Sea Goat/Centaur

I was born on a frigid morning at the beginning of January and until the day she died, my mother never let me forget three important things:

1) Even though she went into labor on New Years’ Eve, I didn’t actually come into the world until January 2nd and...

2) I didn’t even have the common decency to be the First Baby of 1979 so that my parents could get their pictures in the newspaper, especially because...

3) My actual due date was December 16th.

In that respect, I was born with the Capricorn spirit. The legend of the Capricorn constellation stems from the god Pricus, father of the sea-goats and descendent of Chronos. According to mythology, Pricus owned prime seaside real estate but much preferred spending his life underwater...so naturally, his children decided to spend all their time lazing around on the shoreline and soaking up the sun, just to prove how different they were from their old man. Thus Capricorns (“Caps,” as the cool kids say) are notoriously stubborn and come readily equipped with a strong sense of independence. I certainly and stubbornly showed up on my own time, and nothing could sway that...not even the promised bribe of a brand new car when I turned 16 if I was born on my due date (or so the family legend goes).

But that’s just about where the similarities end.

(Actually, that’s not true. As an Earth sign, Capricorns supposedly have the sure-footed stability of a goat. I realize that this is purely metaphorical, but I literally do have extremely good balance. Always have.)

Capricorns are fiscally responsible and possess strong managerial skills. They are goal setters and goal achievers; masters of self-control and self-discipline. They are political players and game changers; CEOs and Senators, laser-focused, analytical and unemotional, and they are grounded in reality. Capricorns have very little patience for nonsense and are rooted in tradition and structure.

I do not possess these qualities.

As a teenager, I dramatically slammed my bedroom door so often that eventually my father took it off the hinges.

I have massive amounts of student loan debt from deciding on an impractical major of study at a very expensive, out-of-state private school, and then dropping out two years later because I simply changed my mind.

(There may have been a cute boy involved as well, but my memory is fuzzy. )

In my twenties, I frequently fell behind in rent because I spent most of my meager paychecks on take-out lunches, parking tickets and a gym membership I used for a total of four days.

I have been a member of not one but TWO ghost hunting groups.

There is a particular bathroom at my workplace that I have cried in so many times over the years that I’ve started calling it my “Personal Crying Space.”

I am not a Capricorn. Not really.

But if I had been born on time, I would have been a Sagittarius; a witty, fun-loving Sagittarius. Sags are a generous bunch. They are notoriously spontaneous and live whimsically. They love to travel, thrive on curiosity and often promise much more than they can deliver. Greek mythology tells us that Chiron, the uniquely kind and gentle centaur, had such a fiercely loyal and compassionate spirit that he forgave his enemies and laid down his immortality to free Prometheus. from a life of torture.

I’d like to think I have some of these Sagittarian attributes. I prefer small group settings and cherish my loved ones. I tend to feel unsettled and impatient when facing monotonous tasks (as I write this, I know that there is a sinkful of dishes waiting to be washed, and I’m wondering how long I can realistically ignore them until they either start to smell or get stolen by a house elf). But I will forever walk that Cap/Sag personality borderline.

In a strange twist of fate (or perhaps impeccable planning), I am now raising a Sagittarius. She was born one week before she was due, wild-haired and backside first, and in the first two minutes of life she had peed on the doctor and ripped a nurse’s rubber glove with her tiny fingers. Six years later, my Fire Child; my unique, gentle creature is every bit Sagittarius. She is constantly in motion and remarkably kind, but her epic tantrums are the stuff of legend. She is contemplative yet questions everything, and you can see millions of thoughts and ideas behind her eyes.

I hope she never loses her Sagittarius spirit.