Sagittarius 2008 - Adventurous Dancing Fire Spirits

by Robert Wilkinson

December features the Fire of Sagittarius, and 2008 shows Mercury and Mars in Sag for large parts of the month. When the Sun transits Sagittarius we are challenged to open to a wider view, a greater truth, and a more generous attitude regarding future possibilities. This is the sign of the quest, where the abstract mind opens to a higher reality and ideally finds a more abundant sense of humor and perspective.

It is the last sign of Autumn and the harvest of our socialized activity from the past year preparing us for personal power and authority to come when the Sun enters Capricorn at the Winter Solstice on December 21, 2008, at 4:04 am PST, 12:04 pm GMT. The light force is at its yearly minimum this month, so conserve energy and concentrate on what you need to learn.

What we glimpse in Sagittarius gets organized in forms of personal power in Capricorn, so face the future that's already upon you! Venus has been the herald for the approaching Capricorn energies in 2008, entering that sign at the time of the November 12-13 Full Moon. This would mean that through Venus-related experiences in the last half of November, we can get a sense of what's coming in late December through January 2009 when the Sun and Mars transit that sign.

Sagittarius is fiery, mutable, changeable, adaptable, and refuses to be boxed in by ordinary thinking. The Sun in Sagittarius shines the light of wisdom on how we must be open to our freedom to explore universal perspectives, and can lead us to a greater spiritual and philosophical aspiration that demonstrates the higher benevolent law of our cosmos.

In this phase of the twelve-step evolutionary process that which began in Aries, stabilized in Taurus, expanded in Gemini, consolidated in Cancer, creatively projected in Leo, refined in Virgo, shaped into a new ideal in Libra and given magnetic power in Scorpio is shown the truth of itself opening future possibilities.

This sign's keywords are "I aspire." Sagittarius is the open-minded, tolerant, and generous philanthropist. This sign explores the archetypes of abstraction and transference through its experiments in truth, seeing a bigger picture and teaching the world how to open to a larger point of view.

Jupiter is said to "rule" Sagittarius. While the Sun is in Sagittarius, Jupiter exerts a greater influence than usual on all things Solar. This past year it's been in Capricorn, consolidating and stabilizing the visions brought to us in 2007 when it was in Sagittarius, the sign it rules.

This year's Sag experiences are more of a Capricorn nature, as are the lessons Uranus in Pisces has brought us, since Jupiter also rules Pisces. This month since Mars is also in Sagittarius, the areas of our lives ruled by Aries, Scorpio, and Sag will also have a Capricorn influence. Earlier in December, when Mercury was in Sag, we had a more Sag/Cap influence on all Gemini and Virgo planets and signs.

Since Jupiter "rules" the energies we're now experiencing, let's take a brief look back at its influence these past few years. In 2004-2005 Jupiter was in Libra, and we had chances to glimpse "perfect forms" and expanded relationships, which was followed by the focusing of that power of Jupiterian expansion in 2006 when that planet occupied Scorpio.

From October 2005 through November 2006 we were challenged to get a bigger picture and wider view by piercing through all that blocked our light, as well as stagnant emotional material that corroded our vitality. There was protection and opportunity in learning to concentrate power and eliminate what was no longer useful to our expanded vision of effectiveness.

This concentration of power and elimination of outmoded views resulting from Jupiter's stay in Scorpio led us all to a form of a larger life adventure or view between November 2006 and December 2007 when Jupiter transited Sagittarius. This could have resulted in anything from accepting a quest for truth or vision to a greater mobility and freedom. This "Distributive Fire" energy prepared us for expanded personal authorship and public effectiveness in 2008 during Jupiter's stay in Capricorn.

There have been major opportunities open up for those who were willing to take responsibility in an organized, mature way. This will naturally segue into an enlarged vision, group effectiveness, and/or expanded view of a greater social service beginning January 2009 when Jupiter enters Aquarius.

