Hey Toro! Part 2: Taurus, Tarot and the Decans

Please see also yesterday’s post for the story of the legend that is Star Bull Taurus Part 1: the astronomy, history, mythology, astrology and zodiac and archetype. There’s a limit on the length of articles that can be published for email distribution, and so I’m doing this Taurus story as a mini-series. Subscribers at the Sun Sign School can also find it over there courtesy of Jessica Adams.

Today, let’s take a closer look at the portrayal of Taurus in the Tarot.

The Tarot cards associated with Taurus are The Hierophant, The King of Pentacles (Coins, Disks) and the 5, 6 and 7 Pentacles, also called Disks or Coins -the suit of the element of Earth, and the money suit.

Major Arcana: The Hierophant

Smith Waite Tarot

Card Meanings: a man of authority, tradition, conformity, orthodoxy, the status quo,  marriage, religion, the Church, teacher, mentor, universities, agriculture, dairy, Wall Street, money, finance, banking, publishing, books, keys

Where The Emperor of Aries acts, initiates, claims, conquers, defends and perpetuates his gains, The Hierophant builds and administrates all systems of governance, custom and provision. Where the Emperor is Mars, The Hierophant is Venus: the Arts, music, love, beauty and luxury but first we need to eat. “Man does not live on bread alone.” Taurus takes care of that. Taurus is farming just as Virgo is the harvest and viticulture.

Aries demands we are ready to fight for ourselves in this world, and to fight for others when called upon. Aries says we have to steel ourselves when trouble comes calling, or when opportunity comes knocking. We may only get one chance says Aries, and no one else can do this for us. We must grasp the nettle, seize the day, carpe diem. Nature owes us nothing. We find what we need to survive, or we make it. Or we take it.

Taurus says ah but, we are not wholly subject to Nature red in tooth and claw. We are a social animal -a herd animal- and we created this thing called society. This lifts us above much of the daily battle to survive that is the lot of every animal living in a state of nature in the wild. Taurus frees our time through the social and economic organization of food supply. Now we develop our cuisine. Now we have free time for leisure and for artistic pursuits. Time for music, dance, study, books. Taurus offers us the gift of keys: an established social order at the cost of a certain degree of personal autonomy. We have to render unto the Caesar of Aries, and the Governance of the norms and mores of Taurus. We receive in exchange the key to our greater freedom of personal time and energy. We receive the liberation from a daily struggle for personal survival.

The Hierophant ensures we eat, but also decrees the rule of beauty in our lives. We all have dreams. We seek for beauty all our days. That’s just the way the human animal is. Hard wired for beauty. We feel it and respond to it, in whatever form it presents itself, but though the best things in life may be free, fine feathers as they say. make fine birds. We make the best of our own natural beauty - or stamp our personal authority- through our style and chosen presentation, male and female. And so, though many a thing of beauty is to be found second hand in a charity shop or online, and it’s all grist to the mill of the economy, The Hierophant is fashion. Couture. To quote Kraftwerk in their song The Model “she is looking good. For beauty we will pay”.

The Hierophant is money. Taurus is the Bull of Wall Street.

Photo by fabio Spano on Unsplash

The Court Cards

Every suit in the Tarot has its own court with a king and queen, a knight and a page. The principle Court card associated with Taurus is The King of Pentacles, ruler of the element of Earth.

The King of Pentacles (Disks or Coins)

Smith Waite Tarot

Card Meanings: Earth, instinct, virility, physical power, responsibility, mature man, husband, father, grandfather, employer, provider, landowner, banker, prosperity, farmer, builder, businessman, engineer, business owner, patron, artist, singer, sensual bon vivant

The Minor Arcana and the decans of Taurus

The minor arcana cards associated with Taurus are the Five, Six and Seven of Pentacles, Disks or Coins. These cards correlate with the decans of Taurus. If you don’t feel like you are a ‘typical’ Taurus, well, we are all unique, but perhaps you are also a second or third decan Taurus native, rather than a ‘most typical’ first decan Taurus.

The word ‘decan’ comes from the Latin meaning ‘ten.’  Each zodiac sign lasts about 30 days and is further divided into three blocks of roughly 10 days each, as codified in western astrology by the mathematician, astronomer and astrologer Ptolemy in the second century.  These decans have been nicknamed the ‘thirty-six faces of astrology,’ bringing added depth and nuance to the psychological profile associated with your natal sun sign.

The Zodiac is the belt of sky we can view from Earth, tracking the path of the sun across the sky over the course of the year. We call this pathway ‘the ecliptic.’ The Greeks divided this belt of sky into twelve sections of roughly 30 degrees each, using 12 for ease of arithmetic, and named these twelve sections after twelve of the constellations that can be seen crossing this imaginary pathway or belt. This gave us the names of the zodiac signs we know today.

