April 26 is the 116th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (117th in leap years). There are 249 days remaining in the year. It is the first day following the Spring equinox which cannot be Easter Sunday in Western Christianity.
Taurus -The Bull: April 21 to May 21
Traditional Taurus Traits:Patient and reliable
Warmhearted and loving
Persistent and determined
Placid and security loving
On the dark side....Jealous and possessive
Resentful and inflexible
Self-indulgent and greedy
Taurus (IPA: /ˈtɔːrəs/, Latin: 'bull', symbol , Unicode ♉) is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It sits large and prominent in the winter sky, between Aries to the west and Gemini to the east; to the north lie Perseus and Auriga, to the southeast Orion, and to the southwest Eridanus and Cetus.
Taurus, the second Sign of the Zodiac, is all about reward. Unlike the Aries love of the game, Taurus loves the rewards of the game. Think physical pleasures and material goods, for those born under this Sign revel in delicious excess. They are also a tactile lot, enjoying a tender, even sensual, touch. Taureans adore comfort and like being surrounded by pleasing, soothing things. Along these lines, they also favor a good meal and a fine wine. The good life in all its guises, whether it's the arts or art of their own making (yes, these folks are artistic as well), is heaven on Earth to the Taurean-born.
It's the Bull that serves as the Taurean's mascot, and along with that comes the expectation that these folks are bull-headed and stubborn. Yes, they are. Hey, this Sign has a Fixed Quality attached to it after all, so expect that things will occasionally grind to a halt. That said, Taureans don't start out with the intention of getting stuck. They simply want to get things done, and it's that steady, dogged persistence that winds up being viewed as stubbornness. Bulls are actually among the most practical and reliable members of the Zodiac, and they are happy to plod along, as it were, in pursuit of their goals. The good news for Bulls is that once they get to the finish line, they'll swaddle themselves in material goods. A self-indulgent beast? Perhaps, but if you toiled as laboriously as these folks do, you'd need some goodies, too.
Taurus is one of the many animals hunted by Orion, the Hunter.
The Greeks saw Taurus as Zeus in disguise. The story went that Zeus fell in love with Europa, the daughter of Agenor who was King of Phoenica. On one day while she was playing by the waters edge, she caught sight of a majestic white bull grazing amongst her fathers heard. When she approached the bull, it knelt down and let get on it's back. Once she was on, it sprang to it's feet and took off to the sea in Crete where Zeus made her his mistress.
It also represents the white bull that sired the famous Minotaur with the wife of King Minos of Crete. This bull was sent to Minos as a sign that he was the rightful heir to the throne. However, Minos did not sacrifice the bull to Poseidon like he was supposed to, so the ever-vengeful sea god caused his queen, Pasiphaë, to fall in love with it. Later, in another myth, Theseus of Athens goes to Crete and slays the dreadful Minotaur, which was reported to be a man with a bull's head that could breathe fire.
The Egyptians saw the constellation instead as their god Osiris while the Chinese caled it alternatively the "White Tiger" or the "Great Bridge."
Etymology:Taurus, like the Greek form tauros derives from a common Indo-European root meaning bull, ox or bison, and is related to English deer
Mythology:The identification of the constellation of Taurus as a bull may be very old. Michael Rappenglück of the University of Münich believes that Taurus is represented in the Hall of the Bulls in the caves at Lascaux.[1] The paintings are some 16,500 years old. One of the painted bulls is near a cluster of dots that looks like the Pleiades, and which is the correct position over its shoulder to be that asterism.[2] The same pattern is found in pits in the floor, which could have been filled with oil and lit to recreate the lights of the Pleiades inside the cave, though there is no evidence that this actually happened.
In Greek mythology, this corresponds with the bull-form Zeus took in order to win Europa, a mythical Phoenician princess, and thus father of Minos. As such, since it is necessary to traverse the area of sky known as the Sea to reach it when passing through the Zodiac, it forms the origin of the myth of the Cretan Bull, one of The Twelve Labours of Heracles.
Source: Wikipedia, astrology-online, astrology.comThought for the day :" A minister says matrimony should be enduring. It is. "
This is really enduring thought.
