Ancestors Speak - Sun Enters Sagittarius

"Sagittarius" from Microsoft Clip Art                                            

                       

I was reading the wonderful book, "The Grandmother of Time" by Zsuzsanna E. Budapest, when I came across a day of celebration that I was not familiar with - the date is November 22!

On this day, according to Budapest, the Sun enters Sagittarius, and the Ancients honoured the Goddess, Artemis, the twin sister of Apollo.   Artemis was a Greek goddess that protected the forests and hills, and virginity and fertility.  Artemis roamed the hills and woods, most often carrying a bow and arrow.  The Deer and the Cypress Tree were very sacred to her.  Women all over prayed to her to aide them through conception and birthing.  One of the legends describes Artemis hunting the sacred Deer to kill it so that it is reborn again immediately to honour the cycle of life and death, and the sacrifice of the animals.

Sagittarius, in the Zodiac, is the sign of the Archer.  The dates for this sign are  November 22 - December 21 and it is the ninth house in astrology.  Sagittarius covers the qualities of:

* philosophy, idealism, religion, spiritual growth

* optimism, positive outlook, forward planning

* travel, freedom of movement, the outdoors

* honesty, justice, morality

* imagination, aspirations, open-mindedness

* wit, intellect, flashes of intuition

* generosity, pleasure, romance

Coincidentally, deer hunting season in Alberta is roughly around this time.  The actual dates vary between provinces and jurisdictions.  Bow hunting starts earlier than hunting with rifles.  The Ancestors would say that some things never change - we just do it differently.  The Deer is still sacred and still sacrifices itself to honour the cycle of life and death and the sacrifice of all animals.

For more about the Spirit Animal - Deer see Deer Dancing, Deer, When Great Spirit Talks Through Deer,