Sagittarius

What the sign is like

Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, the planet of growth and good fortune. It is a born idealist with a practical streak, able to see where a venture will end before it begins.

It is frank and truthful and has no patience for double-dealing. Its anger is brief and holds no grudge. It thinks quickly, loves a good question, and its conclusions land like an arrow.

The older books named two lessons. Patience, because Sagittarius wants the fruit before it is ripe. And feeling, because a mind this quick can talk itself past its own heart.

With other people

Sagittarius makes friends fast and keeps them. It gets on with every kind of person and cares about people having a fair chance.

It needs room. Jealousy or a tight leash makes it restless. Its honesty is a gift, and it lands best when it comes with care for how the other person feels.

The older books paired Sagittarius with the other fire signs, Aries and Leo. With Gemini, Virgo and Pisces they asked it to slow down and soften its words.

How it was read before

The older books read the centaur two ways. The arrow is speed and directness. The human half steering the horse is the mind guiding a wild, joyful energy.

They gave Sagittarius the rainbow as its sign and called it prophetic, because the thinking mind and the intuitive mind work together here.

Jupiter was called the Greater Fortune, and its people were thought to be well made for success.

Its tarot card

The card most decks pair with Sagittarius is Temperance. The 1927 book I draw on names no card for this sign, so I follow the Golden Dawn's pairing, the one printed on most decks.

I read Temperance as balance, patience and healing. It is exactly what the archer needs: the same fire, poured slowly and with care.

Sit with this

Your hope is real medicine for the people around you.

Sit with this: what are you rushing toward? Some things ripen in their own time, and that is where their sweetness comes from.