The lesson of the Sun in Taurus is learning that using power must be tempered by selflessness and sexuality by judgment. Earthly power used in the service of the ego and personal gain leads to tragedy and suffering. Its user becomes a tryant. Sexuality is also a power, that when misused, can be destructive of relationships and self-respect. The Taurian must solve the paradoxes of allowing the expression of these powerful human needs while containing the power of human instincts to comply with social and ethical mores.

.

The Myth

.

One myth that might illustrate this lesson is the story of king Minos of Crete and his insult to the Sea god, Psoidon. Minos, a son of Zeus himself, was one of three brothers contending for the throne of Ancient Crete. But he called to Psoidon, god of the Oceans, to send a bull out of the sea as a sign that he was the one chosen to be king. If the sign was granted, he pledged to sacrifice the bull to the Ocean god. Psoidon complied and sent him a bull from the sea. But upon seeing the magnificent animal, Minos was taken by greed, and decided to instead sacrifice the best bull of his herd and to keep the Bull from the sea for his own herds.

.

The selfish act angered Psoidon, and he retaliated by asking Aphrodite to have Minos’ wife, Pasiphae, fall into lust for the bull. And she, in turn, prevailed upon the master craftsman, Daedalus, to build her a wooden cow within which she might “receive the bull”. The mating occurred, and Pasiphae subsequently delivered a child. But the child had a horrible bull’s head. Thus, was the Minotaur born. As he grew up, the Minotaur proved so ungovernable and terrible that Minos had Daedalus built a labyrinth into which the Monster was placed. There he was fed young men and women in the darkness, for human flesh was what he demanded for his food.

.

Minos was known far and wide in his day for his wealth, which was based upon sea power. Yet at the heart of his empire there was a horror in the darkness of the labyrinth, and his empire stagnated.

.

The Journey of the Taurian

.

The Seeker on his Hero’s Journey, like Theseus who himself was sired by Psoidon and eventually killed the Minotaur, must travel into that dark place where he meets the Minotaur--the dark, bestial form of his own Father and the Terror waiting at the center of the dark labyrinth of the mind. Like Theseus, each of us must redeem that aspect of ourselves, Minos, who sinned against god by choosing to use his earthly power to benefit himself rather than by honoring his responsibility and debt as a servant of that Oceanic Power.

Taurus is ruled by Venus, the planetary version of the goddess Aphrodite, and it was--after all--Aphrodite who laid the curse upon Minos’ wife. Goddess of Love that she is, there are aspects of the goddess who carry darker import than others, for only Aphrodite and the daimon Eros were able to “possess“ humans.

.

Aphrodite was unique among the Greek pantheon for she was open to carnal love with both mortals and gods. The body is sacred to Aphrodite. Thus, she is often portrayed naked. She is actively sexual, assertive, and confident. She is the image of relative sexual equality and was the goddess of courtesans. Conjugal satisfaction, procreation, desire and satisfaction, adornment and culture, beauty and the erotic arts all belong to her. She links instinctual sexuality and the cultural arts of love. But she is in no sense a wife, although her arts belong to all wives.

.

Her list of powers would seem to be uniformly positive, but her arts are double-edged for when irresponsibly employed or undisciplined, the results can be tragic. And in this case, Aphrodite’s arts lead to a bestial mating that produced a monster and a tragedy for Minos’ kingdom.

.

The Sigil of the Bull

.

The image of the Bull, the sigil for Taurus, is an ancient symbol of the King and Queen conjoined, united in passion. It has both masculine and feminine aspects. The Bull is the manifestation of powerful instinctual drives within humanity, including the instinct to power and sexuality. The Bull is not evil in itself, but when out of control, it can be deadly, violent and destructive--for it represents animal passions.

.

Sexual activity in itself is not evil either, but when not regulated within relationships and social contracts, it too can produce tragic consequences. Women born under Venus-ruled Taurus have to be careful in employing their arts of love, for these arts can prove destructive in relationships and life as well as joy-producing. For Taurus is a very instinct-driven sign. Sexuality is a key element of their needs and drives. Giving in to these instinctual drives outside of social conventions or relationship agreements can prove destructive, as it did for Pasiphae and Minos. Even when not discovered, the person will find deep within herself--in the labyrinth of her unconscious mind--a monster that, in time, will devour her life and the happiness of her kingdom.

.

The masculine aspect of the Bull is reflected, perhaps, in Aphrodite’s husband, Hephaistos, the Divine but ugly craftsman of beautiful things. He is the creative aspect behind Aphrodite, the beautiful goddess. While he is unlovely, he creates beauty. And from the masculine, although sexuality may not possess the allure it does within the feminine form, the sexual impulse can take the form of creativity and the development of beauty in life. But a delicate balance must always be maintained between the uncontrollability of the sexual impulse and its procreative and cultural manifestations. Whenever the beast gets out of control in someone’s life, tragic consequences can occur.

.

The Seeker must solve the paradox of the Bull: the attraction and joy in the sexual impulse balanced against the need to control and discipline the impulse and channel it into creative and sexual expression. Too harsh a repression of one’s sexuality, and the mind splits from the body, and pathology results. The person becomes overly intellectual and uncreative, and in the darkness of the unconscious mind, a monster grows from these unmet sexual needs. Too profligate an abandonment to sexuality or the creative impulse, and the person can lose herself and her self respect in bestial affairs or in his art.

.

Each of us must learn to “dance with the bull” as did, perhaps the Cretan Bull Dancers of long ago, vaulting over the horns of charging bulls and lightly landing, balanced in their devotion to the good of themselves and others.

.

The Task of Taurus

.

The task of Taurus is to find that balance in one’s life and hold it, to find peace, serenity, and tranquility. Taurus is so very physical and sensual. She seeks to touch and be touched. She longs to touch the earth, the branching trees, to walk barefooted in the grass. She revels in sensuousness.

.

Many Taureans are called into Nature, seeking Silence and Peace. And Nature, in her wildness, is extraordinarily sensual. Escaping the crowds of humans and never-ending noise is their greatest wish. There, without thoughts or sound, they can just be. When they can find that silent place and hold to it, they can control the beast within and live in balance.

.

The weakness of Taurus is a need for security and human instinct is often inclined to seek safety and security. When Taurus give in to the need to feel secure, they can be seduced into an accumulation of Things. Materialism is a trap. The search for security and the accumulation of things can prove a lure into stagnation, for growth virtually always demands a choice step outside self interest and into the Unknown. Confronted by their withdrawal into materialism, many become stubborn and defensive, not desiring to surrender their safe, rich, comfortable lives or control of their lives. At some point, Taurus will have to choose: stagnation in the search for security and things versus choosing change and transformation in one‘s life. If they choose stagnation, as Steven Forrest says, “All is lost!”

.

Bibliography

.

Steven Forrest, The Inner Sky (Seven Paws Press: 1988).

.

Liz Greene, The Astrology of Fate (Samuel Weiser: York Beach, ME, 1984).

.