Zodiac sign

Taurus

Direct answer

Taurus is the second zodiac sign: fixed earth, ruled by Venus, associated with embodiment, value, steadiness, appetite, beauty, patience, and material continuity.

Zodiac SignsThe Great Almanac DictionaryUpdated 2026-09-26

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At a glance

In astrology: Taurus is fixed earth, ruled by Venus, opposite Scorpio, and traditionally linked with cultivation, voice, and durable value.
Found in: Zodiac Signs
Related: Zodiac, Sun Sign, Moon Sign, Rising Sign

Deeper Almanac guide: Taurus zodiac guide. This dictionary entry is a concise definition page; the linked guide remains the long-form topic page.

The zodiac constellation figures ranged along an engraved ecliptic — Zodiac field guide · visual guide **Taurus**
Taurus is fixed earth, ruled by Venus.
The sign glyph and elemental field orient the archetype without reducing it to a stereotype.

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What sets Taurus apart

Taurus is the fixed sign of the spring triad: it sits in the middle of the season, where Aries begins it and Gemini ends it. Its earth is the most settled of the three earth signs, set between Capricorn that builds and Virgo that refines. The Moon is exalted here at 3 degrees in the later tradition, and Ptolemy gives the reason that light grows first in this sign after the Moon's meeting with the Sun in Aries. Mars is in detriment here, opposite its own Scorpio.

Sun enters: about 20 April
Exaltation: the Moon, at 3 degrees in the later tradition
Detriment: Mars, from the opposite sign Scorpio
Fall: no planet is in fall here
Gender: feminine in the traditional scheme, as an earth sign

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Taurus in the traditional textbooks

Taurus is the first of the fixed signs, the sign that holds spring steady after Aries has opened it. Dorotheus says Venus rejoices in Taurus, and Ptolemy places the Moon's exaltation here, reasoning that it is the first sign of her own triplicity after she leaves the Sun in Aries, where her light first begins to grow. Abu Ma'shar gives it the neck and throat.

Ruler: Venus. Ptolemy gives it to Venus because it is in sextile to the houses of the luminaries, and never more than two signs from the Sun. Its detriment is Mars, the ruler of Scorpio, the opposite sign.
Exaltation in this sign: the Moon at 3 degrees. Fall in this sign: none.
Triplicity (earth): Venus by day, Moon by night, Mars as partner (Dorotheus).
Nature (Abu Ma'shar): cold, dry, melancholic; taste acidic; feminine, nocturnal; spring, firm.
Ptolemy's class: fixed. On the body, its fore parts strengthen the body and its rear parts weaken it, and it tends to misshape it.
Body (Abu Ma'shar): neck and throat (al-Qabisi: neck, Adam's apple).
Wind (Firmicus): the south wind.
Lands (Abu Ma'shar): al-Suwad, Mahan, Hamadhan, the Kurdish cities.

The bounds and decans of Taurus

The widest bounds are Venus's and Jupiter's, at 8 degrees each, and the narrowest bound is Mars's, at 3 degrees. Venus, the ruler of Taurus, holds the bound at 1 to 8 degrees.

Here are the Egyptian bounds of Taurus, counted from 0 degrees of the sign:

Venus: 1 to 8 degrees (8 wide)
Mercury: 9 to 14 degrees (6 wide)
Jupiter: 15 to 22 degrees (8 wide)
Saturn: 23 to 27 degrees (5 wide)
Mars: 28 to 30 degrees (3 wide)

Laid over the three decans of Firmicus Maternus and al-Qabisi, they fall like this:

The first decan, degrees 1 to 10, belongs to Mercury. The bounds inside it: Venus 1 to 8, Mercury 9 to 10.
The second decan, degrees 11 to 20, belongs to the Moon. The bounds inside it: Mercury 11 to 14, Jupiter 15 to 20.
The third decan, degrees 21 to 30, belongs to Saturn. The bounds inside it: Jupiter 21 to 22, Saturn 23 to 27, Mars 28 to 30.

The stars of Taurus, and what the sources say it symbolizes

Hill reads the bull as the symbol of the Age of Taurus, when the spring equinox lay in this sign, and lists Apis, Baal, the winged bull and the golden calf as its images. Hill also reads the ox as one of the four living creatures of Ezekiel 1 and Revelation 4:7, which he ties to the four fixed signs. These are interpretations by named authors.

Ptolemy gave the stars of Taurus these planetary natures, in the first book of the Tetrabiblos:

the cutting, Venus and some Saturn
the Pleiades, Moon and Mars
Aldebaran, the bright ruddy star of the Hyades, Mars
the other Hyades, Saturn and partly Mercury
the tips of the horns, Mars

The story behind Taurus

Taurus carries bull symbolism and follows Aries in the zodiacal sequence.

The spiritual meaning of Taurus

Spiritually, Taurus asks what is worth protecting, cultivating, and enjoying without guilt.

Why Taurus matters

Taurus matters because it shows where a chart seeks stability, pleasure, loyalty, resources, and a slower trust in what can be touched.

How to read Taurus

Astrologers reach for Taurus when interpreting money, body, comfort, persistence, sensuality, values, possession, and the house where life asks for steadiness.

Taurus in practice: an example

Taurus on the second house can make income, food, craft, and self-worth central topics in the chart.

Where readings of Taurus go wrong

It is a mistake to reduce Taurus to laziness or indulgence. Taurus often knows how to preserve life.

Sources and editorial method

This entry summarizes the tradition in the Almanac's own words; where no source is listed, it is an editorial summary rather than a primary text, and symbolic readings are named as the tradition's, not as fact.

Source: The Great Almanac Dictionary
Category: Zodiac Signs
Aliases: Taurus sign, Taurus zodiac sign
Last updated: 2026-09-26

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ZodiacThe Zodiac is the twelve-sign wheel used as astrology's core sign language. Sun SignSun Sign is the birth sign of the Sun and the most familiar doorway into astrology. Moon SignMoon Sign is the birth sign of the Moon and a key indicator of emotional patterning. Rising SignRising Sign is the sign on the eastern horizon at birth and one of the most personal chart factors. ElementElement groups the zodiac signs into fire, earth, air, and water. ModalityModality describes whether a sign initiates, stabilizes, or adapts.

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