ONE
The second sign of the Zodiac is Taurus, named after the constellation of the bull. Taurus is a fixed earth sign, the most difficult to move, the least likely to change. At best, solid, dependable. At worst, stubborn, intractable.
Taurus is about to be transformed by the transit of the centaur Chiron through this sign over the next seven years / until 2034.
TWO
Taurus is the sign of material reality, the soil where everything grows. The thin, outermost crust of our little planet from which all life comes and to which all must return. The soil that even when subject to the harshness of radiation, as after the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, maintains its ability to produce and nurture.
THREE
The keyword of Taurus is “I have”, and Taurus is instinctively involved in possession and ownership. But this doesn’t have to mean bondage to the material world and a denial of anything beyond the physical. Taurean consciousness is uniquely qualified to take us into the spirit of the earth.
Many years ago, I met a coal miner from Yorkshire, England who was retired and running an organic smallholding and was an active member of the Soil Association, an association that promotes and certifies organic food. He’d spent his working life underground and knew that the earth wasn’t just a dumb heap of rock and muck. He had experienced the earth as alive with its own spirit. A spirit that is inherent in and inseparable from the physical.
FOUR
Taurus is the earth sign you would expect to find in the charts of physicists, those scientists who explore the actual composition of the physical world. And it is interesting that some of the most famous physicists have come to the realization that it is consciousness rather than matter that is the basis of reality. Here’s a quote from German physicist and quantum pioneer, Max Planck.
“I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness.” (The Observer, 1931)
Incidentally, Planck had sun in Taurus as part of a powerful stellium of six planets plus three centaurs. By virtue of his work, humanity has been able to explore even deeper into the nature of physical matter.
For further observations about the nature of consciousness and matter, see the writings of Austrian physicist, Erwin Schrödinger.
FIVE
The three earth signs of the zodiac, Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn are associated with the three functions of money. Taurus represents the store of value, Virgo, the medium of exchange, Capricorn the unit of accounting.
Let’s look at some examples. Your local currency, dollar, euro, pound or whatever is a pretty good store of value, but when inflation goes up, the value of your currency will go down. A car will lose value over the years. A laptop may have use value, but its resale value evaporates as soon as you take it out of the box. So, Taurus is looking for what keeps its value. There’s property of course but if you need something more liquid, there’s that designer handbag, or that first edition copy of Harry Potter. So, we return to gold. Something that has been the store of value for thousands of years.
In the movie Dune, the Fremen, the people of the desert, store their value in massive reservoirs of their most precious asset, namely water.
Also, in the financial markets where stocks, bonds and commodities are traded, the term ‘bullish’ describes an optimistic, confident outlook, where value is expected to be added and prices are expected to rise. How Taurean!
SIX
Taurean colours are the colours of the earth. Deep browns, off-whites, clays, ochres, tans, and terracotta. These are also the colours of the plant-based dyes that can be made from nature rather than synthesized in a laboratory. Taurean colours are comforting to the eyes, comfortable to wear and to live in. While fashions may change, the earth tones are always there, solid, immutable.
SEVEN
Taurus is into all the five senses but the first is the sense of touch and what that tells us about the texture of the world. Is the soil gritty, smooth, sticky or soft? Is it fine or coarse? And what about fabrics? Are they velvety or fleecy, ribbed or sheer?
Then after touch, there’s the sense of smell as refined in the art of the perfumier. The comforting smell of vanilla, the zest of lemon or lime, the intoxicating bouquet of jasmine or ylang-ylang, the delicate perfection of rose, the earthy smell of sandalwood, the dark animalistic scents of musk or leather.
Taurus is the sign of the artist, working with the sensory and sensual. The quality of a voice. The unique sound of a trumpet or saxophone that musicians work so hard to cultivate.
But the artform that is the most Taurean is dance. The human body in relation to the earth, to gravity. This is more noticeable in the dance of cultures that are connected to the earth and the cycles of nature, rather than the gravity-defying leaps of classical western ballet, or the robotic movements of body popping as well as moonwalking that creates the illusion of floating disconnected from the earth and from gravity.
In the Celtic calendar, the festival of Beltane falls on May 1st when the sun is in the sign of Taurus. Traditionally it was celebrated (in the northern hemisphere) by dancing barefoot on the earth.
EIGHT
In medical astrology, Taurus rules the neck and throat and is associated with the beauty of the singing voice. The neck and the neck muscles are also the place where we carry determination, and the throat chakra is the place where we voice our inner truth and speak our needs.
NINE
This brings us to the planet Venus, the ruler of Taurus. The planet of beauty and love. Venus represents that which attracts us, that which we value, that which we hold dear. Taurus rules the realm of the senses that are inflamed by the sexual act.
TEN
A beautiful example of the Taurean love of sensual pleasure is the story of Ferdinand the Bull by Munro Leaf, written to showcase the illustrations of Robert Lawson. Ferdinand is sweet little calf who prefers to sit under his favourite tree, sniffing flowers, rather than butting heads with the other bulls. And even when he grows into a massive adult bull, he still keeps true to his peaceful nature.
This charming children’s book upset some dictators when it was published. The Spanish dictator, Franco banned it and it was ordered to be burned by Hitler who described it as ‘degenerate, democratic propaganda’.
For when all is said and done, Taurus is the sign of peace and beauty.
Ben Belinsky
July 2026
Featured image by Robert Lawson from “Ferdinand the Bull” by Munro Leaf
