It would be an easy map, if that were all; but there is also first day at school, religion, fathers … … verbs that take the dative, chocolate pudding day, getting into braces, say ninety-nine, threepence for pulling out your tooth yourself, and so on … …
The shining virtues of solidity and dependability surround the Taurus Bull and Capricorn Goat with an aura of earth-colored sureness. Life to Taurus and Capricorn is not all grey and brown, nor black and blue. But you’ll seldom find useless pastels, optimistic yellows or extroverted reds in their personal halos. When these two animals meet at the zoo, the ground shakes with the vibrations of destiny. Who knows what successes lie ahead when a Bull and a Goat get into harness together? They do.
Neither is in any doubt as to where he (or she) is going. To the top. In a large city or a small town, all the way to the top—to the place where it’s peaceful, quiet, financially comfortable—where they’ll be isolated from silly dreamers who muck up the air with foolish illusions, fantasies, and the doomed failure of misguided idealism.
The Bulls and Goats are both modest and reserved, and they both use moderation as an inner alarm, or security system, to warn them of any wayward emotions which might short circuit the smooth mechanism of their ambitions. Now, that’s not to say that these people are dull, stodgy, humorless and unimaginative plodders. (Taurean Shakespeare, a plodder?) As for Capricorns, nearly all Goats have some sort of creative or artistic talent. Many of them draw as well when they’re only doodling as professionals do when they’re working, and some of them do actually become successful painters or writers. (Capricorn novelist Henry Miller is both.) As for the Bulls, they have music in their souls, regardless of all the common sense in their heads. Many Taureans are famous singers, musicians or composers. Others just piddle around on the piano, hum into a harmonica, or pluck a homemade zither. Nearly every one of them sings in the shower when they’re sure no one can hear. In the humor department, Taurus is the original Falstaff, or court jester, full of throaty chuckles and funny one-liners. The average male or female Bull will slide into a comic monologue with little urging, in the living room or at the office.
The Capricorn Goats also possess a dry and droll sense of humor. Their keen observations on the comedy of life are amusingly clever, even though they normally make their remarks with a straight face, which only makes them funnier. When something really turns these people on, they can weave funny, whimsical tales of dry humor that would be the envy of a professional comedian. So you see, a combination of Taurus and Capricorn can be warm and amusing as well as steady, stable and steadfast.
Still, you shouldn’t expect the Marx Brothers. Each was born under a negative Earth Sign, which does not provide fertile soil for frivolity. Goats and Bulls are funny, but they’re not hilarious, and they won’t lose an inch of dignity while they’re cutting up. You won’t find many of them dancing wildly in noisy disco dives. A nice quiet evening at home, watching movies of the family’s vacation at Yellowstone National Park, is more their speed. Taurus and Capricorn constitute what has been called the Backbone of America.
Since theirs is a 5-9 Sun Sign Pattern (see the back section of this book) the areas of romance, children, religion, travel, education and show business are, percentage-wise, the probable pastures where the Goat and Bull will find a common interest. From there, they may engage in an endeavor which will unite them in a glorious strength of effort and purpose (if their mutual Luminaries are harmonious) or which could result in a hopeless locking of horns and total boredom (if the Sun and Moon Signs between their horoscopes are unfavorable). However, even in the latter case, they can always use the natural sympathy of all 5-9 vibrations to bridge their difficulties. It’s difficult for any two people who are influenced by this Sun Sign Pattern to remain angry or opposed for long. The path to reconciliation is always easy, and visible to them, when they desire to find it.
You might see an occasional Capricorn wearing a feather headdress and love beads, smoking peyote in the park and openly flouting convention, but if you do, you can be sure that he (or she) is a lost and lonely soul, trying desperately to prove something—heaven knows what. It’s not a natural state of dress or behavior for the normally staid, formal Cappy, and there’s certain to be a mild neurosis, or a dissatisfaction with Life, lingering in the smoke trailing out of the peace pipe.
You may also run across a rare Bull who drives a flashy yellow Corvette to the bank and shakes a pink tambourine while he makes his hefty cash deposit, but he’s probably just trying to get the attention of a female teller to satisfy his sentimental Venus yearnings. It’s really best in the long run to know who and what you are and be true to your own Sun Sign image. A Ram shouldn’t try to be docile and meek. A Virgo would be miserable trying to be careless and casual. A Bull and a Goat should not try to be wild gypsies. It doesn’t become them. It often becomes Aquarians, but not these two.
