In the northern hemisphere, Aries ushers in the spring season. By Taurus season we are enjoying longer days, warmer temperatures, and the flora and fauna are in full bloom! My neighbors to the south may be noticing a chill in the air, but also the deepening of autumn’s blue skies. Is it any wonder than that whether we are experiencing spring or fall, this time transitional time of year is ruled by Venus, the planet that symbolized beauty and that which we most appreciate?
Taurus Season.
Taurus is a fixed earth sign. Fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius) give “staying power” to that which we initiate during the cardinal seasons (Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn). I don’t know about you, but at winter’s end I’m ready to get out and about, beginning new ventures and initiating springtime endeavors!
Will all of my intentions flourish? I’ll have to wait until mutable Gemini season to find out! During Taurus season it is time to lovingly and patiently tend to that which has been planted… and wait and see what growth occurs.
Goddess Guidance: Demeter.
Patience, tending, abiding… Demeter, the Greek goddess of fertility and the harvest, has a great deal to teach us about these Taurus-season qualities.
Demeter had a lovely daughter named Persephone. Hades, the god of death, abducted Persephone and took her to his Underworld-home. Inconsolable, Demeter searched high and low for her daughter. She was so aggrieved that winter enveloped the entire earth.
Famine spread across the lands. People were dying. Zeus, the ruler of the gods, intervened. He implored Demeter to bring springtime to the fields so that crops would grow once again. However, she refused. Until her daughter was safe with her again, the land would remain cold, dark, and barren.
Zeus suggested a compromise. Persephone would stay in the Underworld with Hades for one-third of the year. The remainder of the year she would return to her mother, along with the warmth of spring.
Like Demeter, there are times when we, too, feel helpless as our loved ones suffer. Whether they are experiencing illness of mind, body, or soul, there are some loads we cannot carry; some crosses we cannot bear. Like a caterpillar forging its way out of its cocoon, sometimes we must let our loved ones work through an experience in order to grow.
At times the most loving thing we can do for a friend or family member who find themselves crisis is to abide with them without judgement, expectation, or condemnation, and support them as they make the best decisions they can for themselves. Never underestimate the power of a kind smile, gentle hug, or encouraging text letting your loved one know you are thinking of them.
Taurus Season Questions for Reflection…
When have we witnessed a loved one’s suffering and were unable to do anything but abide with them?
What feelings came up for us then? What feelings does it bring up for us now?
What did we learn from that experience?
How does our past experience inform how we might handle a similar situation in the future?