Taurus Season: The Bull and the Unicorn

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Intro

You're listening to The Shadow Femme Show, a show about humans, our feelings, and the ways in which we make meaning.

I'm your host Sarah, and I'm an astrologer, human design reader, healer, and psychic medium.

Today, I'm coming at you with another installment of our zodiac archetype series. This time, we're talking about the archetype of Taurus.

And it's funny—I think I mentioned this in the last episode or the one before—but every time I sit down to record these episodes, it feels like I kind of take on the qualities a bit of the archetype that I'm talking about, even if I'm recording this ahead of the season, before the season actually begins.

Like today, I was feeling sort of slow and languid and a bit reluctant to dive into this kind of work and actually do the recording and I just wanted to lie around and eat and take my time. And right now, I feel like I don't have a whole lot to say upfront off the top of my head before we dive into pulling cards, even though normally I feel pretty verbose and want to talk a lot, just of my own accord, before diving into the cards and what my guides have to say.

But yeah, today, I'm just gonna get straight into it. And as you might know already—or I guess, as you'll find out, as you listen to this episode—all these qualities I just mentioned are pretty Taurus-like.

Okay, let's get into it.

Slow and Steady

So the first card I pulled here is “Treadmill.”

So at first I was like, “Why did I pull this card?” I feel like—I just mentioned this—Taurus is a pretty slow, steady, languid sign. It is a sign that comes after Aries, which is more of the sporty treadmill type, in my opinion—the kind that would run with quick bursts of speed and just be associated with exercise, much like treadmills or gyms are.

But the image that's coming to me, actually, is the image of being on a treadmill—and let's say you go to the gym, and you put the treadmill just kind of on a low speed, or maybe even up to a brisk walk, and you're just walking for a long time on the on the treadmill either to warm up or just because you want a low impact workout and you don't want to do something crazy intense, like doing some sort of interval training or sprints or tiring yourself out or burning yourself out through something more intense.

And I guess this is appropriate for Taurus, because Taurus is a sign that is associated with being slow and steady, and maybe even plodding. That's probably not the most flattering word. But like I've mentioned, Taurus is very different from the preceding sign of Aries, which is all about getting things going, and starting things, just expressing oneself in quick bursts of energy. Taurus is a slow and steady sign. It's a fixed earth sign, which makes it—in my opinion—the slowest and steadiest and most solid of all the signs.

Fixed Earth Has Staying Power

Earth, as an element, is quite yin and steady and obviously grounded. And fixed signs are signs that can really stick with things, and that are maybe slower to get going. But once they do get going, they can really see things through and commit and may have a hard time changing course. Or, they may not be able to react and adapt and change their plans as easily as some other signs, and therefore might be a bit stubborn or fixed in their plans or in their beliefs. But where fixed signs shine is in their ability to stay the course. And so what I'm getting from this card—Treadmill—is that Tauruses are all about staying power.

It was coming to me that it's just kind of the—I was gonna say, “the rabbit and the hare,” but I think I mean that the hare and the tortoise, right? That story about the hare and the tortoise racing and the tortoise winning in the end. Anyway, any fables, stories, or archetypes that come to mind for you about “slow and steady wins the race”—they really apply with Taurus.

What I'm getting is that the staying power is the thing. Like I like getting an image of almost an apocalypse happening—the world ending, everything crumbling, buildings crumbling, and a Taurus is still in the gym on the treadmill walking at a steady pace, even as all the the buildings crumble around them and the world comes to an end. And they're still chugging along, slow and steady, and steadfast.

I don't know if that image is a little too on-the-nose, sadly, for where we are right now, in the state of the world. And in terms of global conflict—talking about things like buildings crumbling and the world ending—but this image that I'm being shown is just meant to be a metaphor, really, for how Taurus energy works.

Trouble with Transitions

So now what I'm being shown is that, in that scene I just described, there’s this person, this Taurus on a treadmill, finally coming to the end of the workout, hitting stop or hitting pause, the treadmill grinds to a halt. And they get off and they look around. And they're like, “What do I do now? What do I do next?” And it's like, they look up and they realize, “Oh my God, everything's changed around me. I don't know how to adapt. I didn't realize everything was changing. And also, what do I do next?”

