December 22 to January 19

CAPRICORN is the last of the cardinal signs, and also the last of the earthy triplicity and the first of what is well termed the serving trinity.

This is the tenth sign of the zodiac and the completion of the circuit from Aries to Capricorn. In this sign is contained the perfect number, and all the attributes of the perfect man are to be found concealed in this sign, which in a few words is conveyed in the expression " And whosoever will be chief among you let him be your servant." This sign represents a high mountain on which a goat is seen to be steadily climbing towards the top; but many symbols could be used to portray the wonderful power that is concealed in this, the strongest of all the signs. If we were to trace the Sun in his journey from the first point of Aries which starts the spring, until the sign Capricorn was reached, and with it consider the unfolding of the life forces until maturity was reached, we should have in Capricorn a consummation of character that would be well-nigh perfect. The Capricorns, when individualized, are impartial, just and accurate, aiming to be precise, exact and constant, fulfilling all things with a persistent, persevering and industrious nature. They are assiduous, arduous and careful, zealous and diligent, ever enduring with a calm, earnest patience, and a grave reflective demeanor.

They seem to have brought the economy of Cancer to a kind of perfection, and they know how to be frugal and thrifty without being mean ; when fully individualized they are very contemplative, reserved, deep and profound. They are always independent characters, possessing a quiet self-reliance and determination, and when living up to their highest ideal are the true servants of humanity ; but when not awakened, and living to the personal side of their nature, they pass through the extremes of all these virtues. They are always more or less self-conscious, and seem to know the state of consciousness they are in more readily than those born in the other signs. When personal they are melancholic, doubtful and skeptical, and inclined to be very indifferent and perverse ; and when working on the lower levels they are constantly repining and expressing a heavy, morose, cold and distant nature, so that their despondency and gloom carry them into an obscurity that is painful to themselves and all who are connected with them. When very backward in their development they become miserly, avaricious, deceptive and dishonorable. Capricorn individuals are capable of attaining great heights, as they possess both ambition and endurance, and with their punctual attention to details, and their thrifty and acquisitive methods, they can build while others are dreaming of the work. They make the most of all their opportunities, and being self-reliant they accomplish their ends.

It would seem as though all the ideals conceived of in the preceding sign become beautiful crystals when manifesting in Capricorn. With their practical conception of things, they know how to produce in the concrete the ideal that is in their minds.

All their ill-health appears to arise from despondency and melancholia, and they may gradually sink into a morbid condition from which spring numerous complaints which would appear to have their seat in the sympathetic disarrangement of their digestive system. Their counteracting medicine is hope and cheerful society, and a change of scenery and surroundings becomes essential when they have given way to their greatest enemy, despondency.

Many of those born in the sign Capricorn rise in life through their own efforts and personal merit ; they acquire wealth by a steady and patient industry. Great wealth is often found with this sign, and some of the greatest aristocrats have been born between the above-mentioned dates. They are successful in all land and building speculations, and are best adapted for general and practical work connected with the earth. They are successful in agriculture and in matters connected with the soil. They have great ambitions and are able to undertake very large contracts with success^-, and the pursuits they • are best adapted for would be builders, upholsterers, designers and decorators, and all professions of a scientific nature. They make gOod scientific researchers and writers ; and in any avocation where steady application and industry are required, they are the persons to succeed. Large speculations, elaborate enterprises, and huge undertakings, are best conducted by the Capricorns.

We may sum ^.up the character of the persons born in this sign by considering them as truly Saturnian individuals ; and they range from all that is icy-cold, limited and barren, up to the calm, cool, contemplative meditator on things' divine. A great number of persons born in this sign favor a concrete or ceremonial religion. They are always more or less ambitious, and in some way or other are ever seeking to display their independence. Although some of the strongest characters are born in this sign and are thus able to serve the world to advantage, there are also many who ape humility.

In studying Capricorn we may learn much from the nation which is said to be chiefly under its influence—the Indian race. In this country we find great learning, great wealth, great power, and great position ; but we have also great servility and, amongst the lower castes, a cringing humility which is distressing to those who can realize how low the mighty have fallen. In common with the earthy signs, those born under Capricorn can be extremely selfish ; but their virtue lies in patience, contemplation and reflection.