Sagittarius
From New Age Village
SAGITTARIUS (THE ARCHER) - November 23 to December 21
- The sign of the Sage or Councelor
- A mutable fiery sign. Candid, impulsive, restless, impatient, generous, insatiably curious, nature-loving, sport-loving
- Ruler: Jupiter
- Gems: carbuncle, turquoise
- Color: light blue
- Metal: tin
- Harmonious signs for business, marriage, or companionship: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
Contents |
The Evolved Sagittarius
The chief characteristic of the fully developed Sagittarian is his extraordinary power of mental activity. He brings his reason to bear upon every phenomenon that comes under his observation, and finds his most congenial occupation in getting to the bottom of things in general, facing the facts of life, and reducing its problems to their simplest terms. His curiosity is insatiable; his mental energy never flags. He interests himself intensely - and often succeeds in interesting others - in the relation of cause to effect and effect to cause. He comes readily into touch with his fellow men, taken an eager interest in their welfare, especially in their education. He is sometimes a very successful teacher of the Socratic type, teaching his students to observe and reason and think for themselves. He is consequently better adapted for training older pupils than beginners. The Sagittarian's skill in dialectic makes him a formidable antagonist, and foolish objections and suggestions meet with small mercy from him. The Archer aims well, showing an intuitive knowledge of the weak places in the armor of his adversary, and seldom missing the mark. This tendency naturally makes the legal profession, and especially the bar, a suitable field of activity; but literature and journalism and the teaching of philosophy or religion are the most congenial occupations of all. The study of medicine is more rarely taken up, but some Sagittarian doctors are brilliant brain specialists.
Sagittarians are almost all keen sportsmen of one kind or another - excellent shots, enthusiastic fishermen, golfers, hockey players, etc. They show a special predilection for outdoor work, such as geological research and difficult explorations, and the training and exercise of horses and of dogs - the animals which respond most quickly to their owners. This type revels in the open air, and cannot endure the stale atmosphere of stuffy rooms. They have an immense sympathy for those doomed to a life of confinement in workshop, factory, or mine, and are often keen social reformers.
If these interests are taken up by Sagittarians, they will spare no pains to collect the necessary information, and show much practical common sense in suggesting remedies; for their theories are drawn up not in the study from books alone, but from actual contact with humanity. They are willing to fraternize with all sorts and conditions of men, and to learn from anyone whatever he has to teach. At the same time they are much too clear-headed to be carried away either by anarchist doctrines or by socialism of the sentimental type; for in spite of their tendency to regard mankind as one great family, they realize that in the matter of understanding, at any rate, we are not all "free and equal."
The man who looks with friendly eyes on humanity, and comes very easily into touch with his fellow creatures at large, naturally feels less need of family life than do those whose geniality is not always available, and who are less quick to understand the position, mental attitude, and essential characteristics of the men and women they meet. Sagittarians are often extraordinarily detached from their kindred. If they happen to find their immediate relations congenial, well and good - they add them to the list of their friends, and treat them as such; if not, they point out their faults and foibles with unfailing frankness, and will publicly discuss and comment upon them with a freedom that makes more reserved types gasp. The native treats parental authority as a subject for inquiry and investigation. He is ready to submit if parental wisdom can be demonstrated to him, but he tests that wisdom in ways peculiar to himself, and woe to the father or mother who fails to pass his tests.
The best way to deal with the young Jupiterian is to meet him fair and square on his own ground - the mental plane; to answer his questions honestly and without prevarication; to administer discipline reasonably and logically, and, above all, to admit ignorance and even error where they exist. The influence of this sign produces the kind of child who, when he has driven his seniors to the last stage of despair by his questions, and has been told that he must on no account dare to say "Why?" for the next half-hour, looks up with redoubled interest and eagerly demands, "Why not?" The delightfully wide-awake youngster can develop first into an enfant terrible and later into a tiresome tease, and among those strongly under Sagittarian influence we find those whose outspoken comments spare nothing and nobody, and who take - and show - positive delight in the discovery that they can compel some unfortunate individual to give himself or herself away by losing self-control.