I think what this is telling me is that people with a lot of Taurus energy may have trouble with transitions, shifting from one thing to the next, because their true strength is in the staying power. And once it comes time to change, that can feel really abrupt and even scary. And that can sometimes lead to an avoidance of change in people with with a lot of Taurus energy because it is easier—it's much, much easier for them to rely on their strength, which is the “staying the course” rather than shifting gears because that requires so much energy.

Taurus vs. Scorpio

It's also interesting that this has come up—this idea of transitions maybe being difficult for people with prominent Taurus placements—because Taurus is the sign that is opposite from Scorpio, which is interestingly also a fixed sign, and therefore also has the same sort of strength in terms of staying power and similar difficulties in maybe changing course or changing one's mind. But I don't think it's nearly as pronounced with Scorpios, because Scorpio is a water sign, which is a much more fluid element than Taurus is, which is an earth sign, as we've said.

And also, even though Scorpio is a Fixed sign, it is the sign that's most associated with transitions, specifically major life transitions, like in terms of death and rebirth cycles, whether literally or metaphorically, and a lot of times that comes into play metaphorically, meaning that Scorpio energy is really associated with emotional rebirth, emotional catharsis, spiritual awakening, even, and I say “spiritual awakening,” maybe not so much in like a Pisces sense, but more of in terms of a very intense healing experience.

Anyway, I'm also speaking as a Scorpio as someone with a bunch of Scorpio placements. I find that even though I have some similarities with Tauruses when it comes to that fixed nature, I feel like once I decide I'm done with something or someone, there is a certain finality. Scorpio has an understanding of deaths and of endings, where it's like, once I'm done, I am done. Like, I don't want to look back, I don't want to go back. I just want to burn the bridge and walk away. Maybe not in such a dramatic fashion sometimes, but if it calls for it, I’ve found that I have created those types of endings in my life. And I have had those types of endings forced upon me by life—very dramatic death and rebirth cycles. And yeah, just endings and beginnings. And it's something that I've accepted as just being a major part of my life. That's also probably because I have a very strong Pluto placement—a difficult Pluto placement—in my chart. Pluto is also the sign associated with extremes, emotional extremes and intensity, death and rebirth as well.

But yeah, I'm going on describing these Scorpio aspects, kind of Plutonian aspects as well, because, like I said, Scorpio sits opposite Taurus. And so, in many ways, they are similar, because they speak to different ends of the same axis—they do have the same modality, meaning they're both fixed, but they cope with certain things in quite different ways.

The Axis of Possession

Taurus and Scorpio sit along an axis in the zodiac that describes power, control, and possession. Taurus is more about finding security in acquiring things—mostly in the physical and material realm, acquiring forms of outward security in order to feel safe—whereas Scorpio works more internally, in terms of wanting to build up emotional security in various ways. And sometimes this can be through creating emotional walls or, in a more healthy way, by breaking down and metabolizing things emotionally, and sort of experiencing different emotional extremes and learning that one can survive them. And that's almost a form of emotional fortifying, emotional strengthening, or purification, that many Scorpios go through over the course of their life, to eventually come out the other side feeling more emotionally strong and weathered and secure.

Taurus types, like I said, sit along this axis of security, but a lot of Tauruses are going to be less concerned with deep emotional catharsis and more concerned with building up a life in more tangible ways, in their external environment, whether that's through securing a steady job that allows them to pay for things that bring them comfort, that bring them and sense of physical care, or whether that's through just simply nesting and decorating their home in ways that feel very comfortable to them. And comfort can also come in the form of relationships as well for Taurus, things like a steady partner and a steady group of friends are also going to feel pretty fortifying for a Taurus as well.

Taurus Communication and Friendships

And I don't really see like a very typical Taurus type as having a ton of friends, but having, like, a few close friends—of course, everyone's chart is different, and for a Taurus that maybe has neighboring Gemini placements, of course, their chart might be might be different than this—but I would say that most typical Taurus types are not necessarily going to want the types of friendships where they require a ton of maintenance in terms of emotional maintenance, and communication that involves texting a lot back and forth and being in group chats and things like that.

