Welcome to the Astrology Food for Thought Blog

This blog presents my interpretation of astrological symbolism as it pertains to the unfolding of individual lives and the events occurring in our world. I welcome you to present your own views and to challenge my thinking. Although I attempt to rely on accurate sources of information, I encourage you to do your own fact-checking, since any resource may at times be flawed.



Saturday, April 21, 2012

TAURUS THE BULL






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:

v  Musée d'Art Moderne
Kirchberg, Luxembourg
Completed 2006

v  Buck Institute for Age Research
Marin County, California
Completed 1999

v  Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum
Cleveland, Ohio
Completed 1995

v  Four Seasons Hotel
New York, New York
Completed 1993

v  Grand Louvre
Paris, France
Phase I completed 1989
Phase II completed 1993

v  John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library
Boston, Massachusetts
Completed 1979
Extension completed 1991

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 



[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
[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

No comments:

Post a Comment

Share |