One area these Sun Signs are highly unlikely to be involved in together is the drug scene. Most Taureans don’t really need the extra kick of a high, because their senses are so acutely tuned in on their environment. The Bulls can sniff a sweet pea or a zinnia, in pure ecstasy for hours, contemplating its form and color and scent—until they get stung by an angry bumblebee. As for the typical Capricorns, they wouldn’t dream of indulging in recreation against the law, and certainly not one that might delay or obstruct their Saturn-directed, ambitious climb up the mountain—or cause a scandal.
The Goats want, above all, to be accepted and respected by their friends, relatives and neighbors, and by society at large. When scientists get around to taking their noses out of their test tubes and seriously investigate astrology, they’ll find an amazingly small percentage of Taureans and Capricorns in halfway houses, or in drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, as compared with the number of other Sun Signs. There are, of course, occasional exceptions that prove the rule, but very few.
I know a Capricorn jeweler in Cripple Creek, Colorado, named Steve, who has mapped all the spots where the wild strawberry grass (a mystical herb) grows the greenest, in the hills behind the small mining community. He gathers it, dries it, dips it in gold or paints it—then uses it to make abstract pictures of Western scenes to sell the tourists in his Crucible. You can always count on Cappy to find a practical angle for anything.
Speaking of jewelry, many Capricorns and Taureans share with Leo a love of precious gems and metal. The flamboyant-type Leos like to wear them, the flashier the better. The Bulls like to dig them out of the ground, creatively stirred by the excitement of discovery, as they burrow deep into the bowels of the earth for turquoise, gold, silver or diamonds. Capricorn likes to mold them into practical art objects, and the Goat often satisfies those secret artistic yearnings while burnishing the brass and leaning over the Bunsen burner. However, the final objective of both the Taurus Bull and the Capricorn Goat is to find the vain Lions or Lionesses to buy their wares, so they can make Money, which is spelled S-E-C-U-R-I-T-Y. By the way, Steve Mackin, the Colorado Cappy jeweler I mentioned, doesn’t always buy his metals from a Taurean miner. He finds many of the materials he turns into jewels fit for a pharaoh—in junk yards. What more appropriate place for a billy goat to roam and nose around in? The great talent of the Saturn-ruled lies in finding hidden treasures, buried among the discarded trash, twisted tin and broken glass of Life. Both literally and symbolically.
Capricorns become adults somewhere around the age of two or three. Taureans decide on the scope of their future financial empires at around the same age. So it doesn’t matter how old or how young these two are when they team up. Their goals will be identical. Both the Bull and the Goat are wise to the ways of the outer world. It’s their own inner worlds that give them trouble. Each is brimming over with a sentiment he or she won’t show—and each is deeply in need of affection and appreciation for which he (or she) won’t ask. So there they stand like two mountains, side by side, starving for human comfort and closeness, each stubbornly resisting the other’s timid overtures of friendship or demonstrations of open affection.
Children are tiny persons who see, and demonstrate with simplicity, the magic their elders have forgotten as they’ve passed through Life’s sobering experiences. Since Taurus and Capricorn have spent so little time as children (having grown mature at the age of two or three) they may have missed some magic tricks along the way. How can they make up for those lost years of childhood? Easy. Taurus can say to Cappy, Let’s go skinny-dipping in the creek, and the last one in is a rotten egg! Then Cappy can say to Taurus, Let’s go down to the junk yard and shoot off some fireworks! While they’re there, they can climb an apple tree, play frisbee with a frog, smell the sweet peas and zinnias, swing in an old tire, and then—ONE-TWO-THREE-GREEN-LIGHT! They’re both home free.
Taurus Woman and Capricorn Man
Will they reach the nursery in time? If so, how delightful for them, and we shall all breathe a sigh of relief, but there will be no story. On the other hand, if they are not in time, I solemnly promise that it will all come right in the end.
They would have reached the nursery in time had it not been that the little stars were watching them …
I believe we should devote a major portion of this section of the Taurus-Capricorn chapter to a lesson much needed by all Earth Sign men and women. A lesson, yes … but also, perhaps, a kind of karmic warning.
Did you ever notice how people forget things, then try to pretend that what they forgot wasn’t very important anyway? A Taurus woman will seldom resort to such pretense. She doesn’t forget much, and everything is important to her. All Bulls possess powerful memories.
