Taurus: Dates, Meaning, and the Bull Explained

The bull zodiac sign — its dates, symbol, mythology, and the famous star cluster riding on its shoulder.

Taurus is the second sign of the zodiac, covering April 20 through May 20. Its symbol is a bull, and unlike most zodiac constellations, it's genuinely easy to find — anchored by Aldebaran, one of the brightest stars in the entire night sky, and sitting right next to the unmistakable Pleiades star cluster.

Taurus dates and basic facts

Where the bull symbol comes from

The most well-known version is Greek: Zeus transformed himself into a magnificent white bull to approach and abduct Europa, a Phoenician princess, carrying her across the sea to Crete. The constellation shows only the bull's head and front half — as if the rest of it is submerged, consistent with the ocean-crossing myth. Some traditions instead tie the constellation to the Cretan Bull, the beast Heracles wrestled in his seventh labor.

The eye that isn't really part of the herd

Aldebaran marks the bull's eye, and it appears to sit inside the V-shaped Hyades star cluster that forms the bull's face — but it's actually a foreground star, roughly twice as close to Earth as the Hyades themselves, and just happens to line up along the same sightline. It's an unrelated star that looks like a member of the cluster purely by coincidence of perspective.

On the bull's shoulder sits the Pleiades (the "Seven Sisters"), one of the most recognizable open star clusters in the sky — visible to the naked eye as a tight little smudge of stars, and one of the most-referenced star groupings across cultures worldwide, independent of the zodiac myth entirely.

What Taurus is said to represent

As a fixed earth sign ruled by Venus, Taurus is traditionally associated with stability, sensuality, and a strong appreciation for comfort, beauty, and physical pleasure. "Fixed" adds the sign's other defining trait: steadiness that, pushed too far, reads as stubbornness — a reluctance to be moved once settled, for better or worse.

See your own sign's star map

CosmicByMe renders every zodiac constellation — including standout ones like Taurus — from real star and constellation-line data, centered on the sky as it actually looked from your birth date, time, and location. Generate your own card on the homepage to see it.