To describe them all would require a book as large as an
English-Latin, Latin-English Dictionary ...
Librans and Sagittarians are sometimes difficult to untangle, especially in bunches. Their astrological passport descriptions can now and then vary as much as those of Gemini and Pisces, since all four Sun Signs are what astrology calls "double signs" or signs of duality. Consequently, there are many Libra and Sagittarian qualities and quirks that defy definition; yet there are also enough familiar stampings of their Sun Signs to make them recognizable in a crowded elevator after a few hours of forced intimacy from being stuck between two floors.
There are the party-loving, playboy and playgirl Librans - the bookish, studious, legal or Judge types of Librans - the scientific, highly intellectual ones - and the artistic, sensitive, fioating-on-pink-clouds Librans. Up and down the Scales they go, and where they balance is hard to know. But you can be sure they are all incurable optimists who try to be fair. Every last one of them.
As for the Archers, one of the facts we know for certain about them is that they are (and almost always innocently) candid, frank and tactless. They're blissfully unaware that they have just demolished you with a few words, and if that doesn't do it, they'll finish off the demolition with a whole string of them that painfully hit the mark. ZINGO! We also know that they're very funny, very intelligent, very idealistic, somewhat clumsy - and even more optimistic than Libra. They are inevitably naive in some way. However, in between these reliable signposts of Sagittarian character are miles of short cuts and detours.
There are the owlish, deceptively quiet, perceptive Archers, who scowl at you sternly, then suddenly twinkle at you, bounce up and down, knock over the umbrella stand and say something brilliantly funny - or just simply brilliantly brilliant. There are also the Sagittarians who are outwardly conservative and seemingly serious. They go along in this manner for long periods; then, without warning, they pull out Jupiter's bow of truth, aim it skyward and shoot forth shimmering showers of dreams so gigantic in scope that only a child would dare to dream them.
Moving right along, there are Archers who do nothing at all but read and think. There are others who spend most of their time singing or dancing and playing practical jokes on their friends. Then there are the Archers who are inspired researchers, authors and scientists - and those who drive their friends, relatives and neighbors crazy with questions, questions, questions. They are all, to some degree, embarrassingly curious. Embarrassing to you, that is, not to them. It is not easy to embarrass Sagittarius. They are not the blushers of the zodiac. There are also Archers who are probably space people. Nothing else could explain their Star-Trekish natures and behavior.
In beginning an attempt to untangle them all, we'll concentrate first on what Libra and Sag have in common, such as - they both like to talk. Yes, talking, very definitely.
In Libra and Sagittarius, mental agility and verbal dexterity are blended in equal parts. The mental agility is always there, even in the more rare, quiet and untalkative Librans and Archers. Instead of expressing their thoughts aloud, they just scribble their philosophies on memo pads, in books, plays or diaries, and keep right on thinking, thinking, thinking. As for the more numerous talkative folk of both Sun Signs, they approach their verbal discourses somewhat differently.
It's like this. Both Libra and Sagittarius are capable of being absolutely charming conversationalists, holding groups of people spellbound for hours. Utterly delightful, they are. But they can both also cause your temper to boil, or send you into frantic frustration when they flip over to their reverse communicative patterns. In this area, Libra prefers to drive you into a nervous breakdown by arguing over every word you speak, back and forth, taking both sides of an issue, and leaving you hanging somewhere in the middle. Worse, they invariably win, one way or another - either through their cool, airy logic, or with the wind-up smile they save till the end, which is so dazzling, you totally forget what it was they said to make you angry - and you smile back. They are deadly debaters for this reason.
The way Sag drives you bananas is slightly different. The Archers, when they're exhibiting their negative conversational traits, do their number on you with tactless, yet honest, observations. In the middle of a discussion of earthquakes in California, or the fluctuating price of gold in Colorado, they'll ask you, point-blank, why you wear a rug, or at what age did your hair begin to fall out. This sort of thing can suddenly short-circuit the chitchat. The reason they ask the second one is because Archers themselves tend to lose their own hair early not all of them, of course, but an uncommonly large percentage of them - and they are consumed with curiosity about the subject. Paba. Take Paba. Para Amino Benzoic Acid. Get it at the Health Food store, and take 200 to 600 milligrams per day, along with 600 to 1,000 units per day of d-alpha tocopherol (not mixed tocopherols) Vitamin E. You Archers may soon have hair as luxuriant as a Leo's proud mane, and it's also more than slightly possible that the grey hairs, as they fall out naturally, will grow back in their normal color. Now do be still,won't you? And stop asking so many questions.
When a typical Libra and Sag get together, there's seldom a still or a silent moment. They'll talk away the hours with zest and vigor, exchanging pure enjoyment of all the mental activity. Libra requires mental stimulation, being a mental Air Sign. Sag requires any sort of stimulation at all, being a Fire Sign. Libra's Air fans the Archer's Fire, and the flames dance merrily. However, if the Archer presses candor too far, the Libra Scales will topple out of balance, and the Air of the Libra person can whip itself into a regular tornado of anger. Since Libra is a Cardinal Sign, Sag a Mutable Sign, Libra will almost always take the lead in the association. Sagittarians seldom resent this, because they much prefer to communicate and wander around, bearing messages of hope (however blunt) and tidings of good cheer, rather than to be stuck with the boring and restrictive responsibilities of leadership, whether it's being in charge of a business, a home or a relationship. When you're bogged down in all that dull and dreary duty, you never get a chance to throw snowballs, ride horseback, rescue dogs and
cats from the pound, inspire people with high ideals or travel around the world searching for truth, scooping up excitement along the way. As philosophical as they are, Sagittarians must have fun and changes of scenery. Even Sagittarian nuns and priests are not stuffy sorts. They prefer their missions to be varied and challenging.
