Observe how they pass over fallen twigs without making the slightest noise. The only sound to be heard is their somewhat heavy breathing.
Somehow, an astrological rumor has gotten around that Taurus people are inclined to be overweight. This is false. Some of them tend to plumpness, true, but most of them do not.
They love to cook and they love to eat, but normally, the splendid physique of the Bull causes any excess calories to turn into solid muscle. With the female Taureans, good food only seems to give them a look of sturdy coordination, and a slow, sensual grace. (Taurean film star Audrey Hepburn is fat?) Of course, there are always the inevitable exceptions, but the truth of the matter is that it’s the Sun Signs of Cancer and Libra who are more susceptible to plumpness and extra curves than Taurus. (I said susceptible, that’s all, susceptible.) I just thought I’d mention it, to put the Taurus people reading this section into a contented frame of mind. That’s always the safest way to keep Cows and Bulls—contented.
Another misconception about these people is that they’re lazy. Taureans are not lazy. They’re simply dedicated to the proposition that wasting energy is a sin, which is why you’ll seldom catch them in a quick movement. (Except for rare Bulls like Fred Astaire, who have heavy Gemini influences in their birth charts.) The reason Taurus people have so much strength is because the typical Bulls conserve it, the way they conserve their money. When you put two Taureans together, it’s difficult to get them to move into any sort of instant action (unless they’re angry, but we’ll discuss that later). In fact, moving two Bulls is twice as hard as moving one Bull (an example of uncomplicated, sensible, Taurus-type logic). Picture a couple of piles of rich earth, just sitting there, side-by-side. Isn’t it peaceful? Neither of them wishes to profane the peaceful stillness by chattering unduly. When they first meet, they’ll size each other up more or less silently. No Bull is ever overly anxious to impulsively jump into an association with another Bull (or any other kind of astrological animal) until all the various possibilities have been carefully judged and seriously considered.
This brings us to the third unfair and fallacious astrological rumor—that Taureans are stubborn. They are not stubborn. They’re merely determined and firm in their convictions, not nervous flibbertigibbits who are continually changing their minds and losing their heads. The Bulls change their minds rarely, and lose their heads with even greater infrequency. It’s only reasonable, you see, after you’ve done all that careful judging and serious considering, to stick to what you know is right. When two Taurus people (of either sex) who hold conflicting opinions are brought into close proximity, they both become even more reasonable with each other than they are with others of contrary opinion.
One of the producers of a major television network where I was once a writer is a Taurus. I remember the time he was assigned by the network to build a prime time TV spectacular around a popular singing star, also a Taurus. One calm, peaceful morning, the Taurus star arrived at the Taurus producer’s office to discuss the format of the show, and these two Bulls were closeted together behind locked doors for nearly six hours, without so much as a coffee break. Each of them had his own ideas about the spectacular, the guest stars, the songs, the musical theme, the scenic background, lighting effects, and so on. When the famous Taurean finally left, the Taurus producer’s secretary and staff crowded around him to ask, What’s he like? The weary Bull considered the question carefully, as usual, and finally allowed as how the star was a nice, friendly person, intelligent and creative. Then he paused, and said, But look how long it took him to approve of one simple TV format. He kept pushing some ridiculous ideas he had, over and over, before he realized that I was right in the first place. All that valuable time wasted. I’ve never met anyone so stubborn. Everyone broke up. It took them several minutes to calm down, while the Taurus producer kept asking, What did I say that was so funny?
The last chapter of the foregoing story is that the agent for the Taurus singing star phoned the next day to proffer the singing Bull’s apologies. He had decided not to do the spectacular they discussed, and had signed with another network. Period. End of story.
You’ve probably heard lots of unfair rumors about female American singing star Barbra Streisand being difficult and unreasonable to work with, right? Barbra is a Taurus lady. Obviously, such rumors are false. As I’ve just pointed out, Taureans are completely reasonable. I refer the reader once again to the fourth paragraph of this chapter for a detailed explanation of the reasonable attitude of these unjustly maligned Taurus people. At least no one ever accuses them of not being musical. Every Taurus ever born either sings beautifully, as an amateur or professional—in the shower or tub—while shaving—or if nothing else, adores listening to music, and dreaming about singing.
