Mar 9 – Apr 21, 2017
Learn about Mars. Learn about Taurus.
Mars spins to a lull in Taurus. Like a boulder, sublimely grounded yet impossible to budge, that’s the bull. Sedentary, lethargic and plodding. Pinned by inertia, physical energy disappears. Best of luck getting out of bed! If you can shake couch potato mode, this transit performs well. Once Taurus sets to work, the bull moils with impressive force.
Cleaning, de-cluttering, hiking, cooking, sun bathing, gardening, farming, bonding with animals, singing (Taurus rules the throat and voice) – these are all recommended. Mars in Taurus keeps the tendrils between body and spirit sprouting. Think art, aesthetic, abundance, home, Gaia and sensuality. The bull is a tactile and lusty farm beast. She answers biology’s finest springtime call, just like all the other animals with whom we share this lovely planet.
Taurus comes from the ancient Egyptian goddess of fertility, Hathor. She holds the entire cosmic cycle in her being. With one hand Hathor delivers babies, and with the other she greets the dead, offering food and drink to newly reborn souls as they are ushered into the next life. Hathor is goddess of music and happiness, dancing joyously across the necropolis; protector of miners and turquoise; guardian of the desert; rattler of the sistrum; steward of the earth, nestled in a papyrus marsh beneath the Milky Way, the Nile of the Sky. More festivals were dedicated to Hathor than any other Egyptian deity, and more children named after her. Hathor not only fully embodies the cycle of life, but also the spectrum of gender. Both men and women became priestesses of Hathor. Indeed Horus, god of the sun, is said to be “housed” within her, and classically she is depicted with a sun disk set between her cow horns.
Something truly awesome happened during the Age of Taurus in the third millennium BC. The Milky Way was aligned in such a way that, at the fall and spring equinoxes, the ends of its arc touched the earth exactly where the sun rose and set. It was at this time that Hathor became intimately associated with the Milky Way. Did our ancestors see a sacred cow in the sky, spindly legs funneled into the earth below, imbuing humanity with her gentle power for eons to come?
The first weekend of Mars in Taurus is going to be a very earthy one because we’ve got a Full Moon in Virgo too. Mercury moves into Aries the day after the full moon: with the mind blazing in ego-fire and Mars, ruler of the body, in a heavy earth position, it may be difficult to link mind/intention with physical manifestation. The Aries season kicks off the following week, and this will raise energy levels significantly. On the same day, more earth with a quarter moon in Capricorn. All of this earth means stability – it’s a cementing force. Interesting that this happens during the inaugural Aries season, a time when everything is overhauled, made over from scratch. Earth energy will encourage us to commit quickly to these new endeavors. Less wiggle room, not so forgiving.
The new moon in Aries at the end of March will be another major boost, but Venus Retrograde continues in Pisces a few days later, knocking Mars flat again. Together, Pisces and Taurus brew serious fatigue. The quarter moon in Cancer in the first week of April is going to be trying and emotional, followed two days later by Saturn Retrograde.
Mars forms a trine (120 degree triangular formation) to Pluto on April 6. This aspect is thoroughly masculine as these two planets are both warlike in nature. Trines are usually a smoothing agent, but given the volatile nature of these planets, anger and control struggles will surface. Ideally, this aspect feeds our drive to break away from overbearing archetypes and dance the path of freedom.
Mercury Retrograde comes three days later, then a full moon in Libra! Venus Retrograde ends on April 15. The sun joins Mars in Taurus on April 19, marking the beginning of the Taurus season. One day later, and on the last full day of Mars in Taurus, Mercury Retrograde dials back to Aries and Pluto joins the retrograde party too. Wow wow wowowow
The bull is placid, peace-loving and sports a long fuse, but make no mistake: push Taurus too far and you shall be promptly gored. Stay rooted with Taurus Yoga. To ascertain your personal Mars sign, click here.
Mantra: abundance
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