"Greed is good." At least that's the opinion of Gordon Gekko in the film Wall Street. Gekko is a cutthroat Wall Street trader, the proverbial bad Bull. After all, Taurus is a sensual Earth sign that rules money and physical desires. The fallen Bull usually has a ruthless craving for money, power, food, sex or other extreme desires. It's all about greed and gluttony.
Bernard Madoff, Saddam Hussein and Adolf Hitler are excellent examples of the dark side of Taurus. Madoff was recently convicted of the largest Ponzi scheme perpetrated by one person. He swindled an estimated $65 billion from thousands of investors. But Madoff is a saint compared to Hussein and Hitler, two of the most brutal dictators in modern history. Dominance was their obsession.
Interestingly, Madoff and Hussein were born just a year apart and have some astrological elements in common. They both have Sun conjunct Uranus in Taurus, which gave them a rebellious streak. They obviously considered themselves above the law. They also have Pluto afflicting an Aries planet - Mercury for Madoff and Venus for Hussein. Pluto is power, while Aries is individuality, so a clash between the two can indicate extreme willfulness. Additionally, the two men have Saturn, the planet of hardship and karma, in Aries. It was their karma to have their personal liberties taken away through prison for Madoff, and execution for Hussein.
Let's take a deeper look at the dark side of Taurus through the charts of these three Bulls.
Bernard Madoff - April 29, 1938
Madoff has Sun, Venus and Uranus in Taurus. Venus in Taurus gives him a love of money and a talent for making it. Madoff has Moon in either Aries or Taurus, depending on his time of birth. All of this bullish energy certainly intensified his earning power. Unfortunately, it also heightened his greed. In fairness, he was probably also influenced by his clients' expectations of his ability to generate high returns on their investments. In any case, he was overly fixated on money.
If Madoff was born before 10 a.m., he'd have Moon in Aries (along with Mercury and Saturn). Selfishness was part of his downfall as well. Additionally, his Moon would square Pluto, making him emotionally obsessive about security. Certainly he'd be motivated by the need for power and independence as a way to feel secure. His saving grace is a well-aspected Neptune, which prompted Madoff to turn himself in and confess his crimes. It's a start, at least, on the path to redemption, which may take many lifetimes to complete.
Saddam Hussein - April 28, 1937
Having Sun, Mercury and Uranus in Taurus gave Hussein a pragmatic view of the world. In keeping with his progressive Sun-Uranus conjunction, Hussein was a revolutionary who considered himself a modernizer of Iraq. The fixed-sign emphasis indicates phenomenal determination and the ability to rule with an iron fist. The Iraqi dictator was stubborn, headstrong and magnetic. His Moon was either in powerful, controlling Scorpio or fiery, impulsive Sagittarius. Jupiter in Capricorn increased his pragmatism and gave him a flair for management and politics.
It's interesting to note that on September 11, 2001, transiting Neptune was directly afflicting his Sun-Uranus conjunction. Neptune is the planet of sacrifice. Even though weapons of mass destruction were never found in Iraq, the terrorist attacks on the United States were the beginning of the end for Hussein. In December 2003, while still under Neptune's influence, he was captured and eventually executed for crimes against humanity.
Adolf Hitler - April 20, 1889
Undoubtedly the most reviled Bull of all time is Hitler. The normally easy-going sign of Taurus was unrecognizable in the German dictator. During his rule, he killed as many as 16 million civilians, including an estimated six million Jews. Multiple Taurus planets - Sun, Venus and Mars - gave Hitler, like Hussein, a fixed purpose. Moon in Capricorn heightened his pragmatism and gave him a stoic emotional nature. And like Hussein, he had Jupiter in Capricorn, indicating a talent for politics.
But perhaps Hitler's main influence was Saturn in Leo, the sign of leadership and pride. Because it was afflicted, it gave him the drive to rule - and obliterate anyone who stood in his way. What's more, Saturn afflictions to Venus and Mars repressed his normal desires and made him incapable of compassion. The lack of water signs in his chart would further indicate a penchant for cruelty. This Taurus was definitely the worst example of the sign.
All signs of the zodiac have their positive and negative traits. Most of us exhibit both sides of the equation at one time or another. Hopefully, we work through the negativity to become the best our sign can be.
