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Labors of Hercules – The Myth in Taurus

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The Labors of Hercules

Taurus

The Capture of the Cretan Bull

You will resonate with Taurus if you have the Sun, Moon, or Ascendant in Taurus or if you have any of these in close aspect to Venus. You will also be influenced by Taurus if you have several planets in the second house, or if you were born with Venus in the first, fourth, seventh or tenth house.

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Labors of Hercules

The Capture of the Cretan Bull

Listen to Kathy Newburn summarize the myth in Taurus

Taurus

Taurus

The Soul’s Task in Taurus: Transforming the Desire Nature

The Cretan Bull

In this labor, Hercules is required to capture the Cretan Bull from the place of the vast labyrinth and bring him to Eurystheus. Minos desires to keep the beautiful bull and fails to keep his promise to Poseidon to sacrifice him. Hercules finds the beautiful white bull, subdues him and rides him across the sea to the mainland, demonstrating his ability to rise above his desire nature.

Taurus’s strengths and gifts:

  • Creating Beauty
  • Reliable
  • Living to the Highest Values
  • Illuminating
  • Patient
  • Grounded
  • Magnetic

Taurus’s shadow and weakness:

  • Materialistic
  • Uncompromising
  • Self-indulgent
  • Stubborn
  • Possessive
  • Desireous
  • Grasping

Click on the link below to listen to a reading of The Capture of the Cretan Bull from The Labours of Hercules, by A. A. Bailey

~ Read by Karen Johannsen

The Myth

Minos, the King of Crete, was in conflict with his brothers over who would rule Crete, the place of the vast labyrinth. He prayed to Poseidon for a sign of his authority to govern and to show his gratitude, he promised to sacrifice whatever symbol Poseidon sent from The Cretan Bullthe sea. A beautiful white bull rose from the depths of the sea, and so Minos was confirmed as ruler. However, Minos found the bull so beautiful that he decided to sacrifice a different bull from his herd instead so that he could save this beautiful animal for his own. Poseidon, angered by this failed promise, made the beast go mad.

Hercules’s task in Taurus is to capture the Cretan Bull and bring it to the place of the one-eyed men. He begins this labor with a very different energy. Here he is alone, suffering from the loss of his friend through his folly in the labor of Aries. He has been successful but is humbled in his success.

Minos is happy to have Hercules remove the bull from Crete. Hercules finds the bull, chases it, and finally overcomes it. Once subdued, Hercules mounts his back and rides it across the sea to the place of the one-eyed men on the mainland. Hercules delivers the bull to the shore where he is met by the three cyclops. They take the sacred bull from him, and he instructs them to take the bull to the Holy Place, where it is set free.

Understanding the Myth’s Symbols and Meaning

Much of the story of this labor happens before Hercules arrives. The back-story is essential to understand the spiritual task of Taurus, which is so much about sensuality, life’s comforts, and desire.

King Minos asks Poseidon for confirmation of his authority to rule, which is given in the form of the white bull. A bull symbolizes our desire nature, fertility, abundance, and steadfastness. But, the bull he sends is no ordinary animal; it is snow-white, so it also signifies purity and sacredness. Arising from Poseidon’s (or Neptune’s) world of the sea, this gift signals the connection of our desire nature to the watery world of emotions.

Minos has promised to sacrifice the bull, but once he sees it, he desires it for himself, and so sacrifices another, ordinary, bull from his herd in its place. The act of sacrifice is a powerful reciprocal gesture, usually performed to re-establish a natural balance for the benefit of a group. This action establishes a bond between the giver and the receiver and the item given up is liberated and returned to the flow of the greater life so that all may benefit.

When the king sacrifices an ordinary bull rather than the one sent by Poseidon, his selfish desire to possess corrupts the sacred flow between giver (God) and receiver (Man). Matter is divine creation, and its illumination is accomplished through our relationship with it. Substance itself is not what should be glorified, but rather how it illuminates the creation and what, in Taurus, we learn to be the magnificent garment of God itself. When the allure of form overwhelms us, we risk being enslavement to the material that supports our world rather than the creative force responsible for its manifestation.

Minos’s desire to personally possess the bull over-rides a higher moral imperative – that which would be liberated by the sacrifice for the benefit of all. Consequently, he prevents the purity, abundance, and fertility carried by the bull from being released for the benefit of all life. As punishment, Poseidon corrupts the bull and makes him go mad. This effect signifies a continued drive to satisfy our animal desires, which results in our continued struggle with the challenges of sex, sensuality, and self-indulgence, so much a challenge for the Taurus Personality.

Here Hercules enters the myth. In grieving for the loss of his friend Abderis (in the Aries Myth), he crosses the sea to the island of Crete. Crete is known as the place of the vast maze, which represents illusion and separation. By crossing the sea, Hercules indicates his ability to rise above his emotions after the loss of his friend. He finds the bull and continues to chase it until he can capture it. It’s interesting to note that the bull’s eye in the constellation of Taurus is its brightest star, Aldebaran, which is also known as God’s Eye, the Eye of Revelation, and the Buddha’s Star.

Hercules mounts the bull’s back. Mythologically this is significant as riding an animal signifies mastery over what it represents. So, here we understand that Hercules has mastered his desire nature. He rides the bull back across the sea to the mainland (everyday life) and the three Cyclopes.

