Okay. I’m going to have a crack at this. Feel free to play along
I’m starting simply by looking at the Sabian symbol for my Sun degree, which is Sagittarius 6: A Game of Cricket. This is also the symbol for my Mercury, so things I say here may be more relevant to that planet, but at the moment I don’t know.
When I first looked up the symbols for my birthday (Sagittarius 5, 6 & 7) I had an instant connection with Sagittarius 5: An Old Owl Perched High Up in a Tree. The other two symbols – Sagittarius 6: A Game of Cricket, and Sagittarius 7: Cupid Knocking on the Door of a Human Heart – didn’t evoke such an immediate reaction. As a result, as I’ve been thinking about A Game of Cricket over the last few days and what it means to me, it has truly been quite a revelation. I am quite astounded how much resonance this symbol does have for me and how much its influence is visible in my personality.
So, I’m going to start with what this symbol means to me. Taken literally, there is quite a strong link between this symbol and my family: my brother, dad and grandad are/were all cricketers. When I was younger, we would often go on a Sunday afternoon to watch my brother play. I remember lazing in the shade on sunny afternoons, the crack of ball on bat, cricket whites and the typically English half-cheer of “howzat!” whenever a batsman was caught out. So it is this that I see in my mind when I think of “A Game of Cricket” – as opposed to the more modern version: international matches on TV, coloured uniforms, beer drinking spectators etc. I think this in itself is significant.
So, to me, A Game of Cricket represents:
Fair play
Civilised behaviour
Polite society
Everyone adhering to the same rules
The gentlemen’s game
Leisurely Sunday afternoons
Break for tea
“Whites” = purity
Both teams wearing the same colour
Observing the rules
I have written all this so you will have some idea of where I’m coming from for the rest of my post. I’ve tried to organise my thoughts so that I won’t ramble but it’s quite difficult so apologies if I do
I can see three ways in which “A Game of Cricket” affects me.
1. As a philosophy
Cricket is generally seen as the most civilised sport. Players receive polite applause when they walk out to bat. It is not a contact sport. It is played at a leisurely pace. The players on both teams wear “whites”, which represents purity and also gives the impression that they are not really “opposing” teams, they are all playing the game as equals. There are, in my experience, very few conflicts – no fighting or fouling. Cheating, although known, is not common.
In terms of a philosophy, this represents how I see the world (not so much now, since I married a realist and he is trying to “educate” me). I am very much a wearer of rose-tinted spectacles
In my world, everyone’s intentions are pure, everyone is playing by the rules and everyone gets along. I have been extremely gullible in the past and so I’ve learned from experience that this isn’t always the case, but I do still hold these values dear. Good manners, etiquette (the being nice to people kind, not the stuffy rules for no good reason kind) and consideration for others are important to me – although, I hasten to add, I don’t always live up to my own standards. I abhor rudeness.
2. As a mask
Despite all civility and niceties, cricket is still a competitive sport. One team always has to win and in order to win, you have to beat the other team. Beneath the polite veneer, a battle is in progress. Yet, a game of cricket gives the impression that all is right with the world: it represents, for me, the way “polite” society doesn’t air its dirty laundry in public. Ironically, as I write this, my next-door neighbour is loudly cussing her dog (I believe, from the context, it has left a present for her in the house) and this is exactly the type of thing that I like to avoid. I am a very private person and there are certain things I don’t like to discuss. I keep my skeletons safely locked in my closet
and I don’t discuss my bodily functions, my sex life, my indiscretions (which I don’t have, of course) or anything else that is nobody else’s business but my own. Unfortunately, I extend this rule to people I am close to, not just strangers, meaning that I have very civil conversations with my parents where I don’t talk about anything that is important to me but might be “socially unacceptable” – including, but not limited to, tarot and druidry. The only person in the world that I feel comfortable enough to be my “true self” with is my husband (and even then…
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3. As a limitation
This is probably the most important aspect of the symbol for me, and has been the most revealing over these past few days. Given what I’ve said so far about what “A Game of Cricket” means to me, you can probably tell that I focus on the behaviour of the players and the expectations therein. If you can imagine a big, bright, fiercely glowing sun and then try filtering that through “A Game of Cricket”, you will probably see where these limitations come in.
