Taurus

The Bull, focused earth, ruled by Venus & Earth

Following the fire flash of Ariesą divine inspiration that sows the seed, Taurus provides fertile ground for its endurance, sustenance and growth. The Taurus experience is intimately connected with Gaia, Goddess Earth. In esoteric lore, Taurus is ruled first by Venus and then by Earth, sensing her as a living being with the elements moving through her body in a natural system that sustains all of her children. Deliberate, sensual, at ease, Taurus tends the body first, making a home for the development of soul.

Like a wide, tall tree with deep tap roots, Taurus settles into the earth to establish a solid base for continuing fruitfulness. Such a Tree of Life is the Biblical centerpiece in the Garden of Eden. An older myth from Sumeria suggests a source of this tree and its purpose. The ancient civilization of Sumer flourished in the fertile crescent of the Mesopotamian valley during the Age of Taurus, roughly 2000-4000 BCE. Their holy literature, written on clay tablets dug up and translated only in this century, conveys their glory in sensual experience and the pracgmatic values guiding religion and government. The Sumerian genesis story begins with a separation of heaven and earth and a stormy encounter between the God of Wisdom and the exiled Goddess of the Kur, the Great Below. A huluppu tree, planted by the banks of the Euphrates River, was torn up by the wind and carried downstream.

The young Venusian goddess, Inanna, plucked the tree from the river and planted it in her holy garden. This Tree of Life represented her coming queenship and womanhood. When she planted the tree in her garden, she was claiming ownership of her destiny and preparing to fully manifest her power and sexuality. Before the tree matured, however, a serpent made its home in the roots of the tree, a lion-headed bird nested with its young in the branches, and the dark maid, Lilith, took up residence in the trunk. Inanna was quite upset, but these creatures were there to teach her something about herself.

As a tree cannot grow without nourishment drawn through its roots deep in the subterranean darkness, so Taurus cannot grow to its greatest strength without tapping into the depth of its opposite sign, Scorpio. Seasonally, its ever-deepening roots dig down toward the core of Earth to drink underground waters purified by the internal, rock-melting heat and life-giving essence generated by the fearless, erotic Scorpio passion. The serpent, the bird and Lilith in the tree came from the dark goddess in the underworld, the source of the tree. They came to teach Inanna about her feminine power.

It takes the massive strength and practicality of Taurus to deal with the powerful energies tapped at these lower depths. Inanna called upon her strong, warrior brother, Gilgamesh , to chase the creatures from her tree. He then cut down the tree and fashioned her throne and her bed, manifesting her desires. The story was not over, however; later, when she hears the call from within, Inanna must go down the underworld herself to deepen and renew her power. In the meantime, hug a tree!

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