PHYSICAL
There is no denying that, as things stand at present, this sign suits women much better than it does men. All Goat natives, whether male or female, share many characteristics which our basically patriarchal society normally associates with "feminity." But when it concerns the fair sex, "feminity" is favorably considered or gently condoned, depending on its positive or negative aspects, whereas it is generally frowned upon in the bearded sex. This discriminating attitude, of course, is unjustifiable and tends to aggravate the less desirable side of Goat females' nature.
When drawing up any native's psychological portrait, astrologers usually make a distinction between his (or her) faults and virtues. Such a method proves awkward when it comes to the Goat woman, for the various features of her personality tend to overlap one another and it is impossible to draw a clear line between her strengths and weaknesses; moreover, she is so changing, so self-contradictory that some of her good points may suddenly become bad ones, and vice versa.
The Goat woman is first of all noted for her sweetness, meekness, air of innocence, and compliance. People can hardly ever detect a trace of aggressivity or enmity in her comportment, even when she is subjected to extreme vexation. She does not seek to provoke or withstand, preferring to keep a low figure and yield the ground under all circumstance. It is almost impossible to pin her down on any subject as she is always reluctant to express opinions of her own and consistently adopts the tactics of the chameleon; one would be grossly mistaken, however, not to realize that behind her modest exterior hides a very quick and perceptive mind. Her unassuming attitude may point to a lack of ambition or self-confidence, but is very effective in warding off hostile reactions and activating protective reflexes in others. In this manner she can indulge in all sorts of funny little ways with immunity and successfully charm her way through life.
Another of her character traits is her absolute candor. Unpretentious and humble, she does not know the art of make-believe and behaves with remarkable transparency. Consequently, there is no doubt this subject enjoys popularity in society, all the more as she is physically alluring and likes to mix. People eagerly seek her company, confident that it will be agreeable and that they will not be confronted with bad surprises.
Of all the Chinese duodecimal zodiac, the Goat-born female is endowed with the most vivid imagination. This gives her a poetic, somnambulistic appearance which seduces most people she meets but may irritate some. She is inclined to be exceedingly psychic — she always has difficulty in drawing a boundary between the phantasmal and actual worlds, and floats continually from one to the other.
Dreams occupy a paramount place in her life. Whatever her age or material condition, she eternally shows a deep attachment to fairy tales and loves stories with a happy ending. Stories about kings and queens, princes and princesses, never fail to exert a powerful fascination on her, and she is ever willing to spend money on books and magazines dealing with them.
The Goat female is also the most intuitive person known to Chinese astrology. She definitely seems to possess a sixth sense, for she can perceive what is impenetrable to the common run of mankind. No wonder why she usually says "I feel" instead of "I think." It is in her habits to make decisions or statements quite offhand and more often than not turn out to be right, only to find herself unable to account logically for her moves or indicate how she got the information. One could not blame her for exclusively trusting her own antennae and deliberately, though always discreetly, ignoring other people's advice.
Her memory is unsurpassed. She absorbs almost all events and experiences, especially those with affective overtones. It takes her no effort to recall what happened years and years before, without missing the minutest detail. As a school-girl she is unbeatable in learning languages or memorizing historical dates and poems.
Is this woman an egoistic, unfeeling creature, or on the contrary an affectionate, generous individual? It is practically impossible to give a straight-away answer to this question without running the risk of oversimplification. Actually, the Goat woman is born astride both these extremes, a fact which constitutes one of her major contradictions and which accounts partly for her elusiveness. On one hand she could be considered the epitome of gentleness and bighear-tedness. She is unmistakably thoughtful of others and instinctively knows how best to please them; their happiness makes her own happiness. She also singles herself out by her exaggerated generosity, for she could give whatever she has to anyone who asks. Essentially, she is more sensitive than anyone else: The sight of a stray cat or lonely bird trembling in the rain may prove unbearable to her and give her an emotional shock of great intensity.
But not rarely does she behave in a completely different manner. Strange as it may seem, she is at times totally engrossed in her own welfare and interests, showing utter indifference to the desires or miseries of others; every now and then people can see in her a person apparently devoid of all humane feelings. This woman is of course herself unaware of such reversals in her personality or at least incapable of understanding and explaining them. However, they are not a complete mystery to an outsider. One could safely surmise that they are her own means of self-defense: Being so sensitive and vulnerable, she unconsciously covers herself with a carapace of egoism and disinterest which can shelter her from unbearable emotions and sufferings; to put it differently, she has to resort to emotional self-anesthesia. Her case could be likened to that of the rose, which, in order to protect its delicate beauty and exquisite fragrance, has to make use of a terrible weapon — thorns.
