Sagittarius () (Greek: Τοξότης ''Toxótēs'') is the ninth

astrological sign In Western astrology, astrological signs are the twelve 30-degree sectors that make up Earth's 360-degree orbit around the Sun. The signs enumerate from the first day of spring, known as the First Point of Aries, which is the vernal equinox. ...

, which is associated with the

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the e ...

Sagittarius and spans 240–270th degrees of the zodiac. Under the tropical zodiac, the sun transits this sign between approximately November 22 and December 21. Greek mythology associates Sagittarius with the centaur

Chiron In Greek mythology, Chiron ( ; also Cheiron or Kheiron; ) was held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren since he was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs". Biography Chiron was notable throughout Greek mythology ...

, who mentored

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's ''Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, k ...

, a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

hero of the

Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has ...

, in archery. Sagittarius, the half human and half horse, is the

centaur A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being ...

of mythology, the learned healer whose higher intelligence forms a bridge between Earth and Heaven. Also known as the Archer, Sagittarius is represented by the symbol of a bow and arrow.

Astrology

Runan (22) Église Notre-Dame Sablière 01

Along with Aries and Leo, Sagittarius is a part of the Fire Trigon as well as the last of the reproductive trinity. It also follows Gemini and Virgo as third of the

mutable sign In Western astrology, astrological signs are the twelve 30-degree sectors that make up Earth's 360-degree orbit around the Sun. The signs enumerate from the first day of spring, known as the First Point of Aries, which is the vernal equinox. ...

s, which are the signs that feature changeable quality. When Sagittarius is depicted as an archer, then he is classified as human but when represented as a centaur, he is nonhuman (bestial). However, the classification of the astrological sign as a human or bestial does not carry practical consequences for interpretation. As an archer, Sagittarius is said never to fail in hitting the mark and this depiction alludes to the power of

prophecy In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a '' prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or pr ...

, hence, the claim that seers and prophets are born in this sign.

Cultural impression

It is the coat of arms of the

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

city

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...

Gallery

File:Kitab al-Bulhan --- zodiac centaur sagittarius.jpg, Sagittarius as depicted in the 14th-/15th-century Arabic astrology text ''

Book of Wonders The ''Kitāb al-Bulhān'' (), or ''Book of Wonders'', is a 14th and 15th century mainly Turkish and some Arabic manuscript, compiled by Hassan Esfahani (Abd al-Hasan Al-Isfahani) probably bound during the reign of Jalayirid Sultan Ahmad (1382–1 ...

'' File:Sagittarius_-_Horoscope_from_%27The_book_of_birth_of_Iskandar"_Wellcome_L0040138.jpg, Sagittarius - The Centaur, detail from the Horoscope from 'The book of birth of Iskandar" File:Fotothek df tg 0004436 Astrologie ^ Sternzeichen ^ Kalender.jpg, Sagittarius from a 1512 German woodcut File:Sagittarius.jpg, A symbolic representation of Sagittarius published in Uranographia by

Johann Elert Bode Johann Elert Bode (; 19 January 1747 – 23 November 1826) was a German astronomer known for his reformulation and popularisation of the Titius–Bode law. Bode determined the orbit of Uranus and suggested the planet's name. Life and career B ...

. In tropical astrology, there is no correspondence between the constellation and the astrological signs

Inline citations

Works cited

* * Longitude of Sun, apparent geocentric ecliptic of date, interpolated to find time of crossing 0°, 30°.... * * * *

External links