Capricorn:  Your Annual Appointment with the Inner Coach

They wait, when they should turn to journeys,
Then stiffen, when they should bend.
– Louise Bogan 

Perhaps in no other season does the culture seem so out of synch with natural time than in Capricorn.  In winter, while the malls are filled with people scurrying around, many spending more than they have, the rest of nature cuts back, goes inward, rests.  Capricorn is the most industrious sign of the zodiac, but its business shouldn’t be confused with mere “busy-ness.”  It strips itself to essentials, like the winter itself.  It goes without now, to make more later.  It stands alone, to commune with the seeds of greatness in itself.  With Capricorn we commit to big works, efforts that can be useful to a larger world. 

Capricorn wants a lasting monument from every one of us.  And it knows such things take time.  Therefore it uses this season to strengthen commitment.  It asks us to think of the year ahead, to declare our focus, to organize our resources.  It knows success will come from considered steps, timed for the right moments, throughout a year of changing seasons.  It’s willing to be our inner coach.  And this month it schedules our most important meeting.  If we resist, Capricorn will persist, but the result may be a perversion of its pure intention for us.  That’s the energetic cause behind a couple modern archetypes for this season. 

The Relentless Shopper:  Instead of quietly contemplating its larger destiny at home, the RS hears Capricorn’s call to work and drives itself prematurely into smaller works.  It satisfies Capricorn’s desire for frugal, efficient efforts by cashing in on bargains.  The Relentless Shopper has an underlying fear of not being good enough.  It buys rather than builds.  One antidote is to build or make something at home from materials already at hand--then marvel at how good it is! 

Scrooge:  Caught in a perpetual winter, Scrooge believes the future is always bleak.  It worries so much that it becomes unkind and uses Capricorn’s caution to withhold.  Avoiding its destiny to help others, it sinks into criticism.  It perverts Capricorn’s urge toward greatness into belittling others.  Scrooge is full of fear.  The antidote is to contemplate one’s death and realize what’s really important.  Then celebrate by sharing a warm meal with those who need you. 

SAD Sufferer:  Seasonal Affective Disorder, the updated name for winter depression, is attributed to not enough sunlight.  This diagnosis reveals a mindset opposed to nature, fighting against the earth’s seasonal tilt as somehow problematic and imperfect.  Yet when the outer world goes cold and dark, it’s the season to commune with the inner sun, the warmth and light within.  If one forgets to stoke this sustaining fire, Capricorn’s energy will sink like a lead weight, grounding one into depression.  The antidote is to get fired up about something:  contemplate a worthy goal. 

Then there are the Three Wise Men.  This archetype is still around, suggesting Capricorn, working at its best, is yet among us.  In Capricorn style, wise men train their sights on future greatness.  They honor the destiny promised in the sky, traveling a long way to offer it gifts.  They are patient, persistent, suffer hardships on their journey, and are not discouraged by attending a birth in a barn—they recognize how glory can come from the humblest beginnings. 

Be wise this season.  Whatever you start now may look small, but if your conviction in your greater destiny is strong, amazing things will come.  That’s what the inner coach wants you to know, this time, every year.