Taurus is the second sign of the zodiac, and it moves at the pace of the late spring earth it is born into: slow, sure and deeply alive to the senses. Born under the bull between 20 April and 20 May, a Taurus is the zodiac's gardener and its steady hand, building a good and beautiful life one patient day at a time. This is a complete guide to the Taurus star sign: its dates and symbol, its grounded personality, its strengths and softer edges, who it loves, the houses of the chart, and the old myth written into its stars. Read it as a portrait to recognise yourself in, never a rule to live by.
Taurus at a Glance
Taurus is an earth sign ruled by Venus, and the second of the twelve zodiac signs. Here are the essentials.
| Trait | Taurus |
|---|---|
| Dates | 20 April to 20 May |
| Symbol | The Bull |
| Element | Earth |
| Modality | Fixed |
| Ruling planet | Venus |
| Opposite sign | Scorpio |
| Signature crystal | Rose quartz |
Dates shift by a day from year to year, so if you were born on the cusp it is worth checking your birth chart.
The Taurus Personality
Taurus is fixed earth: fixed signs sustain and hold, and earth signs are practical and rooted, so Taurus is the zodiac's steady ground. Ruled by Venus, the planet of love and beauty, a Taurus feels the world through the senses and longs for comfort, security and the slow pleasures of a life well made.
There is a deep reliability to the bull. A Taurus is the friend who shows up, the partner who stays, the one who would rather build something lasting than chase something new. Patient and loyal, they understand that the best things, like a garden or a love, are grown rather than rushed.
"Taurus is the persistent provider of the zodiac."The AstroTwins, Astrostyle
Taurus Strengths and Weaknesses
At their best, Taurus people are patient, loyal, dependable and warm, with a gift for creating beauty and calm wherever they settle. They are steady in a crisis and generous with comfort, and their devotion, once given, runs very deep.
The shadow side is the same steadiness dug in too hard. Taurus can be stubborn, possessive, resistant to change and prone to indulgence, holding on to a person, a habit or an opinion long after it has stopped serving them. The work of a lifetime, for the bull, is learning to bend a little, to let go, and to trust that change can be safe too.
Taurus in Love and Compatibility
In love, Taurus is devoted, sensual and slow to give its heart, but utterly steadfast once it does. They tend to harmonise most easily with the fellow earth signs Virgo and Capricorn, who share their patience, and with the water signs Cancer and Pisces, whose tenderness they adore. Their opposite sign, Scorpio, brings a magnetic intensity that the bull finds hard to resist.
Sun-sign compatibility, though, is only the opening line of the story. Real chemistry is read from two whole charts, your moon, your rising and your Venus included. To see the full picture, map both of your birth charts and read them side by side.
Taurus Sun, Moon and Rising
Most people mean their sun sign when they say they are a Taurus, but the bull can sit in three very different places in a chart, and each one feels distinct.
Taurus Sun
Your sun sign is your core self, your ego and the energy that drives you, set by the date you were born. A Taurus sun is steady and sensual at its centre: patient, loyal and quietly determined to build a beautiful, secure life.
Taurus Moon
Your moon sign is your inner, emotional world and what you need to feel safe. A Taurus moon needs comfort, calm and constancy, and finds peace in the simple and the sensory: good food, soft textures, a settled home and a love that does not waver.
Taurus Rising
Your rising sign, or ascendant, is the way you meet the world, set by the exact time and place of your birth. A Taurus rising moves through life slowly and gracefully, with a calm, grounded presence and an unhurried, reassuring warmth.
You might be a restless, fast-moving person who is surprised to be called a Taurus, simply because your moon or rising sits in a livelier sign. The only way to know your whole sky is to look: our free birth chart calculator reveals your sun, moon, rising and every planet in moments.
Taurus Through the Houses
Taurus does not only appear as your sun sign. Wherever the bull falls across the twelve houses of your birth chart, the areas of life, it brings its steadiness and its love of the good and beautiful to that corner of your world. Here is how Taurus colours each one.
- First house (self): a calm, grounded, sensual presence and a Taurus rising who moves slowly and surely.
- Second house (money and values): a natural ease with money and comfort, and a deep need for security.
- Third house (mind and communication): steady, deliberate thinking and a warm, unhurried voice.
- Fourth house (home and roots): a beautiful, comfortable home built to last a lifetime.
- Fifth house (love and creativity): loyal, sensual romance and a love of making beautiful things by hand.
- Sixth house (work and health): patient, reliable work and a body that loves routine, nature and good food.
- Seventh house (partnership): seeks a devoted, dependable partner and stays for the long haul.
- Eighth house (intimacy and change): slow to trust but deeply loyal, and quietly resistant to upheaval.
- Ninth house (travel and belief): learns through the senses and prefers the tried and the true.
- Tenth house (career and reputation): builds a solid, lasting reputation, brick by patient brick.
- Eleventh house (friendship and community): the steady, dependable friend everyone relies on.
- Twelfth house (rest and the inner world): finds peace in quiet comfort, nature and the senses.
To find which houses hold your Taurus placements, cast your free birth chart. Each house now has its own full guide.
The Myth of the Bull
Every sign carries a story, and the bull's is one of the most famous in Greek myth. To win the Phoenician princess Europa, the god Zeus transformed himself into a magnificent, gentle white bull and mingled with her father's herd. Enchanted, Europa climbed onto his back, and the bull rose and carried her across the sea to the island of Crete, where she became a queen and the mother of kings.
In honour of the tale, the bull was set among the stars as the constellation Taurus, as the constellation's mythology records, its brightest star, the orange Aldebaran, glowing like the bull's watchful eye. It is a fitting emblem for the sign: strong, sensual and quietly irresistible.
The Taurus Crystal
The stone most often matched to Taurus is rose quartz, the soft pink quartz of love, tenderness and self-worth, ruled like the sign itself by Venus. It suits the bull's deep capacity for affection and its love of comfort and beauty. For the fuller picture, our guides to crystals for every zodiac sign and star sign crystals pair a stone with each sign by element and ruling planet.
Is Astrology Real?
Honestly, astrology is a language of symbols and meaning rather than a science of cause and effect. Being a Taurus cannot make you patient any more than it can make you stubborn. What a sign can do is hold up a mirror, offering words for patterns you already feel and a gentle prompt to reflect. Read your Taurus traits as a story about yourself, take what rings true, and leave the rest. When you are ready to go deeper, begin with zodiac and astrology and map your own birth chart.
Frequently asked questions
Taurus runs from 20 April to 20 May. The dates shift by a day from year to year, so if you were born right at the start or end of that window, check your birth chart to be sure of your sun sign.
Taurus is steady, sensual, patient and loyal, the most grounded sign of the zodiac. Ruled by Venus and rooted in fixed earth, a Taurus loves comfort, beauty and security, and builds a good life slowly. The same steadiness can become stubbornness when pushed.
Taurus tends to harmonise with the fellow earth signs Virgo and Capricorn, and with the water signs Cancer and Pisces. Its opposite sign, Scorpio, is a magnetic attraction. True compatibility, though, is read from two whole birth charts, not sun signs alone.
The Taurus symbol is the Bull, and its element is earth. It is a fixed sign, ruled by the planet Venus, and the second sign of the zodiac.
Rose quartz, the gentle pink stone of love and self-worth, is the classic Venus-ruled Taurus crystal. Emerald and green aventurine are lovely companions for steady abundance.
Yes. Your star sign and your sun sign both mean the zodiac sign the Sun was passing through when you were born. You may also have your moon or rising sign in Taurus, which a birth chart will reveal.
