The Sun moved into Taurus on April 19, signifying the middle of spring and the peak of Nature’s bountiful new growth. This is the time when people are getting out into nature and working directly with the Earth as they prepare their gardens, tend their tulips, or simply enjoy more contact with the bare ground.
As a fixed Earth sign, Taurus is the most Earthly out of all the zodiac signs: solid, stable, and grounded. Taurus is concerned about practicality, physical security, bounty and abundance, and indulgence of the physical senses.
Aries (the first season of the zodiac, the month before Taurus) focuses on the beginnings of consciousness (“I am”), while Taurus (with key phrase “I have”) not only realizes their consciousness, but is fully aware of their Earthly, physical body and their ability to experience the tangible world around them via their five senses.
TAURUS ENERGETICS
The key energetic patterns of the Taurus sign are:
- Mode: Fixed
- Element: Earth (cold and dry)
- Planet: Venus (cool and moist)
As the most Earth-like of the three Earth zodiac signs, the primary energetic associated with Taurus is cold (the cold/depression tissue state). However, many people with a Taurus constitution can tend to feel warm although generally their overall energetic pattern is cold.
During Taurus season or for anyone with a good deal of Taurus influencing their charts, coldness may manifest as a depressed metabolism. Specifically, this coldness may affect the catabolic side of metabolism (ruled by the Fire element) rather than the anabolic side, which is associated with the Earth element. This lack of stimulation due to excess cold may negatively impact the thyroid, resulting in symptoms of hypothyroidism (low thyroid function), including dry skin, cold intolerance, fatigue, weight gain, and constipation. Interestingly enough, constipation (excess Earth), or decreased eliminative capacity via the large intestine, is associated with Scorpio—the opposing sign of Taurus. (Keep reading for more info on the Taurus-Scorpio connection!)
Due to an accumulation of the Earth element, Taurus constitutions also tend towards damp stagnation. Earth promotes the anabolic side of metabolism, which can lead to stagnation if the catabolic processes (Fire element) are not in balance. This overall state of “toxicity” or damp stagnation results from a build-up of metabolic waste products that are not able to be properly metabolized and eliminated. Physically, this can make you feel lethargic, constantly fatigued, weak, or foggy.
Taurus is also associated with Venus—the planet of pleasure, harmony, sensuality, and creative expression. Her energy instills Taurus season with a sense of peace and fulfillment. Venus assures us that a life of simplicity is meaningful and necessary. Simple living just means that we are fully connecting with the Earth and with other people, expressing gratitude for the simple pleasures we enjoy in life and engaging with the present moment as it is.
Venus asks us to work with our fives senses this season:
- Listen to music, engage in heartfelt conversations
- Cook healthy meals and eat them with loved ones
- Watch springtime energy awaken the world: see the birds, the blossoms, the blue skies
- (Literally) stop and smell the roses! Savor the scent of wildflowers and all the new growth happening around us
- Engage in healthy and meaningful touch with others and with ourselves
As a cool and moist planet, Venus further contributes to Taureans’ predisposition to cold/depression and damp stagnation. As a harmonizing planet that rules the kidneys, fluid balance is key, so physical exercise and sweating are important to keep these energies in balance. Go outside, play in the sunshine, touch the Earth, and start sweating to keep everything moving along!
TAURUS-ASSOCIATED ORGAN SYSTEMS AND DISEASE STATES
Taurus rules the throat, neck, and shoulders. It also governs our thyroid, which is situated within the neck, and therefore our metabolism. Simply put, sore throats and thyroid issues tend to be problems during Taurus season or for those who have Taurus Sun, Moon, or Rising.
After the natural slowing-down of winter which preserves our inner Fire, Taurus season fully awakens our innate metabolism. Our wise, generous Earth is full of abundant food and plant medicine to support our digestion and metabolism as we reawaken to the lighter, warmer, and expansive springtime energy, supporting our bodies’ natural seasonal processes.
It is easy for Taurus to become imbalanced if we are not paying attention to the cycles and seasons of the natural world. During this time of year, we are meant to be eating lighter, more bitter foods to increase our digestive capacity and revitalize our metabolism. If we continue to eat the heavier, carbohydrate-rich foods that got us through winter, we promote a state of excess anabolism (excess Earth element), potentially leading to high blood sugar, high cholesterol, and weight retention.
As a Fixed Earth sign, Taurus tends more towards chronic diseases rather than acute conditions, such as diabetes, hypothyroidism, or chronic fatigue.
TAURUS-SCORPIO POLARITY
The opposing sign to Taurus is Scorpio, which is six signs away or just opposite Taurus on an astrological chart. Scorpio rules the lower abdomen (bladder and large intestine) and is involved in elimination via these emunctories. This is complementary to Taurus, which is associated with the act of ingesting food (swallowing via the throat) and bringing things in to be metabolized and broken down. Thus the Taurus-Scorpio polarity governs the opposing yet complementary actions of metabolism: anabolism and catabolism. By reflex, the health of one sign’s energy directly impacts the health of the other. A perfect display of interconnection!