But I see your typical Taurus feeling a lot better with a best friend, a small, close-knit group of friends, where they're the type of friendships where where that person can reach out when they want to hang out, or when they want to share some news or need to talk or just hang out together, but it's where it's not the sort of thing where there's going to be a ton of back and forth all the time.

Because a lot of Tauruses are people of few words, and are not often the type of people who are more of a Gemini type, who wants to spend a lot of time going back and forth over small details, over sharing lots of random tidbits and information and memes or whatever. People with with prominent Taurus placements or especially you know, a Taurus Sun or Mercury, are going to want to usually communicate in a way that's more slow and steady and economical in their words.

Taurus and the "Basic" Aesthetic

So the next card I have here is Unicorn.

And this image of this unicorn is contrasting with the archetypal image of Taurus as the bull. There’s this juxtaposition in my mind between this image of a unicorn—kind of like a white horse with this sparkly, ornate horn on its head—and then a pretty down-to-earth, beast-of-burden bull, working away, pulling a plow, on a farm or something. And these are two related—but very different—images.

And what's coming to me about this is this idea of Taurus as not necessarily feeling special. I think Taurus qualities can often be associated with things that have been labeled in our culture to be, quote unquote, “basic,” for better or worse. I think “basic” has definitely been used as a derogatory term over the years to describe things that I guess that stereotypically millennial women—usually white millennial women—enjoy in terms of comfort. Like things that are considered basic are Ugg boots, or Starbucks Pumpkin spice lattes, or—I don't know, I guess the term is slightly dated now with how fast internet moves—but Juicy sweatpants…those aren't even in style anymore. I feel like people were wearing those when I was in seventh grade. But yeah, it's like, “Live, Laugh, Love” embroidered pillows and things like that. Anyway.

I feel like—and I say this with love—that Tauruses often gravitate towards things that are considered quote unquote, “basic.” And I've had to examine my own judgment, I think, with things that fall under this category, and really ask myself, well, what's wrong with these things? I think the term is slightly misogynistic, because when you break it down, things that are quote, unquote, “basic,” for the most part, aren't harming anyone, at the very least—except for maybe rewriting the history of pumpkin to be associated, in a negative way, with modern day white women instead of Native Americans. But that's one of the only things I can think of. But like, when it comes to things like cozy blankets, and Ugg boots and throw pillows that make you happy—like, what's wrong with that? What's wrong with leaning into what's what's cozy and makes you happy, and what makes your home a happy place to be for you, if that is your taste?

Am I Special? Taurus and the Other Fixed Signs

And so I'm just to come back around to this idea of Taurus and the image of the Unicorn. I already contrasted Taurus with its opposite sign Scorpio. And now I'm also thinking of how it contrasts with the other two fixed signs Leo and Aquarius.

So if you picture the zodiac wheel, Taurus and Scorpio are across from each other. And then Leo and Aquarius are across from each other. And together, those two polarities form this right angle cross, of all four of these signs. These are the four fixed signs. So they all share this quality of being sort of steadfast, stubborn, steady, things like that. And also, they're all quite different because they all belong to different elements: water, earth, fire and air. Anyway, so I'm thinking of the Unicorn and Taurus, and how Taurus contrasts with Leo and Aquarius.

So Taurus may not naturally shine in the same way that Leo and Aquarius do. It shines in its its own way.

Leo, as an archetype, shines in the most traditionally shiny way that we can think of, which is: Leo energy thrives in the spotlight. It's very warm, generous, has a star quality to it. And really, it draws a lot of eyes to it. Leo energy is the energy of the performer, of the star, of the person on stage, the celebrity.

And Aquarius is a sign that's associated with people who are unique, eccentric, eccentric geniuses, people who are considered outsiders or rebels and who are just unique in their own way. Of course, these are, to some extent, stereotypes. I also think that Aquarius is, in modern astrology, maybe are associated too much with this loner, rebel, weird archetype, because not all Aquariuses are like that. And as I discussed previously in the episode on Aquarius, all these more eccentric stereotypes come from these modern association of Aquarius with the eccentric planet Uranus, rather than the much more conventional planet of Saturn, which it is traditionally ruled by.