Love and Friendship
The same frankness and outspoken sincerity which characterizes the many friendships of this type are also to be found in connection with its love affairs. But in that field of activity there is generally more chance of breeziness' blowing up the clouds than of its dispelling them. The man who prefaces his proposal by an honest admission that he has loved before, or explains clearly and logically exactly why he has been led to take this step, and what makes him think it may prove advantageous to him in the long run, may possibly find favor with a woman who has learned by bitter experience just how little the typical lover's sigh may prove worth; but he will make small speed in winning the average romantic young girl. What leads the Sagittarian lover into blunders of this kind is a misunderstanding of his own type. He ought to choose his wife on the mental plane, (putting mental response and mutual understanding first), though without ignoring the usual questions of temperament and character. Instead, he is very apt to choose by logic alone, and to argue himself into a condition in which he is ready to decide for or against the momentous step without fully comprehending what he is doing.
A girl may be everything that can be reasonably demanded - healthy, handsome, capable, popular - without being gifted with a single quality of heart or mind that will make a suitable mate for him; and yet in a great many cases the youthful Sagittarian will go light-heartedly forward, beginning as a rule with a so-called friendship which is merely a thinly disguised flirtation, and too often ending in a precipitate engagement which he finds it impossible to fulfill; for this type of man that absolutely refuses to go to the altar with a lie on his lips, and tie himself to what feels to be impossible conditions. In consequence, broken engagements, with all the accompanying pain and humiliation and loss of self-respect, are not uncommon. The more fortunate escape with a refusal, which serves the same purpose of pulling them up and making them think; either experience, taken the right way, may be a blessing in disguise. However, primitive specimens are apt to take such blows badly, and develop a touch of cynicism, for they have little or no idealism to help them along, and romance too often dies early in consequence.
"Once bitten, twice shy," and our sportsman develops a self-protective prudence and caution to a rather unlovely extent - shuns the ingénue and hovers around the married women, or seeks the society of his seniors, who are capable of giving his somewhat precocious mind the companionship which it craves, and who are less likely to be misled. Not infrequently a friendship formed in this way ends in matrimonial felicity, but there is a danger that this inclination to dominate the emotions and be guided by common sense may produce a tendency to evade matrimony altogether, and the Sagittarian may end a bachelor, an experience always to be regretted in his case, for his nature demands emotional exercise to complete it. If, on the other hand, he succeeds in finding a woman who really understands, loves, and trusts him, his whole nature expands, he reaches his highest possibilities, and makes an enthusiastic and very devoted husband, proud of his wife and of all her achievements, grateful for her affection, and very quick to make allowance for shortcomings.
He mates best with his own wide-awake type, or with women of Aries, whose energies he likes to dominate and direct. But the other fiery sign, Leo, is also capable of yielding him a suitable partner, and its characteristic qualities of faith, tolerance, and magnanimity are sometimes extremely necessary. Sagittarians demand freedom in their choice of companions - of both sexes - as in all other fields; and a wife of narrow sympathies, who fancies that she can have her Sagittarian husband "all to herself" by shutting him off from exchange of ideas with anyone else, will have a poor time of it. He may shrug his shoulders and submit to her whims, for he is eminently practical in conduct, and always inclined to make the best of any situation his own blunders have brought him into; but his thunderbolts of sarcasm will be hurled with increasing frequency, and the marriage, though outwardly decorous, will be no true union, but merely an ill-assorted partnership on the physical plane.
