Preface: As I do every month
for each of the signs, I want to emphasize that if your birthday does not fall
during the Taurus timeframe for the year you were
born, this DOES NOT mean that you do not experience the energy of Taurus, because
somewhere in your natal birth chart, it is present. All twelve signs of the
zodiac are expressed in your being, although some signs, and therefore their
corresponding energies, may be more emphasized than others. The Sun sign is
about your essence, your vitality (what makes you feel alive), and your
self-image.
Whatever your Sun sign, you are on a
life-long journey to discover and fully embrace this sign’s energy. You may be
tested in life to experience the meaning of your Sun sign’s energy.
The Sun began its
transit of the sign of Taurus at 9:12 a.m. PDT on April 19, 2012.
INTRODUCTION
I often begin my articles on the zodiac signs with quotes
from prominent individuals born under the Sun Sign I am discussing.
Unconsciously, people often speak with the energy or interest areas of their
Sun Sign.
“Work
is about a search for daily meaning as well as daily bread, for recognition as
well as cash, for astonishment rather than torpor; in short, for a sort of life
rather than a Monday through Friday sort of dying.”[i]
Studs Terkel
Born May 16, 1912
Taurus Oral Historian and Social
Observer
"I want
to say, in all seriousness, that a great deal of harm is being done in the
modern world by belief in the virtuousness of work, and that the road to
happiness and prosperity lies in an organized diminution of work."[ii]
Bertrand Russell
Born May 18, 1872
Taurus Philosopher and Author
“Capital
is money, capital is commodities. By virtue of it being value, it has acquired
the occult ability to add value to itself. It brings forth living offspring,
or, at the least, lays golden eggs.”[iii]
Born May 5, 1818
Taurus Economist, Historian, and Social
Philosopher
“Everyone
was greedy. I just went along. It’s not an excuse.” “Look, there was
complicity, in my view.”“It’s unbelievable. Goldman … no one has any criminal
convictions—the whole new regulatory reform is a joke. The whole government is
a Ponzi scheme.”[iv]
Bernard Madoff
April 29, 1938
Taurus Convict (former owner of a
financial investment company using Ponzi schemes)
TAURUS SYMBOLISM AND
RULERSHIPS
The bull serves as the symbol for Taurus, as shown by the
medieval painting of the languid and gentle bull at the beginning of this
article. The Taurus glyph, shown directly above, shows the round face and horns
of the bull. Bruce Nevin offers other interpretations for the glyph, describing
it as a bowl-like crescent over a circle, much like a wide-funnel mouth on a
round full jar. The jar may represent a vessel of containment for the resources
and possessions for which Taurus has stewardship. Moreover, Nevin observes that
the glyph represents another stage of the unfoldment of the serpent, the
symbolism of which is contained in all the fixed signs.[1]
Taurus is ruled by the earth element, indicating a sign that
thrives on the creation and maintenance of form. By quadriplicity (mode),
Taurus is a fixed sign, showing a predisposition for stability and strength.
The feminine planet Venus is most commonly associated with
the rulership of Taurus. Venus represents the principles of equilibrium and
attraction. Following the planet Mercury, in order as we move away from the
Sun, Venus possesses qualities that stand in contrast to the mental quality, instead
focusing on intuition and attraction in its receptive form. Its concerns are
aesthetics, balance, holism, tastes, values, and creativity. Venus endows
Taurus with aesthetic inclinations of a sensual nature.
In the wheel of astrology, Taurus rules the 2nd
House of personal resources, which includes those that lie within your personal
boundaries. These include possessions, money, and energies (or personal
talents). The second house concerns what is of value to you, whether tangible
or not.
In traditional astrology, Taurus rules the neck and the
throat. It is considered a bestial sign, represented by a four-footed animal.
Bestial signs often lack social graces, and may even be considered course. This
quality may incline the sign toward inarticulate and inelegant speech. Is this
how the expression “like a Bull in a china shop” came to be? I think archaic
astrology can over generalize, because all of us have examples of the earthly
elegance displayed (often in song) by many Taureans we know. (Incidentally, when
astrologers analyze how people communicate, we look at where and in what sign
their Mercury is placed, and the nature of the third house in their chart).
Taurus is associated with the image assumed by the god Zeus
when he appeared before the maiden Europa as a beautiful gentle white Bull. She
slid on his back, and he carried her away to the island of Crete, where she
bore two of Zeus’ sons. This well-known myth has been depicted in paintings
entitled the Rape(or Abduction) of Europa,
by such artists as Titian and
Rembrandt.[2]
THE TAURUS EXPRESSION
OF ENERGY
The end of Aries and the beginning of Taurus represents the
time when the spring season has mellowed. The sunny landscape sparkles with
green lushness, and the flowers in full bloom add lovely scents to the warm air.