An association between two Bulls, laboring under the double weight of a 1-1 Sun Sign influence, can be placid, stable and mutually comforting. These people are normally sweet, patient Teddy-Bear types, respectful of each other’s rights, quietly devoted, and unquestionably loyal. Still, life may become somewhat stagnant and uneventful for them, unless the birth chart of one or both contains planets in Air or Fire Signs. Taureans are suspicious of change, because the Bull is conservative, and that’s not a false rumor. If you know a Bull who actually enjoys change, especially abrupt change, he or she was either adopted or the Moon and/or Ascendent was in a sign like Aries, Gemini, or Aquarius at birth. Maybe Sag. The typical Taureans are on guard against quick reforms or sudden switches in the status quo, being very much like the Goats in this respect. They feel that, on the whole, things have been plodding along pretty well for a number of centuries, so why disturb things by changing the rules and regulations of life? To the average Taurean (always allowing for the rare exceptions who prove the rule) any sort of radical interference with Fixed Habit (Taurus is a Fixed Sign, you know)—is unwise. Fixed Habits have already been proven worthy by time, and a new, untested idea could be merely a hair-brained scheme, which might be the dangerous wedge that brings disaster. When a Bull does change his (or her) mind—which does occasionally occur—you can be jolly well certain the change of opinion has been methodically blocked out and measures up to all the necessary qualifications of practicality.
There were, of course, a fair number of double Taurus teams who participated in the youth revolution of the sixties, but an honest survey would show that an extremely low percentage of them were draft-card burners who escaped to Canada, or elsewhere, because of conscientious objection. Taurus may conscientiously object to many things, but facing physical danger is not one of them. The Sun Sign Taurus rules patriotism in astrology (as does Cancer). American television hero Archie Bunker is a Bull. (Not actor Carroll O’Connor. Archie Bunker. Only sissies avoid their patriotic duty.) Of those Bulls who did follow their consciences in this respect, they all suffered private guilt twinges later. Even now there are Taureans who are willing to demonstrate for new causes like Ecology, Solar Energy, Greenpeace, Women’s Rights and so on, just as some of them demonstrated for Civil Rights for the blacks. After all, it is the Aquarian Age, and even Bulls can’t help being swept up in the violent changes. But it will have taken them considerable time to decide to join any protests, and they will have done so only after due cautious reflection.
The currently Venus-ruled Bulls you may know who marched two-by-two in yesterday’s Peace Parades, sniffing posies, believed in Peace itself quite naturally. Yet only a handful of those who called the police pigs, threw trash on the White House lawn, set fires, and otherwise defied law and order—or streaked through towns and hamlets naked, to proclaim their pristine innocence—were Taureans. (In the latter instance, it’s a safe bet the Bulls, however, watched the streakers with interest and amusement. The slapstick aspect of streaking tickled their fancies.) But on the whole, the revolutionary Taurus protesters just stood there quietly, clutching their Peace signs, candles, flowers, incense, or whatever—and it’s quite possible some of them are still standing there.
Their defense of established mores and their respect for authority (when authority is sensible) is often what draws two Bulls together initially—and the glue that keeps them together. Taurus feels that, if change is needed, the only reasonable (there’s that word again!) way to bring it about is within the system. Actually, the rest of us should be properly grateful for these basically kind-hearted, reliable souls, who are so dedicated to the reign of cool reason. We need the assorted viewpoints of all twelve Sun Signs for any sort of sane and lasting Peace on Earth. But a couple of Bulls, when they’re doubling up on their innate character traits, can freeze into a mold that’s just a touch fanatical. Both are deeply and sincerely concerned with protecting their investments, their possessions, their families and loved ones, and their country from wild-eyed radicals. Of course, you must realize that to Taurus, the definition of wild-eyed radicals can be an affectionate couple, who are embracing on the street, wearing twin stickers on their Levi’s reading: One-two-three-four, we’d rather— — — — than go to war. They’d rather kiss than defend their own country?! That sort of philosophy, to the typical Bull, borders on anarchy.
