Sagittarius and Sagittarius

There was a fixed rule that they must never hit back at meals… .

… . . and they would all go chasing each other gaily for miles, parting at last with mutual expressions of good-will.

Let’s hope we all part with Sagittarian mutual expressions of good will at the close of this chapter.

Before a 1-1 Sun Sign Pattern association can be helpfully analyzed, the singular qualities of the Sun Sign itself must be carefully considered and studied, since the 1-1 influence so strongly intensifies everything of both a positive and negative aspect in the character and personality. This particular 1-1 vibrational association needs such a detailed study more than any other, because these two Mutable people contain such an extraordinary potential for communicating messages of either Peace or Conflict to a troubled world. Nothing could be of more vital importance than which of these two messages is communicated. So let’s have a candid and vivid astrology lesson in the Sagittarian style.

There’s a solid purpose behind the following several paragraphs, and so you mustn’t judge my remarks until the close of the astrology lesson. We’ll use a code. When you read the word Rumpelstiltskin, we will have completed our lesson, and not before. Meanwhile, try to remain alert and dispassionate, whatever your Sun Sign. If you’re not a Sag, you’re not supposed to be reading this chapter anyway. Our Jupiter astrology lesson may be too blunt for the rest of you, but Archers expect, want and demand the truth, however blunt it may be.

Because they’re so versatile and multi-talented, Sagittarians follow a great variety of occupations on their quest for truth and self-knowledge. Even when astrology attempts to narrow down their more prevalent and preferred career inclinations, the list is long. A large number of Sagittarian men and women are attracted to the arts, sports, teaching, the stock market, religion, the theatre, the legal and medical professions, the advertising media, publishing and politics.

This is most fortunate, because all these fields and professions would benefit from as many double Archer teams as they could get, bringing the light of some Sagittarius honesty and exposure. At present, they’re crammed with corruption, crowded with the criminal element and totally without ethics—except for a rare, precious few of them. The legal and literary professions could clearly use some cleaning up with Jupiter disinfectant. One practically needs a dowsing rod these days to locate an honest, dedicated attorney or publisher. My own attorneys and the publisher of this book are admirable exceptions, but it did take a dowsing rod to locate them. Suddenly, there was a tug on the end of the forked stick, and there they were! Still, it’s an unsatisfactory method of discovering legal and literary integrity.

As for the medical trust, if the steadily rising malpractice suits (many of them initiated by idealistic and outraged Sagittarian lawyers with Sagittarian clients) should drive the majority of physicians and surgeons out of business—leaving us with only those few (most of whom are probably Jupiter-ruled) who are sincerely motivated by a desire to prevent and heal illness, we’d all be healthier and live longer.

Politics? Now there’s a field sorely in need of Sagittarian candor, a field that would be more of a mess than it already is, without the Jupiter influence constantly struggling to mop and scour it. There are so few sincere politicians and elected officials, you could count them all on the fingers of one hand, without using the thumb and ring finger—and many of these have the Sun, Moon or Ascendent in Sag. The rest of them are unabashed liars (as The New York Times editorials calmly admit), bribe takers, pitchmen and con artists.

Of course, not even all Sagittarian doctors, lawyers, politicians, merchants, Indian Chiefs, actors and Franciscan monks are perfect. Archers make mistakes, just like all the rest of us—and when they make them, they’re usually whoppers. (Jupiter expansion.) But Sagittarius is never consciously or deliberately hypocritical, and that makes the urgent difference. Sag film maker Woody Allen is a case in point.

As for organized religion, which is ruled astrologically by Sagittarius and Jupiter (Scorpio rules religious mystery, Pisces, religious mysticism), it would be even more besmirched than it is now without the periodic benign and benevolent influences of forthright, idealistic Archers, such as beloved Pope John XXIII, and others of his kind, who have taught truth, tolerance and brotherhood, not just within the confines of Catholicism, but also down through the centuries, and even now, as spiritual leaders of people of every faith. Yet regardless of these truly holy ones, every church and denomination, sadly without exception, sells some form of hypocrisy and moral dictatorship.

Thank Heaven for the teaming up of Centaurs, and for the fascination of all Jupiter-ruled men and women with religion. Taking into consideration the calendar changes from the Julian to the Gregorian, legend claims that Giovanni Francesco Bernardone—Francis of Assisi—was born in mid-December of 1182, making him also a Sun Sign Sagittarian—an Archer who shocked the hypocritical Roman hierarchy by sticking pins of truth into the balloons of their pompous pretenses. Pax et Bonum!

