Sagittarius 2023. Salutations, the celestial archer of the sinking sun...
And a Tarot snapshot of the next few weeks ahead
Today, 22 November 2023, we enter the zodiac sign territory of The Archer once again. Two thousand years ago and more, the ancients looked up this time of year, and, studying the stars of a constellation low on the ecliptic overhead, decided they could see something that looked like a man with a bow and arrow.
We are a pattern seeking animal, programmed to see, discern and project pattern. This time of year was the time of hunting for game, preserving and laying in food stores against the coming winter in the northern hemisphere.
The zodiac signs in western astrology were codified by the mathematician, astronomer and astrologer Ptolemy in the 2 century AD/BCE. While the dates of Sagittarius and all the other signs remain unchanged for astrological purposes, based on that arithmetic model of the zodiac, the astrology has parted company with the astronomy which inspired it, due to the wobble of the earth, and the effect known as the precession of the equinoxes.
The constellation of Sagittarius is currently visible in the northern hemisphere in summer until September, and is seen in winter in the southern hemisphere. But the symbolism endures.
The Archer, aiming high and true is astrologically speaking, the the ruler of the Ninth House of adventure, exploration, and of both intellectual inquiry and prophetic vision. The archer needs the gift of long sight. The cosmic Archer of the Cosmos is long-sighted.
The Archer aims high and far. He stands for our highest, clearest and farthest vision, and our furthest endeavours. Sagittarius is a psychopomp. One who, like Mercury of Gemini, comes and goes between worlds, and between the living and the dead. Sagittarius offers safe escort to the souls of the dead, as they return home to the Source of Everything.
Sagittarius is the farthest reach of the spirit of Humankind.
May it do its best this coming month.
Tarot Snapshot, Sagittarius zeitgeist, 2023
From the Legacy of The Divine Tarot, artist Ciro Marchetti
Jupiter and The Wheel of Fortune
The Wheel of Fortune is ruled by Jupiter, the planetary ruler of Sagittarius.
We all see it. Great changes are afoot in the wide world. Often this will ultimately prove beneficial, though to whom? And in what way? Did the Luddites for instance, the frame breakers, the machine smashers, welcome the events that known to us today as the Industrial Revolution?
Did they heck. These Luddites were mostly humble folk. But they were also highly skilled folk, and now their skills were being made redundant, and there was no alternative employment for them, and no safety net for them and their families against starvation. No welfare state as we know it today. The new technologies were ending the cottage industries, driving workers out of their homes and communities into the cities and the new factories. It was the end of a whole way of life, and, it could be argued, was also an ecological disaster for much of the British Isles.
I digress. The point of all this was to remember that Jupiter represents progress, and that progress is inevitable but often not welcome. Jupiter has been retrograde in recent months (apparently moving backwards as seen from Earth.) Jupiter has been retrograde in the sun sign of Taurus (banks, food, cattle, agriculture, arts, beauty, luxuries) since September 5.
It will go direct again on December 30/31. There may be a degree of global economic and food security easement here. Closer to home, possibly welcome news to do with money, business, studies, or a quiet, serious child or student, or health matters. We see a step forward. Progress in material matters.
Returning once again to the Wheel of Fortune, Jupiter in Taurus also affects issues ruled by Sagittarius, the sun sign of long haul travel and overseas trade. Sagittarius is air travel. I would be extra careful about booking long haul flights for the Christmas holidays, at least until Jupiter turns direct again 30/31 December, when that Wheel of Fortune card is no longer hemmed in by the Seven of Swords and the Nine of Wands.
Seven of Swords
The Wheel of Fortune is flanked - or hemmed in by the Seven of Swords, linked by Aleister Crowley and the Order of The Golden Dawn with the emotional, instinctive and wild Moon in the sun sign of idealistic and technocratic, yet potentially authoritarian Aquarius.
Crowley called the Seven of Swords "Futility," noting "The intellectual wreckage of the card is not so vehement as in the Five. There is vacillation, a wish to compromise, a certain toleration. But, in certain circumstances, the results may be more disastrous than ever . . . This card, like the Four, suggests the policy of appeasement.”
Nine of Wands
Today, a four-day truce has been announced between Israel-Gaza. Netanyahu says this is merely a pause while hostages are exchanged, and that the war will resume.
The continuation of conflict seems almost inevitable, and we don’t need tarot cards to arrive at that impression. But the next card, the Page of Pentacles is more optimistic for a longer pause in hostilities while the Nine of Wands speaks to a general sense of collective fatigue.
Page of Pentacles
The sturdy Page of Pentacles which I drew as the next card, intended to represent the third decan/final 10 days of Sagittarius season 2023, suggests we enter safer territory by the time we get to the winter solstice, Thursday 21 December.
Overtly, this card does not suggest a re-escalation of the scale of hostilities we have witnessed during the past month, and perhaps this effect will be noticed in other theaters of war at this time, however temporary that may prove to be.
The Page of Pentacles as seen here is signifying the start of winter, and the segue into Capricorn season, the day of the 2023 winter solstice, Thursday 21 December.
This is anything but a conflict card. Capricorn is the ibex, or the mountain goat. Could the Golan Heights may again be a key element in covert backstage negotiations between Israel, US, Syria, Jordan and other key Arab states? The Page of Pentacles speaks of turning a new page. Maybe, just maybe, this pause announced today will continue longer.
Sagittarius the Archer stands for the Ninth House of foreign envoys and ambassadors. I do not claim to know anything, nor do I. But my cards have not, or not as yet, shown to me any clear sign that there will be a regional escalation of this tragic and horrific conflict.
In Summary
In general, this is an improving picture for us all in this Sagittarius Season- but while treading gingerly. What is in our own power to do at this time? On a personal level, while we still have super energetic Mars in Scorpio until the 24 November, I drew the Eight of Cups together with The High Priestess.
From The Legacy of The Divine Tarot
The Eight of Cups is a card of Pisces. There is sadness here. Where there has been much love and devotion, or much investment of time and effort, it is painful to say goodbye and turn away. But if we have been knocking on a door, and no-one answers, then we can’t stay camped outside. We owe it to ourselves to move on and cut our losses, turning away, perhaps with regrets but not in anger, to see what is over there, yonder.
From The Legacy of The Divine Tarot
If we need to speak our minds this month, or clear the air, or cut ties and clear the decks, or we are dealing with a deep rooted and emotionally challenging personal or family situation, then the message of The High Priestess is to watch, to wait, to make sure we are clear in our assessment of the situation, and if we really have to fight, then fight clean. We have every right to do what we need to do, and to look after ourselves. But we can still practice damage limitation.
“A soft answer turneth away wrath, but harsh words only stirreth up anger.”- Ephesians
Because: “Words are better understood if spoken but in kindness.”
Back soon with more stories of Sagittarius.
Thank you for reading.
We do, and we are collectively, as well as personally, many of us, experiencing one hell of a rollercoaster ride, my friend, quite possibly through till early 2026, is suggested by the astrology. I can see that timing potential for the war in Ukraine reflected in the cards. But, the Page of Pentacles is an oasis of easement and I report the cards I draw for good or ill, rightly or wrongly. The reader may land smack on their face, but so be it. There is no other way to honour the oracular process than to trust it.
Thankyou. The variety of Tarot deck images chosen gave me an almost Saggitarian meander through the realms. Let's hope the technocratic Aquarian times ahead will have a strongly anti- war, anti- facist core integrity. Still a few more years of Neptunian Pisces to sink the holy war ships , or just let them get lost at sea. 🌅