Capricorn zodiac sign explained: Dates, compatibility, personality

Horns to the sky and hooves to the dirt, let’s talk about Capricorn.

The 10th sign of the zodiac and the last Earth sign, Capricorn reigns from Dec. 21 to Jan. 19. As the middle child between swashbuckling Sagittarius and charismatic cult leader Aquarius, Capricorn has a reputation for being shrewd, financially successful, and personally punishing.

Capricorn energy, at its highest expression, is strategic, driven, and more than a little bit rock ‘n’ roll, as exhibited by double Cap, singularly metal Lemmy Kilmeister. 

As the middle child between swashbuckling Sagittarius and charismatic cult leader Aquarius, Capricorn has a reputation for being shrewd, financially successful, and personally punishing. Андрей Молодцов – stock.adobe.com

As an Earth sign, Capricorn is associated with internal processing and a measured approach to progress, moving through the world with intention, motivated by the acquisition of the tangible, and drawn to the decadent.

Capricorn doesn’t always do what it wants, but it always does what must be done.

Easily the hardest working Earth sign, Capricorn doesn’t always do what it wants, but it always does what must be done. Relative to perception and reputation, Capricorns maintain a professional polish and an air of business at all times, exhibited by sea-goat national treasure Dolly Parton, who doesn’t even own sweatpants.

Country legend Dolly Parton is a Capricorn and a polished pro. Getty Images

Caps lock it up and keep it looking good, preferring to keep their relationships, weaknesses, net value, kinks, bad habits, and emotional outbursts wholly private. 

Ushered in by the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, Capricorn is a cardinal sign. Tied to the onset of a new season, cardinal signs are the team captains of the zodiac that push initiatives forward and easily galvanize others to support them in their efforts.

In relationships, Capricorns are loyal and generally willing to put in the work, though compromise is absolutely out of the question. For evidence, do yourself a favor and watch apex sea goat Eartha Kitt in arguably the most Capricornian three minutes of interview footage ever recorded.

True to their goat totem, Capricorns are striving and hard scrabbling, never settling for low elevation or a ground view. They’re not so much selfish as self-interested, and all moves are made with a successful ascent in mind.

In reaching for more, demanding better, and expecting excellence, Capricorn makes good on the words of sage sea goat Ramana Maharshi: “If you approach the ocean with a cup, you can only take away a cupful; if you approach it with a bucket you can take away a bucketful.”

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Planetary ruler: Saturn

Saturn is the stern but fair planet of refinement through punishment. arthit – stock.adobe.com

Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, the planet of boundary lines, hard lessons, tough love, and long-term commitments. In turn, Capricorns are imbued with an industrious and somewhat serious energy. The modality of this planet is steady climbing and the belief that there is no shortcut to the top or substitute for struggle.

Sound like drudgery? It is, but — like a base coat, strength training, cleaning the gutters, planting asparagus, and maxing out a 401K — it’s the kind of drudgery that pays off a little further down the line or up the mountainside.

Saturn is associated with dealers of discipline, fathers, mentors and/or authority figures. As children, the lessons and punishments we received from these figures were probably unpleasant but ultimately formative, Saturn distilled. As we age, Saturn reveals our self-imposed barriers to success, showing us that our blockades are the midwives of breakthrough.

Mythology

In Greek myth, sea goats were intelligent, noble creatures capable of consciousness and language. Sergey Kamshylin – stock.adobe.com

The symbol for Capricorn is the sea goat. In Greek myth, sea goats were intelligent, noble creatures capable of consciousness and language. The highest among them was the immortal sea goat, Pricus. When his children grew tired of their ocean confines, they sought sun and solid ground on the shoreline.

Eventually, their land-loving led to painful evolution; their fishtails became hind legs, and they lost the ability to think cognitively or speak clearly — in effect, becoming the goats we know and milk today.

Devastated by the loss of his children, Pricus used his power of time reversal to return them to the sea and their original form.

