The winter solstice marks the beginning of Capricorn season, a time of warmth, family, and cherished traditions for many, and an opportunity to reflect on the past year and set goals for the one ahead. After the freewheeling, anything-goes spirit of Sagittarius season, Capricorn demands we recognize that satisfaction and success don’t just happen on their own — they require effort and commitment. This is your chance to get serious about your own happiness and building the life you want.
The sun is usually in Capricorn from December 21 to January 20. Capricorn is an earth sign — practical, reliable, and in tune with the physical world — and ruled by Saturn, the planet of structure, limits, and authority. This means the season is ideal for pursuing concrete, achievable goals. No more aimless wandering, abstract dreaming, or setting ambitions without thinking about what work will be required of you. If you make a promise during Capricorn season, whether to others or to yourself, it had better be one you’re willing to keep.
Depending on what’s going on in your own astrological chart, this may sound less than thrilling. Even if you’re a Capricorn, you may be bristling a bit: Capricorns, more than anyone else, most often tell me they don’t recognize themselves in descriptions of their sign, and honestly, it’s hard to blame them. Earth signs in general aren’t written about in ways that inspire excitement; the focus on groundedness and reliability can leave little room for creativity or pleasure.
Capricorn in particular (even more than the other earth signs) is often presented as a stick-in-the-mud: precious about rules and traditions, obsessed with the grind, and totally lacking in work-life balance. Like most astrological stereotypes, this description isn’t totally off base. Capricorns tend to have very high standards, and they can be hard on themselves and others when they fall short. Whatever your sun sign, your inner boss may be hard to please during Capricorn season, so be wary of setting yourself up to fail with grandiose New Year’s resolutions.
Fixating on work and achievement, though, limits our understanding of what this sign is actually all about. Not every Capricorn is a stodgy traditionalist or an aspiring CEO, and the season doesn’t have to be all work and no play. It doesn’t have to be dull or buttoned up or conventional at all. Yes, Capricorn is motivated by a desire for tangible, real-world success, but success can mean virtually anything. It doesn’t have to be about making money or toiling in an office building. In other words, there’s space for fun, too. Capricorn has a sensual side, lustful and hungry for pleasure and power — an energy that’s deeply attuned to the imagination and the body’s desires. Crucially, it’s Capricorn’s discipline and tenacity that can help the wildest, most beautiful ideas take shape and become real. This is a gift not to be underestimated.
Capricorn energy is Dolly Parton telling Vanity Fair that the thing she dislikes most is laziness and the trait she most deplores in others is “dishonesty and being late for appointments.” But Capricorn energy is also Parton’s glitz, big hair, and totally unabashed honesty — it’s the notion that if you really put in the work, you can do what you want because you’ve earned it. Capricorn energy is Shonda Rhimes building a successful TV empire, but it’s also Rhimes writing some truly bananas plotlines on Scandal. It’s Joanna Newsom grinding her way through years of harp (!) practice, writing songs, and studying polyrhythms, focused on doing the work to make exactly the sort of music she wants. It’s Nicolas Cage, weirdest man in Hollywood.
The best way to celebrate Capricorn season is to get down to business and make yourself useful, as long as you can remember that usefulness doesn’t have to be bound up in ideas of hustle, productivity, and making money. Don’t stop being imaginative and weird; this is a chance to do the work to make your wild dreams real.
