Linda Goodman's Sun Signs (9 page)

His father was born in May. And that's how you recognize Taurus, the bull. The most fertile places to look for him would be a farm, a bank or a real estate office, but you'll also find him grazing in other pastures. There are Taurean engineers, movie stars, clerks, gardeners, kings and queens, chimney sweeps, butchers, bakers and candlestick makers. You can always tell the bull by his strong, silent attitude. Until you get to know him better, his lengthiest monologues will probably be “Yep,” “Nope,” “Thanks,” “So long,” and frequently “Uh-uh,” a substitute for “Nope.” If he had a strong Gemini, Aries or Sagittarius influence at birth, he may be a little gabbier and walk with more bounce. But the typical Taurean prefers to move deliberately and speak sparingly.

Like Gibraltar, he is solid and steady and nothing disturbs his tranquility. You can throw water on him or light a fire between his toes. You can beat on his chest with clenched fists, glare at him hypnotically or shout at the top of your lungs. Taurus won't budge an inch. Once his mind is set, he folds his arms calmly and digs in his heels. He sticks out his rather prominent chin, flares his nostrils, pins back his ears and you've had it.

The bull seldom rushes forward to stomp on your toes. He simply wants to be left alone. Don't disturb him and he'll remain contented. Press him and he becomes obstinate. Shove too hard, tease too much, and be prepared for violent rage. He can go for months and years on end, exhibiting perfect poise and control, inhaling the fragrance of the posies and ignoring the nervous clacking and clucking all around him. Then some unexpected day, a pushy person will pile one straw too many on his broad back. He'll snort, begin to paw the earth, narrow his eyes—and charge. Get out of the way as fast as you can and run for your life! The Taurean temper is seldom displayed impulsively, but when the bull gets mad, he can destroy everything in his path, up to and including Scorpios. Destroy is not the right word. Demolish is better. It may be some time before the dust settles and peace reigns again. Some Taureans have such control that they only charge once or twice in a whole lifetime. Even the quick-tempered ones won't erupt more than once or twice a year, if that often. Still, it's best to remember that Taurus usually doesn't get just a little mad or annoyed. If the incident is large enough to rock his normally placid emotions, you can count on blind fury, no ordinary anger.

I know one Taurus male whose wife had never seen him angry during all the years of her marriage, until one night in a crowded supper club. An obnoxious drunk stumbled over to their table and made an off-color remark. She expected her husband to handle the man firmly, with his usual self-control, and she was as shocked as the rest of the customers when the Taurean suddenly stood up, shoved over two tables, lifted the man in the air, and sent him flying to the other side of the room, nearly demolishing the bandstand. Not a word was exchanged. I trust this will make you properly cautious. Before even winking at a strange woman, it would be wise to know her escort's birthday.

You can expect many May people to actually resemble a bull, the men that is, and the women born under this Sun sign will have an intangible, elusive bovine quality about them. The look in the female Taurean's eyes will be serene and limpid, yet steady. She will move gracefully, indolently, but with a suggestion of hidden strength. As for the males, the neck will often be thick or muscular, the shoulders, chest or back, or all three, broad and strong. The entire body will be well proportioned, whether short or tall. The ears are usually small and close to the head. When they eat, they chew slowly, and ordinarily have excellent digestions. You may notice a lock of hair (resembling the bull's forelock), or a curl that hangs in the center of the forehead. Not all, but many Taureans have curly or wavy hair. It's usually dark, like the eyes and skin. Even the occasional blonde, light-eyed and fair-skinned Taurus people will never suggest fragility of mind or character.

