How to Recognize SAGITTARIUS:

“I would say that finding an example of this Sun sign is as easy as rolling off a log, except that it isn’t true. It’s much easier than rolling off a log. Pick any party and look at the center of the liveliest group. See that fellow sitting there happily with his rather large foot stuck in his mouth? He’s a Sagittarian who has just gone out on a verbal limb, but he doesn’t know it yet. When he does, he’ll look slightly bewildered and the group around him will be looking daggers.

The archer will walk up to you, give you a hearty slap on the back and a wide, friendly grin. Then he’ll greet you with a remark like, “How the heck do you manage to look so young when you’re as old as you are?” Or “Say, that turtleneck sweater sure is flattering. You should wear them all the time. Hides your double chin.” After one of these cheery openers, he’ll still be wearing his bright grin, but your own smile may start to droop a little. It will take him a while to figure out just what he said that set you back on your heels, and even longer to understand why. Then he’ll try to explain. Keep your cool. It gets worse.

Golly, didn’t you understand what he meant? He thinks it’s fabulous to look only twenty-five years old when you’re really thirty-eight (which is six years older than you actually are). As for the double chin, lots of people your age have a little flab in the neck region. The only time you can see it is from the side. You know, when you turn your head. Just don’t have any pictures taken in profile.

After he’s carefully explained his verbal goofs and got you feeling all better again, he’ll go on his merry way, whistling a tune from the latest Broadway show. When you cut him dead the next time you meet, he’ll be heartbroken and puzzled. There’s no use getting angry or embarrassed. Sagittarius is completely free of malice. He blurts out his shockingly direct speech in total innocence. The fact that he usually adds insult to injury when he tries to fix it also escapes him. Don’t judge him too harshly. He means well. Not that he needs your sympathy-or mine. Under his tactless manner is an extremely clever mind and high standards. His unique combination of wit, intelligence and fiery drive usually brings the archer straight to the winner’s circle. What really gets you is that both male and female Sagittarians are oblivious to their own blunt speech. They are truly convinced that they are the most diplomatic souls in the world. They’re always saying, “Why, I wouldn’t hurt anyone’s feelings for anything. I’m very careful about that.” And they honestly believe it. In fact, everything they do is done honestly. Pretense and deception in any form appalls them.

Their physical characteristics aren’t hard to learn. Look for a fairly large, well-shaped skull and a high, broad forehead. The features will be open and cheerful, inviting friendship and the exchange of ideas, and the movements will normally be rapid (though you’ll find a few who move slowly and deliberately). They will often make wide, sweeping gestures, which may be dramatic and vigorous, but possibly not very graceful. Sagittarius can wave his arms to make a point, and upset the ketchup. He’ll stride purposefully forward, head high, and trip over the curbstone. His brief case may snap open at the same time, scattering his papers all over the street.

Jupiter eyes are as bright and alert as a sparrow’s, and they sparkle and twinkle with refreshing humor. The archers are either very tall and athletic looking or shorter than average, with strong, sturdy bodies. The tall ones will remind you of thoroughbred horses or spirited colts. In youth especially, many of them have a stray lock of hair which keeps falling over the forehead, like a horse’s mane. They’ll flip it back with a toss of the head or a quick, unconscious movement of the hand a habit that may last long after a new hairstyle has been adopted in maturity or after baldness has set in.

Sagittarians are normally restless. They hate to sit or stand still. The archer is physically conspicuous, if only through his obvious confidence and his disregard for conventional behavior. He walks as if he’s really goIng somewhere. There’s no halting or hesitating. (But remember that a conflicting ascendant can slow down the gait.)

When you first meet him, Sagittarius could be perched on a horse or walking his dog. He loves animals passionately. Sagittarian Frank Sinatra once ordered his driver to stop his car when he saw an injured dog lying in the street. He was on his way to a television rehearsal, but musicians, director and camera crew had to wait until the singer had tenderly carried the dog to a vet, was assured he would be fine in a few days, and had found the dog’s owner.

Sagittarians with natal afflictions to the birth planets can have, instead, a morbid fear of animals, but it doesn’t happen often. Ordinarily, people born under Jupiter’s influence fear nothing. The typical Sagittarian is attracted to danger-in sports and in his job or his hobby. An element of risk excites and challenges the archers. They love speed. Fast cars, planes, even roller coasters draw them magnetically. Daredevil test pilots are often Sagittarians. The average Jupiter person enjoys nothing more than a hairbreadth escape of some kind-either physical or emotional. It exhilarates them. They’ll take a chance on literally anything (unless a meeker sign on the ascendant dilutes Jupiter’s daring).

There’s a difference between the legendary bluntness of the archer and the brutal speech of the Scorpio. Scorpio tells the truth, completely conscious of its effect, but still refusing to compromise. Sagittarius is totally unaware of the effect when his direct honesty compels him to speak. Scorpio feels little compunction about the wounds his statements cause. To him, the truth is the truth, and if you can’t bear to hear it, don’t ask. The Jupiter person, on the other hand, is crushed and dismayed at his own lack of discretion when he discovers he’s really cut you. It would be touching if it weren’t so infuriating.

What is on the archer’s mind and heart is almost instantly on his lips. He’s as frank and earnest as a six-year-old. You can take that old advice, “If you want the truth, go to a child,” and switch it to “If you want the truth, go to a Sagiittarian.”

There’s a woman in the publishing business in New York about whom the same thing is said. “If you want the truth, go to Kay-if you can stand it.” Kay is not only an authentic archer, she also has additional Sagittarius influences in her natal chart. A Jupiter girl plus, you might say. She’s warm and generous, typical of the sign, and she has lots of loyal friends who love her, also typical of the sign. They would have to be loyal, and they would have to love her to survive…

Besides, now and then Sagittarians can come up with a dilly of a statement that sends your spirits really soaring, and makes up for all the rest. They can offer profoundly wise counsel, when you’ve had time to analyze their viewpoints. This is a fire sign, so most archers are extroverts, talkative and forward. There are a few who are painfully shy and timid, but even these are full of original ideas-and they’re just as blunt. In fact, the quiet, fey Sagittarians with the reclusive, meek ways can dream the biggest dreams and aim for the highest goals. Introvert or extrovert, the archer is a promoter at heart. The rare one who doesn’t say much could be planning something really spectacular to spring on an unsupecting world. His mind is busy even when his tongue is still, so you have to remember his Sun sign is always there at the bottom of his nature, lest he lull you into not being prepared for his next startling move.

Most of the time the typical Sagittarian is happy and gregarious, but his temper can flare like a sky rocket if he’s pushed around by people who abuse his natural friendliness or who get too familiar. Rebellion against authority and stuffy society is also common. Sagittarius will never run away from a fight or call for help. The women can lose their normally pleasant dispositions and let go with a barrage of unexpected plain talk that puts troublemakers right where they belong. The men will use their fists and scorn weapons. A rude, insulting person who has challenged Jupiter’s good nature often find himself sprawled on the sidewalk wondering where that truck came from.” (from Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs)