Taurus ♉ Ingress – The Value of Self-Worth

“Come what may, all bad fortune is to be conquered by endurance.”

– Publius Vergilius Maro

This morning at 11:13am CDT our Sun entered the fixed earth sign of Taurus ♉ and I am about two weeks away from my Solar Return (Birthday). Each year when the Sun enters Taurus, it has passed over what the ancients called the sea consisting of an area of the sky from Capricorn ♑ to Aries ♈. Naturally, the sea derived its name from the prominent amount of constellations that related to the sea.

“As the Sun moves through Taurus when plants take root, our determination and security needs are strong. Taurus is loyal to all that is familiar, and values longevity. ”

“More than any other sign, this is one of hidden reserves of power and strength. Of solidity in form and character.” – Skyscript

Taurus is the first of the earth signs in the zodiac including Virgo and Capricorn, so it is no wonder that many natives of this sign have an affinity for things of the earth such the outdoors, animals, natural science, or the environment. Despite an often inherent practicality and sometimes a lack of inertia, many born under the sign of Taurus are innately productive with a knack for bringing form to their creative concepts through activities such as music, art, and gardening.

Taurus ♉, Venus ♀, Self Worth, and Values

Taurus natives are oftentimes characterized loyalty to their commitments whether personal or professional. In certain aspects of astrology, Taurus is the only sign associated with permanence due to it’s fixed and enduring nature while closely linked with the keywords, “I Have”. Many popular horoscopes nowadays will tell you that this is a materialistic and stubborn sign that sticks to routines, opposes change, and likes to possess. Yet, it’s important to acknowledge the deeper aspects of a sign that is strongly linked to self-worth and inner values. Note that Taurus represents not only what one physically owns, but also what one owns intangibly and spiritually. The constant nature of this fixed earth sign is why it is known for it’s endurance and inclination to experience relative success later in life. Therefore, I want to introduce an alternate set of keywords for Taurus, “I Build“.

Renowned astrologer, Dane Rudhyar writes:

Possessions must be used. This means impressing them with the rhythm of our individuality–—whether that’s material possessions, our natural gifts, or the money we spend.”

“Nothing is more futile and spiritually empty than having without being, and this is true of all kinds of possessing.”

This means that the evolved Taurus is a being of sound values and an acute awareness of innate strength, talents, and self worth. Traditional Astrology reinforces this by relating the sign of Taurus to the planet, Venus ♀, reflective of the sign’s associations with sensuality, material possessions, self worth, and value systems. Evolving door astrology eloquently explains the relationship between Venus and Taurus.

“What we “have” reflects what we’re worth and what we value. But material worth is not the same as self-worth, even though we often equate the two.”

“It (Venus) is also what we “have not” ― the qualities, gifts and advantages that we lack or feel we don’t have enough of. At its worst, this can produce a kind of poverty mentality where we tend to assume that our heart’s desire will always be just out of reach.”

I can certainly say that I have experienced the aforementioned poverty mentality at certain points in my life. I think that sometimes as an earth sign in today’s world, we Taureans can become so materially conscious and concerned with routine that we lose sight of the deeper meaning behind our existence, including those valuable lessons of self-worth and and our connection with nature.

Taurus ♉ and Scorpio ♏ – Stability vs. Transformation

When I was about six years old, I can easily recall the fact that I didn’t like to share. I know, selfish right? Of course, time and social conditioning helped me to realize that the act of sharing is somewhat of a social norm with a whole wealth of benefits. As a Taurus, it’s interesting that memories of sharing are some of my earliest. I think that my early aversion to the act of sharing may have been the first time I began to experience the opposite principals of Scorpio. Simply put, Taurus and Scorpio are opposite signs where Taurus stands for stability, permanence, personal resources and Scorpio stands for shared resources, transformation, and elimination.

The archetypes of Taurus and Scorpio can be seen through the Myth of Pluto and Persephone. The festival of Beltane occurs at the beginning of May each year, symbolic of Persephone’s return from the underworld as nature blooms. While, Samhain occurs at the start of November at the end of the harvest as nature’s vibrancy begins to wither.

Clare Martin states the following in Mapping the Psyche:

“Without the destructive aspect of the life-force that belongs to Scorpio, everything would become static, incapable of change or growth. The point is that Taurus begets Scorpio, retention leads to release, incorporation to elimination, to ensure that nature remains in balance and that the life force is constantly regenerated”

Those born under the sign of Taurus are often gifted with rare powers of reliability, resilience, fixity of purpose, creativity, and endurance with a typically unmatched strength of character. Yet, the Plutonian (Scorpionic) principal of change is not something that Taureans tend to naturally embrace. Despite this, I have found that life unfolds much more smoothly if I strive to create change and embrace it as opposed to waiting until it occurs on it’s own and often painful accord!

