with bow and arrow
“Amid the whirling forces, I stand confused. I know them not, for, during all my past, they swept me up and down the land wherein I moved, blinded and unaware. From place to place and point to point, they drove me up and down the land and nowhere was there rest.”
Esoteric Astrology, Alice A. Bailey
Azar in November-December corresponds to Āçiyādiya, "Month of the worship of fire", whence Kaman or Nimasp (the centaur) represents a hunting divinity symbolised by the bow and arrow.
It was called the Light of the White Face, the Flowing Day, the Smiting Sun Face and its constellation was the Star of the Bow with which Rukbat was associated.
It is also called Sagittarius, the ninth Sign of the Zodiac.
Alpha Sagittarii, a star in the Sagittarius constellation, has the traditional names Alrami and Rukbat, derived from the Arabic rukbat al-rāmī = the knee of the archer.
Rukbat means 'knee' in Arabic. In the standard drawing of Sagittarius by Hevelius in 1690, Rukbat is located just left of the knee of the centaur's right foreleg.
Rukbat / Alpha Sagittarius is not the brightest star in that constellation, in fact there are several brighter than it - and the reason might be that it faded with time.
With 22 stars in this constellation known to have planets, Sagittarius has more known planetary host stars than any other constellation.
The Milky Way is at its densest near Sagittarius, as this is where the galactic center lies.
The Milky Way is at its densest near Sagittarius, as this is where the galactic center lies.
Sagittarius, as illustrated in "Wonders of Creation" ca 13th c.
Traditionally, Sagittarius is home to the wanderers of the Zodiac.
Sagittarius is a Fire sign, and this element makes its presence felt through a high level of enthusiasm for life and individual interests. It is a dual sign, which has both an up and a downside. The symbols of the hunter (archer) and the centaur - a mythical half-man, half-horse, signify the search for truth and knowledge, as well as the constant pursuit of adventure and new ideas.
the centaur - after Kitâb al-Mawalid' - by Abû Ma'shar
In cuneiform inscriptions, Sagittarius is designated as the Strong One, the Giant King of War and as the Illuminator of the Great City.
In ancient times Sagittarius was represented by the centaur, a symbol that denotes the identification of human beings with their material part, with personal desires and aspirations. The man and the animal are fused, because there is not yet an awareness of the spiritual part, the soul of man. Then, over time, the centaur becomes transformed into an archer, where the horseman and horse are separated and where the horseman is the soul and the horse the personality. Moreover, the horse is almost always white, which symbolises the fact that the man has already purified the personality and the horseman (the soul) is able to dominate it. Thus, while the centaur represents man dedicated solely to satisfying his base and material desires and instincts, the archer, although he still has personal desires, begins to feel the call of the soul. The soul allows the man to see that there exists something besides and beyond his animal nature. So personal ambition is transformed into spiritual aspiration; from egoism we pass to a more impersonal form and from an interest centred solely on oneself, we pass to an interest in the outer: an interest in others.
A legend says, that the arrow of Sagittarius the archer always points towards Scorpio, to liberate us from the endless repeating cycles of death and rebirth.
If Scorpio was to do any harm to anyone, Sagittarius will shoot an arrow through the heart-star of Scorpio. For Sagittarius seeks Truth and his biggest battle lies within.
In Scorpio, the world may be redeemed after the hydra within is vanquished when brought up to the light of consciousness.
In Sagittarius, the hydra's head is not forgotten because there is still a gap between the two selves : the lower and the higher, the mortal and the immortal ... between a vision of light and the limitations of being human.
Sagittarius intuitively knows that growth happens through trials.
After experiencing the wrath of living a mortal existence as a personality, with the testing and tempering until it is brought into balance (with its opposite Gemini), comes a conscious request to the higher self to clear the remaining false interpretations of existence.
An inner connection has been established, but Sagittarius is still on probation, and his testing continues until he establishes a continuous remembering of this fact.
As each experience is acknowledged as a test and he reestablishes his connection by holding an aspiring attitude, he is filled with thankfulness (Jupiter: the only ruler), which is really an acknowledgement that all of life is one conscious living being.
Keyword: “I perceive”
the centaur - kitab al-bulhan
According to many doctrines, we are born with a soul blueprint which plans the kind of lifepath and experiences our soul requires for its growth. Essentially we are all here with the same purpose but what defines our individuality is our free will.
The way we apply our free will, ultimately determines our direction and our growth.