ANCIENT AND TRADITIONAL
TAURUS
FIND OUT MORE CHARACTERISTICS OF TAURUS IN PART 2
*Foundation*Value*Stewardship*Glorification of Matter*Endurance*
*Taurus*
Symbol: The Bull Solar month: 20 Apr. – 21 May.
Element: Earth
Temperament:
Cold/dry
Quality:
Fixed Gender:
Negative/feminine
Dignity of: Venus
Detriment of:
Mars
Exaltation of: Moon
Fall of : none
Archetypal
faces:
Settler/steward/artisan
________________________________________________________________________
Ancient & Traditional
Taurus
“I mark, stern Taurus, through the
twilight gray, The glinting of thy horn, And sullen front, uprising large and
dim, Bent to the starry Hunter’s sword at bay.”
“Of plants, in its share are the tall
trees, and all trees that bear fruit and all trees that need little water, and
every tree that grows on mountains and bears useful fruit, and every planted
tree whose taste and fragrance are good.”
Taurus is one of the earliest and most
noted of asterisms, this is considered due to this sign marking the Vernal
Equinox from 4000-1700 BCE . It is mentioned that ‘in all the ancient
zodiacs preserved to us it began the year’ , Taurus was also known as the ‘wild
ox’. Most usually this constellation is represented as only the forward,
or front, part of the bull. Thus there is a feeling of the animal emerging
from something. The ancients considered that the hindquarters were
‘immersed in waves’.
Amongst other symbology, here the bull
is also being personified as the animal Zeus disguised himself as to trick and
steal the virgin princess Europa, over the sea and away from her
homeland. Interestingly, the ancient historian Plutarch (c. 46-125
CE) observed that when the planet Saturn was in Taurus every thirty years, that
there took place a legendary migration. This migration was said to be from
the ‘external continent, beyond the Cranian, or Saturnian Sea’.
Bull cults were birthed through
ancient history, with this figure being strongly associated with principles of
strength, endurance and fertility. The Bull became venerated for its
practical usefulness, and was a primary sacrificial icon, particularly in
agricultural communities. In Zoroastrianism it was thought of as the first
animal ever created, to be slain and from its soul is said to have arose ‘the
germ of all creation’. The prominence of Taurus is seen in early
Mesopotamian astronomy and religion, thus representations of the Mithraic
(solar) bull are to be seen on ancient gems, dating from four or five centuries
prior to Christ. Eventually it is noted, that some of the later Christian
schools of thought recognised Taurus as the ox, which stood with the ass in the
manger of the Nativity. In the ‘apolistic zodiac’, this symbol was to
become St. Andrew.
The ancient importance of this animal
is witnessed in all cultures throughout the pre-classical times, which was
definitely a period when humanity was very focused on cultivating the land,
which is the prime realm of this sign. This animal was important in early
Egyptian religious cults and the ancient kings of Egypt called themselves the
‘bulls of Amon- Ra’, the bull sometimes used to depict them in art. A
golden disc was fixed between it sacred horns, symbolising the one life force as
manifest through its body.
The ‘Apis’/‘Hapi’ (or sacred bull) was
considered an incarnation of the spirits of the gods. The bull did become
considered as a main symbol representative of Osiris and also of his
sister-consort Isis. The sacred bulls of ancient Egypt were used in
ritual and divination, when one died there followed a period of national
mourning. The stars of the bull were made much of though all Egyptian
history and religion, part of this appears due to it marking the earlier Equinox
and there was also the belief that the human race was created when the Sun was
in this sign.
The Chaldeans also had their ‘bull of
light’, or ‘bull of heaven’, as two important star groups, the Pleiades and
Hyades reside in this sign. The ancient Latin author, Manilius (c.
10 CE) stated that Taurus was ‘rich in maidens’, as there are seven mythical
‘daughters’ in each of the two star clusters. The Pleiades were also
nominated the ‘doves of Venus’, or the ‘Pleiadean doves’, often represented as
birds on the back of the animal.