The women of this type run the same dangers as the men, and their bright frank ways with the opposite sex are very often misconstrued - friendship being mistaken for love and love for friendship by a mystified mankind, which looks for, and very often prefers, uncertainty and evasiveness in a woman. When a tragedy of misunderstanding has occurred, pride generally comes to the rescue, and the heartache is carried off with a laugh and a brave front, or possibly by such a divertingly burlesque account of the whole affair that listeners are left with an impression that it was all a joke from beginning to end - an impression they are usually quite ready to spread by announcing that "she never really cared for him at all." After such an experience the Sagittarian cultivates self-control, and finds great difficulty in letting herself go beyond the safe limits of a pleasant friendship with just a spice of flirtation to flavor it, so many easily acquire a reputation as a coquette, unable to take either herself or anybody else seriously. This state of affairs frequently leads to spinsterhood, but there is no fear of her degenerating into the sour or embittered type of old maid.
The Unevolved Sagitarius
Primitive Sagittarian tendencies naturally take a more accentuated and less desirable form. Matrimony is frankly decried by both sexes as an intolerable burden, a tie and a bore. The men safeguard their personal liberty by cultivating a blunt and boorish discourtesy with women who are their equals, and permit themselves to relax into easy-going familiarity only with those whom no one can expect them to marry. The women often allow their breezy unconventionality to degenerate into free-and-easy ways with men, and, especially if they have an inclination for sport, imitating the tricks and manners of their male comrades in gait and speech.
Both sexes at this stage tend to become inherently selfish and inconsiderate, in spite of a certain rough kindliness of manner; because this type lives in the present and is consequently apt to lack loyalty and sympathy - qualities which demand memory of the past for their development. They rarely allow their emotions to carry them away, and are seldom inclined to be vicious. They are careless of reputation, both for themselves and others, to an extent that argues a real want of consideration, and, as far as the men are concerned, a total lack of chivalry. This last failing is due to the fact that, although they usually hold strong views - based on the dictates of reason - on the essential difference between the sexes, and are even inclined to dogmatize on the subject, they are generally able to see that a woman may be different from a man without being his inferior; and when that point is reached, a crude logic sometimes suggests that since she is his equal she can surely fend for herself and fight for her own hand. Women who do so successfully very often win Sagittarian respect, while the more appealing and helpless and emotional types merely irritate and annoy.
Ancient astrologers tells us that the faults of this type are "such as are easily pardoned," and this is just as well; for they certainly tend to come to the surface, and are very easily seen. There is, in fact, a curiously childlike transparency about these people - probably due to the absence of complex emotions, such as jealousy or vindictiveness - which makes them easy to understand, and ensures speedy detection if they attempt to go off their own straightforward line and dabble in deceit. Sagittarian theft is invariably exposed, and the comparatively harmless fibs in which many of this type indulge when convenient are rarely believed, even for five minutes. They cannot lie or cheat successfully; and will do wisely, even from the low standpoint of immediate self-interest, never to make the attempt.
Religion
In religious matters the Sagittarian is very often something of a skeptic, because his activity of mind compels him to examine the faith he is born in; and if the teaching provided by environment seems illogical and unsatisfactory, he cannot help seeing and pointing out its fallacies and shortcomings. At this juncture, however, his practical common sense frequently comes to his aid, reminding him that no system of theology devised by the mind of man is likely to represent accurately and adequately the whole truth about the nature of Deity, and that some sort of working hypothesis is nevertheless necessary. Selecting and accepting certain premises as foregone conclusions, he may succeed in silencing his own doubts, and in arguing both himself and others into a fairly orthodox position.
Literary Expression
The Sagittarian's love of argument, and enjoyment of active encounters with antagonistic thought, lead him to make free use of dialogue from when he turns to literary expression. There is also a tendency to discursive and tangential talk and the needless introduction of extraneous matter - possibly very entertaining, for the Sagittarian never lacks humor, but too unexpected to be harmonious or artistic.
