While we associate the earth energy in a chart with practicality, Steven Forrest tells us in The Book of Earth: Making It Real that this only scratches the surface. Earth signs and planets and houses require that we bring the ideal – that which is spheres above us – into the real world. An artist, craftsperson, business owner, parent, student, healthcare worker or civil servant – all are being asked to identify what is the best of what they can offer, and then strive to meet that ideal. Wherever earth lies in our chart is the place we need to access a divine blueprint and then roll up our sleeves.
Taurus natives have a head start because they do have that simple, animal instinct for creating something that is good and real and true. They struggle, though, because we live in a complicated world with many distractions and can easily be led off course from the simple, secure life their soul craves. “If you are carrying a lot of Taurus energy in this lifetime,” Forrest writes, “here is the most fundamental truth that evolutionary astrology reveals about the purpose of your incarnation: you are here to calm down.” The typically Taurean love of nature, good food, simple but tasteful art and décor, beautiful music, and the warmth of friends both two-legged and four-legged all lead the Taurus towards this end.
One of the loveliest Taurus humans ever to grace the earth was the actress and UNICEF ambassador, Audrey Hepburn. Born with the Sun and Jupiter in Taurus – amplified by their location at the North Node – Audrey was born into the comfort and security this conjunction in the 4th house promises. However, her home country of Holland was occupied by the Nazi’s during her early teen years (as Pluto in Leo squared her Sun and Jupiter) so she was often hungry and carried with her the trauma from these difficult years throughout her life. This is what motivated her towards her work with UNICEF, the desire to ease the suffering of children around the world. While fame and incredible wealth had not given her the healing she needed, the simple act of empathy and bringing food to starving children brought meaning to her life’s journey.
We also see in Audrey Hepburn the beautiful Venusian simplicity Taurus craves. She created an iconic new look for actresses, who had often been overly made up and stuffed into sequined dresses to look glamorous. Audrey’s short but becoming haircut and ballet flats and swinging skirts made dressing up seem more comfortable and joyful. When Audrey did dress in haute couture, she chose classic cuts, plain but fine fabrics, and little embellishment other than the sparkle of her eyes. This inner sense of knowing what made her look and feel good translated into her roles onscreen, when she was spontaneous, naive, quick to laugh, and absolutely delighted with the world she encountered. People who met Audrey commented that she was very much this person in real life, too, so what we saw on the screen was authentically Audrey Hepburn.
But we learn from Audrey Hepburn’s biography that the path to the Taurean peace she craved eluded her for many years. Being one of the most famous and sought-after actresses in the world meant little to her. She longed for a home and a large family of children – very true to the 4th house placement of her Taurus Sun and Jupiter. She worked from the time she was a teenager without a break, and when she married, her husband wanted to keep her working to enhance his own career. Audrey would suffer four miscarriages before giving birth to a son, whom she kept with her as she moved from movie set to movie set. Finally, when she was forty, at the top of her earning power, she had another son and turned her back on Hollywood. She settled into domestic bliss with her second husband in Switzerland, loving the quiet of home and garden. She would only occasionally be lured out of retirement to take on film roles when it fit around the needs of her family – and her own need for peace and quiet. And as she became more content, she radiated the happiness of her life, to the point that in her final film role, she convincingly played an angel, someone who by then was nearly pure light.
Why is it so important for Taurus to find this space away from the world? Forrest tells us that it necessary to “find the great silence” inside oneself. From this silence, we hear a voice which is at the heart of the connection we need to form with that which is greater, kinder, truer, and more beautiful than anything we find on earth. And then we must create space around us which brings this energy into real life. Just as Audrey Hepburn went through the hell of war and emerged with the desire to make of her world everything which was antithetical to what she had witnessed, the Taurean path is to search out the gold hidden beneath everyday experience and then polish it until the shine radiates like a star.