The most potentially damaging aspect of a Taurus-Taurus association is the great reluctance of either Bull to repent when one has seriously offended the other. Even when a Taurean is inwardly convinced that he (or she) has been mistaken, the tendency is to stubbornly stand by what’s been unwisely said or done, because to admit a mistake is uncomfortably close to being weak, and the very word weakness makes a Bull see red. Now and then, one Bull can coax the other to unbend and say I’m sorry, or make up, but not often. Sometimes, tickling them helps. They giggle, turn pink, then finally mumble, Aw shucks, I didn’t mean it. It’s always easier for Taureans to back down when the disgrace of being wrong is cozily blanketed in humor. It breaks the fall.
When a Bull finally comprehends that Taurus patience is a graceful, desirable virtue, but that turned upside down, it’s transformed into plain, cussed, bull-headedness, it will be easier to forgive the other half of the Taurus team his (or her) own spells of the same virtue. Two Bulls can work or play side-by-side, and behave beautifully. They’ll be mutually docile, dependable, and sweetly compliant—if one doesn’t push the other too far, or too hard. Nearly all Taureans have a sensational sense of humor, and if they can learn to laugh at themselves, their adjustment problems will be all over. There’s nothing like a funny bone to tickle the Bull into moving, or changing a Fixed position. Humor is one of the greatest qualities a human being can possess. Blended in generous amounts with the wonderful Taurean dependability, it can help to make these lovable and huggable men and women more reasonable—as well as a shade more flexible.
An afterthought for any two Taureans, who have lost sight of one another’s basic sweetness and cuddly qualities: Every Bull, male or female, clutches a symbolic Teddy Bear for emotional security. So you see, the two of you are really very lovable sorts, not nearly so stern and bull-headed as you both behave at times.
And you can also be certain that every Taurean has a funny bone hidden somewhere behind the silent facade. When they permit one another a glimpse of it, the rich humor shared by these two in their 1-1 Sun Sign association will burst forth like a refreshing rain of happiness, to wash clean those stubborn memories of mutually inflicted hurt. .… and allow the flowers of forgiveness to grow in their hearts.
Taurus Woman and Taurus Man
He was one of those deep ones who know about stocks and shares. Of course no one really knows, but he quite seemed to know, and he often said stocks were up and shares were down in a way that would have made any woman respect him.
A Taurus man walks firmly, in a straight line, toward his goal, step-by-step, not leap-by-leap. He’s perfectly content to reap the harvest of his well-deserved rewards in their own due season, and misfortune or bad luck barely disturbs his tranquility. He may carry a heavy load of responsibilities and bravely accepted, wearying duties—his great heart may be burdened nearly to breaking by the painful memory of myriad past disappointments, but the strong Bull goes right on walking, as though nothing had ever happened. More often than not, his steady and patient plodding is eventually crowned with sweet success.
One is reminded of the equally brave, pathetic Nature bull. He stands there, uncertain, but unflinching. .… maddened by pain and starvation, facing the sadistic toreadors.… scorning any display of weakness, refusing to fall, no matter how many dozens of sharp bandilleros pierce his body. .… charging the taunting red cape again and again and again, in uncomprehending confusion. .… both infuriated and terrorized by the screams of the crowd. .… until he’s mercifully executed at the end of the grisly ceremony of fake male macho known as The Bullfight, the unspeakably cruel sport Papa Hemingway so adored, in which cowardly, despicable humans, fancying themselves to be heroes, torture, tease, torment—and finally murder a magnificent animal. .… while spiritually retarded brutes of both sexes look on and cheer his death agony from the bleachers, in chilling imitation of the bloodthirsty, roaring, insane multitudes in the Coliseum, shortly before Rome fell into the blackness of oblivion—last time—via the courtesy of Karma’s just and final coup-de-grâce.