In history and literature the first name that presents itself in the sage of sages, Socrates. Everything recorded of him proclaims the Sagittarian; his conversational method of learning and teaching; his mental activity, his utter lack of pose and readiness to consort with all sorts and conditions of men; his warfare against ignorance and self-satisfaction; his uncompromising attitude and defiance of public opinion; the geniality which endeared him to his friends, and made him always a welcome guest at other men's tables; the quaint homeliness of his similes and illustrations, condemned as inelegant and uncouth by the fastidious scholars of the day; his indifference to family life, and startling theories about marriage; and his own blunder in selecting a mate.
This great philosopher called upon logic instead of love to send him a wife; and, cold and pitiless, it responded by giving him Xantippe. No doubt, when he chose her she was everything that reason could approve, but in all the intangible essential ways that really count the marriage was a hopeless misfit. Who can measure the scorn with which the high-spirited and probably ambitious woman must have looked down upon the ugly, undignified little husband who spent his idle days in what must have seemed to her profitless and unremunerative chatter among men with whom she had no ideas in common, and women whom she had no respect? She cleaned his house for him all the same; but when she had finished - unless tradition belie her - she emptied her slop pail over his head.
Shelley, born with the Sun in Leo but with Sagittarius rising, gives a notable example of how this "benign" influence may handicap a man if its tendencies are carried to extremes. Shelley was so utterly devoid of family feeling that he used to entertain and horrify his school fellows by cursing his own father; and so incapable was he of understanding what the average man means by the marriage tie, that he invited the wife he had forsaken to join him on a tour with the girl with whom he had eloped. A very strong Leo accentuation smoothed out the Sagittarian "kinks" in many of his verses, but there are plenty of obscure and irregular passages in them, and his attitude of flat rebellion against the existing order of things, and of skepticism in matters of dogma and doctrine, are extremely characteristic.
Physical Characteristics
Sagittarius generally has a well-shaped head, breadth of forehead, a frank and open countenance, quick movements, and an inclination to vigorous gesture - expressive, but sometimes far from graceful. The eyes are generally bright and observant, and often twinkle or dance with fun. The ideal Jupiterian model is the marble of Jove in the Vatican; and the type at its plainest is seen in the bust of Socrates. Shelley was of the snub-nosed variety. Many of this type are short, broad-shouldered, and rather thick set, growing fat in old age; but others are tall, athletic, and somewhat commanding in stature and bearing. They are generally restless, absolutely unable to sit still or remain in the same posture for five minutes together, and their disregard of convention, bright self-confidence, and readiness to come to the front on every occasion make them conspicuous wherever they are.
The country traditionally associated with the influence of Sagittarius is Spain; and Spaniards certainly have much of the Sagittarian pride and independence, as well as something of its buoyancy. They are often keen mountaineers, good shots, and excellent horsemen, and though it is curious to find the bullfight preferred as a national pastime by a people under so genial a sign, sport is never really merciful, and the Archer is always inclined to enjoy a successful hit, on all the planes.
In Drama and Fiction
This type occurs frequently in literature. Shakespeare gives us two delightful characters - Benedick, who will "still be talking" though "nobody marks" him; and Rosalind, whose candid admission, "When I think, I must speak," betrays the same tendency. The former's diatribes against marriage are particularly characteristic, and his list of the virtues and graces he personally intends to exact in a wife has been echoed, time and again, by other Sagittarians, most of whom, however, have had to content themselves with somewhat less of a paragon when the time came. The characteristically Sagittarian touches about Rosalind are her buoyancy and playfulness, the frankness with which she owns her love for Orlando to her cousin and confidant, and the willful waywardness which makes her disguise it from him and play indifference until the last possible moment. Petruchio, in The Taming of the Shrew, is a more primitive and much less lovable specimen. Bottom, the weaver, and Sancho Panza were also born under this sign. Caricatures of the type have been presented by Aristophanes in his comedy The Clouds, in which Socrates and his school are depicted as engaged in serious argument over the measurements of the hindleg of a flea and its power of leaping and Rudyard Kipling in his delightful description of the Elephant's Child in the "Just So" Stories.
