Sagittarius 2009 - Good Natured Fire Spirits

by Robert Wilkinson

December features the Fire of Sagittarius, and 2009 also shows Venus in Sag for most 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, 2009, at 9:47 am PST, 5:47 pm GMT (Dec 22 east of India.) 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! Mercury has heralded the approaching Capricorn energies since it entered that sign on December 5, Dec 6 east of India. It stays there the entire month, going stationary retrograde at 22 Capricorn at December 26 at 6:38 am PST, 2:38 pm GMT.

This would mean that through Mercury-related experiences we have been given opportunities to get signs and signals of what's coming in late December through January 2009 when the Sun, Mercury, and Venus all occupy that sign for most of the month. Still, for December, the focus is on Sagittarius, which dominates the general atmosphere, and in 2009 heavily influences those of us with strong Taurus, Leo, and Libra energies.

The Sagittarius focus in December is heavily influenced by Jupiter, the ruler of Sagittarius. We find it moving from 22-27 Aquarius, making the Sag energies more Aquarian. Being the backdrop to what our Sag experience is, I would say that the 1st week of December we learned to appreciate, the second week was about training for a form of mastery, and the third week is about self-discipline and dispassion. Once Venus moves into Cap on Dec 25, there are no more planets in Sag.

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.

As mentioned earlier, 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 Aquarius, offering a more idealistic view of synthesizing universal factors of the vision we saw in 2007 when Jupiter was in Sagittarius, that was organized and stabilized when Jupiter was in Capricorn in 2008.

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

When Jupiter enters Pisces on Jan 17-18 2010, all the Sag energies in our charts will begin to have a Piscean backdrop. As Jupiter also rules Pisces, expect much deeper feelings and meditations, as well as vast sensations that can help us connect to the collective field with greater ease. All our Sag energies will become deeper and more compassionate, as well as aware of common human conditions.

And now, let's put a spotlight on the birthday sign!

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, Taylor Swift, 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, Tyra Banks, 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, Stanley Crouch, 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 2009 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[WarriorLady]

Yep, New Jersey's a Sagittarius, alright.

Happy birthday, Sagis!

From a fellow Sagi rising,
WL

[star]

thanks Robert :)

[JP]

Hi Robert,

Happy holidays, and thanks for your continued efforts to write!

I was wondering if you had any thoughts on the so-called 13th sign, "Ophiuchus". I ran across this idea recently, and thought that it was interesting, and so I thought that ask for your "take" on it.

[BigKahunaKitty]

Hi Robert,
Always enlightening! My Jupiter and Venus conjunct in Sag Midheaven is the best part of me that has yet to come. I've always believed it to be my "big blessing". If some of us don't have particular signs in our charts, Taurus for instance, can the house it occupies and/or rules still be affected?
Happy Holidays and All Blessings To You and Yours!
And a BIG THANK YOU for all that you do for us Robert!!!
BigKahunaKitty

[Carrie Ann]

Proud to be Sag! (Cancer rising)