Taurus

What the sign is like

Taurus is a fixed sign, and the older books saw the fixed signs as each element at full strength. In Taurus that means the patience of the earth itself.

Taurus takes its time to start. Once it understands what needs doing, it keeps going long after other people have stopped. It builds step by step and cares most about the foundation.

It holds on to what works and is wary of change for its own sake. It loves beauty, though it likes beauty to be useful. Under the calm there is real feeling, and when Taurus is pushed too far the anger can surprise everyone.

With other people

Taurus is a loyal friend. Not showy, just there, year after year.

It is honest with money and careful without being mean. It can find it hard to put feelings into words, so the love often shows in what it does instead.

The older books paired Taurus with the other earth signs, Virgo and Capricorn. With Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius they said Taurus has to watch its stubborn side.

How it was read before

The old books gave Taurus three animals: the bull in the ring, the ox at work, and the cow at rest. The same sign could charge, labour or simply be.

Venus rules Taurus. In the old order Venus was the smaller of the two kindly planets, with Jupiter the larger. The Moon is at her strongest in Taurus, and the books said she brings a softness that lifts the sign above simple comfort.

They also believed every rising sign borrows a little from the sign after it. So Taurus rising was thought to pick up some of Gemini's easy way with words.

Its tarot card

The card most decks pair with Taurus is The Hierophant. The 1927 book I draw on names no card for this sign, so I follow the Golden Dawn's pairing, the one printed on most decks.

I read The Hierophant as learning, tradition and commitment. That fits Taurus well: the one who keeps what has proven true, and builds a life on it.

Sit with this

Steadiness is a gift in a world that rushes. If you are a Taurus, you know how to stay.

Sit with this: is there something you are holding on to because it is safe, not because it still serves you? You can love the familiar and still let something new in.