My mother has Mars in Taurus (w/sun in Scorpio, moon in Pisces).
A story she told me the other day, I think, shows an example of "comfortable with assertiveness, without compromising their tenderness."
She works as a nurse manager for a wound-care clinic, where she hired a young nurse. Her first impression was that she was very shy and timid, but sweet. The first day this nurse made a mistake my mother reprimanded her harshly, and the next day the girl came into her office to apologize. She bowed to my mother while apologizing over and over again. My mom told her to never bow to her again, that if the girl wanted to express her respect, she wanted to be looked in the eyes and seen as equals. The girl is now moving onto a new life path and will be leaving her job there, before going though, she sat down with my mother to tell her how much of a mentor she was, and to thank her for teaching her how to be assertive. My mother was taken off-guard by this.
My mom is naturally artistic (she was an exceptional actress when she was younger-- she was accepted into the UCLA's acting department as a freshman), but has never pursued art as a profession. And she is very, very skilled as a cook! She truly makes the best food (in my opinion
)
She built a 1940's Ford truck by hand. And went to college and kept a job, while being a single mom of two children.
She also has had many marriages.
Also, she does kind of play the nurse while at work and at home. When I was younger, I remember her taking on relationships with people that were in need of taking care of... alcoholics, people without jobs, people with tough upbringings... and was unfazed by the "normal" attractive elements (good looks, money, big bods, etc.) She married people that were tough, tattooed, rockstars, with troubled lives.
She is "tender, responsive.." and "humane." And has a very, very keen sense of intuition. It was hard to get away with anything in my teenage years because she could see through all of my cool, facades! And to this day, is acutely sensitive to the mother-children psychic link.