Aries energy ventured out to look for lands to plant new seeds, but now the
earth requires a more patient and consistent energy to till and enrichen the
soil. Loving the smell of the earth, and in awe of its fertility, Taurus
cultivates nature’s bounty with care and nurturance. This energy provides
strength in the plowing of the land, but it knows that all work and no play is
of little value. Moved by the senses, Taurus slows down to “smell the roses,”
so to speak.
As astrologer Dana Gerhardt says, “each zodiac sign corrects
the excesses of its preceding sign, and Taurus is no exception.”[3]
The cardinal fire energy of Aries played its important role in initiating
beginnings, with its infectious excitement, bravado, and impulsive energy. Now,
the energy of Taurus calms the environment, with a quest for security,
serenity, loyalty, and stability. Whereas Aries demonstrated strength in
action, Taurus shows strength in stillness, says astrologer Deborah Houlding.[4] Like
an animal that will not budge, Taurus adheres to a position. This reflects a
commitment to a stance, but in situations requiring greater flexibility, it may
indicate stubbornness. Similarly, the Taurean accumulation of resources may be taken
to an extreme, when other motivations drive the Bull to hoard and stockpile
resources (ala Bernard Madoff).
Taurus is a highly physical sign, and derives pleasure from
anything indulging the senses, be it tactile as the feel of sensual fabrics,
auditory and vocal such as a melodious song, or the taste of appealing foods on
the palate. Like the other earth signs, Taurus needs tangibility in work and
play.Taurus desires to be in nature, at least occasionally. Taurus
preservationist and naturalist John Muir expressed his sign’s sentiments in the
following: “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play
in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.”[5]
Taurus seeks simplicity. In my astrological analysis, I sometimes
think I’m omitting something about this sign in my descriptions. Like others in
my western culture, I’m used to a great deal of complexity. Taurus seems
perpetually to be seeing past the complexity of situations and finding simple
truths. Sigmund Freud, the great psychoanalyst whose natal sun was in the sign
of Taurus, reflects this quality in his statement, “Love and work... work and
love, that's all there is.”[6]
All of the zodiac energies play a valuable role in the
textures of our lives. I know how soothing it is to be surrounded by the
tranquility of Taurus. My Taurus maternal grandmother provided stability
and strength in raising a healthy and loving family, and she exemplified a
grounded female role model for me during the turmoil of my parents’ divorce. I must
say that her feisty tongue, courtesy of Mercury in Aries, kept family life very
interesting!
MYTH BUSTING OF
TAURUS STEREOTYPES
Many of my Taurean friends and acquaintances feel rather ho-hum
about their Sun Sign. What they seem to dwell on is the descriptions in popular
astrology that speak to Taurus as a very conservative sign with strong goals for
material acquisition. Although that view is not totally false, the motivations of
Taurus are deeper than that. As an earth sign, Taurus needs to live in the physical
world, and that often involves the pursuit of tangible resources. However, saying
that all Taureans are after great fortunes and that they are totally consumed by
this is what I call silly astrology.
It is true that Taurus, as a fixed earth sign, is inclined
to conservatism, but I think it is important not to overstate this
characteristic. Do Michael Moore, Ho Chi Minh, and Karl Marx strike you as
conservatives? In the astrology literature, there is discussion of the planet
Venus symbolizing the principle of values, whether that pertains to monetary or
economic value, or to principles that are important to our lives. The second
house in the astrology chart refers to values and resources. Combine that
concept of values with the idea that earth signs create form. It is more accurate to say that Taureans, such as
Michael Moore, Ho Chi Minh, and Karl Marx, have the charge of putting form and
structure to values. In the case of Michael Moore, he creates documentaries to express
problems in American values that create a violent society, a country obsessed with
war, and growing economic inequities. Interestingly enough, he has amassed a comfortable
income from his documentaries and books. Tenacious Ho Chi Minh, deeply committed
to his country’s (Vietnam) self-determination, relied on guerrilla war tactics
to overcome American imperialism. In a much earlier era, Karl Marx presented extensive
commentary in Das Kapital on the capitalistic economic structure.
Another theme related to values and structure is the concept
of labor. I think many Taureans critique how work fits into our lives. In his book
Working:
People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do,
Taurus oral historian and social observer Studs Terkel analyzed the perspectives
of the “working class.” He discusses how even the most modest jobs provide
lives with meaning.[7] On
the other hand, Taurean philosopher Bertrand Russell, in his essay In Praise of Idleness, challenges the notion
of the nobility of work.
