The recent New Moon in Sagittarius got me seeking a metaphor for the feeling of freedom I have every year when the Sun leaves Scorpio. Admittedly, my Sun is not in Sagittarius, but my Moon, Black Moon and Ascendant are, and with Sagi’s ruler Jupiter conjunct my Sun plus other signatures, it’s like having two birthdays. This year seems especially bouncy, albeit with a lot of wrapping up to do before Saturn enters Aries, next year.
In astrology, we read symbols. It is a language (‘astro-logos’), just like French or math or music. The nice thing about it is that the symbols, including numbers, are so simple and abstract, that much information can be unlocked with them. The symbol (or sigil) for Sagittarius is an arrow pointing diagonally upward, crossing a horizontal line. In the most simple sense, it stands for the horoscope sign of ‘the Archer’.
At a deeper level, the horizontal line is the actual horizon, and the arrow, formerly in the tail of the Scorpio symbol, is now taking off from beneath the earth and flying out into the cosmos. That kind of seems like a description of Aries, first sign of Spring and first fire sign, but the Aries symbol looks like both a helmet and a plant shoot (astrologer Rick Levine mentions that dandelion petals are actually shaped like tiny Aries symbols). The Ram isn’t butting forth into outer space, but those first waking rays of Sun on the cold earth must feel like gently charged thunderbolts from papa Zeus. Sagittarius, on the other hand, is not launching from the grave in a new body-armour, but escaping the mortal coil altogether, like a ‘spirited’ horse. In older depictions, based on the first horsemen, the Archer points his arrow backward, as if being chased. Of the FIRE triplicity, Aries is ignition spark (cardinal), Leo is resplendent source (fixed), and Sagittarius is the transforming fire (mutable).
If you have ever watched those NDE (near-death experience) videos on Youtube, they encapsulate the relationship between Scorpio and Sagittarius. Scorpio is the death part, and indeed the physical aspect of the subject’s ‘re-birth’. But the experience that these individuals come back to tell us about – the visions/visions of light, the lessons and the need to spread the ‘good word’ to others – that’s pure Sagittarius. The ‘Hero Rider’ on his spirited horse riding out of Hades, flag-waving and free of fear. Of course, though the general theme may be similar, these spiritual experiences are completely unique to each. Similarly, no matter how much preaching Sagittarius does, and how extremely perceptive they are or how close to source, it is ultimately about their personal experience of the universal – much larger than life, due to ruler Jupiter’s influence. Sometimes they ride too far, but their zeal is always infectious, especially when put to words, art and music.
Happy Birthday, solar and ascending Sages! ~rb
*All written content copyright ©Roxanna Bikadoroff. Please share via LINK and short pull-quote only, with credit, thanks (no stealing).
Some ‘Are You Experienced?’ Sagittarians:
William Blake
Crazy Horse
Beethoven
Jean Sibelius
Edith Piaf
Maria Callas
Frank Sinatra
Jimi Hendrix
Keith Richards
Jim Morrison
Sinead O’Connor
Tina Turner
Little Richard
Taylor Swift
Britney Spears
Billie Eilish
Jon Stewart
Boris Karloff
Agnes Moorehead
Margaret Hamilton
Bruce Lee
Florence Griffith Joiner
Joe DiMaggio
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean Genet
C.S Lewis
Jane Austen
Mark Twain
Margaret Mead
Walt Disney
Erté
Charles M. Schultz
Madame Tussaud
Winston Churchill
Joseph Stalin
Billy the Kid
Breaking: Kilmar Abrego Garcia has just been freed (at least for now)!