Linda Goodman's Sun Signs (14 page)

First of all, I hope you don't have your Taurus employee working for you as a salesperson. If you do, have his horoscope checked as soon as you can. He may have some planets in Gemini, Aries, Leo or Pisces. In that case, you can safely let him continue to peddle your wares. Otherwise, you each would be better off if you gently eased him (for goodness sakes, don't push him) into some other position with your company.

As a promoter or salesman, he may not make the best possible impression on your clients. In giving a spiel to a customer, his normal attitude would be, “If you want it, take it. If you don't, move along.” The average Taurus employee isn't about to perform a fast buck and wing for a prospective buyer. Nor is he noted for his golden tongue and outpouring of imaginative, descriptive phrases. Unless you call “Umph” and “Gumph” and “Mmm Hmm” and “Mumph” imaginative, descriptive phrases. Not that he doesn't have many sterling qualities. He does. But they're usually not the kind to sway people or press them into signing on the dotted line. He's far more likely to tell them why they shouldn't get involved.

The most important reason Taureans seldom gravitate to selling, however, is related to the basic Taurus need for security. He must feel a sense of security in his work, or his potential for success—which can be tremendous—will be markedly diluted. No matter how large the possible reward may be, if it fluctuates, the Taurus employee will prefer the safety of knowing how many dollar bills he can count each week. A Taurean on straight commission is usually one of the unhappiest human beings in the world. A set salary, plus a bonus incentive for sales, would come closer to giving him the sense of achievement he needs, but even so the position of salesman isn't the ideal spot for the bull.

Of course, there are a few exceptions to the rule, in addition to the aforementioned planetary influences. Most Taureans can handle certain low-pressure sales pitches with distinction, if the product is solid and stable, with built-in security. But the list is short. Farm equipment, tractors, manure spreaders, trucks and mowing machines or such would be right up his alley. Those he could sell. He talks the same language as the people who buy them. Money is another item he can handle on either side of the desk, and selling cash may even be a specialty. Translated, that means he's a super man to have in charge of the loan department, if your business is banking. But let's be truthful, how much persuasion is needed to convince an insolvent man he needs money?

There may be a couple of other categories where he could shine as a salesman. Real estate, for instance. A Taurean is perfectly at home showing people through houses or telling them about the value of the land. He'll point to the view and say, “Umph.” Then he'll describe the landscaping possibilities with an ecstatic “Grumph.” After that, he'll demonstrate the plumbing and closet space with “Mmm Hmm,” and finally discuss the financing with a firm “Mumph.” Hard as it may be to believe, the answer from the prospective home buyer will probably be, “Yep. I'll take it.” After which the Taurus salesman will answer, “Okay. You've got it.” Or something similar. The trick here is that the Taurean honesty and obvious dependability impresses people who are socking down enough money for a house. Then there's the field of education. He believes in firm foundations and facts with such fervor, and he has such faith in preparing for the future, along with a positive distaste for ignorance, that he could talk a girl into taking the engineering course at M.I.T. He wouldn't see anything silly at all about a female studying engineering. To him, practical is practical, regardless of sex.

There's also a possibility that a Taurean with a Gemini ascendant or Mars in Gemini would make a superior radio or TV announcer. The typical, musical tones of Taurean speech coupled with Gemini charm and glibness can make him a natural in such media. Then, too, if the right planets were in Aries at birth, their influence could conceivably combine with his Taurus Sun to give him exceptional promotional or public relations abilities, though he would never he a high-pressure type. I'm afraid that just about covers the territory for a Taurus salesman. In most other areas, and without the proper additional planetary influences, he's much better off doing things that come more naturally to his imperturbable nature.

One of those things is known in politics as holding the center together, an ability which is also extremely valuable in the business world. Whatever desk he's assigned to, he'll root himself behind it with determination to succeed, and he probably will. He'll work slowly and aim for perfection, which he usually achieves if he's left alone and not pushed too fast. The more responsibility the position requires of him, the smarter you'll be to put him in charge. You'll seldom enjoy the services of a more dependable, trustworthy and honest employee. He'll seek to help your company expand, not his own ego. A successful Taurean wears the same hat size as he did when he was still trying.

