To Netnews Homepage     Previous     Next      Index      Table of Contents
Esoteric Astrology - The Nature of Esoteric Astrology - Spiritual Effects of the Zodiacal Constellations
Capricorn, the Goat

This is one of the most difficult signs about which to write, for it, as you know, is the most mysterious sign of all the twelve. It is the sign of the Goat which seeks its sustenance in the most rocky and and of the world's places and it, therefore, relates man to the mineral kingdom; it is also the sign of the Crocodiles which live half in the water and half on dry land; it is spiritually the sign of the Unicorn which is the "fighting and triumphant creature" of the ancient myths. Under the symbolism of the above creatures, this sign gives us a rather complete picture of man with his feet upon the earth, yet running free and climbing to the heights of worldly ambition or of spiritual aspiration in search of what he realizes (at any particular time) to be his major need. As the Goat, he is man, the earthly, human, greedy seeker after the satisfaction of desire, or man, the equally selfish aspirant hunting for the satisfaction of his aspiration. This sign portrays to us man, an ambitious animal in two senses of the word: in the early stage upon [154] the Mutable Cross, man, the blend of desire (water) and the animal nature (earth), and upon the reversed wheel, man, the blend of soul and form. It gives us the picture also of the triumphant initiate, the "unicorn of God," the symbol of the unicorn, with its one horn out-thrust like a single spear upon his brow instead of the two horns of the scavenging goat.

It is interesting to study the three signs in which the animals have horns: Aries, the downturned horns of the ram, signifying the coming into manifestation, the involutionary cycle and the experience of the Cardinal Cross as it expresses the Will-to-manifest of God. Taurus, the upturned horns of the Bull with the circle below, depicting the push of man, the Bull of God, towards the goal of illumination and the emergence of the soul from bondage with the two horns (duality) protecting the "eye of light" in the center of the Bull's forehead; this is "the single eye" of the New Testament which makes the "whole body to be full of light." Then Capricorn, the Goat, related particularly and closely to Aries, but hiding (as an esoteric blind) the symbolism of the Unicorn in which the two horns and the single eye are blended and depicted by the long straight horn of the unicorn in the center of the forehead.

Behind all the above lies the dual mystery of Leo, for Leo is - as far as humanity is concerned - the key or clue to the entire zodiac and around the constellation Leo two great mysteries are found:

  1. The mystery of the Sphinx, connected with the relation of Leo and Virgo, and tied up with the secret of the solar Angels. This is not the mystery of soul and form, but the mystery of the higher and the lower mind and their relation to each other. [155]
  2. The mystery of the Lion and the Unicorn. This secret is preserved for us in the ancient nursery rhyme about the "lion and the unicorn going up to town," and contains in a peculiar way the secret of initiation and the "going up" of the human being to the portal of admittance into the Hierarchy as well as the "mystic raising" of which Masonry holds the key. This deals with the emergence of the consciousness of the initiate (white and one-pointed) and the defeat of the king of beasts (the personality) leading to the triumph of group and world consciousness, of selflessness and illumination over self-consciousness and selfishness. In the true rendition of this ancient myth the king of beasts is blinded and killed by the piercing of his eye and heart by the long horn of the unicorn.

The symbol of this sign is undecipherable and intentionally so. It is sometimes called the "signature of God." I must not attempt to interpret it for you, partly because it has never yet been correctly drawn and partly because its correct delineation and the ability of the initiate to depict it produces an inflow of force which would not be desirable, except after due preparation and understanding. It is far more potent than the pentagon and leaves the initiate "unprotected."

In an ancient astrological treatise which has never yet seen the light of day but which will be some day discovered when the right time has arrived, the relation between the horned animals of the zodiac is thus described:

"The Ram, the Scapegoat and the sacred Goat are Three in One and One in Three. The Ram becomes the second and the second is the third. The Ram that breeds and fertilizes all; the Scapegoat, in [156] the wilderness, redeems that all; the sacred Goat that merges in the Unicorn and lifts impaled upon his golden horn the vanquished form - in these the mystery lies hid."

It here becomes apparent that three mysteries are hidden in the three horned signs:

  1. The mystery of God the Father - Creation
  2. The mystery of God the Son - Redemption
  3. The mystery of God the Holy Spirit - Liberation

It might also be pointed out here that it is the will of the Father aspect, manifesting through Aries, that governs Shamballa; the loving desire of the Son which attracts to the Hierarchy; and the permeating, intelligent activity of the Holy Spirit which animates that center of divine life which we call humanity. Therefore we have:

  • Shamballa - Hierarchy - Humanity
  • Will - Love - Intelligence
  • Aries - Taurus - Capricorn
To Netnews Homepage     Previous     Next      Index      Table of Contents
Last updated Monday, July 6, 1998           © 1998 Netnews Association. All rights reserved.