Sagittarius 5

The Archer

A Chiron, half-man half-horse, sent to kill the scorpion (Scorpio).
In Babylonian mythology, this represents the demon Pabilsaq.
"The stars at the point of the arrow in Sagittarius have influence similar to that of Mars and the Moon; those on the bow and at the grasp of the hand act like Jupiter and Mars; those in the waist and in the back resemble Jupiter and also Mercury moderately; those in the feet like Jupiter and Saturn."- - Ptolemy

The sun passes through this constellation from late December to late January, so it is best viewed in the nights of summer time.It was the Romans who named the constellation Sagittarius ("sagitta" is Latin for "arrow"), although several stars carry Arabic names that identify just which portion of the constellation they represent: Alpha Sagittarii is named Rukbat: (Rukbat al Rami = Archer's knee), and beta Sgr is Arkab (Tendon).The bow is outlined by three stars: Lambda Sgr: Kaus Borealis = the northern (part of the) bow. Delta Sgr: Kaus Meridionalis = the middle (part of the) bow. Epsilon Sgr: Kaus Australis = the southern (part of the) bow. The arrow tip is gamma Sgr (Al Nasl = the point).Sagittarius was a hunter, traceable to the Mesopotamian archer-god Nergal who was associated with the wrathful god Irra of war and fire (the Greek Ares and the Roman Mars).In Greece the Archer, represents a centaur - half-man, half-horse, descended from Ixion, the man who dared to lust after Hera, wife of Zeus. Realising Ixion's intentions, Zeus sent a cloud, disguised as Hera, to trick him. The offspring of this union was Kentauros, who was shunned by gods and mankind alike. He moved to Thessaly and bred with the mares there, and so centaurs were born. Some, like Chiron, the wise and kindly centaur who befriended Hercules and who is represented by Centaurus, were considerate and friendly to men, but many were aggressive. Sagittarius is one of the latter, a fierce hunter with his bow and arrow always aimed at Scorpius.



Sagittarius is associated with Crotus, the son of the god Pan and the nymph Eupheme. Eupheme raised her son with the nine Muses, the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne. Crotus was both skilled at the hunt and sensitive to the arts. According to one story, Crotus begged Zeus to transport him into the stars upon his death. Another story has Crotus being memorialized because of the entreaties Muses who begged Zeus to honor the archer. He is also refered to as a Satyr, probably derived from the characteristics of the original Centaur, Hea-bani. They associated Crotus, the Satyr, part man, part goat, with a long, horse like tail, and it was often illustrated standing on two legs.Although the true meaning of Sagittarius is Archer, this constellation is usually depicted as a combination of a horse and a man, the rear part being the horse and the front part the man. The man is always armed with a bow and an arrow. The Roman mythologers identified Sagittarius in error with the gentle and wise centaur Chiron, which has led to frequent confusion with the southern constellation Centaurus.