The Goat
The Constellation that we call Capricorn is Aegocerus. Aegocerus is said to be the goat that was brought up with Zeus and Zeus treated him as a son. He fought on Zeus side in the war against the Titans, which the Olympians or New Gods won. Aegocerus is said to have invented the trumpet and that when he blew this during the war against the Titans, they fell into such a panic, that they fled. In fact, this is where the word panic comes from. The God Pan (goat footed) was related to Aegocerus. The stories of both Aegocerus and Pan are both linked with Capricorn.
After the overthrow of the old order, the new Olympian gods gathered together by what is assumed to be the River Nile, where Typhon attacked them, the many headed monster. To escape this monster, the Gods turned themselves into different animals. During the conflict, Pan jumped into the river and changed his hind parts into a fish, while the rest of his body remained as a Goat. To this day, the symbol for the sign of Capricorn is a goats horn and fishs tail.
Zeus was so impressed by the cleverness and appearance that Pan had adopted that he placed him up in the heavens as the Constellation of Capricorn or goat horn, as the Constellation Capricorn is in the shape of a goats horn.
This combination is pivotal to Capricorn energy, for it is often a complex and contradictory sign, but it all hinges on being part goat, part fish. The constellation has been called the Pather of Light and indeed, 15,000 years ago, the Sun was at this point on the summer solstice, dating the history of mythology of this Constellation back 15,000 years. During that time goatskins were sacred. The Goat Fish symbolism is recognised in almost every ancient civilisation. He was known as such things as He of the vast intellect, Lord of the Sacred Eye and God of Wisdom.
In ancient Babylonia, he was known as Oannes, whose whole body was a fish, but his other body was underneath his fish body. He passed the day with men and the night under the sea. He gave humans insight into language, the sciences and arts. He taught them how to construct cities and temples and gave them laws and knowledge of such things as geometry. He taught them to distinguish between the different seeds and how to collect fruits and instructed them on how to become civilised and refined.
It is said that once his job was done he returned to the sea and returned just four more times, each time to bring a new level of civilisation and advancement to the human race. His job was to educate mankind and then retreat.
It was not until later times that he began to be associated with the God Pan. Oannes is Pan in his ancient form.
One important aspect of the Constellation of Capricorn is that it was one of the two Gates of the Gods. These gates are where the Milky Way and the Zodiac intersect. Souls are said to ascend after death through the Gate of Capricorn to return through the Gate of Cancer.
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The Constellation of Capricorn was also known as the House of Death, as the Sun moves into the Constellation of Capricorn on the Winter Solstice and into its darkest and lowest point of the year. In ancient times, in winter life came to a standstill and nature itself seemed to die. Yet when it passed out, it began its ascent into life again. It is a harsh bleak time of year when the very act of survival is paramount. Hence, Capricorn energy is said to be one that can prevail and overcome even the most bleakest and harshest of challenges.
Capricorn energy is said to dominate world events and to have great strength and importance. Caesar himself was born in the sign of Capricorn and coins dating back to his rule have Capricorn depicted on them. Manilius wrote of Capricorns presence when Caesar was born as at Caesars birth serene he shone. Capricorn is regarded as the sign of leadership and Kingship.
The Fish aspect to Capricorn energy is its ability to swim deep into primordial waters of the human and spiritual psyche.
The Goat aspect of Capricorn energy, is the one that most of us think of when we think of Capricorn.
One fascinating feature about goats is that they hate the rain and even hate puddles. If rain is on the way, they have often bolted for shelter long before the first drop of rain even falls. Scientists attribute this natural attribute, to the fact that as an animal they are remarkably free from parasites, which breed mostly in water. This is a genetic trait that has come about through evolution. The goats that avoided the water, lived because they did not catch parasites, so even though in an ancient time, all goats may not have had an aversion to water, the ones that did survived.
In terms of survival mechanisms, the goat acts very differently to other animals that have been domesticated. When faced with danger, such as a predator, rather than herding together in a pack mentality, like sheep or other animals, they scatter, making it impossible for them to be herded together and cornered. Also they freeze almost in the same way that an opossum does. A kid will not run to its mother, instead will become almost statue like, with no movement whatsoever. A predator can pass close by, but because they do not sense any movement, can often pass right by.
Each particular zodiac sign has it's own characteristics. If you click on the sign you can read about some of the traits of that sign. Or order one of our reports and use the power of the planets to your advantage and tap into what should come naturally to you.
