The symbol for Capricorn, 10th sign of the zodiac, is a capital ‘V’ with a stylised ‘S’ coming from the top right line. It represents a goat’s horns and a fish’s tail. Ruling planet: Saturn

Capricorn Star Sign – Enduring Angels

You’ve got one very determined and Enduring Angel here, with so much strength, determination and seriousness, that sometimes you’ll have to remind them to be a kid. These are wise, old souls, with eyes that say “I’ve already seen it all and know it all”. There is a sense of timelessness about them, as if they came into this world already knowledgeable in the concept of time and in the scheme of things, all will happen in its own time.

That’s great for them, but not for you when you’ve got to drop the cat at the vets, kids at kindy and the 101 things that you’ve got to do. They just seem to operate in their own time continuum, where things move at their pace.

Good luck trying to get this Enduring Angel to fit into your time schedule!

This is a sign of very high morals and a sense of right over wrong. It’s also a sign of incredible endurance. In adult life, they are likely to be very successful, as they’ll thrive on opposition and adversity. Just when most people start thinking about giving up, they’re just hitting their stride. The concept of failure and giving up, just doesn’t fit into their vocabulary. That’s great and it’s going to ensure that when it comes to your old age, they’ll be able to look after you, but what about now? When it comes to a battle of wills, oh boy, are you in for a run for your money.

Your Enduring Angel will look you in the eye and say “no” and just stand there, with all the time in the world and a look in their eye that says “I’m not budging”. And you know what? They won’t. This is one very stubborn sign and you’ve got to avoid a battle of wills at all costs.

The trick to raising this Enduring Angel, is to make sure you’re working on the same team, with each other, not against each other. They have a need to face challenges and overcome them, so give them small things to do, that will allow them to feel that sense of power, which they crave.

Being responsible for a pet or an animal is perfect for a young Enduring Angel, for it gives them control over something else. Did I mention you had a little Control Freak here?

However, avoid giving this little soul too much responsibility, for they will take it very seriously and can easily become overwhelmed. Capricorns don’t really come into their own until adults years, when the awesome power they yield can find a constructive outlet and they have learnt to control the inner strength and determination they possess.

This is a very serious sign, yet it’s also a very spiritual sign. Don’t think you’ve got a hard nut here, just because they’re strong, brave and determined. They have a very soft side, which they only usually show to those they really trust. They have a need to portray a sense of strength and power and not appear vulnerable, which they are just like the rest of us. It’s only when they really trust that they’ll reveal themselves to be just as fragile and vulnerable as the rest of us.

Love your little Enduring Angel and take some of the weight from their shoulders. Let them know that they don’t have to be brave and strong all the time and don’t let them grow up too fast. They’ll take on responsibilities at every opportunity, but don’t let them take on too many, too soon. Love this little soul and marvel at their sense of morality, integrity and courage.

These are the true heroes of the cosmos and this little soul is going to be a ‘rock’ in your life.

Capricorn Star Sign – The Constellation

The Constellation that we call Capricorn is Aegocerus. Aegocerus is said to be the goat that was brought up with Zeus and Zeus treated him as a son. He fought on Zeus’ side in the war against the Titans, which the Olympians or ‘New Gods’ won. Aegocerus is said to have invented the trumpet and that when he blew this during the war against the Titans, they fell into such a panic, that they fled. In fact, this is where the word ‘panic’ comes from. The God Pan (goat footed) was related to Aegocerus. The stories of both Aegocerus and Pan are both linked with Capricorn.

After the overthrow of the old order, the new Olympian gods gathered together by what is assumed to be the River Nile, where Typhon attacked them, the many headed monster. To escape this monster, the Gods turned themselves into different animals. During the conflict, Pan jumped into the river and changed his hind parts into a fish, while the rest of his body remained as a Goat. To this day, the symbol for the sign of Capricorn is a goat’s horn and fish’s tail.

Zeus was so impressed by the cleverness and appearance that Pan had adopted that he placed him up in the heavens as the Constellation of Capricorn or ‘goat horn’, as the Constellation Capricorn is in the shape of a goat’s horn.

This combination is pivotal to Capricorn energy, for it is often a complex and contradictory sign, but it all hinges on being part goat, part fish. The Constellation has been called the ‘Pather of Light’ and indeed, 15,000 years ago, the Sun was at this point on the summer solstice, dating the history of mythology of this Constellation back 15,000 years. During that time goatskins were sacred. The ‘Goat/Fish’ symbolism is recognised in almost every ancient civilisation. He was known as such things as ‘He of the vast intellect’, ‘Lord of the Sacred Eye’ and ‘God of Wisdom’.