She certainly will not forget the very day and hour she meets a Capricorn man whose Moon or Ascendent was in an Earth or Water Sign at birth, especially if her Moon and Ascendent were in one of these same elements when she was born. Adding that sort of Luminary harmony to the powerfully compatible 5-9 Sun Sign Pattern, it will be a rare Bull and Goat who doesn’t instantly recognize the soft, humming sound of future happiness together. It’s like hitting a romantic jackpot with your last quarter of faith, when you’ve gambled and lost too many dreams to count, an especially heart-warming win for Taurus and Capricorn, since they both gamble so rarely. On anything.
Because Earth Signs don’t talk a lot about their personal lives (both these lovers were born into the Earth Element) lots of people believe the awesome experience of the intertwined destiny of twin souls happens only to those who are born under the influence of the Fire, Air or Water Elements. Not so. Such fascinating appointments with Fate also occur between Bulls and Goats (and Virgo Virgins) leaving them just as profoundly moved as any Earthlings who are swept into a sense of trembling wonder by the realization that their meeting was planned, and inescapably so. To prove this to all the Taurus women and Capricorn men reading their own chapter, or any other curious Earth Sign couples, I offer the following example.
I know a Goat named Steve (not the Cappy jeweler mentioned elsewhere) and a Bull named Debbie (not the same Steve and Debbie pair referred to in the Libra-Aquarius chapter). The surname of these two is Atwell. Capricorn Steve and Taurean Debbie Atwell married and, to the average person, Steve and Debbie appear to be just a normal, ordinary, happy and contented husband and wife. They are happy and contented, certainly, but their relationship has been more paranormal than normal, more extraordinary than ordinary. From the moment each of them was born, a cosmic plan was formed to draw them magnetically together—as happens with many lovers in the 5-9 vibratory experience, whose Luminary and other planetary aspects are also harmonious.
It’s never easy to convince two Earth Sign people that their love—or anything else—is fated. Taurus and Cappy usually believe only what they can hear, see, smell and feel, tangibly. Yet, the Higher Angels of any two who are cosmically programmed to join, are quite persistent, and never stop their efforts until the starry mission has been accomplished.
Pretend you’re living on Venus (ruler of Taurus)—or on Saturn (ruler of Capricorn) looking down upon the following events below, on Earth. Capricorn Steve is born, a baby boy Goat, in Woodland Park, Colorado. Near the same time, Taurean Debbie is born, a baby girl Bull, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Like parachuters and astronauts, twin souls sometimes miscalculate, and land a few miles away from the astrally scheduled spot.)
Venus is troubled, but Saturn intones wisely—wait. A couple of decades pass, as the lovers grow, miles apart, from boy and girl into man and woman. Then, Venus guides Steve, the Goat, to Milwaukee, where Debbie, the Bull, was born and lives—to enter college there. Now, surely, the two of them must meet, and read Life’s meaning in each other’s eyes. But no … stuffy, restrictive Old Man Saturn delays their union still longer. He influences Taurean Debbie’s parents to move, with their daughter, to Woodland Park, Colorado, where Steve, the Goat, was born.
Like love letters crossing in the mail, now the Goat has found his way to the city where his future wife was born—and she has found her way to the town where her future husband was born. Yet they are still separated as before, except that their separation has reversed itself geographically. So Venus steps in, determined. With her gentle powers of persuasion, she guides Steve, the Goat, back to his birthplace a couple of years later—to Woodland Park, Colorado—where Debbie, the Bull, unconsciously awaits him, growing lonelier by the hour, and wondering wistfully, What’s the use of wishing on stars? The stars don’t have the power to make wishes come true. She’s wrong. They do. For Venus has added a clever twist. She has sung a lovely song into the sleeping ear of Steve, the Goat, haunting him … and persuading him to accept a job with the County Road Commission, working for Debbie’s Cancerian father, Les. Surely, now, the star-crossed lovers must meet!
Alas, no … Saturn is ready to impose his cruelest karmic test. After delaying the meeting between the two for nearly another year (how was Steve to know his boss was his future father-in-law?) Saturn influenced Steve to leave. The Goat, whose wanderings had brought him so near the end of his heart’s seeking, heeded the command of Saturn, became dissatisfied with his job and resigned (after the proper Capricorn notice, of course) to accept a job as a logger, many miles away. Saturn even tried to convince Steve at this time to move permanently to Alaska. But he was foiled by the free-will choice of the Goat’s own Higher Self, in conspiracy with Debbie’s Venus. Steve struggled with his strange restlessness (Earth Signs are normally, nearly never restless) and at last submitted to the melody Venus sang to him in his dreams at night. He moved back to Woodland Park, Colorado the following year, and once more went to work for Taurean Debbie’s father. Love’s victory is in sight!
