Welcome to the Planet Waves Introduction to Capricorn

ARIES | TAURUS | GEMINI | CANCER | LEO | VIRGO | LIBRA | SCORPIO | SAGITTARIUS | CAPRICORN | AQUARIUS | PISCES

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — The sign of tradition is also the sign of revolutionaries. The sign of reserve is the one associated with the impressive debauchery of the Roman festival of Saturnalia. Saturn, your ruling planet, is considered the very stalwart of stuck, but is in reality the most dependable agent of change. You are similarly versatile, embracing the new with a mix of eagerness and skepticism, and honoring tradition as a source of information about right now. That, and you think that old books smell interesting. You probably sniff every old book that you pick up.

Capricorn is the sign of all things old and ancient. Caesar said it was his sign of ‘good luck’ and is still associated with him today.

You may love to go to estate sales and visit antiques shops, not only because you like old things but also because you like to contemplate the way things were in different times in history. You believe that there are lessons to be learned from the past, and we would all be better off for learning them.

The past makes sense to you, and so do the reasons for leaving elements of it behind, particularly the useless ideas that don’t work (but we’ll keep that 1924 egg slicer).

Reputed to be an ambitious, hard worker, this is usually true, but the part about being ruthless is more of a myth than anything else. You prefer to get things done by agreement and arrangement rather than by force, but you’ll take authority if you have to, because someone has to be in charge and it’s better if that someone has a clue. Yours is the sign of everything you can ultimately make sense of, know the history of, and draw a diagram to explain. Capricorn is the energy we depend upon to hold things stable.

You’re not as boring as you like people to think you are. Really, you’re easy to please and if the sex is good, your life is good. Well, that and it’s nice to have a good job where your skills are tested and where you can grow and develop. You have great political skills and are one of the best people to plot and scheme with. You understand the deviant side of human nature.

Capricorn is crispy on the outside and deeply sensitive on the inside, a fact that most people may miss and of which you would do well to inform them (by your actions), so they know. You prefer the squishy kind of person as a partner, as in emotionally open (in a way that seems daring to you), but they also have to inhabit their gender in a conscious way. The part of the body under Capricorn’s governance is the skeleton, that which endures even beyond death under the right conditions, and that which provides the solid structure with which the softer parts of the body hold their form and positions relative to each other.

Capricorn is an earth sign, of a cardinal type. This is the sign of the winter solstice, associated with the dark days of impending cold; you love the security of the home fires burning. The planet that rules your sign is Saturn. Study the position of Saturn in your chart and you will learn a lot about yourself — promise.