Anyway, that's a tangent, but all that is to say: Leo has a star quality to it. Aquarius has this eccentric, unique, rebel mystique to it. And Scorpio is often stereotyped as being really sexy and intense and magnetic, right? And then like, what does Taurus have?

Venusian Energy: All Things Sensory

In our culture, we don't necessarily consider stereotypically Taurus things to be as shiny, in this shiny unicorn sparkly way, as we may do for the other fixed signs. But of course, Taurus, like anyone, is unique and special in its own way.

Taurus magnetism is much more subtle; I would say it's the type of magnetism that's associated with earthiness, with sensuality, with just being natural and in touch with the body and sensorial, and that doesn't have to be in a sexual way, although it can be.

Taurus is definitely a sign that understands and appreciates all things sensory. It is a sign that's ruled by Venus. So is Libra, but Venus expresses itself in Taurus in a much more grounded, obviously earthy way. You can think of the Empress card, in tarot, or the Queen of Pentacles. Taurus Venusian energy is lush, sensual, sensorial, comfortable, indulgent in the best way. Verdant and green, and at ease, languid, nonverbal—”nonverbal” sounds like kind of a weird term in this context, but by that, I mean: this is the kind of energy that maybe would lose some of its potency when put into words. It's the kind of energy that is best expressed through feeling, through physical feeling, without short-circuiting it by trying to describe it using the mind or the words. I feel like this is very meta: I'm trying to describe in words, I guess, something that can't be described in words.

But when you think of Taurus energy, think of the feeling you get when you are communing with nature, like when you're out in a garden or in the woods, and everything's quiet except for the little sounds of birds chirping and leaves crackling and the wind blowing around to you and you just kind of get that indescribable feeling of feeling connected to something that's soothing and primal in the best way. You can also think of the comforting feeling of being in a warm bubble bath with a glass of wine and a great relaxing playlist going. That's Taurus energy.

And so, all that is to say: it might not be as obviously shiny as some of the other fixed signs. But Taurus is a sparkly unicorn in its own way.

The Hardest Part is the Leap Itself

Okay, last card here. The last card I drew for Taurus is Repairman.

I think this card is more so advice for Tauruses, or people with important Taurus placements.

What I'm getting from this is: as a Taurus, or someone with strong Taurus energy, you are great at noticing when things need to be fixed when it pertains to your specific current area of interest, something that you're currently steadily working away on. But when it comes to things that are outside your field of vision, outside of your focused gaze, like I'm sort of seeing—because I mentioned earlier that Taurus is symbolized by the bull—I'm seeing this animal with blinders on.

So if something is outside of your current field of vision, it's like you can be maybe a little blind to what's going on out there. And maybe things that are crumbling, or that need to change—need to be changed—are outside of that field of vision. So what I'm getting from that is: look around, like lift your head up from your work and look around from time to time, don't be afraid to dream bigger, and expand your vision beyond the linear paths that you may think that you're on. And even though you're a sign that may have difficulty in changing course, take heart in the fact that once you finally do change, and get set upon this new course, if you choose to change course, then then you will succeed at that new pursuit because you have what it takes to see that new thing through.

And so the fear is in the changing; the fear is in the actual decision making, to change what you are currently doing and to kind of leap into the unknown. And that's going to be the hardest part for you—that actual transition—that actual leap. But, again, take heart in the fact that if you need to make a change, once you get through that, once you get through that period, things will eventually be smooth sailing for you in a pretty steady way, because once you get going, you really get going.

Conclusion

Okay, and that's all for now. I hope that this episode was helpful and illuminating to you, whether you yourself are Taurus, or whether whether you know and love a Taurus, or whether you are just simply interested in this archetype. Regardless, we are all moving into Taurus season right now. And this is this energy that I described is going to be more highlighted in our lives because of that. So I hope that this was interesting to you, and thanks for listening. I will see you next time.