Two Archers, shooting pointed arrows of truth into each other, can ignite some blazing fires. But should one of them have an Aries Moon Sign or Ascendent, adding the swift and certain penetration of Mars to the frankness of Jupiter, the air will surely be cleared of every trace of misconception, deception and delusion—to say the very least!

If one of the two Sagittarians involved in this 1-1 association does have such a heavy Aries influence in his (or her) horoscope, it would be beneficial if the other had a Capricorn or Pisces influence in the horoscope. This would add the cautionary weight of Saturn, and the softening, compassionate influence of Neptune to the final judgment. In fact, a Sag with an Aries Moon Sign or Ascendent might also need the tempering influence of a Sagittarian friend, relative or mate with some Libra and Aquarius planetary positions in the natal chart, for fairness and tolerance, respectively. Otherwise, those blazing fires might flame into a conflagration of awesome proportions—an example of the possibility of Jupiter honesty creating more trouble than it cures, of two Archers communicating a message of Conflict, rather than Peace, to the world—and to themselves.

Now that we’ve dealt with the dangers of too much tactlessness and undisciplined frankness exchanged between a couple of Centaurs, it should be noted, with equal honesty, that Sagittarians, as a group, are good-natured sorts. The female Archers are friendly and cheerful, the males are straightforward and optimistic, the children rather full of vim and vigor—and all of them hop about a lot. There’s an unmistakable bounce to the Sagittarian walk. Some of them really do remind you of a rubber ball. At times, they remind you of a race horse, the way they canter around, heads held proud and high, leaping over the fences of society’s restrictions and taboos. All Archers are impressively graceful in posture and movement; yet they can’t seem to avoid clumsily stumbling, both physically and verbally. This is undoubtedly caused by the Centaur syndrome in every Sag. A symbolic body, with a human on the front end, and a horse on the rear end, trying to balance itself long enough to arch a bow, and shoot an arrow straight, can be awkward. I’m sure if you were to try it yourself, you would see the problem.

But Sag is one of those perplexing signs of duality, and so there’s always something contradictory in their natures; therefore we don’t really know what sort of team we’re analyzing in this chapter. Some Archers are frisky and playful, some are serious and studious. Some are quiet and reflective, quite nearly as owlish as Capricorns. The majority of Sagittarians, however, are happy-go-lucky people who adore playing practical jokes and who haven’t a worry or a fear to their names—to whom life is one huge gamble or crap game. (I’m sorry to sound vulgar, but there’s no sense trying to pull punches with Sag.)

As you might imagine then, when a couple of Archers are thrown together in this 1-1 association, it matters a great deal which types they are. Of one thing we can be certain (and so can they): all Sagittarians, duality aside, are filled with good will and kind intentions. Now and then they’ll lose their tempers and say some pretty cruel things. Still, even when they’re verbally cutting each other into ribbons with their casual observations or keenly thrust accusations, their motives never stem from malice. They’re just calling a shovel a shovel, to paraphrase the calling a spade a spade expression. Using a shovel to illustrate a point is just as correct as using a spade, especially when there’s no difference in what they’re shoveling.

First searching out truth, then recognizing it, and finally being compelled to express it fearlessly is a Jupiter pattern in both the bouncy and the extremely rare quiet and introverted Archers. So is reaching for the brass ring and falling off the horse in the process, wishing on shooting stars and crossing one’s fingers and toes for luck. Every Sag is both an idealist and a gambler, in just about equal portions. These people like to sing and draw and dance—play and take chances. They also like to read, study, observe, learn, teach and travel. When two of them are engaged in doing all these things (or even part of them) together, life is never boring. It may be exhausting, but in no way could it be boring.

As with all 1-1 Sun Sign vibrational people, regardless of periodic conflict between Sag and Sag, they’ll usually remain friendly, because of a basic sympathy. They almost never become enemies, even after they’ve exchanged heated words and repeatedly attacked each other’s most sensitive spots. Forgiveness is a virtue Sagittarians share equally with the other two Fire Signs, Aries and Leo—and to a somewhat lesser degree, with the three Air Signs. However, forgiveness is one thing—apology is another. Two Archers won’t find it any easier to apologize to each other than to anyone else. But they will sense one another’s regret, and instead of forcing the issue, they’ll simply begin saying nice things back and forth as a sign that there are no hard feelings. Archers never hold grudges. They’ll frankly admit they’ve been wrong (when they really believe they have been), but more often by their actions than in so many words—and by the return of their cheerful grins, inviting you to forget the disagreement and start all over as friends again. Sag finds ways of signaling I’m sorry without speaking the actual words. This saves face for both of them, keeps their pride intact and allows the making up of a quarrel to be more or less painless.

