Capricorn: dates, traits and meaning
Capricorn is the zodiac sign of people born from about Dec 22 to Jan 19, when the Sun is in Capricorn. It is a cardinal earth sign, traditionally ruled by Shani (Saturn).
What the sign means, in both traditions: the Western Capricorn and the Vedic Makara, and where your own Moon sign and rising sign come in.
- Dates
- Dec 22 to Jan 19
- Element
- earth
- Mode
- cardinal
- Ruler
- Shani (Saturn)
- Vedic name
- Makara (sidereal), on the sidereal zodiac
Capricorn as a Sun sign
Capricorn starts things: it is a cardinal sign. As a earth sign it builds slowly and keeps what it builds, and needs something real to hold.
If the Sun was in Capricorn on your birthday, you carry its drive: the way you push into the world. That is the sign every column is written for, and it is a twelfth of the story.
Your Moon sign is how you feel and recharge, and your rising sign is how you come across; both are computed from the same birthday, with the time.
Capricorn as Makara
In Vedic astrology the sign of the same name is Makara, measured on the sidereal zodiac. That zodiac sits about 24 degrees behind the Western one. So most people with a Capricorn Sun have their Vedic Sun in Sagittarius.
In Vedic astrology, though, "your sign" means your Moon sign, the Rashi, not your Sun sign. Your Moon sign is independent of your Sun sign and needs your birth date, time and place.
Today's reading for this sign is read both ways: Capricorn today, and the Makara rashifal.
Capricorn compatibility with every sign
How Capricorn pairs with each of the twelve signs, itself included, in love, communication, conflict and marriage, with the Vedic view of each pair.
Worked example
One fixed example birth, run through the same engine as the calculator, so the page and the result can never disagree.
Example: someone born at noon on 6 January 2001 in London. Computed, not a customer.
On the Western zodiac their Sun is in Capricorn. On the Vedic, sidereal zodiac the same Sun is in Dhanu (Sagittarius).
Their Moon sign, and so their Rashi, depends on their birth date and time. It could be any of the twelve signs.
How it is worked out
The elements follow the classical order of the signs: fire, earth, air and water in turn. The modes run cardinal, fixed and mutable in turn. The ruler is the traditional one used in both Western and Vedic astrology.
What this cannot tell you
- A Capricorn Sun describes one part of a person. It says nothing about the Moon sign or the rising sign.
- The dates are approximate. A birthday within a day or two of a change of sign needs the birth time to settle it.
- This is for reflection and cultural interest. It describes tendencies, and is not medical, legal or financial advice.
Related questions
What is Capricorn in Vedic astrology?
- The same sign is called Makara. The Vedic zodiac sits about 24 degrees behind the Western one. So most people with a Capricorn Sun have their Vedic Sun in Sagittarius.
If my Sun is in Capricorn, what is my Rashi?
- Your Rashi is your Moon sign, which is independent of your Sun sign. It can be any of the twelve, and needs your birth date, time and place.
Find your Moon sign and Rashi
Enter your birthday for your Sun, Moon and rising sign, and your Rashi, in plain words.
Free · no account
Your first reading
Your Sun, Moon, Rashi and rising sign. Then today, this week, this month and your year, with what each means for work, money, family and health. The week names which days are yours and which to keep small.
- Sign
- Details
- Reading
Do you know your zodiac sign?
It is the first of three signs a chart gives you. Tap it, or skip.
Working out your reading stores nothing. If you ask for the morning email, we keep the birth details it needs. Your reading opens on its own page.
Get it every morning by email, from the reading