Zodiac Sign CAPRICORN

As Sun has now entered Capricorn I'll post the last excerpt from Ingrid Lind's out-of-print little book Astrology and Commonsense - her entry on the sign of the sea-goat. Before flexing my typing fingers for that, just a word about Capricorn's symbolic depiction as a goat - properly a sea-goat (fore-part goat, hind-part fish)but often nowadays the sign is depicted by a common-and-garden goat. There's all manner of explanation of the whys and wherefores of the mythological seagoat online. Accept whichever feels right, it makes little difference. But it can be an interesting study for its own sake. Skyscript's piece on Capricorn addresses the symbolism, and serendipity astro-lovers.com has an interesting page on the various strands of mythology associated with Capricorn.

So...from Ingrid Lind (who, given the title she chose for her book, probably had a good helping of Capricorn in her own astro-makeup)~~~

CAPRICORN

Quality: Cardinal
Element: Earth
Ruler: Saturn

Capricorn is a straightforward sign in the sense that it is at one in character with its ruler, Saturn. It will be remembered that Aries, first of the cardinal signs, combines action with fire and passion (Mars); Cancer is action in emotion and sensitivity (Moon); Libra is action in airy, mental concepts and in art and co-operation (Venus). In Capricorn cardinality combines with Earth and we see action allied with caution and commonsense. The ruler, Saturn has a chilling effect and there is no heat in Capricornian activity; no hurry, no impatience. Earth signs know and understands the rhythms of nature and Capricorn knows that the seed must be given time to grow and bear fruit. Steady, driving ambition and one-pointedness will bring the Capricornian slowly but surely to the top. He can be a hard taskmaster, for he will exact from others just the amount of work he feels it is their duty to perform. Sentiment, compassion, do not enter into the bargain. An eye for an eye.

No one, fortunately perhaps, is all Capricorn, any more than any one person can embody or exclusively manifest any one of the signs; but for the man or woman who wants to succeed in the world the chart will disclose no better ingredient than Capricorn.

Regarding Taurus, the first Earth sign, I remarked that it was like the flour in the cake. Capricorn is like reinforced concrete in the building, giving human character the core of toughness, the quality of endurance, so necessary if one is to cope with the difficulties of human life.

Whatever the profession, Capricorn gives the ambition, cool and deliberate, to ensure success. A successful actress who combines Capricorn with one of the Venus signs (Taurus, Libra), will put her beauty to effective use. A politician or orator who combines it with the communicativeness of Mercury will do the same with his gifts. The general balance of the chart may indicate aptitude for any career; but Capricorn will provide the will to succeed.

Capricorn Qualities (notes in brackets are mine)
Ambition
One-pointedness (I think this means single-mindedness)
Coolness (not the "hip" kind -the cold kind)
Steadfast endurance
Reliability and commonsense

Capricorn Faults
Ruthlessness
Any-means-to-and-endness
Callousness
Nagging persistence
Rigidity and coldness.

As we approach Christmas once again, a time traditionally set aside for honouring the birth of Jesus Christ, even though it's been pretty well established that he wasn't born on 25 December, and nor was he as Kris Kristofferson's lyrics proposes, "a Capricorn".

Remember?

Jesus was a Capricorn
He ate organic food
He believed in love and peace
And never wore no shoes
Long hair, beard and sandals
And a funky bunch of friends
Reckon we'd just nail him up
If he came down again.

From all that we read about Capricorn in modern astrology, it'd seem the least likely of all the 12 zodiac signs to fit the personality of Jesus, as told. And yet - dip into the mythology of the seagoat (mentioned in para.1 of this post), then maybe Capricorn isn't as bad a match as modern astrology might indicate. The fish tail of the goat is thought by some to indicate the emotional depths of the sea from which life originally emerged, while the goat's fore-parts indicate the earthy substance of life. The compassion of Jesus for the suffering of others matches the emotional element of Water indicated by the fishtail, and his flesh and blood presence as a teacher on Earth could be said to relate to the earthly image of the goat's fore-part.


Doesn't much matter what one chooses to believe, or whether one feels the need to belong to any organised religion - the key is to try to live by a single tenet of Christ's teachings: "Love one another". We truly need nothing else, no further embellishments.