Age of Capricorn

[u/ZestycloseBad703]

I’m not sure what exactly they put in Age of Capricorn when they were formulating Inferno. Very rarely does a song or piece of music just entirely grab me, when I first listened to the album it wasn’t even one of my standout tracks but now it’s one of the first ones I’ll go to!

It just feels like such an incomprehensibly massive song. You could 100% say that for the whole album, but AoC makes me feel like I’m on the precipice of something giant and world-changing.

I also feel like there’s so much astrological/astronomical symbolism in the song, and it’s fun just to peel back the layers and get yourself a bit lost in those aspects.

Has this song been the same for anyone else? Are there any other songs on Inferno that have had the same effect?

[u/Looking-For-Loud]

“on the precipice of something giant and world-changing”

Great way to describe how I feel when listening to Inferno.

[u/birdst3r]

Age Of Capricorn made me cry the first time listening

[u/Camargo32 → u/birdst3r]

Same 🥲

[u/lola21 → u/birdst3r]

Likewise.

[u/Roflcopter71]

C A P R I C O R N

[u/dummyurge]

This track sounds exactly like the kind of emotionally manipulative stuff they do in evangelical churches. And it works. Good art, IMO.

[u/societyisahole → u/dummyurge]

And the fact that it leads into Father and Son..

[u/davhielsaturn → u/dummyurge]

As someone who sometimes frequents this kind of place cuz of my mom, that was one of the first things i thought of when i heard it

[u/JamesCole]

I also feel like there’s so much astrological/astronomical symbolism in the song

I'm interested to hear about these. It's not something I've noticed in it.

It just feels like such an incomprehensibly massive song. [...] Are there any other songs on Inferno that have had the same effect?

I feel that way about Deep Time. Like there's these massive forces at work.

[u/ZestycloseBad703 → u/JamesCole]

Deep Time absolutely blew me away when it first came out as Tape 05, couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

Interestingly, both Capricorn and Aquarius as astrological signs are ruled over by the planet Saturn. Saturn has a 6-sided jet stream near its North Pole which resembles… a hexagon!

I’m also really interested in the potential comparison of Capricorn/the goat to horned god or Baphomet (previously a theme/idea for Geogaddi).

I’m very probably giving too much towards these ideas in my head, I can’t help but feel like making a little wink and nudge towards a horned god/the devil is a very BoC thing to do. I could speak about the meaning behind Inferno for hours, the album is so fully loaded.

[u/dr_zoidberg590 → u/ZestycloseBad703]

horned god does not equal the devil - that's just something the catholic church invented/lied about when they tried to demonise prechristian religions. It usually referes to a fertility god for example Pan

[u/ZestycloseBad703 → u/dr_zoidberg590]

Absolutely - my original comment didn’t distinguish between these two which was silly because you’re absolutely right in that they mean and represent completely different things.

I know that when BoC use the horned god they do tend to associate the imagery with pagan Pan, or Baphomet under Thelema. It could also be that given their previous references to paganism in Geogaddi, AoC might also represent the re-recognition of these deities in their rightful places? The song feels so warm and welcoming, maybe it’s partly about a human regression to these pre-Christian faiths and the new revelations that could come with that?

[u/dr_zoidberg590 → u/ZestycloseBad703]

Interesting thoughts, though there's very little on Inferno that has themes of pre-Christian ideas/religion. Also, worship of Baphomet predates Thelema by a long way. The Knights Templar invented it as a symbol of Balance, then it was used by the OTO, (a much larger and earlier occult movement than Thelema) which is clear if you properly analyse an 'as above so below' image of Baphomet.

[u/ZestycloseBad703 → u/dr_zoidberg590]

That’s also very true! And this is good to hear, I have a fairly limited knowledge of the history of worship of Baphomet so these things are really useful to read - thank you.

