Capricorn and Aquarius: Two Different Worldviews and Ways of Building Structures

 I would like to share with you an excerpt of the book I’m writing on the Zodiac code.

CAPRICORN AND AQUARIUS: TWO DIFFERENT WORLDVIEWS AND WAYS OF BUILDING STRUCTURES Capricorn and Aquarius are the signs symbolically connected to the two fundamental types of structures possible in this world of ours, i.e. the closed, hierarchical, vertically developing structures of Capricorn, and the open, networked structures of Aquarius, which have a horizontal or radial development, and are based on variable interconnection systems.

If in Pisces we have the chaotic systems, from which new patterns emerge from the realm of the undifferentiated, in Aquarius we find that these new, barely sketched-out patterns have transformed themselves into complex systems, learning to self-regulate and self-organise into dynamic systems, which in time will structure themselves in Capricorn into rigid, hierarchical systems that tend to take a univocal form, which will be much less flexible and therefore more difficult to change.

The transition from Capricorn to Aquarius, on the other hand, shows us the reverse process, in which we move from a rigid structure to a more dynamic and flexible one, in which the emphasis is placed on its constant ability to self-organise depending on necessity.

Capricorn and Aquarius also represent two very different ways of seeing the same structure. If, for example, we consider a simple three-level structure, in Capricorn we will represent it as a tree structure, while in Aquarius we can represent the very same structure as a combination of sets of the type shown in the image.

It is obvious that favouring one of these two visions over the other makes a big difference. Capricorn's tree structure emphasises a command and control structure of the Master-Slaves type, to speak in computer terms, i.e. the emphasis is on the relationships of subordination and supremacy that link the various parts together. Whereas Aquarius' Chinese box structure places more emphasis on the interconnectedness of each part with the whole.

Aquarius, moreover, being a fixed sign, represents the phase of the condensation of Piscean intuition into a project, that is to say, that phase in which the idea from chaotic takes on a form that is still only ideal and immaterial, and therefore fluid and still susceptible to changes and variations. We could say that Aquarius represents the energetic structure that gradually takes shape around the intuition, which will then take a material form only in Capricorn, confirming the fact that things are born first on the energetic plane, only solidifying later on.

In Greek myth, we can link Aquarius to the generation of the pre-Olympian Titans, following the primordial chaotic phase of the breaking of the cosmic egg and the separation of the primordial feminine principle, represented by Gaea, Mother Earth, from the primordial masculine principle, represented by Uranus, the starry sky. That is, the Titans are deities connected to extremely powerful, but wild and not yet tamed telluric forces, i.e. not yet subject to any codified law. Capricorn, on the other hand, corresponds to the dominion of Zeus and the lineage of the Olympian gods, i.e. those regulating principles that succeeded in taming the primordial forces of the cosmos, represented by the Titans, bringing stability and establishing the new world order of Zeus and his sons.

If, on the other hand, we read the sequence of these three signs in a counter-clockwise direction, we have in Capricorn the already existing model established in codified structures, which is destined to have to re-confront the titanic forces in Aquarius in order to regain that fluidity that avoids sclerotization and allows the energy that has become stagnant in Capricorn, to circulate more freely, until finally we reach Pisces where we witness both the deconstruction and dissolution of the old structure as well as the end phase of the gestation of the new model that will then be born in Aries.

On 0° Aquarius, that is, on the cusp where the two types of structure meet, the concept of hierarchical networks comes into being, where the hierarchy becomes more inclusive, as in client-server networks, that is the networks on which our economy is essentially structured. They are networks articulated as multiple power centres, managed by a network administrator who decides on security measures and access rules for network resources.

The further we move away from 0° Aquarius towards the following degrees of the sign, the more the network turns from hierarchical to peer-to-peer, i.e. in IT terms networks in which everyone is directly connected to everyone else with equal responsibility. These are networks that, to be viable and profitable, need a strong individual responsibility and mutualism, the will and ability of all the parties involved to work for the common good, otherwise they become anarchic networks, since they lack central management control.

This tells us that when we move from Capricorn to Aquarius, if we do not responsibly open ourselves up to mutualism and sharing, we become sclerotised in a self-destructive rigidity, paving the way for the titanic or Dionysian forces of anarchy.

If we then consider Aquarius as one of the two poles of the Leo/Aquarius axis, we also find here the idea of network and flow. In fact, the Sun in Leo represents the heart, while Aquarius symbolises the whole complex network of venous and arterial circulation.

In short, Aquarius conveys the idea of a deeply interconnected network of links in which something of vital importance circulates, which may be translated as the circulation of energy (prana), blood or information.

Enough food for thought in the run-up to Pluto's upcoming entry into Aquarius

© Alessandra Lanzoni