Every now and then a Taurus e-mails to complain how annoyed they are that their emblem is a Cow but this is SO sacred! Taurus is aligned with the divine Hathor, an ancient forerunner of Isis, Inanna, Aphrodite, Astarte and all. Pre-patriarchally (yes, it IS that time of the month again) the symbol for Taurus was not the Bull but the Cow. And not just any old cow but the original Holy Cow herself – Hathor…
From her Wikipedia;
“A hymn to Hathor says:
- Thou art the Mistress of Jubilation, the Queen of the Dance, the Mistress of Music, the Queen of the Harp Playing, the Lady of the Choral Dance, the Queen of Wreath Weaving, the Mistress of Inebriety Without End.
Essentially, Hathor had become a goddess of joy, and so she was deeply loved by the general population, and truly revered by women, who aspired to embody her multifaceted role as wife, mother, and lover. In this capacity, she gained the titles of Lady of the House of Jubilation, and The One Who Fills the Sanctuary with Joy. The worship of Hathor was so popular that a lot of festivals were dedicated to her honor than any other Egyptian deity, and more children were named after this goddess than any other deity. Even Hathor’s priesthood was unusual, in that both women and men became her priests.
In recent years, the theory of matriarchal cultures existing in profusion before 3,000 B.C.E. has taken root and bring into question the interpretation of Hathor as only wife or only mother. Hathor wears the head-dress of 18 serpents (traditionally associated with wisdom and women), the cows horns (horns were associated with the crescent moon and thus, a woman’s menstrual cycles). Hathor may have, quite possibly, been the original Mother God of the Egyptian citizens….”
Tags: Aphrodite, Astarte, Goddess, goddess astrology, Hathor, Holy Cow, Inanna, Isis, Pagan, Taurus, Taurus astrology, Wicca
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thanks for the hathor details mystic. it reminded me of this classic online comic – hathor the cow goddess – http://www.thecowgoddess.com/
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I love Tauras talk….!
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Hera is often referred to as the ox-eyed goddess. She gets a bit of a bad wrap, but it is useful to remember that she was the only one of all the goddesses that Zeus would commit to (he was faithful to her for the first 300 years of their marriage, it was the following eons that he strayed). She was by all accounts the most beautiful of the goddesses (Aphrodite might have the va va voom, but Hera has something else) and her history actually pre-dates Zeus’. The worship of Hera can be traced back to a time when matriarchy was truly valued. So in spite of the bad press she has got courtesy of the ‘old ball and chain’ stereotype, she was a knockout. If you have ever had a good look at a cow and look at their eyes, you would see that they are just divine, and their faces have such a serene expression about them. Their eyes are so beautiful and big it almost looks like you can get lost in them. Just have a look at a jersey cow, or any cow for that matter, next time you get a chance. They have faces like flowers. So those of you who think that to be aligned with the sign of Taurus is a bit of a let down, you just need to look past the stereotypes imposed on us (women) by a patriarchial society and see the real Hera, the truly beautiful and alluring ox-eyed Goddess.
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Ive always been a sucker for that dewy cow eyed look. Eyes, give me that feeling of the ‘depth’ of someone, you can fall right in.
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Personally… I have never had problems with being a cow…
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I LOVE cows. It was some cows that made me vegetarian – their stunning eyes!
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I agree, cows are beautiful creatures.
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When I lived in dairy country, the cows would often be crossing a rd or something going for milking and would walk around the car. They have the most beautiful faces, especially milk cows like Jerseys. Their eyes are, as myst says, stunning.
Where i lived there was quite a large krisna community. Krisna was a cowherd, and the respect and admiration of cows and their beauty really is a major part of the imagery of krisna and his nature. -
I had a reading at the beginning of Saturn stomping through Leo when I was only a little bit interested in astro matters. So in other words I knew my sun sign and that was it. Anyway the psychic said to me that she could see Hathor standing behind me…which might be what a lot of psychics say…? Though this was the only time someone said this to me…and then when I found that I had taurus rising it reminded me of the psychic’s comment.
