{{PD}}

You are at the perfect point, dear Taurus, to take highest values, goals, and ideals and manifest them in your uniquely original way–so what is it you want to do? You’ve already spent recent months honing ambitions to a fine point, and one way or another, acquiring the clout to make your desires reality–so what’s that standing in your way? It’s every dark thing, every matter ignored or denied, every issue yet to be hashed out, every bit of suppressed rage over injustice and abuse. You’d think that would make dandy rocket fuel to launch you toward your goals, but instead it ties you down to earth, and limits your reach and effectiveness. Attend to these matters (and truthfully, after the past few years, you may have very little to sweep up here, as you’ve taken care of many of the power imbalances and negative feelings in your life), and there’ll be nothing holding you back from realizing those very admirable ambitions and goals. Strengths this Solar year, through to your next birthday, include an excellent ability to communicate creatively, and a penchant for emotional honesty. Happy Birthday, Taurus, and good luck!

You don’t have to go this far, Taurus, but do make your feelings known. ‘The Rage of Achilles’ by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo 1756 {{PD}}

You may soon feel an emotional crisis coming on, dear Taurus, when inner wisdom, what you thought was solid knowledge, and/ or what you see as your practical attitude fail you spectacularly. Rather than viewing this as a defeat, accept it as a course-correction–you were way off!–and now have the chance to get it better than right. In the Solar year ahead, through to your next birthday, you have the capacity and power to bring about great change in your life, the kind that brings fulfillment of ambitions and desires, but to bring it all to successful completion requires a few things: you must not only tend to what you’ve been ignoring or in denial about, you must express rage (yes, I said express rage!) should that be something you’re holding on to; you must find a way to blend into or at least make peace with the social circle; and you must treat both relationships and finances as if they need your attention right now–because they do. Happy Birthday, Taurus, and good luck!

‘Gartentor in Schleiden’ Fritz von Wille 1909 {{PD}}

You’ve made the changes, dear Taurus, that you thought would re-shape your world–and perhaps those changes did–now what? Recent shifts may have almost felt like the end of the world, but what they really constituted was an entre to ambition and desire fulfillment–so the question becomes, can you get ‘there’ from ‘here’? Yes, you can, but only after addressing the twin gatekeepers of ignored or denied issues, and the need to live your life in accordance with your true, highest values. This coming Solar year, through to your next birthday, you will be required to align values with real-life–which means you must live to the standard that’s truly meaningful for you, not the one you were taught to honor, and not the one you have been going around saying (or thinking) you honor, but the one that springs directly from who you are as a person. Then, you must apply that authentic value system to dealing with all those things you’ve been putting off, hoping they’d go away. Do this, and almost without any effort on your part, you will see form a clear shot to realizing your dreams. Happy Birthday, Taurus, and good luck!

It’s in the air, Taurus. Isaac Israëls – ‘Windvlaag’ 1894 {{PD}}

Change is in the air–you mean it this time, dear Taurus–but there’s something you need to handle first, before you’ll be able to shape your material situation (and the power situation behind it) as you’d like: you must deal with every ignored, denied, or hidden issue that lingers in your life–and it may be the details of these issues, the small bits and inconsequentials, that trip you up. What to do? Do not hesitate to measure each and every thing in your life, every corner and portion, against your highest values, and your life priorities, including your need, in whatever form, for a mate and home–if these fall short for you, this coming Solar year, through to your next birthday, will be glum indeed; and do know that to truly be yourself you must pursue your ambitions and desires, and vice versa, that to successfully fulfill desires and ambitions you must be completely and uniquely yourself. That’s all there is to it–that, and be willing to accept new facts as they come along–let them change your idea of what’s smart, if it’s appropriate. Happy Birthday, Taurus, and good luck!

Fighting and struggle needn’t be in your vocabulary this year, Taurus. Édouard Manet ‘Emilie Ambre as Carmen’ {{PD}}

This coming year, dear Taurus, you may be feeling like opportunity has already passed you by–but that would be inaccurate. You really just charged forward, or made assumptions, or approached a possibility without taking careful note of the nuances of the thing–and so kind of trampled it beneath eager Taurean hooves. That’s not the end of it, though; you are on the road to real, serious change, and to the potential resurrection of a situation, structure, or set-up that you’d like to see come around again. What must you do to make it happen? Act spontaneously, on instinct–no plodding over-mulling for you this Solar year, through to your next birthday; remember as you explore potentials that much of your opportunity is about who you are–to forget your role in the mix is to sabotage yourself; and if you are unsure of anything, look for wisdom and guidance from–though it sounds like a cliche–a teacher (formal or informal), spiritual guide, or ‘foreign’ source that can give you a different perspective. Happy Birthday, Taurus, and good luck!