Naturally, you can't expect every Taurean to look like Ferdinand the bull or Elsie the cow. It's true that they frequently have large, generous bodies, ranging from muscular to plump to fat. But if you get that image too set in your mind, you won't recognize the skinny ones, and it's important to learn to spot them, too. After all, Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire and Gary Cooper were all born under the sign of the bull. Don't let it throw you. For all his Piscean lightness of foot, and his airy Gemini charm, Fred Astaire was an earthy Taurus. The other planetary influences in his chart couldn't change that. His friend and choreographer Hermes Pan, or anyone else close to the dancing legend could describe how tough it was to get Twinkle Toes to go somewhere he didn't want to go or do something he didn't want to do. Bing Crosby was also famous for his unruffled personality and his calm, easygoing manner. (That was probably one of Bing's sons on the tramp steamer.) As for Gary Cooper, take another look at the tall, lanky frame of that hero of the vintage cowboy shows. His solid feet seem to be growing right out of the ground as if they were rooted there. He would move across the screen with slow deliberation, and the total number of complete sentences the actor speaks in those old westerns is roughly under a dozen. Actor? Following the venerable Hollywood system of type casting, Gary Cooper always superbly played Gary Cooper. And like many another Taurean you'll meet away from stage and camera, the Cooper love scenes feature a romantic girl, who cries, “I love you madly, passionately. I can't live without you. You're my whole life, darling. Tell me you care. Say you feel the same way. Do you love me? Do you?” What answer does the poor girl get for her torrent of sentiment? “Yep.” (But it can be strangely comforting.)

Taurus is strongly attracted to the opposite sex, but aggressive pursuit of any kind of pleasure isn't in his bag of tricks. He prefers to attract people to him. Why should he waste his energy chasing them over the countryside? A short trip to a farm and some astute observation of the laws of nature will make it clear how the Taurean emotions are activated in both love and friendship. Passivity is the typical behavior. Taureans would rather entertain hospitably at home than go to the trouble of visiting. The effort required for scintillating popularity doesn't appeal to the bull's nature. If you want him, you can call him. He'll be there. Throw out the line of comradeship or romance, and he'll pick it up, if it interests him. He'll know what to do with it, too, which isn't always true of the more gregarious signs.

Taurus seldom worries, frets or chews his nails. He can pout and brood when things don't suit his fancy, but he's not the nervous, twitchy type. It's his nature to be stoic, and take things in his stride, and nothing really alters this basic tendency.

I know a Taurean, who is both an attorney and a certified public accountant, a double career that would give anyone plenty to take in stride, especially at tax time. Now, this Taurus may bite his nails a little. All right, he bites them a lot. He talks faster than I do (which is pretty fast), and he does have a couple of worry creases in his forehead. But there's a heavy Gemini influence in his natal chart that causes the deceptive speed, and if you look behind the whirling action of his dynamic outer image, you'll still discover a Taurus. His brain may calculate like lightning, but his decisions are made slowly and carefully. His actions are predictable, his character is strong, and you can ask his wife just how much of a pushover he is when she tries to get him to dress up and go somewhere on the nights he'd rather stay home. You can also ask his clients, who try to rush him into closing deals quickly. He'll listen patiently and pleasantly, but the papers don't get signed until the bull makes up his mind it's the right move. Oh, yes, he's a Taurus, never mind the Gemini wit and agility. Flighty action is not among his vices. He rushes slowly, and that's
not
a non sequitur.

Taurus people are home folks. There's scarcely a bull who doesn't love to luxuriate under his own roof and stretch out amid comfortable, familiar surroundings. Change upsets him (unless there's a Gemini, Sagittarius or Aquarius Moon or ascendant). If the Taurus you know doesn't own his own home, he's dreaming about it, and he will someday. He's close to the earth, and the love of the land will come to him eventually, one way or another. If he's forced to live in a crowded apartment building, he'll probably have a window box full of geraniums or petunias. When the noisy clatter of the city threatens to press in too close, he'll determinedly grab his fishing pole and head for a quiet, pastoral spot. Let the world spin at too dizzy a pace for him, and Taurus simply gets off for a spell until it slows down. If he has no fishing pole or window box outlet, he may dabble in real estate, and make arrangements for other people's mortgages, which gets him out to the suburbs occasionally. There's always a connection with the land, however remote, like hanging around the race track, or taking his Sunday stroll through the park and drinking in the sights and fragrances of nature.

The average bull is superbly healthy, with a strong constitution. It takes a lot to put him on his back, but once he's down, he may recuperate slowly, partially due to his stubborn refusal to obey the doctor. His natural inclination to distrust optimism doesn't promote speedy recovery, either. The sensitive areas for accident and infection are the throat, neck, legs, ankles, reproductive organs, the back and the spinal area. Colds often turn into sore throats, and overweight brought on by the legendary Taurean love of food and drink, mostly food, can put a strain on the heart, and plague the bull with poor circulation, weak ankles, varicose veins and other chronic complaints. Gout is another possibility. Most May people, however, can easily stay healthier than the rest of us if they avoid obesity, lethargy and kidney infections. Let's be blunt. If the bull drinks to excess or gets fat and lazy, he'll lose his splendid physique and his robust good health. One of the main causes for his illnesses is a lack of country air and exercise. His system always needs it, even though his obstinate will may deny it.

