Taurus

“ Taurus contains the greatest number of stars of any constellation, 141 in all, exclusive of the Pleiades.
The celebrated star clusters, the Hyades and Pleiades, are contained in Taurus. As they are specially noteworthy the writer has seen fit to devote a chapter to them. ”

“ Taurus looked down on me with his great fiery eye, whilst Vega, our future polar-star, shone brilliantly, high up in the azure vault, and not far from her was the circle of diamonds, which form the constellation of Corona Borealis. All these stationary constellations seemed to move with the pitching of the vessel, and in one lurch I saw the main-mast describe a distinct arc of a circle from β, in the Great Bear, to Altair in the Eagle, whilst the moon, already low in the heavens, dipped her crescent in the horizon. ”

“ The sun, after entering the sign Aries and passing through one eighth of it, determines the vernal equinox. On reaching the tail of Taurus and the constellation of the Pleiades, from which the front half of Taurus projects, he advances into a space greater than half the firmament, moving toward the north. From Taurus he enters Gemini at the time of the rising of the Pleiades, and, getting higher above the earth, he increases the length of the days. ”

“ The explanation of the veiled mystery is that the Moon at the full is the symbol of the soul, the emblem of which is a bee. It comes from the body of a bull or Taurus, the second sign of the zodiac, in which as Porphyry observes she is in her exaltation and powerful; Taurus is the earth sign of the planet Venus in the guise of the goddess of Generation, and as the soul enters the world, new born, the waters of the Jordan are needed to purify it as, when it leaves the body, water was left for it to wash off the emanations of its deserted covering. ”

“ Taylor was there. But as the magnificent mountains of the Taurus range loomed up along the northern horizon, his attention was taken from rags, beggary, and ruined fortresses, to snowy cliffs, over which he had a passion for clambering.
Those persons who have ascended the Alps at the Simplon pass, have a very good idea of the Taurus mountains, and can realize somewhat of Mr. Taylor’s satisfaction as he rode up the gorges and peered into the deep valleys. He loved the mountains anywhere. ”

“ Those born under Taurus will be of this type: round-headed, coarse-haired, with broad forehead, oblong eyes and great eyebrows if dark; if fair, thin veins, sanguine complexion, large and heavy eyelids, great ears, round mouth, thick nose, widely-open nostrils, thick lips. They are strong in their upper limbs, but are sluggish from the hips downwards from their birth. ”

“ Taurus gives to the native born under his auspices a stout athletic frame, broad bull-like forehead, dark curly hair, short neck, and so forth, and a dull apathetic temper, exceedingly cruel and malicious if once aroused. ”

“ All these ‘watery constellations’—Aquarius, Capricorn, Cetus, the Dolphin, Hydra, Pisces—are set aside, in the mouths of poets and in the familiar lore of the many, for the Hyades, that lovely sestet of Taurus which in these winter-months are known to all of us, where they flash and dance south-east of the Silver Apples of childhood’s sky—the clustered Pleiades. ”

“ Benjamin has written a most interesting monograph on the sun in Taurus which the writer takes the liberty of quoting from, as it reveals much that is enlightening concerning the constellation, and the customs that have survived the ancient worship of this time-honoured star group:
"In all ages of the world the nations have hailed with delight the return of spring and the revivification of nature under the warmth and heat of the sun. This universal festival we know as May Day and it commemorates the entrance of the sun into the constellation Taurus at the vernal equinox 4000 b.c. ”

“ Nature mourned the impending loss of her Summer glories, and the advent of the empire of night, the withdrawing of the waters, made fruitful by the Bull in Spring, the cessation of the winds that brought rains to swell the Nile, the shortening of the days, and the despoiling of the earth. Then Taurus, directly opposite the Sun, entered into the cone of shadow which the earth projects, by which the Moon is eclipsed at full, and with which, making night, the Bull rises and descends as if covered with a veil, while he remains above our horizon. ”

“ In Taurus he will plant his trees, that this sign, which the astrologers are pleased to call fixed, may fasten them deep in the earth. If at any time he has a mind to be admitted into the presence of a prince, he will wait till the moon is in conjunction with the sun; for 'tis then the society of an inferior with a superior is salutary and successful. ”

