"Experience in Capricorn is the means of which comes the conquering will which releases from form life and initiates the man into the kingdom wherein the will aspect (not the soul aspect) of divinity expresses itself."
- The Tibetan, Esoteric Astrology
In Esoteric Astrology Capricorn is said to be the most mysterious sign. It is the sign of the initiate and the disciple. Once we achieve true liberation of mind in Sagittarius, only then are we ready to walk the path of Capricorn.
There are all kinds of metaphors about Capricorn being the mountain goat and climbing a mountain. In everyday worldly terms we can associate this with ambition, achievement, and social climbing and Capricorn is indeed very adept at all of those things when they put their mind to it, however the deeper mysteries reveal themselves when Capricorn turns that focused attention to the spiritual journey: the unfolding process of ascension - where we climb a mountain of a very different kind. In addition to ambition, the sign of Capricorn is also associated with responsibility, and we shall see why.
After catching a glimpse of the true path in Sagittarius, our Soul is ready for the final ascent in Capricorn. Yet this can be the longest and most arduous part of the journey.
In The Labours of Hercules: An Astrological Interpretation, the Tibetan Master describes the journey of Capricorn as standing at the entrance to gate - at the bottom of the mountain, from which we can finally see the top, yet we also realize we are a long way off.
The Soul's journey reaches a turning point in Capricorn. In the Labours of Hercules, the Tibetan tells the story of the initiate: one whose consciousness is now dedicated to spiritual awakening, rather than material gain. In Capricorn, we pass through the 'gate of initiation' where our entire energy and focus becomes spiritual awakening. This is what is meant by 'climbing the mountain' in Capricorn. We take the long and winding journey up the mountain of spiritual awakening.
However, our Soul's journey does not end there. Many great saints and yogis, once they achieve enlightenment, they come down from their mountain refuge, back into the community in order to teach those who have ears to listen.
So in the Labours of Hercules, we see that Hercules attains the greatest spiritual heights in Capricorn, and from there he descends into Hades (Hell) in order to release others from suffering.
This is the beginning of the path of the bodhisattva, which continues in Aquarius. With complete spiritual awakening, or enlightenment, also comes the realization that we can never be separate from our human family, and we awaken to the truth of our responsibility to lead all others out of suffering.
In the tenth Labour in Capricorn, Hercules finally achieves the highest spiritual goal and ascends 'the mountain' into Divine Light. From there, not only was he was able to fully comprehend his responsibility to be of service to others, but now he had the capacity to do so.
Once we have awakened to the highest and most mysterious of spiritual truths, we understand the meaning of turning back to help others, and we may then understand more deeply the Tibetan keynote for Capricorn:
"Lost am I in light supernal,
yet on that light I turn my back."
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