CAPRICORN the Sign & its Symbols

THE SIGN
The main ruling planet of Capricorn is Saturn. Capricorn is a cardinal, feminine earth sign whose positive traits make them very practical and realistic, they are hard working loyal and respect authority, while more challenging traits include the tendency to be rather egotistical and a bit of a perfectionist as well as rather unforgiving.

THE SYMBOLS
The astrological symbol for Capricorn represents a mountain goat with a dolphin's or mermaid's tail, signifying extremes of height and depth.
Certain herbs, spices, flowers, trees, shrubs, gemstones, metals and animals have long been associated with particular signs of the zodiac. Several plants, for example, have lucky connections with Capricorn and, it is said, they are most effective when picked on a day that is influenced by their ruling planet. These include yew, an unusual tree as it is both poisonous and sacred. In the 17th century it was thought unwise to sleep under a chuchyard yew as the roots sucked up death and disease from the surrounding graves and expelled them through the leaves; the ash, regarded as the ‘tree of life’ in Nordic mythology; the pansy, the Knights of the Round Table supposedly used Pansy Divination as a method of fortune telling. Also ivy, if a man places one of ten ivy leaves gathered on Halloween under his pillow, it is thought he will dream of his future bride. Gemstones linked to Capricorn include turquoise, which draws out negative energy: jet, made of burned, then fosillized, trees, which helps to tap into ancient wisdom and is also useful in soothing migraines and the ruby, good for instilling stamina, vitality and strength. Animal connections include the goat, for obvious reasons and many other cloven hoofed animals.

THE CAPRICORN NEEDLEPOINT DESIGN
Motifs have been selected from all the different astrological aspects of Capricorn and include: the central image of the sea-goat itself with ivy entwined around the border on either side. The gemstone jet sits in the top left corner and in the opposite corner the symbols for Capricorn and Saturn along with the roman numeral X (for the tenth house). In the lower corners can be found two plants associated with Capricorn, a pansy and a sprig of yew. The background and borders are made up of greys, black and violet, colours closely linked with Capricorn.

KEY WORDS
Brave
Concerned
Loyal
Cautious
Practical
Disciplined
To further personalise your needlepoint cushion, add your chosen name and date of birth to the outer border, along with one or two of the Capricorn characteristics. On the chart, the borders have been left plain ready for you to draw in your own lettering, as preferred. Instructions and alphabets have been supplied or alternatively you can use lettering of your own choice.