Speaking of obstinacy, there's no use telling a Taurean he (or she) is obstinate. In the bull's mind, he's not stubborn at all. He's patient. It's a matter of semantics. He's not hardheaded—he's just sensible and firm. For the life of him, he can't see why people judge him so unfairly.

The truth is that Taurus is as stubborn as a human can be and not actually turn into solid stone. Taurean men and women seem to be glued to both their seats and their opinions. A Taurus husband will refuse to accompany his wife to a friend's house if there are no comfortable chairs there for him to sit in. She can plead in vain. He just won't go. A Taurus woman who doesn't approve of her husband's cronies simply will not talk to them. Still, the bulls can also claim the virtue of patience with justification. Many a Taurean bears emotional and physical burdens in silence for years without complaint. The higher the troubles pile up, the more strength Taurus finds to bear them. His loyalty and devotion to family and friends often surpass all understanding. Lots of Taurus men and women deserve gold medals for courage under blows of fate that would have long ago broken the back of those born under other Sun signs. Fine. I'll go along with awarding a blue ribbon in recognition of the Taurus fortitude.
But he's still stubborn.

There's very little that turns his appetite faint. The bull can usually eat anything from fried peppers to chocolate whipped cream cake, sour pickles and turnips—all at the same meal—without a trace of indigestion. Steak and beef are usually his favorites, and he loves to clean up the leftovers. If alcohol is added, the Taurean can closely resemble King Henry VIII, happily gorging at a royal banquet. (Of course, a Virgo ascendant can keep him on raw carrots and lettuce, washed down with prune juice.)

The Taureans' funny bones are tickled by broad and slapstick comedy. Many of them fail to catch subtle satire, but they'll howl when someone slips on a banana peel or gets a custard pie in the face. Taurus humor is warm and earthy, playful and reminiscent of Falstaff. These people are seldom, if ever, really cruel or vindictive. It's a strange fact that cruel Taureans often have many planets in Aries at birth. The two signs don't seem to mix well in the same horoscopes. Hitler is a good example.

Now, about the subject of money—the bull and his money are seldom parted. Not every Taurean is a millionaire, but you won't find many of them standing in line for free soup. Taurus likes to build empires slowly and surely. He starts with a solid foundation, and then gradually adds a story at a time, until he's built a stable business and a bank account with muscles. Oddly, Taurus likes to accumulate power, along with cash, but simply for the sensual enjoyment of possessing it. They often turn over the action to subordinates. Just knowing the power is there along with the dollars seems to satisfy the Taurean need for security. Why should he be bothered with the effort of manipulating all the strings? There are Capricorns and Cancerians around to do that, while he snoozes, smells a daisy or eyes the pretty girls. It's enough that everybody knows who owns the pasture. Sooner or later, money will come to Taurus, and it usually sticks like glue when it does. The bull prizes his cash and his possessions as he does his family, but he's not stingy. The Taurean generous heart and pockets are wide open to real friends in real trouble.

He's impressed by bigness. The larger a building, the grander it is to him, and he'll walk right past the monkeys at the zoo to stare in fascination at the powerful elephants. Taurus will face huge animals with magnificent courage, but he fears a mouse. A tiger on the loose won't cause the bull to flicker an eyelash, while a tiny wasp can send him climbing up the nearest tree in nervous panic.

Fine paintings and great symphonies stir him deeply. Every Taurean owns some evidence of the Venus love for art and music, if it's only a Pavarotti CD, or a museum postcard of an early Van Gogh tucked under the sweat shirts he wears when he's out jogging on weekends. Many Taurus men and women have beautiful voices. Some of them sing professionally; others warble in the bath, soak in rich oils and dream of gilt-edged security. Music will always touch their lives in some way, and drawing or painting are often either hobbies or careers.