Should the foregoing, thunderous truth offend, perchance, anyone reading the Spanish language edition of this book, so be it. I make no apology, nor does astrology, to such Iberians and Mexicans. He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man (Isaiah 66:3). There are many millions of fine Spanish and Mexican men and women, residing both in the U.S. and south of the border, who find their thrills, pleasures and excitements in ways other than watching the public torture and murder of helpless beasts—and this book is written to be shared by these Light-Bearing Ones, who don’t stand in the shadow of shame that darkens their ancient heritage of long-ago splendor. The others may come along for the ride, if they wish, but let them both be forewarned and informed that their possible annoyance over my frank analysis of their bullfights leaves this Ram unrepentantly unruffled and unmoved.
The transiting Mars is passing over my natal Aries Sun today as I write, and the effect of the influence will last a considerable while, as always, during which times, certain things never fail to get socked into their proper place in my life. Rather like spring housecleaning, you know?
The typical male Bull possesses the same calm, silent strength of purpose as his astrological symbol, if he’s a spiritually evolved Taurean. Even if he’s a Taurus mutant, like Adolf Hitler, the powerful determination is still present. The average Taurus man is visibly influenced by the courage and iron will of his Bull symbol, and makes admirable use of it. This man knows what he wants, and is willing to sacrifice whatever is necessary, without whining or complaining, to reach the green pastures he seeks.
Nothing could endear him more to the Taurus woman. She is impressed. Let the other women shiver in romantic ecstasy over the barefoot prophets who lie in the grass all day, idling away the hours, stringing love beads, and strumming their guitars. Give her a practical Bull, who wears shoes. When he hangs a strand of love beads around her neck, they won’t be made of dried coffee beans. They’ll be from a real jewelry store, and they’ll be paid for in full. If he strums a guitar, it will be to pick up some bread as a musician, not merely to howl at the Moon on a summer night in Central Park—or in London’s Kensington Gardens (Taurus men always make one think of England’s John Bull).
These two have much in common. Like, she has a firm grip on her pocketbook, and he hangs on to his billfold with both fists. Since they’re both lovers of Nature, they’re crazy about planting green things and watching them grow—like Mutual Funds and Christmas Clubs. That’s another thing they have in common. They both know Santa Claus is a put-on. He doesn’t live at the North Pole, never did. He’s the president of their bank, his name is Christopher G. Kringle, and he doesn’t drive a sleigh pulled by reindeer, he drives a good, solid Buick sedan. If they’ve been good all year, and made their regular deposits, he stuffs their socks with dividends and interest payments, which will someday provide them with a house in the peaceful country, near a quiet stream, far from the honking taxi cabs, smog, noisy teenagers and smoky night clubs of the city.
It’s easy to be fooled by Bulls, but don’t be. Like, the night club thing. You might believe the glamorous Bulls you’ve seen hanging around sizzling, noisy, boisterous, and bellicose places like Hollywood, California—so obviously incompatible with the image of crickets chirping cheerfully in a country twilight—are a living denial of their earthy Sun Signs. Don’t jump to hasty conclusions. Taurus never does.
Behind the surface glitter of whatever occupation or career (including politics) a Bull follows on his way to the farm, hides the smoldering, ever-growing-stronger dream of escape from the teeming city, to the blessed peace and freshness of the sweet-smelling countryside—hay, horses, manure, and all. The dream may surface at any time throughout the life of a Taurus, but surface it will—even though it’s delayed until what the insurance companies con us into believing is the last third of the alleged life span.
Should it happen to take the Taurus man a little longer than he planned to build the foundation for their future together, whether in music, art, business, Banking, politics, or whatever, the female Taurean is as patient as he. This woman probably won’t mind working for a few years to support her Bull, as long as he’s out there symbolically pitching the hay and genuinely trying to make the grass of their escape grow greener. She’ll wait—uncomplainingly, for the most part. It all sounds perfectly lovely, doesn’t it? They’re a matched set—and unbreakable.
The first thing you know, they’ve fallen solidly in love. The next thing you know, they’re standing firmly before a Minister, Priest, Rabbi or J.P., gazing calmly into each other’s tranquil eyes and murmuring I do. The third thing you know, the honeymoon is over, and they’ve both started saying I won’t. About various things. She wants children, but he thinks it’s wiser to postpone a family until their bank balance is fatter—so she has a baby or two anyway, just to show him he can’t push her around.
