Taurus

"I see and when the eye is opened, all is illumined."

Introduction to Our 12 Zodiacal Deities

We live in a swirling sea of magnetic forces, smaller fields contained within even greater fields, expanding throughout infinity. As our understanding increases, a new picture of the universe emerges ~ one of vast cosmic interdependence and connectedness. From first cosmic dawning to the last electron's feeble light, the whole universe is a complex of coils within coils, spirals within spirals, magnetic fields within magnetic fields.

The stars are interconnected with each other, exchanging particles and gases constantly, all flowing along magnetic field lines which are the arteries of the galactic body. The galaxy's coiled field lines diverge into intergalactic space where they ultimately connect to other galaxies. Do these tendrils of energy act as the nervous system of the universe, relaying information from star to star, galaxy to galaxy, on and on? One can only wonder.

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Zodiacal Deities examines the conditioning effects upon humanity by the specialized and quite unique energies of the star groups comprising the Zodiac. We hold these star groups to be conscious, living entities in whose greater bodies we reside.

Traditionally the zodiac is described as the imaginary path of the sun through the heavens. This path "exists" only from our earth's perspective. If you were observing the path of our sun from another planet or body in space our sun would appear to "be traveling through" different constellations at different times of the year, to be on an entirely different path through the heavens. This path is largely an illusion but at the same time the 12 zodiacal constellations do exist as great beings, and the streams of energy which pass and repass, intermingle and interlock throughout space are by no means illusions. They express eternal cosmic relationships.

The science of astrology is a study of the interlocking forces of all the 12 constellations as they pour into and through all the kingdoms in nature, carrying with them also their own individual qualities as well as those of the seven rays, focussed through the sacred and non-sacred planets of our solar system ~ the discovered and undiscovered planetary Lives. The vision of these powers and their many weaving lines, seen as rivers and streams of light, is given to the initiate from the mountaintop of Capricorn, once that summit is reached.

As the various energies and forces circulate throughout the etheric body of our solar system ~ itself a Great Being ~ their effects depend on the state of the planetary centers, and upon the point of unfoldment of the centres within the individual planets themselves. Those great zodiacal entities who qualify life as we know it imprint their frequencies or harmonic resonance on the various vehicles that comprise a human being.

Taurus

In the constellation Taurus, we find the most materialistic impulses and desires ultimately transcend into the light of illumination and revelation. The enlightened mind is the gift aquired when one transforms desire into spiritual aspiration. In the early lives of Taurus expression, desire rules the thought life, coupled with the bold determination and strong will needed to acquire that which is desired.

The most fixed or stable of the earth signs, Taurus has the ability to stay fixed and steady upon a goal ~ undoubtedly this is a strength of Taurus yet can also be a weakness, demonstrating as stubbornness and the inability to let go. The Taurus individual can also be very willful and strong-minded as their personality is on the first ray. In fact, the star Aldebaran, the "eye of the bull" in Taurus, is known as the place where the will of God is known. The evolved Taurean has an enormous capacity to visualize and manifest, powered up by their sun placement’s alignment with this stellar point of force.

A potent blend of energies renders the Taurus individual capable of accomplishing much ... unfortunately, for many it is the acquisition of things that is the goal. The love of comfort and a sense of security through the possession of things are quite prevalent in many Taureans, and represent a major challenge.

All types of desire including sexual are associated with the sex center or second chakra of the human energy system, and many Taureans are labeled sensual and sexually potent. This can be the downfall of many a well-intentioned Taurus individual. Over-identification with the form life and with the comforts of life are real distractions for these personalities, as is giving sex too much emphasis in life. Only when the bull of desire is mastered and sexual forces controlled can the disciple progress towards initiation. Eons of time and many incarnations are needed to raise the Taurean frequencies to this level ~ the lure of the lower nature (animal self), particularly of sexual attraction, is very great.

In advanced humanity incarnating in Taurus, desire is ultimately transmuted into aspiration eventually leading to light and illumination. When the eye of the bull is opened (the spiritual third eye), "thy whole body shall be full of light," as Christ stated in the New Testament (Matthew 6:22). This single eye takes the place of the two eyes of the personal self, as the attention becomes focussed upon spiritual attainment. When the soul acts as the controlling factor, and not the desiring personality, then the whole body becomes full of light.