At the beginning of this chapter, I mentioned that the theatre—both the legitimate stage and the illegitimate(?) film beckons to Sagittarius. A great many Archers do follow the footlights in every capacity, from performers, playwrights, producers and directors, to grip men, prop people, costume and scenic designers, light crews and camera men—and women. But even those Jupiter people who enter arenas of endeavor other than the theatre are, nevertheless, what might be termed of the theatre. They enjoy studying human nature, fully aware that everyone, on occasion, is an actor or an actress, and they take great pleasure in guessing the roles played by their friends. They take even more pleasure in playing parts themselves, especially with one another, whether it’s Mary, Queen of Scots, Don Quixote, a circus clown or a bareback rider.

Sagittarians make interesting psychiatrists, whether amateur or professional, when their tactless speech is tempered by a more tactful Moon Sign or Ascendent, such as Libra or Pisces. Two Archers who are associated as business associates, neighbors, friends, kindergarten buddies, playpen pals, relatives, lovers or mates will spend lots of time analyzing each other, and alternating the roles of comedy and tragedy. When one is weeping, the other will turn comedian (or comedienne) to cheer the sad one, which is one of the very nicest things about a double Sag relationship, regardless of the age or sex of the two Centaurs. Having been born under the influence of a Sun Sign of duality, they’re eternally aware of the truth of poet Kahlil Gibran’s observation that Joy and Sorrow are twins. Each Sag is always ready and willing to remind the other one that, when Failure and Sorrow threaten to dim his (or her) dreams, Joy and Success are waiting in the wings to skip out on stage and do their number—and vice versa. That’s why Sagittarians appear to be so incredibly lucky. Luck has nothing to do with it, actually. It’s just that Archers are not afraid to gamble for the big stakes, because they know that the odds will eventually catch up to them and make them winners—at least often enough that taking a chance is exciting. The natural Jupiter optimism encourages Sag to believe that all losing streaks are temporary. And so they are.

Considering this instinctive attitude, why shouldn’t these two take a chance together, and gamble that they’ll succeed in helping each other subdue their mutual vices, and magnify their mutual virtues? It’s not at all a bad risk to take—for the venturesome. And Sagittarians are the ones who told Noah Webster the meaning of the word (as usual, without even being invited to do so). Venturesome, they informed Noah, as he was compiling his first dictionary, means: daring, bold and fearless, loving adventure, danger and hazard—to have the courage to undertake—to risk or to expose one’s self.

That’s us! the cheery Archers told him. Be sure to come right out and say so frankly. But Noah Webster omitted their names from the printed dictionary definition, which I think was mean of him. So you may consider this a corrigendum—on behalf of Jupiter.

Sagittarius Woman and Sagittarius Man

So they stayed away for years and had a lovely time.

Considering all sorts of things—such as their earnestness, inquisitive natures, candor and independent personalities—and especially considering that this man and woman are both influenced by the Fire element—also both impressed at birth with the stamp of a masculine Sun Sign, their speech and actions likewise ruled by a masculine planet (Jupiter)—their relationship will never be dull.

Double Fire. Double Masculine. And last, but not least, Double Mutable. Which means they’re both strongly inclined to frequently practice the verbal art of communication. They’ll enjoy playing word games with each other, mostly based on a desire to discover the answer to the question of which of them gets to lead the elephants in the circus parade, and which one has to follow behind with a broom and (very large) dustpan, cleaning up the pachyderm droppings.

Do you find that harmless little allegory in poor taste? If so, I’m sorry, but after all, this chapter isn’t being written for Virgos, Librans, Capricorns and the like. It’s meant for Sagittarian men and women, and no Archer would draw back in distaste from a mere mention of pachyderm droppings. Not if they’re typical Centaurs. Sagittarius is even more shockproof, if possible, then Aquarius (the elephant Water Bearers). In fact, I have a Sagittarian friend, a female Archer, whose favorite and frequent expletive when she’s annoyed or angry is: Oh, shut up, and cow flops on your head! (Sometimes she varies this with: Oh, shut up, and cow pies on your head, depending on her mood.)

The male and female Archer will take turns giving each other lie detector tests, without benefit of a polygraph. Who needs a Galvanic Skin Response Polygraph Machine? Jupiter’s own gigantic galvanic response is indication enough. They like to test each other with jokes and riddles too, to check out where each other stands, at any given time, morally, ethically, philosophically and intellectually.

