Taurus 3° (April 23)

Met with realtor/landlord and got everything signed and delivered. It turns out I can do as much as I like in terms of cosmetic changes which is pretty cool. Went to the cottage in the afternoon and moved a bunch of things and have a handle on some basic renovation. Went over to G’s house to get codes for entry and wifi. He was complimentary which was nice. I suddenly came to conclusion I won’t be living where I am once May 16 comes around. How did that escape my brain? Had lovely Zoom chat with D + N. Heard all about India. They had been to Goa before, which I vaguely remember knowing. I would love to travel again. I would love to find a friend with whom I could travel. People drop out. Derwood, Bon. All the people that were there at the beginning eventually fall away. I suppose it’s normal. I am looking to the people in my life currently who are the real angels. I still can’t believe how vilified I’ve become. I was telling D + N that I don’t really feel that I’ve changed very much at all over the years. 

Taurus Man

To be born a male in this premier feminine fixed-earth sign (think gardens and fertile valleys), Taurus man draws on agrarian male archetypes, specifically the classic flower gods like Narcissus, Hyacinth and Adonis, male love objects who invite and incite desire in others. Diametrically opposed to the preceding sign of Aries, ruled by objective Mars, Taurus is ruled by Venus, the subjective feminine principle, passive powers of attraction, allure, and temptation. Taurus man wants to be wanted in the worst way, and in a nod to both the sign’s motto, I have, and its rule of possessions, assets and all things of value, Taurus man is a collector of people as well as material props. He must be careful of possessiveness and a surplus need for others’ appreciation. The myth of the insatiable Minotaur, half man half bull, is themed on the labyrinthian trap that an excess of desire (more so, to be desired) can be for the Taurus fellow. Green is the sign’s color, that of material wealth and certain fertility, but also of searing envy. Taurus rules the throat, the gullet, and men of the sign are hungry for gain and all-too thirsty for an appreciative audience, their appetites on any number of levels in need of moderating.

            Taurus man is designed to be a gardener in life, patient and careful cultivation being key to his success and, all things being paradoxical in astrology (as in life) this can be his greatest challenge. A metaphorical and metaphysical creature of the garden, Eden, he can be blissfully ignorant of his impact on others for better or worse (let alone their own needs) and can be notoriously capable of feigning innocence while consciously plotting fairly cutthroat maneuvers. Like Chauncey Gardiner in Jerzy Kosinski’s novel/film Being There, for the subjective Taurus, life is what happens to him—at least that’s what he’d have you believe. Passivity: seeming to have no real agenda, life is about being carried along (read: by other people), the road rising to meet him, the proverbial lotus unfolding. Flower gods like Adonis turned the typically most desired deities, like Aphrodite/Venus, into the aggressor, first as mother than as lover. In the Garden, it was Eve who took decisive action—fittingly it’s the main female character’s name in Being There. There is a price to passivity. Adam lost immortality going along for Eve’s ride. Likewise, flower gods are also “dying gods,”—none of them live past youthful beauty, immortalized (as flowers) for it. So too does the Taurus male let die off parts of himself in the bargain he makes for outsourcing directive power. He especially doesn’t exist without an audience, and there is sacrifice. Taurus is here for human consumption, to satisfy others’ certain hunger, seeing himself, primarily, through others’ eyes, making art-directional adjustments as life unfolds, to appeal to what he perceives to be desired tastes, be they personal, physical, intellectual, cultural, artistic, sartorial, sexual, all of the above and more.

Typos happen. I don’t have a proofreader. And I like to just write, post and go! Copyright 2022 Wheel Atelier Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Taurus 2° (April 22)

Went to the storage and then to the cottage and dropped a few things off. Wrestled vacuum cleaner out of storage which is great but took forever. Went to meet Len but his partner had fallen, and the paramedics were there. It was pretty shocking. 

A woman born to the premier masculine sign, Aries doesn’t so much embody but employ its cardinal-firesignature. She may appear coolly removed, but she starts little fires everywhere. Like her Aries brother, she draws on warrior archetypes, Athena chief among them, endowed as Aries might be with her divine tact, diplomacy and strategy. Athena was born in full adult form and armor; and the themes of identity, autonomy and a certain defensiveness loom large in Aries’ life. The paradox of being a woman in this most macho sign makes Aries the original feminist from birth, which, along with all new beginnings, is ruled by the sign, which also rules the head as befits the ram. From the jump Aries enters every endeavor, head first; but it’s the sign’s rulership of the face that most concerns her, identity and image. The horn shape of the sign’s symbol also recalls the nose and brow, a nod to Athena’s vast wisdom, her totem being the owl. She is goddess of crafts as well as the helm just as Aries aims to employ all her mad skills in piloting her own ship, to go her own way. Other Aries archetypes include Lilith, the biblical Rachel, Medusa, snake goddesses like Inanna, the Amazons, Arya Stark and Jo March, fierce female figures unafraid to go it alone, particularly when faced with an oppressive patriarchy.

