Welcome to juxtaposition's Taurus edition 2008
	In this issue Tips for the coming period How old is your company - warning for age 9-10 Interesting websites of the month Taurus quote
	Feedback - Yes I do listen! As I sit here seeing the sun outside, in this unseasonable weather, it is difficult to be Taurean and get down to some practical, solid, security-based work.  However based on your feedback which I love to get, I have decided to be practical and try a new section in the Monthly Planet.  Readers appear to fall into two groups. One group likes the background material in the Monthly Planet and another group simply finds it too long.  I can sympathise with this as there is far too much to read these days. So I have made the first section, the tips, for the 'Too Longers' and if you are a 'stayer', the rest is for you.  If you have real staying power the Taurus E-zines from 2006 and 2007 which are on the site, are also still relevant to this time of year! Tips for the coming period Tip 1  - Get your strategy clear Jupiter started going backwards ( it doesn't really - it just looks like it from earth) on the 9th May 2008. It goes forward again on September 8th.  Between these dates, with Jupiter currently in Capricorn and going backwards, it is a good time to reflect on a personal level about what you believe in and get that clear. At a company level  it is good to go back over any company strategy you have (and if you don't yet have one - make one!) and consider the following: What is our strategy or vision? What do we believe in? What is our culture and does it fit with our strategy? This is an opportunity to get this clarified. If you do, the company will be in a better position to achieve structured growth after September, which may have proved difficult while Jupiter, the planet of growth and abundance, was going backwards. If you want advice on your company strategy, remember you can have a free half-hour session.  Mail me! Tip 2 - Get your communications running smoothly Mercury, the planet of all things that communicate - websites, internet, telephones, direct mailing, meetings to name a few, will also go retrograde (backwards) on May 26th. It goes forwards again on June 19th. It does this around 3 times a year (for you stayers the Gemini E-zine of 2007 has more on this).   DO: Expect some disruption or miscommunication between these dates. Fix any telephone or internet problems before the 26th. Mail any marketing information before or after these dates. In the retro period: Review any communications.  Reconsider whether your website fits what you want to communicate. Revamp your communication strategy. Revise any communication material. Recontact any old clients you haven't had contact with for a while. DON'T: Sign any new contracts or other important documents the retro period (you might miss something important). Throw your computer out the window - you might need it after June 19th! Anything starting with a 're' involving some form of communication is usually a good idea during these periods. If you want advice about communications in your company you can use the free half hour for that too. Mail me.   How old is your company? A warning for companies age  9-10 The more I use my company clock method of organisational development, the more surprised and pleased I am as to how accurate it is. This is a 12 phase model where each phase is 6 years ( see Gemini 2006 Ezine for more information). Since this is the month of Taurus I want to focus on the 2nd phase of this model which is from 6 to 12 years and is known as the Taurus phase. So first a little more depth on the sign. Taurus the Bull, is one of the oldest known constellations, important as it is thought that it indicated the start of Spring between 4000 and 1700 BCE, given by the time it rose in the sky. In Egypt Hathor the cow goddess had associations with Taurus and he may have been seen as a fitting consort for her. Later the symbolism of the constellation had more negative connotations being associated with blood rites and bull fights which were originally about cleansing sin but in later mythology had darker significance. The start of Taurus is now thought to herald the advent of Summer - Beltane and Mayday celebrations fall within this period each year.  Beltane is the halfway point between the spring or Vernal point around the 21st March, and the Summer Solstice around the 21st June and hence could be considered as the start of Summer.  The festivals celebrate fecundity, productiveness, fertility, the promise of a good harvest and sometimes sexual union. There is a lushness and the earth is reborn and green again although it still has to come to fruition. Flowers used in the festivals are a sign that winter is over.  Sensual pleasures are to the fore, there is food and wine and generally pleasures of the material world and the flesh. Nature is abundant and this is to be celebrated. Taurus is an earthy sign! So Taurus is not always about being sensible and practical and focused on being safe and secure. Although the festivals do promote productivity in all ways!   A difficult age? So what has this to do with a company who is age 9-10?  In each phase there is a critical point. In the first Aries phase this is a crisis about identity at between 3 and 4 years old. This is a time where many companies fail if they are not clear about what their identity is (Aries phase).  It is also a time when the first inklings of the Taurus phase are felt which will need to be dealt with between age 6 and 12.  This is a time for productivity, for fertility in the sense of products now becoming core products. All the hard work has a promise of a harvest. Things are coming to fruition if everything goes well.  However practical earthy matters need to be dealt with. Systems need to be put in place, products need to be nurtured. Security becomes an issue, finances need to be put in order. Taurus is also a sign about sowing what you want to reap later, so you need to look after your crop of investments. Warning If this is not done, the critical point between 9-10 years could indeed be a crisis point.  The solution however is to get Taurean and put the basic financial stuff in order. It is not a time for expanding or selling - it is time for nurturing and consolidation. Getting ready for stability in the future is what is required. For many company owners who like the challenge of startups, this can be a difficult and even boring phase which is why companies can fail at this time as well mainly due to some financial problem. A time to be like a bull - to stay put, do what you are good at and be stubborn. More bull? It is interesting how the term bull is used, particularly relating to markets. It is the anticipation of capital gains, investing in something that could be productive. Sounds very Taurean!  The male of the bovine species has also lent his name to various verbs nouns and adjectives - surprising really.                       We have: bullfights where matadors are seen as very virile if they win the male of many species (usually meaning the very fertile uncastrated version, a dangerous prospect! ) bull's eye a person - definition: a large strong and aggressive man! a police officer - can't say I've heard of that one an optimist - or that one ( mainly business) as a verb to push or force ( or that one) All seemingly relating to strength and maleness. Incidentally many policeman do appear to be astrological bulls I've heard! And of course the obvious one,  a load of bull,  which makes the use of the term Papal Bull even more interesting! Faye Cossar Founder of juxtaposition If you want to know more about your own Taurus areas or that of your company, go to  free services to arrange a  free half-hour consultation. Interesting websites of the month The history of the sign Taurus is written up very well on the astrology site Skyscript. I gave this site last time for Aries as well. This site is one of the few sites that has professional articles on astrology. Click here for the history of Aries and Taurus. An interesting website on Beltane can be found here.   Taurus Quote        “Political speeches are like steer horns. A point here, a point there, and a lot of bull in between.”  Alfred E Neuman, Mad magazine.