Those shadows are trying to tell you something, Taurus. Emile Friant 1891 {{PD}}

The shadow world you’ve been experiencing lately, where everything has taken on dark proportions or strange new meanings, and where nothing is as it was, is simply an indication that the Universe is trying to tell you something–specifically, something about the way you think and the actions that drives. Dear Taurus, you need to refresh the attitude, reassess thought processes and reconsider your behavior–because soon these matters will have major impact on your reality picture–and you need to be as able as possible to let instinct and automatic reflexes guide you. That means everything has to be coordinated and in good working order. Yes, I know this is cryptic–it has to apply to everyone born on this day–at the same time, if you refuse to play coy, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about–at least, you’ll understand the part about needing to modify behavior and get thinking on the right track. You’ve got unique and imaginative gifts at your disposal this year, Taurus–use them for all they’re worth. Happy Birthday, and good luck!

Maksymilian Gierymski ‘Landscape at Sunrise’ 1868 {{PD}}

You have a major opportunity this coming Solar year, dear Taurus, through to your next birthday, to heal and offer expression to what is most unique in you. That may seem a wee bit vague, until you consider that you’ve been fighting a long time to get to this position. You’ve been through the dark, and now that you’ve reached the light, you might be a little stunned–you may have expected the dark to go on forever. What you’re really ready to do is honor yourself and your abilities, to create a statement about who you are–and to take it public. Strengths this year include the ability to communicate creatively or to share ‘the Vision’; being flexible enough to accept Love and/ or Money from unusual sources; and showing exceptional competence that brings opportunity. Cautions involve not taking the wounds too seriously, and staying away from tall tales or exaggerations–what starts out as a harmless stretching of the truth could end up anything but. Happy Birthday, Taurus, and good luck!

Günther Meltzer ‘Die Cyklopeninseln 1898’ {{PD}}

You may be preoccupied with matters of hurt this coming Solar year, through to your next birthday, dear Taurus–in fact, you may be treating those wounds as sacred–and so could miss one or more major opportunities to share yourself and your truly original creations and gifts with the group. It may be that you are so intent on intellectualizing your emotional issues that you don’t actually face them, but instead turn them into mini-dramas starring you as the wronged party. That’s not as bad as it sounds, though; in a way, you are in need of giving yourself some intense attention and consideration, and it may be that you think parading your wounds is the only way to acceptably do that. You are uniquely sensitive at this time to issues of identity and to making highest values a vital part of your life, which means that if you want to, you can remake yourself into the image of your ideal You–so, your best course of action may be to concentrate on yourself, on who you really want to be–along the way you’ll define your gifts so specifically and with such elegant simplicity that you can’t help but use them wisely. Happy Birthday, Taurus, and good luck!

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes – ‘Sacred Grove’ 1883 {{PD}}

Dear Taurus, you are SO OVER keeping secrets, ignoring important matters, denying reality, throwing tantrums–you KNOW how destructive those choices can be–and yet here you are, the honest, trustworthy bull, and you have to decide: will you embrace a passion that requires you deny what you find sacred, or will you honor the values in place and mourn the passion that could’ve been? That’s a lousy choice to have to make–so don’t make it. You have the option of openly recognizing the conflict your passion engenders (remember, no more secrets!) and then finding avenues to healing those places where the values are at odds with what you desire. This isn’t nearly as impossible as it may at first sound, simply because you’ve been seeing the world far too much in ‘either/ or’ terms–that’s the way you sorted things out successfully before, but this time you have to take it to the next level, the one that allows you to honor two seemingly contradictory energies in your mind and life by finding the common denominators between them–and one of those is You. Happy Birthday, Taurus, and good luck!

{{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!