Sun Signs - Capricorn

- CAPRICORN –
22 December to 20 January

Ruler: Saturn
Cardinal-Earth Sign

When we have Capricorn strong in our charts (i.e. Sun, Moon, Saturn or Ascendant in Capricorn), responsibility and reserve often feature as our natural mode of self-expression. We are seen to be overly serious, restrained and cautious; yet we possess an elegance that at first glance belies our inherent shyness. Like the mountain goat that rules Capricorn, we are sure-footed when we are comfortable with what we are doing. We appear practical and reliable to others and we are seen as being able to strategise and plan.

We may be very self-conscious, either of our height or skin, our weight, or lack of it, that we move in a rather stiff fashion. We may wish we could be more spontaneous, but because we very much want the world to take us seriously, we opt for the more grown-up and responsible image. We like others to see that we take life very seriously indeed. We may often hear others comment on how mature we are for our age. Perhaps we were brought up to behave in the proper way, to put on our best manners in company. We may be the eldest, only or, after a large gap, youngest child in our family, which meant a huge amount of adult company and not nearly enough contact with our peer group. We certainly emulated the behaviour of the adults we came into contact with. And whether or not we had younger siblings to watch out for, or even if we didn’t have to take on a parental role, for some reason we have always assumed a position of responsibility. We may have had to let go of our playful childhood at a very tender age. But, as a result, people always feel they can count on us. We may appear very ambitious to others.

Having Capricorn strong can make us appear quite serious and mentally and emotionally old before our time. We are not people to take things lightly. Grey hair early in life is sometimes a characteristic that may reflect a worrying, but mature nature. It’s heartening to know that we Capricorn types tend to get younger as we get older, as our step in life lightens. The years will toughen us after what may have been a less-than-robust start healthwise.

As a child we probably appeared self-sufficient and mature, yet with a lack of security that was well hidden, perhaps so that no one would be aware of our neediness. We may have behaved in a very proper way so as to conceal the emotional turmoil we really felt or so that people would not mind having us around. Childhood certainly was not easy for us. Luxury or an ease of living may not have been very evident. If we have Capricorn on the Ascendant, subconsciously (and if we believe in reincarnation) we may have paid off a karmic debt from a former life very early on in this life via a difficult birth and childhood. But as a result, we may have erected walls and fences around ourselves that we secretly wish we could tear down. We may have learned not to trust in anyone, and that we can only get what we want by ourselves, for ourselves. We may desire someone who can see past the barriers to the person we really are. We need warmth and reassurance very badly. Overcoming and acknowledging the rejection (conscious or unconscious) from childhood will lift the inhibitions we are surrounded by.

Not being wanted by either one of our parents prior to our birth can imbue us with a deep sense of rejection. We may not have wanted to have been born at all. Hence our birth may have been a lengthy and arduous process both for ourselves and our mother. Early childhood trauma, guilt and responsibility for our parents' happiness may mean we have a burden placed squarely upon our shoulders. Tension in the shoulder area may be particularly evident because this is where the complex bears down the hardest. We may have muscles that go into spasms or we may sleep with a very tight jaw, perhaps even grinding our teeth. We may become tired easily through a tendency to habitually constrict our breathing, as if we are trying not to take up space. All this tension in our body wears us out. Probing through painful memories can lift these great burdens from our shoulders, freeing up our body to stand tall and proud of its existence.

If we can relate to all this, then we have to stop beating ourselves up as a result of the inadequacies of our childhood or pre-birth trauma. Our desperate desire to be wanted and needed does not mean that we should settle for second best. We need to attract someone who can free us from our anxieties, and who understands what is really going on behind our shyness and reserve. Once we have overcome these obstacles to happiness and have really accepted who we are (with and without our warts), we will attract the right person into our life i.e. someone who can nurture us emotionally. Getting in touch with our own uniqueness means not comparing ourselves to the people we envy or admire. Everyone has something they would like to change, but usually that something is the quality that makes that person very unique. It's all a matter of learning to love ourselves and knowing that beauty comes from the inside out.

Often we come into our own once we hit our thirties. It’s at around that age, and after a crisis or two, that we begin to look at the world through younger eyes, we sense what we have missed in our youth and as a result, we enjoy life more and more. We begin to stop taking the world so seriously. And as we leave behind the burdens and struggles of the past, we find those black moods descending upon us less frequently, we rise above the depressive thoughts and pessimistic outlook. We feel the weight melt from our shoulders, we kick down the walls and pull away the defenses we have built to protect us from life’s hard knocks. And often we stand straighter and taller than we ever did. We may look very distinguished with our silver-grey hair (think Richard Gere) and our finally glowing skin may not have a wrinkle in sight.

And most often, with the thrusting energy of Cardinal Capricorn, we own up to being very ambitious indeed. We are finally free to concentrate on ourselves. So with a steely determination to succeed at something, we turn our frowning eyes in an upward direction, toward the peak of the mountain and away from of the base. If we found ourselves tethered in our youth, we may just find a way to escape to freedom. We may find our career or direction in life after 30 - once we’ve been through the growing-up process that Saturn, the taskmaster, throws across our life-path at this age. We learn, after a heck of a lot of inner struggle, to take risks more freely, to let the wind blow through our hair. And, once we finally know where we are going and who we are, we loosen the tightness around ourselves. We often stop worrying about the future and begin to enjoy the moment. At long last, sigh our friends and family.

Capricorn has a tendency to skin problems, especially dryness in some parts, oiliness in others - perhaps nose and scalp. Teeth can either be very durable or very poor in quality, seldom is there an in-between with this placement. Our speech patterns may be very deliberate and matter-of-fact. Our digestive system may not be as efficient as we would like, so attention to diet is necessary. We would be wise to take care of our bone structure. Weakness in the knees may also be present. Relaxed walking may be a very satisfactory exercise for we, especially as we get older. With Saturn being the ruling planet of this area, there are distinct seven year cycles in our life.

(c) Tracey Rizvi, 2006