Much as he dislikes change, if he's an exceptional Taurus, you won't keep him forever. He won't leave because he's flighty, but for a basic reason that's part of his nature. Once he's established the growth of your company, he's not the type to remain there and run it for you. Taurus is more interested in building power and wealth. He likes his freedom too much to be tied to the constant manipulations of guiding a complicated business, or of being the unseen cog. He's reliable and content to stick, but he wants to be free to continue to build instead of being tied up with intricate details. When there's no more incentive to grow with your firm, he'll feel the legendary Taurean itch to lay his own foundation and erect his own empire, minor or major.

A Taurus employee, whether he's exceptional or average, is always an outstanding worker, and one of his most endearing qualities is his willingness to take orders without resentment. The reason behind it is simple. He has an inner conviction that the way to become a boss who gives orders is to be first a cheerful subordinate who takes orders. His respect for authority is based on his knowledge that when he becomes an executive, he'll expect his employees to follow his directions. As a boss himself, he'll have definite and probably rigidly set ideas and methods. Therefore, he finds nothing strange or unpleasant about your insistence on adhering to a fixed pattern when he works for you. As far as he's concerned, you're in charge.

Such an attitude is obviously quite a bonus, but don't let his kindly disposition nor his sensible acquiescence to superiors fool you into thinking he can be easily shoved around. He has a sort of Machiavellian detachment toward those who think they're manipulating him, and he'll handle them with smooth tact and diplomacy. Yet, if you look closely, you'll see his tongue is in his cheek while he's humoring the aggressive people who try to drive him. In the end, Taurus will have his own way. His success is even more assured by his ability to wait as long as necessary until he wins out over the pushy types. However, when his personal emotions are trampled on or his deep pride is hurt, his cool steadiness may disappear and be replaced by a childish stubbornness. Remember, that while he's pouting, he's combustible, and liable to explode finally in a fierce display of temper. It won't last long, and the bull will be ominously quiet after such a “charge,” but if the cause isn't rectified immediately, he'll simply leave, and he won't glance behind him. When a Taurus goes out the door, he has left. There won't be any sheepish returns to try again. The back of his broad shoulders will be the last you see of him. Nothing you can say or do will persuade him to reconsider. The bull makes up his mind so slowly in the first place, there's never any need to take a second look at the matter. Taurean foresight precludes the need for hindsight. Since his is such a sensual, loving nature, you can probably find plenty of ex-sweethearts, who will sadly tell you that when he waves goodbye, he doesn't come back for encores. In both love and business, people frequently make the mistake of thinking the Taurean's patience is eternal, just because it takes him so long to lose it.

The female Taurean employee is usually a real jewel. If she's a typical Taurus, she'll have a quiet, low-pitched voice and soothing manner. These women are great at putting out fires. Emergencies don't throw them off balance. A crisis brings out the best in them, and that's considerable. She's not exactly a fireball, and you'll never see her riding a motorcycle to work, but she does her job well. Exceedingly well. Like the males, she feels that, if a job is worth doing at all, it's worth doing well, to the very best of her ability. Every May person has that motto chiseled somewhere permanently. This Taurus won't yawn in your face when you're expounding your pet theories. If the ideas are practical, she'll probably converse with you about them like a man. Her views will be worth hearing, and her approach will be sensible and logical. But don't let that give you the impression she's not a real female.

Be careful. This is not a woman who will ordinarily become involved in casual office flirtations. She can cut up and be loads of laughs, but underneath her warm, bovine humor is a mind firmly set on marriage. If she accepts a dinner invitation twice, she's probably already sizing you up as a good provider for a lifetime, not just an exciting date for a rainy Thursday. These women are quite serious about the stakes in any romantic game. If you fit the qualifications of a Taurean female as husband material, you're not an ordinary man by anybody's slide rule. The man in the company who's the recipient of the Taurus woman's attentions is the man to watch. He's going somewhere.

