Characteristics: ambitious, authoritarian, brooding, career-minded, guarded, hard-working, loner, loyal, mature, pessimistic, responsible, security-minded, stable, stern

Dates: December 22^nd – January 19^th

Symbol: The SeaGoat

Ruling Planet: Saturn

Natural House: Tenth House

Body Parts: Knees, Bones (Including Teeth), Joints

It wouldn’t be far-fetched to call Capricorn “the beginning of the end.” This sign marks the start of winter, the last season of the astrological year. The fact that Capricorn begins on the shortest day of the year is enough to give you a good idea of the kind of sign it is. Early winter is a time for us to withdraw indoors and do some heavy introspection and reflection. By this time, leaves have fallen off, branches are left barren, and white and gray overtake the landscape. Many people develop the condition Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.), a type of depression brought on by long night hours and cloudy weather. Capricorn doesn’t play games, smell the flowers, or wear rose-colored glasses. You’ve had a lot of fun throughout this sign series, especially with Leo and Sagittarius; that doesn’t fly here. Capricorn is associated with the goat or the mythical seagoat (a goat with the lower half of a giant fish). The goat represents Capricorn’s ability to climb to great heights.

This jump to Saturn that we’re going to make here is a complete one-eighty from Jupiter, Sagittarius’s ruling planet. Saturn, named for the father of the Roman god Jupiter, is the disciplinarian among the planetary rulers. Saturn is where we run into roadblocks, experience setbacks, and generally where we have a hard time. Jupiter is where we’re lucky and things just fall into our laps. Saturn is where we have to put in hard work in order to get results. Capricorn is all about hard work and pouring out sweat, blood, and tears for its rewards. It’s a sign that’s not averse to earning delayed rewards rather than immediate ones. With Saturn as its ruler, Capricorn understands that life is unfair, and very little in life comes easily. But with perseverance and determination, one can achieve what Saturn blocks. It’s not that Saturn doesn’t want you to gain access to the matters of whatever house it’s in; it just doesn’t want you to think you can earn it without first putting in the effort. Capricorn people are often very pessimistic and brooding because they’ve learned firsthand how difficult life can be.

The Tenth House is Capricorn’s natural domain. It’s the highest point in the natal chart and represents career, public image and reputation, and the more authoritarian or same-sex parent (more on this in the Tenth House article). In general, the Tenth House is where and how you come out on top. The Fourth House, the opposite of the Tenth House, is the bottommost point of the chart, representing our private or home life. It’s about family, our ancestry and roots, and the nurturing or opposite-sex parent. It’s where we go to recharge and get tender, loving care. With the Tenth House, on the other hand, you can’t cry to mommy and daddy when things go wrong. The world is watching, and you can’t be vulnerable. Capricorn is about taking charge and rising in position, rather than retreating to the abode. It’s an authority, a role model, and a professional. Yes, it sounds harsh, but Capricorn knows there are some places where you can’t just throw a tantrum, whine and cry for what you want. It’s born old at heart, only balancing out in maturity once it reaches middle age. In life, we need to put on our big-girl or big-boy pants, and step up to the iron plate: that’s what the Tenth House tells us to do. And Capricorn has no problem doing it.

To be cardinal earth means that Capricorn is about having a go-getter or fast-start attitude towards material or practical matters. That’s not to say Capricorn is materialistic by any means. Capricorn doesn’t aim to accumulate a blimp-load of money; just the respect and power one gets from becoming a master in his or her field. Capricorn’s greatest strength and weakness is ambition. It doesn’t just plan for tomorrow or next week or next month; it plans years in advance. The Capricorn that wants to become a cosmetologist will read beauty magazines and experiment with different types of make-up, hairstyles, and mani-pedis. It will ask a family member to teach it hands-on skills. It will go to a vocational high school and learn the trade. By graduation, will either have earned certification for cosmetology, enrollment in trade school or an internship. Eventually, it will secure a job in a beauty parlor, learning practical experience and moving through the ranks, all while saving up money for its next step. It may move to a larger city and secure a better-paying job or take more courses on its weak spots. It will even offer services from its own home. Finally, after years or decades of sweat and toil, Capricorn will have its own beauty salon. Being proactive about practical matters is what brings this sign success. The hard part of this ambition is the loneliness that will most likely ensue. Capricorn is infamous for being older than its years, making it hard to make friends, especially prior to high school or college. Capricorn people are known for marrying late in life because it’s so focused on its career or goals to make time for relationships. As a result, Capricorn comes across as icy-hearted, closed off or stern. Yes, this is a pretty brutal way to live, but we all have to have some kind of ambition in life, or we will go nowhere. And Capricorn doesn’t have time to go nowhere.

Capricorn wouldn’t even go to any party other than one for business, unless its friend drags it there. It’s unintentionally overdressed—perhaps in a three-piece suit or sweater, dress shirt, and tie—and understandably uncomfortable. It would rather go back and read a good book while having a cup of tea, or doing some take-home work, or else eating an unwinding post-work dinner. Most of the other guests will be too intimidated to converse with Capricorn, especially since it’s in an unhappy state. It’ll sit down and have a strong drink to calm itself down amidst this nonsense. The possibility of it spending the night by itself isn’t low; however, signs like Virgo and Scorpio can work up the courage to talk to it, and Capricorn may also talk to Cancer, another sign that stays to itself. Some of the single guests may be drawn in by Capricorn’s maturity and well-put-together demeanor, but very few, at most, will have their invitations accepted by Capricorn; work first, security second and love can wait. Those whom Capricorn will accept as a potential boyfriend or girlfriend will earn more points depending on their age, as this sign tends to date those who are a number of years older or younger than itself.

Capricorn rules the knees and joints, as well as the entirety of the skeletal system. Capricorn people are born as very mature and serious youngsters who become more fun-loving and youthful with age. They age very well physically, have beautiful bone structure, and often have very straight teeth. But people with Capricorn on certain house cusps or in certain other configurations can have a hard time with their health. I, personally, have seen instances where people with Capricorn on the Sixth House cusp develop knee problems or injuries, or bone conditions such as arthritis. There is also a propensity towards cavities and other conditions that affect the teeth. Capricorn people need to make sure they do as much as they can to avoid overworking, stay positive, and calm themselves when they’re stressed. If they do not, their depression will lead to physical ailments that will interrupt their work, which will lead them to anxiety and more depression, creating an insufferable cycle.

Next Article: Aquarius, the Fixed Air Sign