Traditional
Capricorn Traits
Practical and prudent
On the dark side....
Pessimistic and fatalistic
The Capricornian is one of the most stable and serious of the zodiacal types. These
independent, rocklike characters have many sterling qualities, although admittedly
some of these are as dull as they are worthy. This type is normally cautiously
confident, strong willed and calm. Hardworking, unemotional, shrewd, practical,
responsible, persevering they are capable of persisting for as long as is necessary
they are reliable workers in almost any profession they undertake. But they are
neither original nor creative and can only develop what others invent or initiate.
Within their limits, however, they are resourceful, determined managers, setting
themselves and others high standards. Honest in their criticism of self, they respect
discipline from above and demand it from those beneath them. In their slow, tough,
stubborn, unyielding way they persist against boredom, frustration, and hardship to
reach their objectives long after more brilliant and volatile subjects have given up. In
fact when practical business ability allied with the drive of ambition and lust for power
and wealth are required in employees to make a project succeed, Capricornians are
the people to hire. They plan carefully to fulfill their ambitions (which often include
becoming wealthy), are economical without meanness and able to achieve great
results with minimum effort and expense. Because of their organizing ability they are
able to work on several projects simultaneously.
They love authority but may not be popular if they reach high rank, for,
self-disciplined themselves, they expect their underlings to be equally so and to
perform every task undertaken to the highest standard. They are, nevertheless, fair as
well as demanding. Among their equals they are not always the most pleasant of
work fellows either, for they are reserved and too conservative, valuing tradition
more than innovation, however valuable the latter, and they are often humorless.
There is also a tendency to pessimism, melancholy and even surliness which many
Capricornians are unable to keep to themselves, especially if they fail personally or
do not achieve the corporate success which they had planned for their firms. They
can spread gloom and tension in their circle which depresses everyone around them.
In the extreme this trait can make them manic-depressive, ecstatic happiness
alternating with the most wretched kind of misery for no reason that the subject of
these emotions can name.
The swings in mood are not the only reason Capricornians deserve the adjective
based on their name - capricious. They can be surprisingly and suddenly witty and
subtle for the dull, prosaic creatures they seem to be, and they also have a tendency
to ruin everything earned by their caution and shrewdness by unexpected and utterly
irresponsible bouts of flippancy. In individuals in whom the characteristic is strong,
the temptation to do this has to be resisted with iron self-control. Another
unexpected quality in some Capricornians is an interest in the occult which persists in
spite of their naturally skeptical turn of mind.
Their intellects are sometimes very subtle. They think profoundly though with little
originality, have good memories and an insatiable yet methodical desire for
knowledge. They are rational, logical and clearheaded, have good concentration,
delight in debate in which they can show off their cleverness by luring their
adversaries into traps and confounding them with logic.
In their personal relationships they are often ill-at-ease, if not downright unhappy.
They are self-centered, wary and suspicious of others, and in turn attract people who
neither trust nor understand them. They prefer not to meddle with others nor to allow
interference with themselves. Casual acquaintances they will treat with diplomacy,
tact and, above all, reticence. They make few good friends but are intensely loyal to
those they do make, and they are bitter, revengeful enemies. They sometimes dislike
the opposite sex and test the waters of affection gingerly before judging the
temperature right for marriage. Once married, however, they are faithful, though
inclined to jealousy. Family life, if well ordered as they like it to be, more than
balances the goatlike inclination to lechery and inconstancy which some old
authorities have ascribed to Capricorns.
Besides those already mentioned, faults to which the type is prone are
over-conventionality, bigotry, selfishness, avarice and miserliness, chronic
complaining, incessant unnecessary worrying, and severity spilling over into cruelty.
Their occupations can include most professions that have to do with maths or money
and they are strongly attracted to music. They can be economists, financiers,
bankers, speculators, contractors, managers and real estate brokers. They excel as
bureaucrats, especially where projects demanding long-term planning and working
are concerned, and their skill in debate and love of dialectic make them good
politicians. They are excellent teachers, especially as principals of educational
establishments where they have the authority to manage and organize without too
much intimacy with the staff members. If working with their hands, they can become
practical scientists, engineers, farmers and builders. The wit and flippancy which is
characteristic of certain Capricornians may make some turn to entertainment as a
career.
Physically they have thin bodies and are below average height, with lean,
narrow-chinned faces. The long skull, crowned with sparse black hair, sits on a
scrawny neck, and moustache and beard are also thin. They are narrow chested and
may be weak-kneed, a handicap which gives them an ungainly bearing. In spite of
their inprepossessing physique, Capricornians have a reasonably strong constitution.
Many of the ailments of which they frequently complain for they are inclined to
hypochondria are psychosomatic and due to their natural melancholia and
depression.
Capricorn governs the knees, bones and skin, so its subjects may be liable to
fractures and strains of the knees and other defects of the legs. Skin diseases from
rashes and boils to leprosy (in countries where that disease is prevalent) are dangers,
and digestive upsets may be caused by the Capricornian's tendency to worry or
suppress emotions. Anaemia, Bright's disease, catarrh, deafness, rheumatism and
rickets are also said to threaten the natives of this sign.
Ambitious and disciplined
Patient and careful
Humorous and reserved
Miserly and grudging
Over conventional and rigid
