Sagittarius, the Adventurer

[Editor’s Note: each month, we reprint Maya’s interpretation of the meaning of its sign.]

In Sagittarius, we move from human consciousness to cosmic consciousness. We glimpse the beauties and wonders of the big, bright world beyond our personal sphere. In Scorpio we did the hard work of shedding the final vestiges of our personal egos, our greatest attachments. We found our souls. Now, in Sagittarius, we reap the rewards. We join the larger community and participate in the joy of belonging to that great shining world of ideals.

All fire signs are born-again signs, and in Sagittarius we are born into spirit, we are baptized. Sagittarius does, in fact, connect with belief, ritual, and religion. Most religions have celebrations during this season.

Sagittarius is a spiritual sign.

During the season of Sagittarius we become aware of the spiritual direction which will guide us for the next year. The Sagittarian arrows of light awaken our consciousness to that direction which was planted deeply in us in the time of Aries, at Spring Equinox.

It is a wondrous discovery, and we seek kindred spirits with whom to share these new and glorious vistas. We also search for ways to apply this new spiritual understanding to practical life.

Planning and creating gifts for those we love, and celebrating the holiday season with music, decorations, social events, and religious services are ritualized ways of both expressing and sharing the joy of discovery of the divinity which underlies all.

Sagittarius is the time of hopes and wishes, of aspirations, of dreaming our dreams and reaching for them. (What do you want for Christmas?) In Sagittarius we can take risks because we are sure that spirit will not let us down. And we need to be free to pursue those visions, to take those risks, to travel where spirit leads.

Sagittarius is a time of adventure.

Sagittarius is also practical.

But aspirations and visions are only part of Sagittarius. The Sagittarian symbol is the Centaur, which combines the body of both horse and human. Its powerful hooves are well planted on instinctual earth as it shoots arrows into the heavens towards distant goals, perhaps unseen by others. Its feet are on the ground; it is always connected with practicality.

The trick is to refine our vision so that we can see those goals ever more clearly, for wherever we aim our arrows, those powerful horse hooves will carry us, creating effects in real life.

It is through continual searching, continual exposure to new stimuli, continual new adventures, that Sagittarius learns to see more clearly, to develop skill in projecting its special vision. We call the result wisdom, or understanding.

This search can be on inner or outer planes, for Sagittarius is the first sign which can live equally on both planes. This is the key to Sagittarius, the continual quest to join those planes together, to bring heaven to earth and earth to heaven. Sagittarian Uri Geller says that his powers come through him from an intelligent, extraterrestrial energy.

How can we best tune into these practical-idealistic forces of Sagittarius? One of the great keys is openness, allowing new learning and new understanding to enlighten us. “Sage” and “sagacity” are words related to “Sagittarius.” We can create our visions, tap into our intuition to help us glimpse the future, to see various paths and their consequences, and then use our intelligence to pursue those goals which are most true to ourselves, to our own spirits.

Sagittarius, with its forward-looking vision, its practicality, and its sensitivity to common purpose, is also the teacher and the coach. The best way to teach in fiery Sagittarius is by radiating our own light, our own illuminated truth, our own special beauty. It is the arrows of our true selves which we are learning to project into the heavens.

Fire sign Sagittarius heals by cleansing. In Sagittarius, if we choose to set our horses’ hooves on the path of self-truth towards which the arrow directs us, we can cleanse ourselves of the wounds we have suffered through relationships—by tuning into our common humanity, by understanding, and by forgiving.

The energies of Sagittarius can wipe clean our pettinesses, resentments, envies, and self-pities, can give us practice in working with others who are different than us (teamwork), and can prepare us to enter into the responsible community-building of Capricorn.

Sagittarius is a bright and optimistic sign, filled with optimism and faith.

However, Sagittarius has its down side.

It is the first of the four universal signs, and thus is a baby in spiritual philosophy. In its inexperience it can be self-righteous, condescending, opinionated and dogmatic in spiritual and philosophical matters.

Faith can be blind, and Sag can delude itself and others about life, and deny realities which are uncomfortable.

In its faith and optimism, it can overdo in everything. Over-expectations and extravagance can lead to problems, often for others. Sag does tend to experience good fortune, and sometimes it can count too much on this blessing.

Sag is a story-teller, a teacher, and a preacher. It has a strong need to spread the word. But it’s not the only teacher, and often it forgets to listen to others. It can be tactless and insensitive.

Like all fire signs, Sag likes games. It can infectiously bring fun into people’s lives, and help us all get perspective. On the other hand, everything can become a game. Nothing is taken seriously, and life becomes an exercise in telling tall tales or propagating delusions.

These qualities can make false prophets, but excellent entertainers.

Many entertainers were, in fact, born while Sun was traveling through Sagittarius, especially musicians. They can inspire us with their capacity to translate spiritual beauty through the arts. They can also help us to see life as a fun game, and laugh about it, a healing process.

Some examples of famous musicians born with Sun in Sag are Frank Sinatra, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Maria Callas, and Beethoven.

Woody Allen and Richard Pryor are Sagittarian comedians. So was Harpo Marx. Charles Schultz and Walt Disney were famous comic strip creators.

Stephen Spielberg entertains us with his films.