Two Goats Along the Ecliptic
Throughout the year, the Sun appears to travel along a fixed path across the stars. For ancient observers, this path offered a way to understand and measure time. To record it, they divided the path into twelve segments, each marked by a constellation. Together, these constellations form a band across the sky known as the ecliptic, which also marks the changing seasons of the year.
Along the ecliptic, two constellations are associated with goats. This story begins with Capricorn, the constellation of the half-goat, half-fish.
Pan’s Failed Spell in a Moment of Panic
Pan, who lived deep in the forest, had an unusual appearance. He possessed the head and torso of a man, but also the horns, ears, hooves, and tail of a goat. His voice was harsh and piercing. Because of his appearance and sound, he was not accepted by being and lived among animals in the wild.
One day, Pan encountered the forest nymph Syrinx. Her delicate features and graceful movements immediately captivated him, and he began to pursue her. However, Pan’s intense and unrestrained advances frightened Syrinx. She fled to the edge of a lake and begged the river nymphs for help. In response, they transformed her into a cluster of reeds, allowing her to escape Pan’s pursuit. Pan was left standing in silence, listening only to the wind passing through the reeds.
Later, Pan cut the reeds and fashioned them into a flute. Whenever he thought of Syrinx, he would play it. Over time, his skill improved, and the gentle melodies drifted through the forest, eventually reaching the ears of the gods.
One day, the gods held a grand banquet on Mount Olympus, and Pan was invited as well. As music, laughter, and celebration echoed across the mountains, the noise awakened the giant Typhon on a nearby peak. Enraged, he roared and vowed to destroy the gods.
Typhon was so enormous that his body seemed to reach the stars. He possessed a hundred dragon heads, each capable of breathing searing flames. Chaos erupted on Mount Olympus. The gods transformed into animals and scattered in all directions. In his panic, Pan attempted a spell to turn himself into a fish and escape. But his body was too tall, only his lower half transformed, while his upper body remained part man and part goat.
Eventually, Pan and the gods defeated Typhon, bringing the battle to an end. Pan’s half-goat, half-fish form was later placed among the stars, becoming the constellation Capricorn.
Chinese Translation of Mo-Jie
In ancient ecliptic systems, Capricorn was associated with the winter solstice, the time of year with the shortest daylight hours, after which the days begin to grow longer. This moment of reversal gave Capricorn a symbolic meaning of transition.
When the concept of the zodiac spread to India, the half-goat, half-fish image of Capricornus—and its association with the turning of daylight—became linked to Makara, a mythical aquatic creature in Indian astrology. Makara is described as a hybrid of fish, crocodile, and terrestrial animals, and likewise represents transition and transformation.
As Indian astrology and Buddhist culture entered the Chinese world, the name Makara was transliterated, eventually becoming what is now known as “Mo-Jie”.
Observation Guide
Capricorn is a faint and easily overlooked constellation. To find it in the night sky, first look south for Sagittarius and its distinctive “teapot” shape. From the handle of the teapot, follow the sky eastward. Near the horizon, Capricorn can be identified by its shape, which resembles two flattened triangles joined together.
At each end of Capricorn lies a relatively bright star. On the side closest to Sagittarius is β Capricorni. At the other end is the brightest star in the constellation, δ Capricorni, also known as Deneb Algedi, an Arabic name meaning “the goat’s tail.”
There is another goat along the ecliptic, one that symbolizes the beginning of a new year. That story will be saved for next time.
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Easter Egg
watching the fish swim closer to the surface,
wondering whether one of them, like Capricorn,
might also have the upper body of a goat.