In ancient Babylonia, he was known as Oannes, whose whole body was a fish, but his other body was underneath his fish body. He passed the day with men and the night under the sea. He gave humans insight into language, the sciences and arts. He taught them how to construct cities and temples and gave them laws and knowledge of such things as geometry. He taught them to distinguish between the different seeds and how to collect fruits and instructed them on how to become civilised and refined.

It is said that once his job was done he returned to the sea and returned just four more times, each time to bring a new level of civilisation and advancement to the human race. His job was to educate mankind and then retreat.

It wasn’t until later times that he began to be associated with the God Pan. Oannes is Pan in his ancient form.

One important aspect of the Constellation of Capricorn is that it was one of the two ‘Gates of the Gods’. These gates are where the Milky Way and the Zodiac intersect. Souls are said to ascend after death through the ‘Gate of Capricorn’ to return through the ‘Gate of Cancer’.

The Constellation of Capricorn was also known as the ‘House of Death’, as the Sun moves into the Constellation of Capricorn on the Winter Solstice and into its darkest and lowest point of the year. In ancient times, in winter, life came to a standstill and nature itself seemed to die. Yet when it passed out, it began its ascent into life again. It is a harsh bleak time of year when the very act of survival is paramount. Hence, Capricorn energy is said to be one that can prevail and overcome even the most bleakest and harshest of challenges.

Capricorn energy is said to dominate world events and to have great strength and importance. Caesar himself was born in the sign of Capricorn and coins dating back to his rule have Capricorn depicted on them. Manilius wrote of Capricorn’s presence when Caesar was born as – at Caesar’s birth serene he shone. Capricorn is regarded as the sign of leadership and ‘Kingship’.

The Fish aspect to Capricorn energy is its ability to swim deep into primordial waters of the human and spiritual psyche.

The Goat aspect of Capricorn energy, is the one that most of us think of when we think of Capricorn. In ancient times the goat was a symbol of courage, of high aspirations and a surefootedness that enabled them to climb higher than any other animal and overcome harsher conditions. Goats can survive anywhere and on even the scarcest of vegetation. They are true survivors and can endure short term sacrifices and harsh conditions.

One fascinating feature about goats is that they hate the rain and even hate puddles. If rain is on the way, they’ve often bolted for shelter long before the first drop of rain even falls. Scientists attribute this natural quality, to the fact that as an animal they are remarkably free from parasites, which breed mostly in water. This is a genetic trait that has come about through evolution. The goats that avoided the water, lived because they didn’t catch parasites, so even though in an ancient time, all goats may not have had an aversion to water, the ones that did survived.

In terms of survival mechanisms, the goat acts very differently to other animals that have been domesticated. When faced with danger, such as a predator, rather than herding together in a pack mentality, like sheep or other animals, they scatter, making it impossible for them to be herded together and cornered. Also they ‘freeze’ almost in the same way that an opossum does. A kid wont run to its mother, instead will become almost statue like, with no movement whatsoever. A predator can pass close by, but because they don’t sense any movement, can often pass right by.

Capricorn Star Sign – The Planet

Saturn is Capricorn’s ruling planet. It is said that Saturn was created in the Constellation of Capricorn. After Jupiter, Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar system. Saturn was the Roman god of agriculture, but in Greek mythology he was Cronus, the son of Uranus and Gaia and father of Zeus. Saturn gives his name to ‘Saturday’. It is the second largest of the planets (after Jupiter) and the 6th from the Sun.

Although Saturn was known and observed since ancient times, it wasn’t until Galileo observed it with a telescope in 1610, that many of its mysteries were explained. Saturn’s image seemed to change, but we have since found out that this is because every few years, the Earth actually passes through the planes of Saturn’s rings, distorting and changing our view of this planet.

Saturn was visited by the Voyager space probes, so we know a lot more about this planet than the ancients, or even the Astronomers who discovered its rings in the 18th Century. In 2004 another probe will arrive at Saturn, giving us even more insight into this spectacular planet and its system of Rings and Moons.

One mystery that has yet to be solved is Saturn’s luminous hue. Like Jupiter, it emits more energy than it receives, but that doesn’t explain this phenomenon. One explanation is that there could be some process such as ‘raining out’ helium, from deep within the interior.

