Taurus is perhaps the least understood zodiac archetype within modernity, for Taurus pertains to Art, and our modern world lacks a profound culture of Art. Art is ceremony, art is beautiful words that touch the heart and bring people together, art is the act of life when it is in balance with nature. A teacher of mine who was a Lakota Ceremonialist told me that the Lakota had no word for art. Art is life and life is art when humans walk the “good red road.” Likewise, to the ancient Chinese, harmony with The Way, or Tao, was art - the art of life; expressed by the hermit sage in his high-mountain retreat, or by the craftsman applying the knowledge of generations to gather and alchemize natural materials into works of nearly inexpressiable beauty. Taurus is the receptive, or feminine aspect of Venus, indicating that Taurus is less about putting on a display and more about receiving the intrinsic love, which is the resounding chord of Venus, in earthly form. This planet earth that we live on gives us the material for our bodies, our houses, and for everything we eat. The question is only what are we doing with these gifts that are given to us by the planet? Taurus is the archetype that allows us to receive the gift of these gifts, and it is within that reception that a human being becomes art, be it through their words, their actions, their craftsmenship, or simply their sage-like presence.
The Taurus individual need not worry about mastering a particular craft or artform, rather they must become art. The only striving and effort involved with this is the work to release or transform the tendencies and habits which have accumulated in the human system which contradict the beauty, love, order, and harmony of nature. The masterful Taurus Artisian achieved their mastery when they realized that the Great Work already exists in a perfected form, and they allow themselves to become one with it. This is the natural place of exaltation for the moon. The moon represents the mind, and the supreme mind is the one that realizes the perfected nature of existence, and is thus able to reflect that purity. To offer a contrast, the moon is debilitated in Scorpio, the sign that sits 7th from Taurus. In Scorpio, the mind is plunged into the accumulated karma that the soul can no longer bear, initiating either alchemy and transformation or escapism, excess and addiction. The moon’s desire is to know the perfected harmony of nature and in Taurus it is invited to dwell in this - in Scorpio it must work.
Taurus, as an earth sign, is concerned with the material conditions that make life possible, and either wonderful or terrible. A society that manifests the archetype of Taurus and honors Taurus individuals, is a society that cares for its environment, its soil, its forests and all of its supportive eco-systems. Perhaps, a more accurate title for the archetype of Taurus would be that of Earth Tender, or Land Steward, for it is within the care of the land that wealth and prosperity can be assured for a people. One of today’s most prominent spiritual figures, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, is a Taurus ascendant. Accordingly, much of his work has been around environmental issues, caring for the soil, and improving the material conditions that can make life pleasant or unpleasant. Sadhguru focuses less on propounding lofty principles speaking of heavenly realms, and more upon life in this moment. Taurus is “Down to earth,” in this sense, and the art of Taurus has less to do with making the heavenly astral realms present in the experience of life on earth and more to do with the tending to the beauty and love that is already here on planet earth.
Taurus types can have a reputation as being materialistic and stubborn. Taurus, as a fixed earth sign, can manifest in both of these forms, especially if the influence of Saturn gives fear as to what could be lost, or the influence of Mars fills one with passion. However, these stereotypes of materialism and stubbornness really just reflect the care that Taurus has for the material substance of our lives - the food we eat, the homes we live in, and the environment all have a large influence on our quality of life, and it is Taurus that can find how to manifest the pre-existing balance inherent in these forms within our lives.
Our society on the whole has moved far away from Taurus values. Our economic system no longer has to anything to do with the ecological system upon which the quality of our lives ultimately depends. Our financial system has less to do with the fair exchange of resources and more to do with a system of debt and symbols which ultimately cannot sustain a human life. Even the art of our modern world has come to reflect less of the traditional Taurus values for beauty and more of the crash consumerism that has been normalized. As a spiritual leader, Sadhguru sets a good example of what it looks like to return to a more Taurus-based sensibility. By coming back to earth, and connecting with the beauty, harmony and fullfillment that is already here, Taurus can be brought back into modern life with results that are sure to benefit both humans and ecology alike.
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