Sagittarius is the freedom loving humorist adventurer, a wandering Magician-Engineer who shows that life is an unending series of "experiments in truth."  Everything becomes grist for the mill of Soul, and all things seen as opportunities to break free of obsolete limitations and narrow views. Sagittarius takes an infinite amount of limited interpretations and weaves everything together into a larger understanding, morality, philosophy, and truth.

Sagittarius, when freed of the traps of being scattered, judgmental, excessive, indulgent gamblers who can be too open and gullible to tangential wisps of passing truths demonstrate a generous, honest, open-minded inspired idealism showing others how to dance with ever-greater truths and visions. They are natural humorists, benevolent and demonstrative philosophers who joke their world while refusing to be bound by narrow points of view.

Sagittarius has given us some of the most remarkable beings of history who possessed the power to open their world to a greater reality. Think Ludwig Van Beethoven, who electrified his world by giving them a new kind of music, then blazed even wider musical horizons proclaiming that "a new century needed new music." The same was true of Jimi Hendrix, another legendary Sagittarius whose fiery offerings changed musical history. A major innovator, both his guitar work and his production techniques opened greater possibilities and are studied to this day all over the world.

Two more legendary Sagittarians were Winston Churchill, the World War II leader of Great Britain who became the truth and voice of a nation standing almost alone against Fascism, and Mark Twain, the correspondent turned novelist offering America the vision of its Mississippi legend and its western frontier, complete with jokes, asides, and ironic insights, all delivered while skewering its racism, ignorance, and hypocracies. Both of these icons began as newspaper correspondents, which is natural for Sagittarius, the sign that rules publishing and all "news at a distance."

Never knowing what they're going to give us next, flamboyant Sagittarian superstars "Little Richard" Penniman, Keith Richards, Bette Midler, Tina Turner, and Jim Morrison have all shown us outrageous genius. More major musical talents of history from this tribe include Scott Joplin, Ira Gershwin, Frank Zappa, Jean Sibelius, Spike Jones, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Lou Rawls, Johnny Mandel, Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond, Maria Callas, Arthur Fiedler, Louis Prima, Brenda Lee, Connie Francis, Harry Chapin, Bob Dorough, Chuck Mangione, Robert Goulet, and Stan Kenton.

Other fantastic musical stars of our era feature Motown pioneer Berry Gordy Jr. and blues legends John Mayall, Junior Wells, Joe Williams, and J.J. Cale. We continue this amazing list with Randy Newman, Bruce Hornsby, Paul Shaffer, Michael McDonald, Tre Cool, Don Harris, Felix Cavaliere, Gregg Allman, Billy Idol, Shuggie Otis, Billy Gibbons, Charlie Rich, Benny Andersson, John Densmore, Alvin Lee, Dennis Wilson, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Tom Waits, Ozzy Osbourne, Jim Messina, Peter Criss, Jakob Dylan, John Rzeznik, Tom DeLonge, Nick Beggs, Brad Delson, Aaron Carter, Ryan Key, James Galway, Eddie Rabbit, Chris Angel, Billy Bragg, Criss Angel, Jermaine Jackson, and my old friend from the Lost Gonzo Band, Gary P. Nunn.

Amazing contemporary female Sag musical talents include Dionne Warwick, Judy Carmichael, Sinead O'Connor, Natasha Bedingfield, Britney Spears, Nelly Furtado, Sheila E., Christina Aguilera, Amy Grant, and Emjay.

In the world of theater we find Lynn Fontanne, Mary Martin, Cyril Ritchard, and playwrights David Mamet, Noel Coward, and Eugene Ionesco, while a special nod goes out to Sagittarian Walt Disney, who opened the world's inner child through animation, multimedia, and theme parks, and Steven Spielberg, who gave us "ET," "Close Encounters," and many other timeless movies.

