Capricorns sometimes envy Aries’ ability to fly blissfully through life, free-wheeling and carefree. The Goat, however, need not envy the Ram’s aptitude for insensitivity, for insensitivity is synonymous with selfishness, a quality Aries does not monopolize at all. Capricorns share it in spades. Aries’ selfishness is a product of the Ram’s thoughtlessness and often childish desires. Whatever Aries wants, one way or another, he or she gets, provided he—or she—learns to tame his Martian enthusiasm and does not rush in too hastily. Capricorn’s selfishness stems from the Goat’s eagerness not to look back to see who slipped and fell behind, for fear that this will postpone his or her own personal appointment with destiny. Selfishness is selfishness, however, whatever the basis or cause, and both indulge in it quite often. As for the other two conditions for flight—joy and innocence—the Goat has every reason to envy the Ram. The word joy is not generally associated with individuals ruled by Saturn. (If by chance he had it… pure fantasy, you know.)
Innocence is not a Capricorn quality either. Capricorns are never innocent, even as babies or children. All of them, whether they are wearing pink or blue boots, are born, without exception, wise little things, with a deeply implanted sense of wisdom and patience, which is not usually acquired until approaching or passing the hundred-year mark, chronologically speaking. So, you see, there is little chance of the Goat flying through life with the naive joy and innocent candor of the Ram, well past what is fallaciously called “middle age” (which is really the prime of youth in a life expectancy of three to five hundred years, viable even now, for those who are serious about it). This is when the Capricorn’s “aging backwards” process will begin, with its outbursts of total abandon that can sometimes put the Goat even above the Ram. That’s why Aries generally feel more comfortable in the company of older Goats. Younger ones make them nervous. The reasons Aries have for forging any kind of human relationship or association are always impulsive and idealistic, and are governed by emotions.
Capricorns have more practical motivations. While Goats may understandably dislike the astrological implication that they tend to “use marriage to advance their social or economic ladder,” this is actually more often true of Capricorns than Aries. It’s not that Capricorns are cold and calculating. After all, they only have their unborn children in mind. Not only will they have shoes, but they’ll have top-notch ones. And they certainly won’t suffer in the future (their children) from the consequences of a present romantic lapse. That’s why Capricorn is often horrified when he hears the story of a couple of friends who live happily together without getting married and who plan to quit their jobs and cycle around Europe for a year or so. It’s not just the lack of a marriage contract that alarms the Goat. What will happen if she gets pregnant on the trip? And if he gives up a great job, how will they manage to pay for the kids’ orthodontic treatment? Now, this may horrify some Capricorn readers, and shake them to the core, but we’re entering the Age of Aquarius, my dears, and the girl in our example, and her lover, are trying out a trial marriage. You see, they don’t plan on having children with crooked teeth or toes until they’re sure they can put up with each other long enough to raise a family with some semblance of stability.
If the relationship doesn’t work out, they will part ways amicably (generally) – sadder, but also considerably wiser. The typical Aries reaction to such an arrangement is almost touchingly sentimental and romantically optimistic. If the two really love each other, the Ram thinks, they should know that their love will last forever, so why don’t they get married from the start? The typical Capricorn reaction to the same situation is also almost touchingly sentimental and romantically optimistic. The young Goat echoes the young Ram’s question. If the two really love each other, they should know that their love will last forever, so why don’t they get married from the start? So far, the Goat and the Ram are going head to head. Then Mars and Saturn part ways. Abruptly. After due deliberation and careful thought—and after the initial horror has subsided—Capricorn will analyze the problem with Saturnian shrewdness and finally come to the conclusion that the arrangement is a sensible one after all. (As the Goat is an inveterate realist, Capricorn’s morality is closely intertwined with his practical spirit.) Okay, forget the orange blossoms and the moral question, but Capricorn still wonders, “Who’s going to pay the rent?” Probably the girl. You see, her lover longs to be a poet, so for a while she’ll have to support herself and support him.
Aries finds nothing objectionable in this. The typical Aries reaction to such an arrangement is almost touchingly sentimental and romantically optimistic. If the two really love each other, the Ram thinks, they should know that their love will last forever, so why not just get married from the start? Capricorn’s typical reaction to the same situation is also almost touchingly sentimental and romantically optimistic. The young Goat echoes the young Ram’s question. If the two really love each other, they should know that their love will last forever, so why not just get married from the start? So far, the Goat and the Ram are going head to head. Then Mars and Saturn part ways. Abruptly. After proper deliberation and careful reflection—after the initial horror has subsided—Capricorn will analyze the problem with Saturnian shrewdness and finally come to the conclusion that the arrangement makes sense after all. (As the Goat is an inveterate realist, Capricorn’s morality is closely intertwined with his practical spirit.)
Capricorns are always offended when Aries accuse them of being ambitious. They think no one knows. Who, them? Ambitious? Yes, them… ambitious. Goats are slow to discover in themselves some other traits proper to Saturn, such as their periodic attacks of gloomy pessimism, their eagerness to cling to the top rung of the social ladder, their reluctance to challenge the system… and their often blind submission to tradition, family, law, order and all forms of authority. Rams are also ambitious, but without equivocation. Instead of falling into pessimism, they have periodic attacks of frankly absurd optimism. Most Aries do not know how to distinguish a social ladder from a blind, they delight in challenging the System, they feel absolutely no obligation to respect any kind of authority… and in general they only pay blind homage to themselves, their own desires and ideas. Capricorns have the truly wonderful ability to face facts objectively, control their defects and make the most of their virtues. Rams would do well to imitate them.
It is not correct to imagine all Goats as prudish women. Capricorn men are not always as prim and proper as we might suppose, either. Since they are not burdened by the baggage of Arian idealism, they can startle the Ram with all kinds of unexpected proposals and acts – in private. Ultimately, however, the Capricorn mentality runs, at least in public, in rather conservative lanes. Aries frequently accuses Capricorn of a lack of compassion, and yet the Goat is not devoid of tender concern and mercy for those who truly deserve it. Cooperation between the Ram and the Goat can bring unexpected success when they jointly point their horns at prejudice and fallacy, rather than at each other. Imagine the mountain goat, timid but sturdy and sure-footed, moving carefully from one cliff to another with confidence and determination… managing to find enough food in the tufts of grass, even swallowing cardboard and chewing cans when necessary. Nothing can stop its slow but sure march to the summit of truth, wisdom and justice that calls to it from above. Now imagine the bighorn sheep on the rugged mountain, which needs a more substantial diet of grass. Unlike the goat, the sheep cannot comfortably digest the rusty nails of criticism and the glass splinters of disillusionment… and when it leaps from cliff to cliff it often misjudges the distance, falls and fractures its horns. Because its dreamy vision distracts it on Nature’s rocky path, the bighorn sheep takes some unexpected shortcuts. This is the basic difference between Aries and Capricorn men, women and children. Both Sun Signs are robust climbers. But the Goat’s ultimate goal is the very top of the mountain, the only place where she (or he) feels truly safe. For the rare, more gregarious Ram who reaches that high, the mountaintop is a lonely place, with no further challenges… and what’s the point of life without the thrill of danger? For Capricorn… it’s peaceful. For Aries… it’s boring.