PSYCHOSPIRITUAL TENDENCIES
If Taurus is in balance, we are grounded, physically secure (in good health), financially secure, and able to engage with pleasure and sensuality in healthy and fulfilling ways. We are self-reliant, confident in our bodies and our abilities, feel safe and protected, and are grateful for the abundance in our lives. However, if our Taurean energy becomes imbalanced, we may suffer from overindulgence or become stubborn or “bull-headed.” Our health may be negatively impacted by overindulging in food or alcohol, creating physical stagnation. Likewise, our lives may become emotionally and spiritually stagnant due to an inner resistance to change that can make us feel temporarily ungrounded, insecure, or even depressed.
During Taurus season, it is important to connect to the Earth in whatever ways resonate with you, like putting your bare feet directly on the ground for at least 30 minutes per day or starting a small garden on your balcony. Taurus loves the simple things in life (nod to Venus) and is content with Earthly pleasures, fully satisfied with Nature’s generous and abundant gifts of food, shelter, medicine, and beauty. Taurus feels fulfilled by surrounding themselves with beauty and is most at peace in harmonious surroundings, so make your home cozy and serene and spend as much time as possible outdoors amid beautiful scenery.
PLANT MEDICINE FOR TAURUS SEASON
Based on the energetics of Taurus season, we need to focus on the following herbal actions:
- Stimulate metabolism (specifically catabolism) and digestion: bitter and pungent herbs
- Promote detoxification and elimination to resolve damp stagnation: alteratives, bitters, lymphagogues
Burdock root
Burdock root (Arctium lappa) is an important plant ally for Earth element imbalances and the damp stagnation tissue state. Burdock (also called “gobo root”) is an alterative that helps open the body’s channels of elimination and clear out metabolic waste products and other accumulated toxins. It’s bitter taste also stimulates digestion and promotes healthy metabolism. By supporting proper digestion and nourishment as well as cleansing toxic by-products, both excess and deficient states of the Earth element are balanced.
You can decoct the dried herb into an infusion that you drink throughout the day. I like to combine it with dried dandelion root, ginger, orange peel, cinnamon, and licorice. The sliced fresh root also goes well in stir fry dishes with carrots, ginger, and tamari.
Dandelion leaves
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is all over the place this time of year! This unassuming, highly medicinal “weed” is an incredibly helpful plant ally for a variety of conditions and constitutions.
While we often think of using the Dandelion root for its bitter and alterative properties, the leaves are going to be the most medicinal during Taurus season or for those with Taurean constitutions. While the root is a strong hepatic bitter, the leaves act more on the kidneys (associated with Venus) and act as a mild potassium-sparing diuretic, useful for certain types of high blood pressure. Ayurveda also promotes the ingestion of Dandelion leaf juice for high blood sugar.
Dandelion greens, as well as other spring greens like arugula and mizuna, are very beneficial for promoting digestion and reinvigorating our metabolism after a period of winter “hibernation.”
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a warming, pungent herb that is useful for conditions associated with the cold/depression tissue state. As a pungent botanical, it promotes digestion by fueling our inner Fire element. Cinnamon’s pungent nature also supports healthy androgen production and thyroid function, therefore promoting healthy metabolism (specifically catabolism) and stable blood sugar levels.
Sprinkle cinnamon in your food, add it to your herbal teas, or put it in an ashwagandha latte (see recipe below!).
Red Root
Red root (Ceanothus americanus) is a key plant ally for damp stagnation. As a lymphagogue, it primarily acts on the lymphatic channels that run through the pelvis. Red root has a primary action on stagnation that settles into the area of the root chakra and is specifically indicated for excess Earth conditions, as our root is what keeps us grounded and connected to the physical Earth.
Red root can help resolve physical and mental/emotional symptoms of excessive Earth accumulation, including symptoms of pelvic stagnation, lethargy, melancholy, and lack of creative drive.
Red Clover
Red clover (Trifolium pratense) is one of my favorite plant allies. As an alterative and a lymphagogue, it supports healthy detoxification and elimination via our emunctories. Red clover is a specific remedy for decongesting the lymph nodes in the neck, the body part associated with Taurus. It helps resolve lymphatic stagnation and encysted glandular conditions, indicative of excess Earth.
Red clover also has nutritive properties, supporting deficient Earth conditions. While it may seem paradoxical and confusing at first, many herbs simultaneously act in antipathetic and sympathetic ways, which means that they can restore balance in a system no matter which polarity of an energetic archetype is presenting.
Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha is well known as a plant ally for hypothyroidism. Commonly used in Ayurveda, Ashwagandha is a calming adaptogen that helps lower elevated cortisol levels, support thyroid hormone levels, and restore energy and vitality in cases of chronic fatigue and long-term stress.
Due to its effects on the neuroendocrine system, Ashwagandha can enhance mood and libido, contributing to increased pleasure and sensuality—a key component of a healthy Taurus!
One thing to note: As an herb that can potentially increase Earth accumulation, make sure that the body’s routes of elimination and detoxification are functioning well, or else Ashwagandha can promote excessive dampness in those with Taurus or Earth constitutions.
Here’s a delicious Ashwagandha latte recipe:
- Add one teaspoon of ashwagandha powder to a cup of heated non-dairy milk (I like to use oat milk due to its nutritive and nervine properties)
- Add a small amount of honey, cardamom, and cinnamon
- Drink about an hour before bed for a relaxing night of sleep
HAPPY TAURUS SEASON!
Even if Taurus does not play a significant role in your astrological chart, we could all benefit from some Taurus plant medicine this month. Feel free to comment below and let me know what plant medicine you intend to work with this season!
Photo in featured image courtesy of Hendrik Morkel.
