The Feet and the Top of the Ladder to Sky
 
 
Carlos Cardoso Aveline
 
 
 
The planet Venus rules the stable sign of Taurus,
whose element is Earth. On the right side, the Pleiades.
 
 
 
The sign of Taurus starts on 21 April, bringing a sense of consistency and durability to our lives.  In the northern hemisphere, where most people live, springtime gets strength. The innovative state of mind of the previous weeks – which belonged to the sign of Aries – is now replaced by the search for concretization and the experience of firmness.
 
An alliance is made between innovation and routine, so that human dreams can be expressed in the daily existence.
 
Regardless of the sign of the zodiac, the efficiency of one’s action depends on the quantity and quality of the experience accumulated by the soul along different incarnations. At each new round of the vital energy through the zodiacal cycle, some aspects are improved. An immense number of cycles big and small is necessary to human evolution.
 
Pisces has renewed the soul by giving it a purifying bath in contact with universal consciousness and eternal wisdom. Aries inaugurated a new yearly cycle of objective action and concrete effort. Taurus, ruled by Venus, brings calm. The durable strength of the project aiming at renewal and consolidation reaches its peak. At this stage of the journey, the goal of the soul is to expand and preserve that which it considers “its own”.
 
Pisces is the metaphysical, boundless territory from which Aries inaugurates every new year or zodiacal journey through the 12 signs. From the dialogue between Taurus and Pisces a constructive energy emerges, called “sextile”. The mission of Taurus is to fulfil the generous dream of universal brotherhood. While incorporating the spiritual lessons of the two previous signs, the intuitive goal of Taurine vibration is to make the synthesis of heaven and earth. It possesses the courage and audacity brought by Aries, combined with the patient, mystical vision of Pisces. [1]
 
It is a common mistake to think that some signs or planets are more spiritual than others. Seemingly excellent astrologers adopt such an illusion because they have not studied classical theosophy.
 
The influence of each planet circulates at all levels of consciousness and is, therefore, simultaneously positive and negative, sacred and inferior, spiritual and material. The meaning of any heavenly influence varies according to the plane of reality in which it is seen. It is up to human consciousness to rise its focus and perception up to the sacred dimension of the constellations, and to the spiritual level of our solar system.
 
In order for us to understand the lessons from the sky, it is necessary to have a clear view of the seven principles of consciousness, and of the surprising contrasts that emerge in the dialogue between higher self and lower self. [2]
 
A Time to Make Things Happen
 
During the magnetic sign of Taurus, life gets strength. In this part of the journey the soul gathers more tools and factors which it can consider its “possessions”. It accumulates, protects, preserves. It acts in a conservative way and calmly cherishes routine as long as it possibly can. 
 
When patience ends and profound change is finally seen as unavoidable, Taurus easily adopts the attitude of his opposite sign, Scorpio, and transmutes the situation in sudden, surprising, definitive ways. Although Taurus loves peace and prefers to avoid crises, few signs of the zodiac will handle sudden changes as bravely as this stable sign. In the Taurine phase of the Sun’s journey, human beings deepen the practice of continuity and forbearance.
 
Many a book of Astrology takes for granted that Taurus is a materialistic sign. Astrologers must attune to what they can see in the different signs, or to those statements they wish to repeat from other people. The truth is that every region of the zodiac constitutes a ladder to heaven and works like a school of souls which leads human consciousness toward divine wisdom, while acting from its own angle and perspective. Studying Helena Blavatsky’s theosophy helps one to understand that.
 
The Feet and the Top of the Ladder to Sky
 
Every celestial ladder must be grounded in the mud of the Earth, as the lotus flower. Otherwise it wouldn’t be a ladder. This is especially true of Taurus, whose element is Earth. However, one must look at the stairs from the top to the feet and examine its seven groups of steps, or seven layers of reality. A zodiacal sign or planet can only be understood if seen as a complex unity including matter and spirit, combined in various ways on different levels of awareness and meaning.
 
The sign and constellation of Taurus are related to the golden age of archaic astronomy. In most ancient zodiacs, it marked the golden time of the beginning of the year. [3]
 
The silent dialogue between the sign of Taurus and the Pleiades involves the mystery of Buddha and the galactic energy.  The final days of Taurus possess the power of expanding the sacred aspect of life while consolidating the experience of enlightenment. The same thing occurs in the precisely opposite position in the yearly cycle of the Sun, around the last days of Scorpio, between 16 and 21 of November.
 
Such a symmetric bridge to sky – grounded in May and November – places the Karma and Destiny of our small planet in the larger context of an expanded space-time where vast cycles of evolution take place in immense scenarios. In the learning process of our mankind and globe, the Great Year of the Pleiades has about 25,900 years. [4]
 
The energy of Taurus strengthens the indivisible magnetic process of a sacred ladder that is both terrestrial and heavenly. For anyone’s soul to attain a cosmic degree of perception, his feet must be firmly based on the soil.
 
Improving the “vertical bridge” is the next step in evolution for earthy and sacred Taurus. Paracelsus wrote about the spirits of the elements, and Stephen Arroyo says:
 
“The earth spirits are the gnomes, which are to be controlled by cheerful generosity. Obviously, cheerful generosity is not a quality commonly found in the earth signs [Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn], and it is therefore something they can all benefit from learning. And, I might add, the greatest strength and radiance of the earth signs shines forth when they have assimilated this quality into their nature.” [5]
 
If combined with a luminous view of universal life, the Taurine habit of working to obtain practical, useful goals, offers us one of the main keys to uproot the process of unnecessary pain.
 
NOTES:
 
 
[2] A study in the different levels of the soul’s perception is made in “The Seven Principles of Consciousness”.  The interaction between mortal soul and spiritual soul is discussed in the article “Antahkarana, the Bridge to Sky”.
 
[3] “Star Names, their lore and meanings”, Richard Hinckley Allen, Dover Publications, Inc., New York, 1963 (first edition 1899), 563 pp., see page 378.
 
[4] “Star Names, their lore and meanings”, Richard Hinckley Allen, see the top of page 393.
 
[5] “Astrology, Psychology and the Four Elements”, subtitle “An Energy Approach to Astrology & Its Use in the Counseling Arts”, by Stephen Arroyo, M.A., CRCS Publications, California, USA, 191 pp., 1975, p. 107.
 
000
 
 
You might want to examine “Our Week and the Solar System”, “Neptune, a Mystery In Front of Us” and “A Few Words on Uranus”.   
 
000
 
The article “The Lesson of the Sun in Taurus” was published on 19 May 2020.
 
000
 
On 14 September 2016, a group of students decided to found the Independent Lodge of Theosophists. Two of the priorities adopted by the ILT are learning from the past and building a better future.
 
000