The Capricorn constellation Shutterstock

Yet, even with foreknowledge and stern warnings, he could not save them from their fate, and they all eventually made their way back to land and legs. Unable to bear the loneliness of being the only sea goat left swimming, Pricus asked Chronos, the god of time, to allow him to live out his immortality as the Capricorn constellation, where he could keep watch over his children as they roamed the earth.

The lesson within this myth is that we must move ever forward and honor what can be learned through loss. 

The lesson within this myth is that we cannot control destiny, dictate time, or truly start over. We must move ever forward and honor what can be learned through loss. 

Charms/strengths

Capricorn Energy is aspirational and industrious provectors – stock.adobe.com

Capricorn power can best be described using language found in any Jeep commercial from the mid-1990s through today: tough, uncompromising, dedicated, capable, and stronger than the obstacles in their way.

At its highest and holiest, Capricorn Energy is aspirational and industrious.

With the planetary influence of Saturn, Capricorn is the sign of limitations and boundaries; sea goats draw lines and toe lines and keep one unblinking eye always on the bottom line. They learn through direct, albeit often difficult, experiences.

Capricorn is best described using language found in Jeep commercials: tough, uncompromising, dedicated, capable, and stronger than the obstacles in their way.

Life is not breezy for this ilk, but they wouldn’t want it that way because breezy doesn’t build character.

There’s something of the Benjamin Button to the Capricorn trajectory, their lives marked by trying childhoods and joyful expansion in their later years. It gets better so long as they keep going. 

LeBron is a Cap king. Getty Images

Capricorns shine brightest when given direction, autonomy and a punishing goal to advance toward. They need a proverbial grindstone to sharpen themselves against, and when exalted, Capricorn is capable of serious empire-building.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, but you can bet your hooves it was made possible by a herd of enterprising Capricorns. 

Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol. Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Sea goats are agents of distinct and distinguished style. These people are here to work, and thus, what they wear takes on the feeling of utility and uniform.

Looking at you, Timothée “equestrian alien commander” Chalamet, John “buried in his leather jacket” DeLorean, LeBron “bespoke is my birthright” James, Jean-Michel “fashion as armor” Basquiat and supreme ruler of cool and ambassador of black Patti Smith.

Challenges/weaknesses

Jeff Bezos owns Amazon, The Washington Post and Blue Origin. AP

Within every Capricorn beats the heart of an opportunist. At their most indulgent, they use people to get what they want — and what they want is always to be ahead. There is a tendency among sea goats to guard their self-interests so closely that they lose sight of the effect this has on those around them. These patterns, gone unchecked, lead to feelings of isolation that make Capricorn a touch paranoid and more than a little melancholy.

They may question why no one trusts them or invites them to a beach picnic. Capricorns are adept at amassing wealth à la Jeff Bezos. However, when they prioritize money and the abuse of power over communion and construction, they are operating at their lowest, most dangerous vibrational level. <cough> Richard Nixon, Kim Jong Un, R. Kelly, Howard Hughes <cough> 

Hughes wrote a three-page guide to his aides on how to open cans. Getty Images

Capricorn symbolism relates to the proverbial scapegoat, a target for unjust punishment and the receptacle of other people’s guilt and inferiority. This dynamic exhibits itself within the sign as self-flagellation, a narrative of never feeling like they have, or are, enough.

Yet, this fear, when channeled appropriately, is the ultimate fuel for success. After all, steps toward greatness are not taken by people who feel content with themselves.

Tarot

Capricorn is associated with the Devil tarot card. volkovslava – stock.adobe.com

In the Major Arcana of the Tarot, Capricorn is represented by the Devil. The card, like the sign, is deeply misunderstood. Even the name itself is a misnomer. The horned creature pictured on a throne with the symbol for Saturn etched into his palm is not, in fact, Satan, but Pan.