For Aries, a strong identity means independence, which is the desired goal for her in this incarnation. The ironic kicker being that Aries requires a lot of support in order for her to be a soloist pioneer in the world. For this she must especially rely on sisterhood. Aries is an anthropologist at her core, a keen observer of human behavior, something that can manifest in myriad number of ways. She has a steely approach toward the game of life, which she is determined to win, a sore loser when things don’t go to plan. She can be prone to tantrums, which she must work to temper. She must specialize, mastering a specific craft that furthers the social discourse, positioning herself as an agent for change. Mentors play a huge part in her development and, when operating at a high vibrational level, she will ultimately take on that role to others. She is ideally a champion of champions, working her own agenda through the efforts of those she’s groomed in her image. She can be something of an intellectual snob and is hard-pressed to cultivate tolerance for those she doesn’t consider as sharp as she is. This is a special challenge for her as a parent, where she can play obvious favorites, fostering those she deems most fit for successful survival.

For Aries, people have their purposes, and despite power and positivity in this, I prescribe expanding her understanding of those who people her world. She must divine the difference between providing patronage and plain old using others as pawns. In significant others she is drawn to docile characters, those with nary a domineering bone in their body, which can be surprising. There is benefit in her being more aspirational in love relationships instead of pairing with obvious underachievers out of fear being overshadowed or eclipsed. Spiritually she is a natural poster child for self-reliance, typically not one to outsource higher power.

Typos happen. I don’t have a proofreader. And I like to just write, post and go! Copyright 2022 Wheel Atelier Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Taurus 1° (April 21)

Stumbling upon this entry nearly a year later, I find no entry whatsoever. I know the feeling of what was going on as I had just taken on a little job to stop the hemorrhaging. I think back on this time and have a pretty good feeling. It will prove untenable in the end of course. That’s really all I will or need to say.

The first and sole male cardinal-fire sign, Aries embodies “big bang” energy—initiatory, combustive—ruled by Mars, for the war god, the masculine principle. Aries energy is directive, objective and objectifying, singular and purposeful. The horned Ram and phallic, “spear-toting” Mars symbols both speak to Aries’ impetuous, urgent, headstrong nature, ever on the attack. This unbridled energy requires harnessing, restraint and introspection—not his strong suits. His raw warrior spirit must be channeled into championing solo causes that also benefit the common good. Designed to quest and conquer, he draws on alpha-male archetypes from Adam and warring Mars/Ares to Jason and Lancelot, Superman to Tony Stark, all of whose stories provide parables for Aries’ life path, principles, penchants, peccadillos, perks and pitfalls. 

Aries man is Id personified; pure, primal impulse, often conflicting with his own, and the larger cultural, Superego. Being himself and “knowing thyself” are opposed in his personality—he is thus challenged to divine a powerline in this polarization. One might say he is “called” to do so; wording that would appeal to his self-perspective. In what may strike others as delusion, Aries tends to consider himself on a mission in life, if not the gods’ gift to humanity. The sign of Aries rules birth (to age seven) and every kind of new beginning. Aries personifies the concept of birthright. Mars rules the blood and muscle, and Ram man conflates desired aims and goals with their being “in his blood” to achieve. As for a newborn babe, life is foremost and forever a fight for survival, if not a bloody affair. The two colors of Aries are white and red, like the two types of blood cells, a dual nod to that hero in the white hat he fancies himself and a propensity to “see red” and ram his singular agenda onto a larger one, any casualties of doing so be damned. Another dichotomy: When you’re a lone ranger in life by nature, it is most challenging to understand when you are alienating others.

Aries man is spiritually designed for direct connections on that score in the cultivation of upper-case Self, and benefits most from a Zen approach to life. Without going against his natural grain to attack life and make indelible marks, I prescribe cultivating detachment, treading as lightly as possible in his life pursuits. In relationships, he is challenged notto objectify a partner. He can suck all the oxygen out of the room and treat others as props in his production of self. He must learn to operate his own off-switch and find the sweet spot between a laudable impetus to prove himself and realize his goals, and an overbearing tendency to ride roughshod, which can lay waste to golden opportunities on offer. Aries’ singular path calls for perceiving himself to be enough, as is, at any given point, tempering an irrepressible need to further prove himself. Being less hard on himself, he will better treat others, significant ones specifically.

Typos happen. I don’t have a proofreader. And I like to just write, post and go! Copyright 2022 Wheel Atelier Inc. All Rights Reserved.