HER: Okay, Humphrey, see if you can answer this riddle. A man was driving in a car, with his son. There was an accident, and the Father was killed instantly. The boy was taken to the emergency room of a hospital, where it was decided he needed immediate surgery to save his life. He was quickly prepared for the operation, but the resident surgeon came into the room, took one look at the patient, and exclaimed, I can’t operate on this boy! He’s my son.
HIM: That’s an easy one. The boy was an adopted child, and the man killed in the car was his foster father. The surgeon was his actual Father. Right?
HER: Wrong. Guess again, darling. Boy, are you thick-headed.
HIM: Wait, I’ve got it now! They got the boy mixed up with another kid his size and age who was brought into the emergency room at the same time, and the second patient was actually the surgeon’s son.
HER: You might as well give up. You’ll never guess it. The surgeon was the boy’s mother, you male chauvinist hog. It just never occurred to you that women are intelligent enough to be surgeons, did it? You think all women are flea brains. I want a divorce.
HIM: All women may not be flea brains, but you sure act like one sometimes. First off, that’s a sick riddle. Second off, I thought you didn’t approve of surgeons or surgery. You’re always yapping about it. Besides, if you had kept still, I would have guessed. Who can think with you jabbering all the time? Now that you mention it, I think a divorce is a good idea.
HER: You think I talk all the time? Ha! That’s really funny, coming from you. And that was not a sick riddle. It was an imaginary situation, so there was nothing negative about it. As for disapproving of surgery, all I’ve ever said is that about ninety percent of all operations aren’t really needed. That doesn’t mean I don’t realize there are certain human emergencies, like broken bones, a ruptured appendix, and so forth, that require expert surgical attention. I’m only against the sadistic surgeons, who subconsciously enjoy cutting people—and those other ones who pay for their fancy cars and homes with the fat fees they get for performing wholesale and unnecessary appendectomies, tonsillectomies, hysterectomies, and even mastectomies. I’m perfectly aware that our own doctor is an intelligent, sensitive, compassionate man. The trouble is, you never listen to me—you’re always interrupting. You’ve been impossible to live with since you started losing your hair.
HIM: Is that right? Well, you haven’t been much fun to live with yourself since you started to get fat last year.
HER: That did it! You have twenty-four hours to pack your clothes and get out of here. And take your dog with you.
HIM: You have it backwards. You’re the one who has twenty-four hours to pack your clothes and get out. I’m the one who pays the rent on this pup tent, not you. And you can take your dog with you when you go.
(Being Sagittarians, they each have a dog—maybe also a horse.)

Note to other Sun Sign readers: Don’t fret. These two fiery lovers kissed and made up a few hours later, while they were both packing their bags (they’d each decided it was more humilating to be left behind than to leave). He impulsively hugged her, admitted she wasn’t fat—told her she had been too thin before, that the few extra pounds she gained in her hips were flattering, and he had been only teasing. (He almost lost the game again when he mentioned her hips, but he managed to get away with it.) She affectionately stroked his hair, told him it was only his imagination that he was losing it, and even if he ever did, it would make him only more handsome. (He squeezed her harder.) Then she went on to remind him that the professional basketball star Michael Jordan is completely bald, like action film celebrity, Bruce Willis, remarking that, in her opinion, both bald and balding men are powerful sex symbols, like that sexy British actor, Patrick Stewart, whose virile image has always simply knocked her out, and made her knees go weak … . . (which very nearly started another fight between them).

Often, Sagittarians make matters only worse when they try to patch up a disagreement, by clumsily tripping over a brand-new goof, more awkward than the original one, in their anxiety to make things happy and cheerful again, like exasperating but lovable puppies—or colts. They’ll both have to watch the tendency to exaggerate slightly, now and then. Jupiter is the planet of expansion, and his influence sometimes encourages Sagittarians to make everything just a trifle larger than Life. The other two Sun Signs inclined to exaggerate a little are Leo and Gemini (for markedly different reasons), but Sag is far ahead of them in the stretching department. If either the male or female Sag has a Leo or Gemini Moon Sign or Ascendent, things will occasionally grow quite a bit taller in the telling; otherwise, the Archers will keep the urge under control for the most part, but once in a while they must meet this seldom-mentioned Sagittarian test of their ruling planet, Jupiter. It’s been kept quiet too long, and that’s why I’m bringing it up, for their own good.

Listen, you two—with this big thing you have about telling the truth, don’t you think you should be careful that Jupiter doesn’t tempt you to tell a little more than the truth? That’s the astrological test of worthiness, you know, for your particular Sun Sign (every Sun Sign has one)—the test of whether you’ll permit your powerful urges involving truth and integrity to be distorted by exaggeration. I’ll give you a hint. The temptation always comes in the form of a selfish desire to win a point or an argument at any cost. Don’t pay the price of your integrity to win.

