Capricorn [22 December – 19 January] | star sign, horoscope, astrology and zodiac facts

September 3, 2018

Capricorn is the tenth astrological sign of the zodiac spanning 22 December – 19 January. It’s also an Earth sign – the others being Taurus and Virgo. Capricorn’s symbol is the sea goat.

Capricorn’s lucky colours are brown and black. Its celestial body is Saturn. Capricorn is associated with the cardinal quality; that of new beginnings, new seasons and change.

Dates: December 22 – January 19
Symbol: The sea goat
Element: Earth
Colour: black, grey
Day: Saturday
Celestial: Saturn
Quality: Cardinal
Most compatible: Taurus, Cancer
Birthstones: Onyx, ruby, agate, garnet
Scent: Warm woods, honeysuckle and apple.

Traits of a Capricorn

Strengths: Discipline, self-control, responsibility, brave, management

Weaknesses: Unforgiving, pessimistic, condescending, insecure

Being an earth sign Capricorns are often solid and fixed in their ways, though this does come with its benefits. Capricorn’s are often independent, self-controlled and good with responsibility, which can make them great leaders.

Capricorn’s signature trait of predicting the worst means their plans are often solid, realistic and not in jeopardy of shooting for the stars and missing. Capricorns are good at learning from their mistakes which, combined with an earth signs practicality and grounding, helps them to progress in an assured manner.

The downside of being an earth sign means Capricorn’s can be prone to stubbornness and can find it hard to look at things from others’ perspectives. Capricorn’s ruling planet is Saturn, which has a mixed influence: it imbues this sign with its strong sense of responsibility and practicality, but can also be responsible for the more cold, guilty, distant and unforgiving tendencies in this birth sign. They key is to be aware of this. Being uncompromising can have its benefits, but valuable relationships require some flexibility from both sides. Capricorns do well when they to learn to forgive. Grudges are a burden on both parties. Capricorn the goat is brave in the face of fear; use this to braveness to confront your inner insecurities head first.

The Capricornus Constellation

The Capricornus constellation is the smallest of the zodiac and sits in an area of sky named the sea with other water related constellations such as Aquarius, Pisces and Eridanus

Capricornus is a relatively faint constellation. The brightest star in the constellation is δ Capricorni, otherwise known as Deneb Alged. Deneb is the Arabic word for tail and the star is traditionally known as the ‘’tail of the goat’’. Another star, α Capricorni, is a multiple star known as Algedi or Giedi coming from Arabic word for "the kid", relating to the constellations mythological association with the baby Zeus.

There are several galaxies and star clusters within the Capricornus constellation. One galaxy group, HCG 87 is a group of three interacting galaxies that astronomers predict could merge together in millions of years to form one giant elliptical galaxy.

In the Northern Hemisphere Capricornus is best seen at early evening in September and October.

Sagittarius in History and Mythology

Capricorn is one of the oldest mythological constellations, having been represented as a fish-goat hybrid since the Middle Bronze Age. In the Early Bronze Age it marked the winter solstice.

In Ancient Babylonia it was recorded as the Goat-fish even before 1000 BC, a symbol of the god Ea.

In Ancient Greek Mythology the constellation has several associated stories:

Capricorn is sometimes identified as Amalthea – the goat the suckled the baby Zeus after Rhea (his mother) saved him from being eaten by his father (Chronos). The broken horn of Amalthea turned into cornucopia, the horn of plenty.

Another myth relates Capricorn to the sea-goat Pricus. Pricus was the father of the sea-goats; a race of intelligent creatures who were favored by the gods and the ability to speak. Many of Pricus’ children who lived near the shore turned into normal goats after having been on dry land for so long, losing their special abilities. Pricus, in an effort to remedy this, continually turned back time (a gift given to him by Chronos, the god of time). After many attempts he resigned himself to a life of loneliness. Crushed by this fact he asked Chronos to let him die (he was immortal). Instead Chronos catasterized him into the sky as the constellation Capricornus.

Another parallel of Capricorn is the god Pan, who had a goats head. In order to save himself from the monster Typhon, Pan gave himself a fish’s tail and escaped into a river.