A Place to Land

Capricorn is a sign of structure. Not just implementing structure for others, but being a source of structure and reliability. Being someone to turn to and be helpful and resourceful, especially as it pertains to directing the course of someone’s life (giving wisdom). This also manifests as a favoring toward building + construction, urban planning, structural engineering, political frameworks and leadership, military (boo because I don’t support the military but still understand that that is a reality), accounting, and bones and teeth (throwing them, dentistry and orthodontics, orthopedics, etc.).

Capricorn represents elders in our chart; people who may or may not be physically older than you, but those who hold a level of spiritual maturity. I have a Capricorn 9th house, Midheaven in Capricorn, was raised by my grandmother, a woman with a Capricorn Moon, her brother (one of, if not my favorite, uncle) is a Capricorn Sun, and I have a great-grandmother with a Capricorn Sun whom I connect with at my altar. I’ve always had older people around me and took a liking to adult conversation as a child simply because it seemed more engaging. I meet elders in random places, and they usually (not always) have something important for me to hear.

Side story: Just today, a 76 y/o Black woman who runs the laundromat I go to decided to chat me up. I couldn’t hear a lot of what she was saying through her mask, but what I did hear was that she “has never been afraid to work.” She explained to me how she had all types of jobs throughout her life, from cocktail waitress to troubleshooting computers, and has done and seen a lot in her life. That small sentence of never being afraid to work did a lot for me. At first I thought this lady is a baby boomer, she only knows a constant dedication to labor. But then I thought about it more in relation to myself, and how she seems to revel in the eccentricities of life. And it made me think about how I shouldn’t be afraid to do the work that is set out for me to complete in my life. I can definitely say that I understand that parts of my purpose in life are to teach Hoodoo astrology, talk to people and engage with my environments, and make artwork and show it to people. And I continue to procrastinate and take so long because I am constantly in fear of my own unique set of work. Not only is it exhausting, but anxiety inducing. It feels better to do what I’m good at and what I love and what’s meant for me than to be afraid and run away. My angels knew I needed to hear that and made sure that it rang loud and clear.

Back to the main post — Capricorn is the mountains; earth that is of the ground but lifts far up into the sky. Not high enough to be omniscient, but providing a sense of scope and the bigger picture of it all. It is the sign that can give you clarity and step-by-step processes. It is the sign that looks for the long money, resources that are plentiful and abound for here, now, and the future. Ruled by Saturn, Capricorn is sure to remind you of reality, provide discipline, consistency, focus, devotion, determination, and the practice of developing your discernment. Saturn loves the work, and will stop at nothing to show how that work gets done the right way, even if it means learning a lesson or completing a task multiple times. With that, Saturn is also the planet that rules time, favoring steady development to provide a lasting foundation. Saturn and Capricorn can often be described as depressing, or too pragmatic, or just tyrannically relentless, but I’ve come to love and appreciate them as my teacher, because that’s really what they’re here for.

Capricorn reminds me of Obatala in Ifa, the Orisha of the mountain and a clear head. Most Capricorns enjoy a good all black outfit, but with Obatala we see white, and the use of white baths to clear the mind and refresh the energy. I’m still newer to understanding and practicing Ifa, but as I go along I see the resemblance of the Orisha in human form.

Capricorn can be a bit of a whirlwind too. Its sister being Cancer, the sign of the Ocean, and moving to the rhythm of every lunar stage in the Moon’s own beat of the drum. At times they can dissect a situation or animal or place or activity like baking to the point of confusion for others. Or, depending on the placement and aspects of Saturn in the chart, can have trouble allowing themselves to be loose. To exist without restriction and the truth of growing up to be an adult in this world. Sometimes keeping all that feeling inside, and not expressing it verbally. No screaming, no shouting to the void. Unless they’re writing it all down while drinking black coffee and wearing the most exquisite black leather pieces (more specifically the trenchcoat) one could only dream of finding. Some perceive Cap placements to be boring, choosing to stay in and read and wear the same old clothes because they’re in good condition.

Earlier this week, I had to take a beat and re-connect with my body and how I was feeling. I worked an all day event the day prior, and had to go to another gig that night. I woke up with the all-around ache in body; the sign that tells me fuck this shit. Instead of wallowing in this feeling, I decided to do some yin yoga followed with 10 minutes of meditation soundtracked with the heavy rain outside my window. Meditation is extremely clarifying for me, and in that 10 minutes, I realized that I needed to focus on making art. On painting and collaging and putting pieces together for a solo exhibition I’m applying for. I’ve been so dedicated to working my altars and doing ritual, which is all lovely and perfect and what I should be doing, but I needed to give myself and my spirits — rest and boundaries. I have to focus right now, and do the work of creating so that all that I am praying for can actually manifest. It was relieving to have provided myself that answer, and have my spirits understand and have my back.

And that’s what I see these Capricorn transits as doing for me. Mercury recently transited into Capricorn and is currently at 10 degrees as I type, and Venus also recently transited into Capricorn and is at 5 degrees. The Sun will soon join too, and the overall energy will be a bit more slow and patient. If there’s work to be done, it is groundwork, behind the scenes. Work that will matter in the long run. And that includes rest. Resting so that you can continue on later, resting because your body and mind and spirit need times to relax into themselves, and apply the knowledge and wisdom gained in the intense learning and doing periods. On top of Mars Retrograde, the end of this year is asking us to hold off. To listen to the small hum of your body, see what you need, and to provide it so. That’s not always easy nor is it acceptable for most when we live in the society that we do, and even more specifically American society, but hey I wouldn’t be here on Planet Crab if I were supposed to tell you to move against your own internal time systems and follow a clock that you had no involvement in enforcing.

I wish I could stop capitalism with my own bare hands, and crack open the Earth to be rebirthed anew. But since I can’t do that singlehandedly, I’ll write and paint and dream and laugh and talk your ear off with all the fascinations of the world, knowing that time is always on my side, and liberation is just around the corner when we all play our parts.

Where is Capricorn in your chart? Where is Saturn in your chart, and how do you see that manifest for you? What have you learned from Capricorn placements or Saturnian themes in your life?

I’ve learned a lot about myself in this past month. I quit my landscaping job and have been recuperating since. I have my most recent piece in an art show, and I’m re-working Planet Crab and my art practice. I’m externalizing parts of myself I forgot about. I’ve met new friends, I’m watching my locs grow and change, I’m connecting with my family. I’m doing all the things, and it makes life exciting. Challenging as I step out on faith even with fear and make my own life, but worth it.

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Happy End of the Year! More to come from Planet Crab as I continue to learn and define this landscape 🪐🦀💫