As just said, the Goat woman is emotionally vulnerable in the extreme. It is never easy for her to live with her impressionability which knows of no limits, and those who want her good are often at a loss not to upset her precarious equilibrium. Sometimes she seems to defenseless that one may wonder how she could survive.
Her emotions, however deep and tumultuous they can be, are always sincere. She instinctively knows how to express them, naturally and daintily. On the other hand, she invariably views any lack of emotional response on the part of someone else as a most painful affront — it is why she must stay away from phlegmatic people.
Considered under a certain angle, many of this woman's character traits appear to be distinct drawbacks. One of these is her arrant dependency, which she never bothers to conceal. She does not believe herself to be strong enough to fend for herself and always counts on others in the business of living. Moreover, she is firmly convinced of women's inferiority to men and seldom hesitates to seek protection and support from members of the opposite sex; faced with criticisms from her more "liberated" sisters, she just smiles and ignores them.
Throughout her existence she deludes herself into believing that the world owes her a living and that all she has to contribute is merely to exist. Not only does she want to be entirely taken care of, she also insists on receiving a special treatment from life. As a consequence, her laziness, lack of fighting spirit, and exactingness generally exceed all reasonable boundaries.
Another of her less desirable characteristics is her indecision. Under any and all circumstances she finds it extremely difficult to make up her mind, to pursue one train of thought, to sustain or follow anything through to its conclusion. All she wishes is to see someone else decide in her place and dictate his will to her — only a firm discipline imposed from the outside can put an end to her sempiternal hesitation and make her move ahead. Left to herself, she would ever be floating in the clouds and drifting to where the wind of events pushes her.
She definitely lacks will power and courage. It would be easier to teach an old dog new tricks than to convince her to take things in stride and face up to reality. When things go wrong or the challenge of life requires a strenuous effort, her instinctive reaction is to plunge into her own interior waters where she can feel secure and where everything is still and rosy. She may be inclined to withdraw from conflicts and tensions through the escape routes of drugs, alcohol, futility, vagrancy, religiosity, or bigotry.
There seems to be no stage in her life when the Goat female ceases to behave like a spoiled child. As a rule she only does what she wants to do and when she wants to do it, with complete disregard for the urgent tasks at hand. Incurably romantic, she persistently balks at coming to grips with actual problems and piously hopes for the best to come out of the wrong situations and people. One cannot prognosticate her circle of ever-changing moods with some reasonable degree of accuracy. Frivolity, superficiality, carelessness, thoughtlessness, credulity, and a tendency to mysticism are all an integral part of her psychological makeup. Finally, despite her elaborate escape mechanism, she is unable to free herself completely from spells of gloom and despair, from moods of self-pity and dark forebodings.
Catherine Deneuve : a famous Goat
PSYCHOLOGICAL
Despite her frequent tokens of kindliness, the Rooster woman is even less easy to live with than the male half of the sign: Her character surpasses his in sharpness, with in addition a petty side to it.
Strange as it may seem, this female exhibits tremendous strength of will; she has nothing to envy her Buffalo counterpart as far as forcefulness is concerned. She is not inclined to be adaptable, contrary to what her surface gentleness may indicate. She imposes her authority on others almost without noticing it. People are generally reluctant to come into opposition with her; even when she is totally sincere, they cannot help being on their guard against her, for they sense the volcano fire under the quiet mountain. Like the Snake woman, she loves to charm and seduce; but while her astrological sister's objective is to secure acceptance, she only seeks to make her interlocutors accept her dictates more easily.
There could be no doubt about her aggressiveness, which varies in intensity according to her success or failure in sublimating her ingrained anxiety. It is not rare to see her fly into a rage at the slightest provocation. She often subjects to pitiless examination those with whom she comes into contact. Her remarks and criticisms about people can be as ruthless as those of the Dog woman — she has a brutal way to say things, without bothering to beat about the bush. When opposed, she may show a tendency to be cruel. She may even resort to unfair methods in an effort to crush and humiliate an adversary. Her sadistic penchant is at its worst when she finds herself under pressure or in disappointment.