Female Taurus employees are pleasant to have around because they smell nice, they look nice, they're hard workers and they don't smoke cigars, among other things. (Unless you happen to have one with an Aries Moon or ascendant, who would smell and look just as nice, but who might very well smoke cigars and shout a little.)

Taurus people of both sexes hate to sleep in strange beds, a phrase they're fond of repeating. Therefore, most Taurean men and women prefer to spend their vacations at home. Barring a Gemini Moon or Sagittarius ascendant, the grass will always look both greener and thicker in the bull's own backyard. When he's on vacation, sensually sipping lemonade and inhaling the scent of flowers from his hammock, you can safely call him in for an office emergency. He'll probably oblige with a good-natured grin, and even feel it's his duty to help out. But don't impose too often. There's a limit to his patient acceptance of repeated impositions, and it's foolhardy to risk making him angry to discover that limit. Stop while you're ahead.

The bull works happily as a florist, in the livestock or poultry industry, in supermarkets or in the wholesale food industry. He makes a good doctor or engineer, too. And he can be quite contented in an artistic career. The sound of music and the visual hypnotism of art pull him magnetically. He's never more at home than when he's expressing himself creatively, through his senses, as long as the financial rewards are sound and the foundation isn't shaky.

A Taurus songwriter is usually miserable, especially during the lean years, before he writes his first big hit. But when he combines his creative talent with the more stable, secure task of producing CDs or arranging scores, he's in his own element. You'll find that every Taurean singer or composer, without exception, eventually ends up in the production end of the music business to some degree.

After the bull has found the right meadow, where the opportunities grow plentifully, he seldom seeks change or new fields to conquer. He'll weigh, balance and soak up knowledge of his career through years of devotion to it. He can put up with a lot, if he's convinced himself there's a future, and if the occupation fits him snugly or “feels good” to him. Taurus is incredibly capable of persevering until the reward comes, but only when he's at the center of things, never when he's insecurely chewing around the edges and hoping for a break. Once he feels the necessary sense of achievement and security beneath him, and once he's planted himself in a position where he can build ever higher, he moves forward with confidence. Then he becomes irresistible to the elusive, fickle goddess of success. It won't turn his head. He'll stay faithful to her, but he'll put her in her place—and it will be a lifelong love affair.

 

“It takes all the running
you
can do,
to keep in the same place.
If you want to get somewhere else,
you must run at least twice as fast as that!'

 

If there are times when a Gemini person makes you think you're seeing double, don't run out and change your glasses. Just remember that Gemini is the sign of the twins, and there are two distinct sides to his changeable personality. Now you see it, now you don't. Was it love you thought you caught fleetingly on those mobile features? Hate? Ecstasy? Intelligence? Idealism? Sorrow? Joy? The mercurial changes of a Gemini's expression are as fascinating to watch as the psychedelic lights in a nightclub. It's hard to tell where reality ends and illusion begins. They blend—then they separate.

Knowing where to look for this versatile creature requires a little forethought. He may be one place today and somewhere else tomorrow. Suddenly, too. A Gemini can change his clothes, his job, his love life or his residence as fast as he changes his mind, and that's pretty fast. Finding a good example to study may keep you hopping. You could try a bookstore. He's a browser, because he can get the gist of the contents in a brief scanning of the pages. (It's no accident that John F. Kennedy was a speed reader.) Mercury people also have that nasty habit of reading the last page first. If you know a Gemini who has ever read a book from beginning to end without getting bored halfway through, send him to the Smithsonian as a curio (or check his natal chart to see if he has Taurus, Capricorn or one of the more persistent signs on the ascendant). Geminis like to skip back and forth in a book, a pattern of action they also prefer when it comes to things other than reading.