That's another of the predictable things about Archers, of all the assorted types mentioned in the beginning of this chapter. They have a thing about religion, as they have a thing about philosophy (nearly synonymous). At one time or another, nearly every Sag will either briefly or permanently contemplate nunhood, priesthood or monkhood. A goodly share of them make the spiritual life a vocation. The ones who don't will spend considerable time arguing with Librans over religion, in debates that range all the way from atheism to Zen - with every shade of Hare Krishna, Mormon, Protestant and Catholic dogma in between.
With few exceptions, despite their good-humored and interesting debates, arguments and discussions, Libra and Sag get along beautifully. Just imagine how the world might have benefited from a teaming up of the combined humanitarianism, friendly candor and energies of Libran Eleanor Roosevelt and Sag Betty Ford - or of Libran actor Charlton Heston (as Moses, Ben-Hur, or just as himself) and wise, jolly, compassionate, outspoken and beloved Sagittarian Pope John XXIII. The Great Justice of a spiritually evolved Libran and the Great Idealism and Honesty of an aware Sagittarian is a combination that can create crescendos of miracles.
Since we no longer have with us Librans Eleanor Roosevelt and Gandhi, or Archers Winston Churchill and Mark Twain, we might image (and pray for) Libran actress Brigitte Bardot and Sag entertainer Frank Sinatra to go together to Libran Prime Minister Trudeau, of Canada, and persuade him to halt the cruel, bloody butchering and skinning alive of the baby seals every spring, causing their terrified mothers to give birth in the icy waters, in a futile attempt to protect their babies from being brutally clubbed and murdered in such agony only to have them drown, threatening their complete extinction in the alarmingly near future. Bardot has been actively involved in this pursuit of a very holy grail for the longest time, nearly alone among her fellow film stars. She and Sinatra might even convince Libran President Carter to think of a fair way for the United States to offer to substitute some sort of economic benefit to Trudeau to replace the baby seal disgrace, since the financial aspect seems to be the main Canadian concern. Or maybe a group of Archers and Librans could follow the example of actress Terry-Anne Moore, and make a plea on television to all the women who wear sealskin coats, asking them if they realize how sternly their vanity will punish them in their next incarnations. It will be a heavy karmic retribution, from which there is no escape - although it can be negated by a reversal of behavior, and perhaps a generous donation to the Greenpeace environmental group in San Francisco.
"Let the punishment fit the crime, and be meted out accordingly," intones Libra, the judge. "You are all murderers, stained with innocent blood," accuses Sagittarius, Archer of the Truth-that-hurts-but-heals.
Even when they have no Great Cause to pursue, Libra and Sag walk the same path, spreading light in the darkness as best they can, guided by their ruling planets, Venus and Jupiter. Expansive Jupiter, ruler of Sag, takes all the beauty, balance, gentleness and harmony of Venus, the ruler of Libra, and increases it a thousandfold. Sagittarius helps Libra keep those Scales of Justice hanging level - and Libra helps the Archer aim his or her Bow of Truth with a steady hand. These two very naturally need each other, and we all need them.
Neither Libra nor Sag will ever bore each other. The Archer is highly intelligent, as inquisitive as a bird dog, alert, bright and anxious to seek all the answers Libra has to offer - which are never less than carefully thought out, and nearly always wise. One of the rare times these two will not get on so well is when one of them has the Moon or Ascendent in an Earth Sign, and throws wet blankets or mounds of earthy stuffiness on the other's need to socialize, because they both love parties, and are, by nature, people-mixers. The Libra half of the team, who has a tendency to lean a little heavily on sweets, must be careful not to gain any extra pounds around his or her Archer friend, who may hand Libra a copy of Bill Dufty's Sugar Blues and remark, with cheerful casualness, "You're getting a potbelly, you know. The reason you're so fat is because white sugar is a drug, and you're an addict, and you don't even realize it, because you've become a victim of the sugar pushers." This could be a mite harmful to their harmony. Likewise, Libra can create no small amount of tension in the association by promising Sag to go somewhere or do something, then hedging for hours - or days - weighing the pros and cons of the thing. Finally, Libra says "Yes," followed by - "But on the other hand, it might be better not to, because . . . " Or, finally Libra says "No," followed by - "But on the other hand, it might be better to go ahead, because . . . , " by which time the Archer has already tuned out and made his or her plans with someone else. It was attending a performance of Man of La Mancha that they were discussing, the musical about Don Quixote's impossible dreams and his eternal tilting at windmills. Libra should have gone. He - or she - would have left the theatre with a more comprehensive understanding of the Sagittarian motives and goals.
But don't worry. It will pass. They'll make up, these two, because theirs is a sextile vibration, and in astrology, sextile means opportunity. Libra and Sag will never run short of opportunities for happiness together. If only Sag will learn to count to ten before speaking, and if only Libra will stop deliberating every decision, they can be both cozily and creatively compatible.
