Spiritual Side of Taurus

The other day when I was writing about the Comanche "psychic" warrior Isatai who suddenly seemed to have lost his ability to predict at the same that Neptune moved from Aries to Taurus, I became acutely aware that I don't understand the spiritual side of Taurus. How would Neptune in Taurus manifest? Trying to understand the "Piscean" side of Taurus has always bothered me as Taurus isn't usually described from that angle. I've got Taurus on my 12th house and no planets in the 12th house and I'm sort of resigned to the fact that I don't seem to have a subconscious, or, at least, when I do tend to have unconscious motivations, they immediately manifest, usually into Saturnian "lessons" of an unfortunate nature, ah hem.... I actually studied Classics in College so that I could understand the philosophical side of things. (That was of no use as I found out that both Socrates and Plato were maybe Tauruses.) And once I had a little education, my philosopher friends just seemed to be wasting their time reinventing the wheel by repeating what the Ancients already knew. Taurus seems necessary in order to give shape to the raw energy of Aries into new form.

As I've been writing this blog, I've become aware of how important Taurus is in the charts of many spiritual leaders. This sign is not all just about money and practical matters yet astrologers fall back on this terminology when discussing it. There's a different, non-material level that Taurus works at. I haven't been able to understand it until I picked up a book on Graphic Design yesterday from a Library Shelf called The Non-Designer's Design Book by Robin Williams. How appropriate that a book on making Art would be where I could find my answer as this is Taurus' domain. Artists and musicians are notorious for not being able to express themselves verbally (I have personal experience in this matter). This is exactly what Robin Williams discusses in her Introduction. The excitement and energy of rushing out to see everything and do everything is Aries. It's Taurus' job to name items as a first step in developing a relationship with them. In so doing, one begins to "manifest" one's environment, to make new pathways in one's life. As Williams says in a Plutonian fashion, have power over them.

I hope this isn't breaking Copyright Laws, but I wanted to repeat the story that Robin Williams tells in her book. It seems to explain the Taurus ideas of creating "value." This is from the Introduction on page 15 and is called "The Joshua Tree Principle." She explains why one would want to learn the design process. It means a lot to me because I live in California and went through this same exact experience when I first started gardening. Joshua trees are planeted everywhere here.

"Many years ago I received a tree identification book for Christmas. I was at my parents' home, and after all the gifts had been opened I decided to go out and identify the trees in the neighborhood. Before I went out, I read through part of the book. The first tree in the book was the Joshua tree because it only took two clues to identify it. Now the Joshua tree is a really weird-looking tree and I looked at that picture and said to myself, "Oh, we don't have that kind of tree in Northern California. That is a weird-looking tree. I would know if I saw that tree, and I've never seen one before." So I took my book and went outside. My parents lived in a cul-de-sac of six homes. Four of those homes had Joshua trees in the front yard. I had lived in that house for thirteen years, and I had never seen a Joshua tree. I took a walk around the block, and there must have been a sale at the nursery when everyone was landscaping their new homes -- at least 80 percent of the homes had Joshua trees in the front yards. And I had never seen one before! Once I was conscious of the tree, once I could name it, I saw it everywhere. Which is exactly my point. Once you can name something, you're conscious of it. You have power over it. You own it. You're in control."

The Non-Designer's Design Book
by Robin Williams, Peachpit Press, Berkeley, CA, 1994

By odd coincidence, just today, as I am learning that the U.S. Navy is going ahead with their undersea Sonar testings, literally avoiding orders from the Federal Courts to do so because of the hazards to the Whales, etc. I found out that both men responsible for the first simple attempts at creating Radar and Sonar were born in 1881 when 4 outer planets, Saturn, Neptune, Jupiter and Pluto (plus Chiron) were in Taurus. I don't know if I appreciate all the places where these inventions are leading, but they certainly do show an incredibly deep understanding of how to harness the energies of what exists right under our noses. A long time ago I wrote a blog about the Spiritual Leaders who have a great ability to transform others and discussed the prevalence of both Taurus and Pluto in their charts. (I'll have to go look for it when the inspiration strikes, it was probably last summer sometime, I'm so lazy.)