Today we’re taking a deep dive into Mars in Taurus. Mars takes about two years to go around the Sun so it spends approximately two months in each sign, give or take the retrograde periods, so it can be a bit variable. Mars covers about half a degree per day so even if you don’t know what time you were born you will definitely have a very good idea of the exact degree of your Mars, which is nice.

I feel pretty qualified to talk about Mars in Taurus because that is where my Mars is, exactly opposite my ascendant in Scorpio give or take a few degrees. Mars is the planet of drive, ambition, physical activity, aggression, sexual conquest and the masculine drive to go after the object of your love or lust. By masculine of course we just mean active versus passive in the traditional archetypal sense. Everyone has Venus and Mars somewhere!

Mars in Taurus in Love

In his excellent book Person to Person Astrology: Energy Factors in Love, Sex and Compatibility, Steven Arroyo says, “when Mars is found in Taurus, the aggressive urges are held under control but should never be underestimated, for they are powerfully stubborn and persistent.” This placement of Mars is rarely aggressive but people with Mars in Taurus are among the most willful, purposeful, obstinate beings in the world in terms of unrelenting pursuit of their goals and desires.

I always describe Mars in Taurus as the Ferdinand the Bull placement, from the well-known children’s story about the famous bull in Spain who was recruited to be in the bullfights but all he wanted to do was smell the roses, so he wasn’t much of a fighter.

Of course we all probably know some Taureans in our lives and they may not seem like very aggressive or angry people, but all it takes is the right instigation for their tempers to flare. It’s definitely more of a slow burn rather than fiery, since Taurus is an earth sign ruled by Venus and traditionally associated with comfort, wealth, good food, quality fabrics and the finer things in life.

Steven Arroyo goes on to say that the core qualities of Mars in Taurus are that “they assert themselves steadily, retentively, conservatively and stubbornly. Their initiative and drive are directed towards consolidation, productivity, comfort and enjoyment of life’s simple pleasures. They often have a creative and/or artistic flair and their physical energy and sexual drive are influenced by a deep appreciation of the physical senses, which may lead them to complacency and laziness.”

He says both men and women with Mars and Taurus have strong, consistent sex drives and powerful sensual urges, and a strongly developed sense of touch. Although they lack the spark of Mars in a fire sign, they tend to be more cautious, not wanting to risk exposing themselves to ridicule. This is not generally a “make the first move” type of person (and I can personally attest to that LOL). But they are very sensual and very generous even if they don’t always like to communicate verbally about their own needs or the desires of their partners.

Grant Lewi, another OG astrologer from even before Stephen Arroyo’s time, said of Mars in Taurus that they are generally somewhat passive aggressive. They may not fight but they will wait you out and stubbornly refuse to give in until you consider their point of view. He says their motto is, “I don’t want to fight, let’s just do it my way.”

Mars in Taurus breaking a sweat

I can definitely see that in my personal life; not laziness, but a conservation of energy. I don’t like to be bored and I don’t like to sit around and do nothing, but my idea of nothing may be different from other people’s. That could involve mental pursuits or doing something crafty or creative with my hands. I like to sew and for a while I made jewelry. Maybe you like to fix or make things, or cook or work in the garden. These can be really satisfying pursuits for someone with Mars in Taurus.

Similarly, in my forms of exercise that I enjoy, I really prefer activities things that I can do more or less mindlessly. I’m not physically competitive and I hate counting reps or having to think too much about getting exercise for the sake of it. I much prefer activities that are fun, and if they can’t be fun, I want to be able to keep my mind off it completely by listening to audiobooks or podcasts. The last thing I want to do is go to a gym with a bunch of other people and wait my turn for the next machine or really have to think about my workout and focus on counting or doing a circuit of machines or how much weight I’m using for different exercises. I love roller skating outdoors, biking, disc golf and other things that I can either do with friends or more or less mindlessly, without having to think about the fact that I’m exercising!

Which is not to say everyone with Mars in Taurus is like that, of course, but there is something about a non-competitive, steady form of exercise that I think would be very appealing to anyone with a lot of Taurus energy. A lot of my friends who I do physical activities with have either Taurus sun or some personal planets in Taurus. There’s something about the Mars in any sign that attracts similar energies.

Mars in Taurus at work

Similarly, in terms of ambition at work, I’ve never been much of a “climb the corporate ladder” type . When I’m doing all my creative thinking and work behind the scenes, I prefer it to be kind of a solitary, steady pursuit, as opposed to being in a room brainstorming with other people or trying to come up with the next big idea. I’d rather be left alone to do what I do well and find ways to be excellent at those things, rather than strategizing some big picture or collaborating with a lot of people. Your mileage may vary! This is probably a combination of my Mars in Taurus and all my personal planets in Virgo. If you’re a Capricorn or Gemini with Mars in Taurus, it’s going to look very different.

With any Mars placement, in order to get the full picture you’re going to want to compare where you have your Venus. In my case I have Venus in Libra which of course is a masculine air sign compared with the feminine Earth sign of Taurus so they’re not compatible by element but they are both ruled by Venus. This makes Venus much stronger than Mars in my chart because it’s in the sign it rules, whereas Mars in Taurus is in its detriment (since Aries is one of its ruling planets).