History of Astrology
Hold onto Your Horns this Taurus Season
Far from bullish, this celestial cow has rich history and mythology
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(April 20 — May 20)*
If you’ve ever watched a bull saunter through its territory, you’ve likely contemplated the easy bucolic life of an animal that doesn’t have a care in the world. And in doing this you would have completely underestimated the beast’s true power.
Bulls are fighters. They can be soft cottage-core cows in peacetime. But when threatened, they are even more deadly than a great white shark.
Taurus signs are observant and patient, but they are also often described as decadent and stubborn. “Taureans aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and work hard to earn big rewards,” writes astrologer Eliza Kelly for Allure. But, “What a Taurus perceives as dedication is often regarded by others as stubbornness,” Kelly says.
In the world of astrology, Taurus is associated with the tarot card The Hierophant, which is a stand-in for whatever religious leader you think has good advice right now. The Hierophant is all about vibe checks: Is this what I want right now? Am I making any rash decisions or rushing into trouble? Clearly, Tauruses are much more careful than their bovine image might suggest.
From bullfighting to celestial cows, this earth sign has a lot more going on than first impressions might suggest.
Hold onto your horns, Taurus, because this sign has a lot of mythology to unpack.
Taurus in history and mythology
Trigger Warning: This section will briefly mention sexual violence as it pertains to Greek mythology. Surprise surprise, the offender in this case is Zeus, who has a long history of infuriating behaviors in the Greek myths. If you’d rather not read about Zeus’ misdeeds, feel free to skip the next paragraph and move ahead to ‘Tarus in Babylonian mythology.’
Taurus in Greek mythology
Taurus has a lot going on it its mythical and astrological orbit. If we look to Greek mythology, this bull could be the form of Zeus attacking Europa, or it could be the mortal Io after she was attacked by Zeus. I don’t find either of these interpretations especially compelling or empoweing.
This bull could also be the Cretan Bull mentioned in the Twelve Labors of Hercules. There doesn’t seem to be any connection between Taurus and the Greek Minotaur, or any other bulls from greek mythology. There are A LOT of bulls in Greek mythology, by the way.
Taurus in Babylonian mythology
Taurus-as-bull associations go much back further than Greek mythology. In the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, the main hero spurns the romantic advances of the goddess Ishtar, and he must eventually fight a celestial bull. This bull doesn’t even stand a chance. Taurus gets flung into the heavens, utter-ly defeated.
Other bulls in mythology
There are references to Taurus in Persian mythology, Chinese mythology and Ancient Egyptian mythology. According to Star Lore, “Egyptians regarded Taurus as an emblem of perpetual return to life. They identified it with Osiris, the bull-god, the god of the Nile, and worshiped it under this figure by the name ‘Apis.’”
One reason why there might be so much information and speculation about Taurus is that this constellation would have marked the spring equinox during the Early Bronze Age, from about 4000 BC to 1700 BC. Now, the constellation Aeries marks the change between the seasons.
Next, we’ll explore some other ways bulls have been important in culture and mythology.
Bullfighting
Bullfighting and bull-leaping are two common rituals of conquest over nature seen throughout culture and art history.
Bull-leaping was central to Minoan life on the Island of Crete during the Bronze Age. It’s unclear whether bull-leaping scenes in art were depictions of real acrobatics or “a sacred re-enactment of a cosmic drama with roots going back to earlier Near Eastern religious systems.”
What’s interesting is that bull leaping spread across the Mediterannean into Egypt. According to the Penn Musuem, “Excavations within the last 20 years in Egypt at the Hyksos capital of Avaris (Tell el-Dabca) have brought to light wall paintings dating to the 16th century BC showing scenes of bull-leaping,” as cross-culture exchanges in belief spread word of this practice to the edges of the known world by the end of the Bronze Age.
These Bronze Age antics may have influenced bull fights in Iberia, Greece, and Rome. By the Medieval period, this practice was so popular that Spanish royals like Alfonso VII de León y Castilla (1105–1157) held bullfights during his wedding celebration. Some matatoros (killers of bulls) rose above their stations as a result of their ability to kill rampant beasts set free in th town square. But not all Spanish royals approved of bullfighting. This practice was banned several times in the Medieval period.
Modern bullfighting got its flair from matador Francisco Romero’s 1726 performance, where he introduced bullfighting’s characteristic sword and red cape into the ring. Juan Belmonte (1892–1962) rose the stakes of bullfighting by standing just a few inches away from his targets. As you might imagine, this style makes bullfighting a lot riskier — Belemonte and other bullfighters who use his style of fighting suffer A LOT of injuries in their line of work.
This practice raises cultural and ethical concerns — bullfighting is controversial and currently banned in some parts of Spain. But bullfighting also displays the dual nature of an animal that is at once pastoral and deadly.
Taurus from Space
Cool stuff happening in Taurus
Taurus contains the red giant Aldebaran or Alpha Tauri, also known as “The Follower” because it becomes visible after another constellation called the Pleiades. The bull also contains the Hyades constellation also known as “The Rainy Ones” which often appear during spring rains in the Northern Hemisphere. Taurus also contains the Crab Nebula or Messier-1, the remnants of an exploding star that can been seen fairly easily with magnification.
The Seven Sisters
Inside the constellation Taurus reside what looks like seven or so stars called the Pleiades or the “Seven Sisters.” While this name comes from ancient Greek, many different cultures give this group of stars some variation of this name.
In the Greek myth, the Pleiades are the daughters of the Titan Atlas and Pleione. After the Titan War, Atlas was cursed to hold the sky, and his daughters begged to be placed in the sky near their father.
The Pleiades are actually a cluster of hundreds of stars. NASA used the seven brightest stars of this constellation (the “Seven Sisters”) to calibrate the Kepler telescope so that it would view bright objects as well as faint, deep-space objects. In this way, the Pleiades have helped NASA to better understand space!
Hold onto your horns
I love that Tauruses have so much versatility in their mythology. Both fighting, celestial cows, and diligent Epicureanism help to round out an otherwise bullish sign that deserves so much more attention. So Taurus, show us your moves. The world is your pasture, blooming with springtime, ambition, and energy.
Happy galavanting!
*Astrology is fun to explore, but it is not a science and should not be taken literally. History of Astrology aims to explore zodiac signs and spread curiosity, not offer advice.