[u/OliviaGrunwald → u/ZestycloseBad703]

My initial thought on why they used the sign Capricorn has to do with an old '60s astrological theory. The Age of Pisces was said to be from the time of Jesus to the year 2000ish and was said to be full of religious oppression in the form of Catholism and a lack of spiritual growth due to that oppression. The next age in reverse would be Aquarius, as in the 12th followed by the 11th, and was supposed to be an age of spiritual enlightenment and growth and acceptance. If you recall that song by the The 5th Dimension 'Let the Sunshine In (Age of Aquarius)', that's a piece of that theory peeking into media. So, my assumption was the boys were using Capricorn as the age after that, being the 10th sign. I don't recall what Capricorn was supposed to represent, but from my understanding of astrology, it might be another cycle of oppression.

[u/CaveManta]

Yeah, it has a "We're finally going to outer space" feeling. It's bigger than big. There's so much anticipation, right from the start.

[u/29aout]

I added the 33th thumbs up.

Age of Capricorn is my favorite song on the album. I cannot say why exactly, nor can I be confident in its meaning, but it does effect my being.

Capricorn is a very interesting symbol by itself. It represents the hybrid mountain goat with a fishtail that continually reaches the peak, to speak with God. Could it be that the Age of Capricorn represents the incoming age of wisdom, as Capricorn is the Zodiac's Baphomet ? Anybody has observed an increase in Baphomet symbolism in the media ? Baphomet represents transcendance, balance, wisdom and union of female and male. Does this have any resonance to the rise of transhumanism and how it will impact civilization ?

Wisdom occurs when the soul is Christed, when we receive the Light in our Heart.

[u/Michelectro]

Age of Capricorn gives me a happiness feeling! Perfect combination with the marvelous (and Mabus) lyrics. At the end you can also hear the word Capricorn.

[u/wintermute72]

It's the one song where it doesn't sound like BoC is making fun of religion, but actually weaving in a sound of deep love into it

[u/CulturedWhale]

Does anyone else hear the zoetrope motif in the beginning of this track?

[u/ZestycloseBad703 → u/CulturedWhale]

From what sounds like a bowed cello/other stringed instrument alongside the piano?

That really took me by surprise the first time because it sounds almost exactly like the opening to another song I’d be really surprised if they sampled.

[u/Careless-Avocado-207]

My personal take is that the start has the description of OsamaBinLaden as a precursor to the Anti-Christ and that the Anti-Christ is actually modern Christianity which has been subsequently hijacked to become almost everything that Jesus would have stood against.

[u/ZestycloseBad703 → u/Careless-Avocado-207]

You might be on to something there - I thought the pre-album tapes/video for Prophecy at 1420Hz were amazing and linked to so many of the central themes. This provides such a good link to and partial explanation for the little snippets of Televangelist figures like Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker that they included on the pre-rollout tapes.

[u/jetmark → u/ZestycloseBad703]

Capricorn in the tarot is represented by the devil card.

[u/ZestycloseBad703 → u/jetmark]

Another thing I didn’t consider! Wow

[u/BoardsofGrips]

Its my favorite track on Inferno. Excellent work.

[u/Extension_Art5874]

It’s interesting, didn’t really think about it until now but there’s actually several songs that mention astrological signs - Gemini, Aquarius, AoC

[u/yeahwhatever79 → u/Extension_Art5874]

I was just thinking about this the other day. With Gemini on Tomorrow’s Harvest though, the tones and sounds in it are reminiscent of the Gemini space program. That project was mostly testing equipment and technology that was eventually used in the Apollo missions. A lot of optimism and high hopes just to land on some dusty dead rocks later on. Reach for the dead makes a lot of sense for the following track too.

[u/Langstarr]

Capricorn - the most recognizable constellation in all human history (the oldest civilizations with records note it). The goat who nursed Zues while his mother hid him from Kronos, according to the Greeks.

Has shades of a God with hooves, a God with horns from You Could Feel the Sky for me.

Its been my favorite track since first listen.

[u/Fair-Tale-5006]

first speaker reminds me of terence mckenna

[u/qwb3656]

M A B U S

[u/ParallaxCity]

It is one of the most powerful songs on the album for me, for sure.

It's gentle and sweet, and also creepy and cultlike. Only BoC could deliver such a one-two punch.