A Child of Saturn



When the shortest day meets the longest night the active, dominant, earth sign, Capricorn, makes her appearance. This is the highest point of the Astrological cycle, the most spiritually and socially ambitious sign in the Zodiac. It symbolizes authority, order, and the higest ambitions of human kind!

Traditionally, Capricorn is associated with career, social position, responsibility and professionalism. She is also ruled by Saturn, the one planet who sets limits, who guides the maturation process and determines what the person must do if she or he is to attain their highest. Capricorns often seem to be born old and get younger through their middle years. Serious, diligent, highly sensitive and determined to be of use in the world, those born under Capricorn want to be respected for their skills and appreciated for their usefulness.

Capricorn is identified with the archetype of the Father, and their relationship with their personal father plays a major part in their development. Capricorn longs to gain the approval, the admiration of the father and wishes to be seen as an authority in her own right. The greatest danger this child of Saturn faces is that they can become rigid, highly resistant to change of any kind, and terrified of being percieved as inferior, unskilled or inadequate. Their tendency to take themselves too seriously, to slip into depression, and to equate their worthiness with their achievements is another danger. However, if they conform to Saturn’s principle: ”Know thyself, accept thyself, be thyself, they shall overcome their Saturnian trials and know where their duty and success really lies.

Capricorn is not only associated with the Winter Solstice and the Father, it plays a very special role in the birth of the divine child. This child once was associated with Mithras, whose birth was celebrated on December 25 by the Romans. Christians took over this holiday and designated it as the birth of Jesus. In any case, the coming of the child, its promise of a new life, a rebirth of the sun, and hope for the future, plays a major role in the development of Capricorns. Saturn's child must learn to cultivate this innocent being, this hope for the future, this bright and joyful inner child. Thy must know their duty is not just to the outer world, their fathers, their careers but to their inner most self.

While the Capricorn native often seem to be sticklers for the law, the rules, the only proper way to do things, this is only a symptom of an innate drive to excel. Those born under the sign of the goat can be incredibly patient, persevering, and organized when on task. A healthy Capricorn loves to share her know how and can be invaluable when it comes to planning and organizing any project. However, an unhealthy one often focuses on all the sacrifices she made for others and their lack of appreciation. This can lead to her withdrawing from family and friends, feeling rootless, lonely and misunderstood. The cure for this is for Saturn’s child to get in touch with her emotions, intuition and instincts. She needs to lose her fear of vulnerability and reach out for the empathy, support and nurturing she needs.

If this is done, she will no longer view life in terms of her status, financial security and how others view her. She will set her own standards, relate freely and easily with people outside her circle of familiarity and learn to relax. She will balance discipline with compassion , planning with spontaneity and become the person other’s look to for guidance, structure, and effective organizing.

This in a way is the ultimate duty (Dharma) of Capricorn. She is to merge the Wise Old Man with the abundance and solidity of Mother Earth. She needs to realize she can become successful in her own being, rather than according to the standards of others. Her task is to nurture the divine child, looking toward the light, working patiently for a new day and the highest she can envision.

On or about January 21, the Sun passes into the aloof, sociable and amicable sign of Acquarius, reputedly the finest host in the zodiac.