Sunday 27 November 2011

Bodmin Moor Zodiac: Sagittarius, the archer of Coad's Green



The sun is in this sign from 23rd November to 22nd December. A fire sign.

Key words: travel, philosophy, religion, tolerance, walking, space, freedom, aspiration, idealist, moralist, optimist, justice, exaggeration.
Light or planet: Jupiter.
Body parts: liver, hips, thighs.

The mid December solstice marks the beginning of winter in the northern hemisphere and summer in the southern hemisphere. While the beginning of summer marks the longest day of the year, the winter solstice brings the shortest day of work and the longest night of sex magick of the year.

The Archer’s stars can be seen in the brightest part of the Milky Way in the direction of the centre of the galaxy. The constellation offers a richer display of star fields, cluster and nebulas than any other constellation. The diffuse nebula M8, the Lagoon Nebula, M20, the Trifid Nebula and M17 the Omega or Horseshoe all lie within this constellation. Sagittarius (the Archer), is drawn in the form of a centaur. The half-human and half-animal composition of the centaur has led many writers to treat them as liminal beings, caught between the two natures, embodied in contrasted myths, and as the embodiment of untamed nature. The most common theory holds that the idea of centaurs came from the first reaction of a non-riding culture, as in the Minoan Aegian world, to nomads who were mounted on horses.

In the middle of Sagittarius’ horse body on the B3254 a signboard points to the Racehorse Inn in North Hill, a free house offering local homemade quality food and local real ales. The point of the centaur’s arrow lies on Example Cross, the hand holding the longbow is on Longdon’s Cross, The centaur’s tail lies on Coad’s Green and its feet lie on Berrowbridge.

While on older star maps Sagittarius is represented as a centaur, on modern maps of the southern hemisphere it is usually represented by a drawing of the Teapot. Steam appears to rise from the spout, thanks to a star cloud.

No comments: