Your ruler Saturn is the planet of limitations, which includes the limitation of time. (To the ancients, Saturn was the symbol for Father Time.) You have a heightened sense of the value of time, which helps to make you a superb organizer and planner. Unlike those who don’t look beyond next month, you will carefully examine your goal, separate it into all its necessary steps, and plot out a long-term timetable that often involves years. In the sign of Capricorn the quality of patience reaches new heights. One of the hallmarks of your sign is that you learn to wait for things you want. You are willing to give up today’s temptation for tomorrow’s reward.
An aura of melancholy and sternness often surrounds you. Saturn has been called the Celestial Taskmaster, for it symbolizes responsibility, discipline, and restriction. As a child of Saturn, you need something to improve and to perfect. You could have been the prototype for Lewis Carroll’s sly and charming jingle about industriousness: “How doth the little crocodile improve its shining tail…?” You are ambitious, practical, and, above all, determined. You are not interested in vague theory; you want to put any knowledge to use. Your active mind quickly grasps ideas, and you have an admirable ability to concentrate. You are precise and orderly, and generally don’t trust others to look after details. When you give your word you stick to it, and when you undertake a task you complete it to the best of your ability. You tend to fuss over details and to make sure all contingencies are covered. It’s your way of being in control.
Because of your diligence, people sometimes fail to give you credit for creativity. Yet you are highly creative—your skill is to link this to your talent for organization. You put dreams into action, and are especially drawn to the artistic arena and the performing arts.
You think of yourself as a real person in a real world that allows little time for idle pleasure-seeking. In certain ways, Saturn is an austere and strict parent that lives inside each Capricorn. Essentially, you feel you can depend only on yourself. The child in you feels unworthy—and your lifelong lesson is to shed this feeling and learn to love yourself. You do not need to be your own parent who disciplines and keeps you toeing the line. You yourself must allow the spontaneous part of you to play and run.
Your remoteness of spirit is often misunderstood by others; it has been described as cold passion. But you are not cold as much as self-sufficient. Because you need to organize and control your surroundings, on occasion you take a strong hand in other people’s lives. To you, it’s not meddling but handling things better. Beneath your reserve there is a sensitive and sympathetic person, and anyone who needs a strong shoulder to lean on needn’t look further than Capricorn.
Certainly you do not deserve your reputation for being sober and gloomy. One of your more striking characteristics is a sense of humor. Your wit may be dry, incisive, but it is extremely funny and has a way of erupting when others least expect it.
As is your nature with everything else in life, you are cautious and conservative with money. Chances are you will amass wealth during your lifetime (usually in the later years), for you know how to make sound investments. In business your success is due to painstaking preparation. The journey of ten thousand miles may begin with a single step, but you know you can’t get anywhere unless you first know where you’re going. You may not size up a situation as quickly as some, but this can be an advantage, for it means you won’t heedlessly plunge in. Instead, you will research, examine what others have done before, and gather all relevant data. Only then, with a thorough understanding of the details, will you begin to move. And then you won’t be stopped until you reach your goal.
You are not comfortable with ambiguity. You seek certainty and tend to see things in black and white. Emotional gray areas are troublesome, and you turn away from them. To the unevolved Capricorn there is only one “right” way, which is his or her way. Capricorn can be closed-minded and critical, and put value only in power and success.
Your basic concern is for security. That goal comes first and you are usually materialistic. You can be spiteful toward those who stand in the way. You have a great sense of pride and will not forgive anyone who belittles or slights you. By the same token you will repay favors done for you. Scorpios also go out of their way to repay a kindness, but in their case it is done out of a sense of gratitude and fidelity. With you the motivation is pride that does not allow you to live comfortably under an obligation.
More than any other sign of the zodiac, Capricorns marry for money and prestige. In most relationships you must dominate, because when you are in control you do not feel vulnerable to another person’s power. In small ways you are continually testing the loyalty of those close to you. You are the loner of the zodiac, but have a great need to be loved and appreciated. Unfortunately, you won’t let this need be known—in fact, you are a past master at concealing it.
Underneath the mask, you wear still other masks, and it can take a long time to discover the real you. To others you may appear aloof, indifferent, hard to reach because you are so self-contained. But the very elusiveness of your Capricorn personality can be hypnotically attractive. Like a riddle wrapped inside a sphinx, there seems to be a fascinating secret buried in your depths.
Anyone who cares enough to penetrate your shell of reserve will be greatly rewarded. Your affections and loyalty run deep, and you cherish and protect those you love. And you stick around when the going is toughest.
The Inner You
You don’t need anyone to convince you that life is serious business; you’ve known it all along. That’s what keeps you anxiously asking yourself: Am I fulfilling my responsibilities? Am I achieving as much as I should? Am I self-reliant enough? You know you have the persistence and strength of purpose to reach your goals. But you also have a deep need to connect on an emotional level in your relationships so that you won’t feel separated from those you care about. You worry about keeping all that’s valuable to you—which includes relationships. Despite your intelligence and the fact that you’re so determined, you often feel insecure. You’re a bundle of conflicting emotions. You require discipline and order—chaos drives you crazy and makes you doubt yourself and what you’re capable of. But maybe the gods meant for you to have some doubt; if you believed you’re as powerful as you really are, you’d be impossible to live with!
