In the Ninth Zodiacal Sign,
Life Expands Its View of Things
Carlos Cardoso Aveline
Jupiter guides and inspires the Centaur archer
After experiencing a profound transmutation during the sign of Scorpio, life stops questioning itself and acquires a sense of unshakable firmness. The ninth sign of the Zodiac is Sagittarius and starts around 22 November.
Its element in Nature is fire. The planet Jupiter is its ruler. Represented by the centaur archer, the Sagittarius period of the yearly cycle opens the door to the highest point of winter, in the Northern hemisphere. The sign leads human life ahead with a feeling of unlimited confidence in its own strength and in future events. When it concludes, by 21 December, the solstice takes place and Sagittarius hands on the torch of life to the severe and revitalizing sign of Capricorn.
All the astrological signs are present in the individual identity of each pilgrim. He is a summary of the universe. His dialogue with the sky involves the whole Zodiac. In the 12-month cycle, the pilgrim experiences each one of the twelve celestial houses as if it were his own home. He looks at life successively from the point of view of the 360 degrees of the celestial circle.
As long as an individual is centered in Sagittarius, he seeks for the abstract while acting in the concrete world. His attitude is friendly, yet he advances unhesitatingly and has his eyes fixed on some distant goal. The centaur despises obstacles. While his behaviour is kind, he rarely pays too much attention to the surroundings. It may occur that he does not take into due consideration those who are close to him, or does not listen properly to them, because he is on the move and focused on his own projects.
He should examine his goals regularly and make sure they are valuable, being able to endure.
Sagittarius is not addicted to personal comfort. He sees any excess of routine as an obstacle to his independence. His priorities in life do not include making sure that circumstances remain the same. It would be a mistake to think that the ninth sign is attached to outward situations. Sagittarius needs to live in constant expansion. Under his influence, everything grows or seems to become bigger. When Sagittarius thinks of mistakes and negativity, he makes them expand, too. Yet he is naturally inclined to work for the positive side of life. His nature is constructive.
Anna Maria Costa Ribeiro says:
“Sagittarius needs a large amount of everything. At the same time that he looks for something in the infinite, he also wants a lot of things, he wants greatness and looks upwards as if he were already there. His vision is intuitive and prophetic, and reaches far away (…). Sagittarius sees through binoculars.”
And Anna adds:
“His purpose in life is to shoot the arrow at a distance. He knows that there is something out there and he is excited to pursue that target, to make a journey with many adventures and a number of unexpected events. The journey through life is fascinating. Life is an adventure, one must take risks and dare in order to achieve victory.” [1]
The Key of Moderation
Throughout the 365 days of the year or 360 degrees of the zodiac, moderation is a key to reducing errors and increasing success. The danger for Sagittarius is in being carried away by his strong confidence and following the wrong path through exaggeration.
In his classical novel “Lost Horizon”, James Hilton says that wise men avoid excess in everything, even in moderation, and that they try to be “moderately moderate”.
The task is not easy for Sagittarius. In his eagerness to go ahead, the centaur seldom feels inclined to making a pause or acknowledging the advantages of slow progress. His optimism preserves him from many a danger. But that is not enough. The sensible Sagittarian learns the lessons of the other signs. While pointing upwards and forwards, he transcends the narrow automatisms of his own zodiac territory and seeks to find the just measure in all things.
Sagittarius relates to philosophy and the basic ideas that inspire and maintain a civilization. Under his influence are the religiosity, the worldviews, the Law and higher education in societies, modern and ancient. His priority is his own freedom and independence, both physical and intellectual. The centaur symbolizes a sign of solidarity. He feels universal compassion and has a tendency to help all those who suffer. Although his friendly attitude is sincere, the most important thing for him, by far, is his own straight line journey in the direction he himself determined. His greatest virtue is one-pointedness. Much of his soul goes along with the arrow he shoots towards infinity.
In astrology, the opposite signs are complementary. The sign opposite to Sagittarius is Gemini, a master of flexibility and adaptation to the ever-changing immediate circumstances. [2]
Unlike Gemini, Sagittarius is one of the most impersonal signs in the zodiac. The Centaur is one of the four final houses of the celestial wheel, in which communion with the universe is dominant in the experience of the soul.
Hercules a Solar God
Besides being a demi-god and a hero, the immortal Hercules is also a solar god. He symbolizes the Initiate, and one’s immortal soul. His twelve labours correspond to the signs of the zodiac. The annual cycle undergone by the Sun-Hercules is the battleground of the “ideal of human progress and perfection, which the Secret Science depicts.” Every Theosophist is invited to live it.
The labours of the yearly journey correspond to the path of the advanced disciple of eternal wisdom. The gods of heaven guide the pilgrim, as far as possible.
In Libra, the soul seeks and tries to build balance, moral beauty, and a dynamic harmony. In Scorpio, the pilgrim sees everything in a deeper and more transcendent way and deals with the precariousness and constant transmutation of life. In Sagittarius, he has overcome the stage of instability. He lives the certainty of a future victory. However, while working to attain a distant goal, he does not always know how to stop and evaluate things. It will still be necessary to learn how to see the present moment as something that can be complete in itself.
In all stages of the zodiac, blind selfishness is a source of pain. Self-respect, enlightened by spiritual discernment, is the basis of solidarity and contentment. There is always symmetry and equivalence between the higher and lower aspects of heavenly influences. The level of consciousness where we put more emphasis will grow more.
In each sign the soul conquers the challenges experienced in the previous stage. Sagittarius’ failures are overcome in Capricorn, when the pilgrim learns the art of living the present moment in careful and efficient ways, and starts looking at the circumstances around him from the stable point of view of long-term time. Saturn, the master of Duration, works in harmony with Jupiter, the master of Optimism.
Absence of Hurry, the Foundation of Victory
Stephen Arroyo states that, like the other signs of the element of Fire, Sagittarius manages to avoid the extreme uses of his vital energy through the conscious cultivation of a serene attitude. In other words, anxiety is not the best friend of pilgrims. One must accept life with its natural limitations and improve it little by little. [3]
As Sagittarius learns the wisdom of avoiding needless high speed, many a danger keeps away from him, lasting victories become easier, and he improves his connection with the best and highest point of view in life.
NOTES:
[1] From the book “Conhecimento da Astrologia”, by Anna Maria Costa Ribeiro, Novo Milênio Editora, 1996, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 733 pp., see p. 87. See also “Illustrated A-Z of Understanding Star Signs”, general editor Kim Farnell; Flame Tree Publishing, London, Printed in China, 224 pp., 2002, pp. 156-157.
[2] See “The Lesson of the Sun in Gemini”.
[3] Examine “Astrology, Psychology, and the Four Elements”, by Stephen Arroyo, M.A., CRCS Publications, California, EUA, 191 pp., 1975, especially p. 107.
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The article “The Lesson of the Sun in Sagittarius” was published in the associated websites on 20 December 2020, as the Sun was at the 29th degree of Sagittarius.
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Click to see the article “The Light and Power of Jupiter”.
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Read more:
* “The Lesson of the Sun in Libra” and
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Helena Blavatsky (photo) wrote these words: “Deserve, then desire”.
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