Twixt Earth and Sky

Sagittarius is the ninth sign of the zodiac and represents the ninth stage of human evolution. Sagittarius is the first of the "transpersonal" signs, where humans begin to explore their relationship to the larger social structures of society and ultimately of the universe. In Scorpio, we experience the death of the ego when we merge, at least for a brief moment, with another individual on a fundamental and emotional level. We lose all sense of self and we reconnect with our soul memories of being connected to everyone and everything in the universe. At the end of this process, we are reborn, and once again buy into the illusion of separation and of individuality.

Sagittarius begins at this point: we have just been reborn, and we take with us the new understanding that every other individual has similar hopes, needs, dreams, and emotions. This is an eye-opening experience, to say the least! Until this point, we are only marginally aware of other individuals and of our relationships to them. Once we connect on an emotional level through Scorpio, however, we fully understand that we are part of something far greater. Sagittarius wants to explore this, and seeks to discover how we fit in as individuals in the larger scheme of things.

Sagittarius is a mutable fire sign. As a fire sign, Sagittarius is concerned with the question of identity. As a mutable sign, Sagittarius is concerned with healing and completion. In short, Sagittarius is about the completion of our identities. Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, the planet of growth and expansion, and Sagittarius is always seeking new experiences and new information. It is important to remember that the mythological figure associated with Sagittarius is the centaur: half-man, half-horse. Part of the process of Sagittarius searching for an understanding of our place in the universe involves reconciling our animal nature with our divine nature. Sagittarius energy is as comfortable exploring philosophy, spirituality, and religion as it is exploring physical pleasure and activity, and ultimately one of the lessons of Sagittarius is to learn how to integrate the two.

Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, the planet of expansion, growth, and freedom. Like Jupiter, Sagittarius is only concerned with the Big Picture, and often has little patience for the details. Jupiter's influence makes Sagittarius want to experience the world. Sagittarius loves travel and exploration, and meeting new people. Like Jupiter, Sagittarius tends to absorb new ideas and concepts. Although Sagittarius does have a tendency to be idealistic and quite attached to it's beliefs (an unusual trait for a mutable sign), Sagittarius is also willing to modify and adjust it's belief system to accommodate new information, because this will help Sagittarius get closer to understanding the ultimate truth. Sagittarius energy benefits from Jupiter's influence by demonstrating a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and an overall love (and lust) for every thing that life has to offer.

Sagittarius, however, can tend to be a bull in a china closet, and it's enthusiasm and energy often make it less aware of the needs and feelings of other people. Sagittarius is notorious for it's lack of tact-something that stems from Sagittarius' absolute devotion to the truth. Sagittarius doesn't suffer bruised feelings easily, although it must learn that this is not the case with everyone! Sagittarius also has a tendency to overlook the details, and can become so invested in it's beliefs that it won't even entertain ideas that contradict them. Sagittarius' need for freedom can sometimes manifest as an unwillingness to compromise in order to maintain a relationship. When Sagittarius is confronted with a situation that doesn't conform to it's beliefs, it can be happy to simply leave and go off on it's own, rather than stay and be forced to adjust.

Planets in Sagittarius become both more independent and more changeable. The Moon and Venus in Sagittarius find it very difficult to express compassion; they must learn how to access and express their emotional nature through trial and error. Jupiter and the Sun generally do very well in Sagittarius because of their connection to the exuberance and identity issues of the element of fire.