Sagittarians are known for their sense of humor. Some who used the silver screen to give the world many smiles include Harpo Marx, Woody Allen, Peter Bergman, David Ossman, and Ben Stiller. Other bright Sagittarian stars of decades past include directors Busby Berkeley, Jean-Luc Godard, Otto Preminger, Carlo Ponti, and George Roy Hill.

Legendary actors feature Boris Karloff, Ossie Davis, Cicely Tyson, Eli Wallach, Lee J. Cobb, Kirk Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Margaret Hamilton, Dorothy Lamour, Edward G. Robinson, Maximilian Schell, Ralph Richardson, William S. Hart, Christopher Plummer, Richard Crenna, Lee Remick, Geraldine Page, Dina Merrill, Jeff Chandler, Richard Fleischer, Bruce Lee, Irene Dunne, Diane Ladd, and Betty Grable.

In more recent times we have such talented Sag beauties as Jane Fonda, Liv Ullmann, Ellen Burstyn, Patty Duke, Jamie Lee Curtis, Daryl Hannah, Marisa Tomei, Judy Dench, Kim Basinger, Milla Jovovich, Jennifer Beals, Julianne Moore, Scarlett Johansson, Cathy Moriarty, Lucy Liu, Jessica Steen, Anna Chlumsky, Holly Marie Combs, Katie Holmes, Kristana Loken, and Jennifer Connelly.

Modern male stars of the tribe include Brad Pitt, Samuel L. Jackson, John Malkovich, Jamie Foxx, Kenneth Branagh, Jeff Bridges and his brother Beau Bridges, Ed Harris, Tom Hulse, Judd Nelson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Bill Pullman, Wes Studi, Jack Noseworthy, and Brendan Fraser.

Television has given some very funny Sagittarians a forum, including Dick Van Dyke, Jon Stewart, Redd Foxx, Richard Pryor, Flip Wilson, John Larroquette, Rich Little, Ted Knight, "Buffalo Bob" Smith, Gary Shandling, Robert Guillaume, Wally Cox, Paul Winchell, Buck Henry, Dick Van Patten, Teri Garr, Morey Amsterdam, Tim Reid, Tim Conway, Ray Romano, and Andy Dick.

Television talents from earlier decades include David Carradine, Agnes Moorehead, Dan Blocker, Don Johnson, Ricardo Montalban, Efram Zimbalist Jr., Rita Moreno, Leo Gordon, Robert Urich, Bob Barker, John Davidson, Donny Osmond, and Susan Dey. A special nod goes to televison pioneers Chet Huntley, Don Hewitt, Eric Sevareid, David Susskind, Leslie Stahl, Steven Bochco, Dick Clark, and Phil Donahue.

Modern female stars of this tribe feature Teri Hatcher, Kim Delaney, Felicity Huffman, Miley Cyrus, Jane Kaczmarek, Katherine Heigl, Christina Applegate, Julie Condra, Brook Langton, Madchen Amick, Donna Mills, Morgan Brittany, Salli Richardson, Amy Locane, Jill Hennessy, Mayim Bialik, Katie Holmes, Raven-Symone', Hallee Hirsh, Kaley Cuoco, Elisha Cuthbert, Scarlett Pomers, Vanessa Zima, and Alyssa Milano.

Modern male television luminaries include Kiefer Sutherland, Mandy Patinkin, Edd Hall, Adam Brody, Tyson Beckford, Benjamin Bratt, Frankie Muniz, Brian Bonsall, Austin Majors, Jaleel White, and Rider Strong.

The world of literature gives us major Sagittarian talents such as the author of the most famous predictions in history, Nostradamus. Other legends include William Blake, poet and painter who challenged society's concept of God, Jonathan Swift, author of satires "Gulliver's Travels" and "A Modest Proposal," C.S. Lewis, author of "The Chronicles of Narnia," "A Grief Observed," and many other masterworks, and Madeline L'Engle, author of "A Wrinkle in Time."