“ From this beginning of the Taurus up to the height of a mile the clouds never pass away; thus we have fifteen miles, that is, a height of about five miles in a straight line; and the summit of the peaks of the Taurus are as much, or about that. There, half way up, we begin to find a scorching air and never feel a breath of wind; but nothing can live long there; there nothing is brought forth save a few birds of prey which breed in the high fissures of Taurus and descend below the clouds to seek their prey. Above the wooded hills all is bare rock, that is, from the clouds upwards ”

“ When intelligence first manifests itself form is a matter of necessity, and, as no form can possibly exist without matter, so Taurus is the first emanation of matter in its most etherealized state. Hence it is feminine, Venus the ruler thereof, and it represents the first pure form of the human soul, as it existed in its bright paradise within the angelic spheres of its parents, and reveals to us the first surprise of intelligence in embryo, the first sensation of consciousness, so to say—conscious of its Divine selfhood. ”

“ Each cycle⁠—each zodiacal sign⁠—brought its special powers which they quickly typified in the monstrous effigies we label today in our dull museums. Each sign took some two thousand years to traverse. Each sign, moreover, involved a change in human consciousness. There was this relation between the heavens and the human heart. All that they knew. While the sun crawled through the sign of Taurus, it was the Bull they worshipped; with Aries, it was the ram that coifed their granite symbols. ”

“ TAURUS
—r—Venus is the chief significator of love and marriage. It also has some influence over money matters and general prosperity, as well as giving a sense of beauty. You deal best with caterers, entertainers, sweethearts, ministers, hotel managers and theater owners. Venus is the principal planet for Taurus , April 20 to May 19, and for Libra , September 23 to October 22.
Personal Classification
—s—Taurus is the head sign of the earthly triplicity, a negative and fixed sign, and second of the Zodiac. ”

“ The brightest star in Taurus is Aldebaran, a ruddy-hued star known as "The Follower." It is at the beginning of the "V" in the Hyades, and is at the apex of a triangle formed by Capella, in Auriga, and α Persei, and equally distant from them both.
The star β called Nath, is peculiarly white, and is common to Taurus and Auriga. It represents the tip of one of the Bull's horns, and the right foot of the Charioteer. The Pleiades are mentioned in Chinese annals in 2357 b.c. On a photograph of the group over 2000 stars have been counted. ”

“ The narrative is all based on the signs of the Zodiac:
Each a double sign or male-female [in ancient astrological Magic] —viz: it was Taurus-Eve, and Scorpio was Mars-Lupa, or Mars with the female wolf [in relation to [pg 154] Romulus] . So, as these signs were opposites of each other, yet met in the centre, they were connected; and so in fact it was, and in a double sense, the conception of the year was in Taurus, as the conception of Eve by Mars, her opposite, in Scorpio. The birth would be at the winter solstice, or Christmas. ”

“ In the meanwhile we all are Taurus Antinor's slaves and must look after his houses until they have been sold."
"Wilt be happy as a freedman, Folces?"
"Yes, Augusta," replied the man simply, "for then I shall be at liberty to follow Taurus Antinor as his servant." ”

“ I proceeded on my journey until I had reached Alcyone in the famous constellation of Taurus. On one of the planets revolving around Alcyone, I found a distinctive class of human beings faintly resembling creatures that I had seen in several other constellations, but of which I have, as yet, made no special mention.
Among these people no audible language is used as a means of communication. One might think that high civilization would be impossible without such a vehicle of thought. But on this Mute world humanity has pushed far along in the great interstellar race for supremacy. ”

“ Many of the authorities hold that the zodiac was planned while the spring equinox fell in the constellation Taurus. In support of this claim it may be said that, if this is the case, the sun was ascending all through the signs that face the east, and was descending all through the signs that face the west, a significant and logical arrangement which could hardly be accidental. ”

“ True it is that, speaking generally, Gemini and not Taurus is the constellation of the Zodiac opposed to Sagittarius, but owing to the irregularity in the shape and size of the portions assigned in the ecliptic to the Zodiacal constellations, the extreme western degrees of Sagittarius are opposed to the extreme eastern degrees of Taurus. Therefore about 4,000 B.C. the equinoctial colure passed through the constellations of the Archer and the Bull. ”

