If You're A Sagittarius, Here's The Poetry Collection You Should Read
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Truth, justice, knowledge, love: the quest for these wholesome ideas are the foundations Sagitarrians build themselves on. But truth is often their weapon of choice, according to Co-Star Astrology, and they won't hold back. Look no further than Taylor Swift's discography to see just how well words can be sharpened into blistering explorations of love and its aftermath (via Well + Good).
Sagittarians are romantic, but in the sense that they're in love with the idea of love, explains Co-Star Astrology. The horoscope site also notes that in regards to relationships, jobs, and cities — if a Sagittarius stays in one for too long, unless they're able to keep exploring and evolving, they're bound to get restless and resentful.
There are many celebrity Sagittarians — Emily Dickinson, Shirley Jackson, Jane Austen, and John Milton are just a few famous writers born with their sun in Sagittarius. Whether the narrator is one of Dickinson's poems or Eleanor Vance in Jackson's "Haunting of Hill House," readers are led by the hand into worlds, each page of these writers' works blazes with Sagittarian energy.
Deeper understandings of self, love, and the human condition — a few of Sagittarians' favorite things — are common themes explored in the pages of poetry books. If Sagittarius is one of your main three signs, we wouldn't be surprised if you're already a big fan of the classics. Below we've curated a collection of modern poetry books specifically for people with their sun, moon, or rising sign in Sagittarius.
Sun in Sagittarius? Read The Wilderness by Sandra Lim
If your sun is in Sagittarius, chances are you're as adaptable as you are hungry for love and adventure. Ruled by Jupiter and powered by fire, solar Sagittarians are optimistic and individualistic and prefer to take the road untraveled (via Well + Good). Maybe more than any other sign, Sagittarians are as unique as a fingerprint, with the focus of your fire being channeled into your need to forge your own path. It's why Co-Star Astrology calls you the "warrior poets" of the zodiac, adding that the energy you throw around feels like you're armed with a crossbow and stack of books.
But knowledge isn't so much a weapon for you as a map to be able to explore external and internal worlds more deeply, both your own and the human condition as a whole. It's why you'll probably keep returning to Sandra Lim's award-winning poetry collection, "The Wilderness: Poems."
When she recognized "The Wilderness" as the winner of the 2013 Barnard Women Poets Prize, Louise Gluck said the collection was "as thrilling a book as [she had] read in a very long time" (via Barnard). Writer Aria Aber went further with her description, telling Oprah Daily that Lim's collection is an exploration of "the wilderness of the soul, consciousness," and "memory" that has a "philosophical hunger" at the root of each poem. Aber admitted that these are only a few of the reasons why she keeps re-reading the poetry collection.
Lunar Sagittarians need to read Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans
Where the sun heats the core of who we are, the moon carefully illuminates our emotional landscapes. According to Allure, the placement of the moon on your astrological birth chart can help you understand the boundaries of your "comfort zone."
If your moon is in Sagittarius, the confessional is probably your safe space, says AstroStyle. You have no problems starting conversations with strangers but where they might be expecting light, empty small-talk, your favorite place to be is in the middle of a "deep, philosophical conversation" (via AstroStyle). If it's not going to change your life, what's the point?
For a life-changing exploration through poetry, you're going to want to pick up "Black Girl, Call Home" by Jasmine Mans. According to Woman's Day, the collection is Mans's exploration of "race, feminism, and sexual identity" through the lens of being a "young, Black, queer woman in America." In their review, Publisher's Weekly said that "Black Girl, Call Home" is a collection that "reframes the classic bildungsroman as book-length poem sequence in this bold take on race, genre, and sexuality."
What will appeal to the lunar Sagittarian the most, though, may be the fact that the collection poses "complex sociopolitical questions through deceptively simple personal narratives," per Publisher's Weekly. Mans offers up a challenge to the male-dominated power structure we currently operate on and dares you to consider the harm it does to all genders.
If you're a Sagittarius Rising, you need to read Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón
Your rising sign — which should not be ignored — is probably the most underrated aspect of your astrological birth chart. Bruja, astrologer, and spiritual worker Marisol Espinoza Viera told Allure that your rising sign "signifies the native's self, physical body, character, and appearance" and colors not only people's first impressions of you, but your initial reaction to the world around you.
Personal growth borders on an obsession for a lot of Sagittarian ascendants, warns Cosmopolitan. Jupiter's influence over the sign can turn up the intensity of the restlessness you feel if you stick to one thing, even if it's a way of thinking, for too long. Stagnation equals suffocation for you, which Cafe Astrology says can leave you constantly looking for something — if only you could figure out what. Something has to challenge you to keep your attention, which is why you should read "Bright Dead Things" by Ada Limón.
Named "Best Poetry Book of 2015" by both The New York Times and Buzzfeed, "Bright Dead Things" has been described as "effortlessly lyrical" with poems that are "like fires: charring the page, but leaving a smoke that remains past the close of the book" (via Bookshop). Not only will Limón's work breathe new life into your seemingly never-ending self-improvement project, but speaks with what the Los Angeles Review calls "unabashed and strong emotional language," which is a Sagitarrian's native tongue.