Capricorn & The Devil
Photo taken from Doreen Valiente’s Natural Magic
Please note that this essay contains a reference to animal sacrifice.
I’ve been looking forward to writing this one, probably because I feel that there is so much misunderstood about paganism. Some people wrongly accuse us pagans of being devil worshippers, which is complete and utter nonsense.
Theories surrounding the concept of the Devil or Satan are vast. I’ve tried to keep this essay concise and selected a few of the myths and stories from the Bible and mythology that I feel are most relevant. So why are goats associated with the devil? Perhaps it has something to do with a goat's eyes looking slightly reptilian. I personally love goats, I marvel at the little mountain goats' ability to climb up a mountainside that looks as though it is entirely vertical. And what about the goats that climb up and hang out in trees?! So funny. For those of you who are Capricorns, take heart. In this article, I’ll shed some light on some of the mythology associated with the Celtic god Cernunnos and the ancient Greek god Pan and their potential influence on the Christian concept of the devil. I will also look at the origins of the word scapegoat and how this all relates to the archetype of the Devil in the tarot’s major arcana.
Astrology 101
The astrological sign Capricorn is the tenth sign of the Western zodiac and is cardinal, feminine and an earth sign. In the northern hemisphere, Capricorn begins around the time of the Winter Solstice - 22 December and leaves on 19 January. This is the time of year when nature appears to pause, even we as humans take more time to rest. With that said, some of the qualities associated with Capricorn involve planning, setting goals, and getting ready for when the light returns. Following the solstice, the light increases gradually each day as we step closer and closer to the light of the sun returning. This gradual climb also highlights some of the key qualities associated with Capricorn - they are said to have stamina, be goal orientated and will steadily work towards their goal, planning well, step by step, up the mountain like a little mountain goat. They are said to be traditional, strategic, disciplined, status orientated and have a strong work ethic. They make things happen and are masters at the long game, which probably has something to do with Saturn, the master of time, being Capricorn’s ruling planet.
In Latin, Capra means goat and Capricorns are represented by the mountain goat or the sea goat in some systems. Similar to the other earth signs, Capricorn is connected to resources, nature, creation, and our planet. They like a secure foundation, to have a little nest egg tucked away for the future and build wealth slowly. Anatomically, Capricorn rules the knees.
Sidney Hall’s (1831) astronomical chart illustration of the zodiac Capricornus.
Mythology
Why did Arthur Waite attribute the archetype of the Devil in the tarot to the astrological sign of Capricorn? The devil is a Christian concept which takes influence from the ancient Greek god Pan. Pan was the god of the wild - the mountains and forests, music and magic. He is half man, half goat with horns, goat legs and hooves. Legend has it that Pan jumped into the sea whilst trying to escape the monster Typhon. In his haste, he tried to turn himself into a fish but only succeeded in transforming his bottom half. Zeus then comes and defeats the monster but is left injured with torn muscles on his legs. Pan heals Zeus with the help of Hermes and as a thank you Zeus creates the star constellation of Capricorn.
Similar to Pan, another pagan god is the Celtic god Cernunnos, the Horned God of Winter and the Underworld. He is the god of the wild, death, knowledge, animals, hunting and fertility. Cernnunnos is the consort of the triple goddess and in some circles is considered to be her equal. He is sometimes depicted with horns that are often those of a stag and each horn is said to represent the light and dark side of nature. This idea of duality, of light vs dark is essential for life on this planet. We need the night just as much as the day.
Christianity, Judaism and Islam are Monotheistic religions, the belief in one god. Many ancient Greeks celebrated a pantheon of gods and goddesses similar to Wicca, Paganism, Hinduism, Shintoism and Vodou which are polytheistic religions. Polytheistic religions predate organised religion, going back to ancient Egypt, ancient Mesopotamia and earlier pagan religions. When Christianity started to take over as the dominant religion c.300 A.D. they wanted to diminish all pagan belief systems - especially the worship of gods and goddesses.
