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Sylvan E Thorncraft © August 2003

      Taurus is deeply rooted in the earth, the body, one’s environment (I have).  She experiences the world with her senses, feeling her way.  She is skilled at manifestation and productivity.  Her symbol is traditionally the bull at pasture.

     Her card in tarot is the Hierophant (5), which represents the principle of learning and teaching.  In this card Taurus shows how to build form in the world that uses our personal knowledge of what is sacred.  She reminds us to take action and manifest our ideas.

     Taurus time is Beltane, a celebration of initiation to the mysteries of sacred sexuality and fertility of the earth.  The world is full of new life, lush verdant meadows, trees heavy with buds, and the air is thick with bird song.

     The moon is moving from new to her crescent phase.  The seed of the new moon is sprouting, struggling to push through the earth towards the sun and illumination.

     For Taurus I looked to the great moon-cow goddesses.  The cow is a common manifestation of the Great Mother, the white, horned, milk giving goddess.  She has many names, Hawthor in Egypt, Lat for the Etruscans, Al-Lat in Arabia, Leto in Greece; she is a symbol for Kali in India.  She can also be seen in Europa, Ashera, Hera, Galatea, and Keroessa.

     I was drawn to Io, an aspect of Hera.  She is part of a lunar triple goddess, the white, horned, giver of milk.  In one myth Io turns herself from white to red to black, the sacred colors of the Goddess, symbols for maiden, mother, and crone.  For me this tied her to the ancient mother, giving a sense of her timelessness, her constancy.  The symbol of the cornucopia features fruit of the earth overflowing from a horn.  I felt this abundance in the flow of milk from her breasts.

     The Great Mother holds such bounty, such nourishment, but as Taurus she is very grounded in the earth.  She is solid and dependable yet generous.  I see her lesson as showing how the joy of being rooted in the earth provides a safe place and the strength to manifest our ideas.  Following this path nourishes ourselves so we may share the fruits of our labors with others.

Bibliography included with text on Zodiac Goddess Gallery page.