The cyclops is a metaphysical one-eyed giant, with a reputation for being muscular, unintelligent, and cannibalistic. In earlier myths, however, the cyclopses were forgers and able to transform matter into something useful. Their one-eye in the center of the forehead represents the ajna or the eye of Shiva, which denotes spiritual insight and perception. So, Hercules’s lower nature (the bull) is met with his higher nature, the cyclopes and its three-fold nature.

The Spiritual Task

Taurus is a fixed earth sign, traditionally ruled by the planet Venus and spiritually by Vulcan. Taurus is strongly associated with the desire to acquire material substance of beauty and value. The sign is also an important symbol of fertility. As Aries sends the seed of new ideas forward into form, Taurus receives it for germination. Its symbol, the bull, has an essential connection to the bull’s eye, or the eye of vision (Ajna). The constellations brightest star, Aldebaran is called the Eye of Revelation. Known as the “Star of Illumination,” it is associated with the Ajna or the eye of vision. The spiritual ruler of Taurus is Vulcan, which applies heat and Taurus Wealthpressure that refines and purifies.

It’s traditional ruler, Venus, is the planet of love, beauty, and pleasure and it is in Taurus that we learn what we find beautiful and the kind of people that we want to be in relationship with. Venus governs physical beauty, art, and worth. It supports the energy of desire and attraction and what gives us pleasure. As an earth sign, it is particularly interested in the physical plane of existence. There is a drive to collect, display, and capture wealth and symbols of status. The personality in Taurus can be unable to see the world of form from the perspective of its spiritual value or expression.

Venus governs personality love or the love that we feel for another. this personal love expresses as, “I love this one, but not that one.” Love’s expression will not demonstrate as the sacrificial, impersonal, or unitive love that might be spiritually expressed by the evolved Cancer or Pisces.

So here in Taurus, we have lessons around desire, the material nature (matter), and fulfilling the drives of the five senses. Vulcan, as the Blacksmith of the Gods, is the spiritual ruler of Taurus. Vulcan applies the heat and pressure to the spiritually mature Taurean, which is required to transform matter in perfected form. It is Vulcan that transforms the Taurean’s attachment to beauty, matter, and the material world to spiritual perception and insight (anchored in the Ajna or the Bulls Eye). Through Vulcan’s influence, the soul in Taurus seeks to reveal that all matter is, in fact, a manifestation of the divine garment of God (One Life).

Applying the Taurus Lesson in Everyday Life

Taurus

Jhofra Bosschart

If you haven’t already done so, it may be helpful to read the article “Spiritual Transformation is a Team Activity” https://soulbridging.com/spiritual-transformation-captain/ . This useful article highlights how the energy of the personality shifts its expression from personality dominance to soul control.

It is helpful to meditate on and ponder the ways that the personality uses the energy of Taurus to anchor us in the world of form. This is an essential task for Taurus. The world of form is the garment of God, but we can be imprisoned by form. Look to the opposite sign of Scorpio to understand how to go deep. The use of will and the right use of the magnetism and attraction can provide access to the deeper and subtle realms of the intuition. In this way, the deep voice of spirit can be heard so that matter is used in its highest expression. Take some time to journal your answers to the following questions. This will support you to deepen your awareness and integrate the highest expression of Taurus and to manifest it in your everyday life.

Explore the Keynote

These ancient and profound Keynotes provide insight into the expression of the sign by the personality and the soul.
Kathy Newburn explains how we can better understand their meanings.

Practice

Practice

The personality in Taurus is concerned with manifesting form. It is a grounded, sensuous, and pleasure-oriented sign. Ruled Traditionally by Venus and spiritually by Vulcan the Taurus native has a strong focus on the world of form and desire. They seek to manifest beauty in their environment and can be highly creative and artistic. They can manifest a stubborn, bull-headedness, and be slow to act. As the Taurean expresses the highest vibration of its traditional ruler, Venus, they begin to gain access to its spiritual energy.

  1. What do you collect and display in your home or work environment? How do these things support your spiritual expression?
  2. Do you find that it is possible to have enough? Or, is the desire to acquire a ceaseless drive?
  3. What role does art, beauty, and the world of the senses have for you in your everyday life?
  4. Do the comforts of your life make you lazy?
  5. Does the search for and fulfillment of your sensual desires take a prominent place of importance? If so, what senses are you seeking to satisfy?
  6. Does desire create feelings of restlessness, dissatisfaction, or unhappiness for you?

Soul Questions for Taurus:

The spiritually mature Taurus native begins the work of transforming desire for material substance and wealth into spiritual aspiration. Under the influence of Vulcan, the Blacksmith of the Gods, they begin to strive to manifest the will of God in to form. As they awaken, the energy of the Ajna becomes activated, and awareness of the beauty of the divine form of God manifests.

  1. Are your daily actions driven and ruled by desire, or do they arise from the voice of your inner spiritual self?
  2. How do the things that you have in your environment support your spiritual being?
  3. Do you have a voice of inner being that is calling you to relationship?
  4. Are you willing to go into the darkness to awaken your wisdom and inner vision?
  5. Do you honor the intuition that presents to you?