Capricorn: The Misunderstood Sea-Goat

Before I really delved into astrology, I was very convinced that it was all a lie. The thought of it was very interesting to me, however, I found the retweets I saw on twitter and the short articles on social media to be very one-dimensional - the descriptions easily fit everyone. To be a Capricorn had no meaning at all to me.

Several years ago, I came across someone on twitter asking people what their "moon sign" was. I had never heard of this before, and googling that astrology term lead me down a rabbit hole of very intricate and detailed analyses of all the planets and how they essentially are a map of your personality and life.

Once I learned to read my whole astrological chart (not that well, at the time), I was surprised and shocked. Every tiny part of my chart weaved itself into a greater picture that looked a LOT like me. I became involved in the community on social media and in forums to learn more about this intriguing science of sorts. Before long, I was thinking to myself "Wow, I really am a Capricorn," not only because I kept uncovering more things about my chart, but also because reading descriptions of my sun sign by people who know how to interpret the whole natal chart made all the difference.

That being said, I do tend to relate to my sun sign, Capricorn.

One of the first things that really struck me about Capricorn was the commonality of growing up fast. In one way or another, they had to spend their childhood feeling more like an adult than being allowed to fully be a child. For me, this showed up in the way I was taught that mistakes are not okay, ever. I felt that I was held to the standard of needing to know better than to make a mistake in the first place or there were consequences. That led me to become a lot more uptight than other kids. Sometimes it was in a good way; I would know when to restrain myself from doing something potentially dangerous. In other ways, it hurt me; I had stress when doing most activities because it needed to be at the level of perfection. This lead me to "handle" most issues I had internally, when in reality I really needed to ask for help.

Once I was surrounded by the zodiac on social media, I was really confused to see something very common from people who were also casually into astrology: "Capricorns are B O R I N G!" This was wild to me because I had never been called boring before. In fact, people who would become close with me always told me how entertaining I was. It was months after first reading that when I saw a couple astrologers explain why Capricorn may have that reputation to some. They summed it up like this: In general, most Capricorn do not open themselves up to people unless they like you and/or are comfortable around you, and they do not like to put on a performance the way some other signs tend to lean onto more. This really hit it home for me because I am very reserved around people I don't like or don't feel comfortable around, and I can't be bothered to act hyped when I'm not. Capricorn are commonly given the reputation of great humor and sarcasm by astrologers, but even then I will refrain from showing that side to others until I feel safe around them. One of my coworkers was also a Capricorn, and she was so funny and carefree around me after we became closer. Every time someone new started working with us, she shut that off and only kept things super professional. I could gage how much she liked someone by how quickly she showed her humorous side, which was very interesting to observe.

It seems like we are one of a few signs that are more closed off emotionally, sometimes at first or sometimes forever, depending on the individuals growth. This also leads to the coldhearted stereotype. I, by no means, have ever felt coldhearted. I am a very empathetic person and I feel for everyone's sadness and happiness. However, I understand how I have appeared to be this way before, and I have seen it in other Capricorn, as well. Between myself and the others who share my zodiac sign, I have seen a clear easiness in cutting people off when we do not see a future with that person, whether it be a romantic or platonic relationship. We do not like to waste time separating ourselves from those people, and that can come off very cold at times. On top of that, our base function seems to be set to hold back emotion even more than we do our humorous side. Personally, I have grown from this trait, and I am better about showing how I feel a little more freely.

In conclusion, it really depends whose words we are quoting when I can relate to being a Capricorn or not. Some astrologers have done an amazing job at describing our psyche in a way that is far closer to the truth than some uninformed stances that claim we are boring and coldhearted. If you are into astrology, you will already know that sun sign astrology is basically trash, and it is really the whole chart you need to look at to see the intricacies in why Capricorn A does things one way and Capricorn B does everything the opposite. I highly encourage anyone who is interested in learning more to do some research or find an astrologer to help understand this subject more!