Sagittarius at the zenith often gives something of the same bright optimism and childlike confidence in others, and the Moon in Sagittarius also confers popularity as a rule. The Sun in the sign seems rather to increase the longing for wisdom and understanding, and its effect may be seen in the later writings of Thomas Carlyle and in the music of Beethoven.
Health
Almost all the dangers that threaten the health of the typical Sagittarian arise from his over-activity of mind and body. He has too many schemes and projects on hand to attend to all of them satisfactorily; and there is, in consequence, a continuous depletion of the life forces through unnecessary scattering of energy. Rapidity of movement, reckless riding, and other rough forms of exercise, such as mountaineering, are responsible for a larger percentage of sprains and fractures than falls to any other type. If the Sagittarian survives his allowance of accidents he will probably live on to a good age, retaining his faculties to the last.
SUN IN SAGITTARIUS
The Sun in Sagittarius inclines the individual toward science, philosophy, and religion. It gives much activity, a restless spirit, but a frank, honest, sincere, and liberty-loving nature. In undeveloped egos there will be a rebellious and dominative spirit, but in the advanced there is a love of law and order.
Sun in Sagittarius and Moon in Aries
This combination intensifies activity. There will be great desire to excel, and sometimes to overreach, others. The personality is strong and tends to override restraint. Impulse, energy, and activity predominate, and may be expressed through almost any channel, according to the strongest planet in the horoscope. The native will usually be generous, ardent, enthusiastic, willful, and sometimes rebellious, espousing causes or movements zealously, and defending his friends as himself. In a good horoscope he can accomplish much by pioneering, bringing about reforms, originating and improving. Under cross aspects he may be lacking in restraint and calmness, too militant and aggressive, even destructive. He is likely to travel, to change his residence and occupation.
Sun in Sagittarius and Moon in Taurus
This is a sympathetic combination. While the solar position expands the sympathies, the reserve of Taurus lessens the impulsiveness of Sagittarius and gives more stability. The native is nearly always reliable. He possesses warm affections, geniality, sympathy, and imagination. He has some qualifications for artistic, musical or allied pursuits. He is faithful, conscientious and honorable. It is a fortunate combination for worldly success, the foresight of Sagittarius being used for practical ends.
Sun in Sagittarius and Moon in Gemini
This combination quickens the activities of Sagittarius. There is a liability to become hasty in speech, overexcited, and too active. There is a great love of education. The combination inclines to a nervous condition. There is considerable journalistic ability. Judgment and memory should be good. The nature is active, often a little abrupt and liable to change and irresolution. The native benefits through relatives, and may marry one.
Sun in Sagittarius and Moon in Cancer
In this combination of fire and water, many mistakes are apt to be made through the impulsive and imaginative characteristics of Cancer. It gives intuition but inclines somewhat toward sensation, increasing the imagination and the emotional and affectional nature. Appreciation of nature and art is intense, and with suitable planetary positions the native may show considerable ability for painting, music, or allied pursuits; also religious tendencies of an imaginative kind. This position tends to voyages, and is somewhat favorable for money and property.
Sun in Sagittarius and Moon in Leo
This splendid combination awakens either the passional or spiritual side of the nature. It tends to make the mind proud, but quick and alert, with the ability to sense other minds. This is the most affectional combination, the heart being very active. Love can go out to many, and there is apt to be some confusion in this respect. There is adaptability for religion, philosophy, politics, and some ability for the drama, either as author or interpreter. There is also a love of grand surroundings. With suitable planetary positions, the native may accomplish much in life and perhaps make a great figure. In itself this combination sometimes produces a more imaginative than practical nature.
Sun in Sagittarius and Moon in Virgo
This gives excellent discriminative powers; there are intuition, refinement, power of language, and a love of harmony. The mind is active and tends to make the personality bright and clear in thought and speech, though very critical. There is good intellectual ability, suitable for literature, law, the ministry, and a variety of pursuits in which educational endowments can be utilized. The native may occupy some public appointment. This combination tends toward a domesticated nature; under affliction, however, the subject may show irritability or despondency. This position generally shows common sense, sober judgment, and quiet dignity.