Taurus is still Taurus, whatever the decan. This holds true for all the zodiac signs. But an early-born Taurus is born under a more fiery planetary influence than a more airy later-born Taurus. It’s all still Taurus, the same heavenly recipe, but with differing amounts of common ingredients.

First Decan Taurus (0-10 degrees)

21-30 April

Smith Waite

Card Meanings:  a period of adversity, bad luck, poverty, loneliness, exclusion, unhappy work situation, unemployment, ill health. No- one escapes these challenges. We will all be dealing with them some time or other. When drawn in the past position the worst is behind us

This Taurean has Venus and Mercury in their horoscope, but the earlier born natives are close to the Aries cusp. These bulls are somewhat more impulsive and outgoing than the other Taurus decans. They are patient, determined people with great vitality and will-power. They are eloquent speakers, natural communicators, and can do very well in teaching, broadcasting, public speaking, journalism, acting and entertainment. This Taurus loves to learn and to test things out, figuring out how they work. The late Queen Elizabeth 11 was a trained mechanic, learning to drive and repair trucks during the war. They adore their creature comforts, food, drink, and all the rest of it, and enjoy gardening, wildlife, landscape and countryside pursuits, and have a strong affinity for, and a knack with animals who respond to them very well.

Famous first decan Taurus: 

Leonardo Da Vinci, Queen Elizabeth II, Ulysses S Grant, Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hitler (Aries-Taurus cusp), Emperor Hirohito, David Icke, Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, Uma Thurman, Barbra Streisand, Penélope Cruz, Renée Zellweger, Daniel Day-Lewis, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson, Iggy Pop, Willem de Kooning

Second Decan Taurus (10-20 degrees)

1-10 May

Smith Waite

Card Meanings: balance, sympathy, trust, paying it forward, returning a favour, gifts, community, generosity, charity, emergency aid, give and take, financial ups and downs, surplus and scarcity, historical buildings

Second decan Taurus is ruled by the secretive, psychic, domestic Moon and Mercury, planet of intellect and communication. This is a glamorous combination, in the magical sense, as well as the more usual sense of the word. These Taurus natives are studious, alert, perceptive and forceful with an unusually active mind. The challenge may be carelessness, forgetfulness or fickleness, picking up things or people, only to drop them again.

They are socially gifted, natural psychologists, plus they tend to be very good speakers, known like the other decans for their pleasant, or at least distinctive speaking voices. On the negative side, such is their charisma, like a Pied Piper or Svengali-type figure, they may, if so disposed, lead others astray.

They are warm and nurturing parents, but with the best intentions, the second decan Taurus worries, and this can make them a fuss-pot or a control freak if they don’t rein it in. Taurus is determined to exercise its managerial capability, keep their loved ones safe. But just as the Bull hates to be penned in, Taurus needs to remember, so do others.

Famous second decan Taurus: 

Catherine the Great, Karl Marx, Eva Peron Golda Meir (‘Iron Lady’ of Israel), Tony Blair, Oliver Cromwell, Sigmund Freud, William Lilly, Orson Wells, George Clooney, Rudolph Valentino,  Joanna Lumley, Audrey Hepburn, David Beckham, Donatella Versace, Bono,  Tammy Wynette, Johannes Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Robert Browning, J. M. Barrie (author of Peter Pan)

Taurus Decan Three (20-30 degrees)

11-20 May

Card meanings:  waiting, pausing, taking a breather but not for long, investments, industry, perseverance, long- term plans. Negatively: delays and disappointments, late harvests, throwing good money after bad, disappointing results, enough is enough, knowing when to call it quits

The third decan Taurus is ruled by Saturn, the planet of Old Father Time himself. This bull is wise beyond their years; responsible and dutiful, prudent, wary, and patient. This personality accrues gains through thrift and careful investments. Saturn is known as the great malefic. Those born under this decan may be prone at times to periods of depression, loneliness or melancholy, but this is Taurus at its most persistent, independent and self- motivated. They may rebel against authority but they also have a great respect for authority.  Not only can they succeed in politics & business, but many are skilled artists, creators & performers. The later natives of this decan are born close to the Taurus-Gemini cusp, suggestive of multi-tasking and travel.