The Devil, Rider Waite Colman Smith tarot
Tarot
The Rider Waite Colman Smith card depicts two naked people with horns and tails chained to a box/receptacle with the devil hovering above them. A monster of a figure - the devil looks very similar to Pan as described above albeit here the devil has bird feet and bat wings. On his head, he has an inverted pentagram - the symbol of Satan. The background is black, and the colour of the human skin has an orange tinge, further echoed in the fire coming from the torch-like wand held by the Devil. The symbols in the image, the devil, the chains, fire and the inverted pentagram point to biblical stories. In the controversial Book of Enoch, which was removed from the Judeo-Christian biblical canons around the fifth century, the fallen angels are thrown out of heaven for teaching metallurgy (material science), cosmetology (Beautician/Cosmetic scientist) and root cutting (magic) to humans - note the inverted pentagram - the pentagram is a magical symbol but here upside down. The chains point to the book of Revelation, where Satan is chained to a pit or abyss.
Another biblical story comes from the Day of Atonement, Leviticus 16 which tells of a purification ritual where a young bull and two male identical goats (note the twin connection here) are sacrificed. The young bull and one of the male goats are presented to God as a sin offering and sacrificed in the same manner. Meanwhile, all the sins of the people are loaded onto the other goat, who is led out into the desert/wilderness and abandoned. It is said that this is where the term ‘scapegoat’ came from. It is also where some scholars believe the association with the devil and male goats comes from.
I’ve been thinking about the idea of materialism and its association with the devil, especially in connection to the book of Enoch and the fallen angels teaching humanity how to create which I essentially see as tools, jewellery and make-up. Is this a connection to the materialism that the Devil card sometimes warns us about in the tarot? The Devil sometimes pops up in a reading when we are reckoning with a side of ourselves that is damaging in some way, whether it be bad habits or addictions - drugs, alcohol, sex, gaming or even shopping. It can suggest that decadence has gone too far, or that we are chained to the materialist nature that our capitalist world promotes so much. Discernment is needed when you encounter this card. Something may be trying to lure you off the right path. Consider what is tempting you. Ask yourself, who has control of the situation or who are you letting control the situation?
With the above in mind, if often suggests feeling enslaved, obsessed or chained to an idea or situation that is not serving you, but you feel you can’t escape. But look at those chains around the necks of the humans, they could escape if they tried. Many a time I have found that sex is quite an important aspect of this card. It can sometimes suggest the suppression of intuition and instincts about sexuality or gender. The church and other religions like to tell people that heteronormative relationships are good and homosexually is bad. It can show up when we are beating ourselves down when we are not listening to our intuition or refusing to look at our shadow side. I like to think of the animations of the 1930s or maybe they’re from the 50s with an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other - the devil whispers that you are not enough, that your instincts are bad, etc. Remember we’ve just been through Temperance, the card before the Devil. We have that angel as our guide now, helping us to push through the doubt and fear that arises when confronted with the “dark” angel. We must keep going on with our journey and accept the shadow side of ourselves.
Goats (and bulls) are beautiful creatures, it makes me sad that so much negativity has been attributed to a little animal that is just trying to get through this mad world. That said, I know that goats are of great importance to many cultures across the world - so here with have the duality again. So much of our social conditioning in the West has taught us to reject our instincts, run away from the shadow, to reject anything uncomfortable, different or other. But by looking at the shadow we find out who we truly are. That may feel uncomfortable and even scary, but equipped with that hidden knowledge we can combine both sides of ourselves to truly step into our authentic selves.
Bibliography
Farnell, Kim, Astrology (2002)
Eason, Cassandra A Practical Guide to Witchcraft & Magick Spells (2001)
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_goat
De Jager, Eben. "The Fallen Angels of Enoch: Vicious Villains or Virtuous Victims?" TheCollector.com, November 28, 2023, https://www.thecollector.com/fallen-angels-enoch/.
https://www.bible.com/bible/compare/REV.20.1-3
https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1685/the-origin-of-satan/
Sheep and Goat in Socotran Mythology
Vitaly Naumkin, Victor Porkhomovsky
Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, Vol. 26, Papers from the twenty-ninth meeting of the Seminar for Arabian Studies held in Cambridge, 20-22 July, 1995 (1996), pp. 115-124 (10 pages)
