Taurus in Astrology: The Enlightened One

They may not say much in a room full of people, but their presence is strong.

Taurus in Astrology Rules Our Earthly Pleasures and the Importance of Staying Present

When I started to think about the Taureans in my life, beauty, tranquillity, and strength connected them. I compared them to a large luminescent crystal rock sitting quietly in its natural radiance.

As a fixed earth sign, Taurus energy is grounded, steady and reliable. With the Aries seed, Taurus plants itself, piercing out from its buds and nurtured by the soil, its roots deeply connecting to the earth — the material plane. They are like the self-involved babies learning to touch, feel, smell, hear and taste the world. Valuing the physical world and earthly comforts, Taureans are concerned with material possessions, accumulating and building wealth through practical means. Similar to Capricorn and Virgo they reach the zenith with patience and consistency.

However, the same tenacity, self-focus and determination can turn on itself. With the qualities of fixed energy, Taureans can get stuck in their ways, giving the utmost value to materialistic possessions. Often times, when they attach their self-worth to physical wealth and pleasure, Taurean energy can turn shallow. Holding on for dear life to worldly goods, monetary value, it is symbolic of the Miser and the Hoarder Archetype. Fencing themselves in with objects, afraid to lose what they have, the stubborn focus on surface-level desires blinds them from resources found internally, which can set perpetual dissatisfaction.

The beginnings of the Buddha were far from humble. Born a prince to a wealthy king in Northern India, Gautama was born in the lap of luxury. He was destined to rule one day and become king. When a wise man predicted two potential destinies, his father would make sure he would take on the road of a great ruler and not the path of a great religious teacher. The king sheltered him in security and wealth,  confining and distracting Gautama in beautiful palaces, splendid clothes and food. All to conceal him from the world outside.

One day, Gautama ventured off into the nearby town. There, he saw the stark reality of his own life. He witnessed death, decrepitness and poverty outside his palace. Naturally in shock, he could not bear to live knowing that others suffered while he lived a life of privilege. After meeting an ascetic, a holy man who had denounced everything to dedicate his life to religion, Gautama’s concerns urged him to leave his current riches and follow the same path. He sought guidance from spiritual gurus and subjected his body to great hardship in fasting and ascetic practices.

After being starved and ravaged by the harsh conditions of his dismal environment, he was still no closer to his answer. He knew if he had continued, his body would waste away. “He, therefore, decided on a middle way between luxury and austerity. He took a little food, much to the disgust of his fellow ascetics, who promptly left him. Then he sat himself on the ‘immovable spot’ under a great Bodhi tree at a place nowadays called Bodh Gaya. He was determined to sit there, meditate until he found an answer or die trying.” https://tinyurl.com/yaf9q52t

The middle way for Taureans is the journey within, towards the sign of Scorpio. The axis of inner and outer wealth and desire is the balance that cures the inertia for which Taureans are known. Through the sign of Scorpio, they find deep meaning, the weight and currency of their inner selves. It is a journey towards the relationship with oneself and the riches it comes with.

By seeking the middle way, Gautama found Enlightenment. He was no longer Gautama but the Buddha, the “Awakened One.”

The Buddha found great knowledge and Enlightenment by experiencing all aspects of life. Through deep meditation, he saw into his past lives and the balance of karma. It liberated him from desire, attachment to existence and clinging to false and fixed views.

 “All compound things are impermanent, strive on heedfully.”

Scorpio is also a sign of transformation, changes and letting go. The ebb and flow. Through Scorpio, Taurus learns that nothing stays the same, that everything is cyclical, and that we must let go when necessary. An attachment to any one thing goes against the balance of life, the karmic cycle.

The Buddha returned, now awake, to teach others “the way.” Buddhism isn’t a religion but a way of life. It is a way to find your truth by bending to life with grace and rising from the illusion of permanency.

Taurus takes on the awakened path by riding each moment through the physical senses and earthly pleasures to see the beauty in everything without attaching to it, as beauty itself is being in the present and the presence of it. It’s an energy that sits in its immovable spot, like the strength of a rock crystal that vibrates with inner and external beauty. 

@astro.wild.child