Capricorn III: Authority and Stewardship

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 In this installment of my series on the decan, I turn to Capricorn III, the third and final decan of Capricorn, where the focus shifts from creation to leadership and stewardship. This is the stage of the journey where what has been built must be held, directed, and sustained over time. Capricorn III emphasizes responsibility, authority, and the task of containing collective effort once a structure or movement is in place.

At its core, Capricorn III deals with consolidation, governance, and the careful management of power. The Four of Pentacles reflects this clearly, showing a figure who has secured position and value and is focused on maintaining stability. This decan raises questions about leadership after success has been achieved, how authority is exercised, and how the desire to preserve what exists can support continuity or, at times, limit growth.

In the video, I look at the Rider–Waite tarot imagery, the Sun and Mercury as decanic rulers, the role of Chesed on the Tree of Life, and how these ideas appear in real life. I also examine the chart of Martin Luther King Jr., whose Sun and Midheaven in Capricorn III illustrate themes of leadership, responsibility, and the challenge of sustaining a movement once it has taken form.

Transcript (Revised and Expanded)

Hi, this is Cathy Gnatek. I continue my series on the 36 decans of the zodiac today with Capricorn III, the last ten degrees of the sign. Capricorn is an earth sign ruled by Saturn, the god of restrictions and boundaries, often referred to as the Lord of Time. Saturn is the planet that asks us to work hard over a long period of time in order to achieve something meaningful in our lives.

Since Capricorn is an earth sign, it’s about building something practical in the world, and because it’s a cardinal sign, it likes to start things. Cardinal signs initiate action and take responsibility for direction. We’re going to find that in this last decan of Capricorn, people who have points or planets here often become leaders. In the first decan of Capricorn, we’re finding our footing in a project we’re going to undertake. In the second decan, we’re working with others to create it. And in this last decan, we are often the leader. People with points or planets here frequently lead an organization or a movement and are responsible for containing and holding the energy of what has already been created.

We’re going to see that Martin Luther King Jr. had his Sun and Midheaven in this part of the zodiac, and he’s a very clear example of this energy. I’ll talk about the other planets that are related to this decan. Those are Mercury and the Sun, which are the decanic rulers. We’ll talk about the Four of Pentacles card in the Rider–Waite deck that’s associated with this part of the zodiac. I’ll share some ancient texts, and we’ll also talk about the Kabbalah and the sephira associated with this decan. There’s a lot to talk about here. I hope you enjoy the video, and if you do, please like and subscribe. I’m trying to grow my channel right now, and I’d really appreciate it.

Capricorn gives us a broad overview of earth sign energy. All earth signs are about building something in the world in a practical way. Capricorn is the last of the earth signs, so there’s often a sense that what you’re building is meant to serve something beyond the personal level. The first sign in any element tends to be about “me.” The second sign is about “you and I.” And the third sign is about the community at large. Capricorn, as the final earth sign, reflects that collective responsibility.

Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, the god of restrictions and the Lord of Time, associated with boundaries, limits, and endurance. Saturn also emphasizes accountability. Capricorn’s ambitious quality comes from this combination of long‑term effort and responsibility. There’s something about people with strong Capricorn energy: they work hard to create something real in the world. Sometimes that ambition can veer into over‑identification with the project itself. If the ego becomes tied too closely to what’s being built, the ambition can become excessive or unbalanced. But when there’s a healthier relationship to that desire to build, as we see with Martin Luther King Jr., the work can be oriented toward service to the larger good.

The planets associated with Capricorn III are Mercury under the triplicity system and the Sun under the Chaldean order. Mercury, of course, was the messenger of the gods, Hermes. It governs how we think, how we communicate, how we learn, and how we exchange information. The Sun represents vision and consciousness. It’s the centering force of the chart, the source around which everything else revolves. It’s connected to self‑expression and leadership. So it’s not surprising that people with points or planets in this part of the zodiac often find themselves in leadership roles.

When we combine Mercury’s communication, the Sun’s vision, and Saturn’s long‑term discipline, we get the core feeling of this last decan of Capricorn. This is about leadership that emerges after something has already been built. It’s not just about starting or creating, but about containing, directing, and sustaining what exists.