No. Not quite yet. Cautious Saturn has decreed another three years of waiting in blindness for the lovers, causing Venus to weep in frustration, but then she dries her tears, and cleverly begins to influence the vivid dreams of Debbie’s Cancerian father, Les (with the help of his ruler, the romantic, sentimental Moon).
At last, after another three years had passed, as Earth time grew near the mysterious Christmas season, Debbie’s father, while discussing with Steve the approaching holiday party for County Road Commission employees, just happened to mention that his daughter didn’t feel like attending, because she had no escort (Venus had arranged that quite nicely), and since Steve had no date for the party either, he offered to take her (Goats and Bulls, you know, are very circumspect regarding social convention)—as if he had a choice in this karmic drama, which he had not at all, of course.
Then Debbie’s mother, Pat, invited Steve to dinner a few days before the party, where he finally met the Taurus woman who was the other half of himself. That evening, Saturn gave only one, final, half-hearted gesture of discipline, as he drew a veil across the eyes of the Goat and the Bull, so they didn’t recognize each other at all, except as ordinary people, exchanging ordinary conversation, in an ordinary way.
Then, came the magical night of Christmas Eve, and the party. It was time. Near midnight, the Bull and the Goat looked deeply into each other’s suddenly familiar eyes, and knew … … as they were swept into one of those shining moments in eternity.
Yes, it was time. Two shall be born… . . the whole wide world apart… . sang the Higher Angels of themselves, in joyful unison … as trillions of tiny, twinkling stars caroled in space… … the Moon smiled, behind a single tear… . even Old Man Saturn grinned… . and Venus lay herself down on a soft cloud, to rest for a while, exhausted.
It’s really a wondrous experience to look down upon events below, on Earth, from the higher vantage point of the stars … and watch destiny unfold its silvery-gold wings. An esoteric astrologer, carefully studying both horoscopes, could have predicted that unexpected Christmas Eve for the Goat and the Bull, when he was born, in Colorado—and when she was born, in Wisconsin. It’s what makes astrology such a happy art and science. For, we have no real free will at all, any of us, on this level of awareness—except in our choice of reaction to Life’s destined dramas. Only our Higher Selves possess complete free will over the control of events, which we may attain … touch briefly … only when we make contact, and thereafter communicate with—the Superconscious. I trust this true example will loosen somewhat the esoteric sensoriums of Taurus women and Capricorn men everywhere who have this odd notion that they may exert some sort of sensible, earthy control over their love—its alpha and its omega—without heeding their dreams, which are the true reality, and listening carefully to the symphony of the stars.
The natural chemistry between the Goat and the Bull, as with all 5-9 influenced lovers, makes it appear that their romance will be velvety smooth and free of static. But that’s not necessarily true. The 5-9 blessing merely bestows the gift of a relationship which can bear more strain and stress than most, because of the mutual sympathy of the Sun Signs. Tensions may be more easily resolved with less bitterness, the occasional hurts interchanged are less painful, and reconciliations are usually more frequent and successful. They’ll have their share of problems, but it takes really serious trouble to create a permanent break between two who are graced by the 5-9 Sun Sign Pattern, once they’ve committed themselves to each other in earnest.
Taurus and Cappy are each motivated by the same thing—security. Emotional and financial security. Unless the Moon or Ascendent of either was in an Air or Water sign at birth, these two normally don’t possess the soaring imagination considered by poets and dreamers to be an absolute necessity for romance. Yet, they do share a quality between them which is profoundly necessary to the strength of any human relationship—the quality of patience. And patience is a virtue which nearly always gives birth, eventually, to triplets—Devotion, Faith and Loyalty, those three magic wands of words that can turn a casual infatuation, based on chemistry alone, into the deeper and enduring emotion of love.