The Sun is in Taurus this year until May 20, 2012 when it will enter the sign of Gemini ♊. Happy Birthday to all of my Taurus friends!

Famous Taureans

Leonardo Da Vinci, Wiliam Lilly, David Boreanaz, Megan Fox, Kirsten Dunst,  Penelope Cruz, Enrique Iglesias, Kelly Clarkson,  David Bekham, Robert Pattinson,  Cher, George Clooney,  George Lucas, Rene Zellweger, Jessica Alba, Pierce Brosnan, Bono, Rosario Dawson, Uma Thurman, and Tom Welling.

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails was born on May 17, 1965 under the sign of Taurus.

Earth and Water – A Grand Trine Story

Earth and Water – Taurus ♉ and Pisces ♓

If you are familiar with the basic concepts of astrological compatibility, you might know that in general, Earth signs (Taurs, Virgo, Capricorn) and Water (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) signs relate well together. As a Taurus (earth) I’ve had quite a few friends born under the sign of Pisces (water). Most of my Piscean friends displayed otherworldly artistic talent to envy and each and every one of them that I can recall contained a distinct affinity for exercises of the imagination.

A beautifully articulated Article by Molly Hall on About.com states:

“Earth signs can help the emotional Water signs find tangible outlets for imaginative gifts. Like the banks to a flowing river, the Earth sign can guide the Water sign toward a goal. Water can help Earth by softening its rigid structure. If you think of how a potter uses water to soften, and then re-shape clay on the wheel, you get the picture. Water nourishes the ground of Earth with a feeling of being cared for, and this can add a dimension of meaning to their lives.”

I’ve studied the natal charts of many musicians for my radio show, and I have to say that Neptune is certainly a powerful artistic influence in the charts of an abundance of successful artists and Pisces is among the most creative signs.

Like most astrologers, I follow the yearly path of the Sun ☉ across all twelve signs of the zodiac as the location of the Sun in a natal chart at a person’s exact time of birth determines which sign of the zodiac they are. Our Sun spends about a month in each sign, traveling at an average rate of 1° per day. Currently, the Sun, is nearing the end of its travels through the sign of Pisces and preparing to enter the sign of Aries on March 20th.

Seeing as how my own natal chart is primarily composed of planets placed in Earth and Water signs, the  recent astrological weather and the abundance of Piscean energy has been quite nice for me. I have found myself naturally engaged in an abundance of wonderful creative and imaginative projects that I will be posting here on Aphelion Blog as well.

I wrote the following about the astrological sign of Pisces on February 19, 2012:

“Pisces represents gentility, peace, transcending the ego in favor of collective needs, and is often characterized by a boundless imagination, and spiritual resolve.”

Pisces is a water sign, along with Cancer and Scorpio meaning that it is somewhat ruled by the emotional realm. While Cancer and Scorpio tend towards being  more self-protective, Pisces is indeed the most receptive to an array of emotional and/or environmental influences and this is part of what makes them such great seers. Although innately sympathetic and compassionate, the dark side of the sign includes a go-with-the-flow attitude and martyr-like behavior. However, many of the world’s unparallelled artists, and insightful visionaries were born under this highly creative, versatile, receptive, and intuitive water sign including; Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, and  Michelangelo.

Positively expressed Earth energy is materially conscious, grounded, productive and practical while the opposite extreme can entail rigidity, skepticism, and too much self control.

Grand Trine Earth – Mars ♂, Jupiter ♃, & Pluto ♇

Furthermore, we have a less common aspect called a Grand Trine in the sky between the Earth Signs: Mars in Virgo, Jupiter in Taurus, and Pluto in Capricorn. This aspect is indicated by the light blue triangle on the right in the center of the wheel.

Simply put, a Trine is formed when two planets are 120° degrees of each other and a grand Trine is when three planets all Trine each other. The Trine is thought to be an extremely fortunate aspect, although it is also indicative of complacency. I was born with a configuration of two Grand Trines in my natal chart in the elements of Earth and Water, also known as a Star of David and I can say that the general interpretations about Grand Trines are true.

The beginning of the Mars retrograde period this year in the sign of Virgo brought focus and determination as it formed a conjunction with my natal moon, and formed a Trine to my natal Sun, Moon, Neptune, and Uranus. Transiting Mars in my House VI (Home) also translated into a change of residence, however temporary. Despite the many fluctuations I have faced, I have managed to remain very grounded and focused.

Will Weisenfeld of Baths was born on April 16, 1989 under the sign of Aries in Los Angeles, CA.