Most importantly, we need to remind ourselves that regardless
of our Sun Sign, we humans embody various combinations of energy in our being.
Therefore, individuals will express their Taurus energy in a different way
because of other influences. And vive la différence!
SNAPSHOT PROFILES OF
PROMINENT INDIVIDUALS WITH SUN SIGN TAURUS
Anthony Quinn
Born April 23, 1915
Mexican-American movie
legend Anthony Quinn epitomizes the lust for earthly life that characterizes the
zodiac sign of Taurus. This quality takes on more passionate notes with the
fire in his natal astrology chart, notably a Leo Moon, and both Mars and
Mercury in Aires. Perhaps this is why he played the title character in the
movie Zorba the Greek with such believable
gusto. This robust quality reflects itself in how he lived his personal life: marrying
three women, siring 13 children (not all within marriage), garnering two
Oscars, playing roles in well over 100 movies, and painting several works.
The prolific actor was born Antonio Rodolfo Quinn-Oaxaca in
Chihuahua, Mexico on April 23, 1915 (reliable birthday information from
Astro-Databank differs from other sources). His mother, a Mexican woman of
indigenous ancestry, and his father, of Mexican and Irish heritage, purportedly
met while fighting in the revolutionary army of Pancho Villa. (This story may
very well be true, but as a grandchild of Mexican natives, I know that stories
of Pancho Villa and the Mexican Revolution can be delightfully romanticized). His
parents moved to the United States when Anthony Quinn was an infant, and they eventually
settled in the Boyle Heights and Echo Park areas of Los Angeles. Quinn’s father
died when Quinn was only nine years old. He attended Polytechnic and Belmont
High Schools, where he demonstrated a strong talent for art and architecture,
and he won several school competitions. Quinn dropped out of high school before
graduating, and took up professional boxing to earn money. Soon after, he won
first prize in an architectural drawing contest, which led to a scholarship to
study architecture with Frank Lloyd Wright. The famed architect encouraged
Quinn to take acting classes as a form of therapy, and this launched Quinn into
the profession of acting.
After beginning his acting career in the theater, Quinn
accepted “ethnic villain” roles in Hollywood films from 1936 through 1947.
Although his marriage to Cecil B. DeMille’s daughter gave him access to the
inner circles of Hollywood society, the roles he played were very limited.
Disenchanted with the narrow options in his career, he chose not to renew his
contract with Paramount Studios. He left Hollywood briefly to star on Broadway
in A Streetcar Named Desire.
Anthony Quinn returned to Hollywood moviemaking in the
1950’s. His major breakthrough came in the 1952 movie Viva Zapata, starring Marlon Brando. In his role as Emiliano
Zapata’s brother, Quinn won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, the first
Mexican-American to win any Academy Award. In addition to starring in American
movies, Quinn also accepted roles in Italian films, including Federico
Fellini’s La Strada. He won his
second Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in Lust
for Life as painter Paul Gauguin in this Vincent Van Gogh biopic. He
returned to the stage in 1960 to star as King Henry VII on the Broadway stage
production of Becket, for which he won great acclaim.
Quinn starred in many films in the decades that followed,
including hits like The Guns of Navarone, Requiem for a Heavyweight, Lawrence
of Arabia, and Barabbas. Many consider his portrayal of Zorba in Zorba the Greek in 1964 as the zenith of
his acting career, for which he earned a Best Actor nomination by the Academy.
Although Anthony Quinn starred occasionally in films and
television in the 1970s through the 1990s, he appeared in less successful
works. He spent his remaining years with his third wife in Rhode Island,
operating a restaurant. He succumbed to pneumonia and cancer of the throat
(ruled by Taurus) in 2001.
Sources:
Ella Fitzgerald
Born April 25, 1917
If the zodiac sign
of Taurus rules the throat, then its highest capacity for beauty reaches its
apex in the voice of Ella Fitzgerald. Known as the “First Lady of Song,” Lady Ella
(as she was also called) rose to the top of vocal performers as a jazz singer,
although she also thrived in pop and swing sounds.
Ella Fitzgerald was
born on April 25, 1917 in Newport News, Virginia. Her mother and her father
parted ways shortly after Ella’s birth. Her mother soon moved to New York to
live with her long-time boyfriend. With the adults laboring hard for low wages,
Ella helped the family out by working as a runner for local gamblers. Her
mother died from injuries suffered in a car accident when Ella was 15. Ella
moved in with her aunt, but her personal loss caused her much turmoil, and she
ended up in reform school.