Another ingredient the poets and dreamers deem to be a requirement for the flourishing of lasting romance, is—sentiment. At first glance, the Taurean female may not appear to be brimming over with sentiment, but there are, nevertheless, sparkling wells of it within her for the right man to discover. Despite her surface practicality, it shows clearly in the strong attachment she has for home, her material possessions, old love letters, her children and her husband. She will resist any major change stubbornly, even when she seems to agree. Nor does she easily adapt to minor changes in personal habits. For what is a desire for change but a lack of sentimental attachment to what already exists? Therefore, her resistance to it means the opposite—an excess of emotion for what is already, and what has been. And this is the quality of which sentiment is made.
All right, so sentimental she is. Soft-hearted too. But she is not soft-headed, this lady. She knows what she wants, and will pursue it, in her own determined, yet outwardly unhurried and quiet way. The Taurean woman is perfectly willing to wait, and not push things prematurely, a trait the Capricorn man finds irresistibly feminine. It embodies the ultimate in female sexuality—passivity—which hints to him of the subtle mystery of submission to the dominant masculine force. This will never fail to both please and emotionally turn on the always slightly chauvinistic male Goat. And so, he may not notice the hardness of her head when he’s been so entranced into seeing himself as the virile conqueror by the softness of her ways and the gentleness of her manner. Not to mention by her deep, throaty, musical voice—and her intriguing curves, all nicely rounded in the proper places, and designed for cuddling. Besides all that, this lady is usually a superb cook, and she has a marvelous sense of humor.
Sometimes it may seem that these two are so alike, you can’t tell them apart. But there are ways an astrologer can tell them apart. Here’s one. The Taurus woman will seldom burn up her carefully conserved energy in seeking either public acclaim or private approval. When she’s made up her mind that she’s right about anything, all she asks is that she be left alone, and not pushed by those who think differently. Tell the typical Taurus female that people are whispering about her, or that someone dislikes her, she’ll simply shrug and say, So? Have they nothing better to do than live my life for me? Have they no lives of their own? They must be very frustrated and lonely. Then she’ll continue doing whatever it is she is doing, content in her self-respect.
Conversely, the Capricorn man cares quite a lot about both public acclaim and private approval. Secretly, he wants to reach the top of his goal or dream, then move into a position of power, far enough away from the clamorous crowds not to be annoyed or contaminated by the childish behavior he observes all around him. The quieter the Goat, the more intensely he inwardly yearns to get there first—with the most. Tell him that someone disapproves of him, and Cappy may shrug, like the lady Bull. He may even murmur the same kind of I couldn’t care less reply. But privately, he will frown, perhaps even frustrate himself into a good toothache or stomachache over it, crack his knee cap several times a week, or break out in nervous bumps. He’ll try to raise the opinion of himself held by those disappproving ones, as soon as he can do it without arousing the suspicion that it bothered him. Respect and admiration from business associates, friends, relatives and neighbors is vitally important to the Goat. Taurus appreciates any posies of praise thrown her way too, but unlike her Capricorn man, she won’t be crushed when she receives an occasional onion of criticism or a mud pie of gossipy disapproval. She may guess his secret, but she’s too kind and tactful, normally, to ever let him know the pain she’s aware that he feels when he is not fully appreciated by others. Many emotions pass between this man and woman silently … unspoken, but no less deep and binding… . communicated in ways the heart hears.
In their sexual relationship, she may sometimes unconsciously project a faintly condescending attitude toward him. The Taurus woman is better prepared for the intimacy of sexual union than the average Goat, because her highly developed senses of hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting and touching, in all areas of existence, also increase her ability to express her love physically in subtle ways. She’s also more adept than he in being able to show her affection through sentimental words and gestures (though she won’t overdo it) and there could be some scattered occasions, in the beginning especially, when her superior talent for pure erotic sensuality may cause the Goat to feel inadequate as a lover. His physical expression of love is intense and direct, and can cause the Capricorn man to be quick and unrestrained in his sexual desire, with little delicacy. He tends to seek passion, without any frills, and though he doesn’t lack tenderness, it may now and then seem to her that he does. But tenderness can be taught when it’s latent, as it always is, in Capricorn. It may be buried beneath tons of his earthy nature, yet it’s a treasure well worth digging for, with perseverance. If she uses her great reserves of patience and gentleness to lead him, he’ll be anxious to learn how to fulfill, through their sexual Oneness, all her needs, which are no less intense than his. The Goat never finds it easy to express his strongest yearnings. A Taurus woman, when she follows her instincts, can help him free the emotions he shyly feels, and so very much longs to release.