The pagan version of a pastoral playboy, Pan was half-man and half-goat, famed for chasing nymphs, playing songs and generally reveling in his own base instincts.

The card — and by extension, Capricorn — relates to the balance between indulgence and diligence. If we give into decadence full tilt, it will destroy us — but if we deny it utterly, what kind of life are we living? Pan is flanked by two nude figures who are chained by the neck to his throne.

This card suggests that we are personally responsible for our own liberation and that freedom, to paraphrase Nietzsche, is choosing your own chains

Their bondage, however, is voluntary, as closer inspection reveals that the chains that bind them are loose enough to be removed. This iconography suggests that we are personally responsible for our own liberation and that freedom, to paraphrase Nietzsche, is choosing your own chains.

10th House

Capricorn rules the tenth house of parents and prestige. Vlad – stock.adobe.com

In astrology, Capricorn rules the 10th House of public image. This house is tied to lineage and the long game, how we make or unmake our reputations, as well as our relationships with authority and authority figures.

Within the birth chart, the cusp of the 10th House contains the MidHeaven, which represents our highest aspirations and greatest ambitions. Fittingly, the 10th House is the domain of our life’s work and how it — and we — are ultimately remembered. 

Body

Knee-knocking Elvis Presley was a sea goat. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

In regard to the physical body, Capricorn rules the knees, joints, skeletal system, and teeth. Capricorn is built for climbing, socially and professionally, making the knees an apropos distinction.

Add to this mix that knee-knocking Elvis Presley was a sea goat. 

The joints are relevant, practically and metaphorically, to Capricorns, as they often go too hard trying to test the limits of their bodies. They similarly risk taking on too much responsibility, carrying the taxing weight of the world aloft their determined shoulders.

The architect of the zodiac, Capricorn, is fittingly associated with the essential scaffolding of the skeleton, keeping things upright, coming correct with posture, and inspiring others to stand a bit taller.

Compatibility

Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart were two Earth signs in love. Getty Images

In astrology, compatibility is determined through synastry, the hallowed art of comparing birth charts to divine relationship potential. Synergy considers a mess of factors, but — for general purposes — it’s safe to assume the following signs have a fair shake at fortune with Capricorn. 

Fellow Earth sign Virgo makes for a great match for Cap. They share priorities, dry humor, and a commitment to staying the course even, and especially when all signs point towards abandoning ship. Virgo Lauren Bacall and Capricorn husband Humphrey Bogart made manifest the enduring and iconic effect of two Earth signs in love. 

Capricorn Norman Reedus and Cancer Diane Kruger. Getty Images

Capricorn and Cancer are positioned directly opposite one another on the zodiac wheel, making them a surprisingly complementary pair. Capricorn provides the security Cancer craves, and Capricorn — ever the traditionalist — is drawn to the cozy, codependent nest Cancer can’t help but build around their object of affection.

They share a commitment to keeping their love private (Capricorn) and protected (Cancer), a commonality made evident by Cancer Diane Kruger and Capricorn Norman Reedus’ decision to conceal the identity of their toddler daughter.  

English actor Orlando Bloom and his partner, US singer Katy Perry. AFP via Getty Images

In Scorpio, Capricorn finds an equal, a sexual deviant driven by an unapologetic desire for power and control.

Ambition is an aphrodisiac for these two, and while both harbor debilitating trust issues, as long as they support — rather than compete with — one another, this is a couple with the potential for world domination.

Hope is found in Capricorn Orlando Bloom helping Scorpio wife Katy Perry adjust her corset in order to perform at Variety’s “Power of Women” event.

Recommended listening

“Smooth Operator,” Sade

“Good News,” Mac Miller

“Champagne Taste,” Eartha Kitt

“Jesus Was a Capricorn,” Kris Kristofferson 

“9 to 5,” Dolly Parton 

“Pillowtalk,” Zayn Malik

Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture and personal experience. To book a reading, visit her website.