Her vindictiveness is equal to anything. When she has decided to bear a grudge against someone, there is practically no way to lesser it until he has definitely gotten out of her way. Secretiveness and slyness make up an indissociable part of her character. She instinctively knows how to dissimulate and can fool others for extended periods if she chooses to.
The Rooster woman ranks among the rare persons, male or female, endowed with such vivid intelligence and perspicaciousness. Her judgment is not only rapid; it is acute and apropos as well. She has the gift for seeing realities behind the smokescreen of evidences and particularly of words. There is no possibility of lying to her — she generally knows the truth instantly, as if through supernatural revelation. She can effortlessly sense another's most vulnerable points, the flaw in his defense system, and then find the most appropriate means possible to deliver him a lethal blow.
It has been pointed out earlier that there exist many similarities between natives of the Buffalo and those of the Rooster. The Rooster woman is no exception to this general observation. Among other things she tends to take herself too seriously. Laughing at herself is something she simply cannot conceive of. She lacks the sense of joy and humor to a serious extent. Self-righteousness is not totally alien to her. She continuously looks for appreciation though she will seldom admit it. On the other hand, few would be as generous with their own advice as she.
This is a profoundly conservative type despite her apparent nonconformism and liberalism. She has definite ideas and fixed opinions, which she is prepared to defend to the bitter end. Tact and compromise are not her strong points, for she is quite determined to have her own way. One can sometimes detect in her a certain kind of bigotry, religious or other.
The self-destructive force that inhabits her functions uninterruptedly, only with more or less vigor according to the prevailing circumstances. It is why she seems to be constantly on the lookout for ways to ill-treat herself or ensure failure — in perfect good faith and subconsciousness, of course. It may happen that she suddenly throws up her usually austere way of life for the pursuit of pleasure in every form which, if not stopped in time, will inevitably lead her to destruction.
The most important thing for the Rooster woman to perform in life, it seems, is to successfully harness her overwhelming innate energy into a constructive channel. If she chooses to direct it toward efforts at promoting human brotherhood and welfare, then her good deeds will be unparalleled and will be forever engraved in the memory of people.
LOVE
The Goat female is certainly the most romantic, the most loving of all women. To her, love is the essence of life, and there is nothing more natural than to love: It would be impossible for her to exist or survive without love. One would waste one's time and effort in talking to her about feminist claims in general and Women's Liberation Movement in particular, for she finds all this utterly senseless. There is only one claim she wants to make — that she be allowed to love to her heart's content, without any hindrance whatsoever.
Since she only lives for love, she could in no way do without men for any length of time. Because of this some people are inclined to view her as an oversexed and nymphomaniacal creature. Actually, these epithets are quite unjust: Her sexuality serves primarily as a means of expression of her soul, and her eroticism verges more on mysticism than on carnality. Nevertheless, her particular conception of, and attitude toward, love does not in the least harm her extreme sensuousness and desirability as a wonderfully voluptuous bed partner.
Men find the Goat female utterly irresistible — she has the exclusive power to thaw even the coldest ones and tends to produce more suitors than she can possibly handle. But while her exquisite, effortless feminity brings enormous joys to members of the opposite sex, it may also prove a cause of their ruin as it all too often makes them lose their heads — there probably exists no more dangerous femme fatale than this woman. One might wonder if Eve and Helen of Troy were not natives of the Goat sign!
In love, more than in all other sectors of her life, the Goat woman shows profound, inextricable contradictions. On one hand, she sincerely longs for an ideal union where she can give the best of herself without any strings attached. Soft, tender, and affectionate, she only asks to be entirely consumed by her passion for the man of her heart, to get lost in him, to enter nirvana through him. She is more likely than any other female to believe in true love and love's absolute capacity to bring about true happiness. When she loves, she loves wholeheartedly, so wholeheartedly that the object of her love may feel frightened at her sentimental avalanche. She is also inclined to show an unequal capacity for dedication and self-sacrifice.
But the reverse side of her love behavior could give a foretaste of Hell. First and foremost, she requires comfort and ease, like a gold fish, despite all her protestations to the contrary. She is unlikely to stake her life on anyone who would compel her to pinch pennies, and does not care to conceal her intention to enter a financially advantageous marriage. If he is to keep her love burning brightly, her man should never leave her in need, for poverty is certain to spell disaster.