She wants to buy an expensive piano because she loves to play and sing, and he tells her, No. We simply can’t afford it. If she wheedles or coaxes, he’ll say NO! a little louder. So, she opens a charge account (after carefully calculating the monthly payments into her household budget) and orders the organ delivered anyway. The following day, he sends it right back to the store, just to show her she can’t push him around. (Sometimes it’s an expensive stereo, with speakers. Same thing.)
Perhaps there’s a film she wants to see. So she plants a few smooches on his cheek, and whispers some private endearments into his close-to-the-head Bull’s ear, even if it’s really flattened and laid-back in anger. Come on, sweetie-honey-bug-lollipop, let’s go to the movies tonight? Pretty-please-with-brown-sugar-and-cream-on-its-tail? (Not all, but most Taurus lovers tend toward more than a touch of baby-talk, like Libra lovers. It’s the Venus rulership of both signs.)
| HIM: | Nope. |
| HER: | Why not, sweetie-pumpkin? |
| HIM: | Because I don’t want to. |
That closes the subject, for the remainder of the evening. Later, after they’ve tucked themselves cozily into bed, and turned out the lights, he says, Hey! You forgot to kiss me goodnight. I’m feeling very romantic, baby-dumpling. Kiss me, and see what happens. (Most Bulls are very plain-spoken, regarding sexual matters—privately, that is.)
| HER: | (sweetly, melodiously) No. HIM: Why not, honey-pot? |
| HER: | Because I don’t want to. |
| (a few moments of heavy silence. .… then) | |
| HIM: | I’m going to a hotel. |
| HER: | (suddenly alarmed) Why? |
| HIM: | Because I want to. |
And another subject is closed. Sometimes for the night, as he plods angrily, clutching his favorite blanket, no farther than the den. Sometimes for several weeks or months, if he really checks into a hotel as he threatened (and he might!). It depends.
I know a devoted couple who live in Los Angeles (and this is, druid honor, an absolutely true story, with only a couple of minor changes to protect the innocent—or the guilty). Both Taurus Sun Signs. He’s a song-writer, a lyricist and composer of Hollywood film scores. She’s a retired Berlin newspaper reporter, who was born in Germany. When they were keeping company, the Bull repeatedly refused to marry her. He thought they should test the stability of their love first, before taking such a drastic step, for a reasonable length of time (which stretched out into quite a number of years). His Taurus lady cried, pleaded, begged, became angry—and tried to reason with him. He wouldn’t budge. Don’t you care for me? Yes. He cared for her, intensely. But the Bull just wasn’t ready for a matrimonial commitment, and that was that.
It’s now more than a decade later (as of this writing). They remain very much in love, and they have four children—two boys and a set of twin girls. They still have not legally married. He has cried, pleaded, begged, become angry—and tried to reason with her. She hasn’t budged an inch. He’s even asked his mother-in-law to talk to her, reason with her, and try to move the now mother of his children from her firm position—and for a Bull, that’s a gigantic concession. A Taurus man likes interference from relatives in his private affairs like Wall Street likes regulation from the government. But this hasn’t accomplished anything either.
| HER: | The children have your name legally, they have two loving parents, they’re included in your will and your insurance, we have a nice home, and we’re a warm, devoted, and happy family. We don’t need a piece of paper to make it legal. |
| HIM: | Honey-baby, don’t you love me? |
| HER: | Of course I love you, deeply. |
| HIM: | But sweetheart, if you love me and I love you, and we’re so happy together, and you know it will last forever, and we have four children who need the emotional security of wedded parents, why won’t you marry me? |
| HER: | Because I don’t want to. |
Of course, not all Taurus couples go as far as that, but it’s always a possibility, since, as I told you, the foregoing is a true situation. The average Taurean man and woman will usually insist on the full sanction of the law before entering into any kind of cooperative venture, whether it be business or matrimony, and most Bulls see a decided similarity between the two.
