Taurus – The Hierophant/ Libra- Justice

It has again been a long silence since my last blog about Venus and the associated tarot card the Empress.

As mentioned in my Venus blog (the link is as follows: https://amethystastrotarot.com/?p=1090), in this last blog of 2021, I will write about Taurus and Libra, both signs ruled by Venus in terms of astrology, and the associated Tarot cards which are the Hierophant and Justice respectively.

Like I always do, I will make the introduction with these signs’ meaning in astrology.

Before that, let’s have a look at the constellations Taurus and Libra.

I must admit that when I was researching to gather further information, I spent at least half an hour jumping from one tab to another, ending up with 10 different tabs and sites open in front of me. You may understand why it sometimes takes me time to write the blogs, since I really can’t resist new information.

Taurus constellation’s symbol is known to be ‘Bull’ (the name comes from Latin) and the people are thought to know about it since Early Bronze age.
There is another fascinating information which tells that “Knowledge of Taurus is argued by some academics to stretch back to 15,000 BC. (way behind Bronze age) The reason for this is because there is a painting within a French cave that was made around the same time and thought to depict the Taurus bull constellation.” h

https://star-name-registry.com/constellations/taurus

NASA: A chart showing some of the constellations that are visible from the Northern Hemisphere in different times of year. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Looking at the Libra constellation, there are 2 pieces of information that sound interesting. One of them is the fact that Libra is not associated with an animal or an object. And, “Libra does not contain any first magnitude stars. It is home to HD 140283, popularly known as Methuselah Star, one of the oldest stars known.”

https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/libra-constellation/

Now, let’s have a look what Taurus and Libra mean in terms of astrology. (Like I always say, please keep in mind that these are general definitions based on Sun signs. However, every chart is unique and we may gather better information with natal chart interpretation or depending on the request, with forecasting techniques)

Taurus is an earth sign with fixed modality, and the second in place among 12 zodiac signs. It is associated with throat and neck in terms of body parts. They might be sensual and grounded on the positive side while they might be really stubborn and also possessive on the negative side. It might be difficult to make them angry, but once it is out of leash, it might be challenging to stop ‘the bull’.

Why Venus as the ruler? I think it is more related with Taurus’s sense of joy about everything beautiful – people, food, music, etc. As mentioned in Roy Gillett’s book ‘The Secret Language of Astrology’: “For Taureans, beauty can be both a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing when Taurus is not enslaved to the idea of possessing it.” Last point in relation to Venus can be the connection of fertility and once again sensuality.

Libra is an air sign with cardinal modality, and the seventh in place among 12 zodiac signs. It is related with kidneys in terms of body parts. On the positive side Librans might be harmonious, and fair, while on the negative side sometimes they might be indecisive and too ‘proud’. They would generally like the company of others such as friends, significant others and would not like to be on their own.

Why Venus as the ruler? With Venus, there is this idea of peace, harmony and elegance that might come with beauty which are well expressed in Libra as positive qualities.

What about the Tarot?

The Hierophant – Taurus

Looking at the general meaning of the Hierophant, we might think about a mentor or a spiritual teacher. However, it also has a connection to the rules, societal norms…As Robert M.Place writes in his book ‘The Tarot History, Symbolism, and Divination’: “The Hierophant represents moral judgement, the determination of what is right and what is wrong…” Moreover, the etymology of the word hierophant might give us some idea. The origin is hierophantes in Greek and when it is separated into two, we see the hieros – sacred and phainein – show, reveal. In a way, we are talking about the ‘revealer’ of the sacred.

https://www.etymonline.com/word/hierophant

So why is it associated with Taurus? From a practical point of view, as mentioned above, Taurus is associated with throat and neck and Susan T.Chang in ’36 Secrets’ mentions that “The Hierophant speaks (Taurus corresponds to the human voice)” when she compares the silent High Priestess and talking Hierophant. In addition to this, because of Taurus’s fixed modality and sometimes stubbornness, we might understand the attachment to rules and societal norms as holding on to what is ‘right’ for yourself and sometimes even trying to impose it on others. However, in terms of spiritual leader, we might think that this might be an act of teaching and guiding instead of imposing as well. Last thing, regarding the earth element comes from ’36 Secrets’: “…The Hierophant is fixed. He is Peter the Rock, and his church is an anchor, a known and unchanging place where sacred and mundane can meet.”

Libra-Justice

Justice card, as we might understand from its name, is about being fair. That’s why sometimes depending on the context it might be even related with court cases. Also, as it is the Shadow card of the High Priestess, sometimes a level of Karma can be in this card.

Let’s see what Robert M.Place writes in his book ‘The Tarot History, Symbolism, and Divination’: “…Justice is a fortress of virtue. She represents truth, right judgment, and dealings with the law.”

As mentioned above, Libra is a sign that contains theme of justice, balance, harmony within, thanks to its ruler Venus. Also, the depiction of the scale is directly related with the symbol of this sign as well. In this regard, I think Justice and Libra association is one of the most obvious and understandable one in RWS card-zodiac sign relations.

*Illustrations from the Rider-Waite Tarot Deck®, known also as the Rider Tarot and the Waite Tarot, reproduced by permission of U.S. Games Systems, Inc., Stamford, CT 06902 USA.
Copyright ©1971 by U.S. Games Systems, Inc. Further reproduction prohibited. The Rider-Waite Tarot Deck® is a registered trademark of U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

I personally enjoyed a lot writing this blog, since I learnt a lot and enrichened my knowledge. I hope that you all enjoyed as well.

If any questions, please do not hesitate to drop an e-mail to tpastrotarot@gmail.com or please pay a visit to my Instagram account @amethystastrotarot.

Stay well and keep safe until next week,
Teri

Please note that I am planning to do 2 sessions in Instagram on the 30th and/or 31st of December. A New Year tarot reading without taking questions and another session where I may answer questions with 1 card. So, please stay tuned and follow me on Instagram😊. In case that you miss my sessions on Instagram, I may at least transcribe the reading and publish it as a blog on the first days of 2022.