“ Slow to anger and slow to calm down, the subjects of Taurus will harbor a grudge and will be hard to reconcile. They are fearless, kind, and generous.
This sign gives its subjects a mind straightforward, just, inquisitive, and shrewd. It makes them hard to fathom, and endows them with the essential qualities of a diplomat. Their passions are fiery, but not persistent.
They are generally very much attached to their own sentiments and opinions; they are taciturn and tenacious; their will is steady, persevering, and determined to reach its purpose. ”

“ Location.—Taurus contains the well-known and unmistakable group the Pleiades, on the right shoulder of the Bull. A "V" shaped group known as the Hyades is just to the southeast of the Pleiades, in the face of the Bull, forming one of the most beautiful objects in the sky. ”

“ There existed an ancient belief that the Earth was created in the spring, and in April the Sun is in the zodiacal constellation Taurus, in which are also situated the Pleiades; they rise a little before the orb, and precede him in his path through the heavens. The stars of this group have always been regarded with a peculiar sacredness, and their rays, mingling with those of the Sun, were believed to shed sweet influences upon the Earth. ”

“ S. of Boston, a well equipped and busy manufacturing town.
Taurida (1,060) , a government of South Russia, of extensive area, jutting down in peninsular shape into the Black Sea, and including the Crimea and isthmus of Perekop; forms the western boundary of the Sea of Azov; cattle-breeding and agriculture the staple industries.
Taurus, or The Bull, a constellation, the second in size of the zodiac, which the sun enters towards the 20th of April.
Taurus, Mount, a mountain range of Turkey in Asia, stretching W. for about 500 m. ”

“ The short signs are Taurus, Cancer, Capricornus, and Pisces. The tall signs are Gemini, Leo, Sagittarius, and Aquarius. The others are of medium height.
The planets rising in each sign will always alter the type by impressing their own characteristics on the subject.
Each sign has a Ruler, and the position of the ruler of the rising sign has much to do with the physical confor [Pg 28] mation, as if Taurus be rising and Venus, its ruler, be in Leo, the person will be taller and fairer than indicated by Taurus alone. Pure types are very uncommon. ”

“ His shoes represented human and sense understanding. (Exodus 3:14.)
—b—This I AM is the center of all things, it is the I AM in YOU. You find that center when you have retreated from the sordid, material world, into fasting and meditation.
—c—In the next or second circle, proceeding upward or North, we find the signs Taurus and Venus .
—d—Taurus , the First Earth Sign, represents the Bull, a symbol of fertility and reproduction. Generation is earth's greatest Force and indicates the Power of nations. Taurus is influenced by Venus , the planet of Love, Art, Woman and the Home. ”

“ On April 18 the sun was in the 6th degree of Taurus at that date, as we again learn from Chaucer's treatise. Set this 6th degree of Taurus on the East horizon on a globe, and it is found to be 22 degrees to the North of the East point, or 112 degrees from the South. The half of this is at 56 degrees from the South; and the sun would seem to stand above this 56th degree, as may be seen even upon a globe, at about a quarter past nine; but Mr. Brae has made the calculation, and shews that it was at twenty minutes past nine. ”

“ West of Ararat high hills extend along the Black Sea between which and the Taurus range lies the plateau of Asia Minor reaching to the Aegean Sea, the mountains along the Black Sea, on which are the Olympus and Ida of the ancients rise to 6000 or 7000 ft., the Taurus is more lofty—reaching 8000 and 10,000 ft.—both ranges decline in altitude as they approach the Mediterranean. ”

“ It may be observed that the usual representation of Taurus in star-maps is with his head, not his tail, towards Gemini.
1085. the risinge: that is to say, Virgo is the ‘exaltation’ of Mercury, as well as one of his houses.
1100. For the sense of ‘applied’ cp. v. 913.
1115 f. Libra is the exaltation of Saturn.
1135. That is to say, Scorpio is the ‘fall’ of Venus, being the sign opposite to one of her houses, namely Taurus. ”