First, I would rather take a lie to my grave than admit something that might cause conflict. Conflict avoidance is a big thing with me (and I have Moon in Libra which probably has something to do with it, but I think it fits in here as well). I would rather “play nice”, pretend everything’s fine, than confront a problem and bring it out into the open. These “whites” that I wear can hide a lot. This does have a lot to do with being polite, I think – not wanting to embarrass or hurt others. I used to have big problems correcting anyone if they got something wrong – my name, for example! I would let them carry on calling me the wrong name for as long as was necessary. And that’s just a mild example...
I also experience limitation in my interactions with others. I touched on this in “as a mask” somewhat. Because I’m very private and keep all the interesting parts of my personality under wraps
I think I can come across as rather aloof and “stand-offish”. Cricket is not a contact sport, and I am not a tactile person – literally or figuratively. I generally keep people at arm’s length and I don’t make friends easily. Actually, that’s not entirely true – I used to make friends all the time. Perhaps when I was younger, there was more emphasis on the “game” part of “A Game of Cricket”. I would play with the other kids just fine. Now, there seems to be more focus on the formality of cricket where my relationships with others are concerned. It takes me a long time to “open up” even a little, even though on the surface I will be polite and friendly, it is often just a role I play. I don’t mean that I’m nice to people and then bitch about them behind their backs! I mean that I rather brilliantly adapt to the social expectations of whatever company I’m in and act accordingly. Unfortunately, the person talking isn’t the real “me” and I reveal very little about myself.
Another limitation, or rather inhibition, that I think this symbol shows is not just playing by the rules but being bound by them. In school I was always the “goody-two-shoes” or teacher’s pet. I can’t remember the last time I “broke the rules”. I observe the speed limit, I keep off the grass, I settle my credit card bill every month. Quite frankly, I’m really boring…
I think this is at the root of a lot of frustration for me. I’m a Sagittarian – I think big! I have great ideas, yet I rarely make them a reality because that would mean “colouring outside the lines”. I’m constantly seeking out new things, yet I’m too scared to try a lot of things that appeal to me. I tend to read about doing things more than I do them. I’ve never been a rebel or a pioneer. I don’t make noise. I don’t rock the boat. This one aspect is to me quite upsetting. Although I believe that I’m just not a natural daredevil, which is fine – we are who we are – I DO believe that it does us good to do crazy things sometimes. And I can’t name one crazy thing I’ve done. I’m not saying I want to take up bungee jumping or get a tattoo, but I feel I need to act upon this, break the rules in SOME way, just so I don’t die of boredom
I realise all this probably makes me sound frightfully stuck-up, so I would like to point out that this is just my Sun degree (well, and my Mercury) and there’s a lot more to me! Also, my Sun is in the 7th house, which I’m told deals with relationships with others, so I think on the whole, this symbol affects how see others and how I communicate with others? Also, because I’ve been thinking about this, it is all very high profile at the moment, whereas I think normally, the influence of this symbol is quite subtle and is not quite as bad as I’ve made it out to be here!
Well, that’s all I’ve got and I know that it’s plenty and I apologise for that. I didn’t intend to write so much. Part of me doesn’t want to post this now I’ve done it because a lot of it is very personal but on the other hand I do want to be able to discuss the symbols in my birth chart. Comments are very welcome and highly valued. I think what I’ve written here is merely a “rough draft” in terms of my understanding of this symbol in my chart. I know that I’m not very clear on what the Sun represents – or rather, I know the keywords but can’t relate it to myself, so I’m sure there will be more revelations, but I’m glad I’ve got the ball rolling.
Pip