The historical Buddha was born, achieved enlightenment, and died during Taurus. A cornerstone of his teaching, the 4 Noble Truths, reveals how to gain liberation from the suffering caused by desire. A mantram for Taurus is "give it up to the universe," in order to surrender to the greater Will of Spirit, giving up control of the little personal will. In Taurus is also found a burning desire to know and to gain knowledge through experience. Again, there is a connection to the Buddha's teaching through his example of developing mind as a means to attain enlightenment.

Aries, Taurus, and Capricorn are the great transformers under the great creative plan, and act as catalysts. Each of them opens a door into one of the three divine centers of expression which are the symbols in the body of the planetary logos of the three higher centers in man: the head, the heart and the throat. Taurus, representing the Soul, opens the door into the Hierarchy and guards the secret of light and confers illumination upon the initiate.

Fertility and creativity are also keynotes of Taurus, and light, illumination and sound as expressions of this creative force are connected with this constellation. The "interpreter of the divine voice," as Taurus was called in ancient Egypt, can be paraphrased into Christian terminology and called the "Word made flesh." The end result of the work undertaken in Taurus, and the result of its influence, is the glorification of matter: the transmuting of the less than perfect parts of ourselves into material that in no way hinders the light of the soul pouring through.

When the vehicles have been purified completely, then the light does indeed shine through. This is why the moon is traditionally exalted in Taurus ... the lesser luminary represents the form or matter. The Taurean process ultimately produces the purified being, who radiates the light perfectly. Through the influence of Venus, the ruler of this sign and ever the symbol of earthly and heavenly love, and both spiritual aspiration and carnal desire, the evolved disciple born in Taurus ultimately embodies only the love aspect. No longer ruled by desire of any kind, they manifest love and create beauty through the arts or the quality of their lives. Because of this Venusian influence, Taurus embodies the second ray energy of Love and Wisdom.

The power of attraction is connected with second ray energy, and again this fits Taurus ~ as the star group the Pleiades, among them Alcyone, found in the shoulder of the Bull, is called the central sun of our universe. It is said our solar system with many others revolve around this star, clearly demonstrating astronomically its attractive powers. The Pleiades are the symbol of the soul around which the wheel of life revolves. Perhaps this helps explain the association of the Bull with "light." Taurus is literally plugged in to the enormous light of the seven hotly burning blue-white stars of the Pleiades, acting as a channel or gateway to the light of this tremendous center.

In the Labors of Hercules, the second great test, that which pertained to Taurus, took place in the maze in which the Minotaur lived on the island of Crete. The maze has always been the symbol of the great illusion or the state of separation that bewilders and confuses unevolved humanity. The bull represented animal desire, and Hercules’s task was to capture and deliver it to the mainland. From the disciple's point of view, the bull of desire has to be caught and mastered and chased from one point to another in the life of the separated self, until the time comes when the aspirant can do what Hercules succeeded in doing: ride the bull. To ride an animal, in the ancient myths, signifies control. The bull is not slaughtered, it is ridden and guided, and under the disciple’s mastery.

Ride, control and master the bull reflects the phase when the disciple lives with group awareness and begins to consider the question, "What is best for the group with which I am associated?" It is by doing this that the bull is ridden to the mainland, and destructive desire, with its million distractions, conquered.

Finally, the major task for this sign is to master the Law of Attraction and not be a slave to the lower desires of possessions and sexuality ... in this way Taurus controls and uses matter correctly, with spiritual values motivating. In this fashion matter is "raised up into heaven," and free at last of the hold of maya and illusion.

Service is its own reward.

It is interesting to note that during the time we say the sun is in Gemini, each year approximately from May 20 to June 20, due to the precession of the equinoxes, and from the earth's perspective, the Sun is actually traversing the zodiacal constellation Taurus. With this consideration, we invite you to review the SouledOut.org materials on Taurus freshly, from this perspective.

Print version

Credit for information and synthesis:
The collected volumes of writings by Alice A. Bailey,
specific reference here to Esoteric Astrology, p. 370–404
and The Labours of Hercules, p. 39–53
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Artwork: adapted from Urania's Mirror, London, c. 1825