Taurus Rewilded: 4 Totem Animals of the Fixed Earth Sign

As I sit down to write this next article in the Rewilding the Zodiac series, the May festival of Beltane is almost upon us. The Sun has moved into the sign of the bull, Taurus, and Spring is in full bloom.

If you got a chance to read my Aries Rewilded article (published here on my website last month, although a bit more recently on my new Substack publication), we discussed briefly how the tropical zodiac is symbolically aligned with the seasons and our agricultural cycles here in the Northern Hemisphere. As we settle into Taurus Season, the days are growing ever-longer, the trees are greening with new leaves, and the birds are singing outside my window. I’ve just been for a walk in the woods alongside the river (I’m very lucky to live in a place where I can step out my door with my dog and my daughter and do that without even touching my car keys), and before we give our attention over to the animals of Taurus, I’d like to share with you a little visual inspired by my walk. I hope it will help you to feel into the nature of this time of year, and what the sign of Taurus is all about…

Imagine you are walking along a meandering woodland trail, under trees of hazel, silver birch and oak. The earth beneath your feet is no longer rain-soaked as it was last month; young ferns are unrolling their leaves in the undergrowth, bright green with newness; the plump round buds on the branches above have burst into leaf and sweet-smelling blossom. Birds are whistling cheerfully overhead and two fat little sparrows flit past you in merry circles, seemingly dancing together. The river that runs beside the path is clear and clean, the pure waters full and wholesome and sparkling like diamonds in the dappled sunlight.

You set a leisurely pace, and before too long the trees open out before you into a lush green meadow, thick with grass and wildflowers swaying gently in the soft breeze. In the middle of the pasture is a large, stout brown bull, standing four-square and chewing lazily. His magnificent horns curve towards the sky as he lifts his head, and his dark round eyes come to rest upon you. Your breath hitches in your throat as you come to a standstill, wondering if you are intruding into his space. He blinks slowly and continues to regard you with a mild curiosity, but it’s not enough to make him want to shift from his sun spot in the middle of his meadow. His cows and their calves are safely gathered behind him, and he has everything he could need. The sun offers its warmth and the trees their shade, the long grass is sustenance for his great body, and the river holds fresh water to quench his thirst. In this moment, he is content.

Taurus: the Promise of Spring Fulfilled

This is the essence of Taurus. Nature’s gifts, which were once no more than a seed of potential in Aries Season, are blossoming in full. The promise of Spring’s bounty is fulfilled, and we can rest comfortably in the knowledge that the Summer will soon come, the fruits will ripen, and there will be another life-sustaining harvest to come. This is the season of abundance and fertility, and it’s an extraordinary feast for the senses.

Not surprisingly, Taurus is an Earth sign. It concerns itself with the material, the sensual, and all that we need to nourish our bodies. It encourages us to fill our cups with that which brings us comfort and joy, and reminds us that allowing ourselves to feel good - really good - isn’t just a choice, but a requirement of living. Because, well… what’s the point, otherwise?

The motivation (or modality) of Taurus is known as fixed. This means that those with a lot of Taurus energy in their natal charts don’t tend to appreciate change, and they can be stubborn by nature; they know what they like, and they know what they’re worth. But they are also the kind of people who, when at their best, are the true salt of the earth: grounded, reliable, honest, with an impressive staying power… And more often than not, they also come accompanied by an offer of lunch!

The goddess of love, Venus herself, is she who presides over the sign of Taurus, and as such the concept of relationship is brought to the fore here too: the sensual experience of relating to another human being, the grounding experience of relating to the natural world that we live in, and the physical experience of relating to ourselves and our needs in our own bodies. Pleasure and nourishment are what we are called to seek out at this time of high Spring, and this is reflected in the suggestion that the month of April may indeed be named after Venus’ Greek counterpart, Aphrodite.

Totem Animals of Taurus

The Bull

The traditional animal of Taurus is of course the bull. These large animals thrive best in a stable, predictable environment, and very much prefer a more relaxed pace of life. It can take quite a bit of persuasion to get a bull moving at any great speed (largely because it requires a lot of effort when you’re not particularly built for athletics!), but once they are up and going, their weight gives them such momentum that it can also be hard to slow them down again. Likewise, in the sign of Taurus we won’t see the same get-up-and-go that we find in Aries, but once Taurean people set their minds to something, they’re much more likely to see it though. The imagery of the stout brown bull in the spring meadow conjured at the beginning of this article is hopefully reflective of this docile and earthy creature, strong and self-assured, yet also a phenomenal force to be reckoned with thanks to his great size and stubborn mentality.