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I do not think even the most flakie psychic would invoke such a deity lightly.
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I remember that time as a time where I doubted my own intuition, as everything was reforming around me…so any flakiness was probably mine.Although the idea of having a goddess at my back is pretty good support wise.
I do like that Hathor had a positive relationship with mirrors.
‘Hathor was also the goddess of beauty and patron of the cosmetic arts. Her traditional votive offering was two mirrors and she was often depicted on mirrors and cosmetic palettes. Yet she was not considered to be vain or shallow, rather she was assured of her own beauty and goodness and loved beautiful and good things.’… oh and another of her many titles was ‘Lady of the Vulva’.
‘One myth tells that Ra had become so despondent that he refused to speak to anyone. Hathor (who never suffered depression or doubt) danced before him exposing her private parts, which caused him to laugh out loud and return to good spirits.’
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A well timed nude dance never fails to get a laugh in our house.
Hooray for the site gag.
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I don’t see why anyone could hate cows/bulls. We as humans, esp in more primitive times, depended on them for everything. We got milk, meat, medicine, & leather from them. Modern life puts down bovine sacrifices to society I guess.
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Yes, urban life removes us from the sources of our nourishment. How sad that we can become so disconnected.
What a beautiful post, Mystic. This site has really inspired me to learn more of mythology.
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Last year, I read The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory by Cynthia Eller. Eller is a very modern, very cool feminist and anthropologist, and I fell in love with her work. She has a really intelligent take on the idea of matriarchal socieities, and she pretty much shaped my perspective on the whole deal. I highly recommend that book to anyone who is interested in prehistoric matriarchal societies and their relevance to modern feminism. Translation: Read Cynthia Eller because she is an incredibly smart woman.
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Sounds good. Must make time for this. I might have to devote a page in my diary to tips I get from this site. Ta!
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If anyone is awake for this…
…hopefully this will be impressive…
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woot~!
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Hey Mystic,
You have also donned the headdress of hathor, non
Glad to be of the bovine
sorry missed yr poll, but vienna is all consuming at the moment
keep it up Empress of the ethereal
xx
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Bull sperm treatment for you hair. Much better than Cameron Diaz’s hair gel.
http://www.dailycandy.com/london/article/29245/Bully+for+You
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I love this space! I especially love how a discussion about Hathor ends up at bull sperm hair treatment! LOL.
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You think being a cow is bad?
Try being a DISEASE. Cancer indeed. Humph
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I am as i have stated beofre an egyptian fanatic! and i am quiet familiar with the egyptian gods & goddess’. I think that the “Hathor-Cow-Goddess” is a symbol of nearly ALL feminine worship symbols.
LMFAO at Luinae “Kataka” – THAT IS SOOO FUNNY! lol i remember even when I first started liking astrology in like grade 2 or something – we used to compare them
“HA ur a crab”
“yea well what are u?”
“Im half a goat!”
wtf!
lol -
I’ve always been quite happy with being associated with images of the Divine Bovine – though the Global North (plus Aus/NZ) treats cows terribly disrespectfully. I think the cow’s generousity is mistaken for weakness… what a mistake.
As for Hera – yes, she’s painted as a ‘jealous shrew’ in patriarchal mythology, but she was a very powerful goddess, & had LOTS of serious devotees in her day. Patriarchal Greek myths only had 4 roles for les femmes: frigid bitch, nagging wife, amoral homewrecker & rape victim. But SO much going on under the surface
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“Holy Celestial Cow” Batman, the Joker is getting away….knew I’d heard that line somewhere.
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Pingback from Mystic Medusa · Adorable Ankhs… on September 16, 2009 at 10:51 am
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Right on
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Pingback from Hot Moon In Taurus Outfit | Mystic Medusa on December 1, 2009 at 8:27 am
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