Signs: Mutable Cross—Sagittarius

I see the goal. I reach that goal and then I see another

Aims and aspirations: integrating vision with reality through co-operation

Sagittarius: esoteric meaning

In the bigger picture, Gemini and Sagittarius function as a crucial infuence in the development of humanity:

The cosmic line of force from Gemini to Sagittarius and the reverse is subjectively and esoterically related to our Earth, thus guaranteeing its soul development, the unfoldment of form as an expression of that soul, and leading our sorrowful humanity … to the very gate of initiation in Capricorn. (EA 356)

Details to follow.

Sagittarius: rulers

• Orthodox: Jupiter
• Esoteric: Earth
• Hierarchical: Mars

Orthodox: Jupiter ⇧

Sagittarius conditions the activity of the ‘lunar lords’ who build the body of humanity out of their own substance i.e. inanimate matter, so that when an individual begins:

…the one-pointed activity of Sagittarius and becomes the earnest disciple, it is possible… to rule the personality and to govern it so that eventually it becomes the vehicle of the soul. It accounts also for the reaction of the personality against this control. (EA 277)

The latter, because when matter isn’t infused with consciousness it is resistant to change and tends to inertia; as in the Sanskrit term Tamas from the three Gunas or states of being (Sanskrit गुण) from Indian philosophy.

Esoteric: Earth ⇧

(Under Sagittarius) …a balanced relationship between the personality and the soul and can function as either at any desired moment with equal facility.

This … is called the experience of the disciple upon the plains of Earth, for the path between the pairs of opposites runs straight and level, leaving the depths of personality experience and the heights of soul experience (at this point of development) on either side. (EA 181)

Ray 3 and the Mutable Cross echo this idea of Earth being the field of experience, in that all experience contributes to an eventual expansion of awareness at the third initiation (remember that initiation means beginning) wherein the individual has released themselves from purely personal concerns by developing a sense of greater purpose and an established sense of responsibility beyond the individual:

Sagittarius and Capricorn, through the Earth and Saturn, are related to Ray 3. The one-pointed disciple becomes the initiate. (EA 67)

Hierarchical: Mars ⇧

Details to follow of Mars as hierarchical ruler.

Decanates

See the notes about the inconsistency of decanates in Esoteric Astrology. For comparison, Stephen Pugh’s decanate rulers are listed, alongside current orthodox rulers and those given in the book.

Esoteric/developmental: conscious development (annual signs from Aries via Taurus to Pisces)

0-9°: Jupiter F: the expansive and inclusive mind, superseding the Mercurial mentality

10-19°: Mars E: “devotion and the capacity to fight for an ideal”

20-29°: Sun A: the soul as a “constant pressure and presence”

Exoteric/experiential: humanity in general (precession from Aries via Pisces to Taurus)

29-20°: Sun A: the presence of the soul impelling the individual towards the learning process

19-10°: Moon B: symbolising the changeable nature of material life, and emphasising the Ray 4 influence in this sign

9-0°: Mercury C: the “the mercurial mind is ever a limitation even if only a temporary one”

• Orthodox: Jupiter, Mars, Sun (Sagittarius, Aries, Leo)
• EAst e/o: Jupiter, Mars, Sun / Sun, Moon, Mercury
• Pugh e/o: Jupiter, Sun, Mars / Sun, Mars, Jupiter

Exoteric decans aren’t verified but given by Sephirial as Mercury, Moon, Sun, although (from the description) on the reversed wheel these would be: Sun, Moon, Mercury—the Moon instead of Mars is from Sepharial’s scheme.

As regards the three decanates of Sagittarius, Sepharial gives us the three governing planets as Mercury, the Moon and the Sun, whilst Alan Leo gives us Jupiter, Mars and the Sun, emphasising… the way of the esotericists. … Jupiter gives expansion, superseding Mercury, for the mercurial mind is ever a limitation even if only a temporary one. The Moon gives place to Mars, which confers the quality of devotion and the capacity to fight for an ideal. This idealistic concept and method of work is always the characteristic of discipleship during the early stages of unfoldment upon the Path. The Sun, typifying the solar Angel remains constant both through the exoteric and the esoteric processes and therefore astrology recognises it as a constant pressure and presence. This fact in itself indicates a significant truth. The soul remains eternally present—in the past, in the present and on into the future. (EA 192)

Esoteric Astrology: 192