The associations of both the bull and the female cow with fertility and abundance can be seen across numerous ancient cultures. Perhaps the simplest explanation as to why we see this so consistently is the fact that these animals have provided humankind with a bounty of resources for over 10,000 years - from rich meat and nutritious milk which could feed and sustain ancient tribes, to leather, bone and horn for building and crafting. Neolithic man became very well-versed in the myriad of advantages that could be gained from hunting the huge wild aurochs, and a process of domestication eventually began which would one day result in the various breeds of cattle we know today. Anyone who could claim ownership over a herd of cattle had an abundance of resources right at their fingertips, and so the cow and the bull came to be associated with prosperity and wealth.

In Greek mythology, the constellation of Taurus is symbolic of the great but gentle white bull that Zeus transformed himself into to seduce the beautiful Phoenician princess Europa, before spiriting her away to Crete. The calm power of this magnificent creature speaks of Taurus at its best - steadfast, patient, sensual. But the tale also warns us of the Taurus shadow of greed and coveting, for the story suggests it was never Europa’s intention to be with Zeus, hence his disguise and deception. We can follow this lesson further with the story of Zeus and Europa’s son, King Minos of Crete. It is said that the King called forth a great white bull from the sea, with the promise that one year hence he would sacrifice it to Poseidon; but the kingdom prospered that year, and thus Minos broke his promise, claiming the bull to be too valuable to relinquish. Unsurprisingly if you’re familiar with tales of the Greek gods, this angered Poseidon, and in turn he placed a curse on the King’s wife, Queen Pasiphae, which caused her to lust after Minos’ precious white bull. There is much more to this tale, but in short, the Queen’s desire resulted in the subsequent birth of the infamous Minotaur, Asterius - a beast, half-man and half-bull, who developed an insatiable appetite for human flesh and had to be imprisoned in a vast labyrinth for the sake of the kingdom’s protection. The symbol of the bull thus teaches us that abundance can be both a blessing and a curse, and we must be mindful of our relationship to our possessions and our perception of wealth and self-worth.

The Hare

As we did with Aries, to discover more Taurean totem animals we can look to Taurus’ ruling planet, Venus, named for the Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility. It seems that Venus herself was not often depicted with sacred animals in Roman art, but in Greek art her counterpart Aphrodite was - although that said, it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish the two, given first contact between the two cultures occurred as far back at the 8th century BCE! However, there is a quite long and varied list of animals associated with Aphrodite, and the first that I’d like to give attention to here is the hare. 

Another earthy creature, the hare seems to have been considered one of Aphrodite’s sacred symbols quite simply because of its high libido. Hares and rabbits are frequently associated with springtime and fertility because of their vast quantity of young, and of course, this is the time of year when they appear to be, shall we say, most productive! The majority of leverets (baby hares) are born between March and July, although their breeding season can extend from January until October, with females birthing up to four litters a year, and each litter containing up to four individuals. For the same reason, we see the hare associated with rebirth and the Goddess in Celtic mythologies, and similar connections have been made in many other cultures the world over. 

Hares do not live in burrows like rabbits, and the natural camouflage of their coat together with their intuitive senses and impressive agility are really their only means of protection. Unlike the bull and the cow, this means they need to be much more adaptable to change, which can be a powerful medicine for us when we find ourselves stuck in a rut, perhaps stubbornly unwilling or otherwise unable to move (quite a Taurean problem).

They are also extremely elusive, being rarely witnessed out and about during the day. They are very much creatures of the night, and it seems that long before we began talking about the ‘man in the moon’ our ancestors actually saw the shape of a hare there instead! The Moon with her changeable appearance has long been associated with the flow of emotion and intuition, and perhaps this is the connection through which we arrived at the ancient belief that the elusive hare is too a shape-shifter. This is a common theme in old folktales, and at least partially led to the Medieval belief that witches could skin-change into hares (an idea which seems to have been helped along by Christianity’s demonisation of any animals sacred to the pagan Goddess).

In astrology, the Moon finds her exaltation in Taurus - which for anyone unfamiliar with what we call the ‘essential dignities’ of the planets, basically means that although she does not rule Taurus, she is very happy here. For me, image of the moon-gazing hare is evocative of this relationship, and thus makes the hare perhaps my favourite alternative Taurus totem.

The Sparrow

There are several birds associated with Aphrodite, most famously the dove (who we’ll look at when we get to Venus’ other sign, Libra) and the goose, but it is the little sparrow who we shall explore next.

