Wendy Cicchetti

Taurus is the second sign of the zodiac and represents the second stage of human evolution. Taurus gives form and structure to the new identity that Aries has created, and picks up where Aries runs out of steam, to sustain and maintain what Aries has initiated. Taurus provides the container for the masculine and yang energy of Aries. Aries and Taurus taken together represent the animation of the physical body. Taurus is motivated to ground things in the physical, to create tangible representations of lasting beauty and value.

Taurus is a fixed earth sign. As a fixed sign, Taurus is concerned with sustaining and maintaining, and also with the question of self-worth. As an earth sign, Taurus operates on the physical and the material plane. Like Aries, Taurus gets a double dose of many qualities since the element of earth and the fixed modality share much in common. Taurus is therefore concerned both with sustaining and maintaining the physical and material aspects of life, and with our sense of physical and material self-worth.

Taurus is by far the slowest-moving sign, and arguably the one that carries the greatest amount of inertia, so once Taurus gets moving, it's very difficult to stop it again. In the Northern Hemisphere, where astrology developed, Taurus relates to the middle of springtime, when the world has settled into a calm routine of steady growth, and this is very much what Taurus likes: slow, steady, progressive growth.

As an earth sign, Taurus is extremely sensual-something that is also supported by Venus, the planet that relates to pleasure, ruling Taurus. Taurus is the most grounded in the physical of all the signs, and communicates best through touch and direct physical experience. Taurus is steady, loyal, and determined. Taurus energy has a cooling and calming effect. Taurus energy is extremely creative, although it tends to relate more to crafts than to fine art.

The most important lesson for Taurus to learn is to let go of its natural attachment to the physical. Taurus energy can very easily begin to identify with the physical aspects of life. We are not our bodies; our bodies are simply containers that carry our soul and our spirit for a short time. Our body is temporary, but our spirit is eternal. When Taurus becomes too attached to the physical, it begins to identify with the material plane, rather than with it's true self. Taurus' sense of self-esteem and self-worth becomes dependent on it's appearance. It becomes obsessed with the accumulation of things in an effort to build up it's sense of self-worth and to protect itself, and the pursuit is entirely pointless, because nothing on the physical plane is real or lasting. Taurus must learn that it's true worth, it's true identity, has nothing to do with physical trappings.

As a fixed earth sign, Taurus is also the single most stubborn of all the signs. None of the fixed signs particularly like the idea of change, but Taurus can actively fear it. This is a side effect of becoming too attached to the material plane-any attempt to make a change is perceived as an attack on it's physical security and self-worth, even a threat to it's fundamental ability to survive. Taurus must learn how to become more flexible, and to welcome change as a natural part of life.

Planets in Taurus become much slower and more deliberate. They become more grounded in the physical and often seek a more tangible means of expression than they would elsewhere. While this is a very supportive and balancing energy for planets like Venus and the Moon, planets that are by nature quick, such as Mercury and Uranus, have a more difficult time in Taurus.