My astrology teacher, David Palmer, the Leo King, describes Mars in Taurus like a “bull in a china shop!”
Two visuals come to mind when I think about this idiom: an angry bull running around a china shop breaking everything as it tries to escape, and a large bull, standing on its hind legs like a cartoon, sheepishly trying not to move because every time he does he bumps something off and it breaks on the floor!
Then, of course, there’s always a third, the Zen bull, who upon realizing he’s stuck in a china shop, sits down on the floor and meditates in order to make peace with his surroundings…
So, which do we have here? Let’s take a look at Mars a little more closely to figure it out.
Mars is now in Taurus, in its detriment; this means that he does not like being in this sign. Taurus is Venus-ruled and so the underlying controller of the Martian energy is Venusian: soft, loving, gentle; the very opposite of his nature. Mars was represented by the Greek God Ares, who symbolized the spirit of battle and the brutal truths of warfare. So, Mars feels out of his element in the sign of Taurus. What bull would like to be in a China shop, anyway?
Mars has just come off of a square with Pluto in Capricorn, which brought up a lot of deep truths about what we all want out of this lifetime. We are now faced with the reality of our situations…do our lives match our desires and dreams, or is there yet another mountain to climb? It seems that life, is a never-ending series of mountains…but are we climbing physical, metaphorical, or spiritual mountains?
Neptune in Pisces is continuing to ask us what we believe to be real in this reality. And, Mars square Pluto has just helped us tear down some of what we thought was real, but turned out to be fake walls, flooring, and roofs…Now that those have all been dismantled, we get to pause and look up at the heavens—what do the stars have to tell us at this moment? With Mars in Taurus, we are forced to slow down, stop, and take it all in.
The Moon in Virgo for most of the day is in the same element as Mars now: Earth. This could bring a lot of industriousness, fortitude, and strength to accomplishing physical tasks or harnessing creative energy in a productive way. I like this combination, it feels solid, productive, and worthy.
Mercury has also moved into the watery sign of Cancer today.
I took a break from writing to go outside and pick some basil from my garden. Upon walking outside I heard the water running, and saw that my garden was surrounded by puddles—someone had left the hose on all night! Thankfully, when I formed the garden beds by hand earlier in the year, I raised them up and dug out little walkways between each bed, so that I could easily harvest the herbs and veggies when the time came. Those walkways acted like channels, directing the water, like in ancient times when the Nile River would flood and the Egyptians would use this natural phenomenon to water their crops. Well, my crops were definitely watered!
Mercury in Cancer is also making a sextile to Mars in Taurus: water and earth working in harmony to bring about some opportunity…maybe my garden was really thirsty? I am now presented with a choice of reaction: should I try to find out who did this and scold them for being careless? Do I let it go and be thankful that I had the forethought to dig channels between the beds? What kind of “bull in a china shop” do I want to be?
The planets in astrology show us the hand of fate as it works to weave the tapestry of our lives, laying down thread after thread. With the knowledge of this weaving, we are given the chance to think before we act and find meaning in the mundane. This is probably one of my favorite parts of studying astrology so far: having the knowledge a little bit ahead of the manifestation so that I can execute my free will in a way that helps me grow as a soul.
I think I’m going to laugh it off, and make pesto!
Let’s pick a card for the day:
IX Crone
I smiled when I pulled this card. In the Motherpeace this card is called Crone, but in traditional tarot, this is the Hermit card. The Hermit is the way-shower, the light in the dark, and represents a time when we are given a serious choice in life. By taking time to be still and reflect, we can make better choices. Sometimes we have to retreat and be a hermit to find this wisdom, but the knowledge is always there, deep within our eternal souls.
Here you see an old, wise woman, walking on a path, who has come to a crossroads. Up in the sky is the Moon goddess, pushing away the Sun, because it is time for the Crone to listen to her emotional, intuitive, and psychic abilities; the qualities of the Moon.
The light on her staff guides the way, for herself and others. The wise old sage is touching her head in a manner that suggests either she is thinking about which way to go or she is receiving divine guidance— or both?
Along our paths in life, we are presented with many crossroads. Now is a time when we can look within for divine guidance. Deep in your heart, you know which road to take. Listen to your intuition. You may feel that it is helpful to take a sabbatical and retreat from society for a little while in order to find the answers you seek; or if that is impossible, maybe some meditation? Through stillness and quiet, we can hear the Universe speak…now is a time to stop, and listen.
As always, I hope this was helpful!
Until tomorrow,
AstroMommy
P.S. Upon inspection, we figured out that the sprayer actually popped off the hose! The pressure of the water must have built up overnight and pushed the nozzle off at some point. I am so happy that I didn’t come inside, angry and looking for someone to blame. Because I was writing about being a bull in a china shop, this gave me pause, and I was able to process all my emotions and choose an appropriate response: laughing, pesto-making bull. Hope you have a great day!
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Today’s astrology was brought to you by: Mars in Taurus, Mercury in Cancer, and the Moon in Virgo—the Moon will move into Libra by tonight, just FYI.
Today’s card was pulled from the MotherPeace Round Tarot deck, available on Amazon through my affiliate link, here.
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