- Capricorn -

Capricorn seems to have something of an identity crises. From reading the many texbooks out there, he seems to be confused with Leo, Virgo, or Scorpio. Which suits the goat just fine, mind you, it gives him that comfortable distance he so likes. Hard working, practical, maybe ambitious, serious... we've all heard the usual descriptions of Capricorn, and they suit Katsuya's outer appearence just fine, but this is a Tropic sign, and the second of the last four signs of the zodiac; making it more complex than that.

Capricorn is called the earthiest of the earth sign, but it is in fact the most water of them (the goat has a fish's tail. This was the animal of Ea, lord of the seas and occultism). They have an artistic and creative side which surprises people who sees them superficially. Who would've ever guiessed Katsuya wanted to be a chef? Capricorns are dreamers, it's just that in order to protect themselves from disapointments of uselessly striving for a lost cause, they set up rigid definition of possible and impossible. If Capricorn's dreams can't come true, it's a devestating experience. But the goat doesn't brood, he just takes the punishment with a grim expression and continues on. Katsuya couldn't be what he wanted, and instead had to become a police officer for the sake of the family. He tries to not make a big deal about it, but it's evident that it is. Capricorn is not one to let his suffering get in the way.

Capricorn is concerned with society, and keeping stability in society. He's somewhat of a Patriach. Which is not to say Capricorns are chauvenistic, but they value things which are normally associated with patriachy: justice, law, the family, structures and maturity. Katsuya fits the bill fine. Not everyone would sacrifice as much as Katsuya has for his family. The father plays an important role for Capricorn. So much so that father becomes Father. But in actuality, this father could be weak and faulty, just as much as he could be a strong figure who inspires the Capricorn child. Katsuya had a problem of the former, and practically had to become the father himself. More hard work and sacrifice.

But all that sacrifice, hard work, and patience are not ends of themselves. It's not to get a bigger house than the neighbour, or beat the guy down the street at the annual fair. Capricorn is connected with the archetype of the sennex, the old wise man. For Capricorn, things do get better with age. Or at least, it's that beleif that keeps them going. Capricorn's attitude is what society has arbituarily called grown up. But in a haste to be grown up, a Capricorn can just cling to external appearences and ignore the fact that practical experiences don't necerssarily come to old people. Katsuya delivers a speech in the subway, about how as a child he always admired adults, couldn't wait to become one and know all the answers. Then he's an adult, doing all the so-called adult things, but the wisdom he was promised had yet to come.

Saturn, Capricorn's ruler, has a bad reputation in Astrology. The planet has many faces, sometimes even contradictory. But let's get one thing straight: Saturn is not about ambition. The ego (psychologically speaking, the conscious sense of "I") and Saturn are opposites. Or rather, the ego has a mortifying fear of what Saturn represents- limitations, ageing and death. Two extreme, but usual, ways of dealing with those is hopeless passivity ("who cares? we're all gonna die anyway"), or using Saturn's disciplinary attitude in an attempt to deny Saturn (the famous ambition). After all, you don't get called the Great Malefic if you offer ambition and success.

In a sense, Capricorn is Saturn's darling child of the zodiac. But with a father like Saturn, you want to keep as low a profile as possible. Saturn does not tolerate hubris. And when Capricorn, through his patience and hard work, gets a little too ambitious for his own good, Saturn will always be there to kick him down to size. Capricorn Nixon is one of the rare politicians to get caught for his corrupotions and pay for it. And indeed, Saturn is a very frustrating planet to work with, for he is both the Wise Man and Satan. He can give you the world, then take it away in a heartbeat. Likewise, he can beat you, make you suffer, leave you lying on the ground bleeding and exposed, and suddenly decide you've learned your lesson and becomes your best freind. It's not senseless malicious in any sense, even though it may feel like it at the time, but an attempt to teach wisdom (which don't come through schoolbooks and fancy shamsy classrooms).

In Alchemy, Saturn is called Sol Nigredo, or the Black Sun. So Saturn is opposed, the shadow, for the Sun's ego. Where the sun says "I can do anything!", Saturn replies "No you can't". And Saturn should know, he used to be a Sun, after all. Saturn used to be idealistic, ruling over the golden age. But then he got overthrown. And now he has to pay homage to the bright new sun, and be called "Great Malefic" and "Evil Planet" by ungrateful astrolgers. Even jokes like "the only good placement for Saturn is in someone else's chart" are made at his expense. And in the "no you can't" of Saturn, you could almost sense a jelous attempt to thwart young Sun, who seems to be doing great and trampling on Saturn while he's doing it.

So you have Leo Tatsuya as Sun, and Katsuya as Black Sun. Where Tatsuya goes off on many wonderous adventures, Katsuya tries to drag him down with the all too real limitations of his surrounding enviroment. Tatsuya becomes a superhero, Katsuya has to deal with keeping up the household and having money for college tuition. But Katsuya isn't an effective disciplinarian for Sun's adventures, probably because Katsuya remembers those days too well. Sure, Katsuya used to be a Sun too. Sun Katsuya could be a super hero or a chef. He was the darling of the high school. But in a very Saturnian experience of limitations (related to the father, no less), Sun Katsuya had to don a hairshirt for the sake of the family and eventually become Black Sun Saturn. Capricorn Katsuya was given the world, but Saturn famously steps in as Satan and takes it all away. And in the darkest hour of the Saturn beating spell, comes a potential offer for a silver lining in Maya. But that gets taken away too.

Yet where Katsuya failed, Tatsuya, only through virtue of being a sun, succeeds. So Tatsuya gets to be all happy and basking in glory of sunlight, while Katsuya.....gets wisdom? Poor Kat.

(And a bit of an adenum, but Nyarlathotep is such a Saturn figure. Concepts of sin and punishment play well in Saturn's game. Nyarlathotep is the black sun which tries to frustrate the plans of Philemon, turns into a dark version of Tatsuya, and becomes the Great Father)