In Ancient Greece, the sparrow was a symbol of true love, passion and spiritual connection - all very Venusian qualities. Although like the hare they are prolific breeders (producing two to three clutches of eggs each year, with up to six chicks in each), their meaning is less about the sensual act of procreation and more about romantic connection and relationship. Sparrow parents raise their chicks together, and house sparrows in particular are very sociable creatures, often living in family groups or small colonies.

Their resonance with Taurus doesn’t end there though, for these delightful little birds are often also seen as representative of resourcefulness and simplicity. The field sparrow will nest in natural hollows and hedgerows, while its cousin the house sparrow will make its home as the name suggests in little cubbyholes it can find around human dwellings. They live most naturally on a diet of insects and larvae, grains and seeds, fruits and berries, and young plants; however, city dwelling birds will even frequent discarded human rubbish to find what they need!

The sparrow thus does not seek an overly decadent or complicated life, and reminds us that we don’t need to hoard an overabundance of supplies or possessions to live a good and happy life. We are reminded instead to practice gratitude for that which we have, and to remember the phrase: “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”. If we embrace the resourceful nature of the sparrow, we can often find that we are able to live quite comfortably when we accept and make sensible use that which is available to us, rather than making ourselves miserable obsessing over that which is not. Sparrow’s message is that true wealth is a mindset and an approach to life, and nothing more. 

The Beaver

The final animal I’d like to suggest as a totem of Taurus is the humble beaver. Although not one of Aphrodite’s sacred animals, the beaver is often the first that comes to my mind as an alternative Taurean creature. I knew I would be including them here long before I started research for this article, and it was only happy coincidence when I realised that if you are a Taurus Sun under the the western tropical zodiac, then you are indeed probably also a beaver in the Native American zodiac, as this totem more or less covers the same dates (20th April to 20th May)! I don’t pretend to know an awful lot about the Native American zodiac, but the synchronicity did make me smile. 

The beaver shares some qualities with the bull and the cow in that it is rather slow moving, at least on land, and so reminds us of the importance of slowing down - especially after the fire and rush of Aries season. But we should not confuse this with inactivity, for beavers are infamous for their prowess as builders. Thus they are often seen as symbolic of hard work and focused attention, and they show us what can be achieved with patient diligence. The beaver builds its home in the form of a burrow or lodge carefully constructed from twigs, soil and other natural debris, either on a riverbank or in the middle of a beaver-made pond, and this is where they will shelter and raise their young. Like the aforementioned sparrow above, they also enjoy a simple and modest life, feeding off the river weeds, leaves, plants and bark that are available to them.

The beaver’s most well-known structure is of course its dams, which it will build when it needs to ensure a stable water level for the continued safety and security of its chosen home. These it constructs from wood, earth and stones to prevent the water level from dropping too low. The way in which the beaver can create and sustain bodies of water to protect their environment in this way is very much reflective of Taurus’ fixed energy and its practical nature, and these hard-working creatures show us the importance of grounding the excited enthusiasm that we had in Aries Season, by finding practical ways to give material form to our ideas and inspiration. 

Final Thoughts

As we saw last month with Aries, there are many animals who can embody the essence of the sign of Taurus, and each one has a different lesson and its own medicine to offer.

The bull himself brings us many teachings - of living a good life, of patience, of standing our ground when we need to - but perhaps his most important one is around our relationship to abundance and the shadows of greed. The sparrow shows us the merits of a simple life well-lived, and of creative resourcefulness, and perhaps we might call upon this smallest of Taurus totems when we need to embrace this mindset ourselves. The beaver’s medicine is that of hard work and diligence, making this animal a valuable spiritual ally when we find we must dedicate ourselves to building something important and lasting in our lives. And when we find ourselves to be weighed down just a little too much, or stuck in the mud, the shape-shifting elusive hare reminds us that we are still capable of change, even if it feels a little uncomfortable at times. 

Which one of these animals calls to you most this Taurus Season? Perhaps you might like to use the imagery of the forest walk that we began with as the basis for a short meditation, wherein you attend the green wildflower meadow to meet one or more of these animals for yourself. If you choose to do so, I’d very much like to hear how you get on.

And as always, it’s worth saying that it might well be another creature altogether that presents itself to you as a totem of Taurus. At this time of year, we are reminded more than ever that our world is so very full of life, and there are so many creatures out there who might speak to you of the Taurus way. Who else comes to your mind, and what wisdom do they impart?

If you’ve enjoyed this article, please do check out my other writings on Rewilding the Zodiac, and if you know someone else who you think would like this project, please do consider sharing with them! Thank you from myself and the animal spirits for reading and for being here.

Until next time, with love and magic, 

Merry x