In a liaison of love between Taurus and Taurus, there will be many times when their mutual stubbornness, and refusal to look at the other side, will lead them down the blind alleys of mental and emotional prejudice, and they’ll find it difficult to communicate. Still, one of the marvelous things about Bulls is that they possess the ability to shrug off frustration and learn from experience. What Taurus has finally learned, Taurus never ever forgets. Never. Ever. If these two try hard to learn the lesson of forgiveness (never easy for Bulls) they can hold each other’s hands tightly (Bulls do everything tightly) and find their way out of those dark blind alleys. I know a Taurus woman whose favorite philosophy is: Every experience is a good experience. It’s an admirable attitude, but I’ve noticed she has a little trouble forgetting the bad ones. She learns from them, yes—but sometimes the lesson she learns is merely to turn her back on the person or situation, without ever trying again—and such lessons teach the heart nothing.
Sex, of course, is only another human experience, but an extremely important one to Taurus lovers or mates. Their initial attraction is usually strongly physical, with the mental and emotional blending coming later, like the honey frosting on a carrot cake. Normally, that’s not the ideal priority order in which to approach total love, but with a couple of Taureans, surprisingly it works out fine. Perhaps not so surprisingly. Because sex is an exercise in total sensuality for the average or typical Taurus person, the physical expression of love between this man and woman can gradually develop into an almost psychedelic experiment—although most Bulls (not all, but most) scowl darkly at the very mention of drugs. To Taurus, if you smoke grass, you’re foolish and weak, and if you mess around with speed, cocaine, heroin, and so forth, you’re on a frantic Freeway, headed straight toward spiritual suicide—as swiftly and surely as you’re headed toward actual suicide. Ponder the percentages.
No one who uses a mind-expanding drug to increase the sense sensations will ever come as close to the ultimate in sensual expression and experience as two Taurus people who are twin souls (not all of them are) when they are making love. A Bull of either sex can spend hour after endless hour lying on the rich, fragrant Earth, contemplating ecstatically the scent of the beloved’s skin, the intricate, delicate, faerie cobweb sky-map of the lines in the lover’s hand, the singing feel of soft hair, the delicious taste of an ear lobe. .… or the crashing crescendos of the partner’s heartbeat.
Taurus people don’t often burst verbally into poetry (though they frequently burst into song) during lovemaking, and they’re not overly sensitive to the finer emotional implications of sex, but they are certainly receptive to its sensual possibilities. The Bull doesn’t feel the same lack of a sixth sense as most people, being so acutely aware of and tuned into the other five. There’s seldom any serious disagreement in the area of sexual union between two well-mated Bulls, except perhaps when one of them refuses to make love because he (or she) is pouting about something. That’s when a sixth sense might come in handy.
In other areas of their relationship, a Taurus man and woman have the potential to accumulate a sizable amount of money and material possessions—which you’d better believe they’ll manage to keep. They’re both sentimental, warm, and loving, their emotional behavior gently guided by their foster ruler, Venus, who influences their nature with much tenderness and gentleness but is also occasionally an influence of temptation toward every form of excess, including food, drink, financial greed, sex, and anything else you can think of offhand (with the already noted exception of drugs, which only the very rare Bull is tempted to abuse). These two are equally strong, patient and emotionally stable—except for those far-apart spells of blind fury, which normally only occur every decade or so, when the Bulls are really aroused—then look out! As I mentioned earlier in this chapter, the Taurus man and woman are a perfectly matched set.
As for any periodic problems of communication between them, the Bull knows exactly how to say I’m sorry and I need you in silent Taurean sign language—and his Taurus woman knows exactly how to interpret it. With these two, a touch on the hand in a dark room can dispense with the necessity of speaking a single word.
Shall we leave them now? You may have noticed how very, very quiet and still it’s become, during the reading of the last few pages. That means the Bull and his mate are communicating. .… and wish to be left alone. Don’t be rude and snoopy, now, and try to read their auras. Leave these lovers in peace. Don’t disturb the Bull, and the Bull won’t disturb you. In other words, let’s mind our own business. As Taureans always mind theirs.
| Taurus | Gemini |
| Earth—Fixed—Negative | Air—Mutable—Positive |
| Ruled by Venus | Ruled by Mercury |
| Symbol: The Bull | Symbol: The Twins |
| Night Forces—Feminine | Day Forces—Masculine |