Sefer Yetzirah
He coronated it with the letter Samech in the attribute of sleep; attached a crown to it and forged them together and formed within them the bow (Sagittarius) in the worldly realm, Kislev in the realm of time (the year), and the stomach within the microcosmic realm, in the male and female."

Rabbi Zaddok Hakohen: Pri Tzadik, Genesis, Rosh Chodesh Kislev
The name Kislev denotes confidence and inner strength, as used in the verse Job, 31:24, "If I have made gold my hope (kisli) and have said to the fine gold, 'You are my confidence."' (It is interesting to note that in English the word castle, composed of the same phonetics as the Hebrew kesel, means fortress.) The word kesel is etymologically related to the word kisuy, covering and guarding. According to the Ibn Ezra (ibid.), the word kesel means a walking staff or crutch. According to Rashi, kesel means the hope that comes from planning, as in the verse, "For God will be your support (bekislecha)." The advisors of the body are the kidneys (kelayot), which are related to the word kala, which means strong desire and longing. Thus, the main spiritual functions of the month of Kislev are the strengthening of faith in God and the affirmation of hope in complete liberation.

Bnei Yisaschar, Discourse on Kislev
The attributes and images of Kislev, confidence and the fortress, are also indicated in the letter of the month, Samech, whose form is a closed circle, symbolizing protection. The word Samech also means support and reestablishment. These attributes are available to us during the month of Kislev.

Shem MiShmuel on Kislev
A person born under the sign of Sagittarius has much self-confidence, is optimistic, and is always pressing ahead. His hope for the future arouses within him the inner resolve to overcome the obstacles standing in his way and carries him until he achieves his goal. The Sagittarian is full of appreciation and joy in life, as indicated by the essential connection Sagittarius has to life energy. However, this comes about only if one's lifestyle is in accord with the spiritual values of Torah. If one's lifestyle is essentially secular, the Sagittarian energy expresses itself as irritability, and a person may also find himself in dangerous circumstances due to the negative expression of the adventurous tendencies of the Sagittarian.

Zohar
The constellations of the heavens are there to teach a person how to achieve spiritual elevation in consonance with the spiritual significance of each of the astrological signs. These constellations may be likened to the physical body, which enables the soul inhabiting it to achieve many significant things in its life. The person whose sign is Sagittarius is armed with the energies of the soul that enable him to achieve sublime spiritual heights if mobilized in· the ways of the Torah. If a person uses these energies for purely material purposes, his soul powers will not bring him wholesome happiness and spiritual fulfillment, but rather their opposites.

Shem MiShmuel: Chayei Sarah
Sagittarius the bow symbolizes the power of prayer that issues from the depths of the heart and pierces the upper heavens. As a bow issues forth an arrow, the tighter the arrow presses against the bow; and, when being aimed at the heavens, the closer the arrow is to earth, the higher it will travel when it is released. The bow, as a symbol of the power of prayer, is found in the Onkelos's translation of Jacob's words to Joseph (Genesis,18:22), "That I conquered from the hands of the Emorite with my sword and bow," which Onkelos translates as "prayer."

ibid...
The nature of this month is sleep. This is a negative expression of this month's energy, the natural state of spiritual slumber. This was the situation the Jews found themselves in under the dominion of the Greek Empire, and it was particularly in this state that the inner essence of the Jews was aroused.

Sefer Yetzirah
"He coronated the letter Samech in the attribute of sleep." The power of support and renewal, symbolized in the letter Samech, which roused the inner will and confidence, overcame spiritual slumber and dormancy.

Bnei Yisaschar, Discourse on Kislev
The element of Kislev, fire, also expresses the power of rising upward that is the essence of this month.
It is also the central motif of the Chanukah ritual: the kindling of the festival lights. The spiritual tendencies of rising above the mundane, spiritual alertness, and a natural inclination to the study of philosophy and religion are also among the attributes assigned to the Sagittarian by astrology. They reach their full expression in the fulfillment of the Torah and its ways. Astrology orders the month of Sagittarius in the category of the changing months. This implies that Sagittarius carries with it the possibility of change, as was revealed during Chanukah, when the spiritual situation of the Jewish people changed from slumber and negative self-image to renewal and revitalization.

ibid..
The three other changing months-Sivan, Elul, and Adar-all carry within them symbols of change essential to Jewish practice. The month of Sivan saw the giving of the Torah, which was the most fundamental change within the Jewish nation, transforming them from a nation of slaves to a kingdom of princes, a holy nation. The month of Elul is set aside for repentance, for the mending of one's ways. During this month the essential purity of the Jewish people was returned to them, after being tainted as a result of the sin of the Golden Calf. The last of the changing months, Adar, saw the change of decree from annihilation to life and liberation during the days of Esther and Mordechai, in the last days of the Persian exile. The month was changed from a time of mourning to a time of great rejoicing.

Bnei Yisaschar
The connection between light, Torah, and the bow is the reason for the custom of shoot- ing arrows on the holiday of Lag b'Omer (the thirty-third day of the Omer, during the month of Iyar), the day of the passing of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. On that day, before his death, Rabbi Shimon revealed many important secrets of Kabbalah (see Zohar, vol. 3, 176). The revelation of the hidden light may be likened to the shining forth of the colors of the rainbow. Rabbi Shimon told his son, Rabbi Eleazar, "My son, do not expect the coming of the Messiah until you see the self-illuminated rainbow." Thus, the coming of the Messiah is likened to the revelation of the hidden light. Chanukah, according to Kabbalah, is also, with the kindling of the lights, a symbol of the illumination of the hidden light. Cheshvan, the second of the winter months, corresponds to Iyar, the second of the summer months. On the eighteenth of Iyar (Lag b'Omer), the custom is to shoot bows and arrows in honor of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who was said to have incorporated all of the colors of the rainbow.