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Capricorn
A sixteenth-century woodcut of the constellation Capricorn the goat. Reproduced by
permission of Fortean Picture Library.
Capricorn has a confused association with two distinct mythological figures.
Aegipan, son of Zeus and the nymph Aex, assisted Hermes with the recovery of Zeus’s
sinews from Typhon and then transformed himself into a goat-fish in order to escape.
In gratitude, Zeus is said to have turned him into the constellation Capricorn. A more
complex mythological association is the goat who suckled the newborn Zeus—usually
said to be owned by the nymph Amalthea, though in other versions identified as
her—and was later transformed into the star Capella. Zeus broke off the horn of the
goat and gave it to Amalthea, promising her that she would be able to obtain anything
she wished from the horn. This is the origin of the famous cornucopia, or horn
of plenty. It was later given to the river god Achelous, who used it to replace his broken
horn. Hence, Achelous became, in a sense, a blended goat and marine creature,
the very image of Capricorn.
Of all the signs of the zodiac, Capricorn has the most distant relationship with
its mythology. Through its association with big business, Capricorn has a certain natural
connection with wealth, but it is wealth gained through work and wisdom rather
than the “instant” wealth of the horn of plenty. Like the mountain goat, Capricorn’s
THE ASTROLOGY BOOK
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