How Others See You
You’re often seen as an irresistible force and an immovable object. People put you in charge because you’re decisive—you’re famous for having a great sense of realism. When others need a rational head in a crisis, they call on you. In personal relationships, some friends will stand in line to unload their problems on you; others avoid you because they think your outlook is too downbeat. Everyone agrees that it’s difficult to divert you from your course when you’ve set a goal. Some people feel that in order to find the real you they have to strip away layers of secrecy, but most understand that your aloofness stems from a deep sense of personal privacy.
FAMOUS PEOPLE WITH THE SUN IN CAPRICORN
* * *
Muhammad Ali
Steve Allen
Matthew Arnold
Isaac Asimov
Joan Baez
Simone de Beauvoir
Robert Bly
Humphrey Bogart
Ray Bolger
Victor Borge
David Bowie
Tycho Brahe
Louis Braille
Lloyd Bridges
Nicolas Cage
Al Capone
Jim Carrey
Carlos Castaneda
Paul Cezanne
Anton Chekhov
Mary Higgins Clark
Kevin Costner
Katie Couric
Ted Danson
Ellen DeGeneres
John Denver
Marlene Dietrich
Faye Dunaway
Robert Duvall
Benjamin Franklin
Diane von Furstenberg
Ava Gardner
Kahlil Gibran
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Barry Goldwater
Cary Grant
Oliver Hardy
Stephen Hawking
Conrad Hilton
J. Edgar Hoover
Anthony Hopkins
Howard Hughes
Joan of Arc
Janis Joplin
Danny Kaye
Diane Keaton
Johann Kepler
Val Kilmer
Martin Luther King Jr.
Rudyard Kipling
Gelsey Kirkland
Andre Kostelanetz
Gene Krupa
Frank Langella
Matt Lauer
Jude Law
Gypsy Rose Lee
Robert E. Lee
John Legend
Oscar Levant
Shari Lewis
Jack London
Howie Long
Mao Tse-tung
Ricky Martin
Henri Matisse
Dave Matthews
Henry Miller
A. A. Milne
Moliere
Mary Tyler Moore
Kate Moss
Sir Isaac Newton
Richard M. Nixon
Aristotle Onassis
Dolly Parton
Louis Pasteur
Edgar Allan Poe
Elvis Presley
Jean-Pierre Rampal
Paul Revere
Helena Rubinstein
Anwar Sadat
Carl Sandburg
Dianne Sawyer
Albert Schweitzer
Rod Serling
J. D. Salinger
Al Smith
Maggie Smith
Sissy Spacek
Joseph Stalin
Rod Stewart
Alfred Stieglitz
Michael Stipe
J. R. R. Tolkien
Jon Voight
Denzel Washington
Woodrow Wilson
Tiger Woods
Loretta Young
Your Most Likeable Trait FRIENDLINESS
ASTROLOGERS ARE FOND of this eleventh sign of the zodiac, for Aquarius is the sign of the future, of the visionary, some say of astrology itself. Aquarians are unorthodox, original people—sort of wacky, witty madcaps who refuse to follow the crowd and go their own way. You like being different. You not only march to a different drummer, you make up new music as you go along.
Intellectual independence is your most marked characteristic. In the sign of Aquarius, the combination of a fixed quality (representing persistence) and an air element (representing intellect and communication) under the influence of the planet of change, Uranus, creates a personality that is liberal, progressive, yet fixed in opinion. Your inflexibility shows up when others least expect it (in keeping with your penchant for unconventionality). It may be in defense of an idea you have, a trip you’ve decided on, a habit of yours that you refuse to give up—whatever the cause, someone will suddenly come in conflict with your Aquarian obstinacy. You refuse to compromise or give an inch. You’re a strange mix of an avant-garde thinker whose opinions are written in stone. You cheerfully ignore what others think and strike off on new paths, unbound by precedent, because there are so many more exciting things for you to discover that way. You think boredom is a communicable disease and take every opportunity to avoid it.
Your character is a system of paradoxes. You enjoy being with people but are content to be alone. You like to travel but love relaxing at home. You are friendly and outgoing but also detached and reserved. You have both a scientific and an artistic turn of mind. In career you often are involved in two distinct areas of work.
Your astrological symbol is the Water Bearer—often Aquarius is mistaken for a water sign. Aquarius is an air sign. You are a communicator, an idea person. People born under this sign live most intensely in their minds. The “water” being poured out by the Water Bearer stands for truth. You are a truth-teller; you give out opinions and observations. You dispense wisdom. You are a seeker of knowledge, rational, open-minded, gifted with breadth of vision. Chock full of information, you still search for more. You always want to know what lies on the other side of the mountain. One Aquarian recently declared, “It annoys me to find out there’s something out there I’ve never heard of. I need to know what it is!”
