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By Lily Satterfield
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This month, I am tackling one of the toughest assignments I have ever had. My goal to help you to understand the
Capricorn sign, a sign so full of contradictions and bad press (in western culture) that it is relegated to the "dull
signs" in many astrology texts which try to describe it. No wonder the more creative and soulful people decide not to
read the books. It is a common misconception that earth signs equate with conformity and predictable prosaic lives.
The same writers decided that Pisces are vulnerable, Libras are weak , etc. In this way they miss the vital inner core
of the symbolism of the signs. At one time, the signs were considered to be the living images of God, templates for
all the basic types on the earth. I will show that the fiery core of our earth captains, the Capricorns, is anything but
dull.
To some discriminating intellects, astrology seems just as shallow and worthless and a recipe for pork muffins in a
scientific journal. Many of my clients do not read astrology books because they know they can't relate to the regular
clichés about their signs. I say, don't give up seeking astrological truth. Please understand that our current culture
is still learning to respect mother nature, and the planets and stars which are part of Her world. You can use any tool
to grasp the spiritual meaning in life, to steer yourself morally and with success.
Now look at your Capricorn friend. This is exactly what his or her life is about. They are the exemplars of spiritual
consciousness grounded in the world. The Capricorn template is of a perfected human!
Not only that, Capricorn is the actual Sun god, born at December 21. What is the connection to the sign of Capricorn
with the ancient and pagan holiday, the winter solstice? On Dec 21st every year, the Sun makes it's annual descent
southward until after midnight. It then stops moving southerly for three days and starts to move northward again.
During this time, the ancients declared that “God’s Sun” had “died” for three days and was “born again” after
midnight of December 24th. Thus, these many different cultures celebrated with great joy the “Sun of God’s”
birthday on December 25th. His story of birth, death, and resurrection is the foundation of the Christian faith. The
story comes from the really old time religion, going back into our untraceable historical past and beyond.
Look again at your friend, the Capricorn. The worship dies in your throat, because you know that he or she is very
human with many foibles and critical faults. What is unique about them is their intense inner contradiction in
motivation. They need to be respected because they are part sun god and savior, and they also need live their lives
outside the rules or predictable course of the masses and be independent. They play both roles, that of the
establishment and of the rebel who defies the establishment. It gets complex.
On a practical and mundane level, Capricorn represents responsibility. Capricorn is the "executive" of the zodiac.
They are born on the darkest days of the year, a time when serious things must be done to insure survival during
the winter. They are dark humored, yet they are often gifted with the ability to entertain and lighten hearts (there is
that contradiction again).
All Capricorns have a healthy enjoyment of work and productivity. They perform their responsibilities with gusto.
Even a black sheep Capricorn will fulfill his rebel role, working hard to bring shame on those who require it. One
ancient symbol of life is a leaping goat. Have you ever gone to the petting zoo to visit the baby goats? They leap with
energy, the very image of joy in enterprise. No goat is ever idle or lazy, they forage or mate with enthusiasm. Living
a fulfilled earthly life is important to Capricorn people too.
Well, what is the complaint about them? They work so much, many Caps never see the light of day. They let the
social life go until someone complains. They they do their best to perform the proper role as son, daughter,
husband, partner, etc., but people know when they are faking. They can't meet the right people to love because they
are conflicted inside about what they want a relationship for. A Libra or Taurus does not have this conflict. Goddess
people know that love is life and we must have it. But Capricorn has complex motives, one of which is their quest for
status and worldly position. The way they get love is to say "why me" or "why not me". The latter group seems to get
the love because they can at least imagine that they are worthy of it. Self esteem is a key issue for Capricorns in the
love area. Again, that is because their sign is an example to us all of the dual loyalties we carry, to be exact, the
loyalty to duty versus the loyalty to love itself. This conflict is as old as mankind.