The planet Venus, of course, is known as
the ‘lady of Taurus’, thus the feminine facet of this constellation is very
present. The bull was seen in ancient times as the consort for the great
lunar mother, who is often depicted as riding on the bull’s back, as represented
in the myth of Europa. Taurus has also been implied as relating to the
mythology of Zeus and the nymph Io.
As a
zodiacal component, in the traditional context, Taurus was said to ‘act upon the
element of earth’ by imprinting on it temperate cold and dryness, namely little
or no impediment’. So that within this temperateness ‘the generation of
many sensible things happens, that is both of species and the growth of
vegetables and the like’ . Some of the traditional associations that
have been applied to the sign are as follows; The ‘night house of Venus’,
vernal, vital, fruitful, nocturnal, even, of the warm season, crooked, dry,
commanding, luxurious, physical, animal, bestial, quadruped, gluttonous,
magnetic, melancholic, rich of voice.
Some More Symbology & Mythology
The glyph for Taurus is obviously
symbolic of the head and horns of a bull, it is also viewed as the full moon
with a crescent moon attached to it. This lunar symbol is one of great
fecundity and sustenance, as the crescent is upturned to ‘catch’ and hold that
which may fill it. This symbol also reinforces Taurus’ ancient
astrological association with nocturnal principles and as a feminine
metaphysical constituent (the Mis exalt in Taurus). This symbol is seen on
a Babylonian cylinder seal (c. 2150 BCE). In modern times the glyph of
Taurus is thought to be a abstracted representation of the larynx, with the
Eustachian tubes, main parts of the body governed by this
sign.
The Greek myth of the Minotaur (the
man with the bull’s head) is well known and as direct result of this myth,
evolved the ‘bull dance’ rituals of ancient Crete, in which young gymnasts
somersault over the bull’s back. The Alexandrians of Egypt also held a
ceremony in an arena where a bull was captured and sacrificed and the Romans
also pitted man against the bull. The remnants of all these ancient
practices are still alive today in the bull fights of Spain and Portugal.
These ceremonies were representative of the victory over the lower, instinctive
‘animal’ nature and the blood spilt is a symbol of fertility.
The ‘lunar’ bull was also sacred to
Venus as a fertility goddess. This has a more ancient connection with the
Babylonian goddess Ishtar , who ordered the creation of a bull and sent it
against the hero-god Gilgamesh, seen as a symbol of matriarchal order versus the
patriarchal. Thus, in the very highest sense, the ‘sacrifice’ of the bull
is expressive of the penetration of the feminine by the masculine, the cause of
the fertile process (as seen in the matador piercing the animal in the
bullring). This supplies part of the explanation how in some cultures the
bull is a solar, rather than a lunar symbol, as the solar cults slowly
supplanted the dominance of the more ancient cults of the moon.
The creative, artistic aspect of
Taurus comes through in myth with the fact that Venus is the planetary ruler of
the sign and she is primarily a deity of beauty and pleasure. Taureans are
classically known for their appreciation and abilities with these aspects of
life. Venus (Aphrodite) was married to the ‘smithy’ of the gods’,
Hephaestus (Vulcan ) and her beauty inspired in him the desire to craft amazing
objects of incredible refinement. As Taurus the zodiac sign contains
themes about giving form to the creative ability, in the greatest sense this
principle is expressed as the glorification of matter.
In the ancient Druidic culture, Taurus
was seen as an important asterism of worship. There took place a great
religious festival called ‘the Tauric’. It is noted that it is claimed,
maybe fancifully by some scholars, that the hot-cross buns are our contemporary
representatives of the ‘bull-cakes’ from such past times, which hold the same
stellar association. This connection is said to stretch back through the
ages to the civilizations of Egypt and Phoenicia.
