually does learn all the subtleties and the process will deepen them. Scorpio gets the benefit of someone who by nature will be calm and unruffled when Scorpio goes through intense periods of transformation. It certainly can work! Some call this the ‘generation vs. regeneration’ combination. Both are sexual signs, and both are money signs. The very nature of desire will be a theme in this union, and the higher the consciousness of both, the more powerful the transformation for both. I would say that this combination affords great soul growth if the two are willing to go the lengths and depths that it requires. Again, no famous couples were discovered. Perhaps you, the reader, may know of one.
Taurus with Fire: Taurus, as mentioned above, is drawn to Fire signs for their abundant energy and verve. The pulse of excitement is a stimulus for Taurus and truly provides the ‘sweet sting’ they need, or the ‘sting which provokes them to becoming the raging bull’. Taurus may feel used at times by fire due to their need to keep things on an even keel financially and practically. They may feel that they are the givers while Fire takes due to its self-centeredness. Fire, however, brings the warmth and lightness that Taurus needs for inspiration and drama.
Taurus with Aries: This is actually a winning combination full of ‘Power couples’. Aries is side-by-side with Taurus and in this case, Taurus leads Aries on towards manifestation of ideals and inspirations. Taurus consolidates the activity of Aries.
This concludes my sign-to-sign comparisons for Taurus. I’m certainly grateful for these people who help many of the rest of us to enjoy being in our bodies and all the sensual pleasures of life, but also create a grounded presence in our lives that sustains us, for Taurus, like the earth itself, endures through thick and thin.
Genevieve A. Vierling C.A.P.
Astrologer
www.bluelightlady.com