Like many, Ella
struggled through the Depression years, but her luck turned when she performed
at Amateur Night at the famed Apollo club. Despite a demanding crowd, she was a
hit, and she caught the attention of Bennie Carter, a saxophonist and arranger.
He introduced Ella to his connections who helped launch her career.
Ella made her first
recording in 1936 under the Decca label. In this era, she sang the new craze of
Swing. Her pop rendition of “A-Tisket A-Tasket” in 1938 sold a million records
and reached number one in ratings charts. From this point on, she worked with
famed musicians and composers Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, the Gershwins,
Irving Berlin, Johnny Mercer, and Rodgers and Hart.
She credits actress
Marilyn Monroe for getting her booking at the Macambo Club, ushering in an era
where she began singing at the major clubs. As television gained greater
popularity, Ella made many appearances on popular shows hosted by Bing Crosby,
Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore, Ed Sullivan, and Nat King Cole.
In the 1960s and
1970s Ella booked performance tours around the world, despite health issues.
She received Kennedy Center honors for her contribution to the arts. In 1987,
President Reagan awarded her the National Medal of Honors. Later, George H.W.
Bush presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It was during this
period that she underwent coronary bypass surgery, and her eyesight began to
fail. Nevertheless, Ella continued to schedule stage performances until her
last concert at Carnegie Hall in 1991. Suffering the effects of Diabetes, she
had a portion of her legs amputated, which left her unable to undertake much
activity. She died in June 1996.
Ella Fitzgerald
remains in the category of elite female vocalists, in the company of Billie
Holiday and Sarah Vaughn. She leaves a legacy of over 200 recordings and 13
Grammy awards. Those familiar with her sound will never forget her “vocal range spanning
three octaves,
her purity of tone, impeccable diction,
phrasing and intonation, and a "horn-like"
improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing.”
(quoting the Wikipedia entry).
Sources:
I.M. Pei
Born April 26, 1917
If earth signs are
builders of structures, then Ieoh Ming Pei stands tallest among these creators
of form. For over 50 years, I. M. Pei has served as a master of architecture
who fuses utility with aesthetic beauty in his designs. Born in China to a prominent
banker and his wife, he moved to the United States at the age of 17 to study architecture.
Upon graduation from MIT, he earned a medal from Alpha Rho Chi, the
professional-social fraternity for architecture and the allied arts. He chose
to continue his studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, eventually
becoming a member of the faculty. His Harvard Traveling Fellowship award
allowed him to travel extensively in Greece, Italy, France, and England.
After working for
seven years as Director of Architecture at a major real estate development
firm, I. M. Pei launched his own architectural firm in 1955, eventually forming
partnerships with other professionals. I.M. Pei & Partners won the 1968
Architectural Firm Award of the AIA. His firm has completed over 250 projects,
and Pei personally served as the design principal for over 50 projects. Among
his noted works are:
Pei and his
partners draw inspiration primarily from the “particularities of place and
program,” with the belief that successful environments of lasting value
manifest when building projects incorporate the specific physical and cultural
contexts in which they occur. Although the firm’s architects have created works
of a diverse nature, Pei and his
colleagues remark that “a central theme consistently evident in its works is the conception of architecture as an
art of place making — an art embodying above all else a concern for the quality
of public space and public life.”
In 2010, the PBS
television series American Masters
chronicled I.M. Pei’s return to China, a professional and personal journey.
China commissioned Pei to design a museum in the country of his birth, where he
faced the difficult challenge of synthesis: advancing China architecturally
while maintaining the integrity of the country’s heritage. The creator of the American Masters series, and its
executive producer, Susan Lacy, enthused: “I.M. Pei is an architectural poet –
a living legend... He’s among the league of rare American masters whose
artistic sensibilities have both provoked public debate and transformed our
notions of what is possible, of how tradition can be honored in the 21st century.”
All of I. M. Pei’s international
honors and accolades are too numerous to mention. Among his distinctions, he
holds lifetime membership in the American Academy of Arts & Science, which
restrict the lifetime designation to only 50 individuals. The American
Institute of Architects (AIA) awarded him a Gold Medal in 1979. Pei won the Pritzker
Prize in 1983, an award often referred to as the Nobel Prize
of architecture. The Smithsonian Institution’s National Design Museum awarded
him a lifetime achievement award in 2003.