It is also
observed that the Scottish people talked of the ‘Candlemas bull’, which was seen
to rise in the twilight of their New Years Eve.
Human headed bulls guarded the temples
of Assyria, the animal also significant in this culture. The ‘celestial
bull’ ploughed a great furrow of the sky and the Babylonian lunar god Sin also
took the form of a bull. The Hebrew priests assigned the first letter of
their alphabet (Aleph) to this sign, connecting it to the concept of the ‘eye of
god’. In Scandinavian myth the roar of the bull and the stamping of its
hooves are reflected in the thunder which heralds the fertilizing
rains.
The Amazon Indians were observed as seeing in
the Hyades the head of a bull; they also nominated it as ‘Tapura Rayoaba’, ‘The
Jaw of an Ox’. In China, as a zodiacal constellation, this sign was the
‘Cock’, or ‘Hen’, this eventually became the ‘Golden Ox’, under subsequent
Jesuit influence. Hindu culture venerates the bull as well and testament
to the importance of this animal as a symbol, there are many more examples than
the scope of these notes allows.
Archetypal
Principles
Uplifting the Physical Plane. Spirit into Matter. Guardian of Value. Consolidator of Form.
Primary Archetypal Type Settler Steward
Artisan
Examples of Mythic Representations
Bull Rituals - Minotaur
- Kings Minos and Midas - Europa – Io - Dadelaus - Hephaestus/Vulcan – The
7th Labour of Hercules, the Capture of the Cretan Bull.
Examples of Archetypal Personas
Labourer, Carpenter,
Tradesperson, Farmer, Gardener, Chef, Craftsperson, Sculptor, Jeweller,
Sensualist, Builder, Courtesan, Garland maker.
Examples of Archetypal Objects and Symbols
Rock, Tools,
Steel, Anvil, Labyrinth, Garden, Five Senses, Crescent Moon, Adornments,
Good Food, Lush Gardens.
Examples of Key Manifestations
Quality, value, resource,
security, foundation, provision, possessions, greed, accumulation,
acquisition, determination, tenacity, resistance.
Primary Psychological Associations
Processes regarding the principle of accumulation and holding on - Sense of personal worth and subsequent value systems - Validation and Deserving - Stewardship and cultivation - Stability of the psyche - Stubbornness and Predictability - Security.
Modern Taurus
Taurus as a Stage of
Development
As the second sign of the natural order
of the zodiac, the Taurean ‘stage’ of anything reflects a theme of containing
and consolidating, a bonding and forming of something tangible and real.
As a point of development, what has been seeded now finds a stable place to take
a potentially fuller form. In the northern hemisphere, Taurus is analogous
to spring in it’s fullest bloom, pregnant with the vital, potential fertility
that gives rise to the ripe fruit of summer. In the metaphysical dynamics
energy is drawn together and thus strengthened, given greater potency and
endurance. Thus things may grow further from the laying of a more stable
and ‘real’ base.
In the analogy concerning the newborn
human being, as a psychological template developing, this sign may be given a
parallel with an infant’s growing sensory capability. Here the baby is
getting more ‘in touch’ regarding the perception of a greater reality, than just
mother and the quest to exist (as in A). At this point the child is
embarking on a further recognition of its own physical body , grasping
fingers and toes, clutching new things, new textures, tastes smells, sights and
sounds. The world becomes a kaleidoscope of sensory stimulus and it is as
though the senses are literally ‘blossoming’.
The child is perceiving what
‘it has’, through aspects of its own body and objects in the graspable
environment. This is the next crucial and basic step in the individuation
process. At this stage the child is experiencing how ‘’safe’ it is to
further their sensory limits, and how ‘comfortable’ the world really is.
Ideally security is supported rather than threatened, or destabilised. The
parental validation of touch is vital in this phase.
FIND OUT MORE CHARACTERISTICS OF TAURUS IN PART 2
Organic Divination for the Urban Jungle
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