The one thing that Saturn is famous for, are its rings. They look as though they are continuous bands, but they’re actually billions of particulars, all in independent orbits. They range in size from as small as a centimetre, to several metres across. The largest are thought to be up to a kilometre wide. They’re also incredibly thin. They’re 250,000 kilometres wide, but less than a kilometre thick. If you were able to fly into the rings, you would find that they’re mostly empty space, with very little actual matter. If you were to compress it into one ring, it would only be 100 km across, compared to the 250,000 it is, so that’s a lot of empty space in-between.

The other phenomena taking place, is one that is most in keeping with Saturn’s influence in our chart. There is a complex interplay going on between some of Saturn’s Moons and the ring system. Some of the moons are called ‘shepherding satellites’ (namely Atlas, Prometheus and Pandora). They’re important because their gravitational pull actually keeps the ring system in place. The whole complex is incredibly complex and scientists still don’t really understand it.

You can easily see Saturn in the night sky. It isn’t as bright as Jupiter, but you can tell that’s a planet, because of the lack of ‘twinkle’, that a star gives out. Even a small, home telescope will let you see some of the large moons and the rings.

Capricorn Star Sign – The God

Saturn is ruled over by Cronus, Greek counterpart for the Roman god, Saturn.

Cronus was the father of Zeus and the last of the Titan gods. His name means ‘Time’. His parents Uranus (Heaven) and Gaea (Earth) mated and produced the first race onto the earth. They were the Titans (earth gods). Uranus was repulsed by his offspring. He thought they were ugly and because they were made of flesh, were imperfect.

He hid them in the depths of the Underworld so that he would never have to see them. Gaea grew angry with her husband and plotted the rescue of her children. She plotted her vengeance and when the time was right, she pulled out a flint blade from her chest and gave it to Cronus, her youngest child and the most astute. That night while he was sleeping, Cronus used the blade (often depicted as a scythe) to cut off Uranus’ genitals and threw them into the sea.

Cronus then set his brothers and sisters free and took over as ruler of the earth. Cronus was patient and unhurried and during his reign, the whole of Creation took place. His reign was known as the ‘Golden Age’. These were times of plenty and abundance. As the god of ‘Time’ he ruled over the passing of the seasons and the cycle of birth, growth, death, gestation and rebirth in order to grow, die, gestate and be reborn again and so the cycle continued. Cronus ruled the natural order of life.

He was worshiped as the ‘Grim Reaper’ and as the god that would ensure that the rules and boundaries, paths which man could not cross, would be safeguarded. Yet when it came to himself, he couldn’t adhere to these rules. He couldn’t accept that the cycle of life also meant that his rule would pass, in order to be reborn. To ensure this cycle didn’t take place, as his wife Rhea gave birth to each of his children, he swallowed them. That way his rule could go on, unchallenged forever. However, even Cronus, king of all the earth, couldn’t thwart the natural order.

This went on for 5 years and each year Rhea bore a son or daughter, but by the time she got to the 6th child, she tricked Cronus. She wrapped a stone in cloth and presented it to Cronus as their youngest child, which he promptly swallowed. Rhea safely spirited her youngest child, Zeus away to safety, where he was said to be brought up with Aeogeocerus, the goat we met in the Constellation of Capricorn. Zeus grew to manhood and returned to his father’s kingdom with a poisoned cup that he gave to his father to drink. Cronus promptly threw up Zeus’ brothers and sisters and liberated them. They banded together as the new Olympian gods and eventually overthrew the Titans and their fathers’ rule to create a new Golden Age, thus perpetuating something that even Cronos couldn’t avoid, the cycle of life and the passing of time.

Capricorn Star Signs – The Season

Capricorn is the 10th sign of the zodiac, the 3rd earth sign and the first sign in the Winter triad. There are no fire signs in the winter triad and the earth itself has no warmth.

The Sun moves into Capricorn on the Winter Solstice, which is the shortest day of the year. It is a time of darkness. The leaves have been decaying in autumn and at last they re-enter the ground, where they’ll wait, suspended in the cold earth, ready to be reborn in the spring. The cold settles in and starts to penetrate the earth itself. Life below and above the surface goes into hibernation. People stay indoors, animals either go into hibernation, find shelter or were housed out of the cold by farmers. It was a time to go within and wait. Here, Mother Nature has to be respected. It is a time to plan for survival. Food had to last the long cold winter months. On the surface this can be seen as a time of isolation, death and being stalled. Yet it is part of the natural cycle and here death does not mean the end, rather the beginning. Just as a circle continues to go round and round and round, so does life, year after year after year and Capricorn is the sign that watches over that cycle.