Hey there! This is part of a series on developing fictional characters using supposed traits of zodiac signs. Whether you believe in astrology or not, it’s a fun way to think about personality types.
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Today we’re looking at Sagittarius. Of all the zodiac signs, it is the hardest to spell, and it’s the sign of the centaur who likes to shoot things with arrows.
I think of Sagittariuses as entertaining wanderers with hidden depths. But I am no astrology expert, and I always like to hear other people’s opinions! Let’s take a closer look.
Here are some positive traits of a Sagittarius:
adventurous
freedom-loving
funny
talkative
seeker of wisdom
And here are some not-so-positive traits:
cocky
tactless
rude
restless
unreliable
As a friend…
A Sagittarius friend will talk over your problems with you, and then get you to go out somewhere and do something new to forget about them. You can count on a Sagittarius friend being straight with you… even when blunt honesty was the last thing you wanted.
As a lover…
If a Sagittarius is interested in you, she’ll let you know, and she’ll make your life exciting. Here’s the thing, though: it’s hard to tie her down. If you’re willing to go on adventures with her, it might work out great!
As a parent…
A Sagittarius parent doesn’t let kids get in the way of his desire to see the world and explore new things. Instead, he brings them along. He doesn’t have too much patience for tedious parenting tasks, and his child may sometimes long for more stability and routine.
As a villain…
A Sagittarius antagonist may sacrifice others’ wants and needs for her own desire for fun and adventure. A Sagittarius villain’s search for yearning and wisdom may have gone haywire, leading her to fanaticism. Truthfulness is usually a virtue, but her inability to deceive may turn out to be a fatal flaw.
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Here are a few examples, I think, of the adventurous, funny, cocky Sagittarius personality!
Dean Winchester, Supernatural. (Do you guys know how hard it is to find the quintessential Dean Winchester gif?)
River Song, Doctor Who.
Mal Reynolds, Firefly.
(Is that font Papyrus? I have a confession. I like Papyrus.)
I’ve heard it suggested that Merida is a Sagittarius, but I did not see the movie. She does have a bow, but that alone doesn’t prove anything.
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Any other thoughts about the Sagittarius profile? Let me know! Happy writing!
ETA: Bookmark this post for links to every post in the series!
I love the idea of using zodiac personality traits to the characters in your novel. Great prompt. Thanks for the post!
Oh thanks! I’m trying to just capture the most basic profile… I figure that a writer can build on from there. 🙂
Oh, your selections are spot on! I hadn’t really thought about it, but YES! Of course those characters are Sagittarians 🙂 I have at least three in my books that I can think of right off the bat (including Rachel: flighty and whimsical on the surface, but with depth and thoughtfulness when you look closer). They’re so much fun to write.
I also really like Papyrus font. Do we need to start a support group or something? 🙂
Papyrus Lovers Support Group! Ahahahahaha!
I love that idea of a character who may seem a little feckless, but really has a lot going on. 🙂
Merida is definitely a Sagittarius and so is Rapunzel from Tangled. 🙂
Oh wow, you are so right about Tangled!
These are awesome suggestions for developing characters!
Oh, thanks! It’s been a fun series… I only have 3 more to go! Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. 🙂
I’ll have to go back and check the others out!
I can’t wait to see your post for Aquarius. 🙂
I know the most about Aquarius, because I am one!
I’m an Aquarius too. I’m only familiar of Sagittarius because of my bestfriend and someone important to me. 😉
Reblogged this on Lost Dudeist Astrology.
Jane Austen and Emily Dickinson are both Sagittariuses. Beethoven’s another–he and Jane share a birthday, December 16. Also born on that day are Arthur C. Clarke and Philip K. Dick. Try imagining scifi without them.
That’s my birthday too. 🙂
Both my sun and moon sign are in Sag. I feel I know the sign pretty well.
The “adventurous” element too often gets translated into being a daredevil when it comes to physical danger. But as the Sagies listed above show, it can also mean being intellectually and artistically adventurous. It can mean being the only one in your community willing to abandon orthodoxy.
Same thing with the “freedom-loving’: It’s usually depicted as some sort of need to be outdoors. Emily Dickinson was a recluse (perhaps an agoraphobic) who hardly even left her home and eventually didn’t even want to leave her room. But she was also known for her eccentric approach to clothing: she wore only simple, unfussy, white dresses that buttoned up the front so that she could get dressed and undressed very easily and entirely by herself, and she wouldn’t mess with lots of petticoats or corsets.
Sagies tend to know the cost of what they want and be willing to pay it on a personal level because it’s a matter of integrity. You can want to write short, cryptic poems with idiosyncratic punctuation when that’s absolutely NOT how poetry is written if you want, but no one will publish them. So fine, you write them for your own satisfaction and never send them out, and you don’t whine about it. If you cared about being published more than staying true to an artistic vision, you’d do something different. But you don’t, so that’s the end of the matter.
That’s why I don’t think Merida is a Sag: she’s too pissy about having to pay the fiddler after she has danced all night. That’s not a Sag thing at all. Sagies are too honest too have time for that sort of nonsense, and they look down on people who do behave like that.
Holly, I love this post — very insightful! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
Do you think you will continue these charts and do a basic zodiac trait for a Pisces? I am a Scorpio but am writing a Pisces and love you zodiac posts.
Hi Rosa! Yes, I still have Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces to go. I will get them all done before the end of the year… which is coming up fast 🙂 Thanks for reading!
Dean says in the show that he is an aquarius
Who could forget? 🙂 In fact, he is an Aquarius, since his birthday is January 24. In this series I’m talking about characters who I think represent the classic archetype of the sign, regardless of when their birthdays are, if that makes sense. In my opinion, Dean is nothing like the typical Aquarius! Of course, all that is open to debate, too!
Always nice to meet a fellow Supernatural fan!
This is so helpful. And is that Nathan? (Castle fan here!)
I’m a Sagittarius and oh, boy, the brutal honesty. Sometimes I have to forcefully remove my foot from my mouth after I realize maybe I shouldn’t have been THAT honest, lol I’m glad my friends are lovely people and my funny and entertaining side (or so people tell me) is enough for them to forgive this bumbling idiot. 🙂