One of the unfortunate quirks of many Saturn-ruled, Capricorn people (of both sexes) is their tendency to expect love to be sad, somehow … … because of early romantic disappointments. Since his physical desires are as strong as any man’s, this can cause an occasional Capricorn man to separate sex and love, in what, to him, is a practical attempt to satisfy the flesh urges of the former, and avoid being hurt by the latter. Because she is ruled by Venus, it’s the responsibility of the Taurus woman to teach her shy, funny, affectionate Goat the eternal truth that these two needs cannot be divided if both are to be completely fulfilled. Sex without love leaves the body cold. Love without sex leaves the soul empty.
Now and then, it happens that there’s a Capricorn man who seems to be made entirely of the earthy materials of selfishness, coldness, practicality and ambition. Now and then, it happens that there’s a Taurus woman who seems to be made of the earthy materials of common sense, stubbornness, ambition and stale habit. But in both cases, these are simply façades to keep love at a distance, which is just the way they like it.
Why should they openly display their hearts, or offer them for sale to the highest bidder? This man and woman place too much value on their hearts to toss them casually upon love’s auction block. But when the Taurus woman comes along to tenderly touch his hand, and gaze deeply into his eyes, quietly … the Goat will give his heart away, willingly, to her. Just as she will hand him her own, when she discovers he has guessed her most closely guarded secret (as closely guarded as his)—that she’s a romantic dreamer too.
The Goats and Bulls reading this chapter have, I trust, learned not to scoff at Destiny and Fate, simply because they are intangible, unseen forces. To refuse to tune in to one’s higher consciousness can cause the path of destiny to take a wrong turn, sadly, somewhere along the way. And this is far too frequently the fate of dogmatic Earth Sign men and women, in following the road to happiness. Maybe it would help them to meditate on the entire verse Steve and Debbie’s Higher Angels of themselves were singing on that magical Christmas Eve, in Colorado … . . first channeled by Venus, long ago, through the sensitive awareness of a poet named Rossetti.
two shall be born … the whole wide world apart
and speak in different tongues … and have no thought
each, of the other’s being … and no heed
and these same two
o’er unknown seas, to unknown lands, shall cross
escaping wreck, defying death
and all unconsciously
shape each act, and bend each wandering step
to this one end…
that one day, out of darkness
they must meet
and read Life’s meaning in each other’s eyes
and these same two
along some narrow way of Life shall walk
so nearly side by side
that should one turn, ever so little space
to left … or right
they needs must stand acknowledged, face to face
and yet…
with wistful eyes, that never meet
and groping hands that never clasp
with lips, calling in vain, to ears that never hear
they seek each other all their weary days
and die unsatisfied
… and this is Fate
Taurus Man and Capricorn Woman
I won’t go to bed, he had shouted, like one who still believed that he had the last word on the subject. I won’t, I won’t … … then Mrs. Darling had come in, wearing her white evening-gown.
The practical side of a Taurus man will respond, with excitement (as much excitement as a Bull can arouse) to the practical side of the Capricorn woman. He’ll admire her self-sufficiency, and her air of well-bred, dignified reserve will intrigue him, not to mention her quiet beauty. Taurus doesn’t like anything to come easy, including love. This woman’s love never comes easy. Since the Bull believes nothing is worth much if he doesn’t have to work hard to get it and keep it, Cappy will interest him right away. Her affections are difficult to capture, for she does not yield her inner self lightly, or quickly. Obviously then, she’s a prize the Bull deems it worthwhile to pursue.
But he may not respond with the same fervor of excitement to her apparent lack of sentiment. Despite his feigned disinterest in mushy declarations of love, Taurus is the most sentimental of all the Sun Signs. He doesn’t wear his heart on his sleeve, but it’s in the right place, however well hidden from view. It beats faster when he plays their favorite song, smells her perfume unexpectedly somewhere, or hears a laugh that reminds him of hers.
The female Goat is not quite so bowled over by nostalgic memories when a love affair is over, nor by the daily reminders of it while it’s still alive. That’s not to say she isn’t capable of a deep devotion. Her loyalty, in fact, is unmatched by any other female on the astrological wheel, once she finds a man she thinks is worth loving wisely and well. She can also be tender and funny and gentle and comforting, all those lovely, feminine things. After all, Capricorn is a feminine sign. But it’s also a negative Earth Sign—and Cardinal too—which means she doesn’t want a man to dominate her completely, and she’s not about to submerge herself in sentiment that might cloud her judgment or cause her to make a mistake she’ll have to live down.