You can be objective in judgment, for you don’t let emotion get in the way. This appears to give you the ability to stand outside yourself, to rise above ordinary human frailty. Your built-in distrust of emotion compels you to struggle against its chains, and this may become a source of inner conflict.
Problems arise when your sense of identity becomes inextricably linked to your ideas. Like Gemini, another air sign, you have a lot of ego invested in your opinions. When others disagree, you take this as an attack on your personhood. Your fixity turns into willfulness and rebelliousness for the sake of being a rebel. You deliberately refuse to recognize that your idea isn’t working in the real world of your relationships or career—and you sabotage yourself by insisting on your way even if your way proves to be unfeasible.
You are very people-oriented, addicted to the study of human beings and an inveterate people-watcher. Outgoing and amiable, you attract friends wherever you go. You have a talent for making people laugh with a pithy phrase that sums up a situation—though those who tangle with you quickly discover how your sharp verbal skills can deflate pomposity and pretension. You possess a true common touch, yet never lose your own strong individuality. Whomever you meet, you remain you—that amusing, inquisitive, interested person who wants to know what makes others tick. Your gift is for dealing with all kinds of personalities from every walk of life, no matter what their station or status. You never put on airs, nor are you cowed by anyone’s wealth or position. If you met the Queen of England, you would be your natural self. We’re all related, you believe, because we’re all human beings. You are genuinely interested in why a person thinks this way or that. The nicest part is that you do not judge. You willingly grant to others what you consider an inalienable right: the freedom to be unique. For you, the ultimate liberation is simply the freedom to be oneself.
As a student of human behavior, you have great tolerance for the weaknesses and foibles to which all mankind is heir. You are a humanitarian, concerned with the welfare of the world, but do not get deeply involved in intimate relationships. There is always a certain distant quality to you, a detachment or aloofness of spirit. You seem to disassociate yourself from emotion. However, the cool, arm’s-length impression you give can be deceiving. In the zodiac Aquarius symbolizes friendship, and you can form close and enduring ties. Beneath your detached, seemingly unemotional exterior beats a stubbornly loyal heart. No one is a truer, finer friend than Aquarius. Completely free of malice, you’ll do anything to be helpful. Yet you’ll never let the other person become dependent on you. Your affection comes with no strings attached.
Because independence is your way of life, you will sacrifice even a close personal relationship in order to maintain it. Trying to fence you in or tie you down won’t work. If you feel trapped, you try to break free at any cost. Your sign of Aquarius also represents future hopes and yearnings, and for you, what’s over is done with. You want to escape the past and, like Peter Pan, head straight on to morning. You’re wonderful at hatching schemes and dreams, plotting trips, setting goals. The unusual—in people, places, and projects—is what really interests you.
As an idealist you would like to see that everybody is happy, and your ambition is to do something important and meaningful. Many Aquarians go into politics or become involved in social causes. This is the astrological sign of hopes and wishes, and you are the kind who follows a dream. History is dotted with progressive Aquarian thinkers such as Charles Darwin, Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
An Aquarian will hatch up a grandiose scheme for improving the way things are, but your main interest is in creating the idea, not translating it into action through work. Hard work
doesn’t interest you. You are creative, imaginative, endlessly willing to experiment, but the drudgery of detail and the minutiae of management are not your style.
You’d rather invent a new utopian scheme and let others grapple with the hard realities.
Your great weakness is a tendency to inflate your own importance, to pose as an expert on any subject.
You are so determined not to be like anyone else that you are sometimes contrary just to be different. You have the least regard for convention of any zodiacal sign, which often gives you a reputation for being eccentric. Just as you are broad-minded about the faults of others, you take for granted that your shortcomings will be overlooked.
Sometimes you will be argumentative not because you feel deeply, but simply because you enjoy the intellectual exercise. You are quickly bored and take delight in verbally provoking anyone you consider stodgy and dull.
Nevertheless, Aquarians are among the kindest people in the world. Easygoing, reasonable, slow to take offense, never mean-hearted, you believe in live-and-let-live. Honest, helpful, altruistic, and best of all never boring, you can change anyone’s life for the better just by becoming part of it.
The Inner You
The most frequent question you ask is “Why?” You want to understand what makes other people tick. Their lives fascinate you because you hope they will offer you insights into your own. You have plenty of love to give, and you want nothing more than to have lots of interesting friends, a wonderful love relationship, fulfilling work, and for the world to be a better place and everyone to be happy. Not much to ask, is it? One of your best-kept secrets is how shy and insecure you are. You wonder if the people you care about feel the same way about you—this is why you work so hard to make others like you. You want to share yourself, but are afraid of losing who you are or becoming what other people think you should be. Yet somehow your feelings of insecurity manage to coexist with a belief that you are someone special.
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