Her love also needs to be handled with the utmost care which not every male is capable of. A dispassionate look, a brusque gesture, a word uttered at the wrong moment, or some other seemingly harmless trifle could be enough to momify this ball of fire. Since to her the worst ordeal is to feel undesirable, she relentlessly asks to be made to know she is treasured by the man she loves; his failure to give her constant reassurances of his eternal love is likely to be interpreted by her as murderous treachery. It is practically impossible for anyone to chart her mood fluctuations, and a sincere lover would be hopelessly entangled in the game of guessing.
But if this woman more often than not behaves as a sore trial to those who love her, it is principally because of her incurable fickleness. Born with a multiple, insatiable heart, she demands not only quality but also quantity in love. Fidelity is an empty word for her as she sees no point in restricting her natural inclinations. It is indeed rare to see her conduct only one love affair at a time. Marriage is not considered by her as an obstacle to her escapades; in this way she is generally a bad spouse despite her being a fantastic lover. In addition, jealousy is deeply ingrained in her character.
The native enjoys an exceptional state of grace which effectively immunizes her against sorrows in love. When she no longer loves or is no longer loved, she does not feel the situation as traumatic or even painful. From an old love to a new one, she has the amazing ability to preserve her initial capacity for wonder and enjoyment in its entirety.
This subject always more or less fears the responsibilities of a family, especially a large one. Her love for a man, however deep it may be, would stand a slim chance of survival should he make her the mother of a numerous offspring. This, however, does not mean that she is basically a bad mother: She can show herself extremely tender and indulgent with her children, but it would be excessive to demand that she behave in a strictly responsible way on this score.
It's much more by sensations than by words that love manifests itself in you. If you don't always know how to show your feelings, being sometimes too shy or taciturn to do so, you're nevertheless eager for tender, warm, and sensual affection.
When you love, you feel the visceral urge to melt with the other one and form a oneness with your loved one. Love is glorified by you; it can only be the outcome of all your ideas — abnegation, sacrifices, beauty, elevation, but also disillusionments.
With you, sentiments are rarely simple. Love, mysticism, extreme devotion or secret masochism — all this can exist and coexist. And very clever is the one who can manage to understand you without making you lose your charm, to support you without crushing you, to counsel you without hurting you, and to bring you all this ambience of understanding and complicity which you need.
If you are not always a perfect spouse, you are generally a delicious date owing to the tenderness and poetry which you know how to create. This romantic mark is one of your most attaching qualities, but also a trap when you do not find in your partner the man capable of responding to your aspirations.
You are always on the lookout for a partner capable of vibrating at your dreams, sharing your imaginations, and participating in all the marvelous which inhabits you. But you also want him to be more realistic than you are and capable of taking care of you — on condition, however, that he does not hamper you.
Living, day after day, with the chosen of your heart and making sure that your love doesn't take on a wrinkle, that's your most earnest desire. It's why you hate loneliness. You need so much to give and to receive tenderness!
Your dreams are omnipresent, so much so that your oneiric universe can sometimes overlap the real world. You may happen to welter a whole forenoon in the murkiness and happiness of your strange reveries all the while you appear interested in what you're doing. To exculpate you, one must say that your fantasmic world is extremely rich and that beside it reality is so deceiving. And if you keep in your head the image of those who haunt your nights, it's because their attractive power is infinite.
Your dream man is a traveler. But your traveler does not satisfy himself with roaming our planet. He's more unreal. He's The Wanderer, The Authentic Stranger, the one who comes from so far that one doesn't know if he's really a man. He resembles Robinson Crusoe. He's also a traveler among the stars, or an extra-terrestrial appearing suddenly, during a full-moon night, in order to initiate you into strange love games. The man of your dreams is also a mystic, a monk, or a Hindu sage who loves you and God at the same time and equally. Whether a traveler or a mystic, the man who attracts you is always different. You know that he knows the secrets of pleasure and that he will open its door to you.
If the woman of your heart is a GOAT
Love plays a most important role in the Goat woman's life. However, it is not quite easy to love her because she always remains a little mysterious in certain ways. This enigmatic side of her sign is all at the same time her charm and her drawback, because it makes it more difficult for her to melt into a loved one.
She needs a lot of affection and love, but doesn't always know how to distinguish the true from the false. One can "get" her with sentiments because she's rather weak and influenceable. As she's very appealing to the opposite sex, she's often unintentionally become the object of love at first sight. And the passions that she once aroused in others won't calm down during their lifetimes.