Actually, performance of duty is a good way to describe the spiritual calling of winter born and Saturn ruled
Capricorn. The Template calls for stern attention to tradition. They are wonderful at the role of priest and priestess,
remember the Sun God? Many Capricorns are to be found in key positions where they help uphold tradition and
teach a younger generation of tough goats to survive. That is why you will find Capricorns in all positions of power,
be it local, state or national. They gravitate toward leadership, and the place they shine is as an executive or top
manager.
That is how the Goddess works through them. They gravitate to power, and through their conscience, justice is
done. The mission to lead and be original takes them through all types of occupations, no job too lowly for the
ambitious. They are the original captains of industry! They excel at modern life, in that they have the experience and
respect for traditions that help them with success. Traditional values dictate that a balanced life includes fulfillment of
family life, community life, and religious life. To the Capricorn, that might be enough to keep busy. That is why it falls
to other signs sometimes to fill in the social agenda. The area where Capricorns are weak is in self esteem issues.
With an understanding partner, the Capricorn's desire to live the lifestyle she wants results in amazing productivity.
Capricorn people bear the Devil archetype in western society, and a powerful label and stigma it is. In medieval
times, the presence of the devil could be told by a smell, a sharp musty odor. There may be something to the
connection between the natural energy of a healthy animal and a fulfilled earthly life. Think Pan, the happy Goat
God. For individuals who wish to do the work, the devil side can be transformed into a blissful sex life, or a
good game of golf, or into any type of pleasure and success you wish to manifest. The Devil in all of us is power,
passion and individuality. It is far from being a bad side, it represents energy. Don't take my word for it. When you
study the psychology of western culture, you come upon this emphasis on the good vs bad side, most of which is an
attempt at social control of our creative energy. We are all conflicted because of our human predicament.
Capricorns are the ones who act out this contradiction and confusion for the rest of us.
Humphrey Bogart was a goat who was quite rebellious in life and at the same time he was the soul of decency and
morals. He was known for his public marital fights. He was a heavy drinker who liked to hang out with "colorful"
people, regardless of their backgrounds. What people always remember about Bogie was his professionalism and
his decency and truth. He was good as gold and his word as a man was reliable. In other words, he had integrity. For
these qualities, he captured the heart of a whole nation. He became our own black sheep with a true blue heart as
he acted out his values in symbolic form on screen. He always portrayed a man of conflicted morals in a sticky
situation where his integrity would be the thing that saved his life or the day itself. Even when Bogart scandalized the
nation by marrying young nubile Lauren Bacall, 20 years younger, still he was loved by his fans who trusted him to
live up to his own standards and act as an example. Bogart never disappointed.
Paramahansa Yogananda was a Capricorn, and read his autobiography. He was very human and constantly
admitted his flaws. He worked with spiritual practice and his duty to teach in a foreign land. He even tells of his
fondness for food which was not permitted on his diet, because his earthly life was totally dedicated to service of his
duty. In addition, he had taken the vows of Bramachara, that of dedication to service, a path which forbids marriage
or family. No amount of fluff would satisfy one so ambitious as Yogananda, and his ambitions were spiritual. He
worked hard to know God, to serve God and to love God. His church is called the Self Realization fellowship The
teachings he left are still a way to find out how to get tradition and modern life to integrate in your life, through the
application of moral law to resolve the conflict.
Ambition a little different? Rock star Jimmy page has applied lots of effort and enterprise to being a top guitarist. I
mention Page for a couple of reasons; one is that he has a reputation as being a hedonist. He simply takes the
freedom, freedom we all have to pursue creativity and pleasure. He has a fondness for tradition but he studies
western ritual magic, which is a very naughty non conformist thing to do. It delights the need for scandal and fulfills
his sincere love of tradition, especially spiritual tradition. See how neatly he falls into the back sheep category, and
illustrates my point. Capricorns are enthusiastic to grasp opportunities to act out the hidden problems of all of us.
Well, I hope I gave you a few points to chew on, dear readers. Trust me to give you the inside secrets of a
professional astrologer. Keep in mind that to me, no sign is better, and like the Divine Mother, I love all the signs.
Next month, the sign Aquarius is my focus. Be prepared to find out more than you wanted to know about your airy
brethren.
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