You notice I didn’t say a mistake she’ll regret. Cappy doesn’t waste time on regret, which she considers a useless, maudlin emotion. But she does feel obliged to live down an action not based on good sense. It’s the yoke of punishment Saturn places on her shoulders when she goofs, a stern reminder not to goof again. To her, living it down, means taking her medicine straight, without whimpering.
This pretty, feminine woman is as tough as a gold miner’s old boot, although she can have exquisitely tender feelings for those nearest and dearest to her, and she’s quite capable of being faithful, if her mate was chosen by both her heart and her head. When she occasionally slips up, and allows her heart to rule alone, her head does not quickly forgive her. She must be somehow self-punished, according to Saturn’s stern discipline. But she’s not burdened with the kind of idealism that causes people to mask unpleasant facts behind a veil of sentimental evasion. She corrects her mistakes, then plods right on, along the rocky trail, seldom looking back. This woman is enormously practical, and imbued with a great deal of common sense. For example, very few Cappies become hookers or call girls, but their choice has little to do with sentimental morality. I once had a conversation with a female Goat about prostitution. She was decidedly contemptuous of women who sell their sexual favors in the market place, not because of moral or emotional objections, but because, in her precise words: the profession involves so many middlemen that the prostitute ends up a financial loser, as well as a social outcast—and she can work for such a limited number of years. Then what does she do? It just isn’t practical.
So, back to what we first discussed. The Taurus male will admire her common sense and practicality, because they match his own, but will probably be shocked (or hurt) at her lack of sentiment. It can put him in a twin dither of STOP and GO urges with her. But since their chemistry is so right, he’d be wise to swallow his shock and hurt with patience (another quality they both possess in abundance) until she’s made one of her combined head-and-heart decisions to love and marry him. After that, she’ll probably be as sentimental with him and with their family (including her parents and siblings, whom she’ll stick to like a burr) as he could possibly desire. Married to the right man, no one makes a better wife and mother than Capricorn. She may appear snobbish and cold and a bit of a social climber to the rest of the world, but her husband, children and relatives will know only her warmth and love.
Jealousy will probably not be a large problem with these two. Neither the Bull nor the Goat is as mortally wounded, in an emotional sense, by an isolated act of infidelity as a Fire or Water Sign would be. With these two, it’s more as if someone has robbed them of a valued possession. A Taurus man will become just as furious if an intruder steals his wife’s affections as if he had stolen his car or his checkbook, about which he is more or less equally sentimental. A Goat Girl will be as coldly angry if a woman flirts with her Taurus husband as if she had caught the vixen trying to steal her mother’s heirloom bedspread, or her father’s antique clock.
When you comprehend how painful it is for both the Bull and the Goat to give up cash, or material things, I suppose you might say that unfaithfulness is no more pleasant for them than for the more emotional Sun Signs. But neither he nor she is inclined to throw away a secure relationship or a marriage over a single act of infidelity. Bulls and Goats have little desire to tamper with or to destroy an existing situation. When they do, which will be a rare occurrence, you can be sure of three things: (1) they will never forgive, (2) they will never forget, (3) they will never turn back and start again, with fresh hope in a new beginning. What’s lost is lost, what’s gone is gone. Finders may be keepers, but losers are never weepers, when they are Taureans or Capricorns.
Although they don’t turn on the spigots of tears or hysteria, rejection or failure can, nevertheless, hurt them both deeply. But a Goat and a Bull will not sniffle in front of nosy neighbors. They’ll brood in dismal melancholy privately, until finally, after weeks, or months, or years of inner sadness, they decide that the continuation of grief over spilled buttermilk is just not practical. Then they’ll brighten up a little. Since this is a 5-9 Sun Sign Pattern, it will take a really major catastrophe to break a tie they have cemented together with sincere intentions.
Sexually, they are firmly and comfortably mated, because the physical relationship is usually—not always, but usually—more satisfying when the man is the Taurus, and the woman the Capricorn, than when the team shifts sides. He is a quietly sensual lover, full of the erotic ability to stir her passions, yet capable of also expressing himself with honest affection, combined with the kind of respect for sex (and for her womanhood) that she demands. She’s not a woman who will expect long hours of preliminary romancing, and sentimental whisperings before their physical Oneness. Nor will she require her lover or husband to spend another several hours murmuring drowsy endearments, after the passion of their love has been fulfilled. The natural, silent feeling of closeness following sexual union contents her, and gives her a feeling of completeness. Why gild the lily? It’s no wonder this woman can lure a Bull more successfully than a flaming Fire Sign female (who might frighten him away) or a changeable Air Sign lady (who might drive him into confusion).
