* Fixed
* Earth
* Ruler: Venus
* Exaltation: Moon
* Detriment: Mars
Earth is a negative feminine element, and as the earth signs unfold from Taurus to Virgo to Capricorn, they describe successively more mature expressions of this element. Taurus is fixed earth, which tells us that it is the most solid of all the signs. Ruled by Venus, with the Moon in its exaltation, these two feminine planets give Taurus its charming, gentle nature. Venus rules two of the signs of the zodiac – the feminine, ‘being’, fixed earth sign of Taurus and the masculine, ‘doing’, cardinal air sign of Libra. This fact tells us that there are two fundamentally different ways in which Venus finds expression, as both an active and a passive principle. An excellent example of principle of Venus as the ruler of Taurus is the Botticelli painting of Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, in The Birth of Venus, which I am sure is known to you all.
avshastri