Very attractive, with her strange, dreamy look, she generally knows how to bring a touch of poetry, an enchanting delicacy into her love life. During the first period of her love, she excels at the art of making a delicate and discreet courting, susceptible of touching the heart of the one whom she desires — on condition that she's capable of controlling her extreme shyness, which often torments her. Indeed, her fear of being rejected or of appearing ridiculous frequently makes her hesitate in declaring her feelings, and she needs to be encouraged.
Unfortunately, she can at times have difficulty showing her love, not knowing how her secret will be accepted, thus confining herself to an unavowed and sterile passion.
In any case, she's a great romantic, her sentiments are whole and her feelings deep. There's nothing lukewarm in her — she lives her love experiences intensely, frenetically, dramatically. As a general rule, her romances are unstable or take place in confused conditions or with sudden turnovers. There could be several unions or marriages in the course of her life, each one capable of transforming her destiny.
Living, day after day, with the chosen of her heart and making sure that her love doesn't fade, that's her most earnest desire. She needs so much to give and to receive tenderness. That's why she can't be a happy single woman!
ADVICE
Full of emotions, the woman of your life is one of instinct and intuition. On the contrary, it's difficult for her to find words to express what she feels. For her, some silences are even more eloquent than some speeches. But taking this attitude risks to cause communication problems between the two of you. Therefore, be attentive and learn to comprehend your woman's reticences so as to be able to understand what she feels.
You must also know that the Goat woman needs to believe in a perfect love, so much so that she's prone to beautifying reality. So, she attributes you character traits which you don't have, so as to make you resemble the ideal person whom she has in mind. But beware of a disaster if the truth catches up with you and if you fall down from your pedestal!
Sometimes, however, she'll want to get out of her dreams and come back to earth. It's then up to you to prove that a man in flesh and bones is more exciting and less frustrating than a novel or movie idol!
Take into account your woman's extreme need for protection. She is tender, attentive, sensitive, sensual, and very keen on pleasing you. But she can also at times get lost in her dreams, or subject to her interior fluctuations which you can hardly admit to. Don't be too harsh with her, give her all the understanding and solicitude which she needs in order to bloom.
If you want to please and keep your Goat woman, try every now and then to create a timeless ambience. This will give her the impression of living in a land of wonders and legends, which she's very fond of.
WORK
Although she is basically more interested in inactivity and daydreaming than working, the Goat female can be enthusiastic with a job if it pleases her or if it appeals to her sentiments. But even in this case she will display more good will than efficiency. She needs constant supervision and prodding in order to show what she is capable of; it is why she does best in fields where she has to associate with others. Once subjected to a strict discipline, she can carry out adequately any kind of occupation, including the most exacting or routine ones.
Her sympathetic heart and her own self-defense systems most naturally predispose her to such works as concern the care of others. Thus she can be a much prized physician, obstetrician, psychiatrist, pediatrician, or nurse. She can perform these tasks in a particularly touching way since she seems to identify herself totally with her patients whereas in reality she may be absorbed in quite something else without anyone's knowing it. This ability to be two persons and live two lives at once is an exclusively "Goatish" privilege.
As she is generally good at academic studies, the native could successfully do research in social fields or in any other discipline related to humanitarian efforts.
Probably nobody would love animals more than she does. Her relationships with them bear a strange, almost mystical, mark, as though she could dialogue with them in a secret language. Being a veterinarian or animal breeder would procure her profound satisfactions.
As indicated earlier, this woman possesses unmistakable occult powers. One can therefore find her among the best renowned mediums. Her competence is equally surprising as a card-using fortuneteller, telepathist, clairvoyante, etc. To non-believers in spiritualism, it may be explained that she owes her extra-lucidity to her exceptional intuition.
This intuition also allows her to sense the "collective soul," thereby making her a good journalist, saleswoman, publicist, and in general one whose profession requires a thorough knowledge of the psychology of the masses.
Owing to her taste and sensitiveness, she can do well or even excel in all artistic fields. This is a wonderful sign for a dancer — dancing is to the Goat woman as natural as walking. As a writer she enjoys the extraordinary ability to express herself with subtlety and imagination. Having no difficulty in identifying herself with the characters she represents, the Goat female often proves a first-rate stage or movie actress.
Lastly, nothing seems to preclude her success as a secretary, teacher, clergywoman, public speaker, or playwright — provided she be strictly disciplined.