Other literary Sagittarians include John Milton, Louisa May Alcott, Emily Dickinson, Joyce Kilmer, Jane Austen, Joseph Conrad, James Thurber, Kenneth Patchen, Arthur C. Clarke, James Agee, Gayle Sheehy, Shirley Jackson, and William F. Buckley.

Famous political Sagittarians who made their mark on history are Presidents Franklin Pierce, Zachary Taylor, and Martin Van Buren. We also find those with a more difficult legacy such as two of the worst butchers in history, Josef Stalin and Francisco Franco, as well as Mary Queen of Scots, Strom Thurmond, Adam Clayton Powell, and G. Gordon Liddy. Other political Sagittarians include Aga Khan IV, John Kerry, Fiorello La Guardia, Abbie Hoffman, Shirley Chisholm, Andrew Cuomo, and "first kids" Caroline Kennedy and her brother John F. Kennedy Jr.

Sagittarians who made us smile include "Peanuts" creator Charles Shultz, legendary clown Emmet Kelly, and comedian Steven Wright, while an eclectic group have made history other ways, including pioneering anthropologist Margaret Mead, legendary outlaw Billy the Kid and the equally legendary lawman Bat Masterson, and sports figures Joe DiMaggio, Ty Cobb, Al Kaline, Johnny Bench, Larry Bird, Archie Moore, Chris Evert, and Tracy Austin.

Gifted Sagittarian artists include photographer Gordon Parks, artists Diego Rivera, Georges Seurat, Edvard Munch, Wassily Kandinsky, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, and Washington portraitist Gilbert Stuart.

Other distinguished Sagittarians of history feature tire magnate Harvey Firestone, circus impressario Charles Ringling, billionaire J. Paul Getty, and prohibitionist Carry Nation.

Of more recent vintage are civil rights crusader and Southern Poverty Law Center founder Morris Dees Jr., self-help pioneer Dale Carnegie, anthropologist Richard Leakey, fashion maven Gianni Versace, and paranormal investigator and psychic adept Uri Geller. Finally, a special happy birthday goes out to my friends "Tie Dye" Andy Weaver and political activist and supermom Rayne.

Birthday cities in the US feature Birmingham, Tuscaloosa (the butt of a classic Groucho Marx line), Anchorage, San Diego, San Jose, Wilmington (DE), Tampa, Macon, Annapolis, Lancaster (PA), Columbia (SC), Greenville, Spartanburg, Chatanooga, Memphis, Beaumont, Spokane, and Chenenne (WY). Happy birthday to international cities Avignon, Budapest, Cologne, Provence, Naples, Nottingham, Sheffield, Singapore, Stuttgart, and Toronto.

Also happy birthday to the states of Alabama, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and the nations of Australia, Belgium, Chile, Hungary, Madagascar, Peru, Spain, and Tibet.

© Copyright 2008 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[micheline]

Hi, Robert. Being a sag is nice. Thanks for this article!!!

[michele]

great post robert :-)

i love the sag focus "i aspire"

thanx for being such a gem & wealth of great info & insight

:-)

[Robert]

Hi all - Gotta love those Sags, itchy feet and all! (Maybe Keith Richards is the reincarnation of Beethoven?);-)

[Lisa]

I keep on enjoying all these insights on my fellow human beings reigned by others planets and signs.

I found a video of what I think captures sagitarius in an animal, a dog to be precise...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sUL0KCIc48

an while enjoying Bailey's adventure, I also wish you Robert and every readers and contributor to this great place the merriest of X-Masses....

luvfull greetz
Lisa

[Carrie Ann]

Great article! Thank you! As a Saggie, I've always felt I was in my own tree !!!

[Robert]

Hi Lisa - Thanks for the holyday wishes, and may you also have had great times!

Hi Carrie Ann - Hooray for Sagittarius, since life wouldn't hold much adventure if that distributive Fire sign weren't bold enough to be sandwiched between Scorpio and Capricorn!