However, the sentimental Bull may require more than five minutes to demonstrate his devotion to her. Since Cappy is no more inclined to shirk her marital or love responsibilities than any other kind of duty, she’ll usually respond beautifully, by genuinely trying to match his more leisurely Taurean lovemaking pace herself, and they’ll become happy romantic, as well as sexual, lovers—so that, by the time they reach their Golden Wedding anniversary, they’ll have the whole Sex-Love relationship bound up together in a lovely, warm unity. An occasional Capricorn woman may tend to separate sex from love, due to bitter memories of youthful hurt. The Bull may have fallen into the same pattern, unconsciously, and for the very same reasons. (Both Goats and Bulls have incredibly long memories.) But together, they can teach each other how well these two needs blend, and she’ll awaken, through his tenderness, to the childhood dreams and innocence she lost through the premature growing-up all Capricorns experience—while he’ll gradually forget his painful memories of the past, as she gently replaces them with warm and loving images for tomorrow’s remembering.
The typical Taurean is rather uncommonly devoted to his family, which is a good thing, because it will help him tolerate the Goat Girl’s obsession with hers. A Capricorn’s devotion toward family ties can be summed up briefly, with Milne’s poem:
James James Morrison Morrison
Weatherby George Dupree
took great care of his mother
though he was only three
The verse is appropriate to the Saturn-ruled, whether the Goat is male or female. In the latter case, just change the name to Jane Jane Morrison Morrison Weatherby Elizabeth Dupree, and know that she, also, took great care of her mother, though she was only three. Not only that, she’ll take good care of her family when she’s past one hundred, and her parents are pushing the second century mark. Unless some traumatic and tragic experience in youth has left a neurosis of bitter rejection—between these two, and their mutual families, holidays will never be lonely and guest rooms will always be filled. The Bull will benignly approve of his Goat Girl’s attitude toward both her own and his relatives, unless his mother is a Cancerian, and then it might get a little sticky. (Or if his Moon or Ascendent is in Cancer.) It could create anything from a mild emotional tremor, now and then, to a full scale earthquake on occasion.
A Cancerian mother is intensely possessive of her son, and a Capricorn wife is intensely possessive of her husband. (Jealousy and possessiveness are not quite the same thing.) It’s possible that such a situation could cause the Goat Girl to feel tugged on from both sides, until she decides (figuratively) to butt her tough horns against one side or the other. But the Bull has horns too, and it’s only fair to warn Cappy that the odds are stacked against his using them against Mama. For either a Capricorn woman—or a Bull with a Cancer Moon or Ascendent—to be forced to choose between love and family ties, is like being condemned to the horrors of a Tchen-type Oriental torture chamber.
They are good for each other, in so many ways, the Goat and the Bull. After a while, they can even read one another’s thoughts, so closely attuned can Taurus and Capricorn become, throughout their years of togetherness.
| HIM: | Would you like to … |
| HER: | Yes, if we can get there in time for the first feature. Shall I … |
| HIM: | NO, don’t call them. Let’s go by ourselves. Remember … |
| HER: | … our first anniversary, when we couldn’t afford to go anywhere, so we stayed home, and … |
| HIM: | YOU wore your white evening gown anyway, and I … |
| HER: | … spilled grape juice on it, and I … |
| HIM: | And you laughed. Most women would have cried. Then I … |
| HER: | Then you said you were glad of me … |
| HIM: | Wasn’t that a … |
| HER: | A silly, sentimental thing to say? Yes, but I’ve never forgotten it. Look at the time! If we don’t hurry, we’ll miss the first feature. Do you … |
| HIM: | Still want to go? No. Let’s stay home tonight, and … |
| HER: | Yes. |
| Taurus | Aquarius |
| Earth—Fixed—Negative | Air—Fixed—Positive |
| Ruled by Venus | Ruled by Uranus |
| Symbol: The Bull | Symbol: The Water Bearer |
| Night Forces—Feminine | Day Forces—Masculine |