Sun in Sagittarius and Moon in Libra
In this combination the personal characteristics tend to equalize and modify the impulse of Sagittarius. It awakens the ambitions, and gives a fairly strong personality, with quick and accurate perception, added to great powers of comparison. There is also likely to be some artistic or musical ability. This combination gives popularity, and attracts friends and acquaintances of fairly good social standing who will be congenial to the native and may benefit him, and among whom he may marry. It gives imagination and good nature, sincerity and hopefulness, unless afflicted, and is a generally harmonious polarity.
Sun in Sagittarius and Moon in Scorpio
Here the Martial-Jupietrian influence predominates. There are apt to be sarcasm in speech, pride, considerable temper, contentiousness, and impetuosity. The combination gives perseverance and persistence, with plenty of energy and a strong desire for independence. It is good for health and bestows both endurance and working power. Marked muscular strength is probable, with some tendency to fleshiness. There is a fair amount of practical executive ability. The native will be free and generous, and if aspects are favorable will earn or inherit wealth.
Sun and Moon in Sagittarius
This combination gives independence and a great love of freedom, inducing a tendency to become rebellious. At the same time certain inclinations toward conservatism are present. It quickens the mental and physical powers. Sagittarius is well expressed by this combination, the love of travel, science, philosophy, and religion being strongly marked. There is sometimes much generosity, with strong social and benevolent feelings, and a fairly harmonious nature. The duality of Sagittarius will probably show strongly, causing occasional indecision of mind as well as changes in occupation or mode of life.
Sun in Sagittarius and Moon in Capricorn
Here personal characteristics steady the individuality, which on its side awakens the personal nature into greater activity, giving keen ambition in the direction of higher thought. There is decided musical ability, or at least great love for music. Though there is some liability to changeableness, the mind is industrious and practical, though somewhat sensual. There are good executive ability and sound common sense. The native is suited for a variety of pursuits, and has some ability for successful financial speculation. This combination tends to orderliness and method.
Sun in Sagittarius and Moon in Aquarius
This quickens the intuitions, and enlarges the views. It gives ability to deal with the public, but there is a liability to overexertion. It increases the qualities of imagination, and gives some attraction to the occult side of life. It will tend toward higher education, religion, philosophy, metaphysics, or any form of original thought or scientific investigation. It is also a good combination for commercial life, or any calling where the personality comes prominently before others.
Sun in Sagittarius and Moon in Pisces
This combination gives restlessness and an inclination to worry. There is a religious tendency, and an inclination to be charitable, sympathetic, and benevolent; but this is weakened by a lack of initiative. Work is best carried out when under the direction of others. This polarity is good for family life, for happy relations between parents and children. It tends somewhat to traveling, and is moderately good for property and possessions.
FAMOUS PEOPLE BORN WITH THE SUN IN SAGITTARIUS
- Mary, Queen of Scots: December 7, 1542
- John Milton: December 9, 1608
- Spinoza: November 24, 1632
- William Blake: November 28, 1757
- Beethoven: December 17, 1770
- Mark Twain: November 30, 1835
- Toulouse-Lautrec: November 24, 1864
- Winston Churchill: November 30, 1874
- Paul Klee: December 18, 1879
- Pope John XXIII: November 25, 1881
- James Thurber: December 8, 1894
- Virgil Thomson: November 25, 1896
- Noel Coward: December 16, 1899
- Margaret Mead: December 16, 1901
- Alicia Markova: December 1, 1910
- Mary Martin: December 1, 1914
- Frank Sinatra: December 12, 1915
- Maria Callas: December 4, 1923
- William F. Buckley, Jr.: November 24, 1925
- Julie Harris: December 2, 1925
- Sammy Davis, Jr.: December 8, 1925
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