Sources:
Cory Booker
Born April 27, 1969
Just in time for
this article, Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, played hero to a
neighbor stranded in a burning home on April 12, 2012. Arriving at his
residence at night with his security detail, he saw that the neighboring home
was ablaze. Against the advice of his security staff, he forged into the home
and rescued the woman in the bedroom, hoisting her over his shoulder, and
carrying her outside the home. She suffered second-degree burns, while his
hands showed some burns. He described this experience as a “come to Jesus”
moment, when he momentarily thought there was no way he could overcome the flames.
Mayor Booker claims this experience gave him a better understanding of the
challenges faced by firefighters. Questioned by reporters on how he felt at the
time of the rescues, Mayor Booker said that he was frightened.
Listening to the
media questioning Mayor Booker about his heroics, I was impressed how he
communicated a very grounded version of the incident. He downplayed his
bravura, and implied that it was something that needed to be done. The humility
definitely reflected the modest nature of someone with prominent Taurus energy.
Named to Time
Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2011, the mayor represents a
different breed of politician. Hugs are important to Taurus and Cory Booker is
known to give bear hugs almost as frequently as he shakes hands. Cory Booker
eschews the comfortable mayoral residence he has available to him in favor of a
residence in a low-income area. From 1998 to 2006, he lived in the troubled
Brick Towers, a housing project in the city’s Central Ward. He organized
tenants to work for improved conditions at Brick Towers. When this housing
complex was slated for demolition, Mayor Booker moved to another unit in the
drug and gang-plagued South Ward.
These living
conditions were vastly different from the homes Cory Booker grew up in as a
child. Born in Washington, D.C, he was raised in the predominantly white and
affluent Bergen County in New Jersey. His parents were pioneer African-American
executives at IBM. After graduating high school, he attended Stanford
University, earning a Bachelor’s in Political Science and a Master’s in
Sociology. Awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, he studied history at Oxford
University. He later completed his J.D. at Yale University. During his years as
a student, he ran a crisis hotline for impoverished youth in East Palo Alto,
California, and he established legal clinics for the low-income population in
New Haven, Connecticut.
After completing
his law program at Yale, Cory Booker ran for the Newark City Council and won a
seat. Four years later, he ran for Mayor of Newark, but was defeated by the
incumbent. In 2006, he soundly defeated his political opponents to assume the
mayoral position. Although supportive of community social service programs,
Booker also took strong stances against perpetrators of the city’s crime. His
anti-crime position so concerned crime elements (the Bloods gang) that Booker served
as a target for assassination, which was ultimately thwarted. In 2010, Cory
Booker successfully won reelection to office.
Cory Booker’s
administrations have been characterized by the usual budget challenges facing
mayors across the nation, but his dedication and charisma have attracted many
unconventional resources to Newark. Through his dynamic leadership, Mayor
Booker has attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in private philanthropic
resources to the city, including major gifts from Mark Zuckerberg and Oprah
Winfrey to support the Newark schools.
Viewed as a
visionary and contemporary leader, Mayor Booker was voted the nation’s second most
social mayor, in terms of his use of social media. Furthermore, he placed
seventh in the World Mayor competition in 2010, and he has been named a
candidate for the 2012 prize.
ENDNOTES
[1]
Bruce Nevin. Astrology Inside Out.
Rockport, Massachusetts: Para Research, Inc., 1982, p.85.
[2]
Wikipedia entry for Europa. Retrieved on 4/17/12 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_(mythology)
[3]
Dana Gerhardt. (April/May 2010). “Riding the Bull.” The Mountain Astrologer, #150, pp.13-17.
[4] Deborah
Houlding. (December 2008/January 2009). “Taurus the Bull.” The Mountain Astrologer, #142, pp.40-45.
[5] John
Muir (n.d.). Brainy Quote. Retrieved on 4/21/12 from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/johnmuir104245.html
[6] Sigmund
Freud. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved April 22, 2012, from BrainyQuote.com
Web site: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/s/sigmundfre378806.html
[7] Studs
Terkel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_(book)
[i]
Studs Terkel. Retrieved on 4/1/12 from: http://www.qotd.org/search/search.html?aid=7856
[ii]
Bertrand Russell. Retrieved on 4/1/12 from: http://www.zpub.com/notes/idle.html
[iii]
Karl Marx. Original source: Capital,
Volume I, Chapter 4 (1867)
Retrieved on 4/1/12 from: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/k/karl_marx.html#kdOXrDkFY1k8GMjQ.99
[iv]
Bernie Madoff. “Select Quotes from Bernard Madoff in Magazine Interview.” International Business Times. Retrived
on 4/8/12 from http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/117015/20110228/madoff.htm
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