Nothing these two do will be done faintly or half-heartedly. Their double masculine vibration, channeled through the daring and challenge-loving Sagittarian essence, is bound to result in a close-knit relationship full of good things and bad things… . fun and fights and excitement and anger and thrills and laughter and tears and failures and victories. Like a huge, multi-colored afghan of rich experiences. Speaking of thrills (and spills), the female Archer can expect this man, if he’s a typical Centaur, to be the kind who likes to take a chance. Often, the more dangerous it is, the more he likes it. He’ll probably enjoy sports with equal relish, whether as participant or spectator—and so, quite possibly, will she. The Jupiter vibration is sometimes so strong, it dominates most all other influences in a horoscope, even occasionally eclipsing other Sun Signs, for brief periods.

The female Archer may as well prepare herself to be the object of a few similar mischievous pranks from her Sag lover or husband, and she’d be wise to leave his sense of fun and games intact.

Unless one or both of them had the Moon or Ascendent in a Water or Earth Element at birth, this man and woman are not what would be called cautious with cash. They’ll cheerfully spend it, invest it, lend it and gamble it. As cheerfully as they earn it, for it’s a rare Archer, male or female, who will remain in a job or career he or she finds to be distasteful. They’re quick to quit a boring occupation and move on to one they find exciting. Sometimes, they’ll leave in outrage over some injustice, sometimes because they’ve been insulted—or because (more likely) they’ve insulted the boss. Sag doesn’t mince words. Yet neither he nor she will be unduly upset over a temporary period of unemployment, or be overly concerned over the risk in changing careers. Both of them are optimistic about the future and seldom gloom around, anticipating a rainy day. Symbolically, Sag expects sunshine, and nearly always gets it.

Both vibrating to the Fire element, these two probably will have few adjustments to make in the achievement of sexual fulfillment. Unless there’s a negative aspect between his Sun and her Moon (or the converse), which may create some disharmony, requiring a compromise of sexual attitudes, Sag and Sag will trustingly reach out toward one another, with no fear of rejection, and not be disappointed. They’ll feel an instinctive sort of familiarity in their touching, a mutual understanding of each other’s desires which doesn’t need to be expressed in words. Affectionate bear hugs, laughter and pillow fights are often part of the lovemaking ritual between two playful Centaurs. There’s a warmth and spontaneous joy to their passion, and somehow, they feel comfortably at home in each other’s arms. Their major sexual problem might be jealousy, the hurt or anger felt when one of them discusses an old love affair the other one fears might be renewed in the future. Both of them require and demand freedom as an individual; yet they aren’t always willing to return the favor. (It’s called selfishness.) Sagittarius isn’t normally an overly jealous sign, but when two Archers get together, start asking frank questions, and start receiving equally frank answers, if they allow the inquisition to go too far, the resulting discussions might give even a stone statue a twinge of jealousy.

There could be religious arguments between them, in the beginning, but with a little caution these could bring them both closer to a comprehension of what Life is all about, and gradually closer to each other. Neither of them will stand for being left behind while the other one goes out in search of adventure. And so, they’ll have to arrange to do everything together, when possible—even when it’s impossible. Separate vacations for this man and woman, especially if one or both of them have the Moon or Ascendent in an Air Sign, won’t increase the stability of their relationship but may very well have a surprise ending, with one (or both) forgetting to return. As a team, they can feel sure that their intimacy will deepen over the years. But if they take a chance on one of those open marriages, it could be one of the rare times they lose a gamble.

Traveling somewhere together is always and forever a powerful magic for this couple—even if only overnight, sharing a sleeping bag, deep in a pine forest, near cold, clear rivers … . . where the wind smells good and the stars are bright overhead. Or some faraway, unreal place, like Siam or Scotland. (Scotland is unreal if you’ve never been there. Any place is unreal if you’ve never visited it, even Brooklyn.) Regular intervals of moving, searching … … chasing the swallows, and waking at dawn to a coral-streaked sky over a strange, cobblestoned street… . is a necessary life-style for two Sagittarian lovers or mates. And if the boss won’t say yes to a double vacation, when those wings within are beating insistently, then they’ll just have to give notice, and quit. Don’t worry. Jupiter luck will drop just the right new job or career into their laps when they return. Want to bet?

Sagittarius Capricorn
Fire—Mutable—Positive Earth—Cardinal—Negative
Ruled by Jupiter Ruled by Saturn
Symbols: Archer & Centaur Symbol: The Goat
Day Forces—Masculine Night Forces—Feminine

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