#ariestaurus

♈♉ The Aries-Taurus cusp is an admixture of the first sign of the zodiac, Aries, and the second sign of the zodiac, Taurus. This cusp can be symbolically likened to the period around seven years of age in the human life and falls at the beginning of mid-spring in the northern hemisphere. The Aries-Taurus cusp may be said to represent Power. During this period of the year the forces of nature are fully released with beautiful, sometimes terrifying intensity. The onset of spring may be seen as heralding an idyllic, pastoral season but has also been the time of violent blood rituals both in primitive cultures and in the Christian Easter/Jewish Passover celebrations. In spring, the melting snow of the mountains discharges torrents of water, rains come and colorful new life thrusts up through the earth seeking light and air. In humans, the age of seven usually marks the arrival of many of the second teeth, and the child passes over into a stage in which he/she begins to feel and express newfound powers. Ideally, identification with the parent of the same sex has occurred by now and the child seeks to assert his/her growing independence and autonomy.

{April 19 - 24} The undeniable trademark of those born on the Cusp of Power is a preoccupation with their own personal power. They see their birthright as nothing less than the very best that life has to offer. Yet they generally know how to pursue their goals without arousing antagonism in others. Powerfully persuasive, they make it easier and more advantageous to agree with them than to disagree. Whether it takes a long or a short time to achieve their ends matters little to them as long as they get there. Above all, they have a superb sense of timing, and of kairos—knowing the right time to act and the right time not to act.

In first meetings, they often impress others as quiet and self-assured—as people who know how to watch and wait. They do not waste their time proving anything to anyone, preferring to hang back confidently and save their energy for when it counts. In this respect they make formidable enemies and capable co-workers. Their approach to work is highly professional, and those involved with them must understand that their career will always be at least as important to them as their relationships.

Those involved with them can benefit tremendously from their powerful presence and capabilities. They know the value of money, and also how to get it. Their goal, however, is usually not so much financial security as a steady cash flow that they derive from their work, and that permits them to spend freely. As they see it, financial dependency on someone else is a liability; they would just as soon do the supporting themselves, since they have little desire to give up their personal freedom. Learning to accept financial and other kinds of support from mates, family and friends may be difficult for them, but, like love, it will ultimately bring them a step forward in their personal development.

Their unspoken secret is that what they secretly long for most is to give up the daily battles of the world and simply submit to fantasy, pleasure, perhaps to another individual, perhaps to sheer laziness. This is usually impossible for them to accomplish for very long, but in their hard-driving approach to daily life it is always a comforting thought, an idea that gets them through many a tough day. Certainly they do best when they can periodically empty themselves out (through sleep, for example, or leisure time, massage, meditation or vacations), allowing themselves to recharge.

In relationships, no matter how high or low their station, they make their presence felt in their interactions with others. They are big people, capable of prodigious mistakes as well as of glittering successes, and they leave little doubt about where they stand. They tend to choose rather than to be chosen. Once they have fixed their sights on someone the matter is settled. This is not to say that their judgment is perfect: they will quickly take credit when they have chosen well, but their inability to admit to a major mistake tends to make them very long-suffering. These folks hang in there not only because they are faithful but, more important, because to quit would be an admission of failure, and failure is very hard indeed for them to handle.

These people are extremely generous, but on their terms. They only give when it suits them, and they are equally capable of taking back not only their gifts but their affection—not out of capriciousness or malice, but because they feel that their gifts have gone unappreciated or were undeserved. Not infrequently, the degree of their giving can itself be intimidating, arousing insecurity in less robust souls. Such lavishness can create dependencies in both the giver and the recipient, and these may later be difficult or impossible to break.

An important lesson they must learn is to give up a certain amount of their power, and to replace it with a degree of sharing, cooperation and acceptance. That they become more powerful, in a human sense, by doing so is a realization that will grow with the years. In this respect, a warm and giving mate or friend, and the mutual affection engendered through family life of some kind, are essential for their development.

A second lesson, related to the first, is that the greatest power may be the power of love. Whether sexual or affectionate, romantic, platonic or religious, love has an undeniable softening effect on those born during the Cusp of Power. Although they may take and discard lovers when it pleases them, they do best on a steady diet of love from one special person. They reach their zenith and shine most brightly when this love involves an unconditional giving on their part, which is perhaps the closest they can come to true selflessness.

Strengths: Solid, Powerful, Lavish Weaknesses: Blunt, Mercenary, Lazy Planetary Rulers: Mars, Venus Elements: Fire, Earth