SAGITTARIUS - The Love of Knowledge

Source: Unsplash/Felipe Simo

Sagittarius is the freedom-loving wanderer, eager to interact with others while soaking up information and experiences along the way. Within the seasons in the Northern Hemisphere, Sagittarius comes at the transition from fall to winter. If we continue our analogy, early December is when the last of the crops are harvested and preparations begin for the following year. It’s the opportunity to plan for the relative dormancy of winter by understanding what we’ve learned from the recent growing cycle and using it to improve our conditions.  

We find Sagittarius on the 9th house of the Archetype, ruling over our philosophy, religion, higher education, foreign travel, and adventure. When you consider it’s the complement to the 3rd house ruled by Gemini, the 9th house is the knowledge gained thorough expereinces and people outside our immediate environment (town, primary school, close relatives, siblings, etc).

We can also think of it as our continuing journey around the Zodiac. In the 8th house, we’ve gone through an inner transformation through the assimilation of resources, and as we progress to the 9th, it’s time to go out into the world and live our philosophy. It’s akin to a pilgrimage, where we share our knowledge and gain from our interactions with others. When you realize that the 9th house is the 3rd house from the 7th through derivation, we can see the correlation because it’s what we learn from others.  

In the Archetype, Sagittarius represents the ideal way to acquire knowledge and develop our philosophy as seen through the qualities and planets associated with it.   

Jupiter is in domicile, representing the need for an open mind (expansion), optimism, and faith in others as a pathway to “higher” learning. Jupiter is also the planet associated with ethics, urging us to use knowledge gained from others in alignment with our morals and values. Think of it as a quest for self-improvement as the arrow in the glyph for Sagittarius always points upwards and the symbol, the centaur, represents the transition from beast (instinct) to man (intelligence).

Mercury in detriment here is a signal to have faith, synthesize instead of analyze, and to not be overly concerned with security or material needs as we develop our personal philosophy.   

Mars and the Sun are in triplicity, underscoring the sign’s natural enthusiasm and ability to integrate and organize ideas, but as a mutable sign, Sagittarius isn’t too strongly oriented towards its own ego (Aries) or dogma (Leo). As my teacher likes to say, Sagittarius is the moderate expression of fire.  

No planet is in fall or exaltation. Perhaps because any knowledge gained ultimately serves a purpose depending on how we use it. The realization of Sagittarius is in Virgo, meaning that the ideal is to use the wisdom gained in service to others. 

I consider Sagittarius the Love of Knowledge because their curiosity is an effort to understand the world around them instead of just assimiating facts. They are in pursuit of truth and expect absolute freedom to follow any path to get there.