Famous third decan Taurus

Socrates, Che Guevara, Mark Zuckerberg,  Ayatollah Khomeini, Idi Amin, Malcolm X, George Lucas, Sofia Coppola, Liberace, Stevie Wonder, Cher, Dame Nellie Melba, Pete Townshend, Brian Eno, Enya, Mike Oldfield, Cate Blanchett, Laurence Olivier, Katherine Hepburn, Dennis Hopper, Harvey Keitel, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Margot Fonteyn, Eric Satie, Florence Nightingale, Pope John Paul II 

The Cusps of Taurus

If the birthday is April 21 through April 24

This is a Taurus native with Aries tendencies and their ruling planets are Venus and Mars. Beware of impulsiveness. It doesn’t work for your best interests. This native is broad minded, intellectual and practical, outgoing and forceful with strong powers of persuasion. A good mixer, a dependable and generous friend. This native will do very well if they can learn to curb any knee-jerk reactions, and to recognize and benefit from constructive feedback.

If the birthday is May 18 through May 21

Here we have a Taurus native with Gemini tendencies, ruling planets Venus and Mercury. This placement bestows a magnetic personality with talent and ambition and the firmness to steer through obstacles. They can be very self willed, but they too, have a gift for attracting friends. Their challenges may be a tendency to a loss of focus and concentration, while their quick and ready wit may result in sarcasm, overlooking the feelings of others. This native is particularly warned against marrying too young or marrying in haste, but again, they will do very well if they avoid acting on impulse.

Astrology of Taurus Season 2024

Notable dates:-

“I shall be exalted in the Earth”-The Ace of Pentacles from the Legacy of the Divine Tarot, Ciro Marchetti

April 19: Sun enters Taurus. A season for focusing on finances, talents, values and the work that brings us joy.

April 20/21: Uranus conjunct Jupiter in Taurus exact at 21 degrees with Mars forming a trine to both planets. Meaning: sudden events, sudden changes in governments, finances, relationships, scientific breakthroughs. The last Jupiter-Uranus conjunction saw the Arab Spring. Liberation, breaking free, and now the war in Gaza and the tension between Iran and Israel is building to an explosion point unless concessions can be agreed sufficient to defuse it in time. This one in Taurus, the sign of fixed earth and finance means we will be witnessing further tremendous, earth-shaking events, symbolically but possibly also literally, for instance; explosions and/or earth tremors.

April 21/22: Sun in Taurus square Pluto in Aquarius. Not comfortable. Power struggle, obnoxious behaviours, beware scammers, hang on to your purse

April 22: The Lyrids- meteor shower peak. Maybe 18 meteors an hour but may be lost somewhat in the nearly full moon.

April 23: Full moon in Scorpio: Eight House of Death, Money, Sex, bequests legacy, and regeneration. Powerful lunation, deepest waters.

April 25: Mercury retrograde ends in Aries but we’re still in the shadow. Wait if you can until April 27 before signing important documents, and if feasible hold off starting any really big projects until mid-May

April 29: Mars conjunct Neptune in Pisces: psychic experiences, risk of contagious illness, clarification or acceleration re issues to do with boundaries, borders, fire/war at sea

April 29: Venus enters Taurus where she likes to be: finance, Wall Street, beauty and luxury. Pleasant social interactions. Things flow better.

April 30: Mars enters Aries Things get sorted, new things started.   Mars is happy at home here. The determination and drive of Mars in Aries can be as powerful for addressing or resolving a problem as creating one. There could be a pay rise or other welcome news financially. More haste, less speed. Take it easy, there’s a higher chance of accidents, no speeding or cutting corners.

May 1: Venus square Pluto: potentially difficult for close relationships. What’s true? Hidden money? Keep your thoughts to yourself and beware gossip.

May 2: Pluto retrograde in Aquarius until October 11. Big changes coming and they start close to home. A time for deep down thinking, taking stock and not rocking the boat in our family circle or local community.

May 8: New Moon in Taurus The moon is exalted in Taurus. One of the best times to start something new to do with health, the body, finance, art, design, reviving or returning to an old talent or hobby, rediscovering a talent. There may be some pleasant surprise.

May 15: Mercury enters Taurus: we may become immersed in details, possibly fussing, but this is great for writing or making, buying, or selling art or other artisanal or local food produce.

May 18: Alignment between the Sun and Jupiter in Taurus.  Mars conjunct North Node. A call to action. This is the last shout of Jupiter in Taurus where it has been since May 16, 2023. This announces an energy boost with exciting work/finance/creative/career possibilities before Jupiter leaves Taurus and enters Gemini May 26.

Photo by virginia lackinger on Unsplash

Thank you for reading. Back soon with a general reading and a few thoughts about this new Taurus season 2024. I can’t say it’s good news for the world but we don’t need the Tarot to show us that. It’s not world war 3 either. I’m watching the news but I’m not gluing myself to it. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Let us, in true Taurus style, provide as best we can for our loved ones, spare a thought, a deed or a penny for those less fortunate where we can, and count our blessings in contemplation of the lilies of the field, and the daisies, the “eye of the day.”