Archetypes of Taurus
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 7:57 pm
An irony in the symbolism of Taurus is that it is the only constellation to have double female regency - Venus-ruled, Moon exalted - and yet, in every culture where a zodiac has existed, it has been portrayed as a distinctly masculine creature. It isn't the cow: It's the bull.
Furthermore, in the ancient Egyptian language at the time the zodiac was in formation, the word for bull and the word for phallus were spelled identically. By "bull" they quite intentionally meant something with a penis. If you look at Fagan's diagram including ancient hieroglyphs of the constellations on page 108 of Astrological Origins, there is no mistaking the erect, uncircumcized penis with scrotum.
Etymology informs us that the English words "bull" and "phallus" come from the same roots - same as "bellows," "balloon," "ball," and, frankly most things that you can inflate.
In the 1970s I had a letter published in American Astrology's "Many Things" column discussing a Mesopotamian ancient tablet that showed Taurus specifically as "The Bull Out Front." As a teenaged male, I remember that I thought that was hilariously pornographic.
The zodiac was forged while Taurus marked the (northern hemisphere) vernal equinox. This made it the first sign of the zodiac (the real meaning of "The Bull Out Front," of course). This also equated it with all the bursting forth of reproductive life in spring. Those who are familiar with the symbolism of the Hebrew letter Alef - the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, associated with the idea of "ox" or "bull," corresponding in Qabbalah to the primal life force especially as it streams forth in spring.
In his book Symbolism of the Constellations, Fagan told us that the Babylonian name for Taurus was gud.an.nu, "Bull of Heaven." To the Egyptians, it was Pa Ka,"the Bull" (also "the Phallus"); and, he remarked, the name for Taurus was followed by a determinative portraying the phallus (I think it was the same one mentioned above in the table in AO).
The primal symbol of Taurus, then, is the ejaculating phallus as a symbol of forth-streaming life-essence. It is the essence of Eros and, to the Greeks when they attributed gods instead of planets to the signs, its regent was Aphrodite (Venus) and, secondarily, her son Eros (Cupid).
In the cycle of human life-experience, Taurus, as the first constellation of the zodiac, symbolizes the ejaculation that starts the process of incarnation; and yet (as mentioned at the top), Moon and Venus are its regents.
All ideas of Taurus come from this archetype and its associated symbols.
Furthermore, in the ancient Egyptian language at the time the zodiac was in formation, the word for bull and the word for phallus were spelled identically. By "bull" they quite intentionally meant something with a penis. If you look at Fagan's diagram including ancient hieroglyphs of the constellations on page 108 of Astrological Origins, there is no mistaking the erect, uncircumcized penis with scrotum.
Etymology informs us that the English words "bull" and "phallus" come from the same roots - same as "bellows," "balloon," "ball," and, frankly most things that you can inflate.
In the 1970s I had a letter published in American Astrology's "Many Things" column discussing a Mesopotamian ancient tablet that showed Taurus specifically as "The Bull Out Front." As a teenaged male, I remember that I thought that was hilariously pornographic.
The zodiac was forged while Taurus marked the (northern hemisphere) vernal equinox. This made it the first sign of the zodiac (the real meaning of "The Bull Out Front," of course). This also equated it with all the bursting forth of reproductive life in spring. Those who are familiar with the symbolism of the Hebrew letter Alef - the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, associated with the idea of "ox" or "bull," corresponding in Qabbalah to the primal life force especially as it streams forth in spring.
In his book Symbolism of the Constellations, Fagan told us that the Babylonian name for Taurus was gud.an.nu, "Bull of Heaven." To the Egyptians, it was Pa Ka,"the Bull" (also "the Phallus"); and, he remarked, the name for Taurus was followed by a determinative portraying the phallus (I think it was the same one mentioned above in the table in AO).
The primal symbol of Taurus, then, is the ejaculating phallus as a symbol of forth-streaming life-essence. It is the essence of Eros and, to the Greeks when they attributed gods instead of planets to the signs, its regent was Aphrodite (Venus) and, secondarily, her son Eros (Cupid).
In the cycle of human life-experience, Taurus, as the first constellation of the zodiac, symbolizes the ejaculation that starts the process of incarnation; and yet (as mentioned at the top), Moon and Venus are its regents.
All ideas of Taurus come from this archetype and its associated symbols.