The Four of Pentacles is the Rider–Waite tarot card associated with this part of the zodiac. In the image, we see a crowned figure sitting firmly on a throne. The figure appears large in scale, and there’s a city in the background, which emphasizes authority and worldly power. He holds one pentacle at his chest, one at his crown, and two beneath his feet. The positioning of the pentacles suggests control, security, and consolidation.

4 of Pentacles, Rider-Waite Tarot

There isn’t much movement in this card. Fours in tarot are about containment and structure. They relate to the square, which creates stability but also limits motion. In the Four of Pentacles, the emphasis is on holding, protecting, and defining boundaries around value and authority. This can represent successfully maintaining something that has been built. It can also suggest defensiveness or fear of loss once stability has been achieved.

One interesting detail is the pentacle positioned over the heart. This can suggest that emotional energy becomes tied to possessions, power, or authority. There can be a sense that once something is built, energy becomes focused on preserving it rather than allowing it to evolve.

We can see this dynamic reflected again in Martin Luther King Jr.’s life. He was a powerful leader who, along with the help of many others—particularly women working within church communities—helped build a sustained civil rights movement. At the same time, some activists, including Malcolm X, viewed him as cautious or overly careful. King was sometimes seen as less radical or less confrontational than others within the movement.

King had Taurus rising, which is a fixed sign. Taurus emphasizes stability, grounding, and holding. When we combine Taurus rising with his Sun and Midheaven in Capricorn III, we see a strong theme of containment and stewardship. His role was not only to initiate change but to hold and stabilize a movement once it gained momentum.

Different movements need different kinds of leaders. Some initiate disruption. Others preserve continuity. Both roles are necessary, and Capricorn III reflects the latter particularly well.

Looking at the ancient texts associated with this decan, Ibn Ezra describes it as “a woman though black and before her the tail of a fish,” signifying riches, accumulation of money, and success in business affairs. Agrippa describes it as a woman skilled in her work and a banker gathering money, signifying prudence, governance, and sometimes avarice. These descriptions show both the constructive and shadow expressions of Capricorn III. Leadership can be oriented toward service, or it can become focused on control and accumulation.

Turning to the Qabbalah, the Tree of Life is a mystical diagram representing the descent of divine inspiration into the material world. We move through each of the ten sephiroth until we reach Malkuth, where inspiration manifests physically. This process illustrates how spiritual ideas become lived realities.

Tree of Life, Hermetic Qabbalah

The tarot card associated with Capricorn III is the Four of Pentacles, which corresponds to Chesed, the fourth sephira on the Tree of Life. Chesed is associated with stability, consolidation, authority, and governance. It sits on the Pillar of Mercy and represents the expansion and maintenance of structure.

Where Binah builds the framework, Chesed governs and sustains it. This is the phase where structure becomes power. In Capricorn III, this can show up as responsible stewardship, protection of what has been built, or rigidity if balance is lost. Chesed’s lesson is that stability must be held wisely. Otherwise, what once supported growth can become restrictive.

Looking again at Martin Luther King Jr.’s chart, we see his Sun and Midheaven in Capricorn III in the ninth house. The ninth house is associated with philosophy, religion, higher education, and belief systems. King earned advanced degrees, including theological and philosophical training, and worked as a minister. This ninth‑house emphasis aligns clearly with his role as a moral and spiritual leader.

He was also a careful and deliberate communicator. Mercury rules this decan, and Saturn rules the sign as a whole. Together, they emphasize responsibility in speech. King was known for choosing his words carefully, understanding the weight language carries when guiding a movement.

Of course, he didn’t create the civil rights movement alone. It was a collective effort, but he played a central role in sustaining, directing, and containing it once it took form. Capricorn III reflects that leadership function very clearly. It’s also an interesting coincidence that this decan is associated with authority and leadership, and that his surname was King.

I hope this was useful for you. If you have planets or points in this part of the zodiac and want to share your experience, I’d love to hear from you. It always deepens my understanding of astrology. And if you enjoyed the video, please like and subscribe. It helps people find my content. Have a great day, and I’ll see you for Aquarius I. Thanks.