The centaur is a mysterious composite figure of Greek mythology - half horse and half human - who's always shooting his arrow at some distant target over the horizon and then galloping off in hot pursuit.  Sometimes he finds the arrow.  Sometimes, however, he gets completely sidetracked by all the interesting scenery on the way, until another target beckons.  It is an apt and descriptive image for Sagittarius, the third and most volatile of the fire signs.  For this equine archer does indeed aim the flashing arrow of his intuitive visions at some distant goal of the future; and most of his life is spent chasing after one arrow or another.  The big question is whether he has aimed true or not.  And, after that, whether he can find his arrow at all. 

The key theme in all this classical imagery is that what really interests Sagittarius is the excitement of the aim and the fascination of the journey.  The goal is really, after all, relatively insignificant.  There is a basic attitude innate in Sagittarius that life is an adventure, a journey, a quest - and the real sport of living is to make that journey as interesting, as varied, as expansive, and as informative as possible.  Arrival is not the point. 

Jupiter, King of the Gods in mythology, is said to be the planetary ruler of Sagittarius.  And we can learn a lot about our centaur friends by having a closer look at Jupiter's imposing figure.  First of all, he is noble, dignified and majestic.  That is, most of the time, when he has his Olympian court around him and plays the hilt of the role rex deibus.  He is a consummate actor, our friend Jupiter.  He is also the great profligate of the Olympian heights, a god who is always chasing something or other - mostly women.  Some Jupiter-ruled folk take this symbol literally, and they are the Don Juans of the zodiac.  It isn't that they are driven by some insatiable sexual passion, though.  It's the ideal that drives them, the possibility of something new and exciting.  The adventure, the unexplored mystery, the unobtainable goal, the one that got away.  Sagittarius, it seems, has this Jupeterian propensity to be afraid he might be missing something - be it a woman, a project, an idea, a book, a creative work, virtually anything new and untried and unexplored.  On a more extroverted level, you'll always find the Sagittarians gathering where a new club has opened up, a hot new restaurant, an artsy film, an exciting workshop or group of some kind.  Some people have used the unkind word 'trendy' to describe this behaviour.  What it's really about is that Sagittarius has a remarkable intuitive nose for what's going to be popular before anybody else knows it.  It is often the Sagittarius who makes fashion, because he gets there first and gives his often vociferous stamp of approval.  And everyone else, knowing that if it weren't good he wouldn't be there, troops after him.