They look normal to me. Paul Cézanne, ‘The Large Bathers’ 1906 {{PD}}

‘Expansion’ is your watchword this coming Solar year, through to your next birthday, dear Taurus, but what does that mean for you? You’re going to gain in matters of the House where Jupiter (13 Leo) is now transiting–and you’ll see some significant endings related to matters of the House where this Full Moon falls (13 Scorpio), endings that may open the way to bigger and probably better, arriving through Jupiter’s current venue. But as with all good things, too much really can be an issue–and add to that, Jupiter shows no discretion in what it makes bigger–should it fall in your natal 1st of body, say, it may expand the exposure of the personality to the public (publicity!) but also your butt–the moral being, be sure to look at both sides of the coin, all possibilities, because contrary to our usual mindset, we don’t always want more. Another negative this year: resources for wisdom, and your own sense of practicality, are strained to the limit (in this case, it’s Jupiter’s fault); but this year you also have big positives in showing a unique ability to solve long-ignored problems, to act appropriately when responding to instinct, and a talent for getting ahead while others seem mysteriously stuck in place. Happy Birthday, Taurus, and good luck!

Grab that spotlight, Taurus, even if you’re naked! ‘Nude in Dappled Sunlight’ by Frederick Carl Frieseke 1914 {{PD}}

You may have to fight to get the spotlight this coming Solar year, through to your next birthday, dear Taurus, but once you grab hold of it, it’s all yours, and your fame, of one kind or another, will spread much farther than you might anticipate. This is great, in that what you do becomes known, you find needed partners, people see who you are and what you’re capable of–it’s free publicity–but it’s also got a down side: people see what you do and who you are, not just what you present to them, or want them to see. If you’re not bullet-proof (and who is, really?) this might give you a moment’s pause; use that time to erase contradictions, take a stand, put things right. It won’t necessarily be an easy year for you, but resources, especially emotional ones, should be reasonably abundant, and be prepared: inner wisdom and the practical side of your nature will be unduly stressed in spite of any preparations you make. Still, you can get a huge boost if you play it well. Happy Birthday, Taurus, and good luck!

Take a step back and inspect your real-life results, Taurus. Willem Witsen – ‘Still life with tulips in a jar’ {{PD}}

Dear Taurus, why are you so concerned right now with nailing down power and territory? I know you may be thinking of it in much milder terms, but really, you’re trying to stake out a claim–and there’s nothing wrong with that. The problem comes when you push too hard for some status or outcome that you don’t realize is actually unrelated to the results you seek. It’s time to pause and make a real-world assessment of the impact you’re having, because your idea of what you need to do and accomplish is somehow not aligned with the effect you want to have–and it leaves you anxious and striving, which only takes you further from your objective. What will help most? Grounding ideas in what’s wise and practical (seek advice if you need it); excavate what you’ve up ’til now ignored or denied–there’s buried treasure there; measure real-world choices against ideals and values, and reject what doesn’t match (or re-assess values for currency); and foster intuition–it can be your best, non-corporeal friend. Happy Birthday, Taurus, and good luck!

‘Le Bec de Gaz – Nuit bleue’ Henri Le Sidaner 1906 {{PD}}

The struggle this year is over empowerment, over having effective reach and influence in your life, over being allowed to shine, over status and position, but dear Taurus, does it have to be a struggle? It does, at least initially–you likely start off the year that stretches through to your next birthday feeling that others actively hold you back. You’ll come to see very quickly, though, that what you’re experiencing is really your own aggressive stance bouncing back at you–and the minute you stop seeing yourself as a victim is the minute when your creative, imaginative, and inspired gifts surface and begin to light up your world. The reality is that you become empowered, gain status, and are able to shine when you point your energy in the right direction (that is, not at anyone else!) and when you focus it on sharing that kind of magical thing you do just by being yourself. Happy Birthday, Taurus, and good luck!

Manipulated Photograph by Geoffrey Benjamin Chew Uploaded by Aboniks No Changes Made – Released under CC BY-SA 2.5

You seem determined this year, dear Taurus, to keep your focus on the future, and to bring into being some major creative project or idea you’ve long held–and you are empowered this year to do so, as long as you can find a way not to trip over yourself. It won’t be externals so much that throw obstacles in your path; things that hold you back will come from inside (even if they appear to manifest from without) and will revolve around your confidence level, and your ability to channel your energy effectively–you may be prone at this time to enjoy a victory or two and then get caught up in those, forgetting to keep moving forward. This Solar year, through to your next birthday, you need to embrace what you’ve learned from the past (rather than rejecting it, which I think feels safer to you–and that need to avoid this vital part of your experience reveals how your focus needs to be so much more intense–you already anticipate becoming distracted!) Hint: when moving forward begins to feel like a fight instead of an adventure, concentrate on the creative aspects of things. Happy Birthday, Taurus, and good luck!